confused about turbo mods
 

Hiya, I've searched through the forum looking at how to go about modifying my s4 t2, but I sometimes hear conflicting advice, so I was wondering if anyone could help me out on this. my t2 has not been modified what-so-ever, but I also dont want to just slap on mods and watch it detonate , and hence I'm asking what's the safest way to modify a t2. In your suggestions please note if the mods need to be done all at once, or if the various parts can be put on one after another in particular steps. This all assumes that the car has already had a tune-up and all the liquids have been changed, etc. My goal for this car is to pushing around 350 horses to the real wheels.

thanks in advance

There's really not a good road map to mods, since there's so many ways to approach the problem. Not to mention you usually end up saving for something, getting it, then moving on to the next mod. Or, you end up getting whatever is on the Parts Trader on on the classifieds here.

That said, first step is ALWAYS a tuneup. New plugs, wires, fuel filter. Are your brakes in good shape? What kind of tires do you have - cheap tires will quickly bite you in the butt!

A cone intake is a good place to start - easy to install, inexpensive, and makes some good power. You can safely put a cone on without worrying about fuel or anything as well.

Next mod I'd say is a boost gauge - you really need to keep an eye on things, and see how your boost changes as you mod the car. I recommend any good Japanese gauge - Greddy makes excellent, reasonably priced gauges, and Apexi's boost gauge is great and the only cheap gauge in their lineup :). I'm not a fan of Autometer - don't get me started there :).

Max out your stock turbo before proceeding farther. You can get to around 250 or so to the ground on the stock turbo.

To hit 350, you need a full T04 type turbo, which is far from a cheap proposition. You need to lay the groundwork first - exhaust, intercooler, fuel, etc. - before heading down that road.

Also, at some point, it's very likely that you WILL blow a motor. Even if you take care of your fuel 9 ways from Sunday, you're adding a lot to the output of a 15-year-old, 100,000+ mile motor - it WILL give at some point. If you can't deal with that, stay stock. But, a blown motor is not the end - it's a beginning to do a lot of things right :).

One of my favorite stock turbo setups is my old roommate Jay's car. He's got a '90 Turbo with -

- Cone intake and turbo inlet duct
- HKS front-mount intercooler
- Stock rebuilt motor
- 720cc injectors both primary and secondary
- 3" downpipe, midpipe, and Apexi N1
- Manual boost controller
- A full complement of gauges (boost, EGT, water temp)
- Apexi Super-AFC
- Walbro fuel pump
- TurboXS blowoff valve

With that setup, he made 250 to the ground, still running rich on fuel, and on a super hot day. And, it's reliable as rain, drives great.

Anyhow, that's some ideas. It's much better to slowly do mods instead of throwing the book at it at one time - you get lost in a swarm of problems.

Dale