BluntyR5GTT
Guest
This will just be a basic guideline for anyone whos a bit of a newbie to the r5 tuning scene ill admit that im far away from any expert but i do know the basic ingredients.
I think as with any car the first job is to free up the breathing so a nice full exhaust system is in order the bigger pipe bore the better and to compliment this either a full one piece 2.5 " elbow and downpipe from bjr or a slightly cheaper option of the ktec 2.5" downpipe and get your existing elbow bored out and make sure the throat and bend is worked on as well. Also its a good idea to uprate the air filter and if losing the standard air box then try to mount as far away from turbo as possible. As stated these mods are what id class as essential before doing anything else as now the restrictive standard parts of the gas/airflow have been freed up.
Next its time to get the boost turned up you can do this by either fitting a bleed valve under the bonnet or an in car boost controller (personally id go for bleed valve as its too tempting to keep winding the boost). Once either of these is fitted the most you can safely turn the boost up to on a standard T2 unit is around 16psi and trust me this coupled with the above breathing mods makes for a rapid little car. at this point id like to add that the fuelling will need looking at and possibly different jets either main or 2nd stage fitted also when running more boost a 0.9 air corrector is a good idea to have (i wont keep repeating this about jetting etc as everyones spec and engine seems react different so there is really no rule of thumb regarding which is the best for each level of tune). At this stage its very important to at least upgrade the intercooler to a double capacity one or if funds will allow a front mount intercooler ( adding one of these will gove the ideal place for an aftermarket air filter).
Now like anyone the craving for more is always there and whilst the t2 is a cracking responsive little turbo its just no good for some serious power increase now there are countless different specs of turbos out there so take your time in choosing one that suits your driving style and what exactly you want from the engine. Iv personally gone for a hybrid t25/t2 with a .63 rear this for me is perfect as the lag will not be increased by more than around 300-400rpm and it will give alot bigger gains than the t2 and pull alot better higher up the revs. the most popular turbo i can see is a full t25 turbo now be careful what rear housing you go for as this will add to the lag but for me this is about the limit for a fast road turbo as after this they start to become a bit of a lag monster eg hybrid t25/t3 , t28 but these make serious power so if your going for a drag or track car these are going to be best.
Next we move onto cams and headwork now iv done quite alot of asking about on this and im told unless you want 200bhp or more then dont bother, also that a piper ultimate road 285 cam wont really work well with anything less than full t25 @ 20psi i cant comment on this as iv not tried it but this is the general feedback i got. I know piper do the fast road 270 cam and maybe this would work with the hybrid t25/t2 turbo at around 18psi but again this is something im unsure of unless i try it ( wink wink). Also headwork regardless of what anyone says if you have the head off for any reason is a must as a better flowing head is always going to be a benefit no matter what the level of tune your engine is also why the head is off make sure you replace the gaskets with a group A gasket set.
Now obviously like with most cars its a good idea to get the suspension uprated either with lowering springs or a full kit and always look at upgrading the brakes either by fitting better discs and pads or going for a big brake upgrade.
If your a bit more serious then fit front and rear strut braces this will also help stiffen the chassis and no doubt help you if doing trackdays etc and lets be fair the 5 gt turbo is one awesome track toy once set up right. keeping on the trackday lines even though the 5 gt turbo is a light car (around 830-860kg) then a bit of weight loss can be had by removing the back seats and even adding perspex windows then its an ideal time to get a nice cage in there this will really help stiffen what already is a great little chassis up.
As said this is a pretty basic guide if anyone would like to add or comment on this that would be great and appreciated
I think as with any car the first job is to free up the breathing so a nice full exhaust system is in order the bigger pipe bore the better and to compliment this either a full one piece 2.5 " elbow and downpipe from bjr or a slightly cheaper option of the ktec 2.5" downpipe and get your existing elbow bored out and make sure the throat and bend is worked on as well. Also its a good idea to uprate the air filter and if losing the standard air box then try to mount as far away from turbo as possible. As stated these mods are what id class as essential before doing anything else as now the restrictive standard parts of the gas/airflow have been freed up.
Next its time to get the boost turned up you can do this by either fitting a bleed valve under the bonnet or an in car boost controller (personally id go for bleed valve as its too tempting to keep winding the boost). Once either of these is fitted the most you can safely turn the boost up to on a standard T2 unit is around 16psi and trust me this coupled with the above breathing mods makes for a rapid little car. at this point id like to add that the fuelling will need looking at and possibly different jets either main or 2nd stage fitted also when running more boost a 0.9 air corrector is a good idea to have (i wont keep repeating this about jetting etc as everyones spec and engine seems react different so there is really no rule of thumb regarding which is the best for each level of tune). At this stage its very important to at least upgrade the intercooler to a double capacity one or if funds will allow a front mount intercooler ( adding one of these will gove the ideal place for an aftermarket air filter).
Now like anyone the craving for more is always there and whilst the t2 is a cracking responsive little turbo its just no good for some serious power increase now there are countless different specs of turbos out there so take your time in choosing one that suits your driving style and what exactly you want from the engine. Iv personally gone for a hybrid t25/t2 with a .63 rear this for me is perfect as the lag will not be increased by more than around 300-400rpm and it will give alot bigger gains than the t2 and pull alot better higher up the revs. the most popular turbo i can see is a full t25 turbo now be careful what rear housing you go for as this will add to the lag but for me this is about the limit for a fast road turbo as after this they start to become a bit of a lag monster eg hybrid t25/t3 , t28 but these make serious power so if your going for a drag or track car these are going to be best.
Next we move onto cams and headwork now iv done quite alot of asking about on this and im told unless you want 200bhp or more then dont bother, also that a piper ultimate road 285 cam wont really work well with anything less than full t25 @ 20psi i cant comment on this as iv not tried it but this is the general feedback i got. I know piper do the fast road 270 cam and maybe this would work with the hybrid t25/t2 turbo at around 18psi but again this is something im unsure of unless i try it ( wink wink). Also headwork regardless of what anyone says if you have the head off for any reason is a must as a better flowing head is always going to be a benefit no matter what the level of tune your engine is also why the head is off make sure you replace the gaskets with a group A gasket set.
Now obviously like with most cars its a good idea to get the suspension uprated either with lowering springs or a full kit and always look at upgrading the brakes either by fitting better discs and pads or going for a big brake upgrade.
If your a bit more serious then fit front and rear strut braces this will also help stiffen the chassis and no doubt help you if doing trackdays etc and lets be fair the 5 gt turbo is one awesome track toy once set up right. keeping on the trackday lines even though the 5 gt turbo is a light car (around 830-860kg) then a bit of weight loss can be had by removing the back seats and even adding perspex windows then its an ideal time to get a nice cage in there this will really help stiffen what already is a great little chassis up.
As said this is a pretty basic guide if anyone would like to add or comment on this that would be great and appreciated