Im looking to upgrade my 97 gst's performance, and frankly, I have no clue what to do. This is the first car Ive had that Ive 'modded'. Basically I have full exhaust, t-25, and (Eventually) a side mount ic.

All I can think of really is going bigger turbo. And I know theres alot more to do than that. So tell me anything and everything I could do and dont be afraid to dumb it down. Actually, Id appreciate it. Oh, if you point me to where I should get this stuff from too, thatd be cool. Thanks guys.

Sorry for the broad ass topic.

first off you need to set some goals. how much power do i want? how much am i willing to spend?

RRE's got a nice section about 2G Upgrade Paths RRE 2G Upgrade Path

you also have to remember that when you upgrade one thing..chances are you'll need to upgrade something else or you car won't run right i.e. bigger turbo...you'll need more fuel and other supporting mods.

you can find alot of good used parts around. KOU has/can get a lot of things for you (new and used). i personally have gotten alot of my stuff off ebay for decent prices.

i hope that helped and good luck

I'm not sure what you mean by eventually in regards to the smic, you already have one.


3" Turbo-back exhaust
Upper intercooler pipe
Walbro 190 or 255, depending on goals
Maf-translator or Apexi SAFC
Manual Boost Controller



That set-up will get you moving out pretty good. At that point you will want to get some injectors, a good intercooler, and a new turbo. A common newby error is to put a huge turbo on their stock smic and fuel system, and all of a sudden they are shopping for a new engine. Put your supporting mods in place, then go big. Good luck, and welcome to the site.


You can call KOU Motorsports for all your parts and installs, I've heard great things about their Mitsu guy.

Ok, I put everything I have done so far in garage dohickey. Hope its clears things up.

Start with these websites. Big help to new dsm tuners.

http://www.vfaq.com/index-main.html
http://members.shaw.ca/costall/1000Q/
http://www.tmo.com/
http://www.dsm.org/

I looked at your "garage" and thats a fairly nice mod list for a "newbe"...

You have the air intake supporting mods, but some nice fuel mods would definately help a big turbo
-bigger injectors
-walbro 255 fuel pump
-Fuel Pressure Regulator upgrade
-6AN fuel line (depends on how serious you want to get)
-higher flow exhaust manifold
-ported O2 housing

getting your hands on a data logger will tie it all together...
there are lots of people on this site that have dataloggers that could help you tune it

Also, I agree that KOU Motorsports is a great place to go for your stuff

Hope this helps
Good luck!!!

Yea, it was a good friend of mines car, and he did most of those while he owned it. He didnt do anything to earth shattering though, and thats what Im trying to do (ok, maybe not earth shattering ).

What turbo do you recommend? I probabley dont want to do anything bigger than a t28 just because of the fwd factor. I dont want to spend alot of money that could be going towards my vr-4 later on. Whenever I decide to move on.

Thanks for the help so far, Its nice having some thing to look for.

A T28 isn't all that much more turbo than the stock T25. I'd try something like a 16G if you want mediocre, proven performance.

how much would a 16b cost? (average)

http://www.forcedperformance.net/

EVOIII16gs are $600 and will make 300whp without working very hard and up to 400whp on race gas. Throw in a supra sidemount and some 550cc injectors with some sort of fuel control and you'll be pretty fast. BTW, where do you live?

Hey, Im liking that. I may be dumb, but I cant find the EvoIII16g on that site. Is it a direct bolt on and does it require lots of extra parts to go with it?

I live in St Charles MO and am also around Chesterfield-ish.

www.koumotorsports.com has them on the cheap but their site is currently down. Try PMing KOU_In3 on here.

Ok, I cant do the turbo now. Dont have that kind of cash yet.

Is this a good price on injectors? ($150 rc550's)

http://www.dsmtuners.com/classifieds/showp...&cat=all&page=1

When it comes to injectors and things of vital nature to your car, generally you want to buy new to ensure quality. In this game, 90% of the time you get what you pay for.

Good point. Would KOU be able to get injectors as well?

I'm sure they would. Just ask and you shall recieve

There's a VFAQ on putting a 16g/14b in a 2g car. I'd start there. As far as I know, the oil and coolant lines are a little different.

check this out

http://linux.forcedperformance.net/merchan..._Code=DSM-Turbo

maybe it's a good thing that you are going to wait on the turbo.... that means you can get the bolt-on supporting mods inplace first.... good luck