Turbo Kits on Ebay

[pattitude]

Hey all,
I am looking into boosting my 2.3L this spring, and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with turbo kits they bought off ebay. I've seen ones for as little as $1,300, but I'm very skeptical. Any thoughts?

[cwp_sedan]

Well compare the price to this. http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...atback-exhaust

$1300 sounds way too low to me.

[stevenma188]

...ebay....nuff said.

Boris is selling a full kit. You should look into that.

EDIT: Dam, you beat me to it.

[cwp_sedan]

...ebay....nuff said.

Boris is selling a full kit. You should look into that.

EDIT: Dam, you beat me to it.

[Hives]

Ebay? No no no no. Spend $$$$ on a proper kit. To be honest, its not even worth putting one in these cars. Its too much.

[iGOzoom]

i wouldn't recommend buying a turbo kit off ebay lol

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

i wouldn't recommend buying a turbo kit off ebay lol

I wouldn't recommend putting a turbo kit in a 3 unless you are also planning on beefing up the transmission, suspension, brakes, tires and general drivetrain. By the time you do all that, you may as well have just purchased a used 2007 Speed3.

[shu5892001]

Just buy a second hand wrx/sti... way more potential than mazda 3s

[pattitude]

Not worth it eh? I guess that makes sense. Although I figured with a MTX I wouldn't really need to upgrade anything else. I was just hoping to get a little more oomph. And the whole intake, header, exhaust upgrade doesn't really seem worth the money for the amount of power you end up getting out of it.

[midnightfxgt]

Dont listen to them....

With an MTX you dont need to upgrade much of anything. Stock block, tranny, suspension and brakes (assuming you have a GT) are all fine. Hell, the stock clutch will even hold a good amount of abuse

-John

[Donutz]

Your transmission will be fine with a bolt on kit. If you push too much PSI zoom zoom boom (fried rings, broken rods, etc); if you push too much power bye bye 4th gear; you also run the risk of toasting your clutch. All said, ask John about his experience; he's boosted on stock tranny and clutch for a good number of kms now and I don't believe he's had any issues. Just make sure you do your research before you boost, and save a few grand for 'incidents'.

**EDIT*** Doh! He beat me to it!

[midnightfxgt]

The kits on eBay are junk though. Usually junk turbos, cheap chinese BOVs, and wastegates, and the piping is usually a bunch of pieces that you need to cut and fit and weld to fit the car. They also usually dont address the fuel management.

-John

[midnightfxgt]

Thanks Jason :p

Yes, I have been boosted for a while now. About 40,000KMs. Stock clutch (has 142,000KM on it!), and internals. I put down close to 240WHP, and have a little more now since I am not running near as rich.

-John

[Boris]

John is absolutely right. U don't have to do much if u already mtx. And if u buy a sti or something similar. U probably stil have to do some tranny work IF u decide to do some crazy psi. It all comes down to how much power u want. If I remeber right mtx should be able to hold 9-10 psi no problem. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Thanks Jason :p

Yes, I have been boosted for a while now. About 40,000KMs. Stock clutch (has 142,000KM on it!), and internals. I put down close to 240WHP, and have a little more now since I am not running near as rich.

-John

You haven't had any transmission issues?

[midnightfxgt]

Nope... stock tranny, and clutch with no issues. At one point I thought it was starting to slip. that was a year or more ago, and I have the new clutch sitting in the garage

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Nope... stock tranny, and clutch with no issues. At one point I thought it was starting to slip. that was a year or more ago, and I have the new clutch sitting in the garage

Well, I admit I am very surprised. You either know what you are doing or have been very fortunate. Either way, it is nice to hear.

This said, overall, I still think it is somewhat irresponsible for any of us to tell someone they can add a turbo and increase power significantly and not tell them that the brakes, tires and suspension should also be beefed up to compensate for this increase.

The stock 3's are not engineered and designed overall for the car to put down significantly more power and I don't want to be the other guy on the road when someone pushes their boosted, but still otherwise OEM MZ3 past both the car and drivers threshold. If you're going to do it, do it properly. I assume John that the rest of your car is not stock, right?

[midnightfxgt]

I agree and disagree....

Brakes - If the car is a GT (good odds with the 2.3L), then it has fairly solid brakes. I wouldnt say it would be a "must have" when upgrading

Suspension - No need to upgrade for a street car or DD. 100KMH on an on-ramp is still 100KMh on an onramp. Boost is just getting your speed up faster. A turbo kit will have no ill-effects on suspension.

Tires - Stock tires are down right junk to begin with on these cars. I think everyone should upgrade them this week.... Exlcusive anyone?

If someone is going to drive past their threshold, thats terrible... especially on a public road! That being said, you can do it in a stock Mazda3. Boost just helps you get there faster, and if you cant resist, dont boost. People need to watch themselves

[standsideways]

I agree and disagree....

Brakes - If the car is a GT (good odds with the 2.3L), then it has fairly solid brakes. I wouldnt say it would be a "must have" when upgrading

Suspension - No need to upgrade for a street car or DD. 100KMH on an on-ramp is still 100KMh on an onramp. Boost is just getting your speed up faster. A turbo kit will have no ill-effects on suspension.

Tires - Stock tires are down right junk to begin with on these cars. I think everyone should upgrade them this week.... Exlcusive anyone?

If someone is going to drive past their threshold, thats terrible... especially on a public road! That being said, you can do it in a stock Mazda3. Boost just helps you get there faster, and if you cant resist, dont boost. People need to watch themselves

welllll said!!!!!!!!!

if your seriously going to boost your 3gt then do it right, hell you could easily spend 1300 on a turbo alone.

[bbell1984]

I agree and disagree....

Brakes - If the car is a GT (good odds with the 2.3L), then it has fairly solid brakes. I wouldnt say it would be a "must have" when upgrading

Suspension - No need to upgrade for a street car or DD. 100KMH on an on-ramp is still 100KMh on an onramp. Boost is just getting your speed up faster. A turbo kit will have no ill-effects on suspension.

Tires - Stock tires are down right junk to begin with on these cars. I think everyone should upgrade them this week.... Exlcusive anyone?

If someone is going to drive past their threshold, thats terrible... especially on a public road! That being said, you can do it in a stock Mazda3. Boost just helps you get there faster, and if you cant resist, dont boost. People need to watch themselves

To get off topic for a quick seond. Any pictures of your car or info?

[Donutz]

Search the member rides forum! There is nice thread to be found.

[midnightfxgt]

Thanks again Jason!

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...tfxgt-s-Mazda3