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Which turbo charger do I go with?

Y

Youngster

New member
I have a 2003 grand prix gt. It only kicks out 200hp stock. I've updated some of the looks on the outside and am ready to update under the hood. I looked at doing a top swap, but, seems a lot of work for a lot of money. So, I'm hoping to get a turbo instead. Thing is, I don't know which one to get. Then I've seen people saying I need an intercooler and a wastegate, and now I'm looking at like $1K just for the parts. I really don't wanna spend that much. I was hoping to get a simple turbo and everything for $300 and then a camshaft for around 300 too for a total of 600ish. What kind of turbo do I need or doesn't it matter? I know a smaller one for sure, and then do I need those other things like an intercooler?
 


Good luck


You won't get a turbo set up for $300.. And a turbo setup is more complicated then a topswap...not to mention you'll want a built transmission after this one grenades itself. You may want to go back and do some more research and reevaluate this.
 
Yeah, it is WAY WAY WAY more than 300$.
Even if you go Chinese everything, you won't make it under 1500$ in parts alone plus a lot of labor and no reliability from the cheap stuff.

A real turbo set up is over 3K and that is if you get good deals on parts plus LABOR and it's not that easy to set up the car right, get the tuning right if you don't have a good tuner around.

I wouldn't say the trans will go right away, depends on the driver and how often you abuse the machine.

My daily is 19 psi of boost now runs really well but I made some custom trans shift that really help keep the trans alive. No problem so far.
If someone keeps his turbo at a reasonable boost/power level it could last a while
 
I understand a real true turbo set will be a good chunk of change, but I also understand you can get cheaper ones that aren't as good that still turbocharge it. I'm not here to spend $3K for some more horsepower. Not worth it. I'd rather do smaller options that add up over time (5 here, 20 here, 30 here, 10 here, etc). I'm looking to jump from 200 horses to 300 without spending 10k. That's why I am looking at a camshaft for about 400. I've also thought about a cold air intake, but that's right where the turbo could go instead which made me think of turbocharging it. What other upgrades could I do besides putting a turbo in? I've started off slow, cleaning the throttle body, hid lights, replacing the spark plugs and wires tomorrow, now I want to move ahead and start really modding it after doing some needed basics.
 
REDCOMPG said:
Good luck


You won't get a turbo set up for $300.. And a turbo setup is more complicated then a topswap...not to mention you'll want a built transmission after this one grenades itself. You may want to go back and do some more research and reevaluate this.
Click to expand...

With a welder you could do a turbo setup for $300. Stock trans isnt that bad.
 


It sounds like a turbo is out of your budget range. If you can't afford to do it correctly how are you going to fix it if you wreck your engine?

Also, if you don't know why you should have an intercooler you may need to do some more research about how a turbo system works.
 
Ic isnt needed depends on hp goal.

And im certian a non ic e85 car would make over 300hp easily! Takes alot to make over 350 on a sc build a non ic turbo build not so much.......

However plan on doing it for 300 dollars good luck......
 
Cheap turbo kits have been proven many times. You can get 57 trim ebay turbos off craigslist for $50 if you look around enough and diesel turbos are all over for $100.
 


My 56mm holset diesel turbo was $140 off craigslist so if look around for awhile u will find cheap stuff


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And on the point of your 300-400 cam.. Yes the cam alone may only cost 300-400, but once you get everything else to go with it to actually install it (all the gaskets, better springs/retainers/locks, maybe a bigger better timing chain depending on how crazy the cam is...) you are looking at 1k+ just for a cam install. And it is an extremely involved job.. If you have never had your hands deep in a motor before I'd stick with finding a used turbo kit for around 1500 and find a local tuner. Or do A LOT more research and report back.
 
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