Best ways to soup up a '88 Turbo Coupe?

[TurboTbird]

Please help me mod my Tbird. I just bought it and I'm looking for a healthy 250+ HP

So please point me in the right direction

 

[TBirdPilot]

Go to www.turboford.org and review the FAQ section. Good compilation of information for the beginner can be found here.

 

[Dirtyturbobird]

You can get the super chip for it and it brings the psi to 18 or 19 and it gives you 255hp. I think that is the best way cause it only cost $350

 

[Dirtyturbobird]

You can get the super chip for it and it brings the psi to 18 or 19 and it gives you 255hp. I think that is the best way cause it only cost $350

 

[powerlift101]

go to turbocoupe.org and go to the technical article section. they have EVERYTHING possible you need to know. Deals with everything involving TC's.

 

[fastguy]

A chip will never give you that much HP. Your car has the wheezy IHI turbo and heat soak prone intercooler. To make serious power, a T3 and a front mount are key. How much do you want to spend? A 3" downpipe, a K&N and a manual boost controller will REALLY wake that car up.

 

[TBird232ci]

Also look into an ATI exhaust system, they are pricey, but they are stailess steel and specifically made for your car

 

[87TTC]

Originally posted by fastguy:
<STRONG>A chip will never give you that much HP. Your car has the wheezy IHI turbo and heat soak prone intercooler. To make serious power, a T3 and a front mount are key. How much do you want to spend? A 3" downpipe, a K&N and a manual boost controller will REALLY wake that car up.</STRONG>

 

[87TTC]

Yeah maybe you're right, but I posted [email protected] with a turbo upgrade alone.

 

[87TTC]

I'll always say that before you want more power you should make sure it will stay together. A chip is good, bottom end rebuild is also a good choice for those higher mileage engines. Along with the rebuild of the bottom end have the head checked and Ford offers a roller cam for the 2.3 turbo that also helps out. a good front mount intercooler is paramount if you upgrade turbo and engine. A set of rear gears will help launch your heavy beast off the line also.

 

[88turbonotch]

Originally posted by Dirtyturbobird:
<STRONG>You can get the super chip for it and it brings the psi to 18 or 19 and it gives you 255hp. I think that is the best way cause it only cost $350</STRONG>

HOWABOUT NO, SCOTT!

a chip alone willnot raise your boost.

what will help alot is to first tell us what you got. auto or 5-spd? big difference there.

 

[Kev]

The 88 Turbo Coupe came with the LA3 computer. All the superchip does for this computer is raise the rev limiter. With the stock IHI, you will never need to raise the rev limiter. A T3 out of an older tbird, svo, or merkur xr4ti is a great upgrade for this car. The front mount intercooler would be ideal for this larger turbo set up, but it is not needed. You can find parts to connect your stock intercooler to your new T3 here
http://www.merkurxr4ti.com/myparts.html

The bottom end on these cars is bullet proof up to 350 hp, so you are good to go there if you have under 150,00 or so miles. As for the exhaust, 3 inch all the way out the back connected to a new downpipe on the turbo (you can get from Sacremento Mustang), or 2 1/2 dual exhaust with some kind of straight through muffler design (like dynomax ultra flo). Use a K&N either on the front of the VAM, or custom route it to the fender well or in front of the radiator. You can get a boost controller that will bypass the stock BCS (boost control solenoid) here: http://www.boostvalve.com/ You can get fuel upgrades to pull all of this together from www.jdsperformance.com The 255lph fuel pump with the adjustable fuel regulator is great. But, I agree with turbonotch in the end. If you have an auto, forget everything I just said except for the K&N and the exhaust or you will rip your tranny to shreds. But there is good news, because a 5 speed tranny swap can be done. Good luck!

Kev