Quote:
Originally Posted by cellsafemode
To those building turbo kits and such. I have a question related to the desire for lower cost kits.
You can't do much about the cost related to research and development and tuning so whatever that ends up being is what it is... But my question is really in regards to what I suspect is quite expensive custom metal work.
i haven't seen any kits using rubber hoses with steel braided sheaths similar to brake lines for the "Charge" side and always seem to opt for much more expensive custom bent metal tubing. Similarly, some flexible exhaust piping could be used for the exhaust side. I see this used around catalytic converters all the time so they should be viable for turbo use.
Wouldn't that significantly reduce the cost of a kit by not needing to custom fab all the tube bends for each application for a manufacturer? Is there another reason this isn't viable?
Not having to custom mendral bend connections to the intercooler and intercooler to throttle body and on the exhaust side those connections should mean far fewer unique parts in a kit on top of the lower cost of parts and related labor in designing them. I assume there's something prohibiting this so chime in if you know.
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flexible charge tubing that can handle the pressure and heat are hard to come by or do not exist at all. i found up to 2.25" flexible silicone but it isn't all that flexible and cost $25/ft. it is also fatter than normal silicone. working with metal isn't that hard if you have the tools and the parts are not all that expensive.
on the exhaust side you typically need the support of hard pipes so flexible stuff isn't really practical here either.
the high cost is really a sum of a large number of parts. it adds up quickly. for example i am doing a low mount twin kit and need an oil return pump. i purchased the best pump i know of at $400. the oil feed lines and return lines and fittings will likely add up to at least $300. i also got a time delay relay to keep the pump of for a minute or so after the car shuts off. that's another $25. all total i bet i end up with $800 in just the oil feed and return stuff. turbos, wgs, bov and flages were $2800. i am at $3600 already without filters, charge piping, exhaust, heat control, maf fitting. then you have to fuel the thing and tune it.