2g Install Kit OverRated??

[Boost95]

I have been researching latley about getting a 16g for my 97 TSI. Im getting tired of the "2small" t25. Coming across a few threads I have seem people mention just getting a new oil line, j-pipe, and some adjustments on the water pipe. Has anyone done this or have any type of write up on how to install the 16g w/o an expensive 2g install kit? Or is it just BS and unable to be done?

 

[99gst_racer]

Yes, I feel the 2G 16g install kits are very overrated. You will save sooo much money by piecing together your own kit. It you shop around eBay and the classifieds, you should be able to find everything you need for less than $100 (depending on which j-pipe you need). Let's see, when I had a 14b, I spent $15 to make my own feed line, I modified my stock water lines and return line to fit, and I reused an old 14b gasket I found. You can find stock j-pipes for about $10-$15.

 

[dsm4life]

Yes, I feel the 2G 16g install kits are very overrated. You will save sooo much money by piecing together your own kit. It you shop around eBay and the classifieds, you should be able to find everything you need for less than $100 (depending on which j-pipe you need). Let's see, when I had a 14b, I spent $15 to make my own feed line, I modified my stock water lines and return line to fit, and I reused an old 14b gasket I found. You can find stock j-pipes for about $10-$15.

yes , i didnt get a kit for mine. Just make sure you get the right j-pipe and might want to pick up a oil return line. You can hack the stock but mine started to leak.

 

[Boost95]

To me once you get the j pipe on it shoots directly into the ground. That wont match up with my hard lower intercooler pipes. What type of oil return line do I need and where can I get one?

 

[babyman0737]

If you have an aftermarket hard lower intercooler pipe for your T-25, you have to sell it if you want a 16g, you can't even modify it. If you have the stock rubber LICP from a 2g, it can be modified to fit the j-pipe. You'll need to buy a new LICP setup it sounds like since yours for a 2g is the hard set. As far as the oil return line goes, just file the existing holes closer to fit the 16g. Your 2g oil return line will work, it just takes a little bit of fabricating, so do your water feed and return lines. Nice kits can be found on e-bay for around $100, just go that way. If you piece together a kit, it will add up and might not work (oil feed line is about $50, j-pipe is $15, $8 in crush washers, $3 in oil drain gasket, $10 manifold to turbo gasket). Just go with an e-bay kit, most come with nice j-pipes too, not the short stock 1g ones.

 

[99gst_racer]

To me once you get the j pipe on it shoots directly into the ground. That wont match up with my hard lower intercooler pipes. What type of oil return line do I need and where can I get one?

If you dont want to modify your stock return line, then just get a stock 1G return line. They should be found for about $10-$15 shipped. A down-firing j-pipe is used with a side-to-side FMIC like SlowBoy's (see pic below). If you are running the factory sidemount intercooler still, then you can make a 1G j-pipe work.

Here is a pic of a down-firing j-pipe. Downfiring j-pipe is used w/ IC piping that routes to the driver's side. Stock 1G j-pipe is used with IC piping that routes to the passenger side.

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[jim97gst]

With the J-pipe shown above, how hard would it be to get that over to a SMIC? Would it take a really long pipe, or one that was a weird shape? It seems like if you had plans down the road to get a FMIC, that would be the way to go if it wasn't too hard. Plus you don't have any intake pipe clearance problems. How is the fan clearance with that J-pipe?

 

[99gst_racer]

With the J-pipe shown above, how hard would it be to get that over to a SMIC? Would it take a really long pipe, or one that was a weird shape?

Not too hard, but some kind of pipe would have to be fabbed and it would require a 90* silicon bend like what I have in the picture.

It seems like if you had plans down the road to get a FMIC, that would be the way to go if it wasn't too hard.

Well, it depends. If you are going to run a FMIC like GReddy's, then you probably would want the stock 1G j-pipe because the piping routes from the passenger side. But if you plan to run a FMIC like SlowBoy's, then you would want the down-firing j-pipe (like in the pic) because the piping routes around from the driver's side.

How is the fan clearance with that J-pipe?

I had no problems running the stock fans with that pipe. Surprisingly, there was alot of room to spare.

 

[LRS95TSI]

spend the 150 for the kit and get all new stuff. it's like buying a ferrari and putting walmart tires on it. u just dont do it son!...i bought an evo3 witht he install kit, im putting it on saturday so will find out soon enuff

 

[WhiteCloud]

spend the 150 for the kit and get all new stuff. it's like buying a ferrari and putting walmart tires on it. u just dont do it son!

It's nothing like buying a Ferrari and putting Wal-Mart tires on it.

It's like buying a new turbo, and not paying vendors an extra $100 in labor to put the parts you need to install it in a box and send it to you.

If you make a lot of money, it might not be worth your time to piece a kit together yourself. If you're a college student like me, you can buy things separately for under $100 like 99gst_racer said.

 

[jim97gst]

It's like buying a new turbo, and not paying vendors an extra $100 in labor to put the parts you need to install it in a box and send it to you.

I don't think the vendors are making $100 putting stuff in a box. You guys are talking about piecing together stock used parts and using stuff that you happen to have laying around your house. Most of these kits have J-pipes that are larger diameter than the stock 1G and are powder coated or stainless steel for which ~$70 seems totally reasonable. The oil lines are usually stainless steel for which the going rate is ~$50. Your're going to end up spending around $20 for the O2 housing and manifold gaskets no matter where you go. Add in all the other little stuff included and it seems like a reasonable mark-up for the convenience.

 

[99gst_racer]

I don't think the vendors are making $100 putting stuff in a box. You guys are talking about piecing together stock used parts and using stuff that you happen to have laying around your house. Most of these kits have J-pipes that are larger diameter than the stock 1G and are powder coated or stainless steel for which ~$70 seems totally reasonable. The oil lines are usually stainless steel for which the going rate is ~$50. Your're going to end up spending around $20 for the O2 housing and manifold gaskets no matter where you go. Add in all the other little stuff included and it seems like a reasonable mark-up for the convenience.

It's not like that either. I'm using the exact same stainless oil feed line that the vendors sell. Except I spent $15 to make mine. Infact, I made like 5 of them and sold a few on this site for $20. If I can sell them for $20 and still pull a profit, then why cant the vendors? And there's no need for some fancy stainless braided $80 return line when the 1G and 2G stock lines both are known to work just fine. And I couldn't justify paying over $120 for a j-pipe, when the stocker works perfectly. The diameter of the stock j-pipe is not any smaller than the outlet of the 14b or 16g, therefore, it really isnt a restriction. And they dont have a 'rusting' problem to my knowledge. Therefore it could be considered a waste of money to pay so much for a pipe simply because it's stainless and large diameter. Some gaskets can be re-used and some cant. $20 is a good price for new ones. Other than that, there really isnt much else to get in the kits they offer. I can build the same kit they build for less than half the price...... Simple as that. For many people, it's a matter of just doing things cheaper. But for me and many others, it's a matter of not wanting to get screwed by the vendor's high mark-ups. I am a vendor (not on this site) and I buy from this site's vendors also. I know what things cost and what they sell for. Sometimes it make me sick. Thats why threads like this get started. So people dont have to pay $200 for $60 worth of parts.

 

[jim97gst]

Well then share the wealth man! How about a tech writeup on how to make a SS oil line for a Mitsu install in a 2G. Where to get stuff, tools you need, etc. I found a not very detailed writeup on how to make a line for Garrett turbo installation, but that's it.

 

[99gst_racer]

Well then share the wealth man! How about a tech writeup on how to make a SS oil line for a Mitsu install in a 2G. Where to get stuff, tools you need, etc. I found a not very detailed writeup on how to make a line for Garrett turbo installation, but that's it.

Damn dude, you're gonna make me work, huh?..... haha, I have a feeling I'm going to be incredibly bored tonight. I'll go out and take some misc pics with my digital camera and combine them with a bunch of old pics I took during the install, and make a write up. I'll post the link when I'm finished (probably wont be until tomorrow night).

 

[babyman0737]

I'm still with buying the kit. I spent time trying to figure out how to make a SS oil feed line, with the fittings and the 2 feet of SS braided hose, it still comes out around $40. Let me know where the two fittings and line can be had for cheaper. So let's say you can make one for $15. Used 1g j-pipe is $15, turbo and o2 gaskets are $20, 2 oil return gaskets, 2 oil crush washers, and 4 water crush washers, 2 bolts to hold on the j-pipe, that all adds another $10 at least. That's $60, pay shipping on any online parts and plan to make a few runs to ACE Hardware (gas is over $2 a gallon). Figure in hours in time getting a hold of the parts and making the SS line. Just not worth it simply put.

 

[Stapl3]

Stock j pipe and stock 1g oil feed line is all that's needed. Call it a 'kit' if you want.

 

[99gst_racer]

I'm still with buying the kit.

Cool. Then send me $200 - I'll sell you the "kit". Hell, I dont mind spending an hour or two to piece it together when I'm making $140 profit. That's exactly what the vendors are saying everytime someone buys one of their kits. And if you know what parts you will need, there will not be several trips to the hardware store.

The kits are not for saving money - they are for people that dont know what they need to buy and are affraid to piece it together themselves. People that lack the knowledge of what parts to buy. As with anything, there is a price tag even on knowlegde, and that accounts for the heavily inflated price for the 'install kit'.

 

[punishercb]

Hey 99gst_racer, you'd be my new hero if you did that. I have been wondering for the past 2 weeks what I'm gonna need to install my 14b. I ordered it and it's comin in soon, but I still have no idea what else I'll need. All I know is that I'll need a j-pipe.

 

[99gst_racer]

Hey 99gst_racer, you'd be my new hero if you did that. I have been wondering for the past 2 weeks what I'm gonna need to install my 14b. I ordered it and it's comin in soon, but I still have no idea what else I'll need. All I know is that I'll need a j-pipe.

Let's see......
If you are running a stock sidemount intercooler, then get a 1G j-pipe. I have one for sale here.
PM me for an oil feed kit.
Either modify your 2G drain or buy a 1G drain.
Gaskets are the only thing that I cant help you with. When I did my 14b swap, I reused the gaskets from a 90 Laser and they sealed fine - no leaks. Other than that, you should be all set. Just keep in mind, this is an easy swap. It doesnt have to be and shouldnt be a long, time consuming, tedious, or expensive process.

 

[Budget90GST]

It's really a matter of personal preference. Some people don't mind spending the money on it since it's already put together. If you're crafty and don't mind making things yourself then it is cheaper to piece it together yourself. Just make sure to research ahead of time and have everything ready before you tackle the job because there is nothing more frustrating than being almost done or being done just to find out that the stuff you piece together leaks or does not work right. This is my second DSM and when I finally bought my small 16g I decided to get the hacker/tweaker kit for it (all from RRE). I could have easily piece it together myself but I've learned from experience that not having a working part close to midnight is very frustrating and I always end up re-doing things twice just to make things work right. Another reason for the kit was that RRE does not warrant the turbo if you did not use a new oil line (factory one is fine as long as it's new). And last, I didn't want the worry that my "homemade stuff is leaking" or worse not supplying oil to my new turbo. Warranties are great but having to take it out again just to have it checked is not the best route to go. Think about it, then decide according to your funds and time constraint. Good luck