you'll be able to save a lot of money (1-2k maybe?) by doing the install and tune yourself, neither of which are particularly difficult if you're willing to put in the time and effort.

Understandable. I did get the car primarily to learn more and do as much as I can on it myself, however long it may take. I am decent at absorbing information. I guess I just want some shared perspective as it is a little abstract to me right now.

My local tuner shop already quoted me $450 for any car specific bolt on FI kit I want. Figured if I start with an included base tune (to safely drive until it can get on a dyno) I expected the AVO stage 1 to be right at $5k installed and on the road.

I think 7ish grand is more realistic for an "out the door" price for a quality kit. You have to factor in a tune, ecutek cable/license, wideband and boost gauges at a minimum, and a quality install.

1)around 7k is my estimate for entry level FI to be done properly

2) Big power isn't synonymous with cheap, so I wouldn't expect huge numbers with a budget on the low end of the scale. For example, an Innovate SC doesn't put out giant numbers, but it has nice usable "around town" torque. Not the best choice if you're tracking the car, but a good choice for everything but.

3) None are considered "safe" (imo) because they're jamming air into an engine that wasn't designed to have air jammed into it. That being said, as long as the kit is from a big name company with a good rep, it will be as safe as you can get. Jackson, Kraftwerks, Vortech, and AVO tout themselves as very "OEM" like. I would be more concerned about the tune than the kit for long term durability.

I feel like there shouldn't be any "set" price. If you don't have the money to be able to buy a new engine/transmission because of warranty being denied after FI, then you shouldn't go FI, IMO.

i agree that you shouldn't go FI unless you can afford to replace an engine, just because shit happens. at the same time, you shouldn't fear or expect catastrophic failure. it's not common, and when it happens it's generally because someone screwed the pooch pretty hard.

That is understandable - I picked $5,000 just to give people an objective idea of costs involved, hence why I put the +/- because I know $5,000 will vary greatly - it could turn into $6,000 easily. $5,000 seemed like a reasonable benchmark and although it may be on the low side, this is for a DD application not a trackster (respect for tracksters though <3)

And I figured most people think that +/- $5,000 is a fair price tag for a potential out the door build, while $7,500 is absurdly high for a DD type build (which is totally relative ) but you get the idea

$5000 won't get you far, but $6000 will.

Why? Because the MSRP on a lot of solid kits (Jackson Racing w/ CARB tune, Innovate intercooled w/ CARB tune, Vortech with CARB tune) is in that range, and includes a tune so you can just bolt on, flash, the car, and drive.

Additional breather mods are just icing at this point, but with just the FI, you'll still be 100% legal.

~$5k for Innovate Intercooled S/C CARB Legal kit -or- Jackson Racing S/C CARB Legal Kit. (Greddy Turbo kit has the best transient response and can get you to 250WHP, but you need more stuff than just the base kit alone.)

~$1k for oil cooler kit...necessary if you intend to drive spiritedly with sustained power.

Power is limited based on pulley size, but both kits are OEM-ish with lots of testing done for them. Plus, you can keep most of your car factory and comply with all California emissions issues. Key points are balancing safety, legality, sustained power, daily qualities, and long term reliability. :thumbsup:

As others stated you will be way past 5K unless you do the install yourself.

I bought the Vortech tuner kit for $3783 shipped and spent $1095 for my ecutek license, map sensor and tune. Installed it myself for a grand total of $4878. Sitting at 287whp. Definitely doable if you install yourself.

What can $5,000 get someone in a solid FI build?
Yeah the kit itself, but depending on your tuning and supporting mods you're likely to go over that budget. There are many FI kits in the $4-5K range.


Is $5,000 enough for a competent/daily driver FI build?
No, you will likely need to upgrade the clutch if you want ~300whp. Tuning will cost close to $800-900 if you go with EcuTek. I also am assuming a self-install. Labor will add to the cost, but you might also want to consider the ease of install.

What Dollar $$ amount is a more realistic number? $5,500? $6,000? $7,000?
What necessary hardware/tune upgrades should a DD be looking at along with their FI kit purchase?
Depends on your goals. I track my car so an oil cooler is a must. You should consider an oil cooler and perhaps a radiator if you'll be doing spirited driving or HPDEs/Track Days. Also more go, you might want more stop too!

What kits will provide someone with a Daily Driver/OEM-like quality/application and experience?
I'd say the supercharger kits do a better job as far as turnkey/drivability. Turbo cars can run just as fine but tend to require a few more tweaks here and there.

Is there a FI application that is considered safe? So that the car may have the potential to reach the long term (100,xxx miles give or take on their car)? I do take into consideration the car hasn't been around long enough, so you can give me your theoretical response too - thank you.
The short answer is no. This is still new territory. While many people have racked up miles it's still unclear. I think the most important thing is ensuring a safe tune. If the internals fail they will fail. You don't want to have a mishap because someone wasn't considering simple tuning parameters. I think it's safe to assume that a more mild kit will allow for a longer engine life but there's no evidence to support that.

Well said.

I'll chime in with a starter budget:

http://i.imgur.com/pBjCVHt.png

Supercharger

You can get Jackson and Vortech Tune-it-Yourself kits at this price no problem, and Innovate Intercooled for a couple hundred more. You could probably get one cheaper if you ask around and/or kept an eye out for deals or sales and whatnot.

Tune

This $700 amount is probably going to be a little high if you plan to dyno-tune at a nearby shop, and will probably be a little low if you plan to do a remote tune since you'll have to pick up the ECUTEK kit.

Installation

You'll be installing this yourself on this budget, bub. The Innovate has a good reputation for ease-of-installation, and the Jackson instructions look stupid simple. The Vortech instructions scare me, but each to his his/her own.

Dual Catch Can

For catching blow-by oil and what-not. Consensus is that this is a must if you want a prayer of your supercharged car making it to 100k miles.

Boost Gauge

Gotta keep an eye on that boost. Over-boosting with a supercharger isn't a big fear, but you still need to keep an eye out for boost leaks.

UEGO Wideband

Gotta keep an eye on those AFR readings, you don't want to pull a nelsmar (I kid I kid).

Gauge Pod

Gotta put the pods somewhere

Scangauge II

This fella will let you see your intake temps, coolant temps, and oil temp. The oil temp is especially important because you didn't want to spend the cash for an oil cooler. You need to know when the oil is getting hot so you can ease off.

Optional: Engine Oil Cooler ($700)

Without an engine oil cooler, you are going to see massive heat soak in your engine oil after just 1 or 2 hard pulls. I did not originally include this because it puts your budget way up at $6500 and is a performance mod and not a reliability/safety mod as long as you keep an eye on your oil temps and don't push a hot engine. Also, you can easily purchase this later and add it on after-the-fact whereas everything else is virtually mandatory from the get-go.

Obviously there is a lot of wiggle room here, it's just a starter budget for the noobs who come a'callin.