Is this a good/safe setup?
 

'87 TII w/ 7k on motor, all stock. I want to get:

-Rtek 1.7
-SafcII
-720 secondaries
-Walbro
-downpipe and full 2.5" single exhaust
-K&N cone
-FMIC (can you suggest a good setup for a good price or a good alternative?)

no one likes you... and yes sounds pretty safe though since you have an S4 you should consider porting your wastegate... your going to get boost creep for sure.

Yes yes... the wastegate. How hard is it to get the turbo off? When I port the wastegate, how big should I go? Does it need to be professionally done or is it something that I could do on my own?

Hi

whell i just had to take my turbo off about 2 weeks ago and ill tell you it was NOT easy took me a wile. theres 4 bolt holding the mainifold on under the heatshields and 2 oil lines so make shure to drain your oil first. and what ever you do dont drop anything into the exhust holes you destroy your engine.

With the porting of your wastegate that should be a good setup. The FMIC I would say isn't 100% neccessary right now, but I regret getting one before starting my setup because now I have to run on low boost until I can get one. Looks like a good start though. If you plan on doing anything serious in the future (i didn't at first then once I started i couldn't stop) i'd get an engine management system now and save yourself the trouble of saving up later. The S-AFC and Rtek will do good for simple stuff but in the future you'll be kicking yourself when you can't use the car to its full potential.

Is there any way to get around porting the wastegate? Can I buy a housing that is already ported? Or should I just get a better turbo?

Like what a microtec? Is that the good one or is there something better?

How much power potential am I looking at with that setup on the first post?

Power level will depend on how much boost you are planning on running.

IF you want to get around porting the WG, then get yourself a S5 manifold and turbo. S5 has a much better dual flapper WG. The only other way to get around porting is an aftermarked manifold and external WG :)

IF you are seriously interested in modding your car, then get an EMS first. It will provide you with the basis for any future mods that you planning on doing (heck, it will even allow you to run a stock setup at much higher boost and reliability).

As far as MicroTech is concerned, its a good EMS, but there is always something better ;)

The only problem is that I'm not good at all with wires and things of that nature. I would have to have someone else tune it for me. That takes even more money.

Porting the wastegate is not necessairly essential since you will have sufficent fuel IMO by using the 720cc secondaries, RTEK v1.7, and S-AFC. However, if it were ported, and you had a boost controller, management of boost would be MUCH easier. Anything over 5.5psi (?) is creep.

If you boost to 14psi (where the stock turbo is out of its efficency range) you should be able to get between 200-220 hp at the wheels I believe. A 3" exhaust would probably be a better investment, check out those cheapy single outlet units on ebay.

What kind of power are you looking to make? If you would be satisfied with 300-310 possibly at the wheels, check out a BNR stage 1 from rx7store.net. However, most people just go with stage 2 or 3 because the price difference isn't that substantial, however overall cost will increase because of necessary fuel mods. etc.

If you do not have the funds to get a EMS such as a haltec, or microtech check out the greddy e-manage. I'm kind of biased towards it, but IMO its a much better choice over a
S-AFC. However since you said you aren't that good with wiring and what not, the S-AFC may be a better choice. The only real issue is that the e-mange and S-AFC are in the same price range, the e-manage is just the better choice IMO. I also feel that the e-mange will give you more room to expand in case you decide for more power at sime time in the future.

I think that about covers it though....

What are the differences between e-manage and the safc? Would a microtech Lt-8 be a good choice with the internal map? How much would it cost approx to have a microtech tuned?

Sufficient fuel isn't the issue with an unported wastegate, well it CAN be an issue, but the main thing is to prevent boost creep/spikes. With a bigger exhaust it will be hard to keep any solid boost without it ported.

So, WG porting is a must.... but what about my last questions?

The S-AFC is just an RPM based fuel controller. It allows you to add/subract a certain percentage of fuel at specific rpm increments.

The E-Manage is a piggyback fuel and igniton controller (if you spend all the money on the upgrades). It gives you the ability to tune in 16x16 point map. Much more control.

I payed $400 CDN to have my EMS tuned by Steve Kan. That included dyno time, but it was a group rate. Usually takes a few hours per car depending on the quality of the basemap.

The e-manage is a bit more complicated than the S-AFC, you can plug in a laptop or additional sensors while with the S-AFC you cant and its just controlled with buttons on the unit. The S-AFC has real-time display that is a part of the unit while the E-manage doesn't have a screen to look at. The S-AFC is the more popular option pretty much because of the ease of use, in-unit display, and all that good stuff.

So... I basically want around 300hp. That would make me happy. Tell me the best and safest way to do that. I don't want to upgrade the turbo just yet. Would my first setup get me that?

300hp to the wheels? You are looking into aftermarket turbo territory with that. You can do a little over 300hp with an S-AFC or something of the likes, but a standalone is usually in the future if you are looking to go higher then that.

how high would that setup get me... reliably?

Well first off i'd go with a 3" exhaust for a turbo car, and with that and a decent tune probably a little over 200, maybe in the 215 area.

Anything else I could/should do? BOV?? A boost controller? If so, what are some good ones? Should I leave the TMIC? I am also removing the airpump and possibly the AC, it already has no PS.

but with the rtek timing is taken care of to match the boost so u shouldnt need an emanage!!

and with the rteck u should be able to go past 300 with just an safc i would think. ill have to do some testing and find out! ;)

Well, when you find out, let me know.

Anyone??

A FMIC is certainly a good investment. A cooler intake charge is always benificial. Additionally, it actually increased the boost response of my friends stock turbo car...

EBC: I like the Greddy Profec B for ease of installation and use. The newer Spec II is nice too (I have that unit). It has some addtional features like boost limit. I like the Apexi AVC-R as well, but its more than I felt I needed from a boost controller.

Just remember when modding a TII: Fuel, fuel, fuel. Most TII's blow up cause they go lean...