My first mods were to get the cars completely checked out to make sure everything work ok. Then it was intake and exhaust, and from there the HP bug will start to bite.

Next time please use the search button as this has been covered many, many, many times

Make sure ALL maintenance is done and then start following this and doing a lot of reading/research on the forums.

2G Turbo Upgrade Path

Take care of all maintenance, first. All open recalls, belts, water pump, everything. Get the car in good running condition before you start making more power and putting a strain on already questionable parts.

They have the upgrade path, that goes from little mods like air filters all the way up to upgraded turbos and standalone engine management. The turbo you have on your car is the t25, a pitiful little thing. There are number of cheap upgrades you can do, from a used 14b to a 16g, T28, anything. Anyways, here's the 2g tech page. Upgrade paths are on the right, down a bit.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/sub.php?page=2gtupgrades

Welcome to DSMtuners! How much do you have to spend on mods? If you're on a tight budget...get the essentials
- boost gauge
- manual boost controller (you can turn the boost up to 15psi on the T25)
- Blow Off Valve (i.e, 1g BOV, Greddy Type S). The stock plastic 2g BOV leaks when you turn up the boost. Not sure if you can still use the stock UICPs with the aftermarket BOVs. There might be adapters. When I upgraded my BOV I also upgraded my UICPs.

Check the 2g upgrade guideline links that other members posted above.

First mod would be eliminate the nasty Upper Intercooler pipe and get an aftermarket one, with a 1st Gen BOV. The stock BOV leaks on the 2g's, and you will notice a nice power difference from that.

eclipseGSTud said:

Welcome to DSMtuners! How much do you have to spend on mods? If you're on a tight budget...get the essentials
- boost gauge
- manual boost controller (you can turn the boost up to 15psi on the T25)
- Blow Off Valve (i.e, 1g bov, Greddy Type S).

Check the 2g upgrade guideline links that other members posted above.

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Hey thanks, is there anything you recommend? I really dont know where to start because all of this is new to me. what type of boost gauge and controller do you suggest.

lenny 15 said:

First mod would be eliminate the nasty Upper Intercooler pipe and get an aftermarket one, with a 1st Gen BOV. The stock BOV leaks on the 2g's, and you will notice a nice power difference from that.

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is that the hot pipe or cold pipe? or do i just need to replace the whole intercooler?

eclipseGSTgirl said:

is that the hot pipe or cold pipe? or do i just need to replace the whole intercooler?

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He is talking about the pipe that connects to the throttle body that has the blow off valve on it. You'll see it above the intake pipe and to the left of the engine.

eclipseGSTgirl said:

what type of boost gauge and controller do you suggest.

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I'd suggest an Autometer boost gauge. They can be found pretty cheap on eBay.

As for the boost controller, get a manual boost controller. Either you can buy one or make one. I made mine and these are the directions I followed - http://www.geocities.com/chmwatson/FAQs/mbc.html. Can be done for very cheap (vs. buying a brand name one) and works just as well.

eclipseGSTgirl, welcome to Tuners. Please use proper grammar, punctuation and caps when posting in tech sections. Enjoy your stay.

EclipseGSTgirl, like everyone said already do your maintanence first, I would then start with intake, exhaust, intercooler pipe upgrade, 1st gen blow off valve(as stated previously the 2nd gen bov leaks) a simple manual boost controller and boost gage, and a datalogger. It would be smart to upgrade the fuel systems( like fuel pump, injectors, afc and adjustable fuel pressure regulator if running a walbro 255 fuel pump) but you could probobly get away with 15 psi on the t25 turbo that comes stock with 2nd gens.

After these mods you are probobly well on your way to modifing your car and should already have a good idea on what the next step is for your car, if not this site has a nice upgrade path that you could follow!

Like everyone else on here has said maintenance first. I would next go for intercooler piping and bov. If you need it i have the greddy piping kit laying in the garage P.M. me if you would like it. After that i would def get a boost gauge and then make your one mbc for like 10 bucks. Not wortht he $50 on a premade one.

96_charcoal_tsi said:

Like everyone else on here has said maintenance first. I would next go for intercooler piping and bov. If you need it i have the greddy piping kit laying in the garage P.M. me if you would like it. After that i would def get a boost gauge and then make your one mbc for like 10 bucks. Not wortht he $50 on a premade one.

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Yes it is, if you are a novice. It is worth it to buy a well built unit then make it.

Back on topic. I have listed the items you need in order in which you should get them and a link.

Air Intake
Cat-back Exhaust System
High-Flow Cat or Test Pipe
Boost Gauge (Search Ebay)
Down Pipe
02 Housing (see note 1)
Exhaust Manifold (see note 2)
Clutch
Spark Plugs and Boost Contoller (see note 3)
Intercooler Pipes and Blow-off Valve
Upgrade Turbo
Fuel Pump

Note 1: You can either buy a higher flowing replacement unit or port your existing O2 housing.
Note 2: You can either buy a higher flowing replacement unit or port your existing exhaust manifold.
Note 3: Selection of Spark Plugs is determined by the level of boost being used.

She doesn't needa clutch bro, her gst is automatic. My sugestion to you GST girl is read, there's tons of info in this forums, read, read, read, and once you know how modding works it will be a lot easier to do it, and to use your best judgment, because I can tell you one thing and somebody else is going to tell you another thing, and you're going to get all confunsed. Good luck and welcome to the site.

Do a search on people in your area from this site and PM them to see if you can have them come over and show you a thing or two. I'm a visual person and would much rather have someone show me what needs changed and how to do it, rather than reading pages and pages and pages of forum info. (Very good info, just don't like to read)

There are soooo many things that you can buy. Start with this first.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/sub.php?page=2gtupgrades

Then check the vendors list and buy what is in your budget. Don't forget to check Vendor Announcements on this site, you'll save a lot of money that way. And if you need someone cheaper than a store, don't forget eBay.

Do not shun automatics. Some of the fastest 1/4 times were from automatic DSMs. I'll assume you did the free mods first. If you're on a tight budget like I am, I'm running everything straight from eBay. You can replace the intake with a cheap $50 ebay one with some slight fitment issues on the turbo inlet. Also get a boost gauge, and do a boost leak test. Chances are you have some and plugging the holes up wil increase power.

fredom dsm said:

She doesn't needa clutch bro, her gst is automatic. My sugestion to you GST girl is read, there's tons of info in this forums, read, read, read, and once you know how modding works it will be a lot easier to do it, and to use your best judgment, because I can tell you one thing and somebody else is going to tell you another thing, and you're going to get all confunsed. Good luck and welcome to the site.

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This is probably the best advice in this thread. Sure there is a upgrade path that would be good to follow step-by-step-by-step, but sh!t happens. I think that everyone is in agreeance on maintenaince first, then mods. Get yourself a good baseline and then start playing. Keep in mind that you always want to monitor what changes you've made, so it'd probably be smart to get, at the very least, a boost gauge. I'd then reccomend a datalogger, again, you want to be able to see what your baseline is/was and then how the mods you added effected that baseline. A datalogger will show you this. From there, there's multiple paths you can take.

There's A LOT of people on here, and like a lot of people, have very strong opinions as to what's right and what's wrong. I'm sure your a person too, so take everything you read with a grain of salt and inform yourself based on what you've learned, and make your own decisions. You'll learn more that way and have a better understanding of how each part effects your ride and what you should or should not do.

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys.