Wondering about turbos on 8G I4 es

[Mangoman]

Ok - I know someone pointed out a link to these guys before - but Im wondering if anyone has ever bought from them, and if so - how good the product is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-05-3G-EC...emZ120008703877

On top of that, how difficult is it to install a turbo/intercooler for a reasonably mechanical minded guy (ie. I install my own brakes, changed my suspension etc myself - but havent really done much on an engine aside from change an oilpan, plugs etc.). I would presume that the down time for the car would be at least a few days if not weeks or more. What special tools would be needed? An engine hoist?

Is it even worth the many headaches I am sure I am going to have?

If I was to go to a shop and get something like this installed - what sort of pricing am I looking at?

Anyone have any input? Btw - I did a search and read a lot of the posts but none really answered what Im asking.

Thanks

[DryBear]

To be honest, installing a turbo is not really difficult at all, but is pretty time consuming. You don't need an engine lift or anything as you don't even need to take the motor out - just a set of jackstands and basic handtools (air tools help a lot) will work.

To tap your upper oil pan, you can just take it to a local shop and have them do it.

The difficult part lies in the tuning - a bad tune will kill your car outright.

Also the thing about that "kit" is there is no pipng, air/fuel controller, or upgraded fuel injectors.

[DOHCstunr]

there is also a lot of maintenance involved with turbocharged systems.
not necceserily anything that costs money.
but you will spend a lot of time
-looking for boost leaks
-fixing exhaust leaks
-looking/fixing oil leaks
-tuning
-checking spark plugs
-checking your oil levels religiously
-tuning
-fixing boost leaks
-fixing coolant leaks if you run a wet turbo

its not that any of these can't be eliminated through just doing quality work the first time around and always using new gaskets, its just that little things like a tiny boost leak can kill your spoolup or effect your tune.

so you do a lot of affectionate things to your engine to ensure that you are ALWAYS getting maximum performance.
and if you don't
then things will suffer,
and you will fall behind on maintenance.

[Tearstone]

I see a few things awry with that kit and we've had like 5 threads posted about this on .com.

1. Undoubtedly it's all made in China, this is a real hit or miss type thing. SS Autochrome for example sells nothing but Chinese parts and well just do a lot of research before spending a little money to end up maybe having costly repairs in the future. That turbo probably won't last a month before you going to buy a new one.
2. The flange for the turbo is too close to the A/C, without seeing a visible downpipe this will cause issues when you go to have a downpipe created. That kit is 2G parts with a "3G Eclipse" in the ebay title.
3. Intercooler looks a little bit too big and you will have to elminate your front bumper support or cut into it quite a bit.

But hey, if you do buy it, keep us updated with what you learn about it. It might be different than the pictures depict.

[Mangoman]

Ok - thanks for the input guys. Some stuff to think about.
Appreciate the feedback.