Alright, this will be long so bear with me.

I raced a guy with the c2 turbo stage 1 on a gts the other night and ran with him. We were side by side the whole way, which makes me think that the st1 may not be worth my while. So I was thinking the st2 kit which includes...

Turbo
Piping
Manifold
Hoses/Lines
h20 and oil lines/flange
BOV
Apexi intake
Larger Intercooler

all for $4200

Then to make it work right and work well I need from monkeywrech...

RPS clutch $307
MWR Flywheel $389
Wieseco 8.8 pistons $498
Crower Rods $748
Darton sleeves $339
Apexi AVCR BC $495
Gauges/Pod $200
Apexi PFC $995
550cc Injectors $114
Power Ent Fuel Pump $175
Copper Head Gasket $80
MWR Valves $319
MWR Springs $249
ARP Cyl Head Studs and Mains $240

Macine Shop Labor for block and head $700

And another 1-200 or so for other odds and ends.

All this equals in the ball park of 10k since I'm doing all the install myself.

Question is, is the price really worth all of power and work? Because I was not impressed by the stage 1 kit. I'm just looking for opinions and some of the parts above although not required, will make the kit run and perform WELL, if I'm going to do this I'm going to do it right. Thanks for the help.

Last I heard, the only difference betwn stage 1 and 2 was the larger intercooler. What is the difference? Either way, you should have been smoked by the turbo.

See thats what I figured, the guy took me for a ride in the car and it seemed a lot faster than mine, however, I dont really think he knew how to drive, plus he was granny shiftin etc...the larger intercooler is an option for stage one, the whole idea behind stage 2 is to be able to safely run more boost instead of just 6psi because 11.5:1 compression is too high to run a lot of boost without blowing something up.

st1 is ~6psi
st2 is ~14psi
st3 is st2 + tranny

There's gotta be something wrong with his set-up, like it must not have been tuned right, or maybe he's got the boost set lower than 6, or maybe, as you suggest, he just sucks at shifting.

Maybe he was only playing around with you?

tell him to tune is car right. He could be running rich, there could be turbo leak, and worst comes to worst... he can't drive.

Stage 2 turbo is just basically internal upgrades that allows you to safely boost at high numbers.

na, he wasn't playing, my and the dude talked about his car and he took me for a ride and everything, he was sincerely pissed that I walked. Does the Greddy E-manage system suck or something? I also do not think that he was a very good driver, he really didnt know what he was talking about. His dad bought the turbo kit for him over x-mas so it could have been a few variables as to why i beat him...I know that I should have lost and lost good...I'm not denying that, but then when i beat one it makes me think a little about why that is...get me? Thats why I was questioning the turbo kit because I am planning on getting one but if I can beat one legit than whats the point? so I'm not really sure whats up, he was going to meet me again next weekend so I think I'll have a go at him again and see what happens, I couldnt be more confused.

Theres too many variables, with a turbo if the kit isnt running good, it can be slow as hell. It may be tuned like crap, he may have a boost leak, he may just plain suck big time at driving. It's hard to say, but whatever it is, it isnt the kit itself. I have a GT with the SF kit on it only running 6 psi, and i can walk gts with bolt-ons. So, no worries, stage 1 is definately a nice amount of power. With everything running properly and tuned right, at 7 psi you should be putting down around 230-240 whp, thats a lot more than a gts with bolt-ons.

1. There is no way if you are not F/I that you could stay with him unless he can't drive and wasn't shifting right. With a stage 1 c2 turbo set at 6-8psi, the GTS with be running prox. 215-220hp and you are running a lot lower than that. If he knew how to drive, you would have been smoked. Unless he is just playing around with you and still giving you crap about it by saying he wasn't

2. For stage 2, add in stage 1 kit with larger intercooler ($3860) then add in oil temp, oil pressure gauge, greddy Profec E-01 electronic booster controller (electronic is more accurate), pressure sensor harness so you can tune better between with the E-manage (it links the profec and emanage together for this reason and it is only $20), Crower Rods, Weisco Pistons, 550cc injectors, 165lph fuel rail, copper head gasket, get a zeitronix zt lcd bundle (has the EGT, lamda, boost gauge, and a/f ratio readings so cuts down number of gauges you need), need an exhaust (the turbo kit comes with a 2.8" downpipe), colder sparkplugs, RPS Max 6-puck Sprung Clutch (works with the lightweight flywheel a lot better), a lightweight flywheel, MWR Valve springs, MWR Valves, ARP Cylinder Head stud kit, ARP Exhaust Manifold kit, ARP Mains kit (all the ARP kits are bolts that are more stronger and sturdier than stock and are highly recommended) and also highly recommended are bigger breaks which might mean you need bigger tires and obviously rims. You need to control the car so you might need a few suspension upgrades. It will be more than 10k.

EDIT: I have to go so if you want anymore information, pm me Good luck

the C2power kit is the cheapest and you get quality parts accept for the ecu.. the xs engineering uses power FC is 1 grand more expencive, but haven't heard the greatest reviews from them. everyone else is right the stage one will be enough to put you pretty far up there in the street car power deals because our car weighs about 500-800lbs lighter than most sports cars accept 2 seaters if you've got 220whp you can usually beat someone with a much bigger engine say an new mustang GT with 300hp(probably 250whp) but it weighs 3300lbs or so. there's no way you coulda won that race if he was at all good at driving and there wasn't anything wrong with his install. I'd say the stage 1 is worth it, after that if you really want a lot of power get a new car cause it's gonna cost you more than trading it in and buying something with 350hp+ stock.

I am sure there was something not ok with his setup. A turbokit installed but not tuned properly can be worse then NA before. The problem is thatmany ppl think that they just buy it and they are ready. NO! It has to be installed and tuned right and then there will be no question. I am said thet I am not over there to help costumers. Whenever we installed (and tuned)kits here in the EU the costumers could not believe that it was the same car.
BTW please ask the guy to get back to me to see what is his problem. There is a lot of reserve in his car.

Hey Gas, maybe you should move to the US and show all these crappy shops how to install and tune a turbo. BTW, how much tuning does the E-Manage need after with the base-map?

I am really thinking to colect a few ppl and then go to install or review their kits, and tune it. Well the tuning should not be a big deal it is "simple" for ppl who have done it before. All they would need an wideband O2. (and a knock monitor but thats like super setup)

would the emanage need any tuning on an otherwise stock car? it is pretuned for a stock setup with turbo right?

It needs "tweaking" so to speak. Yeah it's pre-mapped, but it should be tweaked because not all cars perform the same.

My kit from you guys shipped out yesterday... Uhm sure c'mon over and i will let you take a look at my car and tune it. All the free Beer you can drink plus free room and board This way you could get a good map set-up for all future GTS kits that you sell.

By the way my screen name on the "other site" is GTSkid

jamey you are lucky man i have like another 2 months till i get my kit good luck with the install and if gas comes over id like to meet him.

Stage 1 GTS should kick ass like you won't believe it..
I have a stage 1 GT and I am sure I will really waste a GTS with some mods..
His car was tuned very bad, no doubt..

Really Stage 1 is really good to begin with, get the larger intercooler so you can upgrade later.

Gas, dude, if you come over, just like Jamey, you can have free beer, food, room and board, whatever you want to tune my car!! I have a GT so you could have a great tuned base map for GT and GTS I will be getting your stage 2 in about a month and i can't wait!!!!

I will be getting it installed by Eastcoastspeedfactory and they have installed one before and tuned it so hopefully they did a good job on the last kit so i will have a good tuning Jamey, they are located in New York, you should go there! Unless Gas will install our kits