I have a 94 FD with downpipe and catback, I would lke to keep the engine bay stock looking. I am considering the Cheap Bastard intake and high flow cat. Will I need a Power FC to do these mods and do I need to add a boost controller as well. Thoughts?

What brand on high flow cat do you recommend?

 

You won't necessarily need an aftermarket ECU with your current and proposed mods, however, with the mods you currently have and propose on the exhaust side, you will most likely experience boost creep. So, if you are moving forward, I would recommend a good aftermarket boost controller. The stock ECU is good for running stock psi. Once you boost above 10psi on the stock ECU you are rolling the dice. Let’s think of engine health before hp gains. As you introduce more mods you will need to consider an aftermarket ECU.

 

upgrade and rewire your fuel pump. its so easy to do and not that expensive, it should have been one of the first things i did.

 

aluminum radiator is an option. stock plastic is something just waiting to fail - if you've not done it, then I'd rather go that route then messin' with exhaust flow (which traditionally lends itself to the PFC 3 mod rule). there's lots of stuff you can add to the car that will gain you A LOT of benefits and not leave you worrying about popping an engine due to ECU/PFC issues. Some ideas -

1. Suspension parts - coil-overs, bushings, mounts, etc.
2. Water Temp Gauge
3. Boost Gauge
4. Emissions/PowerSteer/AC removals (if so desired)
5. fuel pump w/ re-wire (255lph or Denso Supra Pump)
6. AST delete/upgrade
7. Plug Wires w/ new plugs


I would honestly give my best friend the same advice: get to know the car before tackling the modified engine stuff. Make sure that you have good reliability mods in place before going down that path b/c let me tell you it's a $$$ path to go down.


as for hi-flow cats.
http://www.rx7store.net/product_p/highflowfd3s.htm

 

You don't need a PFC. And while every car is a little different, I ran that combination for a long time and didn't have any spiking issues. But you might be close. Watch it on cooler mornings/evenings at wide open throttle. If you get spiking, then consider a BC. As long as you keep it to 10 psi, your fine.
Bonez.


It's off-topic but if you still need them, I second the recommendation for a boost and Temp gauge, metal AST and radiator.

 

How are your brakes? What about your suspension? Bushings all good?

Take care of the important things first.

 

Thanks to all for the recommendations. I only have 20,000 original miles and trying to keep the car as stock as possible, but would like a few more HPs if possible. Every year I spend $1,000 - $1,500 on keeping it up to snuff (ie, replace plugs, wires, coolant, fuel filter every 24 months, I replaced all coolant hoses 2 years ago, serviced A/C, serviced brakes every year, replaced front bushings, etc...)

I am running out of stock things to replace, so maybe a Boost controller, new rad and AST is on the list for this year.

 

That's where I would start. Once you have the boost controller it should be no issue to install a CAI and SMIC.

Dave

 

I understand and respect the desire to keep it stock looking. But boost and temperature need to be monitored closely and if it were my car, I'd be willing to sacrifice a little "stock look" for that. There is also the option of linearizing the stock temp gauge.

 

For boost control I would drill out the restricter pills (unless you have one of those cars with the restricters built in) or get new pills. I know that's an oldschool way of doing things, but the stock boost control is fine for your level of modification. In fact, the factory logic is better optimized than most aftermarket systems because it keeps the wastegate fully shut during spool up unlike your typical external EBC or MBC. And people still change out restricter pills all the time on Evos and STi's.

 

I recommend you go with the cheap bastard intake and route your intake funnel solely to your intercooler. A new radiator or a supra fuel pump and a rewire are also great options. And, all of these should keep your rotary happy.

 

I tried the restrictor pill thing for a while. I found it to not only lack the adjustability that I was looking for, but also highly annoying to mess with if you have a stock intake. I'm a big fan of mbc's.

Dave