Road map to 300 HP...

[motoken]

Shameless plug, I have a current Vitesse V-MAF+ plus kit. If you’re interested PM me.

PM sent.

[Tom]

Thanks again for all of the inputs.
When i said 300hp, I really meant 300'ish. I love a car with a power to weight ration of about 1:10. But I also want to key on getting the boost to deliver lower down in the power band to make it more responsive in the twisties.

Tom,
I agree, 3 inch exhaust should be fine and what I'd like to go for. Thoughts on the fabspeed offering?
Cat delete. I've been cautioned about doing that. Emissions are no longer an issue here in NM for me, but I've been told it might make the car more "fume-y." Valid concern? Do you have a link to the process described (sawzall route)?
Chip. Seems like LR has the market cornered in performance DME and KLR chips. Who else out there is a source of a performance chip?
I've read good things about Evergreen. Definitely a company i will keep in mind when/if the turbo comes out.

Gaspowered,
I was already thinking about getting that gauge. Looks like simple/cheep insurance.

Ken

Fabspeed generally makes good stuff, it's just expensive.

I've seen that commentary on Facebook about cat deletes making the car smell and fume-y, etc. It is not a valid concern in my book. Yes, the exhaust will have marginally higher emissions, but if they are getting into the cabin, then something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Bad hatch seals are a common culprit. Honestly, if a cat delete makes the cabin smell, you're lucky to find out about the leak.

I don't really have a link to the cat delete process, but a muffler shop would be able to do it with ease. That said, I'm not entirely sure what the federal law is about removing cats on cars this old -- so maybe a shop would have its hands tied... You could also have them install a large free-flowing performance cat if that was the case, or just do it yourself. Of course, a fabspeed test pipe would work great and just bolts right in, for a price.

With the stock DME, you can't do better than Vitesse chips. I just read Lindseys pitch about their MAX chips being better tested and tuned, and think that's classic Lindsey. I'm sure they are decent chips, but Vitesse is the gold standard. Note how close the chip's claimed hp numbers are to the 300hp kit. Also note that those numbers are using a turbo you don't have (the k26/8) and fuel you can't get at a regular gas station -- 93/94 octane, whatever that is, and 20psi of boost. West of the Mississippi we are mostly stuck with 91. I've recently burned my own chips, which is surprisingly easy and cheap.... I've been meaning to make a how-to guide on that.

Without updating the turbo, somehow, it's going to be hard to get to 300rwhp. But for a long time I ran my car with a k26/6 and about 275 horsepower, and it was a blast.... So maybe see what you think after hot-rodding the car -- you can always upgrade the turbo down the road if you still want more power... The Vitesse MAF would open up possibilities above 300 too, with the right supporting hardware...

[motoken]

Thanks again Tom. Lots of great info here for me to digest. Appreciate it!

[DDT951]

I made 405rwhp with a Vitesse S2R + MAF setup at 19.5psi. It makes even more power at higher boost and E85.

[motoken]

Resurrecting this thread.
Last year was the year of suspension mods. This year I'm going for HP. 300 is still the goal. Just checking to see if there any any new suggestions before i start my shopping.
Thanks in advance!

[944m3]

As Tom mentioned a bigger turbo would make it a lot easier. Get a Raptor 27/6 plug and play. I have Autothority chip that would work with the bigger turbo or A-Tune chip and adjustable 3bar fpr that can be used with A-Tune. Add a sport cat and a dual port wastegate and Bob’s your uncle.

[chrischrischris]

The earlier post from Tom is still a smart roadmap. You might do better but you can't go wrong with the Lindsey chip (I'm happy with mine). You have an earlier turbo, so you likely need the 24 pin type of chip.

[Jc951]

I had the lindsey chips before I upgraded the turbo and I kept fouling plugs.

Went with an Evergreen Turbo Raptor X (k27/8), Deca 630 injectors, Fabspeed catless downpipe, Broadfoot catback, Tial F38 wastegate and a custom chip tune by a local tuner. Made 305/306 to the wheels at 19psi. I'm sure if I went MAF conversion we could get a good deal more out of the turbo, but building an 07k swap, so i'm just sticking with the chip and stock AFM.

[Tom]

Well, the Vitesse turbo/maf kit is still very hard to beat, but I know John was having trouble sourcing parts for his turbos and they are listed at 'back order' on his site. You might still ping him, but not sure that's a viable route these days. If not, I'd talk to Evergreen about your goals and take his advice. Even a k26 cheater might do the trick for you. Keeping the k26 is nice because all the stock parts still fit it (bigger turbos often need a different j-boot or maf, low-profile temp sensor, bigger couplers, etc.).

As for chips, I'm jaded now that I've been burning chips, but with the DIY guide we have here on Carpokes, I would do that in a heartbeat over buying a set of off the shelf parts. You can buy Ostrich for $175, which is less than most performance chip, and then you can dial in the tune exactly as your car needs, rather buying a set of chips and hoping it happens to be perfect for your car... You'd need a wideband though.

The other things I'd suggest is not to get too caught up with a number. 300hp sounds good, and is a nice goal because you can get there with stock clutch, air box, injectors (ish), etc., but unless you have very specific track goals, the power curve can be at least as important for the fun factor on the street. A long time ago (circa 2002) I had my original 2.5 motor with (I think) a Huntley garret turbo and it pulled like a freight train -- super fun car that would just slam you into the seat with the boost hit. I had a friend with a k26/8 car with chips and mods, and his car seemed fast but not like mine. It would pull longer into the rpms than mine, but we both assumed mine had 25-50hp on his car based on the seat of the pants fun factor. His car pulled over 290 and mine was 'only' 270 on the same dyno, same day. I assume his car would eventually pull ahead on mine with enough open space, but for all practical purposes, my car was funner and faster. Just something to think about as you plan your mods...

[motoken]

Thanks again for all of the helpful information.

I wanted to share this link to some more helpful info i found on the web:

https://jmgporsche.co.uk/item/178-tunin ... rboparttwo

Curious if you all agree with the articles info?

Right now i am leaning toward the following:

- Keep my stock turbo.
- Swap to a three inch cat delete exhaust (LR with Borla).
- Dual port waste gate (LR or Tial)
- LR Max Chip
- Manual boost controller (LR)
- 3.0 FPR (LR)
Might add a gauge cluster for the boost controller and a boost gauge.

i think I should be able to put this together for about $2k.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Ken