(What) To Port or Not to Port

[Dr Ronald]

I have a stock 95 TSi. I'm looking to squeeze as much cheap power out of it as I can, as I'm on a budget. I want to do some porting in the near future, but I don't know what exactly I should be porting. I've heard the you shouldn't port the hot side of the head, which is good because I don't want to risk ruining my head. I have never ported anything before, but I'm pretty good with that sort of thing and am pretty confident. I just need to know what exactly I should be porting. Also, what gaskets should I get and where should I buy them? What sort of benefits will I see for each port? Be specific please, as I am kind of a noob when it comes to turbos. My goal is around 350hp. Any other tips would be appreciated.

On a side note, I have around $200 to put into my car. Any suggestions of the first mods? I was thinking poly bushings, a rear sway bar, or a gauge pillar and boost gauge.


Thanks in advance.

 

[DSMxJB]

Tech Guide: 2G 4G63t Upgrades - DSMtuners

The upgrade path is great. Everyone will tell you to use it. It has free mods and then a bunch more.

 

[Dr Ronald]

Yeah I have read it several times. I have most of the free mods. This was the reasoning behind suggesting boost gauge. I already bought a CAI, just haven't installed it yet.

 

[DSMxJB]

Yeah I have read it several times. I have most of the free mods. This was the reasoning behind suggesting boost gauge. I already bought a CAI, just haven't installed it yet.

If you plan on changing the boost at all get a boost gauge. The stock one is pretty much useless.

 

[Tyeler18]

If you're only shooting for 350hp then porting isn't necessary unless your porting your exhaust manifold and o2 housing. I'd look into other things IE turbo, injectors etc before porting. That of course is after you've done all your maintanence.

 

[fourgsixthree33]

Yea first thing you should do if you plan on modding is get an aftermarket boost gauge. Can find them cheap here in the classifieds.

 

[Dr Ronald]

Will porting the manifold and the o2 housing give me any horsepower with everything else stock? Also what about the turbo house?

 

[faudin]

Everything adds, and everything gets you better ready for Future mods to the car.

 

[99eclipse420]

I just port matched my head both intake and exhaust side wasn't difficult, i used a dremel, with several attachments and a sharpie, you can find videos on line and such you only want to port match about 1 1/2 in to 2 1/2 in in though.

 

[dsm03]

You can get Fast and for Cheap with DSM, but not that Cheap..

Will porting the manifold and the o2 housing give me any horsepower with everything else stock? Also what about the turbo house?

 

[acdrew]

I have a friend who made over 600 without porting his head with just 272 cams. I think the manifold and 02 housing would be your best bet. Personally I wouldnt get into internal port work until I had a bigger turbo with all supporting mods with a built motor.

 

[34tftf]

Porting heads can add power but if you port too thin it will mess up your power band, but make sure if you port the intake side of your head make sure the port is at least 0.020 of an inch larger then the intake manifold port to make sure the air in the head doesn't return to the manifold.

 

[JohnMatt]

I don't think head porting really fits into your budget at this point for the reason IMO if I was going to do it I'd take the head apart so I can go fully through it then you'll need a valvejob and get everything re-installed and checked which will most likely be around $250-$300 depending on your machine shop. I know when I ported my head from my turbo miata it took me awhile but I'm OCD like that. save the head porting for when you can pick up a spare head to mess with on the side

 

[____Kurt____]

A good investment that isn't too expensive but worth every penny is a data logger. This will be many gauges in one and let you know what is going on with your car. Good luck