What Turbo Kit And Why?

roughrider99 · Sep 1, 2009

i'm in the market for turbo kit but also a bit leery at what to do. got an 06 apex with everything done except tunnel, and turbo for the most part. my deal for me is i could save and scrape up the money for a turbo kit ( i would only go front or midmount) but its some of the after the fact costs for me, such as running 100% av gas (its more available than premium for me) also if i crack a header, thats a 1000 bucks, i dont have the extra funds to get one and be riding for the weekend or 2. Lots of the turbos are fairly reliable and i love what powderlites, alpine, and impulse are doing, but its pretty tough to go drop 7grand. then end up with other costs being thrown in the mix and still afford to drive 6 hours one way for a weekend of riding.

EZmoney · Sep 2, 2009

roughrider99 said:
i'm in the market for turbo kit but also a bit leery at what to do. got an 06 apex with everything done except tunnel, and turbo for the most part. my deal for me is i could save and scrape up the money for a turbo kit ( i would only go front or midmount) but its some of the after the fact costs for me, such as running 100% av gas (its more available than premium for me) also if i crack a header, thats a 1000 bucks, i dont have the extra funds to get one and be riding for the weekend or 2. Lots of the turbos are fairly reliable and i love what powderlites, alpine, and impulse are doing, but its pretty tough to go drop 7grand. then end up with other costs being thrown in the mix and still afford to drive 6 hours one way for a weekend of riding.

Ok... So you dont own a kit, i would like to know what sways ya to these three brands and why and not others if you got a minute. Is it internet talk to sway ya or is it first hand info from actually trying a sled,fit and finish you know what i mean. alot of guys go off what they read here and actually have a diffrent opinion when the real world testing comes into play.

tranquillicer · Sep 2, 2009

Why??

roughrider99 said:
i'm in the market for turbo kit but also a bit leery at what to do. got an 06 apex with everything done except tunnel, and turbo for the most part. my deal for me is i could save and scrape up the money for a turbo kit ( i would only go front or midmount) but its some of the after the fact costs for me, such as running 100% av gas (its more available than premium for me) also if i crack a header, thats a 1000 bucks, i dont have the extra funds to get one and be riding for the weekend or 2. Lots of the turbos are fairly reliable and i love what powderlites, alpine, and impulse are doing, but its pretty tough to go drop 7grand. then end up with other costs being thrown in the mix and still afford to drive 6 hours one way for a weekend of riding.

Why you think you need 100%av/gas? Even if you did need it, its not that much more than premium gas(About .20-.25/lt more. Why only front or mid mount? I'm sure your thinking L.A.G right? You should get some stick time on one before you drop $8g(not $7g) and then make an informed decision.
There are several options out there for 270hp kits on premium fuel and they all seem to work well. Sounds like you'll be storing your own fuel anyways so why not store a blend of Av/prem?
A riding budyy of mine is getting a 270 rear mount pump gas kit installed as we speak and I know he's lurking on here from time to time and he will be able to give you some good feed back come Dec.

Transporter · Sep 2, 2009

All this talk about 270 hp kits and 400 hp kits.IMO not much difference in parts just different size of turbo or injectors mabye some internal engine parts.When you got your sled tore down the first time that is the time to go with best stuff right from the start.If you dont want to run 25 pounds of boost after that and straight c16 then dont turn your boost way down and run premium fool or whatever you want.I got rooked a couple times like that and now I got triple the amount of money in my sled that i should because everytime you upgrade they have to tear into the motor again.Should have just done it right from the start.

Prairie Dog · Sep 2, 2009

RIP,

I look at reliability, power, ease of use and dealer service is a big one. I know a little bit of turbos but not enough to tear into them if I have a problem.

I was sold on MCX cause of the 270 on pump and cause of the dealer who I would have gone through. I rode an Alpine Vector for the day at Yamafest and that made me want a front mount. Only thing I don't like about the Alpine is the power (pump gas), seems to fall short compared to everybody else's kits. Ya ya "if you aren't going to run good fuel then you shouldn't have a turbo". The reality is that some people maybe can afford to drop $20g on the sled but not $600.00 on fuel every weekend. I'll put 3000kms on every year and race fuel or even AV gas adds up.

I don't want 400hp cause I'm not going up the steepest chutes. I want a fun reliable sled that is relatively cheap to run. I don't want to be fiddle f***ing every time I go out with fuel settings. I want it set up and ready to go when I pick it up.

I've read a lot about Impulse, Powderlites and MCX running pump fuel but I never hear anything about Alpine pump gas kits. Is that because no one runs them or cause they won't run good on pump??????

Will 230hp (Alpine) be good enough or would I have more fun at 270hp (MCX, PL)??????? It would be nice to have that extra 40hp when I needed it.

my .02

Good thread idea:beer;:beer;

Transporter · Sep 2, 2009

Can someone explain a pump gas kit???I can run pump gas too just keep boost lower or run methanol injection.

EZmoney · Sep 2, 2009

Transporter... your right av gas where im at any way, is about the same price as pump gas. As a matter of fact, i was getting it cheaper than pump last year. so on average i run 16 pounds with my BD kit and i bought one drum of c14 last year for days where i new it was going to be blue bird and deep also when my buddies where out with their turbos making sure things where par.

The only benefit to me with a pump gas set up is not having to haul fuel around and being able to pull up to the pump. Also who has this 400hp kit you guys keep mentioning i dont think one even exist. These pump gas kits just have a thicker head shim to lower the compression even more so and run a little bit more fuel to keep the a/fs down. correct me if im wrong?

ridehard1212 · Sep 2, 2009

i think that alpine is good to 12lbs on pump??? after that start mixing?? Its really tough.. i look at the MCX 180 for 4500ish + 500 ish install vs. alpine or impulse that are 6500-7000 + probably 1500 install.. so 5g vs. probably 9gs but the alpine comes with a seat and tank worth 1g and impulse has a tank also... so taking that into account there is only a 3000 dollar difference but an extra 50/100hpish... I know i would be more happy with the 8/9g kit but i also no that there are better investments then sleds!!!

I wonder what boost MCX is running for 180hp kit?? cant be all that much??
5lbs??? no headshim so your base HP before turbo would be higher so i cant see more then 5lbs??

Transporter · Sep 2, 2009

Ok 400 hp is a bit high but can be done.I ran my alpine kit at 12 pounds on premium fuel.I have also ran 20 pounds on av gas with meth injection.This is on an apex.Those kit prices seem pretty low.Is that keeping stock drivers etc?I would suggest your kit you buy is capable at running big power with the proper fuel if you want it unless you are happy at just runnin lower power every day.Dont get me wrong though if you never rode a turbo sled 12 pounds of boost is going to bring a huge smile to your face and probably scare the crap out of most people for quite a few rides.Also when I say do it all upfront i mean if you want a different track, do the drivers at same time so you save on labor cost just like if you are doing headgasket and you want rods get it done then same as pistons if you dont you will be paying your mechanic alot of money everytime you want to get something done.

TBird · Sep 2, 2009

ridehard1212 said:
I wonder what boost MCX is running for 180hp kit?? cant be all that much??
5lbs??? no headshim so your base HP before turbo would be higher so i cant see more then 5lbs??

5,8lbs is the information i have.

ridehard1212 · Sep 2, 2009

TBird said:
5,8lbs is the information i have.

5 or 8lbs??? because that would be sweet to have the option of running av gas and bumping it to 8lbs (maybe just over 200hp) but being able to run 5lbs on pump...

I dont mind spending the little bit extra for av but its a pain because its not like you just pull up to cheveron and start pumping!!!

TBird · Sep 2, 2009

ridehard1212 said:
5 or 8lbs???

5.8lbs then, the value 2 tenths below 6 ;-).

ridehard1212 · Sep 2, 2009

see for me that would be a perfect kit if you could say turn it from 6lbs up to 9lbs while running av... you could wait till you were higher in elevation even and then turn her back down for the trail ride home!!!

Prairie Dog · Sep 2, 2009

Fuel is a concern for me in the prairies........ AV is $2.00/L where premium is $1.13. I can get premium at any gas station.....AV only at the airport which is only open Monday-Friday. If we put on 150miles in a day I'm usually on fumes by the time we get home. Premium is avaiable everywhere. And race fuel is even more expensive than AV

roughrider99 · Sep 2, 2009

ok for those that questioned at my statement. i have put seat time on some turbo sleds. a couple mcx nytros, front mount rx1 built by chris banser, and mcx apex. I enjoyed the feel of a front mount way better, also works better if i was to get a front mount cause if i got rear mount then i gotta deal with selling some parts like seat and exhaust and few other things, my sled is pretty much already set up for a front mount. the frotn mount moves more weight to the center which is what i want also, i run timbersled suspension and i don;t wanna run into problems like others have had running rear mounts with timber suspension. If u woulda read about me running straight av gas i said its more available in my area. nobody sells premium here i have to go about 2 hours to get premium but av gas is only 45min away and wouldn;t cost that much more than premium for me. also why go through the trouble of driving a couple hours for premuim to mix it with av gas? that makes no sense at all cause i'm spending money driving just to get the fuel. Also no i have not actually ridden the other front mount brands. but i've talked to dave and alot of ppl about the powderlites kit and i am impressed so far almost dropped the money for that kit last year but unexpected expenses came up so that was put on hold. impulse, yes i am only going by what has been said, but i have yet to read a complaint about it so why would i complain?

sorry for long post but i think i covered everything haha

RIP N TEAR · Sep 2, 2009

Transporter said:
Ok 400 hp is a bit high but can be done.I ran my alpine kit at 12 pounds on premium fuel.I have also ran 20 pounds on av gas with meth injection.This is on an apex.Those kit prices seem pretty low.Is that keeping stock drivers etc?I would suggest your kit you buy is capable at running big power with the proper fuel if you want it unless you are happy at just runnin lower power every day.Dont get me wrong though if you never rode a turbo sled 12 pounds of boost is going to bring a huge smile to your face and probably scare the crap out of most people for quite a few rides.Also when I say do it all upfront i mean if you want a different track, do the drivers at same time so you save on labor cost just like if you are doing headgasket and you want rods get it done then same as pistons if you dont you will be paying your mechanic alot of money everytime you want to get something done.

That's why Alpines kit is a little bit more, because we know what you need to make your sled be reliable. You can buy a kit with no Drivers and no gauges and maybe a few other things, but you will be back in to get them. I have seen it happen many times, guys show up for the weekend and grab a hand full going up the trail and rip the stock drivers out, or I don't no why it blew up was running the amount of boost they told me to run. How do you know you where when your kit doesn't come with proper gauges, ect. Alpine does have a kit that you can run pump gas with and be right there with any kit on the market. I run 17lbs of boost in my sled and mix it 50/50 with c-12 and pump. You really don't need huge boost numbers to climb the big stuff any ways, you just get going way to fast in the chute and get out of control. I watch Neil McClairn on an Alpine kit running 17lbs. of boost (no nitrous) give the Impulse sled a real run for the money, and that sled was running nitrous and higher boost. Not bashing and not taking anything away from Paul, ( the guy knows his stuff) just saying it was a good race.

M5- · Sep 3, 2009

I ran my sled at 12 lbs for years but last year I wicked it up to 14 and for me that extra 2 lbs really added some snap on the bottom end, the down side is it made too much heat and toasted another header even with the double down and ported wastegate. For my Nytro I'm really leaning towards a true mid mount kit with the shortest header with the least bends and welds possible and the turbo weight as low in the sled as possible. That NW turbo's cast header looks strong but I just can't see it flowing at any decent boost level, kinda like the now infamous Jannety Log.

M5

ridehard1212 · Sep 3, 2009

RIP N' TEAR said:
That's why Alpines kit is a little bit more, because we know what you need to make your sled be reliable. You can buy a kit with no Drivers and no gauges and maybe a few other things, but you will be back in to get them. I have seen it happen many times, guys show up for the weekend and grab a hand full going up the trail and rip the stock drivers out, or I don't no why it blew up was running the amount of boost they told me to run. How do you know you where when your kit doesn't come with proper gauges, ect. Alpine does have a kit that you can run pump gas with and be right there with any kit on the market. I run 17lbs of boost in my sled and mix it 50/50 with c-12 and pump. You really don't need huge boost numbers to climb the big stuff any ways, you just get going way to fast in the chute and get out of control. I watch Neil McClairn on an Alpine kit running 17lbs. of boost (no nitrous) give the Impulse sled a real run for the money, and that sled was running nitrous and higher boost. Not bashing and not taking anything away from Paul, ( the guy knows his stuff) just saying it was a good race.

but gauges and drivers are not included in alpines kit???

CHARGER · Sep 3, 2009

You usually get what you pay for in a turbo kit. Front mounts are going to be more expensive due to the added complexity and extra parts needed to install it. Look at the parts involved in a rear mount that are stock: stock fuel tanks, stock manifold, stock seat, ect. They are built this way because it is the easiest and cheapest way to do things, not for performance. Also keep in mind the extra costs of upgrading the turbo system later. You are going to want more boost at some point.

RIP N TEAR · Sep 3, 2009

ridehard1212 said:
but gauges and drivers are not included in alpines kit???

I think Dean had an pre-season kit that came with drivers and gauges. (don't quote me though) I just ride the sled, don't sell them. I know they will tell you what you will need to try and make it a trouble free winter. As for the cracking header, my black Apex has two seasons on it with out any problems and my blue one has one season on it.:beer;

What Turbo Kit And Why?

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