[sydneyman2007]

Hi all, its been a few months since ive posted but that doesn't mean i haven't been busy doting on the 968! I was hoping you all could give some advice regarding the direction my car is taking(or might take...).



So heres the situation:



Basically I have a stage II set up from RS Barn. headers, high flow cat, catback, stage II chip and airbox mod. Im very happy with the power and the way the car sounds(although as flash says all the time, it sounds better when its warm...) Looking to the future though, i know that a few more horses wouldn't go amiss. Basically its a mainly street and sometimes DE/track car so i don't need a ton of power and i like my torque as well. That being said, ive liked what the header has down for me power wise in terms of "shifting" the power curve up a bit. So here are my choices as i see them and please enlighten me if you have any advice:



1. sell the header and cat and hope against hope that flash will sell me a supercharger in batch 3...



pros here are that i would have all the power i need in a simple, bolt on kit. it would also be easy to take off in the distant future if/when i sell the 968



cons are the cost above what i have already spent on NA mods and i would have to remove and sell the header and cat. (luckily ive kept the oem pieces...)



2. get cams from RS Barn when i have the tensioner and pads replaced in 15,000 miles or so. it seems it would be a no brainer to take advantage of the performance cams "while im in there."



pros here are that it would be much cheaper to get the cams and have them installed since it would be the lesser part of a preventative maintenance schedule and i could keep my beloved header setup.



cons- power i imagine would be significantly less with a stage 3 setup than with a supercharger, even one as convenient and drivable as Flash's kit... also cams aren't something you can just remove and sell before you put your car on the market. i think they'd be in there for the duration.







so what say you all? its mainly subjective i know but i appreciate any opinions anyone might have... and sorry for the rambling, thanks!

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[Cloud9...68]

Seems to me that either way you go, there isn't the opportunity for a ton more power than you have now, although the supercharger will shift it to a lower, more usable rpm range. In particular, I'd be surprised if you'd notice much of a difference with the cams.



How many miles are on your engine? Is the compression healthy? If it isn't, or the engine is getting up there in miles, you might want to consider a rebuild before investing any more in power upgrades.



Also, if your goal is to go faster, particularly on the track, how is the suspension? Have you replaced the rubber bushings with solid/spherical (as the case may be)? What about the whole wonderful, ever mysterious world of struts, shocks, springs, sway bars, alignment, wheels, and tires? The guys who race these cars successfully invariably say there is more opportunity from getting the suspension right than from trying to squeeze a few more ponies out of the engine, especially since the upside hp potential is pretty limited, unless you want to spend beau-coups bucks.

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[DaveN]

you may be able to recoup 50% of your investment with some effort (effor pays 1.00/hr on average). I was on the verge of the RSB header et al when the SC came along and changed my path. Very glad I did, all the poop I need and with <acronym title='Limited Slip Differential'>LSD</acronym> and lighter rims in the future more than enough to plant it into the trees <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[sydneyman2007]

[quote name='Cloud9...68' timestamp='1322453559' post='118525']

Seems to me that either way you go, there isn't the opportunity for a ton more power than you have now, although the supercharger will shift it to a lower, more usable rpm range. In particular, I'd be surprised if you'd notice much of a difference with the cams.



How many miles are on your engine? Is the compression healthy? If it isn't, or the engine is getting up there in miles, you might want to consider a rebuild before investing any more in power upgrades.



Also, if your goal is to go faster, particularly on the track, how is the suspension? Have you replaced the rubber bushings with solid/spherical (as the case may be)? What about the whole wonderful, ever mysterious world of struts, shocks, springs, sway bars, alignment, wheels, and tires? The guys who race these cars successfully invariably say there is more opportunity from getting the suspension right than from trying to squeeze a few more ponies out of the engine, especially since the upside hp potential is pretty limited, unless you want to spend beau-coups bucks.

[/quote]



A lot of good points, thanks. thats disappointing to hear about the cams... maybe if they were in concert with some headwork?



as far as the rest of it, im pretty happy where i am suspension/brake/wheel wise.



ive replaced all my bushings and ball joints with oem(951 arms), M030 sways, koni shocks but have the stock springs. to me its compliant for the road and straigtens the corners enough.



brake wise i have SS brake lines and high temp brake fluid. when i get more serious about DE duty i'll upgrade the pads.



wheels are 17" C2 turbos with 235/35/17 and 255/40/17 HTR ZIIIs. i went up a size in the front to offset some understeer. ive been very happy with the setup here as well.



engine compression is unknown but ive had the injectors flow matched, replaced plugs, wires, cap and rotor, rod bearings, complete reseal on the front of the motor, water pump, t belt, b belt, and various sensors and whatever else was needing replacement.



so i feel pretty confident with everything as it sits but as i said, no compression numbers as of yet and im uncertain as to the age of the headgasket. no signs of problems with either however. Either direction power wise is relatively far off as well so this is an academic excericise for now!

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[Cloud9...68]

Don't quote me on the cams (definitely talk to Pete about this), but my recollection is that the incremental gains from cams and head work are very modest, and are only at the high end of the rpm range.

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[sydneyman2007]

[quote name='DaveN' timestamp='1322453775' post='118526']

you may be able to recoup 50% of your investment with some effort (effor pays 1.00/hr on average). I was on the verge of the RSB header et al when the SC came along and changed my path. Very glad I did, all the poop I need and with <acronym title='Limited Slip Differential'>LSD</acronym> and lighter rims in the future more than enough to plant it into the trees <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

[/quote]

<acronym title='Limited Slip Differential'>LSD</acronym> is on my short list as well! i think my problem was that Pete makes it too easy to afford the stage 2 pieces incrementally and the supercharger is a relatively large one time purchase... oh well

[quote name='Cloud9...68' timestamp='1322456104' post='118530']

Don't quote me on the cams (definitely talk to Pete about this), but my recollection is that the incremental gains from cams and head work are very modest, and are only at the high end of the rpm range.

[/quote]



Ill give him a call tuesday. i wouldn't be surprised... from what im told the supercharger is good for around 40 and the stage 3 stuff is around 30-35 hp.... considering im probably close to 20 more now, its probably not the most cost effective...

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[flash]

correct on cams. as a part of a complete engine package, they can help make power, but don't do a lot by themselves, and are not as streetable as most would desire. emissions might be an issue too, as well as fuel economy.



the SC kit adds about 60 hp, not 40, and more importantly it adds about 65ft/lbs of torque across a very wide band.

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[sydneyman2007]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1322491824' post='118535']

correct on cams. as a part of a complete engine package, they can help make power, but don't do a lot by themselves, and are not as streetable as most would desire. emissions might be an issue too, as well as fuel economy.



the SC kit adds about 60 hp, not 40, and more importantly it adds about 65ft/lbs of torque across a very wide band.

[/quote]



ahhhhhhhhhh well thats a horse of another color... ok back to original plan. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> thanks for the clarification!

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