I've been reading on these two upgrades for weeks now and im still undecided on which to do next. If it were to be cams it would be Kelford 272's most likely. If it were the turbo i would go after the FP Green.
My mod list is pretty mild:
TBE
Walbro fuel pump
o2 dump
upper i/c piping
lower i/c piping
MBC
forge wastegate
tuned at 24psi at 300awhp.
Which upgrade would be the best investment? I daily my evo right now so I need reliability also. From what I've read they make similar power, but I've never experienced the cams or the turbo in person, so i guess thats what im interested in. I feel like this is the next upgrade to do, but if you more experienced people think a different mod should be in order feel free to chime in. (BTW e85 isnt available here, so exclude that.)

Thanks guys

 

If you are not going for huge power, I would go with the cams first. They are way cheaper than the turbo. Then if you are not happy, get the turbo later down the road. From all the people with 8's around here, they say the cams make a huge difference.

 

You would gain more with a turbo, but if you wanted to maximize what you already have cams would be the way to go. If you wanted to go a step further, being there is no e85 out there meth maybe an option you may look into. 50/50 mix with heet and distilled water would give you some more hp being you would be able to run a bit more timing. I guess it all depends on your goals and what you would want out of the performance out of the car. Hope this helps some.

 

I agree 100%. Stock 8 cams just flat out blow. A good set of cams will help the car a ton. Gsc S2 or a Kelford as he suggested would make you easily 40 more hp guestimate with a good tune.

 

My goal is high 300's to 400awhp. Cams are looking more likely after reading what you guys said. That said, if i were to go with kelfords i would need new springs retainers right? I've read people keeping the stock spring/retainers with the HKS 272 cams. So if the HKS cams had enough "umph" to get me around the 400awhp mark id be good with that.
What spring/retainers are needed for the Kelford's? Are head studs recommended at the horsepower level it'd get me to?

 

I don't think you are going to get to 400 with just the cams. I think the turbo would be a better choice if you are trying to get an extra 100hp over where you are at right now. You will not get an extra 100hp out of cams.

As for the headstuds, you are going to get alot of mixed opinions on that one. My opinion is better to be safe than sorry.

 

FYI HKS cams are junk, there no better then stock cams honestly. HKS cams do not require springs and retainer upgrades being they were developed for stock stuff. The HKS 272s will give you maybe 20 more hp over stock. Kelfords/GSC yes you will need them, being they have way more lift and will cause valves to float over the stock redline. To get 400 hp off your current setup will not be achievable with pump gas and your current mods.

 

That broke my heart a little I think. But believable. So to get there, it will need one of these mods and more supporting ones. But I still don't know which route to go. Cams or turbo... Bleh cams don't really seem cheaper taking into account the springs and retainers...

 

Well without the fueling of e85 as you said, your only other option is a good meth kit. That way you can run a bit more timing, which will help you make more power. 400 whp on a 8 turbo is gonna be really hard to do without the joys of e85. So as stated above if you want the 400 hp mark the factors come down to prob the turbo. Another thing too to add to your list would be a stiffer wga for the turbo. Giving the ability to not dump the extra spool out of the system and reuse more of it will help add spool as well. So with that said if you do go green, make sure you get the better wga to go with it.

 

If you go with a meth kit, make sure to change your oil more often. I found out the hard way.

 

go with cams first and see how the power is to you.

cams + springs and retainers = 850 i would say.
turbo = 1400 used 2500 new

alot cheaper lol, it seems like you are on a budget so cams would be your best bet.

 

^Alot of people can install a turbo but cams, springs and retainers are a different story. So, can the op install all this or are you paying to have it done?

 

The turbo would be done by me, but the cams,spring,retainers would definitely be done by someone else. This doesn't even include the price of a retune.

ExtremeDSM, explain how you found out the hard way. haha. Im curious.

So now that meth kits are being considered, I'll have to do more research on them since i never really considered it. Is the methanol something you buy locally? I don't know who would carry it. I am definitely on a budget, but hopefully over a period of time all of these things will eventually get done. From what little ive read meth kits can be EXTREMELY risky, which sort of deters me from it since reliability is still a major factor.

 

i would go cams thats what i plan to do im getting the harder stuff out the way

 

I drove down to Florida and back and forgot to change my oil. Went to a track day and 6 laps later, my main bearings were shot.