I just bought myself a 97 GSX and the first thing I really want to do is upgrade the turbo. Before I bought this car I owned a 96 Eclipse RS that is what my profile pic is a picture of. Anyway I know the GSX's are built for the stock turbo, but are there any modifications I need to make to the engine before I put a bigger turbo on? I am looking at getting a 20g turbo, unless there is one even bigger anyone would suggest, but I want to add the turbo, intercooler, and wastegate (if needed). Just to make things clear I am aware of optional upgrades I can make, such as fuel injectors, cams, etc... All I am trying to find out is if there is anything that I HAVE to upgrade with the turbo so I dont hurt the engine. And I guess any recomedations as what addons will give me the most power, for example...

1. Turbo "Biggest Horsepower Increase"
2. "Next Addon" "Most horsepower other than Turbo"
3. etc... on down the line, just so I have an Idea of the best upgrades to make that will show a performance gain.


Thanks.

 

Well there are a lot of things you should have so you dont hurt the motor.. But without a motor rebuild I would suggest a big 16g turbo.. The 20G turbo is a good turbo but with a stock motor you wont be able to use the 20g to its potential.. If you plan on going all out later on, and rebuilding the motor, I would say go for the 20g, but there are bigger ones out there and there are smaller.. You wouldnt want to go bigger than that for sure if your just using this thing as a daily driver... A big 16g you can get 350+ hp and the 20g you could get 450+.. There are dsms out there pushing more than that with those turbo's but on an average thats what your lookin at..

 

Well here is the thing. You can some the 20g but you cant push it hard or get alot of HP out of it without some mods. So your question is kinda workign both ways. You can put the 20g turbo on there with minimal mods (Intake, exhuast, MBC, Boost guage) , but without the supporting mods you wont be able to run more than like 14psi. But say you were to get 660 injectors, a 255 fuel pump, intercooler, safc or dsmlink(for tuning), MBC, boost guage, Wideband guage, intercooler piping, exhuast, intake, cams. Then you could run around 20psi and be pushing over 400hp. I may be missing stuff also. I just cant think of all the stuff right now. But you see what im saying. Just because you slap a big turbo no there, doesnt mean youll be pushing the big turbo HP. Because your weaker parts wont allow for it.

At a minimum for the 20g id say you need 550 injectors, 190 fuel pump, SAFC, wideband, MBC, Boost guage, intake, exhuast to run it safely. Which these are also the mods youd do for a 16g. So i kinda agree with advocate. If you are looking to run around 300hp now, then go with a 16g. It will run alot more efficient in this range. But if you know in the future you will be upgrading everything and looking for more then just get the 20g

 

Another thing you have to remember.. Theengineer is right with all of that, but with the different turbo's you can push 16psi with a 14b turbo and not be putting the kind of stress on the motor as a 20g pushing 12psi of boost.. A bigger turbo is more efficient and can hurt your motor just as much at a lower boost as a smaller turbo at a high boost.. I wouldnt plan on any less than what the engineer posted for supporting mods.. Those would even be good for the 16g turbo.

 

I know this may sound stupid to some of you, but I dont know so I need to ask.

If I get 750 or higher fuel injectors, would that be overkill? And how much gas milage will I lose going to 660 injectors or higher from stock, just out of curiosity.

And for the record here is the car I bought, take a look and tell me what you think should be some of the prime upgrades I should make.
http://tinyurl.com/2k8q57

 

uh oh, another ebay bought eclipse. Well the thing i gotta tell you now is make sure you know all the stuff that are on it now. Also you might want to recirculate that BOV. Im sure your car probably bogs when coming to a stop a little

Also i dont like how it says "coilover suspension lowering" That could mean he has the crapy ebay coilover which are a pos. Make sure you have true coilovers in there

 

Im surprised it has a stock turbo on it, with all of the otehr things that are done to it.. Those would be overkill, but if you plan on going to a huge turbo later down the road its better to only upgrade once.. And if tuned right you wont lose that much in the gas milage.. Granted you will lose some.. But only a few, and thats usually only b/c you cant stay out of the throttle... With a 16g or a 20g I would say the 550 injectors would work.. But your gonna need somethign to tune them and a fuel pump upgrade with higher boost..

 

Alright so now that you see what I'm working with I want to make a list of upgrades,

- I know I would like to go with the 20g Turbo ( I want the car around 500+hp one day),
- And fuel injectors next(are you sure 550's are big enough? also are there any brands that are really good, or I should stay away from?) Add a fuel
pump with this. (I am not familiar with the differences, so a 190 is good enought for what I am wanting?)
- Next we have the Boost Controller as well as the Boost Gauge
- Isn't the SAFC the same thing as a boost controller? If not please descibe the difference.
- Isn't the Air to Fuel Ratio Gauge the same thing as a Wideband guage? If not what's the difference.
- What else am I missing as far as upgrades go????


By the way thanks for all of your help so far!
-

 

If you want 500 I would say the 650's.. 500 HP with that turbo will be pushing it to the limit..
Heres some Injectors

Also your gonna want a bigger fuel pump(Again 500 hp your gonna want big)
Fuel Pump

The boost gauge is up to you, it could be anywhere from $30 to $200 depending on the brand and style.. Dont go to cheap though...

The controller also is personal choice..
Heres a good one in my opinion.
(There are cheaper ones out there..)

The SAFC isnt the boost gauge.. It controls your air fuel mixture.. You wouldnt need one of those, but it is cheaper than the alternative..
I have the SAFC II and it works great.. But you will want both, a controller and gauge, and the SAFC..

It wouldnt hurt to get a wideband to help you tune with.. You could go with DSMLINK which might be better in the long run if your plannin on that much hp, and tune it with that instead of the safc..

Also, your gonna wanna upgrade the clutch once you start getting close to your goal in hp, and you will need some motor work done before you start boosting that 20g to its potential.. If you run 25 lbs of boost on your stock motor, it will be done in about 2 seconds... (The time it takes for that turbo to spool up completely..)