That's exactly what I say. I ask for a quote for the poorman (parallel). The guy there knows exactly what I was talking about. and he told me he will have to do a diagonis test for two hours and then find out what really is needed and then start with the job. So 8 hours to do the poorman was just a little too much.

This was my question!!! I know the full conversion will be pricey but the poorman???

 

That is why I came to this forum because I always look up to this club and ask that I was being ripped and is there any more site or write up on how to do the poorman(parallel) because Rob site wasn't clear on how to do it....

 

Wait wait, he told you he'd need to do a 2 hour diagnostic? What the hell is he diagnosing? You don't have a problem, you're switching some vacuum lines and removing a couple things. Theres no diagnosis needed.

I find it hard to believe that Checkpoint doesn't know how to do a non-seq conversion.(this based on the "find out what really is needed" part of your quote) They should know our turbo control system inside and out given the amount of business this forum gives them.

Thats crap, he's trying to get you to pay for a whole lot more than you need. Find a new mechanic.

 

I seriously doubt we have the whole story......

 

Back to the 2 different parallel set ups, you can tell just by taking a look at the turbos that the "correct" version is a lot better than the poorman's. I guess that really wasn't being debated though. For the "correct" version 8 hours is a good price if everything truely is included. Just to do this step: "(3)the #2 exhaust port opening in the turbo housing. must have it's edges rounded off to reduce turbulence since the port size is way larger than the port in the exhaust manifold." you are going to need diamond tipped bits...these are expensive, get ruined in the proccess, and it is a lot of work just for this step. W/o this step there is a ton of air flow turbulance. For the poormans parallel 8 hours is way too much. I really don't think that is what he was quoting you for though. Besides all this you should stick with your sequential if nothing is wrong because, in my experienced with the matter opinion, parallel sucks. Totally not worth whatever small gains you will get. It sucks 80% of the fun out of street driving the car.

 

Yeah I found it hard to believe why he needs to diagonose my turbos.
He wants to diagnose my turbos to see if there is anything wrong with it. Before doing the job. He told me he was going to do some test drive and then wait till car is cool and then see my turbos then start the job. Like mention earlier he never mention the full conversion, such as port waste gate and all that extra stuff. But anyway I don't care about that, I was just wandering if I could get some more write up on the parallel. Thats All.

 

That's true, the guy just want to cheat me. When I have a coolant leak, I went over there to get it fix.
He did a dianosis test and told me it was the front water pump housing gasket. He quoted 7 hours job just to do it. I then went to Mazda Plus another shop and they did it for 4 hours. The people at Mazda Plus told me that the other 3 hours was unecessary. They also told me that the guy at Checkpoint their only tech. just wants money...

 

Find a better shop. And dont go to the dealer! They suck too. Isn't SR Motorsports close to you?

Anyway, I did the Po' man's conversion using Rikkis' instructions and pics. Too bad his site is down/gone. It took me an hour. Yeah, I'm slow.

 

<-----poorman's coversion....works beautifully....took 20min. to do. I have full exhaust and intakes...and a boost controller...lag is not much worse than stock and i get full boost(1 bar) by 3500-4000 rpm in 3rd...which makes for excellent mid-range gains!!...no waiting for transition....just smooth spooling....and steady gain...i recommend at least trying this setup to anyone...but full exhaust and intake is a must.

 

Since I do all my own work at home, except for work requiring tools which I or my friends do not have; time and costs are not a problem.

My conversion was beyond what most even do for full conversion. Even with a high flow cat on (only for inspection time) my low end responce isn't slower than stock unless above 3rd gear and below 3000 rpm. If that bothers you, then you really should be driving a V8 as you do not really have the sports cars mentallity.

Even at 12PSI boost, first gear is useless once revs get pass 3000 when the wheels spin all the way to red line.
In cool weather or at 14PSI boost, even second gear spins a lot. And I am running stock intake ports.

Non-seq is not good if on a stock engine with all stock intake and exhaust parts, or even if the exhaust is upgraded. But on a properly set up engine, seq can not compare to non-seq.

 

Well, I just did the non-seq electronic switch, and I'm not impressed with non-seq. It's loud and low rpm/part throttle response is lacking. Only took about 30 mins to wire it up. You should try it before you go non-seq.

 

OK, time to set some things straight. There is no finer rotary shop in the Sacramento area than Checkpoint. I'd put them up against any shop (KD, RP, Pineapple, Tripoint, Pettit, etc.). Cam Worth (the owner of Pettit) asked Chris to be his one and ONLY crew at Laguna Seca two years ago, and they now have a long and fruitfull relationship with Chris supplying him with Wolf 3D setups (Chris is an authorized dealer of Wolf ecu systems). Because of the relationship between them I got a very nice deal on dowel pinning my latest rebuild. It took quite a bit of time (shipping the motor across the country twice), but the quality is outstanding.

Chris would never do the poor man's setup - it's like asking Michelangello to do a quick knock-off copy of David and also throw in a copy of the Cistine Chapel....and can you do it in 30 minutes?

Chris is a craftsman who takes pride in his work and has been burned so many times by people looking to have something done on the cheap that he's going to quote his time to do a thorough job. If you don't like it, tough - he's got more than enough paying customers beating down his door for his services.

The shop manual calls for ~ 6 hours to do an r/r on the stock turbo setup. Since Chris has not seen your car, he has no idea of the shape your turbos are in. If he does the conversion and then there is an issue that is uncovered afterwards (you had a seal that was close to going out, a cracked housing that was edgy) he doesnt' want you saying that something he did caused the problem. The inspection/diagnostic protects both of you.

The 3rd gen does not suffer fools lightly - it takes time for the diy'er to learn it, or you can pay for someone who has gained that experience, and like any specialized skill, that usually costs. I've paid quite a bit of money to Checkpoint over the last 6 years, and recieved exactly what I paid for and more - I can talk to Chris at home, trade ideas, get special treatment .... treat him right and he will treat you right. I was over there today with a small problem and he dropped everything to take care of it.

It sounds like you feel you have the aptitude and time to try to do it yourself if you can find the documentation to follow, so keep searching. However, you run the risk of tearing it apart and then being unable to get it to work. You eliminate that risk by paying a pro like Chris. Your choice. Chris is not cheating you, but he's also not going to cheat his family and his business by undervaluing his time or damaging his reputation of quality.

Beast

with New ported, pinned, T04s fire breathing Beast
Lovingly maintained by Checkpoint