Advice needed: rounding up a few more horses?

[GC89]

I have an 89 turbo that I am wanting to pull a few more horses out of. Im not building a racer or anything just want my baby to live up to its legendary name. I plan on keeping the stock turbo, I dont really want to up the boost much for durrability reasons.

1.Im thinking new plug wires (NGK? or MSK?) any oppinions?
2.Apexi intake
3.How can I bump up my CT-26s output?
4.New piping and possibly a more efficient intercooler. At most I plan on running 10 psi, (probably go with 8) would it be at all effective to get new piping or an intercooler? if so any suggestions on brands? I know the stock ones arent exactly efficient but would the added area to fill be more than the stock ct-26 could push?
5. Iv also been told that adding a 3in downpipe and elbow, along with loosing the cats or going to a substrate will add a little bit even with the stock piping and muffler??? This didnt make much sense to me but I dont have much desire to loose my factory exhaust yet, as the precious owner replaced it 10,000 miles ago. I also like the quietness of the car. I wouldnt think it would make a difference what pipe you have up front when your still trying to dump through 2 and some odd inch on the tail end? Or do the stock downpipes have a harsh bend in the or something?

Basically Im just looking for a bit more power but I still need it reliable as it is a driver. Appreciate your help guys

 

[themadhatter]

Heres what i would do if i were you
-intake
-3" exhaust
-3"downpipe
-highflow elbow
-electric boost controler
-high flow fuel pump
-upgraded charge pipes and maybe a intercooler
-lex afm
-550 injectors
-afc

 

[Tgood]

That sounds about rite to me. The stock exhaust is very restrictive. turbo motors like to breath

 

[pimptrizkit]

That sounds about rite to me. The stock exhaust is very restrictive. turbo motors like to breath

oh yeah they do,

 

[starscream5000]

A 3" DP with an integrated turbo elbow on it will give you close to the most bang for your buck IMO. Your stock exhaust will still hold that gain back quite a bit. 3" test pipe (if you can get away with one) will help out lots too.

 

[GC89]

what about upping my turbos output to 8? new wastegate maybe? is that all it would take?

 

[need new tires]

adding the 3" elbow/DP will push the turbo close to 8 psi alone.

intake (cone filter)
hardpipes 2.25"-2.50"
FULL 3" exhaust
and go drive the car. it will amaze you how much more spunky it is.

-shane

 

[drjonez]

what is your aversion to running more boost?

a properly modded stock turbo engine @ 15 psi or so will make 300 rwhp reliably....

 

[GC89]

In the long run boost= engine wear in any car, Im going to work around upping the boost as long as I can. As long as I can shut my buddy up in his 325i Im happy with my power:icon_bigg

I was also wondering if anyone makes a front strut bar that doesnt get in the way of the tems units? And what tranny and differential oil should I use? My manual also said the oil pressure should be 4.3 psi at idle and 36-71psi at 3000 rpms, this sounded a bit odd to me? What should my oil pressure actually be at?

 

[starscream5000]

In the long run boost= engine wear in any car, Im going to work around upping the boost as long as I can. As long as I can shut my buddy up in his 325i Im happy with my power:icon_bigg

More like, increased wear on the turbo vs. wear on the motor. The wear on the turbo itself will be much greater than the motor. The turbo will give out before the motor will (assuming both are new/or rebuilt) if you have a good tune and don't screw something up by some other means.

 

[NewWestSupras]

Front strut bars are overrated according to some knowledgeable members on here. You can pull the hats and use most of them with just the actuators on. Redline 75-90 LSD oil is great for the diff. and Redline MT-90 is a good candidate for manual transmissions. Theres alot of synthetic blends out there, but if Jdub reccommends it, its good enough for me.

 

[americanjebus]

Once you do all the bolt on's get that safc or ditch the lex afm and get a maftpro and release some HP w/ a good tune.

 

[guards_man79]

lets us not forget about the little things that most don't think about like electric fans and etc. Not to mention the things that just release more to the rear wheels like a lightweight flywheel etc.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Keep it simple and cheap;
Retorque your HG
Shim the wastegate with 2 -3 washers
get a real downpipe and exaust if you can afford it
get a free-flow intake
This alone will give you 30-50HP, I imagine.

 

[drjonez]

In the long run boost= engine wear in any car, Im going to work around upping the boost as long as I can. As long as I can shut my buddy up in his 325i Im happy with my power:icon_bigg...

by that logic ANYTHING you do to increase HP = more wear on the engine....best to drive it softly, keep the revs under 3k, not exceed 55 MPH and only drive it for distances longer than 100 miles in order to ensure that your engine doesn't wear excessively.....:3d_frown:

 

[shaeff]

i was running 15psi daily on a pretty stock motor, and stock turbo. i made 289rwhp, 295ft lbs tq. (and my impeller blade was chipped to the max, and had lots of shaft play, and bad oil seals) (sorry to anyone who was ever behind me at that point...)

but i ran it like that for months, and i drive the crap out of my car! if i can't beat on it, what fun is that?

-shaeff

 

[jtran8]

It,s depends on your budget ,power you want and your engine healthy condition . If your head gasket is fixed , you will need 3" turbo back ( BIC performance down pipe; BIC performance test pipe ) 3" cat back exhaust your choice with built in removable silencer ( silencer on if you have litle baby or girl friend in your car and silencer off if you want to race) intake your choice ( i use K&N) , driftmotion intercooler kit : boost gauge ,boost controller ( either manual or electronic ) back out screw on stock afm ; turn up the boost to 15 psi . that should get you to low 13s ( racing clutch is a must have ) replace spark plugs if they are old , spark wire replacement is not neccessary.

 

[GC89]

how do I shim the wastegate? and what should my oil pressure be at? the specs the manual gives seem odd and pretty low at idle?

edit: figured out how to shim the waste gate, my oil pressure sits a little under 10 when fully idled down and hits around 37-38 at max. The manual says this is normal but on most other cars I wouldnt be happy with this. Is this normal or decent?

 

[GC89]

somebodys got to know oilpumps? Are there any better options that the oem ones or ways to make them more efficient?

 

[againstdawall06]

Your oil pressure is normal(assuming your oil pressure gauge is accurate). What it says in
the manual is correct.