This is just a quick write up to help some of you more budget minded dsmers get their cars movin'! Since this article is for budget dsmers, I won't go very far into turbo upgrades, but will graze the subject.
First get a boost gauge, new, you need accurate boost reading before you modify your car. Autometer are good and cheap
The K&N F.I.P.K is one of the best intake systems out there....peroid! And, as an added plus, its damn cheap! Roughly $110, you will hear your bov whoooooosh with this filter installed, and it actually gives decent gains. You can buy this used, their filters are under warranty until 1 million miles, but if you do get it used, ask them to clean it with K&N filter cleaner, if they don't have K&N cleaner do NOT get them to clean it. Go out a buy some at a auto parts store, follow instruction, and do not use ANYTHING for oil on the filter except K&N filter oil. Although not completly budget, this intake kills all the other ones that are twice as expensive. You can get a cheap-o filter off ebay for much less, but it probably won't be nearly as good, and theres no way you will get some sort of warranty, but it will free up your intake. A super duper budget option is to get a drop in K&N filter, leave the top of the filter box off and secure it down with some zip ties.
Manual boost controller: many options, including making your own, can be bought used for $15-30, new for $50. Get new vac lines, just a good idea so you don't have any cracks or leaks, 3/16" tubing. On the t-25, keep the boost 16 or below, it loses most of its efficency past 16psi and gains will be minimal if at all noticible
Exhaust, here it gets a little tricky for you on super tight budgets. Apexi N1 is a popular choice, you can find it used for $500 or less, but there are many other brands of 3" mandrel turbo back used for less. Check dsmreviews.com for any reviews on the exhaust before buying it. Another option is custom made exhaust from a exhaust shop. Get full turboback exhaust and 3" mandrel bend for best results. Costs from 300-500. If you can weld, or know a bud who can, you are in luck. Get some properly sized mandrel piping offline from some auto megaparts store. Aluminized is cheap but will rust so get some high temp paint to spray on there...
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...-0/showCustom-0/N-111+10201+600001731/c-10101
The gst exhaust system for a 2g has only like 2 bends, I can't Imagine you would need to spend much more than 100 on piping.
Upper Intercooler Pipe....the stock one is a joke, take off the fuse box and look at the damn thing...useless...David Brode UICP is like $89, and comes flanged for a 1g bov which is a better bov than the plastic pos 2g, you can get a 1g bov for ~$30. Your turbo will spool faster and louder! When you put this on it will sound like a jet engine compared to the stock POS.
For 95-96 cars only, on the lower intercooler piping, there is a silencer box, its big, black ugly and useless, if you can't find it on the piping, then all hope is lost. Take the box off, replace it with a small peice of 2*1/4 peice of exhaust piping, beaded and clamped with two hose clamps. More turbo noise! Now, take the box and burn it for being a stupid peice of shit.
LICP is not really nessecary for a car with the stock t-25, just the horribly disfigured UICP.
Intercooler, take it off and clean it with gasoline, chances are there is a lot of oil in it. Take a pair of tweasers, and toothpicks and pick out all the rocks that have ended up in between the fins. Straighten them evenly with the tooth pick, I have found it works quite well. Tedious and takes a while but will help. Also, get a oil catch can to stop oil from going into your intercooler again.
Widen out the vents in the front passenger wheel well, on the splash gaurd in behind which is your stock sidemount intercooler. This will allow better flow. I took some chicken wire, cut out a giant box shaped hole where the vents were, plus some more (I have a upgraded sidemount, it is wider than the stock one...) and fastened a few layers of mesh wire....heavy duty stuff, not something like window screen... behind it, crosshatching the wire so it would provide good protection from rocks and the such. Better airflow is better.
If you plan on keeping your stock t-25, nothing more in this article will pertain to you.
If you are going bigger, it is a good idea to upgrade your intercooler, this can be done with a larger sidemount, get it used, or a starion/conquest frontmount intercooler. These can be found for $100, and there some articles on vfaq.com on how to install it with piping and everything all for very cheap.
Turbo time. For a 14b, which will be much nicer than the t-25, try to find a used walbro 190lph fuel pump, and a used, but CLEAN set of 550cc injectors (only nessecary if you are on west coast pisswater 91 gas, florida kids can go #### themselves with their 94 octane gas of the gods....
) You will also want a used safc, to get the best gains out of your new turbo. For a 14b you do not need an intercooler upgrade but it could help. The 14b flows 110cfms more than the t-25.
For a 16g, you can get the same mods as above, but definitly get a SAFC and if you are on westcoast....hell I'm not even going to call it gas....if you are on westcoast toxin then you might want slightly larger injectors, you can get used 510's from an EVO VIII. You will definitly want to tune your fuel trims so get a SAFC. A upgraded intercooler is realllly suggested. If you don't have a better bov than the 2g yet for either of these turbos you won't be able to turn up the boost very much.
These turbos (espically the 14b) can be found cheap and used, but make sure it doesn't have too much shaft play and is in good condition. If you know how to port, it can't really hurt unless you take away too much, but gains won't be huge....
Before performing modifications especially to the turbo, make sure your engine is in good running order. I think this is most of the basics...hope this helps!
Dsmtrader.com for parts, ask around about the seller to make sure hes not some scammer.
First get a boost gauge, new, you need accurate boost reading before you modify your car. Autometer are good and cheap
The K&N F.I.P.K is one of the best intake systems out there....peroid! And, as an added plus, its damn cheap! Roughly $110, you will hear your bov whoooooosh with this filter installed, and it actually gives decent gains. You can buy this used, their filters are under warranty until 1 million miles, but if you do get it used, ask them to clean it with K&N filter cleaner, if they don't have K&N cleaner do NOT get them to clean it. Go out a buy some at a auto parts store, follow instruction, and do not use ANYTHING for oil on the filter except K&N filter oil. Although not completly budget, this intake kills all the other ones that are twice as expensive. You can get a cheap-o filter off ebay for much less, but it probably won't be nearly as good, and theres no way you will get some sort of warranty, but it will free up your intake. A super duper budget option is to get a drop in K&N filter, leave the top of the filter box off and secure it down with some zip ties.
Manual boost controller: many options, including making your own, can be bought used for $15-30, new for $50. Get new vac lines, just a good idea so you don't have any cracks or leaks, 3/16" tubing. On the t-25, keep the boost 16 or below, it loses most of its efficency past 16psi and gains will be minimal if at all noticible
Exhaust, here it gets a little tricky for you on super tight budgets. Apexi N1 is a popular choice, you can find it used for $500 or less, but there are many other brands of 3" mandrel turbo back used for less. Check dsmreviews.com for any reviews on the exhaust before buying it. Another option is custom made exhaust from a exhaust shop. Get full turboback exhaust and 3" mandrel bend for best results. Costs from 300-500. If you can weld, or know a bud who can, you are in luck. Get some properly sized mandrel piping offline from some auto megaparts store. Aluminized is cheap but will rust so get some high temp paint to spray on there...
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...-0/showCustom-0/N-111+10201+600001731/c-10101
The gst exhaust system for a 2g has only like 2 bends, I can't Imagine you would need to spend much more than 100 on piping.
Upper Intercooler Pipe....the stock one is a joke, take off the fuse box and look at the damn thing...useless...David Brode UICP is like $89, and comes flanged for a 1g bov which is a better bov than the plastic pos 2g, you can get a 1g bov for ~$30. Your turbo will spool faster and louder! When you put this on it will sound like a jet engine compared to the stock POS.
For 95-96 cars only, on the lower intercooler piping, there is a silencer box, its big, black ugly and useless, if you can't find it on the piping, then all hope is lost. Take the box off, replace it with a small peice of 2*1/4 peice of exhaust piping, beaded and clamped with two hose clamps. More turbo noise! Now, take the box and burn it for being a stupid peice of shit.
LICP is not really nessecary for a car with the stock t-25, just the horribly disfigured UICP.
Intercooler, take it off and clean it with gasoline, chances are there is a lot of oil in it. Take a pair of tweasers, and toothpicks and pick out all the rocks that have ended up in between the fins. Straighten them evenly with the tooth pick, I have found it works quite well. Tedious and takes a while but will help. Also, get a oil catch can to stop oil from going into your intercooler again.
Widen out the vents in the front passenger wheel well, on the splash gaurd in behind which is your stock sidemount intercooler. This will allow better flow. I took some chicken wire, cut out a giant box shaped hole where the vents were, plus some more (I have a upgraded sidemount, it is wider than the stock one...) and fastened a few layers of mesh wire....heavy duty stuff, not something like window screen... behind it, crosshatching the wire so it would provide good protection from rocks and the such. Better airflow is better.
If you plan on keeping your stock t-25, nothing more in this article will pertain to you.
If you are going bigger, it is a good idea to upgrade your intercooler, this can be done with a larger sidemount, get it used, or a starion/conquest frontmount intercooler. These can be found for $100, and there some articles on vfaq.com on how to install it with piping and everything all for very cheap.
Turbo time. For a 14b, which will be much nicer than the t-25, try to find a used walbro 190lph fuel pump, and a used, but CLEAN set of 550cc injectors (only nessecary if you are on west coast pisswater 91 gas, florida kids can go #### themselves with their 94 octane gas of the gods....
) You will also want a used safc, to get the best gains out of your new turbo. For a 14b you do not need an intercooler upgrade but it could help. The 14b flows 110cfms more than the t-25. For a 16g, you can get the same mods as above, but definitly get a SAFC and if you are on westcoast....hell I'm not even going to call it gas....if you are on westcoast toxin then you might want slightly larger injectors, you can get used 510's from an EVO VIII. You will definitly want to tune your fuel trims so get a SAFC. A upgraded intercooler is realllly suggested. If you don't have a better bov than the 2g yet for either of these turbos you won't be able to turn up the boost very much.
These turbos (espically the 14b) can be found cheap and used, but make sure it doesn't have too much shaft play and is in good condition. If you know how to port, it can't really hurt unless you take away too much, but gains won't be huge....
Before performing modifications especially to the turbo, make sure your engine is in good running order. I think this is most of the basics...hope this helps!
Dsmtrader.com for parts, ask around about the seller to make sure hes not some scammer.
