dear all,

I am thinking of increase my car hp, however, i m not sure whether i really need to change the intercooler since i have tight budget and would like to upgrade step by step...

Any idea whether which think should be upgraded and in the end will be ecutek to make it 500hp?

Pls kindly share with me...

anywhere, few questions to ask
1) BOV/SSQV really can protect turbo and make its life span longer?
2) Stock Intercooler can withstand 500hp?
3) EVC6 on SST can hold the boost? Heard from others that they encounter some problem on holding the boost, seems not suitable for SST.
4) Perrin FMIC or AGP intercooler is better in terms of $ factor and performance.
5) Any intake system wun make me sacrifice low rpm torque? Someone using ARC told me some power loss in low rpm for SST.

thanks for sharing information with me..

i dunno about the MR but i would do the Perrin FMIC (and pipes) a cold air intake. and a turbo back exhasut

1) BOV/SSQV really can protect turbo and make its life span longer?
Lots of info on this forums, just give it a search. But truthfully, I believe the stock valve is sufficient enough already for the car.

2) Stock Intercooler can withstand 500hp?
Ehh, some claim 400hp, others say 500hp. But I wouldnt worry too much about the intercooler just yet, focus more on exhaust first, intake, tune, intercooler pipes, etc...I believe that the stock intercooler supports the stock turbo well, so unless you are going to upgrade the turbo, then upgrade the intercooler.

3.) (Skipped because I dont know enough about the SST)
4.) Perrin FMIC or AGP intercooler is better in terms of $ factor and performance.
Again, refer to #2, however, Dcasandman (member on forums) has a perrin FMIC.
here is his review.. http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8106&highlight=perrin+intercooler

5) Any intake system wun make me sacrifice low rpm torque? Someone using ARC told me some power loss in low rpm for SST.
Umm...to be honest, If this statement is true, I don't think that it would be significiant enough for you to frustrated about, cause you would be sacrificing torque for hp and in the long run, after you get other mods (exhaust, downpipe, test pipe, tune, [manual boost controller maybe], etc...torque will increase and it will for SURE compensate the little minute lost of torque initially)


In my opinion though, I wouldnt purchase the intercooler first, there is absolutely no need just as yet, get turboback exhaust and intake first if you would like.

best of luck..

First thing I'd look into is an Ecutek tune. Best bang for the buck imo.

TUNE!

TUNE!

should everything be installed, eg: intake, exhaust, intercooler then only ECUTEK? since ECUTek make whole things pushed to its limits.

anyone's advice?

My thought is a little different. I agree the tune will yeild the most initial HP, but Im going for a custom tune and the closest tuner to me is 8 hours away. For me, Im getting all my parts first then going to get a tune. If it was easy for me to drop in and get a tune I would have done it long ago. So, if you live in the North East or in Cali where all the tuners are I would definitely drop in for a tune. If you are in my situation I would wait, get all the parts then tune to do a all in one.

should everything be installed, eg: intake, exhaust, intercooler then only ECUTEK? since ECUTek make whole things pushed to its limits.

anyone's advice?

Depends on where you live and what you are planning.

As far as what I would do first. I would get a turboback exhaust. It was one of the last things I did cause I was waiting on Perrin, but this car needs to breath. Of all the bolt-ons I actually felt power gain in the exhaust and the AEM intake. The other mods I believe will help to achieve more power when the car is tuned. I also love the Perrin FMIC its a beautiful piece. All the issues that I had with it have been resolved, which where very small in the first place.

looking for 500 hp on a budget? have fun. buy all used stuff.

cheap+fast= not reliable
reliable+fast= Expensive

get everything then get a tune. if not everytiem u get something u would have to get a tune from what i hear

As far as what I would do first. I would get a turboback exhaust. It was one of the last things I did cause I was waiting on Perrin, but this car needs to breath. Of all the bolt-ons I actually felt power gain in the exhaust and the AEM intake. The other mods I believe will help to achieve more power when the car is tuned. I also love the Perrin FMIC its a beautiful piece. All the issues that I had with it have been resolved, which where very small in the first place.

I'm also looking at the Specialty X exhaust vs the Perrin, the Buschur intake with the carbon fiber cover vs the AEM - but if I use the Perrin reflash you need the stock intake, or maybe just the Panel Filter.

Thoughts? And the FMIC looks amazing-what were the issues?

^^Initially the issue one of the hanging brackets was off to the side by 0.25 of an inch. It made it difficult to install. That was the only issue. You are also right Perrin only likes to send out maps for the stock intake. I would go for a suction pipe though. I do not think you can go wrong with either exhaust though. They are both my favorite.

^^Initially the issue one of the hanging brackets was off to the side by 0.25 of an inch. It made it difficult to install. That was the only issue. You are also right Perrin only likes to send out maps for the stock intake. I would go for a suction pipe though. I do not think you can go wrong with either exhaust though. They are both my favorite.

Yeah, it would be great to get a map for the aftermarket intakes but thought I would get more power from the map if using the stock intake is the only option.

Anybody have experience with the Buscher/AEM intakes compared to each other? I know that the shield is important to keep the idle from stumbling with the AC on and Buscher makes a big deal about this factor...

"I would go for a suction pipe though."

Is this the one you are using?

http://www.hksusa.com/products/?id=2941&rsku=6545

No, All my piping is Nisei UICP/LICP/Suction Pipe. My stuff looks really amazing, and the quality is great. Its also super functional, but I may go a different route if I had it to do over. The Nisei stuff rereoutes the bov under the intake which looks great, but makes it really hard to get to if something blows off. There are plenty of auction pipes out now though. Perrin, Cobb, Samco all make one.

Stupid question: Looks like you have the AEM intake in that photo, but the text says" Back to Stock Box with HKS Dropin" - so what are you using?

He is back to stock with a drop in panel filter.

^Ya I changed it back to stock.. Ive been lazy changing my pic.

^Ya I changed it back to stock.. Ive been lazy changing my pic.

I assume that was for the tune, to dial that in?
What is the dropin? Couldn't find it on their site. Sorry for all the stupid questions - most I've ever done before on my cars were header/intake/exhaust/shocks/struts/wheels/tires, that sort of thing.

got it, duh:
http://www.extremeturbosystems.com/product_info.php?products_id=16539

No, All my piping is Nisei UICP/LICP/Suction Pipe. My stuff looks really amazing, and the quality is great. Its also super functional, but I may go a different route if I had it to do over. The Nisei stuff rereoutes the bov under the intake which looks great, but makes it really hard to get to if something blows off. There are plenty of auction pipes out now though. Perrin, Cobb, Samco all make one.

What would you do if you were starting from scratch...well...like I am I guess?

^First I probably would have went with Cobbs Itercooler Pipes. They look just as clean if not cleaner than my Nisei Stuff, but they do not move the BOV. I also probably would have held out on an intake untile I upgraded the turbo. I would do everything else exactly the same. The customer service at Perrin is amazing. They never blow me off, and the fit and finish of their stuff is really nice. I will say though the CF exhaust from Specialty X is awsome looking. My favorite 3 mods by Far though are my Custom Tune with the Accessport, the Accessport itself, and this is kinds stupid but I love my Advan RS Wheels they are Beautiful.

Thanks for the info-
:offtopic:and good luck with the spoilers...you probably saw my post with the TSB when I went to get them all re-attached yet again.

H:drive:Hey! Nice new shot of your ride, Sandman!

^First I probably would have went with Cobbs Itercooler Pipes. They look just as clean if not cleaner than my Nisei Stuff, but they do not move the BOV.

The Cobb is GSR only - I have an MR:
http://www.cobbtuning.com/products/?id=4245

I looked at the HKS and AP parts, but they do not seem as nicely done Thoughts?
Didn't find one from Perrin. Buschur has a specific MR lower pipe, but doesn't work with the stock airbox:
https://secure.buschurracing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=193_197_229&products_id=1262&osCsid=9ffaa419825851d07d24829de23b6889