Most out of a 95 gsT

[Foreverthuggin0417]

Hey.mthis is for anyone with a gsT that is trying to get the most out of it. I just got my 95 gsT and so far put new turbo cat back 3" piping w 4" tip, blitz BOV, glow shift boost and fuel to air ratio gauge, manual boost controller, chrome turbo intake, high flow cat 2.5" inlet 3" outlet, down pipe 2.5" inlet with 3" outlet, and doing a head re build as of a few days ago. Doing head re build to a friend of mine and I tried to do timing belt change and ended up bending four or more valves. Had 180psi in number one, zero in number two, 170psi in number three, and 165-170 psi in number four. Going to have 180psi out of all four when comes back from machine shop. I'm still far from done on achieving my first goal of 300+ hp.

How far has anyone reached in a gsT?
What mods were applied to reach said goal?
Fastest times?
Money spent?
Time spent?
Any and all set backs?

This is for us with gst's. we could all get a look at each others achievements and learn from everyone's achievements and or mistakes. After I achieve my first goal I am going to shoot higher.

Parts I'm getting in the near future include as followed:
550 cc or 650 cc injectors
190 walbro or evo 8 fuel pump
1g manifold ported or racing intake mani
Port my 2g exhaust mani or get tubular mani
Port o2 housing
Dsmlink or flash a black box
272 cams and better gears
Evo internals (pistons, rods etc) might go weisco or eagle
3G lifters
14b or small 16g turbo
Big side mount or front mount
Better clutch

Note: I have done nothing at all to my suspension. Any suggestions on what I should do would be highly appreciated.

That's my soon to be upgrades
Might be doing more if the money is right.

 

[bryanwheat]

This is a good start. RRE 2nd Generation Eclipse Upgrade Path

 

[Fehrion_sit]

invest in good tires ... your biggest problem will always be traction. you can get these motors to put out that number pretty easy with bolt on parts and a good tune .. DSMlink, none of that other stuff.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Figure out the goals for the car do you want traction.

 

[1995gstdsm]

Take it slow, and one mod at a time and test and tune things to become knowledgeable and look to some of the more "wise people on here" for information on certain parts. Theres alot of bias people out there that will tell you "no" or "yes" for the fact they dont like or like that company. Simple stuff like that, its up to you in the end.

 

[Foreverthuggin0417]

Bryanwheat: thank you for the advice. I'm going to read and learn from that upgrade path. Any personal suggestions you think I should take on my journey to build my car to be strong, fast and reliable at the same time? What do you think about suspension?

Fehrion-sit: thank you for the good advice. I know traction will be my biggest problem due to front wheel drive. Besides a gsx being awd what else do you think makes it have a better advantage than a gsT? Also what is your opinion on dsmlink and a flawed ecu?

Iugrad92turbo: yes I would want traction because if I get my car to be 300-400hp I'm going to need to be able to propell that power some how out of my two front wheels. Any advice on that?

1995gstdsm: thanks for the advice. What would be your opinion on when I should tune. Right now with the mods I have or wait until I upgrade to the better bolt ons? I'm pretty tight on money so I can't just go and buy a dsmlink for my EPROM. I have to take things kind of slow I did all the stuff I got so far in a month with just being released from prison, no job, just got married and my wife is my only means of money for my build besides my tattooing on the side. What would you suggest.

Thanks again for all the positive feedback so far. Hope to hear from you all very soon. Lets keep this thread alive and support the gsT dsm's. as well as all other dsm's but let's focus on gsT's on this thread thank you.

 

[dsmpat95]

Invest in a LSD for your transmission.

 

[Foreverthuggin0417]

I was looking into LSD. What all does it do for me?

 

[dsmpat95]

It will lock your two drive wheels together when the one wheels spin, helping your traction. I use a wavetrac lsd. But if both wheels spin your out of luck.

 

[Foreverthuggin0417]

How much would something like that go for. I seen them cheap as well as expensive, but would they all work?

 

[dsmpat95]

$1000 on average.

 

[IrishBeatdown]

also, get rid of the air to fuel gauge and get a wideband. You will need this essential piece of equipment if you are going to use the tuning solutions on your list; dsmlink, ecuflash.

 

[19awd93]

There are plenty of cheap and free mods you can do to get the most out of your stock gst. A wideband is the first thing that I buy so you can monitor you're AF ratio's so you don't launch your motor. From past experience, I always make sure that there are no boost leaks, no vacuum leaks, no fluid leaking, clutch isn't slipping, just to make sure everything is right before you even get started. Once you get to that point, an safc/dsmlink/chipped ecu and a wideband will help you get the most out of what you want to accomplish. But 300hp isn't hard to get to

 

[Dsmkauai]

Good suspension helps a ton, also I noticed a big diff with the poly bushing upgrade for suspension and motor mounts. And deffinetly a good LSD is key and sticky street tires. And probably the most important a way to tune and good gauges to monitor what's going on.

 

[crash89]

Here check these guys out.. All FWD cars..

DSM 1/4 Mile Times - FWD

Also take a look in here and scroll through the pages till you see the FWDs..
DSM Dyno Challenge - Highest Horsepower

Also Id suggest getting a drivers side axle to go with you LSD!. Its an intermediate shaft and half shaft cv axle.. It helps with torque steer a lot! Before I did my AWD swap I was turning about 360whp and let me tell you, all I was doing its plastering rubber to the inside of my wheel well. Id suggest getting a good tire if you really want to keep your power sticking to the ground!!

Also here are my thoughts about your next mods

Parts I'm getting in the near future include as followed:
550 cc or 650 cc injectors I would go for something bigger such as 1000s. You said you want to go for more hp after you meet your current goal, why buy things twice when you dont need to. Save money while you can.
190 walbro or evo 8 fuel pump Again, think long term, maybe a walbro 255 would be better and just slightly cheaper than a 190.
1g manifold ported or racing intake mani Id go with a ported 1g mani, I personally know a guy who made 640 whp on a stock intake
Port my 2g exhaust mani or get tubular mani Ported 2g mani would be good enough or if you want FP makes a great flowing DSM flanged manifold
Port o2 housing Good
Dsmlink or flash a black box Either is great and have their ups and downs for either. You will need to do your research and decide for yourself what you'd prefer
272 cams and better gears Any 272 cam would be great except Kelfords, they're a really aggressive cam and are more like 280s. Check out the link at the bottom to help you decide and school you on cams. Gears arent necessary until you get up into higher hp.
Evo internals (pistons, rods etc) might go weisco or eagle Not really necessary but wouldnt hurt, stock motors can handle upwards of 400hp. Some have seen over 500 and the record is 740whp for a stock motor.
3G lifters Not necessary but they're ok
14b or small 16g turbo Both great upgrades and will reach your 300hp goal. Also a good one would be a 20g or if you have deep pockets the t28 or 68HTA. Those last three would probably get you up around 350-400+
Big side mount or front mount FMIC
Better clutch OEM clutch will start to slip when you get up around 280-300 hp (from my experience) I would recommend a South bend kit. I bought the SS series with the TZ/fe disc. Held great for me and Im still running it upwards of 450whp. Link at bottom

Id also recommend a fuel pressure regulator, upgraded pump will give you slightly higher fuel pressure. Especially if you go with a 255, also needed when you upgrade injectors.

Note: I have done nothing at all to my suspension. Any suggestions on what I should do would be highly appreciated.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/cylinder-head-short-block/361516-cam-test-i-will-dyno-test-delta-hks-272-delta-k272-bc-272-cams.html

TMZ Performance

Again those are just my suggestions to save you some money and help in the long run.. Hope I didnt miss anything.

 

[TSI_93]

How do you figure a 255 wally is cheaper?

190 and 255 are the same price on nearlly every vendor I've seen. You also need an Adjustable Fuel pressure regulator for a 255. My current project got a 190lph because its never gonna see more boost than the 190 can handle.

 

[crash89]

I picked up a 255 for 60 bucks. They can be had for cheaper than what the vendors are selling. But you're right. At vendor price they are around the same price. I was just suggesting to the OP that depending on how far he wants to go up the horsepower scale he might be better off going bigger. You made your choice based on the same principle I suggested. You didnt need anything bigger than a 190lph pump so thats what you go. What if the op after this wants to go with a Holset or maybe a 30r set up? Hes going to need more fuel and therefor going to have to upgrade yet again and drop another 60-100 dollars on pump that could have been bought in the first place.

 

[Foreverthuggin0417]

Crash89: thanks for all the good advice. Great minds think alike. Everything you mentioned is exactly what I'm shooting for. Thanks for making me understand the whole bigger fuel pump and injectors. I know you wrote a lot and I highly appreciate it, but could you be kind enough to let me know what order you think I should do this in? Thanks again a real eye opener on my goals for my 95 gsT. Really want to do awd swap too but not in the near future.

 

[crash89]

You can take a look here. Its kind of like the link that Bryan posted but a DSMtuners version. Tech Guide: 2G 4G63t Upgrades - DSMtuners

However, although I did follow this path almost to a T years ago, I think I would go my own route if I had to do it over again. Simply for the fact that I dont think stock injectors will get you to 300 safely. My dyno under my avatar was done on stock injectors and my injector duty cycle was 120+ by redline.. No good! I had no wideband so I had no idea how lean I was actually running. And like I said earlier I was getting wheel spin like crazy even at that power level, once in a while quite a bit of wheel hop.

So heres my revamp of the Tuners upgrade path of how I would go next time.


Maintenance first!!! - Make sure all things are caught up such as, oil changes, plugs/wires, timing belt, water pump, fluids.. After all that, then you can start upgrading. Also during this time a GOOD boost gauge should be installed as well as a Wideband a/f gauge. Stock boost gauge is pretty much useless and your narrowband gauge is just as useless..

Intake pipe - Not needed to get you there, and some are kind of pricey. I used the stock on until I went to a holset.
Exhaust system No real need to go with a high name brand kit here, I went with a Megan 3" down pipe and Ebay 3" cat back and was very happy with it. Now, the megan pipe is catless so if you have to worry about emissions Id say not to get this dp. Being that you're in California Id say you do!
Manifold & O2 housing A stock one with some porting will do just fine for now! Some people switch to an EvoIII o2 housing but the DP flange is angled just a bit different than stock so people have a rough time getting things to fit right. As for the manifold like I said earlier. I STILL use an Ebay tubular mani with my 20g set up on my 1g. Its been leak free for almost 4 years.
FMIC and BOV Now, the stock sidemount will do just fine until 300-320 hp before it really becomes inefficient, but who doesnt like cleaning up the bay a little!! VRspeed makes a good kit and are pretty cheap. I think there is even a group buy going on right now in the vender section. Also I think its Punishment racing makes a similar kit for a similar price. Or who knows maybe you want something different!!
Fuel pump Now like I said earlier, depending on which pump you go with will decide if you need a n adjustable pressure regulator or not.

Now, before we start jumping into the good go fast stuff I would buy the tuning solution, be it ECMlink or ECUflash. Read the wiki's, watch the videos and get used to the programs and how things work before you get too deep and dont know how to make changes and get things right. Now here we go.

Turbo, No more than 15 psi 16g will get you well into the 300 range but for now keep it under 15 psi. Notice I havent put a boost controller on here yet.. People just think they can slap a bigger turbo and boost controller on and be good to go, then wonder why things break and get messed up.. Now, the T25 is a pile of crap and most people just swap in a 14b or 16g right away. Thats fine but remember keep the boost down until you have the right equipment to support it!
Injectors As stated earlier, look into the future, you dont want to be buying things over and over if you dont have to.

Now that you have the proper parts to support more boost, you can get yourself a boost controller. This will get you over your goal of 300hp. Now, well probably sooner, but now is when you're really going to notice that keeping all your power to the ground is going to be difficult and the drivetrain parts suggested before will come into play.

Cams Cams will make it a little easier but they arent necessary to get you there. BC or HKS272s will probably be good enough for you in the future as well.

This is most likely how I would go about things if I was going to build a car and keep driving it during the build process. Hope it helps!

 

[007jimmy]

My profile lists what i have in my auto GST. Trans and suspension is next on my to do list.

 

[Foreverthuggin0417]

Crash89: thanks for all the good info. As of now I already got blitz BOV, glow shift boost gauge, glow shift fuel to air ratio gauge (not installed), turbo cat back 3" piping 4" tip, chrome turbo intake w/ k and n filter, high flow cat (don't need to smog for another two years ) it has 2.5" inlet and 3" outlet, new down pipe 2.5" or something inlet and 3" outlet. As for maintenance I replaced plugs with NGk, got stuff to do oil change, and I'm re building the head right now, so all the gaskets are going to be new.

Do you think the stuff I got as of ow is going to even add any if all hp?

My birthday is next month and my wife is going to get me a turbo kit that's going to come with s16g, front mount w piping, and a tubular exhaust mani. Maybe some other things.

How close do you think I will be when I get that.

As for ecmlink or flash. How would I go with flashing a ecu?

Thanks again for taking time to put me up on game on help with achieving my goals.

 

[crash89]

If your Air/fuel gauge is a "narrow band" style, send it back and get your money back and invest in the "wideband" style. That will come with its own o2 sensor. These are far more accurate and are essential to tuning.

Your mods as far as now wont really be THAT noticeable but the free flowing exhaust will definitely help a bunch. Also tell your wife to steer away from ANY ebay turbo kit. Many people who buy these turbos complain about premature failure. Although, some have had decent luck with them.

As far as flashing the ecu, the 98/99 model ECU also known as the black box ecu are compatible with EVO software. EVOscan and ECU flash.. Reading material seen here >> http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/tuning-engine-management/338754-first-flashed-dsm-ecu-98-99-flashing-faq.html

DSMlink is much more user friendly but is quite a bit more expensive. You're going to have to decide which you would rather prefer.

 

[Foreverthuggin0417]

Crash89: I'll definitely will not be getting eBay kit . Yea the air to fuel isn't anything at all special it's actually a combo gauge I don't even got it plugged in. Just use boost gauge. I'm thinking about getting or flashing a ecu, but I really want to get dsmlink. Do you know anything about the "my1gdsm" or something like that. He is a freelancer I believe. Do you know anything about his work and if it will help me at all?