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I've been browsing...

5K views 28 replies 10 participants last post by  heztheone 
#1 ·
and i found these 2 turbo kits on ebay:
Turbo Kit 1 for 945$
Turbo Kit 2 for 745$
i know these are extremely cheap, but for that price and let's say it gives 50hp, wouldn't it be a decent bang for the buck?
what do u guys think? (Mal since u'r familiar with F/I and what parts are required, ur input is highly appreciated as always :D )
 
#2 ·
I wouldn't do it simply because of this alone:

"Application:

91-95 BMW 325I/325IS E36 V6 Engine.
94-99 BMW 328I/328IS E36 V6 Engine.
95-99 BMW 323I E36 V6 Engine.
92-99 BMW M3 E36 V6 Engine.
97-00 BMW 323I/323IS/323CI/323TI E46 V6 Engine.
98-00 BMW 328I/328CI E46 V6 Engine.
01-07 BMW 325I/325CI/325XI/325TI E46 V6 Engine.
00-07 BMW 330I/330CI/330XI E46 V6 Engine."

Both of those auctions state "V6 Engine." If the sellers don't even know what engines the cars have, how can they sell an item for those cars? Or better yet, how can you trust it?
 
#3 ·
Both of those auctions state "V6 Engine." If the sellers don't even know what engines the cars have, how can they sell an item for those cars? Or better yet, how can you trust it?
hahahaha I noticed that too. If you look at the manifold it is for an inline so it might just be a typo by an intern or something. I'd be wary because one of those kits isnt complete. It actually says

"Customers also need to custom make the downpipe to fit this turbo kit. Customers also need to upgrade the fuel pump,injector and ECU to tune the car if set at higher PSI."

I'm not that familiar with F/I but I'm assuming get a custom made anything wont be that cheap. If you're serious about F/I I that that many users around here are familiar with the G-Power kit which I believe hovers around $1500. A little bit extra cash but worth it in my opinion to have a "name brand". Kinda like buy Polo Associate when Ralph Lauren is on sale right next to it for $5 more. Idk man, just my opinion. I'd encourage you to email them about a price though.
 
#4 ·
as soon as i saw those adds on ebay, i sent the seller of the first kit this email:
"will this kit be a bolt-on into my E46 330i M/T or will i have to do some custom work to make it fit perfectly? since in the listing it is specified that this kit fits both E36 and E46, all V6 engines (BMW's have I6 engines) whereas the E36 and E46 have different engine mountings, spacing, clearing, headers manifold etc...
thank you."
he replied:
"yes,it will fit your car. (perfectly or not who cares as long as it fits right? :tsk:)
you also need to custom make the downpipe to fit.
when you install the turbo kit,you need to upgrade the fuel pump,injector and ECU to tune your car.
thanks"
one thing i like about a kit is that i don't have to bother custom making anything... or do I :dunno:
 
#5 ·
MagnaFlow Exhaust
i like how my car sounds, i'm not considering buying this, but wanted to ask if it will compliment the headers (BimmerBrakes Headers) i'm gonna get for added hp
Dinan CAI
for 200$, is it worth it? figured a 4-5hp (MAX i know :p ) would be a great addition for headers, exhaust (maybe) and remap
 
#6 ·
I really wouldn't trust this guy. The description of the kit says that you only have to upgrade the fuel pump etc. if you are going to run a psi higher that 15. As for the exhaust. I have a Borla and I can testify that it sounds more than just nice. :D
 
#7 ·
As for the exhaust. I have a Borla and I can testify that it sounds more than just nice. :D
i like how my car sounds, i'm not considering buying this
i'm not upgrading the intake and exhaust to make it sound louder, i just want to see if they have an added value. or would it be better to invest in something else, like doubling the amount and getting myself koni's for example...
 
#8 ·
Although I have an ECIS intake, I'm going to say save your money there. It makes a cool noise, but it's just not really worth it. If you can find a Dinan long-tube intake for a reasonable price, then I'd say it's a possibility. I'm not so sure about Cosmo Racing's intake, but it's another option. But anyway... the best intake really is the OEM intake.

If you're going the forced induction route, the CHEAPEST kit I would buy is the G-Power supercharger kit. You'll also need to buy an oil cooler just to be on the safe side. If you are hellbent on going turbo, expect MalibuMafiaV to pop his head in here later on and tell you a custom K04 turbo kit can be done for $1,200. Otherwise, there's the Technique Tuning turbo kit for $6,000+. It comes with everything you need, including an appropriate tune.

Koni Yellows and a good set of sway bars (Hotchkis?) will benefit you more than anything else. Headers are a great little mod (as we've been discussing) and will provide a slightly noticeable gain in power. I remember smolck pulled up to the exhaust shop when I had to get a custom piece of pipe installed to make the headers bolt up to the exhaust line (yeah... I drove open headers for almost 20 minutes). When I cranked it up and revved it a bit, we both drooled. It sounded amazing. When I pulled out of the parking lot, my tires broke loose significantly easier. My phone rang shortly thereafter. :D

For exhaust, I've heard from various people that a single 3" pipe will provide around a consistent 6 WHP gain. So far, that's some of the best numbers I've seen in regards to exhaust power gains. Of course, it will have to be a custom job, but it can actually be cheaper than, say, a UUC TSE3 exhaust.

Personally, if I could do it again, I'd focus on suspension first and then go back with the power gaining mods. I'm done messing with my car. The only other "mod" I'll end up doing will be a Gripforce F1 Stage 1 clutch and the lightweight flywheel. For $400, it's a tough deal to beat (significantly cheaper than OEM). I'm just a little worried about how it will affect daily driving, but from what I've read on people's reviews, it really isn't bad at all.
 
#9 ·
after reading a lot and getting lots of feedback from many forums, CAI are worthless unless they go straight down the front bumper. be it as it may, i'd rather spend what they'r worth on getting something more beneficial.
and u'r right, a single 3'' pipe will gain some decent HP.
as soon as i install the headers, i'm gonna most probably go with, sways (probably hotchkis) i'll leave the koni's for later since my shocks are still in a good shape, or single 3'' pipe :thumbup:
thanks guys for ur input, and specially SPDSKTR, hope i didn't annoy u with all my questions :D
 
#14 · (Edited)
exhaust and CAI are out, my mods are gonna be following:
- Headers
- 3'' Single pipe
- Remap (i'm gonna give FastBob a Before/After Dyno sheet just to show how beneficial a remap is to our cars :D )
- Hotchkis sways
- koni's

Your not serious about buying these right? Not only could you waste your money, you could also seriously damage your engine. Ebay Turbo kits are always sketch as hell. Knew a guy that put one on his impreza (even came with sti badges.) Long story short in two months he went through 2 head gaskets a set of spark plugs and then the Turbo stopped circulating oil and well.... you get the point. Go with a g power SC kit good bang for the buck with huge power potential if you wish.

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
The most you can safely run boost wise on a non turbo stock engine is 8 to 10 psi boost. Supercharger is the better option for a non turbo motor. Turbo charged engines have lower compression to handle the higher boost provided by the turbo. I turbo charged my 300zx n/a motor and 8 psi is all I ran for boost without issues. On our cars Id stick with a supercharger. Thats what Im adding to mine.
- F/I will be in the "hopefully not too distant" future, once my car handles like a motha', and of course, save up some $$ since i'd be getting new tires this weekend for around 1200$ :(
 
#12 ·
Your not serious about buying these right? Not only could you waste your money, you could also seriously damage your engine. Ebay Turbo kits are always sketch as hell. Knew a guy that put one on his impreza (even came with sti badges.) Long story short in two months he went through 2 head gaskets a set of spark plugs and then the Turbo stopped circulating oil and well.... you get the point. Go with a g power SC kit good bang for the buck with huge power potential if you wish.

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#13 ·
The most you can safely run boost wise on a non turbo stock engine is 8 to 10 psi boost. Supercharger is the better option for a non turbo motor. Turbo charged engines have lower compression to handle the higher boost provided by the turbo. I turbo charged my 300zx n/a motor and 8 psi is all I ran for boost without issues. On our cars Id stick with a supercharger. Thats what Im adding to mine.
 
#16 ·
so i had some free time yesterday, passed by an exhaust guy to check how am i gonna custom fit the 3'' single pipe.
to start it off, he told me not to use the 3'' pipe but around 2'' 3/4 (the smaller pipe size next to the 3''), the 3'' pipe would be too big.
second, he advised to change the last muffler and put instead a sport muffler that has 1 pipe in, as the current one has 2 pipes in, which would be restrictive again and would make all the work meaningless, as i'm freeing the flow from the headers till the last muffler, and then restricting it again at the end.
my questions are:
- logically speaking, i suppose he has a point. but in real life, what would u recommend?
- i know that with each muffler delete, the sound grows louder. it currently has 3, how many would be enough to make it sound "deep" yet not annoyingly loud?
- is the last muffler what makes the ZHP sound the way she does? right now i would hate to lose it since i believe that it's reason for that...

off topic, regarding the G-Power, i googled it and all i see is a German Kit that costs a sh!t load of $$, what am i missing? :eeps:
 
#18 ·
i look towards the most efficient mods for price/quality ratio.
why pay a butt-load of cash to buy a brand name when i can custom build it for a fraction of that price ?
 
#21 ·
I've only seen and experienced the single 3" exhaust. Maybe you can dig around a bit and find some info on a single 2-3/4" exhaust. Back pressure would be ever so slightly higher, but again, the single 3" exhaust has proven to consistently give around 6 WHP gains.

The G-Power supercharger kit can be had for $2,100 from Schmiedmann (link here). That does NOT include an intercooler, an oil cooler, or installation (assuming you're not doing it yourself).
 
#22 ·
The G-Power supercharger kit can be had for $2,100 from Schmiedmann (link here). That does NOT include an intercooler, an oil cooler, or installation (assuming you're not doing it yourself).
I was told by a someone that this wouldnt fit on a 323Ci however it would fit on a 2001 325i. Am I missing something but aren't these pretty much the same engine?? I was also immediately referred to an AA supercharger that was more than twice the price...
 
#24 ·
If you really want turbo. I'd suggest building your own turbo kit with a ko3 or ko4 turbo off an Audi. Go to a machine shop and get a custom built exhaust manifold after you size everything out yourself. That way you can mount the turbo properly etc. The Ko3 and ko4 turbos are cheap and easy to find. You can honestly build yourself a turbo kit for about $2500 with ALL parts and labor NOT including the tune. The tune would probably cost about $500-1000 all in all. Not to bad but is it worth it?. That's what you have to ask yourself. And this is keeping the same compression on your engine so you'd only be able to do like 6psi safely with it unless you dropped the compression a bit.
 
#27 ·
Read my site, and do not buy that kit, the turbo alone will most likely last like 100-300 miles before the seals go.

the manifold you can buy for $140, the piping for $100-$200 the rest is up to you.

http://www.e46turbo330ci.com/?page_id=7

some pricing here ^^^^^^^^^^
 
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