Turbo or Engine

[genesis14]

Ok, so today I hit the 130,000 km mark ( thats 80,819 miles ) and I was wondering (because I have the cash now) would my engine be to old (or to "run-in") for the Nautilus Performance turbo kit? ... OR ... Should I hold out for the 3.0 Litre engine? we already know that the turbo kit hooks up to 3.0 Litre engines, so I figure the turbo won't be a complete waste of money.

What do you guys think?

Turbo?

or

Engine?

 

[DyComet]

Well that depends how much money you have. Of course you can get the kit now but the question is how long does it last? The first thing you should do is a compression test and make sure all your cylinders are in good order. If that checks out you should be ok, at least for a while. Rawburt is running the Nautilus kit on his car which I believe has more miles than yours. So to answer your question, will it blow up right away...no. You may never experience any problems at all but a new fresh 3L is more likely to be reliable in the long run and not to mention the extra power.

 

[genesis14]

Well, I know the seals are good because there are no oil build ups or drops on the outside of the engine at all (which is good). I will do the compression check when I get the time. I am still getting 21 MPG city driving, which is where it should be, even with the open air CAI.
I did read the piston durability posts and it seems that pre '00 2.5L's had all the problems. Which kinda scares me. But I don't plan on running high psi (say 7-8 psi) so, that would keep things relatively safe.

 

[RawBurt]

Yup, I installed the nautilus kit at about 130k... I am now just over 131k, and those aren't easy miles either... Thats driving the car what its built for. I would think you'd be more then fine.

 

[Tourige]

You should be fine with that many km's

 

[warmonger]

Well that depends how much money you have. Of course you can get the kit now but the question is how long does it last? The first thing you should do is a compression test and make sure all your cylinders are in good order. If that checks out you should be ok, at least for a while. Rawburt is running the Nautilus kit on his car which I believe has more miles than yours. So to answer your question, will it blow up right away...no. You may never experience any problems at all but a new fresh 3L is more likely to be reliable in the long run and not to mention the extra power.

A fresh 3L would have more lifespan. Reliability is a totally different metric and should NOT be confused with lifespan.

The turbo on an older engine taken as a whole will have less lifespan than a 3L fresh out the box. Otherwise, same mileages the reliability is probably the same given the owner of the turbo car keeps the boost levels in the safely tested arena.
We are very very confident that our kit at 7-8psi putting out 270 wHP will be reliable for many years and probably as reliable as any 3L build of equivalent mileage.
This is based on a properly installed kit, regular oil changes, and maintenance of course.

 

[genesis14]

A fresh 3L would have more lifespan. Reliability is a totally different metric and should NOT be confused with lifespan.

This is based on a properly installed kit, regular oil changes, and maintenance of course.

Well thats just it, It IS how particular you are with maintenance. I am on top of everything, usually changing parts before they happen (given the unexpected of course).
Reading more into the engine change I realize now I don't have the money for a new or even a newer engine. The reason being that with an engine change there are always the clutches, differentials ... etc, involved with replacing the engine because with the engine out, that is the perfect opportunity for these kinds of changes. So really if you price it all out ... 3000 dollars is just the base price of a new engine. I think I've made up my mind on the turbo, just for the fact that even if one day the engine does eventually go .... I't pretty much bolts right up to the 3.0 Litre and by then the engines will be a dime a dozen.