Ok I've been reading for awhile now and the information is overwhelming and would just like to hear some opinions maybe of people who used a few different systems.
Right now the car just has a down pipe but I'm going to be putting a full exhaust and mid pipe on soon along with an intake. Other then that I don't plan on doing much else right away (daily driver) maybe an intercool with pipe and a fuel pump along with doing the non seq mod.
I'm looking for something cheaper, flexible and I'd prefer if it was one unit with the boost controller. I've seen programed ecus go kinda cheap but what happends if its programed for stuff I don't have yet like an intercool? I can't afford $1000 for a controller either so the pmc is out altho it looks nice. The piggy back units like apexi I've heard mixed reviews about. Like it can really only remove fuel from a rich system and is really just a hack. But with a fuel pump and maybe a different regulator the system should be running rich, would a piggy back work well in a situation like this? What would you do if in my sistuation?

 

A fuel pump and a different regulator will not help a piggy back system or your car. You need to replace the entire ECU. My advice to you, save your money and don't install the mods that you listed above until you have enough funding to purchase an ECU. If piggy back systems worked on FD's, why aren't more people using them? There are reasons why you need to get a real ECU upgrade when you mod your car, the main one is to prevent your engine from popping. Save your money and do it right.

Boost controllers are seperate from fuel computers. Get a Profec B.

 

Actually, you can use a Rising Rate Fuel Rregulator to add more fuel into the A/F ratio and bring down injector duty cycles. However, this is known as the "dirty way" of doing it as most people prefer using a programmable ECU.

The piggyback units would probably work decent with a reprogrammed ECU (Pettit, M2 or something other than stock) as with the stock ECU you will still be dealing with it's fuel cut.

After spending the money on a RRFPR, piggyback and a reprogrammed ECU, you could afford a decent programmable ECU. However, you still need to get it tuned.

Do your mods in stages. That way you can put "safe" things on your car until you can afford to modify it the safe way. So, stay away from the midpipe and IC until you can afford a decent ECU to go along with them. A boost controller is still a good idea as opening up the exhaust and intake can provide boost spikes.

Good luck!

 

Do not put a midpipe on the car. If you cannot afford a $1000 ecu, then don't go that far. You can run an intake, downpipe, and cat-back on the stock ecu with a boost controller holding things to 10 psi. Start there. The next mod should be an IC, then an ecu (or both simultaneously). Do not put a midpipe on until you get a programmable ecu and you upgrade the fuel system.

A lot of people run a midpipe well before they have the supporting mods. They are playing with fire, IMO.

My advice goes double if your car is a daily driver. Do things the right way.

 

sorry to piggyback this post but
if you were to port the wastegate do you still think the midpipe is dangerous?
i have a trashed cat and i really dont want to buy a stock cat or any cat for that matter
would a resonated midpipe be better?
i plan on getting a reprogrammed ecu to go with it
and a bc

 

Yes, it is dangerous, even with a ported wastegate. Go ahead and take the risk if you want, a lot of people do. Or you can get a hi-flow cat from Gotham Racing for $299 and be safe. That's a decision only you can make for yourself.

 

What about getting a Pettit ecu programed for say intake, exhaust, intercooler. That seems to be the cheaper way but more reliable then a piggy back. What happens if I were to run an ecu like this but didn't have an intercooler or I wanted to up the boost a few psi? Do I have to get it reprogramed? The other problem I have is there isn't any one it the area that can tune a car well or that even has a dyno.
About the wastegate thing, is there anyone that just installs a larger flapper so it can be ported more? When With my dsm I had a larger flaper and port job done to keep from spiking and creeping but I haven't heard any one really talk about this here. Or welding the door shut and install an external wastegate.

 

Sure, the Pettit ECU can be used just fine with that setup. If the ECU is programmed for more mods than you have, the car would run richer which would cause you worse gas mileage and maybe fouling your spark plugs sooner than normal.

As far as the wastegate, not everyone experiences boost creep. However, it is a possibility so you should be prepared to deal with it if you intend on using a midpipe.

My suggestion would be to do the following:

Intake
Downpipe (which you already have)
Catback
Pettit ECU

Do that for now, as that will give you a very good kick in the butt dyno and still keep you on the safe side of enjoying your car.