I'd say no. I did it at a stage when I had no girl, minimal expenses and I was making decent money. I decided I wanted to be TT so I went ahead and got myself a setup that had all bells and whistles you could want on a non-built setup. I definitely regret it. I wish I'd held on to that 15K and put it towards a fast, lightly modded car. These cars were never ever designed to cope with 300+ whp, and as soon as you start pushing the original engineering envelope, the problems start.

I don't know anyone who is built who hasn't had problems. And I don't mean problems like oil feed problems or rough idle problems. I mean spun rod bearing and warped head problems. These are very expensive, labor intensive issues to fix. That means your wallet will be significantly lighter and your car will be sitting for a long time. If you're one of the lucky few with minimal issues, then you're car is still going to have weird little quirks like fast draining battery, weak starts, etc. Once you start messing with things, the car is never the same unless you just take it back to stock.

Don't get me wrong. I love the modified car scene, and I may well return one day, but right now its just not for me. I don't feel like blowing money on stupid issues, and I feel like constantly troubleshooting and resolving issues even less. Ultimately, it was just a phase of my life as a young man that I'm over. I still love cars, but I just don't want to work on them all the time.

But once you stop, its difficult to stop. Modified cars are notoriously tough to get rid of and they are a pain in the *** to disassemble and part out. So most people just stick with them and keep pouring money into them and eventually come to resent the nonworking money-pit of a car. Then the see what they could have bought for $40-70K and they resent the situation even more. To use a poker term, people get "pot committed" to their cars because they have so much in them already. Making matters worse, I think people generally significantly over estimate what goes into having a boosted Z. Just for a stock block Z, you need the turbo kit, boost controller, gauges, EMS and a tune, and an exhaust. Too have a built Z, you need all of the above, plus the motor (pistons, rods, gaskets, studs, machine work, etc.), plus a bigger injectors, a better EMS, wideband, bigger radiator, oil cooler, and bigger fuel system. This doesn't include the money for labor, or goodies like a new plenum, pulley, cams, valves, heads, rims, brakes, suspension, seats, differential, engine dress up stuff, and so on.

I had some fun with the car, but not worth the expense, stress and ultimately the resentment that comes with it.

 

If I haven't gone down the built route, then I'd do it again.

Because I've gone down the built route, I wouldn't do it again.

 

Ultimately only you can decide if its worth it but to me those times when everything is running great and your spanking domestic *** that's what gets me through the bad repair times

 

I think SC is the way to go. You won't make as much power as the turbo crowd, but you also don't have to worry about blowing your motor, breaking other things, extensive supporting mods, etc. I'm happy with my Vortech setup, and its making almost 400whp with a 3.33 pulley (lowest boost) a very conservative tune. Its plenty for me, but I also don't race, its just my fun street car.

 

I picked up my 03 Base for 14k with 40k on the odometer about 6 months ago. It was a decent little ride that was moderately fun. I've also had an S2000, TT Stealth and a couple other sports cars. The way I see it is like this:

I spent 14k for the car.
3k for a used ATI Procharger kit
700 for Osirus tuning @ R/T Tuning
and labor costs for the install.

So for under 20k I've got a weekend car that absolutely rips. It's way more fun then the S2k and much faster then the TT Stealth. The charger and tuning is still fresh, and so I do have that finger crossing feeling when I drive it. Since I don't rely on it for everyday commutes it is completely worth it to me. I typically drive with a considerable amount of restraint, but on the rare occasion I let it rip from 1st to 3rd the smile stays on my face for a long time. I don't intend on putting larger injectors, running more then 7lbs of boost, or even drag racing it. IMO, for the money that I've spent so far, I've got an amazing value for a sports car. $.02

 

yes but if your stock motor supercharged blows you dont have thousands down the drain like you would built. You could buy a stock vq engine for half the price of built short block.

 

My built TT is the most fun, best looking, fastest car I've ever owned. I'd do it again 100 times.

 

now that's what i wanna hear!!!

 

It seems like all the people with alot of work say its not worth it and the people with stock blocks and more mild amounts of boost and power say it is. From what everything I have read from other threads that is pretty much the consensus. Stay below 400whp on ur stock block. Like the Z for what it is and what it can handle.

Me personally I bought my car boosted because I think NA z's are to slow. Got a great deal and for the price I paid it is the fastest car out there at that price. I am extremely pleased with it and have had no problems what so ever. I am also faster than just about everything I run up against. However like everyone else said there is the need for more speed. If you can learn to curb ur speed appetite I think you would be very happy with a mildly boosted application......... Not to mention no one ever sees it coming from a Z.