Is it even worth going w/ a turbo "kit"?

Mook

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May 23, 2007
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I've been out of the 3800 game for quite awhile, we all know that...and even when I had my old car, the turbo options were just coming out of its infancy...there was basically a cartuning setup, whatever Intense was offering or ZZP (did they even have a setup when i was running the whipple?)..

now it seems like your main option is source everything yourself, find a used CT kit or go thru zzp.

my question is: is it better to just pick up a complete zzp setup (either z7 or stattama / used or new), used CT kit or is it more economical to pick up the hard parts from the z7 kit then source your own turbo and front mount...

whats left beyond that? ive already got injectors and a pump which would get me by for awhile, unless i changed up my fueling to e85, but im not really looking at that option yet. theres the obvious need for a trans but its a necessary evil no matter what i do w/ the car.

i should, in theory, just be able toss on the turbo parts and go to town.

im being vague in my requests, mostly b/c im already knowledgeable on the subject and b/c its been talked about before...but since everyone else has their own build thread, id like to start collecting my thoughts in one spot as well.

as for my current parts...perhaps they'll find their way onto another car in my garage :naughty:
 

phat_ridegt

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Sep 16, 2007
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Im sure you've heard it all before but the first thing you need to do is decide what you want to do with the car and decide on a budget. I'd recommend a z7 kit if you are going to buy it new. A used ic'd ct kit will take you to 400+ whp with rockers and will make 500 with a cam. Generally you can get a ct kit for 2k. The zzp z7 kit basically addresses all the cartuning flaws and allows for rear valve cover removal and the use of a rear powerlog.
 

10sec

I haz dat teddy bear smile.
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Jul 26, 2008
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i have 2 ct kits, and honestly, if the little problems i had (not really problems IMO) are what you're talking about, then you need a different hobby. Used kits including an i/c will go for ~$2000 and make upwards of 400-450whp without any upgrades at all. A zzp kit will cost much more, and yes it's easier to install, but you're talking about a little hassle here, and a little hassle there, to pay twice the money? It took me 45min to swap turbo's on both my cars, working outside, with tools you can find at a convenient store. I guess i could have paid more than both my kits cost combined for 1 zzp kit and swapped the turbo's in 1/2 the time, not worth it to me. Took about 1hr to fully disassemble my kit on my blue car at phatrides with the right tools, and about the same to re-assemble the kit when everything was back in. For 450whp bolt on power costing ~$2000 that's WELL worth it.

However, you can go even further, and modify certain things here and there to make it even easier. IMO, unless you work a Jewel or your goals are LOW 10's or high 9's (good luck finding a trans to hold that) you're much better off with a CT kit or a build it yourself like HK's kit, but done much, much, quicker. To kinda go back though, nobody sells a chain ATM that will take the power a CT kit can make, i find no reason to for anyone to upgrade unless they spend 1/3-1/2 what the car is worth on the trans alone.

And one of the most important things about all of this, which is the clinger, Mook's car is the cleanest around. His kit can't be hacked, it can't have ebay i/c with 10,000 couplers on it, and it can't look like shit. Has to be clean. Which almost completely throws out everything i've just said because it's all almost irrelevant.
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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May 24, 2007
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i have 2 ct kits, and honestly, if the little problems i had (not really problems IMO) are what you're talking about, then you need a different hobby. Used kits including an i/c will go for ~$2000 and make upwards of 400-450whp without any upgrades at all. A zzp kit will cost much more, and yes it's easier to install, but you're talking about a little hassle here, and a little hassle there, to pay twice the money? It took me 45min to swap turbo's on both my cars, working outside, with tools you can find at a convenient store. I guess i could have paid more than both my kits cost combined for 1 zzp kit and swapped the turbo's in 1/2 the time, not worth it to me. Took about 1hr to fully disassemble my kit on my blue car at phatrides with the right tools, and about the same to re-assemble the kit when everything was back in. For 450whp bolt on power costing ~$2000 that's WELL worth it.

However, you can go even further, and modify certain things here and there to make it even easier. IMO, unless you work a Jewel or your goals are LOW 10's or high 9's (good luck finding a trans to hold that) you're much better off with a CT kit or a build it yourself like HK's kit, but done much, much, quicker. To kinda go back though, nobody sells a chain ATM that will take the power a CT kit can make, i find no reason to for anyone to upgrade unless they spend 1/3-1/2 what the car is worth on the trans alone.

And one of the most important things about all of this, which is the clinger, Mook's car is the cleanest around. His kit can't be hacked, it can't have ebay i/c with 10,000 couplers on it, and it can't look like shit. Has to be clean. Which almost completely throws out everything i've just said because it's all almost irrelevant.


holy fucking :werd: omg.

fucking exactly.

i dindt think of this at first. but godamn. seriously.


mook. make sure you do that.

my car or 10sec car. ****ra away or hack the fuck out of it. you. no. you cant. ill trade you if you want a hacked one. my car for yours. as they sit.
 
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