6G Celicas Forums

Thanks for your comments presure.

I was looking to stay sub 300whp as I know that coupe Celicas are on the lighter side of the spectrum, and something like 250-270whp on this car is near as fast as +300whp on a car with 500lbs more (like a Subaru, Scion, Genesis, etc...)

I have a friend who's done a turbo on his '93 MR2 which has the exact same engine as my Celica (rev2)

So I was going to see how his setup fares in a couple of months, and see where I'm going to go. I want to keep some of the parts as inexpensive as possible. If I can get a cheap turbo from say, eBay, that's going to last me a year before it goes bad because it's only oil-cooled, and it's only costing me $120 brand new, I'd rather keep buying the same turbo for 6-7 years, than get an 800-900 turbo because the expensive, higher-quality turbo will take a chunk off my wallet at once, rather than little chunks every year.

I'm not cheaping out on the manifold (even though I sort of cheated because it's an OEM one...) because I don't want stainless steel manifolds cracking on me and heating up my engine bay unnecesarily.

Not cheaping out on the oil lines, because I've known people who've had burned oil lines crack and turn the oil on fire inside the engine bay. Not something I wanna go through with my car.

I'm not cheaping out on the waste gate, so that it doesn't lock up on me, puts in some more boost than what my car is tuned for and blow my engine. I've had friends with stuck wastegates doing 16-17psi when their tune is for 12-14 psi. Don't wanna go through that either. Getting a tial wastegate, or something of better quality.

Basically, I'm going to "cheap out" on the turbo and spend that difference in money on other components, rather than the turbo itself which is just ONE part of the whole puzzle.

That's my idea.

you still have no idea what you are doing.... dude i hate to rip on you but your logic just blows my mind. why are you trying to re-invent the wheel.

why? because he is planning on an ebay turbo, and not one of your "kits"?
please.

i built shannons setup with an ebay turbo years ago, it was a blast, and she got several years out of it IIRC.

What don't you understand? Maybe I'm not wording it right, so I could try to explain my reasoning a bit better.

What do you mean I'm trying to reinvent the wheel?

i havent even mentioned my kits, i cont even produce one right now.

I'm with smaay on this one. The OP is overcomplicating a simple thing by overthinking everything .

If I were in your shoes I would just pick up the 3sgte turbo parts ( manifold, turbo, down pipe, lines etc )and bolt on the 5s . 3s guys are selling these parts dirt cheap when they upgrade. Sure the CT26 are old but replacement turbo's go for cheap all the time. Keep it simple with the 3sgte parts and if the turbo dies down the road, rebuild it , swap in another or get a CT to t3 adapter and pick up a good t3 flanged turbo to replace it.

Stay clear of eBay turbos . No matter what anyone says the facts are there . They are hit or miss. They work great for some but are night mares for others. You don't want to be the one who gets one and have the compressor wheel come off and pollute your engine bits of metal. The risk is not worth it.

OP i would just give extra attention to the ebay turbo you purchase. Ill be honest im not too savvy when it comes to ebay turbo's but im sure that a proper setup like you have planned "SHOULD" negate any issues.....

Out of curiosity do the ebay turbo's come water cooled as well...like i said i wouldnt know and am just curious....

I've heard the stories, but they're also from over 5 years ago. CT-26 aren't going for "dirt cheap", at least not cheaper than eBay turbos. All I can find is $200 for one that doesn't need repairing. Proper repairing most of the time takes re-balancing and stuff that will just end up costing me way more than it should, and the CT-26 isn't the best turbo to begin with.





Haven't seen an eBay turbo that's watercooled yet.

you dont have to have a water cooled turbo, none of my turbos are watercooled, My 7th gen making 550, nope, my Supra making 700, nope, my 6th gen with a CT26, NOPE. I didnt hook up the water lines. Ran just fine for 10,000 miles. Id still be running it if i wasnt putting a 1MZ in it.

So as far as an update. Before doing anything forced induction-related, I took the path where I get to put my car in tip-top shape before doing anything to it. The deeper I dig into it, the more I am glad I have taken this decision. The previous owner clearly didn't know **** about cars and rigged all kinds of **** to make the car work with the least amount of money put into it.

Things I've done as of recently:

1. Fixed my high-idle issue. Car is still idling high, but I like it like this, because it makes #2 below much more bearable during daily driving.
2. Didn't replace my broken engine mounts. Patched them up with Kirkosaurus inserts front and rear. Car feels a little better when shifting.
3. Fixed my A/C. Compressor was leaking. Evaporator is working fine. Had the compressor rebuilt and all seals in the lines replaced to change the system to use r134a. All the line seals were replaced because the seals for r134a are bigger than freon-12 due to it working at higher pressures than freon-12. Also had the dryer replaced. Total was $275 out the door, parts and labor.
4. Put an OEM thermostat in the car. It had none.
5. Fixed the powersteering presure send hose.
6. Got new shock absorbers (monroe sensacraps with lifetime warranty) for the front only. Still bottoms out in the front. Mechanic and I figured it was the springs. Previous owner cut the springs and heated them. Protip: DON'T HEAT NOR CUT EIBACH PRO-KIT. Bought some new Sprint Lowering Springs on eBay for $185.. hope they're good.
7. New strut mounts. Need new top hats.
8. New front drivetrain. Rack and Pinion inner and outer ends, swaybar links, balljoints.. etc..
9. Fuel Pump went bad. Replaced it with a Nippon Denso universal fit and spliced the new harness.

That is all for now I think... Up next will be the springs, and a Megasquirt-II. Then will come the turbo, if nothing else pops up.