It's funny how people say "reliable" with the SC, but nobody mentions "reliable" with the turbo kits. What problems do turbos have?

 

Well the problem I think is.. not the turbo its self.. but the boost controller.. someone can jack up the boost by turning a nob.. that is what kills your enigne.. I think if you have a turbo tuned for what you are going to use it for then it should be ok.. but if you tune your car for the track and drive it every day.. that would kill your car...I cant wait to go turbo...

 

Well I actually have a Rev Hard Turbo Kit on my car and i love it. Just make sure it gets tuned right and it should be fine. I personally like turbo better than s/c cause there is more potential. Another friend of mine has a RH turbo on his S2000 and he loves it as well... no complaints here. I am putting down 298 whp. but with whatever you choose I think u'll like it.

 

So 'tuning' a turbo has to do with the BOV or the boost controller? I know nothing about a turbo other then their basic functioning off of exhaust gasses. Does every turbo system come with a boost controller or are there some don't have any? Sorry for all the questions and the hijacking.

 

^ I am no expert either but I know in order to change the boost on a SC you have to install an entirely new pulley and belt and everything. And in order to change the boost on a turbo, all you have to do is turn a knob to jump up the PSI. So if you have your turboed S tuned and set for 9 PSI, then if you drive it at 9 psi and do all the routine maintanence you have a better chance of not messing anything up. But if you decide you're going to turn it up to 15 psi just for this one race... Well the car is not tuned for that and you could end up screwing up the motor. Plus I know there is a lot more maintance for the turbo other than just that...

And I don't think most kits come with the boost controller, however they come with some sort of tool that is used to set the boost and have it tuned for that amount of boost... And that would eliminate the urge for user to turn that little knob in front of their face to go faster

Experts jump in and correct me if I'm wrong...

 

A boost controller is just that, a way to raise or lower boost on demand.

To tune for the turbo you are going to need something like the AEM EMS. Its basically a very expensive piggyback computer that controlls certain engine functions (fuel, timing, etc) instead of the stock ecu.

The danger is not every tuner is equal. If they screw it up, boom. Play with the boost controller, boom.

Turbo's can and are reliable as long as 1. You get a good tune, and 2. You don't screw with anything once its set.

If you change anything, you'll end up needing a new tune more than likely.

 

The reliability of a turbo setup is all in the tune. If you know a competent tuner and have good management like a standalone EMS then you can have a reliable turbo setup. Look at all the lovefab guys that post on here for some inspiration/guidance for how reliable a turbo can be

 

The AEM is a full replacement EMS, not a piggyback.

The reason there is more involved in tuning a turbo kit is that you have boost from much lower down in the rev range. With the SC kits you only get boost at full throttle from about 5000 rpm and it only reaches it's peak at redline. A turbo can be at peak boost from 3500-4000 (dependent on turbo).

Whereas the SCs can get away with a simple rising rate regulator you need proper tuning with a turbo. That is why the choice should be between one of the SC kits and the Lovefab turbo. Lovefab comes with an AEM EMS.

 

how much does a lovefab turbo run for?

 

$6500 give or take. If you can do the install yourself expect to spend around $500 for a good tune.