hocka09 said:

For what it is, I installed a 3" turbo back on my stock t25 and just ran wastegate pressure with the bcs removed and it hits 15 psi and stays steady, which is a healthy number if you're not always in boost. If you can swing it, maybe get the exhaust and a single pod with a boost gauge. The boost gauge really is pretty damn important being that if you keep the psi in a safe range the a/f will most likely be at a safe level as well.

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Same here. On my 97 gst I had a full eBay turboback. 2.5" o2 housing 2.5-3" downpipe and 3" catback and held 13psi with no creep issues on the t25. On my current 98 gsx I had a 3" punishment racing downpipe to a apexi rs 3" catback stock o2 housing on the t25 14psi with no creep issues. I now have a 16g with a punishment o2 housing(recirculated external gate) and the same 3" turbo back and I creep from 11-14 by redline. In my personal experience I haven't had issues with creep on the t25 though I know all cars are different.

I guess I wouldn't spend so much on Defis. I'm being a hypocrite because I have them in my Evo, but if it came down to a choice between them an exhaust, I'd rather just get some cheaper Autometer gauges that work just as well...

...but those Defis sure are pretty, and that opening an closing ceremony..mmmm flashy...

93AWDDSM said:

Was not trying to put down your post

it helps me when or if I have a boost leak my vac while idling is usually 21-22 and if its slightly higher like 16-19 I feel as if there's a leak) also the oil gauge is handy for telling the exact pressure but to each their own, and wide band might not be useful at this stage but once he gets exhaust and MBC... He's going to turn it up without either of those gauges? Also logger would be good if your not goin to get link for a while.

to your post

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No worries. I was just giving a better explanation as to why I suggested what I did.

Yes, seeing vac is nice to see but a boost leak test could also reveal a boost leak. And on a tight budget, a boost leak tester can be made for under 10 bucks. I think as long as he has the stock plastic 2g BOV, he should be ok with boost creep and keeping boost at around stock levels. Like I said, I couldn't boost much more than 12psi when I had it on there. Once I switched to a 1g BOV, I was seeing 16-17psi. A weak BOV plus the wastegate will keep that 16g from creeping. On a side note, I'm pretty sure the EVO8-9 BOV are flanged the same way as the 2g so you'd be able to keep your stock upper intercooler pipe and they hold more boost.

Although it's not the best way to tune, one could get a datalogger and an MBC and tune based on knock. Slowly increase the boost until you see some knock, then back off the boost a bit. It's not how I tune or would recommend tuning. A few counts of knock most likely isn't going to blow your engine. Anything above 5 counts of knock I wouldn't feel comfortable with. The ECU has fuel and timing maps that are more conservative that it switches to if it sees knock.

I'd go with either exhaust or a tuning/datalogging method to start with. Exhaust will probably get the most hp gains. Getting to know tuning/datalogging on a stock car is nice too. That way if you try something and it doesn't work the way you want, you just put the factory tune back on the car and start over. I was able to get better gas mileage and when my injector died, I wasn't freaking out about getting the bigger injectors dialed in because I already had some experience.

I misread the OP's profile and didn't notice the 16g and FMIC were on the wish list. Those would be the last 2 things I buy personally. I'd go with exhaust. Then a tuning method & wideband. After that a MBC, BOV, & boost gauge. Then a fuel pump & injectors. Then get a better clutch. Then when you have all the major things taken care of get the 16 & FMIC. What are your power goals? We need to know that as well.

FLASH1970 said:

No worries. I was just giving a better explanation as to why I suggested what I did.

Yes, seeing vac is nice to see but a boost leak test could also reveal a boost leak. And on a tight budget, a boost leak tester can be made for under 10 bucks. I think as long as he has the stock plastic 2g BOV, he should be ok with boost creep and keeping boost at around stock levels. Like I said, I couldn't boost much more than 12psi when I had it on there. Once I switched to a 1g BOV, I was seeing 16-17psi. A weak BOV plus the wastegate will keep that 16g from creeping. On a side note, I'm pretty sure the EVO8-9 BOV are flanged the same way as the 2g so you'd be able to keep your stock upper intercooler pipe and they hold more boost.

Although it's not the best way to tune, one could get a datalogger and an MBC and tune based on knock. Slowly increase the boost until you see some knock, then back off the boost a bit. It's not how I tune or would recommend tuning. A few counts of knock most likely isn't going to blow your engine. Anything above 5 counts of knock I wouldn't feel comfortable with. The ECU has fuel and timing maps that are more conservative that it switches to if it sees knock.

I'd go with either exhaust or a tuning/datalogging method to start with. Exhaust will probably get the most hp gains. Getting to know tuning/datalogging on a stock car is nice too. That way if you try something and it doesn't work the way you want, you just put the factory tune back on the car and start over. I was able to get better gas mileage and when my injector died, I wasn't freaking out about getting the bigger injectors dialed in because I already had some experience.

I misread the OP's profile and didn't notice the 16g and FMIC were on the wish list. Those would be the last 2 things I buy personally. I'd go with exhaust. Then a tuning method & wideband. After that a MBC, BOV, & boost gauge. Then a fuel pump & injectors. Then get a better clutch. Then when you have all the major things taken care of get the 16 & FMIC. What are your power goals? We need to know that as well.

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Thanks for the reply, and yes that is the route i am taking as far as upgrades. My Goal is to have a 350-400whp daily street monster, with all tasteful mods.

lucid15 said:

Thanks for the reply, and yes that is the route i am taking as far as upgrades. My Goal is to have a 350-400whp daily street monster, with all tasteful mods.

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You can get there with a 16g, but it'll be much easier to get to that point with a bigger turbo. Do you want to get there on regular gas or do you have E85 available or plan on running meth? You might want to look into a 20g or Holset HX35 or something along those lines. Look up The Dyno section under the members tab at the top of the page and see what people are running to get to those numbers.

lucid15 said:

is the Lotek gauge pod higher quality than the glowshift pod?

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Anything is better quality then glowshift.


But if you haven't decided yet, im on the side voting for gauges.

Boost gauge and wideband should always be the very first mod.

Then exhaust and mbc.

As you've already found out, that alone is a good chunk of cash and a couple weekends worth of install time. Get those out of the way first.

You need to remember that there will always be extra cost involved as well. Broken bolts, etc.



And can we ban people who advise a larger turbo as a first mod? No seriously, is that report worthy? Every thread where someone is asking where to start quickly turns into 16g/400whp talk. Knock it off people.

A new turbo is way down the line. What sense does it make getting a larger turbo when you cant use the one you have?

Gauges are definitely a good first mod as you'll accurately be able to monitor the health of your engine. All 3 of your gauges are very important to a modified dsm as well.


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