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Turbo Kit

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:06 pm
by Quickslvr
Is there a turbo kit for FTOs?

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 10:19 pm
by FTO338
Short answer is no, theres no off the shelf turbo kit for FTO.

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:44 pm
by fto617
yea...so u have to be like ppl such as mikey and spend the same amount of cash as u could have bought a fto to build the kit

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 pm
by Quickslvr
I have actually blew my mivec engine and need to get a replacement. Since Ftos does not have a turbo kit, is there any turbo engine which will fit in rather than replacing another mivec engie?

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:43 am
by Boris
You can refer to this thread here:
:arrow: http://www.ftoaustralia.com/modules.php ... topic&t=77

:wink:

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:42 am
by fto617
how did u blow your engine????

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:18 pm
by fto617
if u blew your engine instead of using extra money to turbo it
why not take it to a rpw dealer and see what mods they can do for u for the engine internals
u may end up with the fastest NA fto in aus :)

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:44 pm
by Quickslvr
I went through a flood :(

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:48 pm
by FTO338
fto617 wrote:if u blew your engine instead of using extra money to turbo it
why not take it to a rpw dealer and see what mods they can do for u for the engine internals
u may end up with the fastest NA fto in aus :)
I've ask RPW before, it would actually end up cost me about the same as getting a custom turbo kit. U might have the fastest N/A but still no much for a basic turbo setup.

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:07 pm
by to4garret
it wouldnt cost the earth to put a turbo on a FTO, spend money in the right places and wisely, research...

could be done for $4 - $4.5k at a guess

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 5:38 pm
by fto617
4.5k....
isnt that too low?
i mean its a hell job coz its got mivec
if its gr i think it would be much easier
anywaz 4.5 k isnt enough i think... i mean buying the turbo + intercooler will set u back at least 3k already
and labour cost more than the parts
i would say about 10k for basic setup

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 5:41 pm
by to4garret
3k!!!!!!! my Turbo and intercooler only cost $1100, shop around, new isnt always best

thats what i said
spend money in the right places and wisely, research...

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 8:06 pm
by Jeff
It dosen`t matter too much about the cost of the turbo and intercooler. The major cost is the custom making of the manifolds to the turbo and the wastegate. This is the major hassle factor of the job. Also factor in an after market ecu, relocating the battery, etc. Being an east west V6 and a small engine bay it is a lot of fun trying to plumb the whole job.
RPW`s kit still hasn`t had the bugs worked out but, if you can get them to make you a set of manifolds ( they must have a template for these ) then this could make it a lot cheaper.
The workshop that is still in the process of doing my turbo, would not have a bar of a cheap bolt on kit. I suggested that now they have done an FTO if they bulk manifacture a set of manifolds, add a GT28 turbo and intercooler kit and bring it in under 8k, they would have a heap of people interested in buying this. They would not have their name associated with such a kit. They stated there are too many things that can go wrong with bolt ons like this. ( eg RPW ).
The job is a huge one to do properly, mine has taken over two months and still no car. Mikes took over 4 months. Danny has been working for years on his.
Blackjet in Melb was promissing a bolt on kit, and may have his ready by Xmas, but will wait to see how the kit goes on others cars.
Best of luck
Jeff

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:03 pm
by FTO338
Jeff wrote:
Blackjet in Melb was promissing a bolt on kit, and may have his ready by Xmas, but will wait to see how the kit goes on others cars.
Hmmmm didn't Frank sold his car????

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:03 pm
by fto617
didnt blackjet gave up already?
he is selling his car remember !!!

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:08 pm
by dannyboyau
to4garret wrote:it wouldnt cost the earth to put a turbo on a FTO, spend money in the right places and wisely, research...

could be done for $4 - $4.5k at a guess
It is idiots like you that have no idea what you are talking about that come up with idotic comments like this that mislead other people into thinking it is easy to turbo a FTO, there would be lucky to be 2 dozen turbo FTOs in the whole world, probably closer to a dozen. If it could be done for $4 - $4.5k i think there would be a few more.

I could put a turbo on for that price but no guarantee it would work

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 12:16 pm
by to4garret
Danny, I do not take kindly too been called an idiot thank you, I a not trying to offend anyone, nor mislead, I am speaking from personal experience here.

I have done a very similar job with my car, V6 VR4 (see www link), I did it myself, with a lot of research and asking people questions. Yes it was turbo'd in the first place, which did make it easier for me. But the way in which I positioned the turbo and built the manifold is applicable to the FTO. The way I did it, is not the most *optimal* way for the turbo to sit, because the rear bank of cyl's has a longer distance to travel creating non-uniform exhaust pulses, but it does make the car sound similar to a six cyl Subaru :D . The ideal would have been to go over the gearbox as you have done, but doing it that way would have added considerably more expense, moving fuel lines, repositioning the throttle body, shielding electronics etc.

Granted the FTO is a different car/engine, but the principal remains. Low boost high compression, greedy e-manage and the standard ECU, the factory injectors should support 150kw at the wheels standard. Of course there maybe unforeseen problems, but I could not see that been from a mechanical side, the only unknown factor for me in the turbo conversion would be the ECU side of things, which I, or who ever would have to *research* more into.

Forgetting my car is not an FTO, but of the same engine family, here is a shopping list. These are prices I paid and are estimations because I do not have the actual prices in front of me at the moment.

$600 TDO5H BIG 16G
$300 EVO intercooler (I have a hybrid, but an EVO cooler would be better)
$800 Manifold and exhaust modifications
$800 for intake modification, piping, Samco, intake for the turbo etc.
$800 for piggy back computer. (e-manage supports ignition with optional expansion)

The greatest saving came from attempting this myself, labor is the killer of the budget. But for some one with a bit of mechanical knowledge it would be great too try. The feeling of success when it works is indescribable.

Of course, if you do it yourself there's no guarantee it will work, I had many sleepness nights wondering if this was going to work... and it did, very well I might add. There is no harm in trying something different, I just added another way/idea to the pot for people to take inspiration from.

Now I built this in NZ. I am sure the prices would not vary that much in regards to the fabrication of exhaust and intake. Instead of going to a specialized performance car shop, I went to a general engineer for the manifold, and a normal exhaust shop for the intercooler piping, it is amazing the difference in price you pay.

I am saying it can be done for that price, as you said, there's no guarantee it would work, the way I did it is not be for everyone, some people may prefer a drive in drive out kit, this is just another option/avenue, a little ingenuity goes a long way to saving a lot of money. Think outside the square.

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 1:28 pm
by FTOluv
The reason why it costs so much to turbo an FTO is becuz hardly anyone has done it be4. It would cost around 7-8K if u ask a performance shop to do it.
If it was an off the shelf turbo kit i wouldnt imagine it costing much more than 5K with install.

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:49 pm
by scracy
Is it really that hard to turbo an fto? I havent had any "bugs" with mine at all totally reliable, no overheating issues,fuelling issues etc. Maybe just lucky? :lol:

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 4:23 pm
by mrStumpy
hey scracy,

have you turbocharged your FTO?

did you do it yourself?
How much did it cost?
Where?

:D