Hey.

I've got a 2007 Facelift and I really like the car but it's just a bit... "eh".

As I like the car I was wondering about getting a turbo charger fitted to it's 1.4 Petrol engine just to give it that more of a kick. I'm not one to go flying down the road at 100mph but I would like some more acceleration, especially not from standstill (0-60 I got 13 seconds which is fine for me tbth)

Has anyone ever done this? I would assume it's like turning my car into an ST version of my car, so it should not be hard/expensive to do as the engine would be "prepared" for it as such.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

You've assumed wrongly with the cost. You'll need (you'll need more bits, but here's some main bits);

ECU Remap (£400ish?)

Turbocharger (£1k+ unless you get a scrappers one)

Front Mount Intercooler (£300+)

Turbo-back Exhaust (£400+)

Performance Cat (£300+)

Piping (£250+)

Slimline Fans (£50 - 250+ depending on where you get them, can sometimes salvage off other cars)

Boost Controller

Oil Feeds

Dump Valve (recirculating, you're not a chav :P)

Wastegate

The list goes on... Needless to say you're going to be paying out £2.5k for a good installation. I mean you can get cheaper than all that or you could go for something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-BMW-E30-325-323-6CYL-M3-T3-T4-Turbo-Charger-Kit-81-94-/200664805086?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2eb88deede#ht_1742wt_1163 just the quality worrys me, loose a turbine and get it sucked into the engine and bye bye car.

My recommendation; Remap, cat-back exhaust, performance cat, upgraded piping for induction (Do NOT use pod filters, cold air intakes or replacement panels, they're #@*&! - they're rather poo, do nothing for performance (except loose some) and can knacker up your intake/engine/day/week/month/year), upgraded throttle body maybe, good service, bit of fuel additive and off you pop. Should see about what, 25bhp perhaps? Should give it some poke.

It would be a lot cheaper to sell your car and buy an ST you'd have to spend a lot of time and money to get your engine anywhere near the performance of a standard ST

wow, and there was me thinking I would get it done for £500 or so - as you can tell I've no idea (hence the post)

Thanks for your replies though, it's interesting esp as I thought it was as simple as bolting something onto the fuel injectors lol

And yes, it sounds like it would be a lot more economical to get an ST, or just wait till I get a family and get a focus ST or something similar.

£250 for a Superchips remap would get you a nice gain, can get an exhaust system for around the £500 from Pumaspeed, good service would cost you £30 - 150 depending on if you do it yourself; probably the best 3 options there.