Mods before deciding turbo or NA

[Kaiju Senso]

What are some good/mild mods that don't require rebuilding the motor to do that can benefit both Boosted and NA motors. I still can't decide which way I want to go but would like to start planning out my mods. The motor is a 2005 Equinox 3400 (LNJ) in a 86 Fiero GT 4spd. I already have a nice set of Headers, will delete the Cat (25 year old car doesn't need Echecks anymore!), plus a decent "cat"-back exhaust. Injectors and PCM being used from a 98 Monte to get a basic swap done first.

I assume improving flow would be the #1 goal? So Throttle Body, intake, and head work? I'm running an LA1 upper intake and throttle body but will probably swap back to the LNJ upper intake (requires a major decklid modification to fit). Is the valvetrain too specific to NA or Boost to think about upgrading yet? I know WOT has a cam for Boost or NA specific.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[geoffinbc]

If your running a turbo then hold off on the cam. Turbo cams, at least good ones, are very specific to the engine and exhaust system. For a supercharger, a cam that works well for N/A will also work well with a blower. Valvetrain can all be upgraded now if you want. If you run very high levels of boost and high rpm then you may need higher pressure intake valve springs to offset the pressure on the manifold side of the valve. But if your goals are not so extreme then you can use the same springs either way.

A free flowing intake is a great addition to boost. It allows more power with less pressure which translates in to less heat and less wasted energy.

[hal24]

Actually, if you aren't trying to rebuild the engine, I wouldn't boost it over 8-10 psi if you want it to be reliable. Anything over that and you will want forged pistons and rods and probably valvetrain work to actually have a well-built reliable car. You will probably still want to upgrade gaskets and get an intercooler. Honestly if you are going turbo you might as well just do it right even if progress is slow. Building a quality turbo car from N/A is never cheap or quick unless you have great resources and vast knowledge and experience. Not to discourage you at all, but ask yourself is it worth it to boost a car and have it break in 2 years, or spend maybe a year on the car and have it hooked up and durable and last 5+ years on a forged build. Also suspension is something you never want to overlook, because there's no point in having speed without supporting suspension.

[Nick-G]

Actually, if you aren't trying to rebuild the engine, I wouldn't boost it over 8-10 psi if you want it to be reliable. Anything over that and you will want forged pistons and rods and probably valvetrain work to actually have a well-built reliable car. You will probably still want to upgrade gaskets and get an intercooler. Honestly if you are going turbo you might as well just do it right even if progress is slow. Building a quality turbo car from N/A is never cheap or quick unless you have great resources and vast knowledge and experience. Not to discourage you at all, but ask yourself is it worth it to boost a car and have it break in 2 years, or spend maybe a year on the car and have it hooked up and durable and last 5+ years on a forged build. Also suspension is something you never want to overlook, because there's no point in having speed without supporting suspension.

I'm curious how you figure all of this have you boosted a 3400 before?

Plenty of people are boosting the crap out of basically stock 3400's with no reliability issues at all as far as the engine goes, but transmissions are a different story.

[Kaiju Senso]

Actually, if you aren't trying to rebuild the engine, I wouldn't boost it over 8-10 psi if you want it to be reliable. Anything over that and you will want forged pistons and rods and probably valvetrain work to actually have a well-built reliable car. You will probably still want to upgrade gaskets and get an intercooler. Honestly if you are going turbo you might as well just do it right even if progress is slow. Building a quality turbo car from N/A is never cheap or quick unless you have great resources and vast knowledge and experience. Not to discourage you at all, but ask yourself is it worth it to boost a car and have it break in 2 years, or spend maybe a year on the car and have it hooked up and durable and last 5+ years on a forged build. Also suspension is something you never want to overlook, because there's no point in having speed without supporting suspension.

Yes I understand this, hence why I was looking for a general concensus on what basic upgrades would be of benefit no matter which way I decided to go. I don't see the point of replacing brand new parts (this motor has barely a few thousand miles on it so I plan on driving it as is for a while to make sure my engine swap went well, but we all know the need for speed can consume us ) Basically I'm looking for bolt on mods and at the very most, valve train (but am open for suggestions for any mod because I'd like to learn whats good for these motors.)

I appreciate the info.

[Joseph Upson]

you might as well just do it right

I can't stress how much I hate that phrase when used in this context. It's often used by individuals who turn out to be hypocrits in some way regarding something they do related to engine performance. I'm not refering to you. This is all relative and common sense based. A stock motor is fine for boosting and a large number of boosted production vehicles are useing stock quality parts with the major difference being in piston design (not material) to achieve the intended compression.

GM for example used hypereutectic pistons on nearly all of their boosted production cars, the same material that the stock non boosted pistons are made from. Proper tuning is of the essence, get it wrong and it will destroy the engine built "the right way" to.