this is kinda what i do but slightly different-

Brakes, Suspension, Power. Repeat twice then add either aero or interior at the end & start over.

 

finish the rest of your exhaust system by adding a 10.5 hotside, ebay O2 housing, and 76mm or 3" downpipe, also add cams (269/269 or 272/272 I would recommend on the VIII unless you plan on running larger than a 20G/green turbo down the road) along with a Walbro 255 pump kit and bolt the head back on with ARP head bolts... if you plan on doing the above mentioned exhaust components you might as well swap on a ported stock exhaust mani at the same time.... also need a tune before driving on those new cams! This would maximize your stock turbo setup as far as bolt-ons go, leaving the intercooler and any IC piping to be upgraded as a final step before going to a green turbo and bigger injectors. Before that you will most likely need a clutch and possibly add methanol injection, which I would run meth on your stocker before spending that money on a green turbo...

If you plan on running a turbo bigger than a green down the road scratch everything I said, resist the urge to upgrade anything powerwise right now, and keep saving your money for a nice Buschur/AMS/E.T.S turbo kit!!!

 

coilovers, all suspension bushings, sway bar, and front motor mount

 

here it goes

1)272/264 GSC cams plus install $625
2)test pipe $100
3)meth kit + install $650
4)downpipe 300
5)MBC
6)ARP head studs $100
7)A good retune 150

This produced me 336hp at 20.5 psi without the meth and 389hp with the meth. The car was a beast. 11s are now your friend.PM if more info needed.

 

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. I already have a down pipe; buschur from turbo back so I don't need that. As far as Meth goes I don't want to put something on the car that has to keep getting refilled. I'd worry about it not coming on or running out at WOP; that's just me. The idea of cams, 10.5, and a retune sound good. I'm not going to upgrade suspension or brakes at this time. It stops on a dime and handles awesome already; don't want to mess with that. Is Dynoflash stilll on top of the game as far as tuning goes? I like the idea of a dyno tune rather than a street tune... what has everyone else done?

 

Dont know what your options are for getting a tune in Arkansas.... if you can find somebody you trust there to tune it thats cool, or do a little research on here regarding mail in flashes vs. tactrix cables... see what works best for you

 

I have thought about driving the car to Buschur's in Ohio to let them do the work. I may stretch the budget to around 3000 or so if I did that. The drive would be around 12 to 13 hours, but it would probably be worth it for peace of mind.

 

just gettin paid off?! was it a 5 year payment!

 

I bought it used in mid 2004 with 1200 miles on it. When I looked up the build date a few years ago I remember it being built late in 03.

 

oh I forgot to add the Walbro fuel pump for 100 bucks.would not really worry about the 10.5 hotside either. Meth is not a hassle really bro. A gallon is 3 bucks and last bout 3 full tanks of gas. its a guaranteed 50 to 60 horses. the new ones work great and no need to worry about running out really.there is a kill switch. you want a flash or I would say a piggy back or standalone would work wonders as you could have 2 tunes..but anyways..no matter what you decide, 2500 will make your Evo a Vette hunter...

 

Walbro 255 $80 (shop around!)
MBC $35
HKS 280's (screw 264's and 272's) $600 +35-40whp
Buschur Ported & coated exhaust manifold $200 +5-10whp
10.5 turbine housing (port this yourself to save some money) $150 10whp
Buschur SS o2 housing $200 15whp
Buschur ported intake manifold + 65m throttle body $375 15-20whp
Option--skip the 10.5 housing and get a used IX turbo: $400 25-30whp

That's $1635-1885 in for 80-115whp gain. Spend the rest on a new tune and some good maintenance to keep that beast rolling!

A really good bang/buck upgrade after that is going to be an aquamist HFS-1 alky kit, read up on that and get educated on alky injection and see if this is something you might like. You said you weren't really interested in refilling, but realistically you can run denatured alcohol, which can be had at any home improvement store for relatively cheap.

 

1700 Good priced GT30/GT35/50 trim/57 trim turbo kit
350 Used cams
80 Hallman MBC
175 PTE/AMS/RC Injectors
150 used intake pipe
and use the remaining $55 to buy a 1st gen crushed bov.

400-425whp on pump gas.

 

Y'all have me all fired up now. Some really good ideas have come up. I'll look into Meth a little more, but I don't think I'll bite on that on. It sounds like I can get some good power with the stock 03 turbo by opening it up a little with some buschur parts. The wheels are really spinning now!

 

Now you got the right idea! There's a ton more power left in what you got! Throw a buschur deluxe FMIC into the mix and you'll be in GOOD SHAPE!

If there's anyone in your area that can do a custom tune, that would be to your advantage. Otherwise hook up with Mellon or Jestr, unless buschur will do an email-based tune for ya.

 

I'm not sure about tuners in my area. If I'm going to spend the money I want it done right. Probably lean towards driving to Ohio to Buschur. Mights as well go all the way than wish I had later.