well here's the situation. i'm looking for boost, and i'm definitely on a low budget. i have a few goals as follows:

400whp
350+ tq
a CARB legal stamp or sticker (just incase i get pulled over and my hood popped i live in socal)
as cheap as possible.

i'm quite hopeful that my power goal is not too much for my stock block. i'm pretty sure the Vortech is the only kit that is CARB legal. that being said it i've seen many cars reach these numbers with the kit.

how much should i be looking to spend? attaining a used kit, install, and tune?

and a new kit, install, and tune?

and are my goals attainable with a low budget?

 

On a low budget, in my opinion No. When going FI you always run into problems, and when you run into problems you spend more $$$. Not only that you want to do everything right the first time so that cost $$$, buying the right extra stuff for it. Although it doesn't require much, just have money on the side or make sure you got money coming in soon. If you don't have the $$$ to back it up you're screwed. There's nothing wrong with going FI, just make sure you're not broke after you do it, it's an expensive hobby.

 

for that much power you are looking at 6-8grand to do it properly. plus at least 5k in teh bank in case the motor pops. so if you dont have ~13k to spare, dont boost a NA car.

 

there is no such thing of doing it on a low budget

except for one person i know and i still dont know how he pulled it off

 

I would def agree, that it is an expensive hobby. You dod not want to get in over your head.

 

Low budget=Stay NA

 

There are other kits such as Stillen and HKS that are CARB legal. Regardless of the kit though, once you change it from out of the box, it will no longer be CARB legal regardless of what sticker you put on it.

Regardless of the sticker, I believe the cop can send you to a State Ref. if he believes your lying about legality but I'm not positive. Someone who knows for sure may chime in on that one.

There is no cheap in FI.

 

You won't get 400 whp with the stillen sc kit and the HKS kit will cost 2x as much as a comparable vortech kit which produces the same amount of power. Plus, you can't upgrade the HKS kit as well as you go like the vortech (upgrading blowers, not just EMS and pulleys).

As for the state ref, unless the ref can prove that your system is illegal they won't be able to force you to remove it. Police can't arbitrarily force people to alter their cars based on a whim, or a presumption without evidence.

 

You're going to need to define your budget, what's low to some people may not be low to others. If you are looking for 400 WHP then it's going to get pretty expensive to do it right. Also, it'll be tough doing it CARB legal. If I were you I would relax my HP standards and get the Vortech kit. The Stillen requires a new hood and after shipping/prep/paint it's just money not well spent IMO. There are a few vendors here and on my350z offering a Vortech full kit (fuel & EMS) for around $5000 right now. Don't change pulleys (CARB issues) and use good gas and you should be fine on a stock block.

 

hmmm thanks for the input guys... i was looking to spend 5-6 grand max. the power goals are just a goal that i'd hope to attain. maybe 400BHP is probably what i'm looking at for such low budget.

 

also i should point out i'm not trying to build my block because i'm not looking for crazy horsepower numbers so i'm not sure what you guys mean by doing it right the first time. i saw brand new kit go for 2500 from one of the vendors recently... so i'm pretty sure i can get everything done well within in my budget i just have to be patient....

 

You're going to need to save up a bit more first. Then go with a Vortech.

 

Consider starting with an HR platform.

 

+1 and then save some $$$

 

i'm a little confused... what's the need for saving up a bit? what's the total cost?