Good way to spend $8,000?

[cbehnken]

Originally Posted by calibornn1979

you are right about that, but most people buy the AEM not knowing how to tune it from the begining and thats why their car runs like crap. Almost everyone i know that has one that has it pro tuned loves it. 3SX claims 50 hp from a AEM alone on a stock 9B car so im my opinion there is a lot of up's with it. But thats just me.

I would love to see back to back dyno runs with nothing else changed on a 9b car but switching from a piggyback to aem show 50 HP.

The a/f would have to be eye watering rich to make it gain that much power just by tuning. The piggyback must have not been tuned correctly to show gains like that.

[streamlnauto]

I think the biggest drawback to piggybacks is being stuck with a MAF and tune drift.

But both are not an issue with an EMU, no tune drift when you go speed density.

I had an AEM once, an a 'PRO' Tuner fucked me!!

[VinylOrbit]

8k? Hookers and blow of course.......

[mike92stealthtt]

If I had to spend 8K I would make my car as reliable as possible first before I went throwing a bunch of power to it. Thats why so many people (not all) have their cars down for a while since they don't do required maintenance or forget to sure up their 15 year old drivetrain.

Since you already said you don't want huge power and talked about getting 13g's I wouldn't go through the hassle of getting a built motor. I would just make sure 60k/120k or whatever mileage you are at is done and get some oil analysis done to see if you need to replace your rod/main bearings.

Then I would take off your transfer case and check the condition of splines and input spool. If they are rusted to hell then I would replace with a 300mm output shaft and if your t-case spool looks rusted to hell then I would either rebuild it or get a SS t-case for peace of mind.
How's your syncros? If you grind into every shift I replace them and while the tranny is apart you may as well replace the output shaft. Also you should get rid of any backlash in you drivetrain like at the rear diff and also make sure your vcu is working.

It's hard to tell how much this would set you back since it would depend if you can do your own work or if you send it out.

With whatever you have left I would get:

-13t's (cheaper than 15g's and seem to be very close power-wise) ~1000
-datalogger ~100
-some real quality gauges including but not limited to oil pressure, boost, wideband, egt ~ 400+
-upgraded clutch ~ 600
-IPS Fuel package - 760
-boost controller - 300
- solid motor mounts (poly are for babies )
-lightweight rims and tires + lowering springs + adjustable control arms ~2000


You could get all this for around $5000 depending if you find some deals in the parts for sale. The other $3000 should cover anything needed for 60K/120K and whatever you need to fix from the flywheel to the rear diff.

Mike

[Geese]

I really appreciate everyones feed back! Now looking at the Hotswap rims.... they are ugly lol. They looked good in the Konig catalouge.

I have alot of stuff to think about.... part of me is considering selling my VR-4 and buying a G35 coupe and supercharging that.

I've been doing all the maintence and my gears do not grind. However I will take into heavy consideration of reinforcing everything before I add power.

The only after-market mods I have are K&N open intake and Maximals olid mounts. I will most likely end up doing most the wrench work with my buddy. So labor costs should not be to bad.

[calibornn1979]

haha well in that case, modding and maintaining a 3S is expensive. i know lots of people who spend so much money on their VR4 and dont get to enjoy it much. read around you can see for your self. And parts are expensive due to limited support so people tend to overprice our parts. A good friend of mine has a supra, yea he spent alot on the car but he spent half the ammount in mods and is getting twice the power i will be getting. just a few things to consider

[GTO Assassin]

Call Matt at Dynamic Racing.

Organise a time to drop off the car and the briefcase containing 8 large.

Leave.

Await further instructions.

Scotty

[Geese]

LoL Poopra = Supra ?

[calibornn1979]

HaHa Poopra = Supra....3S slang

[jba3]

Originally Posted by calibornn1979

you are right about that, but most people buy the AEM not knowing how to tune it from the begining and thats why their car runs like crap. Almost everyone i know that has one that has it pro tuned loves it. 3SX claims 50 hp from a AEM alone on a stock 9B car so im my opinion there is a lot of up's with it. But thats just me.

Originally Posted by cbehnken

I would love to see back to back dyno runs with nothing else changed on a 9b car but switching from a piggyback to aem show 50 HP.

The a/f would have to be eye watering rich to make it gain that much power just by tuning. The piggyback must have not been tuned correctly to show gains like that.

I think that was dyno vs a stock with no piggybacks when they picked up 50hp, not AEM vs a piggyback.

Anyways, OP, I think you're on the right track. Save $8k, blow $8k. I say blow cause that's what it'll be. But what's the point of life if you aren't living, right?

• 13t or 15g (seems 13t is better unless its a TRUE 15g)
• Full Exhaust
• Element Intake (no airbox)
• CXRacing FMIC
• Hardwired fuel pump w/supra pump
• Apex'i AVC-R (love mine, gear dependent boost!!!)
• Injectors (550s can be had off evos for CHEAP)
• SPEAKERS
• HEAD UNIT
• Window Tint
• Lightweight wheels/tires
• Lowering springs/adjustable control arms
• ALARM and/or Remote Starter

That'd be a good start. I might have missed some things, but you get the basic idea. If it's a DD don't dump all your money in go-fast, do some creature comforts like a head unit, speakers, remote start, tint, blah blah.

Somewhere around here is an upgrade guide (possibly the 3S wiki too) that should be a good start.