Don't know what to do next for best upgrade

[carcrazy144]

Looking to see what i should do next to my 98 talon without spending a fortune. I have a 16g, mbc, bov, exhaust, and intake. I was thinking of looking into getting some sort of logger that i can use to play with the computer and adjust some stuff, but i don't wanna spend a lot of money mostly because i don't have the money. I think some sort of programmer would be a better less expensive investment to get the most bang for the buck than an fmic or dsmlink, but i don't know what would be a good programmer to get that i can play with and get more power without spending the $1500 on a dsmlink or evoscan or something. Would an eprom or reprogrammed ecu be my best bet or is there a cheap logger like the apexi I-moni be better?

 

[carcrazy144]

ok, well i've been doing some research on fuel system upgrades, front mounts, and ecu upgrades (ecmlink, eprom ecu, etc.), what i am now thinking of doing is trying to save some money up to get what i need for the next step. I still don't know what would be a better investment of my money for the upgrading, i should probably get my fuel pump, regulator and injectors next correct? Or would it be a better investment to get an fmic or ecmlink w/ eprom ecu? I know the fmic will help a lot over the dinky little smic and might be the best bang for the buck at this point. If i go and get the fuel upgrade it will set me up for the ecmlink and eprom later on down the road but i won't be able to really up my boost without the ecu upgrades for tuning purposes. What do you guys suggest or think i should do? I'd like to get something that i can actually use sooner rather than later and that will give me increased performance, that's why i was thinking of getting an fmic, but i respect your opinions.

 

[dsm-onster]

A t25 wont respond to a fmic any more than a stock ic, from my experience. It's over worked as it is and the stock IC cools fine at that level. Now if you had even a stock 1g manual 14b turbo, then that would be the route to take.

 

[Kris_TM]

Look at it this way.

You buy bigger injectors, fuel pump, FPR etc. now. You still have no way to tune it, therefore it is kinda pointless.

Rather if you buy ECMLink now, You can tune your setup you have now. Not necessarily make more power on it, but learn to tune and Learn the car more. That way later on down the road when/if you do upgrade. It will make those nice new upgrades worth the money, and you will be able to use them to their full potential.

ECMLink is def the way to go in my eyes. That is unless you have a nice fancy flash-able ecu

 

[carcrazy144]

A t25 wont respond to a fmic any more than a stock ic, from my experience. It's over worked as it is and the stock IC cools fine at that level. Now if you had even a stock 1g manual 14b turbo, then that would be the route to take.

i don't have a stock t25, i have an evo3 16g running 16psi. I know the smic is horrible and the fmic would definitely help because i can definitely tell a difference in performance on hot sunny days compared to 60 degree cool evenings. So based off your last statement the fmic would actually be the route to take then.

Look at it this way.

You buy bigger injectors, fuel pump, FPR etc. now. You still have no way to tune it, therefore it is kinda pointless.

Rather if you buy ECMLink now, You can tune your setup you have now. Not necessarily make more power on it, but learn to tune and Learn the car more. That way later on down the road when/if you do upgrade. It will make those nice new upgrades worth the money, and you will be able to use them to their full potential.

ECMLink is def the way to go in my eyes. That is unless you have a nice fancy flash-able ecu

good comment, I didn't really think of it that way. Will it benefit my car to tune it with the 16g running the 16psi? I understand it won't necessarily make more power but will my car run more smoothly and what not?

 

[Absit]

When was the last time the timing belt was done?
How about engine, trans, and differential oils?

If that's all recent, I vote wideband. You can't tune without it anyway.

 

[dsm-onster]

I didn't pay attention . . . Yes. As I said if you have a bigger turbo than a wee25, you will feel a difference like you do on a cold day with your sidemount. It's worth it even with stock fuel.

Get a fmic, fuel pump, regulator. After that get link with the injectors. No need to get the injectors with the fuel pump and regulator like you mentioned as an option, because you cannot tune for them anyhow as of yet. That will divide the costs up rather evenly. And you still feel some punch from an IC upgrade now. BTW with link and plenty of injector you will be capable of doubling stock horsepower with your 16g, if your fmic is up to par. That will be your most effective mod a way to dial in more fuel for significantly upping the boost.

 

[carcrazy144]

When was the last time the timing belt was done?
How about engine, trans, and differential oils?

Did that when i first got the car almost a year ago.

After what dsm-onster just said that sounds like a good plan. thanks for the input. One quick question about fmic's, do they require an install kit or do they come with one; i haven't seen any kind of install kit for them other than the piping that comes with them. they go in front of the radiator; you have to take off the front clip to install them correct? What exactly do they attach to though? never actually looked at one up close. Also, what would be a good size? i found the dejon tool thats 27.5 x 11.75 x 3 for $400, and was planning on getting that one ### it comes with all the piping too. i thought that would be a pretty good size to get for the price.