yeah i have always wondered how the mandrel bend works? do they heat the metal up and then stretch it so that there are is no "kinking"?

 

The more I read back into the forums the more I think that maybe I should be looking for a 2001. Is the 2001 a B5 or B6? Wikipedia shows B5 going to 2001, but then lists B6 as starting in 2000.

I say that because the stock HP rose 20hp, it has slightly improved styling, and I think the 2001 would have xenon lights whereas the 98 wouldn't?

With intake mod, exhaust, and chip, would the 170hp motor be ahead of the 150hp motor with the same mods?

Also, I don't see many of you suggesting or talking about EGT gauges. Why are they not common? I'm used to using EGT gauges to ensure the tune is good, and as reference when shutting the car off because if you shut the car off before the exhaust lowers to a certain termperature you can coke the bearing in the turbo.

 

For those of your curious about mandrel bending, this link has a video of a mandrel bender at work. A typical hydraulic pipe bender pushes the pipe at the inside of the bend to make the angle, thus crushing it a bit. A mandrel bender pulls the pipe around a radius, so it stretches the outside edge to compensate.

http://www.ercolina-usa.com/mandrel-bender.htm

 

use a turbo timer to cool down your turbo

b5= 96-01
I've heard that >99's are better for going BT.

 

i have yet to see someone running an egt

just because its newer dosent nessecarily mean it will have xenons

in 99.5 they made the facelift car (one piece headlights, rectangle side markers, and a differnet console and a bunch of other stuff)

from 99.5-2001.5 are all b5 facelift cars

in 2000 they switched to a drive by wire (electronically controlls throttle body) where as before it was operated via linkage and a direct cable to the tb
which is one reason why the earlier models are used more for big power

so in that sence alot of people look for a 99.5 for the easier tuning, and newer looks

 

It seem to me that for someone just doing exhaust, intake, and chip, the 2000+ would be fine. Is there necessarily anything wrong with drive by wire?

Would the 170hp motor make more power than the 150hp version with the same mods? (intake, exhaust, chip)

Thanks for all the information everyone.

 

Drive by wire is fine some say there is a delay in response which is sooooooo small i doubt you'd ever notice. Plus there are signal booster's that you can buy for about $250 if you think that you really need it.

 

Do you know if there would be any power difference between the 2001 170hp motor with intake, exhaust and chip vs. a 1998 150hp motor with the same mods?

 

the later car will have a bit more power but its not the simple mods you need to be worried about its when you start doin BT you need to worry about DBW and NDBW

 

If I were to get a 2001 I wouldn't have to worry as much about the timing belt tensioner, correct?

Also, is it just the front suspension that wears out correctly or are the rear control arms bad too? If the rear suspension is of poor design as well, is it as complicated to fix as the front?

Is that kit you can buy the most cost effective way to revamp the front suspension?