Best (Cheap) Upgrade for Stock 91?

ChadMKIII

ChadMKIII

Yup, Thats The G/F
Jul 14, 2006
369
0
0
34
Bay Area, Ca
New to the forums, todays my first day being able to post, so mods I'm not sure if this is the right place or not. If not feel free to let me know and move it. But...
I have a completely stock 91 Turbo 7M-GTE with the R154 tranny and I'd like to know what a good modification to it would be. Every place that sells anything tells you their product is the best, so I'd like to get some opinions from people that aren't just trying to sell their stuff.

Basically, I'm a high school kid who doesn't have a ton of money to spend, so I'm looking for something that provides the best improvement:money ratio. Or, something that would serve as a good platform to really improve upon later on. It can be in any area, as it would be nice to improve the car all the way around and I haven't decided to build up any particular area first.

I guess I could sum it up with: Whats the best first mod to do to your car that would provide a reasonable improvement for under, say, $1000? (the cheaper the better)

Any help would be wonderful-thank you!
-Chad
 
M

mk3design

The Name is Snakes
Jul 1, 2006
398
0
16
39
Arizona
If you havent already done this, the best thing to do first is to take that $1000 and put it to repairs etc to get it in 100% running shape. Maybe work on the cooling system or HG.

Make sure the car will be safe to mod!

If not, just do the basic I/E, etc
 
americanjebus

americanjebus

Mr. Evergreen
Mar 30, 2005
1,867
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wa.
well the most IMPORTANT one is maintenance, go through and find any hose that is slightly worn and replace it now before it causes more damage than you want to handle.

coolant hoses
intercooler hoses
change all of your fluids, engine tranny and diff, it will create a safer platform and probably free up a few hp.
spark plugs
make sure your not burning oil or running rich and that your fuel system is up to the job, o2 sensor, cat converter isnt clogged, fuel filter if you feel your car is bogging.

after you get your baseline and everything is running PERFECT

ditch your intake for a better flowing one, k&n is the route i took and dont regret it,

a decent downpipe with integrated elbow and full exhaust.

an accurate boost guage and a mbc.

or just follow this:http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16
 
T

turbo06

Guest
You need to make sure your car is working as if it just came out of the dealer, then you can start suping it up, that said start with an KN intake go from there. Use the search button and look around.
You will find all the info you could ever need if you just search the forums.
 
ChadMKIII

ChadMKIII

Yup, Thats The G/F
Jul 14, 2006
369
0
0
34
Bay Area, Ca
Hey Guys,
Wow, thanks for the quick replies already. Americanjebus, MA7088, and Turbo06, Thanks for the link, and sorry for the duplicate question. I had looked and searched around the forums but didn't come up with anything. Bad choice of keywords, I guess.

On the maintenance note, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this or know what it could be: After driving my car for any length of time (i.e. this occured today after about 6 min ttl trip, 3 mins on freeway, 80mph @ 3000rpm) a hint of what smells a little like oil is noticeable. If I pop the hood and listen closely, I can hear what I'm guessing is a liquid hitting something hot and evaporating. It is just a patterned hiss, so I'm afraid that oil is leaking from somewhere and hitting a hot engine part. Nothing at all is leaking on the ground though. I just had the oil changed 2 months ago so tomorrow I'm going to check if it looks like I've lost any, I'll post back then. I mentioned it to my grandfather today, who's pretty good with cars, and his first thought was a problem with the head gasket, and I've noticed a lot of people having problems with the 7M-GTE HG's. Anyone have any other thoughts/confirmations. I know I need to take it to a mechanic, I just happen to be very busy.... *sigh*
 
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turbo06

Guest
Cheack your oil pressure just to make sure its not at zero when idle.
 
bonus12

bonus12

Backroads Driver
Jul 15, 2006
143
0
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CA
speaking of oil pressure, can this be checked without a specific gauge? what is normal? thanks
 
supra90turbo

supra90turbo

shaeff is FTMFW!
Mar 30, 2005
6,152
32
48
40
MA, 01440
First mods would be:
Fuel filter (they rarely get changed)
Electronic Oil Pressure Gauge
Electronic Coolant Temp Gauge
Boost Gauge (you can go elec. or mechanical on this one)
 
NgoFcukinWay

NgoFcukinWay

Formerly Got Boost?
Apr 3, 2005
493
0
16
37
Houston, Tx
boost PSSH boost said:
Kiss your ass goodbye?


;)

If the car's well maintained, get an exhaust and intake.
Click to expand...

well, this one car i'm looking at, the oil pressure gauge reads that at idle, but begins to go up as you start driving. you can find my thread here.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22669

no one has yet to respond with a legit answer as how to fix that problem and i kind of need the answer asap.
 
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turbo06

Guest
Got Boost? said:
what do you do if it does read zero at idle?
Click to expand...
You might have clogged oil lines from dirty used oil or you might be burning oil at a very slow and unoticable rate. You might get an oil smell when you drive around though so you can't always depend on blue smoke to come out if its burning to slow.
 
ChadMKIII

ChadMKIII

Yup, Thats The G/F
Jul 14, 2006
369
0
0
34
Bay Area, Ca
Hey, that reminds me...
I just checked the oil tonight. Guess what. Almost all gone.
Just had it replaced end of May. Driven about 2500 miles since. I checked it a week after it was replaced: Full.

Its not leaking at all on the ground, so where's my oil going???
 
Facime

Facime

Leather work expert
Jun 1, 2006
2,716
0
0
60
Corvallis OR
my guess is your in the exact same boat as I am. Either oil is blowing past the rings and burning in the chamber, or its leaking past the valve seals and burning. I smell burning oil especially after I compression brake, but almost all the time when I come to a stop. I suspect my valve seals, but Im also worried about my rings...but I am hoping to limp it out till the end of the summer.
 
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