So guys i was wondering what your thoughts were on those ebay turbo kits that are available. Before you flame away i am in no way looking to buy because i probably would never put that on my car i just wanted your thoughts, i mean for under a grand a whole setup minus fuel management doesnt seem like a bad deal, i highly doubt it would be as reliable as a brand name kit but for making a modest increase in power like around 300 Wheel or so i dont see why this wouldnt be an option. Also a buddy of mine used a ebay turbo and while he replaced a turbo after a year at barly a couple hundred he didnt even blink an eye. He also beats the crap out of his car so i am very surprised at his fortune. Anyway ill let the discussion begin and go from there.

 

As someone who originally went the bargain route, the truth is you will spend more re-making your ebay kit than it would cost to get a quality kit from those that produce them.

All I have left from my original setup is:
a few feet of 3in exhaust piping
some intercooler pipes
intercooler
wastegate (nice HKS unit!)

I have replaced:
manifold since mine cracked to pieces after the first couple months
numerous re-welds on the intercooler pipes
turbo is new since the orginal wouldn't fit in the car with the manifold sent with the kit!

Not to mention what I had to buy:
injectors,
management,
oil filter relocation kit,

Making these discoveries as you go along makes your install take lots of time. Mine was done by a popular local mechanic and it still took months to work out all the kinks. I'm pretty happy with my kit now but honestly I wish I had just spent the coin on an inlinepro setup or something similar.

 

Yeah i was thinking about that right after i posted but i thought i would wait to say something. i continuted to look at them but there are still alot of parts you would have to buy that would add upwards of a couple thousand making the money saved minimal. For instance manifold and downpipe if not included, obviously fuel and then any other fitment or part problem you would encounter.

 

... haha ebay turbo kits are the shit, i know boatloads of people who have been running them for years on civics and all sorts of cars and the only thing about them is the turbo is not ball-bearing and the power band drops off at about 400hp. Your horror stories sound "made up". The only thing that cracks on the manifold is the welds. And im sure if they are taking their car to a shop they most likely have installation errors.

 

Try it!

 

oh god here we go again....

 

My view on ebay kits is that the parts that can not fail much such as pipes and maybe IC. Those can be OK to buy and use. When it comes to technical stuff that usually cost alot more like turbos and even manifolds that see high vibration and weight stresses, there is hidden crap quality.

My overall opinion is -go the tested and trusted route at once, a much better approach.

 

if i ever intend to go FI i will not be buying ebay im more of a name brand quality guy anyways, i really am just looking at what everyone else thinks. I personally like the greaddy kit even though they seem to have manifold problems.

 

Says the guy who thinks NA is best. Why don't you buy one these kits then. You are full of BS because I have done it. It doesn't pan out. And I never tried to install it myself. I took the kit and car to my mechanic on the same day.

 

Btw Sorry i didnt realize this type of thing was a common occurance.