More Power... 

There isn't a performance enthusiast in the world that doesn't want more power out of his car. There is a common misconception that you can't do much to a turbo car. Hopefully, I can correct this misconception for you.

Ensuring Maximum Stock Power
Easy / Cheap Modifications
Other Changes
Not Recommended
Marketing

A) Ensuring Maximum Stock Power

The first thing you need to do is make sure that your car is delivering the most power that it can, in completely stock form. Check the following:

• Spark Plugs. If you have Bosch Platinums, get rid of them. They have a history of breaking down in turbo motors. Use plain reliable Champion RN12Y's, RN11Y's, or RN9Y's to run cooler. This is a lesson hard learned by many - the more expensive "specialty" plugs often cause ignition headaches in turbo cars. Period. And don't waste money on fancy aftermarket coils. The stock system can definitely get the job done! Put that money into something else.
• MORE Spark Plugs. I have received several pieces of email asking why to not use Bosch Platinum plugs. Usually the email goes like this: "I use them, and they're great! I just installed them and have no problems." Well, wait a little bit. The platinum portion on these plugs is extremely tiny, and breaks off after a few weeks. I bought a set a long time ago and they worked for a few weeks. Years later I decided to try them again, thinking maybe it was a fluke. Nope, the new ones broke too. Once I found Internet resources on our cars, I discovered that a large number of people had the same experience as I did. This is strange, since Porsche turbo cars use Bosch Platinums from the factory. I can only assume that the design that fits our motors is faulty.
• Plug Wires. If you have stock or aftermarket wires, rip them out and replace them with, at the very least, Mopar Performance wires. Taylor wires are another alternative that will really help get more spark to the plugs. This is an important step.
• Air Filter. If you have a paper filter, discard it and replace it with a K&N or Accel. These performance filters are washable, reusable, and actually add a few horsepower. Don't forget to wash and oil it every few months (follow the instructions!). The ads make these things look like "magic", they're not. But they do let more air get into the engine with less restriction, and that is a good thing.
• Distributor cap and rotor. If you can't remember the last time you replaced these, get them NOW. The cap contains a carbon contact that springs against the rotor. As it wears, you get less spark. The rotor gets arc damage at the tip, and further reduces spark. These are cheap and easy, so just do it.
• Fuel pressure - buy, rent, or borrow a fuel pressure gauge. Attach it to the fitting on your fuel rail. Run the car. The baseline is 55psi. If your vacuum at idle is 15 inches, that's about 8 lbs, so the idle pressure should be about 55 minus 8, or 47psi. Run the car into boost (drive it). The pressure should be 55 + the number of pounds of boost. 5 of boost means 60 of fuel, 10 of boost means 65 of fuel. If this value is too low, replace the fuel filter. If that doesn't fix the problem, figure out if you need a fuel pump or a pressure regulator.
• Double check your basic timing. To do this, first unplug the coolant temperature sensor. Use the value printed on the emissions sticker on your vehicle, which will probably be 12 degrees (obviously, you will need a timing light for this). Remember to reconnect the coolant temperature sensor after you're done!

Once you've checked all these things (all easily within the abilities of any driveway tinkerer), your car will probably be running as well as it can in stock form.

B) Easy / Cheap Modifications

The next steps might cost a little money, but can dramatically increase your available power. Note that I do not advocate breaking any local emissions or other laws! Leave that to the import fans.

• MP Computer. Replace the stock computer with an MP computer. This will immediately increase your torque and power. With Chrysler computers, you can't simply replace a chip - the chip is soldered in, and after 1988 were encased in resin. There is currently a project underway to create custom computer calibrations, keep watching this space. For now, if you have an 87 turbo Daytona, check the ECM page at left.
• Open up your exhaust. Consider getting a 2.5" or 3" mandrel-bent full system installed. Contrary to popular belief, turbos DO benefit from this change. Reducing back pressure is NOT detrimental to a turbo. Turbo cars actually benefit MORE from reduced backpressure than non-turbo cars. Removing the catalytic converter may not be legal where you are, but it is a performance enhancement. You might be surprised to discover that your vehicle (assuming all else is fine) will still pass emissions tests, well under the allowable levels. You might also find that the turbo soaks up enough noise to avoid a muffler altogether (I use a muffler, I like the stock sound).
• Bleed. You can remove computer control of boost pressure by using one of several methods. The most reliable is Gus Mahon's "G-valve", a slightly modified Grainger valve. This adjustable device performs the same function as the computer, but allows you to dial in the desired boost level. You can also follow this link to Dempsey's bleed information. If you are increasing boost beyond the amount of fuel that your injectors can provide, you can add a pressure switch and a cold-start injector in front of the throttle body to add more fuel. People are running 24+ psi boost using this method. It does require some tweaking.
• Simple Intake Modifications. Turbo II: Remove the air-filter box. Attach a K&N cone filter directly to the turbo inlet hose. Run a sturdy hose from the Intercooler to the throttle body. If you also insert a length of pipe here, you can add a 5th injector to enrich the mixture at high boost, and a blow-off valve to keep your turbo spooled up during shifts.
• Motor Mounts. The stock motor mounts, even on the Performance and Shelby vehicles, are designed to reduce vibrations and keep the average sleepy driver happy. You want the stiffer rubber used in the MP motor mounts. Very little extra vibration gets to the steering wheel, but there is a marked improvement in mounting solidity. You want these.
• Instrument Yourself! Get a good quality boost gauge and a CyberDyne air/fuel gauge (or build one). This will help you avoid destroying your motor.

C) Other Changes

Once you've increased the power in your vehicle, you may discover that the suspension and braking are not up to par. Here are some things to consider:

• Rear drums - replace them with rear discs. Even if this doesn't reduce stopping distance, it reduces fade. Four-discs is definitely a better setup. You will need a new proportioning valve to prevent premature rear lockup.
• Shocks and Struts. Get the good MP or Munroe shocks and struts. There is no other single change that will make your car handle better... with good dampers, your vehicle is in control.
• Springs. If your vehicle is not a Performance or Shelby vehicle, you might have the weaker springs. Getting the stiffer springs (Daytona Shelby Z or Omni GLHS type) will definitely help keep the wheels on the road.
• Tires. Nothing bugs me more than cheap tires. They squeal. They wear unevenly. They fall apart at high speeds. Get the proper size performance tires, and get them in V or Z rating. You'll love them!
• Motor Mounts, Again. At the back of your motor is an attachment that looks like a tiny shock absorber. You can clamp something solid around this to keep it from compressing... the result is dramatically reduced wheel hop at launch, at the price of a slight shudder at clutch engagement.

D) Not Recommended

These things are common "performance" misconceptions. Don't do these things.

• Lowering the car for appearance. Lowering the car might make it look cool, but you can destroy your handling. Our vehicles were designed by hundreds of people, at a cost of  millions of dollars. Unless you really KNOW what you're doing, you will never achieve proper balance in the entire suspension and steering department when you lower your car. Period.
• Exhaust Tips. Nothing looks tackier than a large chrome exhaust tip. Better to put a large exhaust system in, and completely ignore this cheap ploy.
• Small Wheels. They might improve your zero to 60 times, but they just look terrible. Not to mention the hit on fuel economy! If you want to change your drive ratio, get a different final drive on your transmission instead.
• Blue Headlights. Even if your vehicle came with them, they look tacky. Sorry, but that's the facts. Aftermarket blue bulbs make your car look really really cheap, and don't improve your visibility. In fact, they dramatically reduce your visibility, and use more power at the same time! Electrical power used to run higher wattage blue bulbs comes from somewhere... your engine.
• Performance Stickers. Don't. Nothing looks tackier, not even the chrome exhaust tip. Loading your car up with stickers tells the world that you'd rather look fast than be fast. One small Mopar Performance sticker is ok, windows filled with "Greddy", "HKN", etc. look really bad. Unless you really are driving a sponsored car.
• Giant Spoiler. Unless your car came with one, you don't need a giant spoiler. In other words, unless you have a Ferrari F-40 or a Plymouth Superbird... err... don't add the carrying handle.

I would like to point out that real performance enhancements are rarely visually apparent (one exception is tires). If you really want performance, it will not be obviously visible from the outside. Having power and handling ability is especially nice when it is not instantly obvious to every street racer or cop.

E) How Marketing Works

Right. Big Ed and his buddy have just come up with a great performance part for their Saturn. Everyone who owns a Saturn wants a Big Ed Thingy. The Thingy increases Saturn performance by 45%, and cuts fuel consumption in half. So Big Ed and his buddy go into business together, selling as many Thingies as there are Saturns.

One little problem with that... there are only so many Saturns. Easy... Big Ed and his buddy start looking at the other cars out there, so they can make Thingies for those cars too. Big Ed and his buddy stay up late trying to figure out how to make their Thingy work on a Daytona. It seems the Daytona already has a built-in Thingy that the factory provided! But people want to buy Thingies, since they heard how good they are in a Saturn.

Does that stop Big Ed and his buddy? Hell no! Big Ed and his buddy build Thingies for Daytonas anyway! The Big Ed Thingies don't work as well in the Daytona as the factory Thingy, but who cares? The Big Ed Thingy has a large "Big Ed Thingy" sticker on it, so when you open your hood, people can see the Big Ed sticker and be scared at how much faster the Daytona will be.

Building a "performance" part for 3,455 different models of cars is great, if it's a good part. One example of a Good Thing is the K&N line of washable air filters. These are great! They do what they say, and virtually any car using a paper filter will benefit from a K&N air filter. These are good Thingies.

Unfortunately, most Thingies are bad Thingies. Many parts that greatly benefit other cars do not translate well into a Daytona. One good example of this is the Centerforce Dual Friction clutch. It has a cool sticker, and the name sounds really neat. But the design they are selling for our cars is NOT a good design, no better than the stock Turbo 2 clutch, and according to most users I've talked to, much inferior.

There are a lot of parts that have large marketing budgets, and look cool, and come with stickers, and are bigger and should be better than the stock pieces on the Daytona. But a huge percentage of these will actually decrease your performance and reliability. These include: "Super" coils, Bosch Platinum spark plugs, several brands of plug wires, orange Fram oil filters, most "magic" fluids and fluid additives, hypereutectic pistons of any brand, and just too much more for me to fill this page.

A man who is very well known in 2.2 performance circles has a saying: "Stock is Trick". This is true. The stock ignition system, for example. The standard ugly little black coil, MP plug wires, and Champion plugs are possibly the best way to ignite your mixture. And yet, people get suckered in by the pretty plastic colored coil, assuming it must be an improvement. It's not.

Next time you feel the urge to buy an aftermarket performance piece for your car, ask yourself this question. Is this a Good Thing, or is it just another Thingy?