KA-T "im a cheap ass" piping suggestions?

[gotta240]

Ok, right now i have WAY TOO MANY automotive projects going on. I've had a cheap (megan manifold, sr downpipe, sr injectors, walbro pump, safc) sitting around for nearly a year. I ONLY WANT TO RUN 7 or 8 LBS BOOST.. Basically i just need that little extra umph to get around the track. I DONT CARE ABOUT LOOKS... Its a track car that is not appealing to the eyes anyways...

I just want the damn thing on.. Can anyone suggest the CHEAPEST easiet way to run piping on my ghetto kat setup? so far my options are

1. ebay "universal" kits (do these actually offer enough bends/pipes to run everything?)
2. Stock SR SMIC with stock smic piping (how much modifying is needed?)
3. pvc pipe (NO!!! I WILL NOT use pvc..but this just goes to show how desperate i am, being that i actually considered this)

Please only list things you've owned or helped with. If you don't have a turbo, i don't want your opinins.

[DrtyRat]

whats your budget like?

[!Zar!]

The ebay kits are cool and work with cost around $400

stock smic can be had for like $50.

And since you're a cheapass...

[LongGrain]

well since your running bottom mount on a DE you can use an s13 SR fmic kit.

[Healtoeae86]

If your only gona stay at 7lbs, just go strait from the turbo outlet to the throttle body. No need for an intercooler.

Go to a muffler shop and have them make you a pipe.

[ewuzh]

I would go with the SMIC. I assume and hope it will bolt on because I plan to run the same setup.

[louisdaboois]

buy a cheap ebay fmic. go to an auto parts store and buy 3- 90* U-bend exhaust piping which will run about $60-$70ish. mock up how you want the intercooler piping, cut where necessary and take the pieces to an exhaust shop and ask for them to weld it... they usually charge about... 30$ at most for everything... mine came out to about 5-6 weld beads. and a decent front mount setup costing roughly a little over 100$ or just go with a smic.... either or.

[DreamN]

go with the smic, doesn't seem like you'd need anything more than that.

[gotta240]

thanks for the replies guys.

Excuse my retardedness when i comes to turbos.

So would crush bends in IC piping be that big of a deal? I know the effects in exhaust, and its not HUGE... Is it a bigger deal to have crushed bends on the intake side though?

I have access to crush benders, but i always assumed that mandrel was basically required for IC setups.

[mtx450]

i dont think any of those ebay kits will work right....ive looked into them....they claim they are both for the SR and KA...but we all know the throttle bodies arn't in the same position....so its probably gonna be a mock job

[eerrrrr]

for s13 or s14?

if using stock smic's, u have a stock s13 sr and a s14 sr. these two pipings are a little different but can be modded to fit with little effort and a lot of creativity.

if a s13, u can run the sr s13 smic with complete piping and couplers. all bolts up. only "problem" is that u need to find a way to connect end of cold pipe to throttle body. many ways u can do this. (cut up cold pipe, find longer coupler from end of cold pipe to tb.....get creative). s14 sr smic r kinda different, takes more modifying, but itll work.

if s14, use a s14 sr smic. bolts up with "minor" modification. and if using s13 sr smic, more "minor" modification will be needed.

the thing that sucks is that it is hard to find any complete SR SMIC. lots of ppl will sell "complete smic" but really they are missing a coupler here and there, and have a pipe missing. price is good, around 100 bucks.

[Matej]

Haha I have the cheapo Ebay piping.
http://www.1upbonus.com/personal/images/sx_22.jpg

[beetlejuice]

You can use the sr piping kit. Like mentioned above, you may need to adjust the cold pipe to throttle body connection.

projectnissan.com has a complete sr fmic piping kit for $100 (add another $100 for couplers and clamps).

You can find fmic cores for $100-$175 all over ebay.

I actually have a stainless steel polished hotpipe that I'll sell you. It will at least get you from the turbo to the driver's side fender well.

PM if interested.

[Bushido]

just get an sr ebay kit, ive seen them for less than 300 bucks...

[Pepperoni]

what happened to your sr? man i wish you would have contacted me. I had a customer in a similar situation late last week and since I had a lot of scrap aluminum piping around (almost all 90 degree bends) I gave him a deal he couldnt pass up. He ended buying ~50lbs. worth of pipes which is every scrap i had. LOL he had a lot of projects going on. anyways Ill look around and i'll let you know soon if I have enough for a full kit... but are you going sidemount or front mount?

[breakindrifts]

I'd say go with the SSAC FMIC kits with piping that are always on ebay for like 250 shipped.

A lot of friends have had them for a long time and they work fine on the tracks, much better than stock sr sidemount.

[Irukandji]

I used SMIC piping. The only modifcation needed is you need to cut an inch on the cold pipe and the rest fits like gravy.
Buy a 2.75 inch silicone coupler (i just bought a 12inch one and used about 8 inches of it) to connect the cold pipe end to the throttle body. The stock rubber coupling won't fit since the KA and SR have different throttle body locations/angles.

[Xmax]

Go to JC whitney, get the bends and straight piping from there. It will be a little bit more expensive than a ebay one, but in the long run it will last longer.

[beastka101]

i would go with the sidemount we put all sr stuff on my buddys and he made 220 on ten pounds its good and safe too just tune it good

[undesiredshoe]

thanks for the replies guys.

Excuse my retardedness when i comes to turbos.

So would crush bends in IC piping be that big of a deal? I know the effects in exhaust, and its not HUGE... Is it a bigger deal to have crushed bends on the intake side though?

I have access to crush benders, but i always assumed that mandrel was basically required for IC setups.

Just tell yourself that the crumpled bends create a venturi effect and increases air velocity and you'll be set.

But on a serious note, I bought this kit. http://store.racing-solutions.org/2suexbukit.html

[e1_griego]

Yup, I pm'd him the url to that site. That's where I got my piping as well---cheap and effective.

Alex

[gotta240]

you guys rock. I've got a few fmics laying around, but i'm really debating using a FMIC just because i don't really want to eliminate my front bumper support.

Last question---(maybe..lol) Is there a "typical" or preferred size of IC piping that you guys use? Do you normally just match the IC inlet/outlet size or is there a "correct" size to use?

[Pepperoni]

you guys rock. I've got a few fmics laying around, but i'm really debating using a FMIC just because i don't really want to eliminate my front bumper support.

Last question---(maybe..lol) Is there a "typical" or preferred size of IC piping that you guys use? Do you normally just match the IC inlet/outlet size or is there a "correct" size to use?

I would say for your setup
Your choice of:
2" or 2.25" hot side
2.5" or 2.75" cold side

You won't notice a difference with either choices; just depends on what pipe sizes are available to you. A lot of intercoolers come with 3" end tanks and that is overkill for your setup

[hijack3d]

buy a cheap ebay fmic. go to an auto parts store and buy 3- 90* U-bend exhaust piping which will run about $60-$70ish. mock up how you want the intercooler piping, cut where necessary and take the pieces to an exhaust shop and ask for them to weld it... they usually charge about... 30$ at most for everything... mine came out to about 5-6 weld beads. and a decent front mount setup costing roughly a little over 100$ or just go with a smic.... either or.

That's what I used... You can get 180* and 90* ones as well... I did this becuase I crushed my aluminum FMIC piping in an accident and needed to get the car going somehow. If you decide to go this route, make sure you spray it down w/ some kind of rustoleum paint, since the cheaper pipes aren't rust-proof/SS. Just kind of design how you want the pipes to go and bring it to a shop to get cut (unless you want to cut it yourself), and I don't know if you have couplers/clamps lying around as well... but that might be easiest as far as installation... Make sure you sand the cut edges, and if you want to spend the extra money, have "lips" welded on them to prevent you from blowing IC piping (depending on fitment it might not be a problem). I think total cost (cut myself and reused my couplers/clamps) was about $50. Hope that helps and GL.

[frosti108]

come on guys the man said CHEAP.

i went to the junkyard and got piping from saabs / volvos. i bought a fmic from a local guy from pa-nissans for like 60 bucks... but anyway u do it you will pay. if you dont pay a lot of cash, you will put in lots of hours. if you pay with lots of cash, you will not put in as many hours. and all the working men know that time = money

btw. the piping from the junkyard was free!

[civilized_drifter]

smic cause im cheap too

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Just tell yourself that the crumpled bends create a venturi effect and increases air velocity and you'll be set.

I'm sure this is sarcasm ;), but I am curious, what sort of effect would it have on the car, if you use crush bent IC piping?

[SHIFT_*grind*]

what sort of effect would it have on the car, if you use crush bent IC piping?

? :D





arrrrrrrrrgh

[mtx450]

I'm sure this is sarcasm ;), but I am curious, what sort of effect would it have on the car, if you use crush bent IC piping?


Probably a similar effect to crush bent exhaust piping. Air will not move at same rate it would move it was mandrel bent.

[fromxtor]

http://jgstools.com/turbo/basicicp.jpg
http://jgstools.com/turbo/index2.html
$299.99 USD

[mtx450]

http://jgstools.com/turbo/basicicp.jpg
http://jgstools.com/turbo/index2.html
$299.99 USD


thats for an S14...what is the difference for an S13?

[posdrift240]

Go to your local exhaust shop and have them custom bend you some piping. Thats how I did mine for 100$ and they don't bend when I clamp on it. Good up to 45PSI!! or more HAHA thats the cheapest route. Ebay kits are not worth the money I had one on my first setup and I blew a coupler every other day. Never had a problem after the exhaust shop setup!!!

[fromxtor]

^^ Probably not much if you have a DE.

[mtx450]

Yeah, that is what I'm going to do. I'm gonna have my local shop, who is making my D/P make the I/C piping.