To boost or not to boost

[KdogTN]

As an early b'day/christmass gift, I have a turbo kit sitting in my living room for my 2003 P5. I have been doing alot of research and so fourth and have a couple of questions.. I made a post awhile back about this but I have some more detailed questions.

1st.
I know that the stock auto would pretty much blow up if I boosted this car. So doing some research I have found the upgraded transmission options. Now, the main question is, should I change the whole trasmission out or can I do a valve body upgrade w/ a torque converter or should I just change out the whole thing? Money is not a problem here and I'm trying to keep it automatic just to say that I have done it.

2nd.
When and if I do this, should I change anything else in the way of drive train. CV joints, bearings etc.

3rd.
What is the recommended exhaust that I use for this type of upgrade? I live in a county in TN that is very strict on cat's. The police even spot check sport cars with mirrors on sticks checking for cat's....


Thanks for all of the help here... I'm enjoying the hell out of playing with my new toy... I have been into muscle cars for awhile where you had to literally tear a motor apart for just a 5hp gain...

[StealthWyvern]

sorry im not much helps, but I think others would like to know...


1) how much power yout plan on pushing
2) fuel and boost management
3) reg auto or the other wanna be stick shift thing. lol
4) milage

[KdogTN]

Well, I'm looking at only about a 50%-70% gain with the kit that I have... THis is a link to the kit..
http://www.turbo-kits.com/protege_turbo_kits.html

It comes with the fuel management upgrade which I feel is a good setup for what I'm looking for..

I normally use the "sport shifter option thingie" and I know that it's pretty slow to respond... The transmission is in good shape so I think it's just a factory setting... I would prefer to keep it auto just for some crazy reason.

The car has about 65k on it... I know the guy I bought it from had it for him and his wife for vacation purposes.. They wanted it for vacation/road trip with room for a car seat... He has the records of all of the oil changes that never went over 3k per change and he only uses mobil synthetic.. I also know that he does not dog out a car so it's always been driven normally. He has a 06' evo to abuse...

It's kinda funny why I'm doing this... I'm the kind of person who loves to go all out and face forward into a hobby when I choose it... I just keep looking at this turbo and wanting so badly to put it on... A friend of mine has a shop in his barn and between the two of has have the tools to pretty much do anything we want.... I use to be a heavy equipment/ hydrolic mechanic so I have a know how of how to do this stuff... My over all goal is to literally have a car that physically does not look like anything has been done other than exhaust. But, I want it to jump up and smoke the hell out of a mustange or even an unsuspecting corvette.. hehehehe Just a hobby...

[StealthWyvern]

lol I think your going to need more power to smoke a stang or vet. BTW I wouldn't go to crazy without internal upgrades.

[katsi]

If money is honestly no issue then i would strongly suggest

1. Get forged internals...this will make your car very happy

2. Build the head. (port polish etc)...

3. Get it tuned profesionally.

With internals, etc...you should shoot for mid 300's in hp, and could probrably get alot more...although i dont know about the turbo.

4. Do any tranny upgrade u can..its expensive...but its cheaper than buying a new one.

[bazooka joe]

if you want to race the car, you'll have a whole lot of other parts to install...if you want a nice daily driver, with a bunch of extra ponies, you can boost the car safely to say 7psi...you really can't beat on that auto tranny though. i've been boosted for about 30K miles on an auto, no problems...but i don't race it or beat it....good luck!

[Brian MP5T]

I installed this kit (Tired To) three years ago for a friend. It was installed (Tried To) on three other cars but it was never run. It was sold from person to person until my friend finally too the kit to a mechanic with a full fabrication shop.

The fitment was very poor, such that you will have to get some parts modified by a fabricator. Basically the downpipe is the biggest problem.

It is possible, it is a fantastic deal. The turbo and manifold alone are worth the cost by itself, the fuel delivery system is dificult to understand and the instructions are a bit of a fluff job.

I'm not trying to discourage you. You will love it just want to tell you a heads up.

I will help with ay other questions you have.

[Brian MP5T]

1. Get forged internals...this will make your car very happy

4. Do any tranny upgrade u can..its expensive...but its cheaper than buying a new one.

Considering the Auto can barely support 6 Psi, forged pistons will simply never be an issue until the transmission is swapped for a Manual or upgraded by Lentech.

[i12drivemyMP5]

So how far could it go reliably with the Lentech valve body kit, torque converter & fluid cooler? Still only 5-7 psi?

[bazooka joe]

So how far could it go reliably with the Lentech valve body kit, torque converter & fluid cooler? Still only 5-7 psi?

i'm not sure anyone knows for sure...one guy on the forum ran the upgrade valve body kit, but for only like a month and he sold the car...i'm thinking of doing it myself...?

[Brian MP5T]

The tranny upgrade is very extensive. I believe it's in the $1000.00+ Range. I would hope that it is a major improvement and will alow for much more force.

[bazooka joe]

i think just the valve body is like $350ish...you can go all out though and spend well over the 1K...
http://www.lentechautomatics.com/4f27eproducts.html

[Brian MP5T]

Cool, this is designed to accept the elevated pressure. WHat about the TQ Converter and the ATX Cooler. IMO Money well spent prior to them breaking.

[i12drivemyMP5]

OK, so complete turbo kit + engine management, check. Forged internals, check. Head work, check. All possible tranny upgrades, check. Anything I forgot, check. Quick, somebody slip me 10 grand & I'll get right on that.

[bazooka joe]

OK, so complete turbo kit + engine management, check. Forged internals, check. Head work, check. All possible tranny upgrades, check. Anything I forgot, check. Quick, somebody slip me 10 grand & I'll get right on that.

i'm telling you, you can have a whole lot of fun for less...just keep the psi down....this is just not the same car with the turbo installed!!:cool:

[i12drivemyMP5]

It best not be for the time & monetary investment. LOL

[5PADZAM]

3rd.
I live in a county in TN that is very strict on cat's. The police even spot check sport cars with mirrors on sticks checking for cat's....


I quickly read through the posts, and I didn't see anyone address this part of the question. I apologize if I missed one.

Is your county strict only on cats? Or are they strict about all of the emissions equipment? Because if it's the latter, then can you legally install a turbo kit since your car did not come from the manufacturer with it stock? Luckily I live in a county in WA state that does not have any emissions testing or inspections, so I am not familiar with the laws in states and counties who do have them.

[ho bag]

Swap it to a 5spd and grab a used MSP setup. Done :D

[KdogTN]

i'm telling you, you can have a whole lot of fun for less...just keep the psi down....this is just not the same car with the turbo installed!!:cool:

So what your saying is if I keep the psi at 6# then I should be ok? That's all I really want. I'm not looking to bring the car to a track or any of that. Maby the dragons tail once a year but that's about it. I still should at least upgrade the valve body correct?

[bazooka joe]

So what your saying is if I keep the psi at 6# then I should be ok? That's all I really want. I'm not looking to bring the car to a track or any of that. Maby the dragons tail once a year but that's about it. I still should at least upgrade the valve body correct?

ya, that's about what i'm saying!!

[thejetman]

Swap it to a 5spd and grab a used MSP setup. Done :D

where would i aquire such goods fine sir?

[ho bag]

Well you can do the turbo setup for less then a grand. Im 90% complete my MSP swap into my P5 and i havent spent $1000 CAD funds yet and that included a HUGH fmic and gauges as well.

As far as the 5 spd swap. Goto a junkyard and buy everything you need off a wrecked car.

[StealthWyvern]

Swap it to a 5spd and grab a used MSP setup. Done :D

I've talked to a few shops in my area about this and they flat out told me no that they wont do it even witha donor car!

[Red5_02]

It's pretty easy to say that once you get tired of 7 psi you're gonna turn the boost up. What you need to do is get a 5 spd and a good clutch to handle the new power. Then go forged or you'll blow something after exploring the car's "limits." Then once you have a good foundation on which to build...TURBO THE BIATCH!!! Then go with a piggyback and tune away.

Or just stay at 6 psi to enjoy forced induction on a daily basis.

[KdogTN]

I have done some talking with the guys at Lentech and they recommended that I upgrade the valve body but the whole transmission would be ok... 6psi will give me right under the tolerance of that valve body. I wouldn't have any concerns unless I went 6+psi with boost. THey also said that the torgue converter would be fine that comes with the car. I think I'm going to go ahead with the valve upgrade and put the kit on it but dial it in for 5psi only. Just enough to wake the car up but not enough to blow up anything. Later on in my adventures I'm probably going to get a motor from a junk yard and go forged everything, and really dope it up... At that point I'll drop the money for the performance tranny from lentech with the independent controller and do some street damage...

I'm starting to have fun now.. hehehehe

[KdogTN]

I quickly read through the posts, and I didn't see anyone address this part of the question. I apologize if I missed one.

Is your county strict only on cats? Or are they strict about all of the emissions equipment? Because if it's the latter, then can you legally install a turbo kit since your car did not come from the manufacturer with it stock? Luckily I live in a county in WA state that does not have any emissions testing or inspections, so I am not familiar with the laws in states and counties who do have them.

So long as emissions do not exceed the county limit they do not care what you have. I know from talking to some people around here, they get their yearly inspection done while chewing their nails off.. Main thing is the cat. One guy said that he removes his bolt on's has his inspection done then puts it back on once completed. As far as the law, they just want to see if your running a cat.

[thejetman]

well i do have a five speed. stage II clutch, lightweight flywheel, AWR mounts, and SAMCO hoses.....now about that MSP setup......

[ho bag]

Start hitting the forsale section. In less then a week you can peice a kit together.

As soon as my gauges get here im starting my install

On a side note, i have an MSP oil cooler for sale :D