well i plan to purchase an s5 in the future, and almost instantly start on complete overhaul. this includes a rebuild of the current 13b, bridgeport, new manifolds, new turbo, new cooling, complete standalone, etc.
i was considering going with a tii right off the bat, however, seeing that i will be replacing nearly the entire drivetrain and everything around it, would it be a better idea to get a gxl? by choosing the more common and significantly cheaper on insurance n/a, i will be saving a bundle, but not missing much over a tii right?
will there be any worthwhile difference in terms of weight, looks, brakes, suspension, tranny when comparing a modded turbo gxl vs modded tii?

thx in advance

 

bridgeport huh? Kiss your idle goodbye, and read the FAQ. If your looking for something fast, a ported NA with the correct mods and tuning will be more power then you could ever want, if you're looking to fill your tank daily, and attempt to launch yourself and rx7 into space go the TII route. Frankly after riding in my friend's (EAGE8) decked out TII I'll stay the NA route and live to tell about it.

 

... again I think there should be a quiz that new users have to pass before being allowed to post

 

yes im aware of what will happen to my idle and fuel economy, but im still debating on how big of a port to go with, but eitherway, im serious about making some good power, 300whp at least. 400whp will be more then enough though. this will not be a daily driver anyways
and theres no way im going with n/a. this project WILL be turbo, and so will every other car i ever work on.
and my question wasnt should i go n/a or turbo, my question is, is the gxl a good platform to choose if my immediate goals are to rebuild/replace and turbo it.

 

Ummmm...no. If you want a TII, its much easier to get a TII then to make a GXL into one.

-Joe

 

well weight wise you could start with a S4 SE, IIRC its the lightest 2nd gen. and if you are replacing every thing then why not?