friend selling turbo... go?

drummer_jb

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ok, here's the deal. I have the opportunity to turbo my '00 civic HX, but I dont know a whole lot about the technical stuff.:oops:
I met a guy at my work who is the same age as me (20) and we found a common interest in cars.
He took me for a spin in his 1990 eclipse turbo all wheel drive and man, i loved the acceleration of that thing.
Anyway, I'm sure he was doing over 14 psi, maybe up to 18.
We got to talking, and he really likes my civic. He thinks it is really clean, and I told him I'd love to turbo mine if I ever got the chance. He told me that he is buying a better turbo for his car that would run him about 22-24 psi, and he offered to sell his current turbo to me for like 75 -100 bucks and side-mount intercooler for 50 bucks. I told him I know jack-squat about actually putting it into my car, and he said that he'd help me out.
He said I'd have to buy a boost guage, some piping like a downpipe and other hoses for oil circulation to the turbo (like a T-line from an existing hose or something), and he'd definately have to help me find some clamps for it to fit onto my car too. He suggested a couple electronics, such as (I dont remember what it is called) a shutoff timer that keeps the car running for a certain time after you turn it off to let it cool properly (?).
I made sure to tell him my situation. My civic is my daily car, and I plan on keeping it my daily car for many years. I want to make sure my stock HX engine can handle the turbo that he is offering me, or ANY turbo for that matter, without hurting or blowing anything!!! He told me that with my car, I could run on about 8 or 9 psi and it should be fine without hurting anything and that it would get me about 200 or so HP total. Ok, yes, he knows more about cars than me. But yes, he is 20 and definately not an expert. He's not going to rip me off and s**t, he's pretty honest and plus I freakin work with the guy!

I'd love for my civic to be turbo'd and have that little oomph for whenever I feel like showing off a little:cool: , and I have no interest in taking it to the track or anything like that! This sounds like a great opportunity for me, and I want to take it in a heartbeat.

But I guess my question is,:?: Will my stock "everything" be ok with the turbo setup he is offering? If not, what other parts should I buy for it and/or what should I do!?! Sorry if I sound like a n00b, but I AM a noob to turbo.:???:
PS i intend on buying a short ram intake as well.
 

Matt.

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sounds like he knows what he's talking about, do it up. But be careful, the hx has some pretty high compression I beleive, I think its like 10.6:1 also, I hope you have the 5-speed and not the cvt. cvt would be complete garbage for turbo.
 


Astheros

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^^^^run a lower psi and your good

sounds like you should do it...if anything just dont run 8 or 9 psi...run more like 6 or 7psi...60-70hp more approximately to be more safe than sorry
 

drummer_jb

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Blahman240 said:
I hope you have the 5-speed and not the cvt. cvt would be complete garbage for turbo.
I have the 5-speed. So, I guess here in a month, I'm going to do it! He also said that with turbo, you have to buy premium fuel all the time. That's cool with me, but is he right? How noticeable is 6-7 psi going to be?
 


squidmaster

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drummer_jb said:
I have the 5-speed. So, I guess here in a month, I'm going to do it! He also said that with turbo, you have to buy premium fuel all the time. That's cool with me, but is he right? How noticeable is 6-7 psi going to be?
50-70.... depends how well your car takes it and where you live (temperature)
 

jason_guy_yeah

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I would recommend turbo sizing your motor. Having the wrong turbo setup would defintly be a buzz kill. Having your motor going within the surge line or way outside the effeceincy islands would be a waste of time and money. Please don't base your goals on psi (preasure) rather cfm (air flow) and hp goal. I',m not trying to be a d**k but, please do much more research on turbos.
 

TiiM iiS l3eAsT

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sounds like a good deal...seems like he knows what hes talkin about as well...i say go for it!.....run around 7 psi and make around 180 hp....
 

Matt.

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you don't have to always run premium. I beleive you can tune for 89 or around there, although tuning for 92 or 93 is what most do.
 

drummer_jb

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I talked to him again tonight, and he went more in depth.
He said he'll sell me TWO turbos... one 14B and one 16G. For $300.
I should use the 14B if I were wanting a more autocross use, or the 16G if more drag/strip use.
He's also selling me all the little parts like pipes, elbows, hoses, and flanges for $100 total. with the sidemount intercooler for $50. Oh, and the part I mentioned earlier is called a turbo timer, he recommended i get one.
He needed to know if my HX had 16 valves or just 8 and I didn't know. Anyone else know?
And what about exhaust? I have stock exhaust right now, should I look into an aftermarket or is it necessary?

Can anybody give me a link to a good page that I can read over about turbo so that I can be more knowledgeable?
 

Steven.

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use the 14b, it will be better for a DD/auto X, you have a 16v motor, yeah look into a upgraded exhaust, somethign aroudn 2.5" pipe
 

Boost is Best

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don't take the 16G, it will spool up very late and make power delivery terrible. the 14G is rather large, but it's a good turbo, but with that, i don't think you can keep A/C or power steering. just roll down your windows and lift a few weights, you should be fine. and don't take the intercooler. if its OEM, it's 17 years old, and they were bare underneath the wheel well. if it was driven in snow, salt could have been up there, and f**ked it up. but even if it is fine, i'd still go with a front mount personally. i forget what company said it but "pay a little more now, or pay a lot later." in other words, DO WHAT YOU CAN TO NOT BLOW THE f**kER APART! 7 PSI and a front mount, and tell your buddy he should change the injectors, buy his, have them modified and put it in yours. then you have to get like a hondata ecu or something. you could do this and not take anything i say into consideration, i'm just throwing out what i think.
 

drummer_jb

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Boost is Best said:
but with that, i don't think you can keep A/C or power steering. just roll down your windows and lift a few weights, you should be fine.
What?? Why wont i be able to keep a/c and power steering? Like i said, i'm a noob at turbo. and i dont see what turbo has to do with the steering?!
 

Jmoto911

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IMO, sounds like a good deal, but not for you, at least not right now, you know to little about turbo, you need to make sure you research everything... that can make or break you. Research, then buy it.

And whats with everyone wanting PS??? PS is only useful below 5mph anyway... PS is for ladies and faires.
(Notice I said "ladies" not women, so no women can get offended)
 

killer_siller

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you can get a kit that'll fit the mitsu series turbos...i think either greddy or edelbrock does it.
 

Boost is Best

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usually turbo fitment causes PS elimination, besides, if you get rid of it, from what i know it'll free up like one or two horsepower lol, and PS really is pointless on a civic, mine doesn't have it and it's a cakewalk as soon as i start rolling.
 

drummer_jb

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Hmm, well ok. The only time i have ever driven a car without power steering was once when my 1987 chevy astro got wrecked and we drove it slowly to the junkyard lol. it was hard as f**k, maybe just cuz it was old and a van... i dont know!

Well, he decided he might want to keep the 16G and I told him that's fine with me, I would just buy the 14B. So he is selling me that for $100. plus he's helping me pick out a new manifold, flange, and told me i'd need to take my car to a shop to get a bung welded to my oil pan, and have a downpipe built, along with a new exhaust system. My next paycheck is going to be around $1000, so I'll have plenty of room to work with. Here in two weeks, I guess I'm going to start getting all the s**t for it. I'll let you know how it's coming!
 

drummer_jb

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he wants to sell me 4 fuel injectors from his car for $100 total. do i even need these?
he also said that i need to buy a something or other new cpu for $200. do i need that?

Ok, the point of me buying a used turbo and everything like that was so i wouldn't have to spend $1000 to get my car turbo (just 6 - 7 psi, nothing hardcore). Now he keeps bringing up all these items that add up!!
I don't know what to get and what I don't really need.

PS I read the entire turbo read on this reference (http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=37937) so i have learned quite a bit about what I obviously need, but what about the things he is mentioning?
 

RHennin

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im sure that you're trying to do some research, but you still need to do alot more. Try homemadeturbo.com. Also try turbod16.com. Unfortunately though the turbod guys wont like you very much if you ask newbie questions just to warn you. Remember Google is your friend. Good luck and remember more research is alot better than less...
 


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