Unsure of the right path.

[7Budlow7]

I just bought the car off someone who payed no attention to my 91 Talon TSI AWD. I took it in for some "TLC" or tuning at the local mechanic. Now heres my problem. I believe in the fix it once so you don't have to do it again way of things. I was told I have a cracked exhaust manifold, crack in the turbo housing, no Mass air flow, and my fuel pump isn't working correctly. Through reading on this site I've come to the conclusion that putting a bigger turbo in right away isn't the thing to do. But for my car to run its needs a turbo . So my questions is if i went from a stock turbo to a T4 Garrett with a stock fuel pump and stock manifold am I in danger of a) my car running like crap and b) in a month having the same problems now. Its not the money I'm worried about so if my best bet is getting an aftermarket manifold and fuel pump I will. Thanks to everyone that posts to help me out.

 

[rich3389]

If the car was stock i would get.........
16g turbo
walbro 190 fuel pump
2g exhaust manifold
boost controller

Just keep the boost to 10-15 psi before you get a logger.

 

[mopardwh]

Definitely the wrong thing to do. Just buy a used one if you're worried about spending money on something you might replace later.

 

[xorti7]

If the car was stock i would get.........
16g turbo
walbro 190 fuel pump
2g exhaust manifold
boost controller

Just keep the boost to 10-15 psi before you get a logger.

+1 for this one. If you plan on modding later, just do it now. Whenever something breaks on my car, I see it as an opportunity to replace it with something better.

 

[rich3389]

Well, thats what i would do.

 

[7Budlow7]

Well i considered the used path for the turbo but..... the shop wants $1500 for the turbo and installed. And I priced out brand new turbo's and they are only a couple $100 more. I don't mind spending the money. I just hate wasting money.

 

[goalieman24]

T4 Garrett and a stock manifold won't get along too well.

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

Well i considered the used path for the turbo but..... the shop wants $1500 for the turbo and installed. And I priced out brand new turbo's and they are only a couple $100 more. I don't mind spending the money. I just hate wasting money.

It's better if you buy the turbo and install it yourself.

You can save a couple hundred bucks.

 

[eclipseGSTud]

Buy a turbo and ask a local DSMer to help you with the install. It's always easier doing the install with someone whose experienced. Helps reduce the chances of mistakes, its cheaper than shop install (maybe even free), you'll learn how to install yourself, and maybe even make a new friend.

*Just read your first post over again and noticed you said you aren't worried about the money, so just go for the shop install amd get a exhaust manifold to match the new turbo. You'll also need
- fuel injectors
- 255lph fuel pump
- some type of fuel/engine management (dsmlink + eprom+ laptop, OR safc + logger, OR safc + eprom ecu + dsmchip + logger OR gm maft + eprom ecu + dsmchip + logger are popular choices)
- mbc
- boost gauge
- afpr
- fmic (stock smic will heatsoak)

I don't see a mod list in your profile. Do you have any mods on the car? The size of the injectors depend on how big your turbo is and also on what fuel/engine management system you use. You could get a bigger turbo and have eveything else stock, but you'll have to turn down the boost, still get mbc, a boost gauge, and a logger to monitor the stats of the car to be safe.

 

[marq95gst]

If its not the money you are worried about...then the question also is...how much power do you plan on having? : )

 

[BoostFrenzy]

I too believe in that saying. so what I would suggest:
1) Get the stock turbo and the stock manifold. If you are just starting out, its nice to have a base so you know where you have been.

2) For the fuel pump I say a walbro 190lph because you don't need a regulator mostly and will be ample supply for say a E16g. But, if you plan on going higher in the HP Zones, then I'd say a walbro 255lph pump and a AFPR to keep it all good.

3) Go straight to the link. DSMLink is far better then any AFC can do. even the "super" one. So for this, you will need a Eprom ECU and get it done by the good people of DSMLink, and then you will need a laptop with either a serial port, or a USB 2.0 with the proper cables. (All info can be found here: http://www.dsmlink.com/index.html)

4) Now with all that tuning available to you, I highly recommend you get all your supporting mods done before you ever even think about another turbo/mani combo. Start out small like a good quality intake system (turbo inlet to throttle body) and then move on to a full exhaust system. (down pipe to the back of the car). now if you go with a 3" exhaust system, you will most likely need to get your manifold ported so you don't get spikes and such. Not too big of a deal. Also get a Manual boost controller (MBC) from a reputable vendor so you can play with DSMLink a bit and find out what the limits are for the power of your mods and make a good tune for it. After that, you will NEED a clutch to cope with all the new found power.

5) this is a space for what you want to do with it. So for w/e you want to do: like you may need Coilovers, and all the rest of your suspension stuff like brakes and such. or maybe you go a different route. this space is open for whatever. So do as you like.

For now, that should be good. Just take your time and research all the possible parts and where their strong points are. And last but not least. Use that handy little search pull down to look up those mentioned parts so it will not make a new thread on the same thing. Because everyone else on here will tell you time and time again...to search before asking questions.

Hope this helps you in your path to HP.

 

[marq95gst]

Boostfrenzy makes sense. But, if you are going no bigger than a 16g, and do not plan on going bigger (injectors, etc...) dsmlink may be over kill. But I am sure you are planning to go big sometime, so dsmlink..or the dsm chip may be an alternative.

 

[Talesin]

$1500 is pretty ridiculous. You can get a used B16G/E3-16G for about $250-350 depending on the area, and bolt it up yourself. 14b usually run between $100-200 with no shaft play from someone who upgraded.

I'm a fan of the 'fix it once, do it right' mentality, but your shop is trying to rip you one. Get the car working RIGHT, get used to it at stock (or near-stock) power levels, and then upgrade. You'll get a better feel for the car and the potential increases. No offense intended, but a lot of people assume that they can handle a 300hp car, much less a 400, when all they've driven before are 80-150hp commuter boxes. The phrase 'too much car' can easily apply, if you don't ease yourself into it or have actual equivalent experience.

My recommendation:
-Boost gauge (ALWAYS the first mod on a DSM, for safety!)
-Walbro 190lph rewired
-SBR exhaust manifold (or 2G mani from a junkyard if you can find one in decent shape)
-14b/16G turbo (10-12psi, stock for a 1G)

Once you've gotten used to how the car is SUPPOSED to run, or if you're impatient:
-Boost gauge
-DSMLink (Screw SAFCs, this is the way to go, aside from AEM EMS. 2Gers have a lot more outlay to get Link, so they're stuck with the crappy way most times.)
-850-1600cc injectors (Only really possible with DSMLink or AEM EMS, but it'll run like stock in the low end still!)
-Walbro 255lph HP rewired pump
-AFPR (NEED one of these on a 1G. 2Gers can get by sometimes, but the 1G FPR sucks and WILL overrun.)
-FMIC
-MAF-T/3" GM MAS
-Whatever turbo/manifold strikes your fancy, or will meet your eventual goals.


Even buying a semi-fried E3-16G and having it rebuilt will be a crap-ton cheaper than a T3/T4 setup, and get the car back on the road with a good bit more bump than it had before. If the previous owner was mistreating the car though, I'd be saving that extra money in case the engine takes a crap. If the fuel pump, turbo and manifold are toast, not to mention the MAS, the car may have bigger problems than you can see right now.

 

[Zenja]

I just bought the car off someone who payed no attention to my 91 Talon TSI AWD. I took it in for some "TLC" or tuning at the local mechanic. Now heres my problem. I believe in the fix it once so you don't have to do it again way of things. I was told I have a cracked exhaust manifold, crack in the turbo housing, no Mass air flow, and my fuel pump isn't working correctly. Through reading on this site I've come to the conclusion that putting a bigger turbo in right away isn't the thing to do. But for my car to run its needs a turbo . So my questions is if i went from a stock turbo to a T4 Garrett with a stock fuel pump and stock manifold am I in danger of a) my car running like crap and b) in a month having the same problems now. Its not the money I'm worried about so if my best bet is getting an aftermarket manifold and fuel pump I will. Thanks to everyone that posts to help me out.

If you need a turbo right away, don't be afraid to buy the one you actually want and put it on without the supporting mods. As long as you keep boost low, the car will be safe. You won't really gain much power, but it'll work until you get the supporting mods. A cracked turbine housing on your current turbo isn't too big of a deal though, so you could use that one for now.

People are saying not to get a bigger turbo as a first mod, and they're right, assuming you're trying to get more power out of the car by doing that. It's much better to get the supporting mods first, then the turbo. But like I said, if you really need a new turbo, you can put it on first if you want. Note though that you'll need a manifold designed for a T4 turbo if you want a T4.

 

[BoostFrenzy]

Boostfrenzy makes sense. But, if you are going no bigger than a 16g, and do not plan on going bigger (injectors, etc...) dsmlink may be over kill. But I am sure you are planning to go big sometime, so dsmlink..or the dsm chip may be an alternative.

i thank you for semi agreeing with me. and i also add: If you remember what they said about always doing it right the first time, this would be the right thing the first time around. Face it, we all know that we want that dream turbo with so-and-so hp capabilities. so sooner or later, that AFC isn't going to do the trick anymore (yes...im even saying that those dudes with 800+cc injectors are just plain good at tuning on a safc and supporting electronics...but not everyone is like that). So DSMLink is a better way to go. And i know someone on here will say just to spite me that the AEM is far better then Link, so why not go there first? well seriously...if this person is just starting out with DSMs, im sure they would go crazy over the price, and how much is needed to have the car running good. so i believe this mod doesnt really apply here.

as to the over kill part. i dont think it is at all. If you want a tuning tool that is somewhat simple to tune with (come on now...they are sliders ) then it is the way to go. It will be much eaiser to get a good tune on it then having to compensate for larger injectors on an AFC and then have to find the right A/F Mixture. And DSMLink doubles as a logger. so as long as you have a laptop (that can do many other things besides Link) it isnt such a bad idea.

I'm getting my '98 GSX with a E16g, Evo 3 mani, Evo 3 o2 (all ported), Evo "550" injectors, walbro 190 pump, full intake and exhaust, MBC, FMIC and an External oil cooler setup (think that is all for the engine) from a friend of mine in a few days and that has an AFC+logger setup and the first thing im gonna do is get DSMLink so i can rid myself of all that AFC stuff. I dont find it over kill at all, but thats just me.