If i was trying to make 400+hp what do yall recommend me to upgrade first cause money been tight. Should i get my t-case or trans built and why

 

Being that you have an 8, getting to 400 is a bit tougher than if you had a 9

Basically, you will need:

E85
Larger injectors (1000cc or larger)
Cams
Walbro 255
1 step larger turbo (i.e. FPGreen)
3 port boost solenoid
Open intake (i.e. AEM CARB legal)
Full 3" exhaust less CAT
Flash & Tune using Tephra V.7

Should consider a FMIC as well

 

Neither the tcase, nor the trans, need to be built for a 400whp goal.


All you need is a 9 turbo, the full compliment of bolt ons, E85, and a good tune.

 

As mentioned the trans and xcase are plenty strong for 400whp assuming around the same amount of wtq. But repeated launching hard shifts and all the other fun stuff means that at an elevated power level you have a higher likelihood of damaging things in due time. But if youre careful they shouldn't pose an issue.

Don't get hung up on a number; that's all is is...just a number.

I know this isnt the answer you wanna hear but if money is tight you might be better off putting that towards a safety fund if and when things break so you'll be able to fix it vs having to sell it for a loss.

But if you must the list is actually fairly short trying to get to 400whp assuming you have access to e85.

If you do you should be able to get there on your stock turbo. If no e85 youre gunna need to upgrade the turbo or do every single small thing and maybe just maybe you can make it.

But at a minimum its whats already been stated:

Walbro 255 fuel pump
1000cc injectors at least (if you go e85)
some form of boost controller
full 3" exhaust
intake
cams (possibly valve springs depending on what you go with)
better DV since the VIII plastic one sucks
good tune

 

He does not need cams. On E85, it will do 400ish without cams..

 

Without the MIVEC head its doable but cams will certainly get you there easier and without needed to run massive amounts of boost.

And not for nothing but you said IX turbo also not needed. But I find all of these threads to be silly anyway. A hp number is just that, a number. Its meaningless in the grand scheme of things. If you're looking for the best bang for the buck there are literally hundreds of threads on this exact topic. Grab some coffee tea beer or whatever else you enjoy and get reading

 

9 turbo helps more than cams for a stock turbo on E, it adds to reliability. Larger exhaust housing for reduced back pressure, and a slightly larger inducer on the compressor with a larger AR compressor housing as well.




I'd rather bolt on a turbo than do all the work for cams to see about the same gains given the setup. Turbo is an easier install, likely cheaper for the part and def cheaper/easier install, and won't have to worry about valvesprings.

 

Meh I just dont see the point in swapping turbos to the IX unit. I used to run my stock snail 10.5 housing at least on with HKS 272's on ethanol ~30# and made around 400whp. I dont know exactly how much power bc it just doesn't really matter to me. However I will say that the cams maybe didnt give me that much in peak power but they certainly fattened the curve.

As for what's easier to install IDk man cams are pretty easy. Especially a basic set S1's or something like that which wont require upgraded valve springs. I mean turbo is easy too but personally I think I'd opt for cam replacement over turbo. But maybe that's just me living in a state where salt makes me hate life, lol! The valve cover bolts wont seize in the head and cam caps obviously have copious amounts of oil so no corrosion in there. Turbo at the very least requires dropping it from below if you wanna keep the EM attached, you've still got 2 bolt and 2 studs I've snapped in the past. Only good news with that I guess is they snap off in the hotside which you'd be replacing anyway, lol!

 

Nice commentary there Eric. Its hard debating w/Sean (he's smart / tough)

 

Lol yeah he's sharp no doubt about that. But thankfully for me this topic aint exactly rocket science so I think I can take him down

Regardless, Im going back to what I originally said. If money is tight then drive the car, maintain the car and enjoy the car in its current state. You can thank me later.

 

He has an 03 with the smaller 9.8cm turbine housing.


Turbo comes right out the top if you pull the radiator. I can change the turbo in a smidge under 2 hours lol. Air tools tell the turbo to manifold bolts to f#ck right off, and I always have new ones on hand lol.

 

Fixed Mr smartypants! Boom I win. And psh I knew that anyway hence why I said mine was at least the 10.5

Either way, I still don't think there is that much power and extra reliability to be had going to the larger unit. How often do you hear of the stock turbos blowing up? Except for the guys running on kill mode there are so many corn fed stock turbo evos running 30# for years and no issues. Are they blowing hot air? Sure they are. But are they complaining. Can't say Im seeing it all that often.

And not for nothing but I bet going from the VIII to IX turbo will not yield as much power as a set of good cams. Going from stock to HKS 272's prob yielded ~20whp and then from those to S2's I probably got another ~20whp and not just peak power, but pretty much across the entire powerband. They may have given up a little bit down low but not much from the good old butt dyno.

Just because you're slow at R&Ring cams doesnt mean turbos are the easy button, lol! And air tools are great but up here in hell nothing beats the flame wrench.

 

8 to 9 turbo on my car was a bump from 380whp, to 401, same 29-30psi of boost, car took more timing with 9 turbo. Adding a 3.5" ETS intercooler and GSC S2's on the 9 turbo was a bump from 401 to 420. The 9 turbo didn't last long with the cams due to running pretty much 100% wgdc to get it to make boost...lol.


I'm not concerned about turbo reliability, just the "safer" operation of reduced backpressure.

 

Interesting data points and I hear you but at the end of the day we're talking peak power which doesnt tell the entire story. What I want to know about is the powerband.

I know that the IX turbo is a very nice unit but I still dont think it that is the way to go before cams. I feel like you should get the engine to breath better before you swap the turbo.

Meanwhile, you popped that turbo?

 

S2's moved the power/torque right by 400rpms up top. Didn't lose much, if anything in the spool region.

It didn't pop, but it was smoked. Lots of shaft play and it was smoking. That's when I got the red.