Upgrade Opinions

[realfinn]

Alright guys. I think my EJ22T has proven itself worthy of a build. So I am starting to look into some upgrade options for next summer. See if I can get all of the parts around and the work done before the weather gets nice again.

I am looking for 250 whp. I will be AWD by the time I try putting 250 HP to the ground.

So the question are:
What heads?
What engine management?
What turbo setup?

So far the only thing I know I want is a FMIC. I still can't convince myself to put a hood scoop on my car. I like the sleeper look.

I work a lot on repairing cars (pretty much everyone I know that has a car comes to me to get it fixed). But I don't know to much about "tuning" or upgrades.

Thanks!

[Brat4by4]

Stock heads.
Autronic (or whatever stand-alone you can afford)
TD05H-16G

Insert turbo, tune, enjoy your horsepower. In all likelyhood you are going to need larger injectors, too. And I would replace the fuel pump with a Walbro 255lph unit.

All of these items can be found relatively easy used or for cheap and you will be ready for even more than 250 awhp if you so choose. Depends on how much you want to tune.

[realfinn]

Stock heads will work up to the 250 whp goal?

When is it suggested to do head work (porting/porting ect)?

[Brat4by4]

When you put on an even bigger turbo and take it to the tuner and he says "I can't get anymore horsepower out of the engine", and its the heads that are restricting you.

[quicklook]

a goal of 250 whp seems unrealistic.

[realfinn]

Anyone got prices on head work? I have seen off the shelf heads at SBR that sell for $1000-1500 or so. Is it better to go DOHC and buy there phase I heads or just have the SOHC heads that I have ported and polished?

[Brat4by4]

a goal of 250 whp seems unrealistic.

??? A member on this board put down nearly that much completely untuned with a 16g and a boost controller.

With engine management on a bone stock turbo engine you can get over 50whp.

Don't do heads first, that's putting the horse before the cart. I mean, do what you want but I strongly believe there is money better spent elsewhere first. Engine management / turbo / injectors will probably get you past what you are shooting for.

[realfinn]

Going past what I am looking for wouldn't hurt my feelings too much

Anyone got a feel for how much horsepower the stocker bottom end will hold?

[sammydafish]

You really should just do the heads and a manifold swap. The heads are clearly the biggest bottleneck in these engines. With good heads, you're limited only by the size of your turbo and quality of your tuning. With the heads and a good turbo, you could pretty easily make the 250whp number I think. Without them, you might still be able to, but you'll work a lot harder to get there.

[realfinn]

What heads and manifold are the best for easy horsepower gains? I know there has been a lot of discussion on the DOHC SOHC topics. But which do you guys suggest for ease and reliability?