Cheap mods to stock 7MGTE?

Daves929

Daves929

PNW Bike Whore
Mar 8, 2007
11
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Spokane, WA
Hey guys, just got my second turbo supra, and I love it!

It's an 87 supra turbo targa 5 speed, exactly what I wanted:love:

It's bone stock other than an HKS steel HG and 3" down pipe

It's cherry as any car I've seen with only 70K original!


My ? is, i've got about $1K to spend on mods, and I want to keep the engine mostly stock, but just a little extra power.

I'm sure the stock motor can handle more than the 6-7 pounds of boost I'm getting now, but how much? And what parts can safely attain said "safe" boost boosting :biglaugh:


Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!
 
suprahero

suprahero

naughty by nature
Staff member
Aug 26, 2005
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Roll Tide
There is a list somewhere that one of the mods posted. I think CK posted it but I'm not sure. Usually the first thing to do is general maintenance to make sure your motor is in good shape before you add more boost or more fuel. The first thing I replaced was my intake. I then got a boost controller, larger injectors and an SAFCII. I also had my exhaust changed to 3". When I got my car running really really good, I then changed to a 1jz with a single turbo.............:biglaugh:
 
Boost Lee

Boost Lee

Bee Doo Bee Doo Bee Doo
Staff member
Sep 13, 2006
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Indianapolis, IN
If you think you're standing free and clear of the mildly torqued factory headgasket; Assuming the rest of your motor is in good shape, the only thing that should be holding you back is your stock fuel system and AFM.

With that being said, get a 3" catback to complete your with your downpipe and it shall feel like a completely different car. ;)

That will be about half of you budget there. So, okay, we'll say you've got $500 left. Go get an S-AFC and a wideband and a moderate, simplified manual boost controller. Now, you can take full advantage of your factory fuel system...and from here, you'll be set to add on some power adders here and there. ;)

Next after this?: Lexus AFM, 550cc Injectors, a suspension that ISN'T 20 years old and handles better than a 4x4. Perhaps a bigger turbo? :)
The list goes on from there...
 
88tsupra

88tsupra

New Member
Mar 21, 2007
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long beach
how do you know the head gasket was replace with a metal one...cuz the last owner said he replace mines but now my low coolant light is when i make a hard left...if hes lieing damn that sux man...so make sure like i am and take the time im taking my head apart




I rather double check then see my headgasket blow when racing a damn honda
 
M

MA70Snowman

New Member
Oct 17, 2006
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San Diego
CampbellsChunkySoupra said:
definatly buy a 10mm and 12mm angled ratched wrench to throw in the glove box. that will be your best buy!
Click to expand...

amen to that. I lost my 10mm the other day and about died, working under the hood my pocket just felt empty w/o it.. not to mention a total pain to work after that. 2hrs after suffering w/o it... i promptly went to sears and bought a new one..

as for "Mods":

Maintenance (if that doesn't take all your cash right there)
Then you want ur car to breath
*3" filter on the intake (you can get a cheap adapter plate at pep boys and a decent cone filter for under 50$ then just drill the adapter plate to fit on the AFM and ur set, been working for me for over a year)
* Get a NICE 3" exhaust system, downpipe, muffler, and the cat is up to you (i went w/ a "high flow cat" but i don't have to worry about emissions to much)

now that the car is breathing better it will feel like a new ride. if you want more, get a a manual boost controller if you want to budget, (70-80$ for a decent) or splurge for an electric BC, like the profec B spec II (i personally have and LOVE it.. about 220$) ooorrr... just shim the wastegate.. never liked that idea

now here people go different routes. me personally i like monitoring what goes on under the hood so i got an LC-1 Wideband and an S-AFC II to tune the fuel. (some claim you can get anotehr 20 hp out of a good tune its entirly on ur engine)
or you can continue the trend of breathing better and upgrade the intercooler piping (stock intercooler will be fine for now)
OR upgrade the fuel with the basic 550/lex combo.
 
7MsuprO

7MsuprO

Member
Apr 29, 2006
322
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Huntington Beach CA/Ohio
88tsupra said:
how do you know the head gasket was replace with a metal one...cuz the last owner said he replace mines but now my low coolant light is when i make a hard left...if hes lieing damn that sux man...so make sure like i am and take the time im taking my head apart




I rather double check then see my headgasket blow when racing a damn honda
Click to expand...

You dont need to take your head off to make sure you have a metal headgasket. Also, a quick check under the valve covers will tell what kind of head bolts/studs are in there! Hopefully being ARP head studs or bolts. After that, if the rest of the motor is healthy you can start modding like everyone else said but id still do at least a compression test to make sure...I mean it is free. Thereafter I would start with exhaust with the stock turbo elbow being the most restrictive, a good downpipe is key! A cat back is hard to f*ck up so a decent muffler shop can do that and save you some coin over buying a brand name cat back. An aftermarket air filter doesnt do much except look cool in my opinion but thats up to you. My order would be this: Downpipe/full exhaust = $500-600, Good intercooler and new hardpipes/couplers = $400ish if you go with Driftmotion stuff which I have and recommend! After that, I would shim the wastegate with a couple of washers for 9-10psi aka 20 cents worth of stuff. I dont see a problem in doing this, especially being that many manual boost controllers are so stodgy.
 
M

ma7089

New Member
May 25, 2007
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santa barbara, CA
if your engine is running fine i would get suspension first(including bushings), then brakes, then when you get more money start building the engine, that way you have time to get used to your car before you start adding more hp to the engine
 
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