Rep Power: 0

I've been reading this forum for months, so don't tell me to search. I have a very different set of questions than others. A buddy of mine is selling his d17 turbo kit for $300. Before anyone starts flaming, he said its a trusted brand turbo kit and he told me the brand. I don't remember what it is but next time I see him I will ask then update this.
The only reason he is selling so cheap is he blew up his motor obviously running too much boost with no supporting mods or management.

I have a 2005 em2 ex with 98000miles (158000km). Obviously there is still lots of life left in this engine. That is the reason I bought the civic for long lasting reliability. Only problem is the same for everyone. Its too slow and I have been wanting to boost it for a while.

So theres my background, Now for my actual questions. I really want to turbo my car and this $300 option seams like a steal. The problem is reliability is a 100% must for me and can't afford to blow a motor or anything.

My power goals are not very high. My school is crawling with 1.8t's and I want to be able to finally beat them. They have 180hp to the crank so about 140whp.

How much boost would i need to reach 150whp? What should i upgrade so nothing blows with this little boost? Is fuel pump and exhaust etc required for such little power? What about kpro?

To sum things up:
-Looking for ~150 whp with low boost
-MUST have complete relibility in my engine
-Will upgrade what I need to

Tell me if I'm crazy. Before everyone goes and says if i need reliability go k20, a swap is completely out of the question in so many ways. I have $2000, not $8000 first of all.

 
Rep Power: 192

When you go turbo, reliability goes down. maybe not immediately, but most of the parts designed to handle 125 bhp will start to wear out. Now if you're only looking for 150 whp, you probably wouldnt have to worry as much about the reliability.

Turbo kits can run about 2k dollars and onward, so id be surprised if the turbo kit is any good.

Kpro is going to be required, there is another ecu system you can buy, the AEM EMS, but I dont think its praised as highly as the K pro. You could get around having to buy either of those those by using a piggy back system like AEM F/IC but those are pretty sketchy and not recommended.

To get to 150 whp you'd need somewhere in the ballpark of 5 psi.

Supporting mods im not positive on but obviously IHE, along with various upgrades to the valve-train.

Someone on here (I believe Sl33py or riceboy) had a turbo and took it off, they could probably go more in to depth on this

 
Rep Power: 367

riceboy. his issue was management system.
drop a crower stage 1 cam and call it a day. if auto, be aware of the issues that might rise. why do you want to beat 1.8T anyway? :P

 
Rep Power: 209

then do not mod the car/engine in any way

if that is your opinion, then you bought the wrong car

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for the help, I always knew turbo is hard on the engine. That is why i am setting my goals so low. There is basically nothing you can do to this car somewhat cheap to get any gains besides the cam. I just wanted to know what i would need to do to support the 150whp turbo safely.

Hah I have read your stage 1 can tread about 262793 times by now because I am definitely concidering it. Only problem with that is I wouldn't be able to install it myself to I figured a shop would charge way too much. I need to get my timing belt changed within the next year so would the cam install be much cheaper if I got it done then? And how much would a typical shop charge?.
Its not a auto thank god. I'm just tired of 1.8t people say how fast there cars are and I only have 127 to the crank. If I could get anywhere close to them I would be happy. The cam seams very expensive and I would still be about 15whp away. That's why I thought i could get this turbo and run low boost.

 
Rep Power: 194

First off, find yourself an 02-04 rsx type s ecu (prb) ship it to hondata to get kpro. Kpro alone is $690, Ecus go for $200, and you'll need a new d17 timing gear which will add on another $180. That's $1,070 just in engine management.

You should be fine on 5 psi, make sure you put a 5 psi spring in the waste gate and get your car tuned after putting the turbo on. Which is about $300+ (don't drive to the tuner you'll have to haul it)

Let us know what brand the kit is

 
Rep Power: 313

You are so wrong about this. You can make this car fast and fun and if someone wants to. Why not? I'm so sick of hearing "You bought the wrong car". Stop discouraging people from trying. There are people that have gotten 400 WHP + from the D17 through trial and error. Yes it was expensive but it was done. We need to be more positive on this forum and actually encourage people to do what they want to do. It's up to him if he wants to start pushing his car and yes you can achieve 400 WHP with a D17 and have it be reliable. It's just a little trickier than a lot of other engines, but if you do your research and take your time and tune it right. It's VERY doable. You didn't buy the wrong car, you just bought a car that requires a little more effort to get the results you want.

9000 dollars in upgrades to a car that you already own to make it fast as hell is still way cheaper than buying a car that already has 400 hp. 9000 dollars vs. 40000+ I'll take it. Especially if I love the body styling of the car that I already own. Just make sure you want a hobby car because that's what it's going to be. It's going to spend some down time while your setting everything up you must know this.

 
Rep Power: 0

So it is looking like $300 for the kit, $1100 for kpro, $350 for tune. $1750 just to get it working plus quite a while that I can't use my car. I would then probably need exhaust, some say I need injectors etc. This is sounding like a money pit so I might have to hold off a while to do this. (I'm only 17) Still interested in the cam though and how much labor it would cost to install during my timing belt replacement.

 
Rep Power: 313

If your doing a timing belt a cam shouldn't be a whole lot more. I can't see them charging you more than 100 dollars to install it since they are going to be right there. You need injectors depending on how much PSI you want to push. But if you want to seriously increase power then yes you will need injectors. If it is a decent turbo kit it might be worthwhile to just buy it and sit on it. 300 dollars is very cheap. I'm skeptical of it's quality too but who knows maybe your friend just wants to get rid of it. Just remember a cam will only net you a few horsepower so it won't be a night and day difference.

 
Rep Power: 0

^This is what I was thinking about doing. Either way if I find out its a decent kit, I will buy it for sure. I could get it all set up whenever I want down the road. Other option is to sell it for more and make profit. I realize the cam wont make too much difference, but that is basically the only mod you can do with our car that you will notice from what i hear.

 
Rep Power: 518

I want to know what is in this $300 "turbo" kit.
Manifold? Pipes? Pan? Oil system? Control unit? Injectors?

 
Rep Power: 194

$1700 isn't a lot to put into your civic at 17. I have an rsx and I probably already put over $2000 in it since I bought it in November. I'm 19, going to college full time, and I make near minimum wage at McDonalds. Anything can be done with a good amount of effort

 
Rep Power: 313

As long as your not putting yourself in debt doing it. That being said, I've heard of some pretty good deals and a decent turbo for 300 dollars isn't a far stretch if he is just dying to get rid of it. Who knows, it could just be the actual turbo, no piping or anything.

 
Rep Power: 0

He definitely said $300 for the complete kit. I have already put about $900 into my car and I only had it for 3-4 months. My parents actually paid half for my car because they expect me to have this car for many years. They dont like the idea of putting money into my car. "The speed limit is the speed limit". HAHA that's why almost $2000 to make it faster would kill them. I will have to wait until I move out and then I'll be laughing.

On the other hand, I can buy a cam shipped without them knowing it was $400+ and thats not a lot of money anyway. Is crower.com the cheapest to buy them? I searched around and couldn't find anything else. $425 shipped to canada.

 
Rep Power: 313

If your hiding the fact that your getting a cam from them. Don't get the cam. Your better off to save the money for maintenance and make the car run good. If you have the money to make it fast, do it. Obviously your not there yet though. Your parents did a nice thing paying for half the car for you, the last thing you want to do is lie to them about what your doing with it.

 
Rep Power: 0

Really appreciate the feedback man.
I wouldn't be hiding it from them. I work part-time I can definitely afford the cam, I could also afford a full turbo build. My rents just aren't overly exited about me wasting thousands on my car. They know what I've spent and aren't bothered by it, but spending $2k at once could be different. I really enjoy cars and investing in them. but you are right I am not ready yet for a turbo, but I AM going to go ahead and do the cam

 
Rep Power: 313

Sounds good Glad your taking the criticism constructively! Post up how you enjoy the cam.

 
Rep Power: 367

between PM's and such, he actually have been really reading the main threads and doing a great job on doing what really matters... he got a RSX rear bar coming his way, FYI

WAG, yeh got rep

 
Rep Power: 194

I hate people who think spending money on a car is a "waste". It's a hobby. Just like how girls spend so much money on clothes

 
Rep Power: 518

And still have NOTHING to wear.

 
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EXACTLY! i like how you think. I would spend every cent on my car. I mean that's what money was made for right?