5 Best bang for your buck first modifications for a turbo-charged car

     Let's face it, the rush of that stock new turbo car doesn't last long, does it? It's like chasing the dragon.  You keep needing more just to get that feeling again.  There is hope, do not worry.  We live in a time when more power can literally be just a few clicks away.  What we mean is two-fold: you can order parts to make your car faster, yes...but you can also go as far as to get it tuned remotely.  But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

     Or maybe you're on the other side of the coin. Maybe you're a planner.  Maybe you don't even have the car in your possession yet but you want to map out what your plans will be to extract the most oomph from that new turbo power beast.  Fret not, we can help in either case.  We've been in both situations.

     What do turbo cars need in order to make more power? Well the same as most engines; to move more air.  Let's even take it step further and say to move more COLD air.  Why? Colder air is more dense with oxygen which is what you want...oxygen and fuel.

Now you're saying just get on with it, so here we go:

1) the FIRST thing you need to do is uncork the exhaust, which is usually too small, heavy and has too many/too tight bends in it.  You can take this is far as your pocketbook and emissions laws let you.  The best is to remove the exhaust completely and just run a "downpipe" right out the hood or fender.  This is literally no restriction, but it's very loud and gets the wrong kind of attention.  Do this at your own risk.  Next best option would be a larger downpipe, higher flow cat (or test pipe with an o2 sensor "fooler") and a free flowing 3"+ exhaust made of Titanium (weight savings :)).  We go on down from there, with the minimum being a free flowing cat-back or axle back exhaust.  

Bonus: Here's how ALL Evo's should sound: 

Our advice? Plan it out, do it right the first time.

2) Boost controller.  Depending on what car and how advanced the ECU is, adding a boost controller can net you a lot of gains.  Again, you need to investigate how this will work with your car.  You can only add so much extra boost without getting a new tune and/or adding more fuel

3) Cold Air intake.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy, as long as it's pulling in air from outside the engine bay.  It can even be a factory airbox with a higher flowing filter inside and tube leading from down by the bumper to be "force fed" cooler air.  In our eyes, cold air is anything cooler than engine bay air.  

4) FMIC aka Front Mount Intercooler (can we a larger/more efficient stock location intercooler if your car is mid/rear engine etc).  This one is kind of a toss up that you need to weigh...you may want to wait on this and get a custom tune instead, especially if your car is very sensitive to the changes you've made so far. 

5) Fuel.  Fuel can be as simple as a drop in upgraded high flowing fuel pump, or the pump combined with larger injectors. Larger injectors will certainly require a re-tune.

    And finally, especially if your car is not new, but is new to you....make sure you have a good base to start with.  It makes no sense to worry about these modifications if your car isn't maintained properly i.e. properly gapped spark plugs, clean fuel and air filter, fresh oil and filter, properly adjusted clutch, engine sensors working properly, shift linkage that is tight and responsive and the list goes on.

     Then there are supporting mods that you may want to think about that don't make the car faster, but make it more enjoyable and safe.  Think about gauges, especially Air/Fuel ratio (wideband), EGT (exhaust gas temperature). Boost and Oil Pressure, to name a few.  

     Stay tuned to our newsletters to learn more!

-TheBeard