dilat3d

What would be the best path to go on when it comes to modding? I pretty much mean should I go BPU first? Like intake, exhaust, timer and boost guage? I'm looking to do the most basic mods in essence. I read up that the K&N Drop-in intake is the best intake for the stock turbo, am I right? Also what's the best turbo timer and boost guage? also, is it worth the money to go for en electronic boost gauge, or manual? Finally, what's the best bang for your buck when it comes to exhaust? Especially turbo back vs. cat-back. Thanks!

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

Let me try to answer your questions one-by-one:

Intake won't make much difference to performance. But an open cone filter will let you hear the DV much better...which some people find really cool.

A turbo timer is totally unnecessary and can actually make the car easier to steal. Just take it easy (and keep off boost) for the last few minutes of a hard drive.

Boost gauges are pretty much all the same. There's no such thing as the "best" really. Pick whichever one you like the best.

A cat-back exhaust won't make a huge power difference. Most of the restriction in the exhaut seems to be the tiny stock downpipe and massive cat. A full 3" turbo-back exhaust with test pipe or high-flow cat from your favorite manufacturer (I like the Buschur myself) will make a noticable difference in power...provided you tune your car to take advantage of it.

Best "bang for the buck" would be to add a cheap boost controller (like the Hallman MBC for $70) and get the ECU reflashed.

Emre

JaguarS4R

So like the ARC, HKS, K&N typhoon...etc all really dont make a difference as far as performance but just sound better?? Lets the car breathe faster/cooler for turbos though, right?

You have a link for the Buschur exhuast?

Also, boost controllers. Yu have a link for the HALLMAN MBC? So pretty much spending money on expensive electrnonical boost controller is a waste since it does the same thing, the only difference is you can change in from inside the car correct?? What exactly is ECU reflash?

tokeone

iTrader: (4)

everythings a matter or opinion.
just search and read up on what you like best so you dont jump into something you dont like or may have problems with. (i made the mistake with a hks bov. but its highly rated around here)
standard turbo rule of thumb is let it breath. but remember, it doesnt do much good to have a offset balance. if you have a big whole in the front (intake) and a small one in the back (exhaust) you arent really doing anything. goes both ways. you may not see much horsepower gain but youll hear and feel a difference with most things. turbo spool faster, more responcive, ect.
it seems that everyones had good and bad experiences with every product more or less. i figure its still a fairly new and small market. although if you look enough youll find that many people like the works bov and hallman mbc. havent seen much bad about either around here.
just take your time and read up. see what works best for you, your pocket, and what you want out of the car.
also, flashing your ecu/tuning will lead to warranty voiding ect. so again, make sure your mods suit your needs and wants.

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

Basically, they make no real difference. The stock airbox is very well designed. People on this board who have swapped to a cone filter and dynoed their cars have found no significant increase in power. In fact, some filter kits (esp. the K&N Typhoon) can actually make you lose power as they lean out the midrange, causing the ECU to pull timing.

Having said that, I do believe that a filter kit can be helpfuil...provided that you have the car tuned to optimize it. Just sticking one on the car won't make a huge difference. But they do sound cool!


Just go to BuschurRacing.com and look at the Evo 8 parts. He's got a cat-back system (he calls it the "SCCA legal" kit) and a full 3" turboback system.


They're not exactly the same. An MBC generally reacts faster than an electronic boost controller. But you give up the ability to change boost settings easily. For me, that's not a big deal. I firmly believe in doing whatever mods you want, then tuning the ECU to optimize them. Once everything is set, I don't like fiddling with it. So for me, an MBC is perfect.

An ECU reflash is basically a way to reprogram your car's ECU using the OBD-II diagnostic port. You can re-map the fuel curves and fiddle with the timing. I had my ECU flashed by TurboTrix. They did a custom tune on their dyno for $450. That seems to be the standard price for a custom dyno tune.

Emre

dilat3d

I'm located on Long Island, so what would be the closest place to get my ECU reflashed? Also, would it be possible to leave the cat alone, and replace the downpipe and throw on a cat-back exhaust? One more thing, if putting on a cone drop-in filter could cause a loss in power, what would let me hear the diverter valves? Oh yah, do blow-off valves cause many problems like loss in power because they release into the atmosphere, or does throwing one on only add to the asthetics of hearing the pshhhhh sound?

JaguarS4R

So pretty much leave the stock intake is the way to go? I've noticed that all the intakes ive seen are short/hot air intakes and not CAI cold air that go in the fender. Why is that? I believe that if they did have CAI, then it would improce and wouldnt cuase it lose power. So pretty much what yu are saying is that buying a simple K&N element filter(if thats what the filter kit means) is all you need, so this will sound louder than stock?

JaguarS4R

how does a MBC react faster, b/c its manual v.s. electronical?So yu pretty much adjust it once(turn up the boost to what PSI?) and yu leave it alone. What if yu dont reflash the ECU and dont mess with the ECU and instead just do the MBC? Also, since a boost contoller is pretty much like a chip(raises boost increases hp) it'll void the warranty, some german car tuning companies have chips that are OBDII invisible or yu can just swap the ECU incase something bad goes wrong so dealer wont void. How does that. Im not understand the whole ECU v.s. boost controller?

EvoTech

iTrader: (25)

I am also on Long Island, and I have just been down the path that you are considering. I went with a Burschur turbo back, Defi boost gauge, RMR intake, Hall man Manual Boost Controller, Walbro fuel pump and Greddy turbo timer. Most of these parts I pickup up used on this board for a good deal. As far as a reflash, you are in luck. A short trip to Milford Ct. will bring you to Pruven Perfomance where Al from Dyonoflash can relash your ECU or do a full custom tune as he did with mine last week. The car is a whole different animal now. If you are local and wanted to see the difference for yourself, just shoot me a PM and we can meet up.

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

I'm not sure. I went to TurboTrix in Edison, NJ. It's about 1 hour south of NYC on the NJ Turnpike. They did a great job. With my supporting mods (Bushur 3" turbo-back w/ high-flow cat, Buschur air filter, and Hallman MBC set to 21psi) they freed up 50hp at the wheels after half a dozen dyno runs. If you calculate the drivetrain loss based on the baseline run, that yields 340hp at the crank.

I ended up with nice, smooth power and torque curves...the drivability is better than stock. Even the fuel consumption has improved! Amazing. All for only $450 for the custom dyno tune.


Not really. Most downpipes and exhausts are 3" in diameter. There's not much point in creating a 2.5" bottleneck by leaving the stock cat. A Catco 3" highflow cat is only $150 or something...it's worth it. If you don't want to screw with the cat, then just get a bolt-on cat-back and leave the downpipe alone.


A cone filter will let you hear the DV nice and clear. That's why I got one! A BOV that vents to the atmosphere will not cause power loss. But they can potentially give you some drivability concerns (stalling, poor off-idle response, etc.).

Emre

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

An ECU reflash will be undetectable by the dealer. So you'll be OK. But you're right...a boost controller (or even aftermarket BOV) will get you into trouble. Don't do it if you care about your drivetrain warranty.

And ECU reflash without some mechanism to stabilize boost will not yield huge gains. But you might be able to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 30hp with a less restrictive exhaust. Honestly, if you care about your warranty...don't mod the car.

Emre

areet

iTrader: (1)

An ECU reflash IS detectable by the dealer, it's been said MANY TIMES. A BOV will not cause any problems with the car or warrenty, but a MBC WILL!

EvoTech

iTrader: (25)

Kayaalp.

I would be interested to see what your Max HP and Dyno Numbers were at Turbo Trix. I have the exact same mods and I had the car custom tdyno uned at Pruven last week by Al from Dynoflash. It made 292 HP and 295 lbs with the high flow cat. I bet there would have been a bit more with the test pipe.

Kayaalp

iTrader: (1)

My car baselined at 230hp and 235lbs/ft on a tank of Sunoco 94. The ambient temp was 90.5 degrees with 30% humidity. Assuming the car actually made 271hp stock, that equates to a 16% loss.

After several dyno pulls, we ended up with 287hp and 281lbs/ft. This was at 96.2 degrees and 30% humidity. Assuming the same 16% loss, that would yield about 342hp at the crank. More important to me than the outright power was how smooth the curves look. Really smooth power delivery.

Like you said, I would have probably made a bit more with a test pipe...but I really prefer to run a cat. And as you can see, these pulls were on a very hot and muggy day. It sounds like our results are about the same.

Emre

YellowFever

iTrader: (24)

this is NOT TRUE at all. If it has been said "SO MANY TIMES" show me at least THREE threads where that is stated.