Got some money, want some power+stick

[michael]

[reberto]

Originally Posted by david_12121

What are you talking about?! 400hp is not something you expect out of a Supra or an RX7! 120hp/l is a light tune for either of those! Just because you are too much of a wuss to try it doesn't mean nobody else should! I wanna tune MY SVX to 400hp, have fun with it for 20k miles, ****ing the engine up, then get another one and do the same! How does it affect your life? Just help me out an enjoy someone else achieving what you can't!

That's my point though! 400HP is something you'd expect out of an STI/Supra/RX7, possibly even more! THE SVX ISN'T BUILT FOR THAT. NO PART OF IT IS. There is a CLEAR difference between "being a wuss" and knowing what is & isn't possible on this car, and what you want ISN'T. SVX owners like you are the most irritating ones on the planet. You're going to ruin a perfectly good car that (at least I know of) people want, and want to enjoy it for what it is. You're A: ruining a car that I know people want as is, B: ruining a future parts car by wrecking usable parts, and C: making a fool out of yourself by telling respected members that they're just wusses when in fact, they know far more than you do, and know far better than you do. Sell the SVX, buy a tuner car, be a happy camper.



/end rant.

[dannmarr]

I belong to numerous car/truck forums. I find this one to have the most mature owners. We appreciate the SVX for what it is and respect the knowledge shared here. That does not mean this forum is perfect

[1986nate]

pointless....

[Blacky]

8-10K would get you some fine college book learnin' and never mind blowing up good engines.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by Blacky

8-10K would get you some fine college book learnin' and never mind blowing up good engines.

Best post yet!

[Crazy_pilot]

Welcome to the club! It may sound like people are being a bunch of jerks, but these are really some very experienced people talking. I haven't done any power mods to my car, but have basically everything else (see my signature, it has links to my threads if you're interested). You're welcome to go ahead and start modding your car, but understand that the SVX is both expensive and difficult to get power from.

-A 6-speed swap alone will cost you $4-5000.
-The factory MAF can't read beyond ~250 HP worth of air, and the factory fuel system runs out of juice shortly after. An Ebay "chip" is irrelevant at this point, because the hardware can't keep up.
-A Stage 2 ROM for LAN, with the Z32 MAF and some SR20 injectors will give you an engine management system capable of READING 500 hp, but will make negligible difference in the actual power output.
-The Stage 3 supercharger system has been demonstrated to work to around 9 PSI on stock internals before the pistons begin to crack. These cost about $7000 when they were first made.
-Pistons will set you back another $1200-1600. Cams another $1000+. You'll need a shop to build you a one-off, custom exhaust, because there are no performance aftermarket solutions.

So lets look at it in terms of numbers:

-6MT: $4000
-ECUTune Stage 2: ROM ($400), Z32 MAF ($250), SR20 injectors (???): $650+
-Turbo: $1000, maybe less if you can make something used fit.
-Exhaust: $1000+, depending who makes it and what's it made of.

At this point you're almost $7000 in and have something that might make 400 hp, for a little while. The 20 year old stock suspension won't like it though. And even the most basic build on the engine will set you back another $5000+.

I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, just realistic. What chip did you hear about being able to give 300 HP? Certainly never something we've seen here.

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by david_12121

And thank you, icingdeath88...always a pleasure seeing a comment from the-guy-with-the-fake-carbon-fiber-stick-shift-avatar!

You're welcome. I try to always focus on how to solve presented to me, and ignore the clutter. I will say though, you're getting a lot of negativity from people in this thread, and I'll tell you why. About twice a year, somebody makes a thread that starts similarly to how yours did, and within a couple months, one of two things happens: Either the guy starts the project, gets the car taken apart, and gets overwhelmed or distracted and never finishes it, or the guy wusses out. VERY few people have made high-HP SVXes, because it IS difficult. The aftermarket is practically non-existent, and not much bolts on that will up the power by any meaningful amount. People overcome one problem only to be met by another, and eventually run out of steam.

Originally Posted by 1986nate

Getting 400 hp on a $6k budget (subtract $4k for the 6 spd swap) on an SVX won't get you 20k miles.... it'll get you about 2 pulls at the drag strip.

This is true. You will almost definitely not get 400 reliable HP out of the SVX with only 6 grand. And $4k for the 6-speed is kinda optimistic. I'll break down the rest of your budget for you:

The stock motor's not going to get you to 400hp and be what I'd consider reliable. It's just not. You'll need better headgaskets $300, rods $450, and pistons $1000+. Having the deck semi-closed would be a good idea, but IDK how much that would even cost. Adding up how much the built EG33 in my garage cost, I got to ~$5k before I got depressed and stopped wanting to know.

Engine management is going to be in the $1-2k range. There are two options as I see it: Hydra and Megasquirt. The Hydras are pretty expensive (not 100% sure how much), and, while the Megasquirt 3 will work, it's still what most would call uncharted territory. (I should know, I'm the one charting it )

If you don't consider EMS the most important part of the engine, then you're not on the right page quite yet. This a non-issue in practically every common tuner car, but is a standing issue with the EG33, due to the rarity.

Another standing issue is a particular engine cooling issue, which you'd do well to research.

That leaves basically nothing left in the budget for turbo, piping, intercooler, and the massive number of miscellaneous stuff you'll have to do/pay for.

Basically, you're where I was ~3 years ago. It took me like 2 years to get everything figured out well enough to start spending serious money on my project car.

All that said, all y'all need to chill out, and keep the comments HELPFUL. It's one thing to provide constructive criticism, and quite another to flame and completely dismiss someone altogether as a fool who doesn't know what he's doing. People come here to be helped and to learn things. If people knew what they needed to know, they wouldn't come here to ask questions. We don't need to discourage everyone who wants to get more power out of the SVX just because it's an SVX. One reason the SVX is still not considered a "tuner car" (other than the rarity, which is a problem that will never go away) is because of how discouraging both SVX forums are to people who want to get more power from the SVX.

It's his car, and if he wanted to drive it off a cliff, that would be his right.

And we need to take it easy with the meme and .gif posts, they've gotten out of hand (I'll admit my own guilt with this too).

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, just realistic. What chip did you hear about being able to give 300 HP? Certainly never something we've seen here.

I think he's misunderstanding the stage 2 chip's purpose, or mis-spoke. It gives the potential for ~300hp, providing you can fill the cylinders with the necessary amount of air. It doesn't just suddenly give that much power, you'd need some boost to get there.

[Tapani]

David,

See my "Toy" thread in the turbo section and "Traction" in the transmission part.

At 5 PSI non intercooled it makes roughly 280 hp with a very nice midrange. The engine has been blown since year 2000 - and is in excellent condition at 140kmiles - I have it a part for a head gasket issue right now.

Everything but the big end bearings are still within the FSM limits - not bad, I think.

Will do Cometic head gaskets and ARP studs - a mix and match H/HX Clevite rod bearings to get a tad more clearance to the big ends. Everything else is OEM and only one life stuff will be replaced.

I'd say go easy - start with the tranny swap and see if you like it. Then figure out how to increase engine output - if neccessary.

I am sure - which ever route you decide to take - you will receive proper support here.

Kind regards,

Tapani

[Lookin4SVX]

I know some of us on the forum come off a little rough... You got to understand, that is because we love the SVX..
We love it for what it is.. A quirky, rare, old subaru, that is like no other subaru. If your looking for a 400HP car.. you may have picked the wrong car...

People come in here, want to turn it into a race car, but it was never meant to do that..
We are just trying to save you money and a bunch of headache.

If you decide to go this route, you find that there will be plenty of people ready to give you advice along the way and help you sort out your issues.

Don't take the roughness of our posts in as anything against you personally..
It is more of an "oh good, look another guy who is going to start a project svx and end up junking it, another SVX is about to bite the dust.. ".
We have seen many people come in thinking they are going to make a street race car out of the SVX, only to find out half way through they are over their head and part it..
The goal of this forum is to keep them on the road.. we don't really like to see them destroyed or parted...

All this being said.. Throw in the manual transmission, grab a rear sway bar off nevin, maybe get yourself a set of AMR coilovers, and be happy.
You will then have an SVX the way it should have rolled off the production line..

[david_12121]

Originally Posted by Lookin4SVX

I know some of us on the forum come off a little rough... You got to understand, that is because we love the SVX..
We love it for what it is.. A quirky, rare, old subaru, that is like no other subaru. If your looking for a 400HP car.. you may have picked the wrong car...

People come in here, want to turn it into a race car, but it was never meant to do that..
We are just trying to save you money and a bunch of headache.

If you decide to go this route, you find that there will be plenty of people ready to give you advice along the way and help you sort out your issues.

Don't take the roughness of our posts in as anything against you personally..
It is more of an "oh good, look another guy who is going to start a project svx and end up junking it, another SVX is about to bite the dust.. ".
We have seen many people come in thinking they are going to make a street race car out of the SVX, only to find out half way through they are over their head and part it..
The goal of this forum is to keep them on the road.. we don't really like to see them destroyed or parted...

All this being said.. Throw in the manual transmission, grab a rear sway bar off nevin, maybe get yourself a set of AMR coilovers, and be happy.
You will then have an SVX the way it should have rolled off the production line..

Originally Posted by reberto

That's my point though! 400HP is something you'd expect out of an STI/Supra/RX7, possibly even more! THE SVX ISN'T BUILT FOR THAT. NO PART OF IT IS. There is a CLEAR difference between "being a wuss" and knowing what is & isn't possible on this car, and what you want ISN'T. SVX owners like you are the most irritating ones on the planet. You're going to ruin a perfectly good car that (at least I know of) people want, and want to enjoy it for what it is. You're A: ruining a car that I know people want as is, B: ruining a future parts car by wrecking usable parts, and C: making a fool out of yourself by telling respected members that they're just wusses when in fact, they know far more than you do, and know far better than you do. Sell the SVX, buy a tuner car, be a happy camper.

/end rant.

Okay, there are quite a few people here saying that it is possible, and I think we all have seen the 1600hp ej33! Not saying it is easy but you're saying it is impossible, and no its not! With my current budget it might be, but that's not what you're saying, is it?
A: ruin?! Really?!
B: again, ruin?! Really?!
C: You, the Mr. Respected member, are telling me that 400hp "isn't possible in this car" There is the quote up there, you said it! You finance it and I'll build it! Hell, I'll make a 700hp SVX if you pay for it...so please, in your next reply, just admit that it is possible, and argue with my financial plan, like the actual respected members of this forum!

Originally Posted by dannmarr

I belong to numerous car/truck forums. I find this one to have the most mature owners. We appreciate the SVX for what it is and respect the knowledge shared here. That does not mean this forum is perfect

Mature, different with cool, supportive, and nice! And by the way, people are "eating popcorns" here! Can't imagine what they do on those other forums! Don't wanna know now!

Originally Posted by 1986nate

Getting 400 hp on a $6k budget (subtract $4k for the 6 spd swap) on an SVX won't get you 20k miles.... it'll get you about 2 pulls at the drag strip. Just ask Tom...

You're clearly in a dream world and not comparing apples to apples. A stock, OEM turbo car is detuned from factory and not on the edge of it's limits. They have a warranty ya know. So a simple chip, and boom, you have a 25% increase in horsepower. Slap a bigger turbo, injectors and a tune,and you're sitting at or above 50% more horsepower. This isn't a factory turbo car. This is a high compression engine.

My A4 is 150 hp stock, 155 lb/ft of torque out of a 1.8t, 9.5:1 compression engine running about 7psi. I send the ECM out for $400 with overnight shipping each way and I have 207hp and 245 lb/ft of torque. Or, I throw on a $700 new turbo,(reliable and proven) send the ECU overnight each way and spend $600(only $300 if upgrading from a different tune), I have 240 hp and 275 lb/ft of torque. All at usable rev ranges.(max torque is at ~2400 rpm on that tune IIRC) $1300 and I've surpasses the stock power numbers of the SVX, out of an engine half the displacement and no other supporting mods needed other than the turbo and tune. Already has a manual trans, and I have a dozen reliable coilover possibilities for ~$1000 or less.

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!

Originally Posted by Blacky

8-10K would get you some fine college book learnin' and never mind blowing up good engines.

Yeah but that's already paid for! Thanks for the advice though!

[Lookin4SVX]

Originally Posted by EdWindows

Obviously you've never been on NASIOC...

Oh man.. I miss the good old days I spent over as NASIOC.

Yes they will eat the noobs alive over there.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...gE7wvcs#t=501s

Click that link if you want to

[david_12121]

@crazy-pilot:
Thanks for the numbers! I'll do some calculations and see what's possible!
And regarding your reasoning for the jerkness, I have the same reason for wanting to do this to the SVX! I love the thing and am only trying to improve on what it needs more of! Gears, power, and handling!
@icingdeath:
Thank for the info. I've already started to read up on the turbo post as well! Someone should document posts like that (just the updates) and have a separate post with all the info! It could save you guys a lot of time on dealing with idiots like me!
And regarding the 300, yeah it's totally possible! I remember something I've read a year or two ago! Sorry!
@Tapani:
Thank you, sir! Can I ask how much that set up back? I guess I could go with 300 for a while, until more funds come my way! I'll definitely read that post later...it's 1:22AM right now, and I know I won't remember much of it tomorrow, if I read now!



I think I read and responded to everybody! The quoting system messed up a bit, so I had to reply like this.
One route that was suggested to me was to do an engine trans swap! Some suggested from an STI and some people said that an LS swap is possible!
I've seen an LS powered SVX in the past so how hard is that? An LS3 is less than 25" tall. It's definitely going to be cheaper power! I know you guys are not going to like this but it means somebody can have an EJ33! Better than me grenading it!

[Tapani]

Originally Posted by david_12121

@Tapani:
Thank you, sir! Can I ask how much that set up back?

The turboing was app $10k in 2000 as a turn key project including full EURO emission testing, stainless exhaust system and all. This was done by the previous owner.

Not cheap, but mechanically very well executed and still works like a dream.

Br,

T