# Why are Super chargers and Turbos so expensive?



## Wrx74 (Feb 21, 2006)

With my wrx i put in a Mitsu 18g turbo Front mount intercooler and got a tune for the sum of 3.5k why are gto kits thousands more?


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## dealernut (Oct 22, 2005)

Wrx74 said:


> With my wrx i put in a Mitsu 18g turbo Front mount intercooler and got a tune for the sum of 3.5k why are gto kits thousands more?


To compare the GTO compontents to the WRX.

My main answer would be the need of the parts. A Subaru has much more of a demand becasue of the # of vehicles out there for each. GTO's are a limited production vehicle. 

That being said, you can get a Supercharger for 3.5k on a GTO if you price it right.


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## johnebgoode (Oct 4, 2005)

Wrx74 said:


> With my wrx i put in a Mitsu 18g turbo Front mount intercooler and got a tune for the sum of 3.5k why are gto kits thousands more?


A Lawyer was once asked, "Why are Divorces sooooo expensive. The reply was, 
*" Cause they're worth it".*


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## QwkRed05GTO (Oct 17, 2005)

dealernut said:


> To compare the GTO compontents to the WRX.
> 
> My main answer would be the need of the parts. A Subaru has much more of a demand becasue of the # of vehicles out there for each. GTO's are a limited production vehicle.
> 
> That being said, you can get a Supercharger for 3.5k on a GTO if you price it right.


New? Where? I've been looking for the past few months and everything is around 6 grand.


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## GOATGIRL (Feb 6, 2006)

johnebgoode said:


> A Lawyer was once asked, "Why are Divorces sooooo expensive. The reply was,
> *" Cause they're worth it".*


WOW!!!! I can relate to that statement!!!!:willy:

But they are right....you get what you pay for!!!!


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## smitty's05gto (Feb 5, 2006)

Supply and demand.

There arent a lot of GTOs on the market compared to most other cars.

what is it.. roughly 11K cars per year for 3 years? something like that.

That.. and the cars are still relatively new. Cost for time in labor for testing/failing/retrying... fabrication of new parts... and there really isnt a big market for them, if you keep it all relative.

Keep in mind... parts for the Fbody camaros were expensive also until years down the road. More suppliers.. more competition... more choices = lower prices. 
There are many other variables, but I'm sure this will cover the basics.


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## KingOfSiam (Feb 18, 2006)

WRX's, EVO's, etc are already turbocharged from the factory. The motors are already set up to handle boost.

So all you need is a bigger turbo (and basic supporting mods) and you're set with a WRX, as opposed to changing the engine/exhaust type of NA cars like GTO's.

Edit: I was mainly talking about turbo's. Superchargers are more NA friendly, IIRC.


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

Another reason, in addition to the reasons mentioned above (which are all absolutely true), is they are true high-performance items. They're built to strict tolerances and bubba joe from your local auto parts store can't build you one. Well, I guess he could, but if you plan on having an engine for long, I wouldn't suggest using the bubba joe supercharger...there's a very good chance that within a very short time that it's going to be slinging parts all over the road. Both superchargers and turbochargers are relatively complex components. Most of the tolerances of these parts are down to thousandths of an inch. Anytime you need precision like that, you need very expensive equipment to design/create those parts...that cost is passed down to the consumers as well. 
We are living in a great time though. These things are becoming less expensive every year. As manufacturing processes become cheaper, specialty parts such as these will become cheaper.


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## smkdu (Sep 22, 2005)

baron_iv said:


> Both superchargers and turbochargers are relatively complex components. Most of the tolerances of these parts are down to thousandths of an inch. Anytime you need precision like that, you need very expensive equipment to design/create those parts...that cost is passed down to the consumers as well. We are living in a great time though. These things are becoming less expensive every year. As manufacturing processes become cheaper, specialty parts such as these will become cheaper.


:agree Also if you want to know why they are so expensive listen to what they are built to do(How they work) Sorry to bore you guys with another tech. thing The Turbos compress air coming into the engine and by doing so it allows the cylinder to take in more air which means more fuel, therefore it creates more of an explosion. But in order to achieve this feat, the turbo has to use the exhaust flow to from the engine to spin the turbine, which in turns spins the air pump. Now comes the fun part the turbine in a turbo spins at speeds of 150,000 Rpm which as most of you know is about 30 times faster than most cars can go, and so b/c it hooked up to the exhaust it's also very hot in the turbine. Superchargers work in kinda the same way but they are parasitic to an engine(They spend power to make power.)S/c are belt driven devices that draw their power directly from the crankshaft. Most are driven by acc belts which wraps around a pulley connected to a drive gear, which in turn rotates the compressor gear. The rotor of the compressorcan come in various designs( Roots, centrifical etc.)But it's job is to draw in air squeeze it into a smaller space and then discharge it into the intake manifold. Now if you can make something that complicated for cheaper you can try but it's worth the extra money to make sure it will work for longer than 2-3 tries. Sorry for the long post I just love to talk about cars.(I know most of you knew this info I apologize for repeating it to you.):cool


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

No need to apologize smdku, chances are that there will be someone who comes in here who isn't QUITE sure how they work, your explanation will help them out. Sometimes being technical is a good thing. :cheers


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## smkdu (Sep 22, 2005)

:cheers I appreciate it once I get started on something it's hard for me to stop glad you guys are understanding.


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## SgtGeek (Apr 30, 2005)

Fairly simple really..some have covered the supply and demand of free trade....
Cost of development and R&D is a biggie...
Marketing to a new "crowd" is a biggie....
Yup...turbo is a turbo....but marketing and R&D as it relates to your business plan and cash flow with the "unknown" of how many GTO owners ( see limited sales) will buy the things for you to recoup your upfront cost...and you get a much higher cost.....it's math....and statistical math at that...


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2006)

Hey, if a good super is too expensive you can buy one of those electric fans on Ebay to "force" the air into your engine. :lol:


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