upgrading 1987 turbo

[Prez420]

I was wondering what other obvious upgrades I should do during the winter. given that Im doing a bunch of upgrades in the winter already I thought I would ask the question as to what other upgrades I could easily be doing while I have it off the road and her guts on the floor? price isnt a big issue for me.

already have:
3" stainless cat back
K&N air filter
18x9" Stern ST-1 Beast rims
235/40/18 Falken 451's all around


on the way:
Koyo Rad
Brembo drilled rotors and kevlar brake pads
XTD STAGE 3 RACING CLUTCH KIT
Cooleeze turbo inlet, rad and IC pipes ceramic coated and polished
BIC Performance DDP ceramic coated and polished
BIC Performance test pipe ceramic coated and polished
LS400 Air Flow Meter AFM and 550 injectors
Monza SSQV Blow Off Valve
Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Clutch Stainless Hydraulic Line


thanx for your help

[Burn N' Up]

Good Ideas: If its been awhile since you last did it, while you have the rotors and all that off, you should repack your wheel bearings, flush your brake and clutch lines since they will be off (I'm sure you already were), and if you want a big job... replace your bushings on all your suspension. Check the torque on all your chassis bolts and adjust the clearence on your valve heads. Depending on your miles an M/T gear oil change and LSD Gear oil change never hurts.Torque all of your seat and safety belt bolts, mine were ridiculously loose when I decided to check them.

Upgrades:

Change out your shocks for some more responsive, not lower(because of TEMS), race shocks... like me =b. You'll appreciate the ride and handling difference if you buy good stuff.

Metal Head Gasket and ARP Head Studs torqued good and high. Safer if you up your boost with the next mod.

Manual or electric boost controller. Pretty obvious what this is for *makes turbo whistling noise*

If you decide to pull the head gasket you might as well have the head polished. More Air flow.

And if your gonna do all that ridiculous shit it might be time for an aftermarket EMS or at least AFR meter so you don't melt your block. But most of that stuff you can do safely without. I assume your going to get an Aftermarket EMS anways with the 550s to take full advantage. There is other stuff you could have done... but it gets more difficult from here.

[Prez420]

thanx alot Burn! excellent reply. just what I was looking for.

if anyone else has anything to add (suprra_girl?) plz throw it out there.

how thick should my metal HG be? I see one that is 2mm on ebay for $200. seems pricey.

I have a friend that can get them made out of copper. would that be a good idea?

[suprra_girl]

agreed.... good reply... ppl don't often think of doing all those other little things hehe

there's only one big thing you forgot... you're gonna have the ability to run high boost soon and have the fuel to survive... but i don't think your stock turbo will appreciate all this extra work

oh yea... get the 255lph walbro fuel pump
do the jtube mod (drill it out or bypass)
fuel pressure regulator
upgrade that ct26... either to 50-60 trim as you get to 60 or more they become unreliable or get one of the SP (Sound Performance) Turbos, they have bolt ons

or if you wanna get realllllllll fancy get the whole sp turbo kit which runs for bout $3k?? which is ss manifold, sp turbo, downpipe, wastegate etc.. the whole shaboozle

[rnoswal]

Shaboozle..........is that like a kanuter valve?




Russ

[suprra_girl]

are you picking on me




LOL j/k

shaboozle... kaboodle... the whole pretty package

[Prez420]

Originally Posted by suprra_girl

i don't think your stock turbo will appreciate all this extra work

get the 255lph walbro fuel pump
do the jtube mod (drill it out or bypass)
upgrade that ct26... either to 50-60 trim as you get to 60 or more they become unreliable or get one of the SP (Sound Performance) Turbos, they have bolt ons

what upgraded turbo do you recommend with which manifold?
what is the jtube mod? I could find any info here
what size aftermarket intercooler?
is $100 alot for APR head studs? seems like it for a few small pieces of metal
what are good upgraded shocks that work with TEMS?
what thickness of metal head gasket? I see a .51" and a 2mm from the same seller.
do I need and electric boost controller? or is the manual one fine?
I havent the first clue when it comes to aftermarket EMS. where do I begin?


so many questions... hope Im not starting to bother you.

[Prez420]

~looks around guiltily~


BUMP

[suprra_girl]

turbo options
well it really depends on what power you are after

if you just wanna go for the 300whp mark a 46 trim or 50 trim upgraded ct26 will do the job and still spool nicely... and of course that will use the stock manifold

j tube mod

on the intake manifold side of the block is where the jtube is located, if you follow the fuel line from your fuel pressure regulator down you will see a bracket that is bolted to the block, fuel passes through that and back to the tank
the exit side of the jtube only has a small pinhole for the fuel return which can be a restriction when upgrading fuel pump/pressure regulator
you can either drill the hole out or bypass it altogether

intercooler
i've found a good size (sorry in metric measurement lol) 550x300x75 seems to work well with 2 1/2" intercooler hardpipes

tems shocks
tokico illumina II's are tems replacements for our car and the only tems aftermarket option

arp head studs
$100 is basically what i paid and they're well worth the money

aftermarket head gaskets
cometic and hks are recommended
again this depends on what power and boost you intend to run
if you want to run 15-20psi boost i would recommend lowering the compression slightly for detonation purposes
when take your engine to your machine shop and have it prepared for a mhg they will tell you what size you need
if you want to lower your compression just a little you can get a slightly thicker head gasket
have a chat with your machine shop they will help you out

boost controllers
electronic ones are recommended as they are highly accurate, you don't "have" to get a dual stage you can just get a single stage
a manual one could do for now if you wanna get that boost up a little

aftermarket ecu's
AEM does/or is coming up with a plug n play ecu for the 7mgte and i've only heard the best about them