Ok, just did a search on the boards, and cant tell for sure about the quality of the F-Max kits, or if they are as good or better than the Drag kits. Which do you guys prefer for the Lude?

 

Fmax kits are much higher quality then drag kits. Install is much cleaner.

 

I've heard of people having clearance problems between the manifold/turbo and the front crossmember?

and also some cutting of the bumper *may* be required when fitting the IC piping.

 

With the drag, you pretty much have to spend hours cutting if you want to retain your bumper bracket.

 

Yea, I could see from the pics that the F-Max looked like a cleaner kit. Cant harldy see the Turbo. But how much do these kits run for in terms of price? Also, would it be best to have a professional install it? Where can you buy the F-Max kits?

 

http://www.rollhard.com/

They're generally more expensive than their Drag counterparts...probably about $3500 or so...

 

I kinda figured they would be, but thats to be expected, the kit is cleaner than the drag kit. Gotta start saving, would like to have it bought and installed by time July rolls around. Dont know how much the install will be, but should be worth it.

 

With the F-Max kit, since it comes with the Turbonetics t3/t4 hybrid, can you order it with the E-trim package? I heard its a must.

 

Definitely FMAX. I know someone who's going all out on their 5th gen, and decided on FMAX.


[Modified by SoCal ITR, 1:50 PM 2/18/2002]

 

Regardless of what turbo kit you get, the first thing you do when you open the box is to take the POS Delta wastegate that came with it and throw it in the trash. It is useless and the boost spikes that it allows will destroy your motor in a hurry. Buy a Tial wastegate to use with the kit.

As others have noted, Turbo is not something to start out with a "basic" kit and upgrade later. There is no "budget" turbo kit. It must be done right the first time. It takes serious cash beyond the initial cost of any basic turbo kit to do it the right way... Upgraded injectors, standalone ECU to properly manage fuel, upgraded fuel pump, Tial wastegate, and at least a half day's worth of dyno time with a wide-band O2 sensor for tuning - these should all be addressed in even in a low-boost turbo setup...

Andrew

 

Ok, but what about the E-trim option?

One more thing, is Turbo gonna be a huge pain in the ****? I knew I would have tuning issues, but now I hearing that there is next to no chance that my motor will make it. 10's was my goal, but I might up that to 11's. NOS is starting to look better again. I was thinking about it, and yes nitrous would be harder on the engine thatn Turbo when its being used, but how often is it being used? Probably not very often. Basically, I want to be able to pull up next to a Viper, and smoke him. I gota go to work in a few hours, I will think about what AI should do. Thanks for all the replies.


[Modified by Toretto, 3:35 PM 2/18/2002]

 

I was wondering, what mods have you done to your car as of late? at all? I wasn't trying to rain on your parade earlier, but it is so much more than power to even get 12-11s. After spending @ $10k for the motor, another $5-10k for the chasis, you'll still have to know how to set things up, drive, recover your monetary losses, R&D power vs. traction. Like many have stated above, with dedication, many things are possible....but as with dedication, sponsorship, intelligence and more money are very big factors. Perhaps those stories of so and so doing 10s, home built power on a budget is a great motivator, but realistically, do you have $10k for the initial motor/tranny set-up?

Anyway, a good mani can be had for @$500-1200. Brand new turbo for @600-700. Piping at a muffler shop @$300. It is good you are doing alot of research first, but buying the GOOD stuff makes it easier if you have your realistic goals in perspective. I don't see 10s in a prelude too realistic unless you've got a tube'd fiberglass moster in the works, hehehe....

To learn more about turbos and their maps, go to http://www.turbofast.com.au/ and/or call majestic turbo when they're open. They'll give you the ins and outs of turbos and stuff....


[Modified by G, 7:33 AM 2/18/2002]

 

I just got my lude last month, and the only thing I have ordered is the CAI. 10 second Lude may never happen, so maybe that goal was to ambitious. How about beating Viper's? That to abitious?

 

I feel a bit bad, but I want you to know what you're getting into. Beating a crappy Viper driver at a light to light drag race (bad bad bad) is doable, but at a track the viper is no slouch. Imagine ~400ftlb torque on the street at a stop, he'll most likely spin through 1-2nd gears then whoop on our asses. Drive around with drag radials on a mildly built turbo set-up (block a must and boosting @15psi), you'll probably give the viper and a C5 a run for their money, hell you may even win.. Build the engine, put together a custom turbo SYSTEM and you'll be smokin them left to right, and tires and clutches. Your left leg will be bigger than your right after a while.... Look up Dirtylude's set-up, or talk to the importreview guy, he's got experience.....Hell, you're on the eastern US, there are a bunch of builders over there, and a bit cheaper than CA if I may say so....

 

How much would a complete custom kit cost me? When I say complete, I mean complete as in complete like teh F-max kit. Would it be cheaper? Plus, I would have to find someone to intall the custom kit. What should I do, F-Max kit and dont worry about upgrading it till the time comes, custom turbo kit, or go back to NOS DP fogger system?

Another option I havent really thought of is the Jackson Racing Supercharger. I was reading their website, and they have a boost upgrade option, increases power by about 15-20%. Since my Lude will be a driven daily, not in the winter, but other than that, it will be driven daily. Here was what I was thinking as an option, buy SC, run low boost, get header and exhaust, up the boost, and then buy the boost upgrade kit and I should be pretty fast. I have heard the SC is more stock friendly than Turbo, but is way more limited. Basically, if I need to go any faster than that, I could throw on a NOS kit for the extra HP. What do ya think? Is that an option? What kind of times could I expect?


[Modified by Toretto, 4:56 PM 2/18/2002]

 

If you seriously want 10s then go turbo. NOS nitrous solenoids only flow up to a 200 shot, so if you need 500whp to hit 10s then you'll need two direct port kits plumbed into your manifold or else some crazy custom plate kit from NOS to flow that much nitrous. Honestly, I think the turbo set up would be easier to tune than the nitrous.

 

I figure I can help here since I have it. The quality of the kit is good. better than the drag which is why I bought it. I installed mine and it's not as easy as everyone thinks. I had to cut 2 hard power steering lines and replace them with soft ones because they were in the way of thr IC piping, the instructions indicate that you can move them out of the way but you can't. you also need to move the power steering cooler out of the way of the intercooler. You can't use a E trim compressor because the compressor sits in the front motor mount bracket. The oil return is a joke, I had to replace all the parts for it. you have to cut large sections of the bumper for the intercooler to fit. everything is a very tight fit. you'll have to figure out all the tricks to get everything in. F-max's service absolutly SUCKS!!!!!
Scott is a idiot, They sent the wrong downpipe, it was 7" too short of connecting to the cat. They also sent the wrong spec turbo, it had a 48 AR housing, I'm supposed to have a 63 ar. I waiting on the new parts and *should* have the car running again this weekend. I didn't use their gay fuel system. I'm using a pump and fmu until I get all the parts i need for my hondata 2B, it's siting on the floor right now. The car is much faster than when i was I/H/E, the torque steer pulls the steering wheel out of my hands. I have pics but nowhere to put them, i someone wants to post them I'll send them. After all the $, blood, sweat, frustration. it was worth it.