What will 5k get me?

[Milkman1986]

Just looking for a little advice as far as what components to apply to a 99 GS-T. The mileage on the vehicle is somewhat high so i was wondering what type of routine matience i should perform before going all out on mods. I know these engines are able to produce some serious horsepower and was looking to absorb everyones input. Which comes down to my main question: "What company's should i go through to purchase various components, I.E. best working spark plugs, spark plug wires, front mounted intercooler, cam shafts, valve springs, intake, turbo, suspension, full exhaust system, PCM, ect." As far as the end result with this car i would like it to produce 350-400 WHP or possibly more, that would be something ideal. Right now i'd have to say my budget consists of $5,000-6,000 in parts and labor, obviously continuing to upgrade components when i have the spare money. A majority of the work would be performed by me and a friend, except for various welding like with the exhaust. So anyone who would like to give me advice about components and their experiences im more then willing to listen, thanks.

 

[ozzie_1978]

I would say find a 6 bolt block and start from there.

 

[GofaST4life]

i dont think 5k will go pretty quick if its spent wisely...if you have 5k to spend, do all you research before anything...i dont see why you would have to spend 5k quickly...take your time with it...

 

[dSmgs-T]

5k will go quick, and anymore power than 400hp is not really worth it for a fwd car. you will end up driving a sweet traction-less machine! timing belts and all other belts etc. should be replaced first, flush fluids and change them. there are a lot of different companies that offer excellent products for these cars. look into the maintenance guide here on the site and follow the mods list on here also. good luck!

 

[eclipseGSTud]

Welcome to DSMtuners! This website is full of information and reviews on almost every DSM part that vendors are selling. If you're interested in a certain whp click on the "members" tab located near the top in the navigation bar and select dyno sheets. You can view posted dyno sheet results and click on the member's profile to see what he/she has for mods to obtain the desired whp. Do maintenance first on your car and while you're doing that also do a compression test to check the overall health of your engine. There's also upgrade guides for your 2g in the "Tech" section. A little searching will go a long way. If you want my personal reviews on certain vendors and parts I have send me a PM. Also check out Vendors Reviewed.com :: Index Another useful website is www.vfaq.com

I'd suggest you spend your money on maintenance first then work your way through the performance mods listed in the 2g upgrade path guide.

 

[Milkman1986]

Appreciate everyones input so far, i found the member section with the dyno slips to be much helpful, i've seen alot of consistant parts on a few of the GST's i was looking at. Thanks for the posts! I don't have alot of experience as far as turbo engines but from what im hearing is you need to build your support around your turbo. So the better the turbo and boost the more HP gains your going to see. Obviously not neglecting your base components but correct me if im wrong.

 

[syrushcw]

I'm a brian Crower fan boy I would recommend there stage 2 cams, as for turbo you can get 16g, Intake manifold JMF I like the sbr inter cooler kit. Look around some good site are extreme psi, slow boy racing (allot of people complain about them, I've never had a problem. Check out Brian Crowers website they are great with answer questions. Good luck, I'd start with timing belt and water pump

 

[Splitpi]

I would do all the preventative maintance first. If you do it yourself you'll save a ton of cash.

First buy the right tools:
Timing Belt Tensioner Tool (MD998767) & Timing Belt Tool (MD998738). I bought both from a guy on ebay. eBay Seller: chbuzz: Men's Clothing, Parts Accessories items on eBay.com

Now do all the recommend maintance by mitsu:
* Do a compression test and verify the engine is in decent shape before continuing.
* New Air Element (Recommend a K&N or similar)
* New Spark Plugs (NGK BPR6ES and gapped properly)
* New Spark Plug Wires (Recommend MSD)
* New Timing Belt Kit
- New Timing Belt
- New Timing Belt Idler Pulley
- New Timing Belt Tensioner Pulley
- New Timing Belt Tensioner
- New Balance Shaft Belt
- New Balance Shaft Tensioner Pulley
* New Water Pump
* Oil Change
* Flush the radiator (part of changing the water pump)
* Change the Transmition Oil
* New Fuel Filter
* New Accessory Belts (AC/ PS and Altenator)
* New Pads and Rotors on all 4 wheels (recommend EBC Green Stuff)
* New SS Brake Lines
* New SS Clutch Line (mine burst at ~60k... so I recommend new ones... its relatively cheap)
* Inspect all vacuum lines and consider replacing with silicon lines (RRE Larson Kit)
* Do a boost leak test and find and fix the leaks.
* New Battery (They do have life spans and there is nothing worst than driving to lunch and batter dies).


At this point you should have the majority of the maintance stuff done and be in a good position to start modding from there.

 

[twoTSis]

I'm doing a build and I've priced mine at 6k plus the transmission which I'm going to blow another 3k on.

 

[Milkman1986]

Thanks for the great input, appreciate it.

 

[saechao04]

Im also FWD and I've been debating if I want serious HP. do all the maintance first, don't take short cuts on these. I would look at an LSD to help with traction. Even being mostly stock traction is an issue with me. A lot of turbo's will get you into the 350-400 whp range, I've been looking at the FP 18g myself.

 

[kenamond]

Fill out your profile when you get a chance and keep it up to date. That's actually pretty important. We look at your profile before answering questions, as the answers often depend on your setup.

Given the amount of cash you're ready to pour into your car, I'd honestly take a week or two and study the forum and vfaq. Once you start searching, you can surf for a couple of weeks and really understand for yourself what you need to do. The recommendations in this thread are good, don't get me wrong, but you really need to not only understand what you have to do but why and how as well. That might seem like a long time, but I think you could spend twice that and benefit immensely from it. It's all about doing it right the first time, which translates into less time and money and a better end result. Don't underestimate the value of investing in your own knowledge of your car.

I'd also recommend that you study the 2g upgrade path and follow it. You could spend all 5k in one day and then be overwhelmed with everything that arrives on your doorstep. Find out what the logical order is for your car, set your goals, pick out the parts you need, then start at the beginning and buy/install/tweak/repeat until you're "done". Depending on your style, you can save a lot of money going with "good enough" over "the best". Certainly, you don't want to skimp on certain components/procedures, but there are some parts that can be had for about half the price and still be good enough. But the biggest money saver will be doing as much as you can rather than paying a mechanic. You'll know your car that much better and have that much more pride in it and respect for it in the end...assuming you don't mess up to bad.

Welcome aboard and good luck!

 

[kewlguy]

ebay everything

 

[Marcus92]

5k will go quickly especially if you do all required and suggested maintenance and preventative maint along with hitting up the free mods path list and the stage1 upgrades will drain you quickly.

Just read and dont spend any money until you scour all the DSM store sites out there for the best prices... I ended up shelling out a couple hundred bucks at SBR once and found out I could've saved alot of cash by going through extremepsi instead..

Overall... 5k will definitely impress you/make you satisfied. Just make sure you do everything right the first time around. especially your fuel system. For example you shoot for 400 hp, don't buy a set of 550's just because you cant afford dsmlink and an eprom ecu, if anything build your fuel system to far exceed your expectations. It's something alot of my friends and I failed to do and left us having to spend alot more cash to build it to the next level.

Basic Bolt-ons like a FP Big T-28 along with an FMIC kit(I hear ETS is top notch) full exhaust and whatever the supporting fuel mods appropriate for your horsepower level. get some 272's(BC and the DKS) are cheap and proven cams+springs and retainers along with a full timing service and Balance shaft delete kit, Clutch and machined flywheel and just that alone would be 5k or more.

 

[twoTSis]

ebay everything

Watch it with eBay they aren't usually high quality parts.


Also like stated before check for deals. I've been slowly getting ready for this build because people on here are selling new, never installed parts for about half of what I'd pay for the brand new ones, yet they're the same quality. Just keep watching.

 

[Milkman1986]

I appreciate all of your advice, i think i stated before that this is my first turbo engine, i've worked previously on my N/A 3800 Series II engine and installed new cam, valve springs, lifters, replaced the gaskets.. ect. But i don't believe i mentioned the exact miles on this vehicle, 145k is where it was currently on friday when a friend let me test drive. Seems to have alot of pull still, just the cosmetic work that all cars need. My question is, are the rods and pistons still good and would i need to replace/maintence these before i pursue any of my upgrades? Probably have some serious carbon build up, eh?

 

[twoTSis]

You're probably going to have to get performance pistons and rods depending on what your plans are, thats usually the main supporting mod for a bigger turbo.