Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance LIST OF PARTS FOR A CUSTOM TURBO

Alright hopefully all the nooBs on here can veiw this thread so we wont get about 10 new threads a week on turbo kits.

LIST OF THINGS YOU WILL NEED FOR A TURBO KIT (By AeRo Custom Turbo GT~12psi)

-First of all, you will need atleast $4000 AT THE LEAST. 300 bucks, a used turbo, and a dream just isn't going to cut it. I know from experience.

-You need to find a shop that deals with import tuning that you can trust to do the work for you if you cant do it yourself. The shop I used was able to custom fabricate pretty much all the piping in my kit, wire all my harnesses, and take care of the fine tuning.


Parts list:

-Turbo manifold with a flange that will fit the corresponding turbo, and a flange for a wastegate if your turbo does not have a internal one. I got my manifold from Hass auto its log style and has a DSM flange on it and no wastegate flange cause most DSMs are internaly wastegated.

-A turbo, nothing bigger than a .60 housing probubly smaller if your just starting out. I used a DSM 16g. Try to find one that spools up quickly and has a max efficeincy around 12psi because chances are you will never run more than that on a beginer kit.

-Fuel managment, a good piggyback ECU that will retard timing like the Greddy emanage will do fine, but if you have the cash then go with Apexi power FC.

-Fuel system upgrade, some kits can get away with running the stock fuel system but I would reccomend atleast upgrading your injectors to 2ZZ's or custom 410cc's like the ones I have from Hass autoworks. the celica uses new Pen style injectors that are hard to come by, those cheap DSM blue tops you see on ebay will not work! Also you might want to upgrade your fuel pump to a walbro 255.

-Intercooler, if your a tightwad then a used fender mount IC will do but i would definatly reccomend a Front mount.

-Intercooler piping, this can be a rough process of trial and error if your making the piping custom. My reccomendation is buy an ebay CAI and canibalize it as the feed from the IC to the intake manifold, that way you already have all your sensor bungs in place. Use some prebent U pipes for the rest, by cutting the pipes at the right angle and welding it to a stait pipe for bends in the system.

-You will need a Down pipe with sensor bungs in it custom made.

-Blow Off Valve, I have a greddy Type S and love it, but a used DSM one will do fine

-I would reccomend upgrading your exhaust to something like the Kazuma or even better a custom 3inch catback system.

-YOu will need some various vacume lines, and you have to get creative about the vacum ports to hook them up too.

-Definatly will need a steel braided oil feed and return line for the turbo. plus some hardware for tapping into your oil pan.

-silicone pipe connectors for that IC piping.


-Some stuff that isn't critical to the kit would be, Boost controller, Turbo timer, Gauges ect.

So there you have it, a nice list to go by when looking for parts for a custom turbo setup.

Now, some general upkeep rules.

-Get it dyno tuned, or run some kind of wideband O2 sensor to make sure you are running good A/F ratios because running lean will blow your motor in a very short amount of time.

-After the install you will need to bring it in for a tune-up at 24 hrs and 36hrs at the least because things will break in like the manifold bolts will expand and need to be re-tightend and the BOV will need to be readjusted
-you need to run Full synthetic oilchanged every 3K miles or less

-Must use 93 octane or higher fuel.

-Your clutch will most likely go out so save up for a new one of those.

-Would be good to check your oil every time you fill her up.

-Run a fuel system cleaner bi-annualy.

-Dont be stupid, you dont need to hit boost when your going to walmart. I shift out at 3K pretty much all week long, and might see full boost about once every 2-3 days when I feel like blowin off on some fool.

-If you hear the sound of marbles dropping on your manifold then thats a good sign that your engine is about to blow (detonation).

-keep running up to your shop for checkups. Ive been about once a week since the install.


After all was said and done I spent about 3500 dollars on my kit after the install. Granted I got the hook up on some new parts from Hass. you might be able to do it for a little cheaper, or maybe a little more if you buy parts like the power FC. DO NOT BUY USED: turbos, intercoolers, or manifolds pleaseee! Too many things can and will be wrong with them.

Be prepared to be without your celica for atleast a month, if you get it back sooner then good for you. And always have some reserve cash for when something goes wrong, like in my case (my first turbo that was used and looked to be in perfect shape, blew within the first hour)

Im sure there are some things that I have overlooked and ill pick up on them later, but for now thats all Ive got.

Oh yeah...Be sure to buy a radar detector too

Nice. We should have a turbo sticky.

I agree.

very good thread...
however, saying that you need at least $4000 can be very misleading.
Ive seen friends' custom setups built with aprox $2,000.
When some fellow Celica owners read that they have to spent at least $4k and be without the car for a month, well, that could be very discouraging (sometimes this is true though).
Props for the thread... I may add to remember all the required gaskets between the components, to prevent leaks.

Nice, but it still wont put an end to the questions...
im gunna slowly be buying parts and find a good shop so hopefully by Xmas Ill ahve one...we'll see...

^^^ Gaskets dang I knew I forgot something, thanks for picking it up. yeah I know its very possible to do the kit for much less than 4K but I would reccomend someone have that much in their bank account before doing it cause you never know what will go wrong.

You will need to upgrade your spark plugs too. Iridium NGK's would do nicely.

how often does a turbo car need to get oil change, and spark plug change compared to N/A

When you are N/A you can let it slide between oilchanges, maybe 4K before you have to worry about the next change, but with a turbo its a Must. No more than 3K miles between oil changes and even less if you have been racing. As far as the spark plugs, they will deff. get fowled up more often, Id say about once a year you need to switch them out.

ok, I think Im just gonna buy a turbo, Im have no mechanical knowledge at ALL so that confused the hell outta me. I like the thought that I could do it in pieces cause I Know I cant save that much money without wanting to buy something else, so buying in parts would be easier, but trying to get all the custom stuff would drive me crazy

i would rather not have the headache of a custome turbo and just spend the $4700 on the c2 one and be done with it but thats just my $0.02

where can i get a turbo manifold from???

Hass autoworks in CT makes them, C2gas will sell you one, or you can make your own from an online company I cant remember the website right now, jspegsracing or soemthing like that

I have a EGT, what is the aprox. temp in Farenheit for a turbo car?

can you run a turbo on stock ecu? and if you can what is the disadvantage of doing this?

theoreticaly you could...but you cant. that probubly doesnt make sense so Ill just say No you cant. You have to retard timing and increase fuel flow to the engine and the only way to do that is through a new Engine managment system. without it your car will run too lean and blow up.

whats your whp on your celi

#'s are comming I jsut got my new clutch put in today, so Ill be hitting up a dyno soon

be sure to have a turbo timer..don't fukin turn off ur car while it is hot..even with N/A.. shiet i use a turbo timer and i dont got turbo but i know its good for your oil. !

good thread, very informative

all i am looking for is list of everything i need to do to my manual 2003 toyota celica gt engine to be able to put a turbo in.

Couldn't you just add a non custom turbo to it for 500-1000?

Will I have to change the fuel I use after the conversion? is 89 to 91 good enough or do I have to run 93?