Upping the power on an SE Turbo -Advise please.

[NitroDann]

Pulling a bent rod out of a seemingly perfectly running modified SE is pretty normal.

Rods bending is caused by peak torque, a good setup and tune by a competent calibrator will reduce peak torque while substantially increasing average torque and giving better performance while making the car pleasantly smooth and unintimidating even for those gun shy in regards to power.

Dann

[SKYHI]

Exhaust/mac valve, ecu, injectors, setup, tune.

Bam, 220+whp

So with the right tune and this setup, the standard SE rods should be ok?

Assuming so, what's the limit of torque and power you would suggest running with standard rods?

What's the next bottleneck in the system to more power, intake, std turbo?

[lightyear]

Swap to an NB8B motor, and use the rest of your bits.

[NitroDann]

With careful tuning its fine, you can run 220whp in an SE with all of the bolt ons safely, after this you need a bigger turbo to hit 260 odd and then you need to put in some rods.

[SKYHI]

Swap to an NB8B motor, and use the rest of your bits.

So an NB8B engine actually has stronger rods than an SE?

[davekmoore]

No, but does have VVT.

[SKYHI]

Exhaust/mac valve, ecu, injectors, setup, tune.

Bam, 220+whp

Dann

Is an intake also worth doing, or not necessary?

What does this setup cost for someone to drive in and drive out from your workshop? PM me if you prefer.

Paul.

[ManiacLachy]

An aftermarket intake on an SE is a big help, more so than in many other cars. Id rate it a bigger bump in power than a full exhaust.

The stock intake is a convoluted POS, but quiet. One of Dann's will give you a nice power bump, but you'll now clearly hear the intake and BOV.

[SKYHI]

I thought as much, but was curious why Dann didn't mention it as part of his suggested upgrade package.

[ManiacLachy]

Ahh, because Billybunter already has the Begi intake, and other bits that you'd want to upgrade a stock SE

[SKYHI]

Ahh, because Billybunter already has the Begi intake, and other bits that you'd want to upgrade a stock SE

Ah right, that makes more sense now. So would it be possible to do the upgrades in stages, for example:

Stage 1:
ECU
Exhaust
CAI
Boost Controller
BOV

Stage 2:
Injectors
Intercooler

[Nevyn72]

Ahh, because Billybunter already has the Begi intake, and other bits that you'd want to upgrade a stock SE

Ah right, that makes more sense now. So would it be possible to do the upgrades in stages, for example:

Stage 1:
ECU
Exhaust
CAI
Boost Controller
BOV

Stage 2:
Injectors
Intercooler

Not really a good path there mate.....

Typically what is done is,

Stage 1:
- intake
- exhaust
- intercooler
- BOV
- Manual Boost Controller

Stage 2:
- ECU
- Injectors
- Electronic Boost controller
- Dyno tune

Stage 1 can be done in bits and pieces, Stage 2 has to be done in one hit.

If you ever wondered just how bad the stock intake is well.....

This is what it looks like, I normally refer to it as 'the noodle'

[SKYHI]

Fair enough. It does seem to be the path most guys go, I just thought the ECU might be a fairly important part to getting the most out of the upgrades, even the "Stage 1" stuff.

[ManiacLachy]

You could look at FlyinMiata's Little Enchilada and Big Enchilada packages for one way to do it, which leaves the ECU and injectors till last. But basically you could do it anyway you like, except you couldn't do significant injectors without the ECU.

Most people leave the ECU for last because of the cost, but if can do it first you'll have a much better experience because the stock ECUs shortcomings become more and more pronounced with each bolt on.

[Nevyn72]

Most people leave the ECU for last because of the cost, but if can do it first you'll have a much better experience because the stock ECUs shortcomings become more and more pronounced with each bolt on.

True, but you will then be paying for multiple tuning sessions which aren't exactly cheap!