I dont believe thats installed and tuned though is it?

 

As far as I see it, the only reason why the TT kits are so expensive is the market is really limited, thus they can charge alot of money.....

I checked out the TTi kit I believe - Stage X....here was what the kit came with

Stage X CG TTI Twin Turbo kit includes the following:

(2) Turbonetics T3/T4 turbos with external wastegates, (2) cast steel manifolds ceramic coated, (1) large custom centermount intercooler, (2) T304 stainless steel ceramic coated down pipes, (1) custom blow off valve, all necessary tubing, hoses, accessories and hardware. Kit requires fuel uprades (injectors/ fuel pump), not included in kit. Custom programming/tuning necessary. Stage X kit is capable of 700+ hp.

First thing that threw me off was the Turbonetics t3/t4s.....Ive seen plenty of these turbos blow oil seals plenty of times, almost like it was their job....Why dont they include Garrets? Im glad that they have coated manifolds along with stainless steel downpipes.....Ive seen some companies put out mild steel pieces that rust over time

Suprisingly this kit doesnt include fuel upgrades or any computer chip/programming/etc.....Put it this way....

Turbonetics t3/t4 turbo ball bearing - 1200-1400 a piece - Figure 2500.00

Intercooler - no more than 5-600.00

Downpipe - 3-400.00 - two of them - 800.00

blow off valve - 150.00

Tubing/etc - 800.00 at MOST

Thats about 5,000 right there...Now I excluded the exhaust manifolds since those are a real custom job, but I cant see the pair of them going for anymore than 1500.00.....So for 6500.00 you basically have your kit at market price....Considering theyre a dealer, they prob pick all of this up for 5000.00-5500.00.......

I could see this kit costing 7-8000.00 but anymore is ridiculous

 

Correct -- the kit itself is about $10K. Installation and tuning will run you closer to $12K-$14K.

 

2-4k??? is that with the installation of pistons/rods/rings/etc??? dont tel me thats the price to install a bolt on turbo kit and tune it....

 

Figure 30 to 40 hrs labour for the kit, then add a couple of days for a good tune . Unless the shop is charging out at $ 15.00/hr , it'll cost you at least 3-4 k. Been there .

Dan

 

30-40 hours to install a bolt on turbo kit??? You cant be serious....

What tuning program do they use? Is it a piggyback unit or a standalone? Any piggyback can be tuned in a matter of hours when all your dealing with is fuel and timing delivery....Standalones can be tricky but I imagined they are using a piggyback....

 

That sounds about right.

Mike

 

A gut check on the component pricing says you're not too far off, but that's not the price that a person could build this kit for -- that's the price TTi can build this kit for. The plumbing on each side of the car is different and involves a lot of twists, bends, cuts, and welds.

It's no small task to retrofit low slung turbos into the C5's cluttered engine bay -- I am sure it took a lot of trial and error to get those pipes even close to fitting. Could the kit be sold for less? Probably, but I don't think the price is wildly out of spec.

 

Running meth as well . Nolan at Campbell figured the tune was pretty safe. Tho he likes to toe the line and then pull it back some. If she blows you guys will be the second ones to know and since I 'll be around you'll know if she is holding as well .

Others have run OVER 600Rwhp on the stock internals prior to me with no probs . If its the same for me , then I just get added to that list . Otherwise opinions on this subject will not based on fact , but just speculation . When considering the amount of TT Corvettes on the road , how many have actually gone boom ?

Other than that I guess we'll see . And maybe your buddy will see my taillights .



Dan

 

It is a fairly involved install for someone who hasn't done it before. As I mentioned, the C5 engine bay is cluttered and there's not a lot of room to fit ~3" inlet ducting and outlet ducting in a low-slung setup. Even the top-mount setups require relocation of some stuff to make it all fit.

The clearance between the turbos and frame and the turbos and engine cradle is measured in millimeters... there's just a LOT of stuff to cram in there and twisting all the ducting in just the right way to make it all fit can be trial and error.

 

Its not something I could fathom taking 30-40 hours....

 

Are you selling a C5 TT kit that is at least as good as the Stage X for less ?

How much do you think is a fair price to install the TT kit ?


I happen to know the dealer cost on the X kit and it is WAY more than $5,500.

It's a tuner setup, so the fact that it doesn't ship with fuel components is not the least bit surprising. The fuel requirements are different for every car..

BTW, TTi uses TEC turbos for, AFAIK, the ability to get highly customized turbos.

Mark

 

It might be higher simply for the fact that dealers dont make alot of money on the pieces, but to put something like this together its going to run about 5-6k AT MOST....

heh, Im about to make a custom kit for the vette....Ive done alot of custom piping before, in very tight engine bays..I cant see this being much more difficult

 

Seriously...? Why would I lie ? You asked a question and I gave you an honest answer that reflects my first hand knowledge due to the fact I had a TT kit installed.
I suppose if you were installing kits on a regular basis you would get better at it and cut some time off , but considering that all these kits (other than maybe LPE) are fairly new technology , how can you even be surprised ?

And I am only talking about TTI 's product , you would need to find out from some others how long it took them to install their PTK etc. kits. Hell it could even be more for them.


Dan

 

I applaud anyone who has the skill and determination to build their own TT kit.

Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out.

Cheers,

Mark

 

To be perfectly honest, its not rocket science.....Probably the hardest part is figuring out the design of the exhaust manifold...Top mount, bottom mount, sidewinder mount are all various options that can be explored....Secondly, figuring out what needs to be relocated for fitment can be a challenge....Yes theres alot of R and D that goes into these kits, espicially with a tight engine bay, but its still very feasible....

The TT kits are awesome, but are marked up due to a lack of a TT market, and the car being a Corvette.

 

BANKS
ROB RAYMER
CERRA RACING
HALLTECH
ARE

These are just some very very good reputable tuners in the past 5 years who have failed to produce a proven TT in large numbers for the C5 when they said they were going to have them. TTi is the only company to even come close and out of no respect for TTi, the fact is there are very few C5's with the TTi kit. One day that may change but it wont be today or tomorrow or next week.

Interestingly, TTi is no stranger to turbos. They have done a crap load of F-BODY''s for years and years. So what is the problem with the C5's? Hmmm, makes ya think doesnt it? Must not be that easy, huh? I have also heard that there have been some customer servcie issues with TTi on this forum. I'm just stating facts here.

You may not like hearing it but there so far there is 1 solid TT for the C5 on the market and another that is coming along - slowly. Those are the hardcore facts.

Anyone else on the horizon? Well Andy at A&A out in the west coast is working on a TT. Lots of peopel are awaiting his package becasue everyoen knows about how talented and ethical Andy is. We shall see wht happens.

Maybe we could add you to that list? If you think its so easy why dont you give it a try yourself? Let us know how it goes. Maybe you will be able to develop a C5 kit and sell it for $8000 or even less. We'll be anxious to hear the results.

 

The problem with making twin turbo kits let alone mass producing them is allocating the resources that are necessary. Theres alot of time and money involved with these kits, and some feel that the venture is just too much to take on......

 

Alot of time and money .... just too much to take on.....

sounds like the kits are priced where they should be .

Dan

 

Lots of R&D went into any of the kits that are out right now and these folks didn't work out of their basements.
So you also have to calculate their overhead and what the profit and loss is.

The retail price is a fair price as I am privy what the tuners pay for a TTix kit.

Can it be done for less......sure it can if you want to do all the work yourself and work out of your house.

I used to do alot of one off turbos when I owned an import shop and it's very labor intensive to fab up a manifold for the first time. The cost of setting up the jig and the material is minimal when you are going with a tubular design.

In the case of TTi they use a cast log style manifold which entails doing a sand casting to pour the cast iron. I'm sure that George of TTi along with the foundry didn't get the pour correct right out of the gate.

The Turbonetics T3/4 hybrids with ball bearings can be had anywhere from $900-$1300 each depending on what options you throw in. We bought well over 200 of these and they do offer an extensive options list.

LPE used to use a cast style manifolds but I was led to beleive that their foundry that they were using shut down...thus their tubular design now.

I have seen first hand what's involved into putting twins into a C5 that's reliable and it's no cake walk.

Keep us posted on your efforts and best of luck.