CozmodezinesNYC

So I've got a 2007 sw tc, 5 spd of course. Only mod (performance wise anyway) is an injen cai... Last month, at under 45k the clutch went. (bought the car a few months used in 07 and already wasn't in the best shape). Well I was pretty set on selling the car up until that point but was then undecided. Originally I was set on going with an aftermarket clutch, but after the dealer continually preaching to me about it not lasting as long and blah blah blah, I finally said "fine, f*** it do whatever u guys want" and went w the stock clutch, not caring much since I was still looking to sell it. Well, I think I screwed up bc now I've decided it's not worth it to sell since these things pretty much suck at retaining value. So if I'm keeping this thing, I can't stand it being slow as s*** anymore. Problem is, I feel the stock clutch is nevvvver gonna hold up with putting more power into this thing. I've done tonssss of searching and reading and hear such contradictory things about the various perf mods. I don't believe the engine (nor the stock clutch) will ever hold up boosted. All I see is things like "yeah, it's fine, mine went a whole 10-15k boosted before my engine blew!" ummm yeahhh that sounds like a GREAT engine to me. Other thing is, without fi, it appears bolt-ons do absolute crap on these things. Sorry, but I'm a VW guy at heart, in that scene the typical na setup is just k&n air filter w stock airbox, cat back, headers, cams, giac chip and the car feels and sounds great. Reading everything on here, I hear horrible reviews of everything... Headers apparently cause horrible rasp (sorry, what are we driving, hondas?) with pretty much any a/m exhaust and supposedly don't even help out much power wise. And most a/m exhausts I've found/heard from all the searching are either way too loud or high pitch. Also not many chips offered, and the only one that looks DECENT to me is the uni-chip, but again all I hear is bad reviews. I just don't really know what to do. It's looking like the only reliable way to make power is to do a rebuild. Keep in mind, I'm not looking for CRAZY numbers, just a bit more power without destroying a 3 yr old car. Lemme know what you guys think, I know this can generate a TON of different responses and I'm not looking to star any controversy. I have done my searching (extensively) and am just looking for direct opinions and maybe some more recent info. And also I'm not bashing our cars one bit, I love the tc, I'm just disappointed in the a/m companies bc it just looks like they really don't have much out there that serves a real purpose. Well, thanks for whatever advice you can give.

Jiggaman

iTrader: (1)

well it sounds to me like no matter what you do your not gonna be happy. I bought tc knowing it wasnt fast, so instead of dumping money into a slow car to make it faster, i bought a sportbike that would would blast even a turbo tc out the water.

rasp depends on your i/h/e setup, a big resonator can take care of that.

you want to get significant power out of tc? you gonna have to go forced induction, any way you look at it, its not gonna be cheap compared to bolt ons

FAST - RELIABLE - CHEAP - pick two

CozmodezinesNYC

Haha yeah I hear ya, I'm thinkin bout an r6 or r1 too. I'm more concerned w "fast and reliable" not worrying about money too much. And I'm not really concerned with BIG numbers, that's why I don't mind not ditching the car for an s4 or something anymore right now. Only looking for a little improvement basically just bc it's getting a little boring to drive, that's all. I hear what you're sayin and I do ultimately want to go fi, it's just the fact that I JUST installed the new oem clutch and I haven't really found ANY good success stories w fi, def makes awesome power, but it seems hardly anyone can get the car to hold up. Idk I get what you're saying though. And I understand that the rasp/sound does depend on the I/h/e setup you have, I just couldn't find much about what combo really does sound good and still had somewhat of an effect on freeing up a little hp. Tried searching a lot of threads but I guess maybe I just didn't find the right info in what I read. Thanks though.

acestyle

The best thing you can do is figure out where you want to be power-wise. Figure out what you want to be able to do.

Do you want to race? Or do you just want to have more power to pass slow people on the highway?

I/H/E is fine for passing people on the highway and getting out of sticky situations.

If you are wanting more than that, you can go turbo. But turbo has to be done the right way. You can't cut corners in a turbo setup or you will be burned.

You also have to keep in mind that it is also based of the driver, if you drive like a maniac, how can you expect the car to last that long?

CozmodezinesNYC

Yeah, pretty much more for highway use. Would like a LITTTTTLE more than that, but most likely won't happen. Like I said, what I'd really wanna do is turbo it, but I just really worry about the stock internals/clutch, even with a proper turbo setup. I do drive the car perfectly fine IMO, don't beat on it or anything and I'm not like most ignorant kids who really don't know how to drive properly and think burning out is the best thing or consider themselves racers bc they double clutch their stock setup. I'm not worried so much about my driving destroying the car, just hear a lot about the engines/clutches not holding up, although of course we have no idea how those people were driving their cars or what they were doing with it. If anyone has recommendations on a RELIABLE turbo setup on stock internals/clutch, then I'd consider that. Or even s/c possibly. But I just haven't heard any of those recommendations yet. :-/ thanks for ur input I really appreciate it.

krazyliltc

iTrader: (4)

Here is a recent forum about longest runing stock block turbo tcs......

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=189685

CozmodezinesNYC

That's actually the exact post I had read that generated my concern, hence this thread. Lol. I think the best I found on there was dezod made it to 36k, most of the rest was like 10-15k lol. Thanks tho, I figured that would be the first thing someone would direct me to.

highvoltage1

iTrader: (11)

Yea but these guys going only 10-15k were boosting higher psi and putting down over 350whp. The engine will go a long time if you keep it around 300whp. But you also gotta have a good tune. That rigth there is key. If you gonna do it get a kit from one of the companies on here (dezod, Ptuning, Desendant- in no particular order) and have it tuned by someone reputable. If you name correctly indicates your from New York then hit up Dezod since thats where they are at.

highvoltage1

iTrader: (11)

Also know about Turbo's before you do it. So you know what to monitor and look for. Dont cheap out and dont be stupid either.

CozmodezinesNYC

Yeah good point. I was trying to take psi into consideration and it seemed that most who were even only around 9psi still didn't last THAT long, but they were actually also getting more hp than I expected w that psi. It does seem tho that anymore than that is where problems happened. I'd be perfectly happy anywhere near 250, need no more than that right now until I dodecide to go further with upgrading internals. What do u guys think, that sound a little safer? And thanks for the tip on dezod, did not know they were ere in ny (prob not toooo close to me but I'll hafta check that). Also the dezod does seem to be one of the better options so that's good too.

CozmodezinesNYC

Yeah def not. I'm a biggggg researcher on pretty much ANYTHING so of course before getting a kit, I'd make sure I knew everything possible about that kit. And that's the one thing I'm strongly against is cheeping out on something important so it's either gonna be that I find the best kit possible that I can afford or else scrap the idea fully. Any info on good suppliers with decent prices? Especially dezod.

05_ScionTC

ive heard people that run 10 and under and 10 would be pushing it can have stock internals and clutch and as long as your not someone who beats on the car day after day and race everything in sight that you will be fine as long as you take care of the turbo and do regular check-ups on it every now and then it will be good back to you, and to achieve your 250hp goal i believe your looking to boost around 6-7 pounds then which will be super safe. If you go through with Dezod which is a good company you can get it tuned by them and they will give you a really nice safe tune from what ive heard but then again its all about what you want performance wise and if you want a safe reliable tune or a ***** out blow up your motor in a week tune lol.. But again FI is the only way to go to get what your wanting out of it and its a little bit cheaper than building the engine as well.

CozmodezinesNYC

Thanks, I honestly didn't think this thread would be able to convince me back to wanting to go f/I butttt now I'm really considering it again since I see now that pretty low psi can still result in decent power, especially if I can get to dezod for the tune, then I'd feel a lotttt better about it. Quick question for the hell of it, just cuz I have no idea: how much does a tune from a place like dezod usually run?

05_ScionTC

Well i personally wouldnt know cause i live on the other end of the US (Washington State) but heres the link to dezods website or you can contact paul or don from dezod and they are the informational brain central to most this stuff lol Heres the link to their website:

http://www.dezod.com/default.cfm

And heres a link for paul so you can PM him.

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/members/paul_dezod-143318/

They are both really awesome guys and will help ya out with your goals! and for your goal of about 250 that will be no problem and will be easy to make a super safe reliable tune on that!

Hope this helps ya out man!

CozmodezinesNYC

Thanks a lot bro, big help. I did check the location n they're about 8hrs away lol but I'm always up for a roadtrip... Just would worry about installing the turbo then driving 8hrs on an improper tune. I'll hafta figure it out tho. Right now need to shop around on prices and also decide which kit to go with... I don't think I'd NEED their newer one but I guess I'd hafta look more into it.

05_ScionTC

yea i bought a used S1 kit of a member on here for 2100 with everything i needed basically! you could also always but a kit and talk to paul and see about installing it at their shop or something, theres always a way to work something out!! If you call Paul you will have better insight on what to do, he will help you out in the right direction as where to start! but check the classifieds here first and see what you find. I got lucky on my kit so i jumped on it!

acestyle

you can shop around but remember to not cut corners.

Since you live in New York, don't forget to think about winter driving. Figure out if it will also be your winter daily driver. On ice and snow, all that power means lots of wheel spin trying to get going at a stop light if you aren't careful. You'll also have to take care to wash your car a lot to clean out road nastiness from the intercooler.

CozmodezinesNYC

Verrrry good points made! thank you! Looking for any pointers at all that I may be missing so I don't end up making a big mistake.

RusWolf

iTrader: (3)

Turbo your car with that stock clutch. Run 8 psi with a standalone EMS and get a good tune and that will solve your problem...
Also i've ran stock clutch on 300wh @ 9 psi and it was holding just fine, it all depends on your driving habits. Althought i do have aftermarket clutch but it was simply because i am way past 300hp and my engine was out and it was very affordable to replace clutch and flywheel which i apparently did....

As far as winter driving goes, have 2 sets or wheels.
1) Winter set of wheel with winter performance tires
2) Summer set with wide high performance tires
3) Get an LSD ( in fact i have one for sale in NYC available for local pick up)

I can also hook you up with a quality shop that does an outstanding work installing/building engine or tuning...Vinny Ten Racing in Long Island, NY a little on the high side but you will pay once instead of cheap shops that do cheap work.

acestyle

Even if you don't get a turbo, get winter tires... definitely the best investment I've ever made for my car.