95 R33 GTS-t: $2000 for mods?

[Anquetil]

As of later this week I’ll be the proud owner of a 95" R33 GTS25t, during ownership I am looking to only spend around $2000 on mods. At the moment the only non-stock parts are the 3" exhaust, air intake and BOV, I'm not sure what to invest in next.

After doing a bit of reading it seems that if new PartA is installed it can put additional pressure on Partb meaning you need a new PartC, so I’m a little confused. I should note that 80% of my driving is freeway driving.

It looks like most people don’t recommend running the stock turbo over 12psi, if mine was upped to 10-11psi what mods should be added to accommodate this increase with a $2000 budget? Where does a newbie start, second hand FMIC?

Any help here would be great here too!

Cheers

Shane

[Steve]

with the exhaust you are probably running about 9-10psi already, so a bleed vavle by itself isnt going to do huge amounts.

first thing I would be doing is getting some decent suspension - probably cost you around 1-1.2k for decent second hand. Some caster bushes cost you about $200. Next would depend on how far you intend going with the mods. A SAFC (SAFC II new from greenline is about $425+ postage) isnt a bad thing, but if you intend going for > 200rwkw, a full management system is better. you could get a SAFC fitted and close to tuned with the change from the 2k after the suspension.

After this is done, then be thinking about cooler and bleed valve. Also good cheap mods are strut brace and pineapples. Swaybars are good too, and about $500 for adjustable selby's front and rear. Building a cold air partion is a very cheap exercise, and helps keep the throttle response crisper once the engine has warmed up.

A second hand cooler is ok if you find a good one, but you wont be able to find both cooler and suspenion for the $$$ i think.

this is one option.

you could go cooler and SAFC - but it really is worth getting suspension sorted - make the whole driving experience alot nicer

Some thoughts anyways.

[Anquetil]

Thanks for you reply Steve, shes already got Aftermarket Lowered Suspension and Front Bar.

Getting a cold air intake partition was in theb ack of my mind.

So it looks like Management system and IC are the next step...

Is there an abbreviations page somewhere in the FAQ? SAFC?

[Steve]

SAFC = Super Air Flow Controller, basically an interceptor that tricks the ECU to allow tuning of the air/fuel ratios. Most people seem to report 20-30+rwkw improvment with the fitting of one of these. With one of these and a cooler, you could expect a dramatic improvement in the performance of the car, $50 for a bleed valve (dont go over 12psi for reliability sake, or 10psi with stock cooler). Probably be in the 180-200rwkw range.

[Steve]

http://monkeywrenchracing.com/apexi_safc.html - some info on SAFC

[Roy]

Providing everything is in good working order, i would get the sway bars (assume your bushes etc are in good order... if not replace them at this time)

with the remaining $1500 i would look at an intercooler kit. With your current exhaust, filter and a new IC you will find boost is up around 12psi without any boost controller.

[Steve]

So many mods - so little money:p

[turbomad]

Your car sounds pretty much like mine did when I first bought mine, this is what I did:

Hybrid Intercooler $705 (I did my own piping)

Profec B EBC (used) $450

SAFC fitted & tuned $650

Pineapples $95

TOTAL $1900, 188rwkw@12psi, since then I've added a dump/front pipe ($230) as I only had cat back exhaust but haven't had the SAFC retuned yet.

[rev210]

The 13.4second thread and the project 12second... threads start with some ideas that will come under your budget given you have a full exhaust.

The intercooler change is good when you intend a larger turbo and all the rest of the expense that goes along with it. That alone will eat up all your funds.

A light flywheel and strong clutch (if it's a stocker) are good little budget mods.