Single Turbo Conversion

Ok guys please don't kill me for asking .

What exactly do i need do a single turbo conversion ?

I know i need up upgrade the fueling , injectors but im not sure what else.

I've looked through threads on here so yes i've searched but i'm just confused as to what i need.

Thinking of starting this after xmas im just a bit bored with the car and want more power .

Take one of your turbos and chuck it in the bin. Job done.

HTH

Take one of your turbos and chuck it in the bin. Job done.

 

HTH

oh if only it was as simple as that.

take a look in Jamies garage. That will give you some idea of a well setup single conversion

A lot of money initially, a lot for ongoing dramas and mantenance, and a good dose of luck. If you blanche at 10K don't even consider it, unless the car will cover tiny mileages and you don't mind constant fiddling. If you have an N/A just buy two nice TT's and have change, for the same money as doing a proper conversion on yours

Money - as CW said circa £10k

Patience.

Determination.

Knowing that you shouldn't attempt to do things on the cheap.

Knowing that it's not just the single turbo parts you should look at - check what condition your engine is in compression wise, get the head checked too.

You can get away with a stock block and head if they're in good condition and you're not going for mega boost or expect standard NA/TT reliability.

Then again look at Mr 2.0 bar on here. His stock engine is doing just fine and he has no mechanical sympathy whatsoever from the videos I've seen

I'd agree to look at the link Homer posted up, pay attention to the big posts from Michel Lane, Alex, Ian C.

I think it comes down to two points in my humble opinion :

Do you have £10k odd you can spend on the car

If it goes wrong (Don't believe it won't some day), can you afford above that £10k any contingency cash to spend on the unexpected/unaccounted for.

If you don't have the cash sell your car and buy a single that's been done properly if it's within your budget. If you don't really, please, don't consider it. It'll just be too much hassle and stress for you.

Are you BPU yet,? maybe you should consider this as a first port of call if you aren't.

You can fully BPU a TT for about 1K, you'll get a reliable 400hp ish, which may not sound like a mahoosive increase, but believe me, it transforms the car.

Sell yours and buy a single already done. I'm busy doing mine, see link in my signature. 10k is easily done, and then some after all the labour. Then if you fancy changing the turbo or a few small things it won't cost the earth.

Caseys post says it all, especially the part about establishing the engines health. The first thing I would do id have the compression tested, so that you know wether to budget for a rebuild too. Don't forget about supporting parts (IE Uk spec brakes at least, LSD, decent suspension setup etc) If your car is an auto, i'd budget for a manual conversion and clutch too while you're at it for reliabilitys sake.

My single conversion was approx 11 k and I still have parts that have to be done (am looking for a rad upgrade, oil cooler kit, ...).

If you wanna go the safe route, I think 10k is not enough (unless you plan to fit everything yourself and safe some labour).

Luc

Why don't you just save your money and buy a nice, ready built single from Japan. If done through the right sources you should find a lovely car at a much reduced cost.

.................so I took the easy option; so what!!

expensive option, full rebuild and single conversion for me has already hit 15k before labour!

I forgot...

Higher general running costs from then on. Be prepared for a shorter service period and a more costly service period i.e better grade plugs, oil etc.

Also you'll have to be spending money on good quality tires when you need new ones as well as the brakes/pads. If you want the power you need to spend the money in a) putting it down through the road with good traction, b) being able to stop quicker than your usual braking distances as you'll be hitting where you normally brake at a higher speed possibly.

Seriously the cheap kits are cheap for a reason. Buy cheap, buy twice for most things.

As an example then as I need a break from work, these are the most vital bits imho:

Engine Healthcheck - compression test & thorough ramp / fluid inspection £300-500

Turbo - £950-1500

External wastegate £250-500

Intake + air filter £100

Manifold £1000

Downpipe/midpip £500+

Decat £100

Turbo Oil drain kit £100

Turbo oil feed kit £50

Turbo water lines - braided hoses + earls - £80

Fuel Pressure regulator + fitting kit £200

Fuel Pressure gauge £20

650CC injectors £660

550CC UK spec injectors 2nd hand £100-150

Fuel pump + fittings £175 (Bosch)

3-4' Exhaust - £350-400+

Intercooler + hardpiping + fittings £1000

Intake plenum (optional) £700

New radiator (if req) £350-500

New clutch (if manual) £500+

Oil cooling (if auto) £200+

Standalone ECU (if manual) inc DLI/MAP sensor £1200-1500

Piggyback ECU (if auto) £400+

Mapping £400+

Boost Controller £250

AFR sensor + gauge £250-300

Boost Gauge £70

Full service after all this - filters, plugs, oil, coolant £200

Budget for misc things like fitting issues, gaskets, fittings £500+

Total cost if buying new bits manual excluding rad or intake £8800+

Total cost if buying old bits manual excluding rad or intake £8000 if you find a 2nd hand ECU

Total cost if buying new bits auto excluding rad or intake £7500

Total cost if buying old bits auto excluding rad or intake £7000

That's with going with the lower-end estimates on Turbo, injectors, exhaust choices that are out there. It's also assuming you'll fit everything yourself and the only thing you won't do is the mapping. Talking about a small 68/70/82 AR trim turbo and circa 500-550BHP.

If not add on a fair few days labour at a decent garage @ £70+/hour.

Yes lower the price if you buy everything in a kit from a good retailer and use branded/known quality products, as they'll be getting all the business and so can trim prices possibly. You're a bit stuffed at the moment for parts from Japan or the US, due to the exchange rate but the $:£ rate is the best it's been for 10 months now @ $1.70/£1. Of course shipping from the states expect a hefty shipping and of course get in your best dog show pose for Customs & Excise charges. Prices are what I can grab and some people I am sure will correct me on bits/prices here, I've probably missed a few bits too not thinking.

Those are the vitals covered. Things you should consider to make it worthwhile/improve it's reliability:

Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Water Temp, EGT Gauges @ £100+ each for decent ones

Decent tires (T1R, GYF1 GSD3s, R888s) - £800-1000

Full Geo setup £400

UK spec brakes Front/rear / D2 calipers - £1200ish

New disks £150

New pads brembo/hawk/CW £120

Goodrich braided hoses £65

Motul 5.1 £25

New shocks £500+

Head rebuild £2000ish

Oil Pump £100ish

Water Pump £?

Cam Belt £50

Aux Belt £80

Crank Pulley £200

Aux pre-tensioner Pulley £120

Front main crank oil seal

Rear main seal

Cam Seals

Head Gasket kit

ARP stud kit

Rods, Pistons, Crank, bottom end rebuild etc...

Anyone please quote/edit this list and change prices/add bits for OP's guidance

I am not an expert on this, many have done more detailed single conversions and it would pay to look in the Tech section at the Build/Project threads. I'm just approaching this from owning an NA then going to Single Ownership, understanding what had been spent on my car and replacing/remediating what I've needed to and what I am going to do in the future. I have not done a single build from scratch but did look around about 3 years ago when I had my NA how I wanted it and nothing down the NA route appealed to me anymore. Nothing on my list is to make it look nice, this is purely from an engineering point of view, reliability/quality first in my book, make it look nice when you have nothing left to improve mechanically.

I'm hoping you take peoples advice here to heart and plan well, they're not out to water down your cornflakes or ruin your plans, people give these figures for a reason - experience. I don't like it when my car has had issues in the past and it gets you down y'know? If you have a reliable NA/TT at the moment and are happy, don't move to a cheap conversion and get unreliability. It'll just get you down, make you not love your car any more and ruin the experience for you in general. If you've got the budget to do it well, go for it, it's a long road and a labour, but in the end if done properly it's worthwhile.

Ok guys please don't kill me for asking .

 

What exactly do i need do a single turbo conversion ?

 

I know i need up upgrade the fueling , injectors but im not sure what else.

 

I've looked through threads on here so yes i've searched but i'm just confused as to what i need.

 

Thinking of starting this after xmas im just a bit bored with the car and want more power .

it really does depend on what kind of power you are going for, and i think your quite fortunate being a girlie you haven't got flamed for asking this question , seriously, you need to do some more research, look at members cars/garages and maybe get a ride in a single with the kind of power you are looking at, if you keep the power to around the 450-500 mark you can get away with keeping the budget well down and still have a car quicker than 95% of whats on the road, if budget is not an issue go for it.

Granted i am in the middle of spending a lot more money on my car (this is choice not necesity) but have a look in my garage at its current spec which has been running without any major issues (touch wood ) for 4 years on a budget at least half of the figures i have read in this thread:taped:, the other thing you would need to do if you cant/dont have time, to do it yourself is find a reputable garage that is not going to do shoddy work or rip you off.