Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

Ok, I have the car back in one piece, 4 full days of driving with newly rebuild head and all new related hardware - so far so good. Now time to start planning updates (1998 1.8TQM) I’ve read a great deal on this site related to the turbo, chip etc. Still have few questions…

The plan for now:

I will continue driving the car for few more months to get used to the car and reveal any flaws/draw backs and build a solid, reliable platform for future upgrades…

My goal:

245-250 reliable HP at the crank (our family car is Volvo S70T5 with 240 HP high pressure turbo, and that’s plenty good for me), for the least amt of money and least amt of modifications, basically want all bolt on…

Parts considering:

GIAC chip (too many of you have it and happy)
K04 turbo
Borla catback exhaust
Slightly larger injectors
Upgraded clutch

Questions:


1 Turbo related - I want quick spooling, for city/some highway driving... K04 from AWE is $1699 with chip (235hp/265ft/lbs). This chip (as part of the package) is programmed for K04 specifically. From ctsturbo.com, K04 with all hardware is $775 shipped, and AWE (according to their response via email) does sell GIAC chip specifically programmed to K04 $400… With plugs and other misc pieces, going AWE chip and ctsturbo.com KO4 I will be saving $450 or so… Am I missing anything here?

2 Clutch - After reading many posts here, SPEC clutch appears to be the preferred choice - $499… I want to retain almost stock feel for every day driving, just want to make sure that it can handle the added torque/hp. Spec Stage Two is rated at 375 lbs. What is the real hp/torque gain from light flywheel to be worth my $$ to get the whole kit from AWE for almost $1K? Any other, less expensive suggestions for clutch/flywheel combo?

3 Injectors - 315cc Bosch injectors – need them? Enough flow for hp I’d like? Suggestions?


Am I on track in order to achieve that level of h/p gain with parts above? Thank you for taking your time to read this post!

Regards,
D

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

for the turbo... this was also something i wondered as well. not sure... btu the only reason i can see for the cts Ko4 15 setup to be so cheap is if they were selling used turbos. otherwise, the AWE kit is exactly the same kit as the cts kit... minus the chip, which as you mentioned can be bought seperatly.

as far as the injectors, i'm not sure. 315 might be a little big for this setup, but once again... not sure.

the spec clutch will be able to easily handle this setup... it is more firm than you're thinking i believe (you mentioned close to stock) but it's not nearly as firm as a lot of the clutches out there... but the stage 2 is a pretty damn firm clutch compared to stock

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

not to be negative: but I just saw a news alert scroll at the bottom of my tv that gas prices are expected to hit $5 after Hurricane Rita hits! still sure you want that setup?[8D]

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

I am not sure but stock injectors might be enough for this power (neuspeed sell the kit w/o injectors and they do not required) but you might need fpr, and upgraded DV hold to boost, I am also planing to go with K04 for now, so this is a nice thread ;)

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

last night the price of gas went from 1.04/L to .95/L... with the forecast of 1.80/L the next day... and every gas station in town had lineups out to the main streets... it was the oil crisis all over again... took me 45min-1h to get gas (i unfortunatly actually NEEDED gas last night..)

but that's def a good point... you kinda wanna be keeping in mine the escelating gas prices when you're lowering your MPG

the stock injectors will probably do just fine with this setup (it's a pretty tame setup... really) but a SLIGHT upgrade will see some gains... a slight upgrade, because you have to find the balance of added power... and flooding your engine. you also have to look into the injectors GIAC is tuned for (this, i don't know) becaus the injectors will only put down as much as they're told to.

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

CheckMyVitals – thanks for the info on stiffness of the clutch, I definitely want to keep it as close to stock (or just a little stiffer) as possible. AWE’s stage I suggests “This kit is rated at 300hp/300ftlbs … Pedal feel and engagement action is very similar to stock.” I just don’t want to dump $1000 if I can find something comparable for less. So I’m definitely open for suggestions on the clutch setup.

Fieldy – good point, so let me add a little curve to my original list of questions:

Is it possible to achieve these HP gains and still keep MPG in low 20’s for highway driving? If not, what changes should I made to the list of components above to retain fairly good mileage under normal driving conditions? Should I change injectors or not and if so, to what flow rate?

aRIf – I actually have Bailey Motorsport DV, so that should be a good start, right?

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

you will need fuel pressure regulator too... I might buy K04 too, we might think that we can buy at the same to to get some discount maybe :)

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

pretty much any upgraded clutch is going to be stiffer than stock, unless the entire clutch assembly is being changed out as well, with a stiffer pressure plate it's going to be more effort to disengage. I'm sure it's closer to stock than most... and maybe so close that after driving for a while you'll hardly notice... but driven back to back it'll be tougher. personally.. i find nothing wrong with that, i like tough clutches... like to feel it's there, just like i like short shifters. that short 'clunk' is absolutely beautiful.

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

aRIf - i'm all about saving money ;)

CheckMyVitals – A little stiffness I don't mind, just dont want it to feel like Cobra clutch, since most of the driving in city (at least in PM hours).

Lightened flywheel - worth the money/gains or not?

RE: Performance upgrades advice needed…
 

lightened flywheel would kick ass.
the difference won't be akin to...a chip...
but off the line, you'll definatly notice it revs a lot more freely and hooks up a little more quickly on shifts