Is it worth it? somethin to ponder about..., ....small HP gain from mods Options

[No0bOne]

Seriously, do you think it's worth the 5-10hp gain from an intake or exhaust etc...that costs about 300-500$++? I'd say do other things on the car before deciding on adding some performance parts for it such as dropping it etc etc...Rather save up and turbo that baby with an engine built for it! Than you'll be seeing huge power gains. right...?

This post has been edited by No0bOne: Jan 26, 2003 - 4:36 AM

[snadman]

OK.

OK...

Hmmm...have we all been hording over the testosterone buffet lately? lol...fighting over such piddly little things.

Intake - Only true horsepower gains you will get is from a CAI. Otherwsie not much to be expected, although on average Injen intakes (that includes all intakes that they make averaged out) get about a 15hp gain. I've looked at intakes they sell which show dyno testing information that are on cars similar to ours....and gains vary from 5-13hp. People, though, have gone the DIY way, and I'm sure they can get more if they make a CAI for their vehicle....such as the headlight idea or when the guy that only makes CAIs for ST's starts making them for GT's...I'm curious if anyone could raise a little money so that guy could take a stock ST to a dyno and test it with and without the CAI he makes for it.

Exhaust - Bigger than a 2.5" exhaust, doesn't do any good for stock engines....it actually decreases horspower. (This was in Sport Compact Car mag and it is what I can remember becaue I can't find the article. It may have even been 2") Now, if you have some kind of boost such as a supercharger or a turbo, then the bigger the better.

Also, our engines (I'm told by a guy that knows them inside and out...jhull over at toyotacelicas.com) can only take 250-300hp.

Now, there are other bolt on mods to get some good hosrepower gains. People fear that Nitrous will blow their engine to pieces, which is true if used incorrectly which it often is. If nitrous is fed into the manifold (via a dry nitrous kit) at WOT then our engines can take a 76 shot of it without harm. That's 76 extra horspower. Actually, even if you just wanted to play it safe, the Zex kit offers a 55 shot nozzle...which gives you a 21 hp range of safety.

Obviously, 5psi of boost, however, doesn't do crap for our enignes. The Burien kit produces almost 50 hp, then add Perfect Power's SMT6i piggyback computer system...which will make the most of our enignes. Now, with a turbo and the piggy back, exhuats becomes an issue.

My main point I'm trying to make is that everything's interconnected. To get the most of one thing, you may have to have something else. And then there's the whole situation that if you buy one thing, it may not do crap for you unless you buy something else. All in all, to see some good horsepower gains from our cars, you must be willing to spend some serious cash (at least for most of us it's serious). I'm thinking around 2,000 - 4,000 in just engine mods...and that would pay for either a 3sgte swap (the best idea) or to come up with your own turbo kit, as well an exhaust.

I already epxlained the ways of bringing about serious HP with the stock 5sfe....but it has its limits. Now if you have a nice sized budget, you'd probably prefer the 3sgte swap. But wait a minute for you say yes...what else do you need to get even more of that engine....

JE Engine products is a must. They offer new rods, pistons, and a bunch of other crap for the 3sgte engine. You also may want to look into a stand-alone fuel management system such as Perfect Power's PRS8 system. Now you want to get a newer and nicer intercooler to cool down the hot air your blowdryer's forcing into your engine. This will get you some nice horspower gains.


All of this is JUST looking at engine mods. What about racing fuel that has a higher octane? How much si that going to cost you? AND, what about your suspension and wheels/tires to keep your car sticking to the ground...as well as handle better?

In conlusion:
If you're just looking for some mods to make your ride bump and look like the best...then don't waste your time even considering turbo's....this also applies tot hose of you with a tiny budget. Spend your money on an exhaust to sound ricey, an intake to make it growl, and thne the rest on exterior mods to make it look nice as well as stereo stuff. BUT!!! If you're looking for some serious (and 100% safe which excludes nitrous because no matter what it's not 100% safe even if you take all the necessary precautions) horsepower, be ready to expand your car budget into a whole new dimension.

I hope my ranting has at least made some sense to some fo you. Later

This post has been edited by snadman: Jan 26, 2003 - 7:35 PM