400hp is it worth it?
 

right just looking for some advice really, stuck in bit of a dilema my scoob is a newage runing about 340 at the moment and not having been in many other more powerful scoobys I dont know if its worth another couple of grand or so getting other mods just for another 60bhp?

Would this little bit of power really be noticable and worth the dent in my pocket?

any thoughts would be appreciated, cheers

You would be doing well to get to 400 for 2k as im finding out. Unless you can fit the mods yourself or you can find good 2nd hand stuff. Depends what you have done to it so far. Im up to around 365 and the injectors wont go any further plus the airbox has become a restriction so that is my next move and that alone is a few quid. Forgeting the turbo, fuel pump, remap etc ive just had done! But its fun when you get chance to use it.

IMO 400bhp is about the threshold on a 2ltr, for both driveability and cost per bhp. It will certainly be a difference to what you have now, but whether it is worth the cash.... only you can come to that conclusion.

As has already been said, I think £2k is on the optimistic side as you would really need injectors, turbo, 3port boost solenoid and mapping. I assume you have a decat (or sports cat) and replacement panel filter. Have you got an uprated fuel pump?

I have costed up a 400bhp conversion for mine which includes:

Turbo
Turbo fitting kit
Gaskets
800cc Injectors
Fuel Pump
3 port boost solenoid
Panel Filter
Full 3" Miltek exhaust system with sports cat
Remap
Labour
VAT

£4722.99

im running 340.3 bhp and thats more than enought for the road,

Thats equivalent to about 400 bhp on a newage though ;)

I am runnning a bugeye sti and modding it to 400-420. For me, its well worth it :D

but as above, not worth it if you dont get the right parts.

I recently got the 350 newage stage 2 upgrade from powerstation, turned out to be closer to 340 but love the miltek sound!

This was with the md555 turbo, supposed to be good for 400 apparently?,

anyway its night and day over the stock setup, and recently got some decent brakes and coilovers fitted, so I suppose it wouldnt cost that much to get it to 400 but if not a noticeable difference may as well save a bit longer and go for 450!

Its worth it .
Especailly if like me you want to get 450 plus as meth mixes etc are a cheap power hike.

agreed with that...although 650 inj will suffice as I have 405 bhp with them. Go de -cat if you can as well.

Let's be honest, 400+ in an everyday road car is little more than an ego trip. Having said that, it's one of those goals that's become quite achievable so therefore very tempting. A bit like having a Rolex on your wrist when a Timex will do the job perfectly well!

JohnD

Dont bother wasting your money mate, you will never get back what you put in to it. I would rather have saved my money and spent a week in Thailand and the lady-boys:D

Plus you will also have to consider a clutch upgrade in the near future too;)

Go straight for 500 ive got 450 and need more, too many strokered evos knocking about nowadays lol

And save up for a rebuild

im still saving;)

not what i want to hear

my build should see me over 400 in my classic

i just know come the summer ill "need" 500bhp lol

those bloody evos! lol

as shaun as said its about £4722,which for that price you could go out and buy a classic already running 400+ bhp,one on ph for 4500 running 420bhp.


dan

Yeah i thought 400 would be enough so was happy with 450 but you soon get used to what you've got and then want it to pull even harder for longer.

Im running a Newage STi with 437bhp 478lbs/ft and it feels slow to me :D

What are you going to be using the car for mainly?

It doesn't matter how much power you have, you will always get used to it, then want more. I think your suggested 60bhp increase would feel faster for the first couple of weeks, then you'll forget about it.
How a car 'drives' is more important to me now than all out speed, especially for the road. Steering, brakes, suspension, gearbox, on-limit-balance, seats etc..
If a car is a good drivers car anyway, just increasing the bhp won't really change anything. For me, the main enjoyment of driving a PPP STi, over a standard WRX, was the steering, gearbox, suspension and seats, not the power. The STi is so smooth and fast, it hides it's performance so well that it doesn't really 'feel' like 100bhp more.
Jump in something like an Integra Type-R, and you'll probably 'feel' like you are going as quick as an STi, but in reality it will be much slower.
It's not all about power.

If it was me, I'd put the money towards chassis mods or my next car.

As above if the chassis and brakes are still factory STD then get them addressed first, most people will not be able to get the most out of the 300bhp they have as STD let alone hiking it up to 400, just because you have more power won't nesseceraly mean you will be faster. Spend the money upgrading the suspension say a set of coilovers and some whiteline gear and the a decent set of disks and pads such as performance friction or better a set of AP's and then get on a driver training day or two then take what you have learnt onto a track and put it all in to practice I have a sneaky thought that you will be quicker round the track with your current power rather than spending 4k on 400bhp

Just my opinion

Let's find out what the OP will normally be using the car for before we recommend "handling" mods! ;) As long as everything is "tight" and "as it should be", there is no reason why you would want to mod the handling on a Newage STI for road use. If it's a track car that is totally different, but before you mod anything you would be best placed to utilise driver training imo.

Agree with you Shaun, but be it a road or track car most people just throw money at getting more power rather than brakes or suspension let alone driver training and that makes a big difference in the performance of a car. Most want that car to be faster and think automatically that more power is the answer.

It can be a common mis-conception unfortunately. Everything should always been done as a package where possible, but in a pragmatic way. I can blow cash as good as the best of them, but you soon learn what is really warranted for the "real world". Power figures are not the be all and end all, as you appreciate. Not everyone does though and I include myself in that over the years.

Most people with big powered cars say if they did it over again they stick at 350-400bhp. It useable power, and will still be reliable.

My MY03 STI has 301bhp (PPP) and i'll be getting the suspension/brakes sorted before i increase the power, as proper handling is the best way to get a better A to B car. (IMO)

400 bhp is a perfectly sensible target for an Impreza engine these days, we're turning them out all the time. One in particular we sorted out three years ago, he's running a totally stock 2.0lt new age Sti engine putting out over 450 bhp after being modified with no problems at all.
As to the cost, I suppose it only matters if you can't afford it, in which case the answer is obvious.
There's an old expression along the lines of "cut your cloth to suit"

Bolt a 20g on £450
Secong hand injectors 550cc £150
Decent panel filter £40
ecu tec mapp £400
pump £75
boost solenoid £pennies of here

£1200 give or take.
Ive done it on the last few new age cars ive had and 2k is possible.Me and a mate were both close to 400bhp.. 389 and 391 so not to much cost and the extra 60bhp is deffo worth it.

Brakes if you have standard 4 pots put some decent discs and pads off aztec £150 ish you are away and with the little extras to buy you still under 2 bags.

There's a simple way around the constant urge for more power. Get yourself a 406 hdi or the like to use as a workhorse, commuting etc. Then once you jump back into the scoob after a few days it just feels as quick as it ever was & you appreciate it more.:luxhello:

That's how i do it, unless of course an evo or something gives me a hard time then I start considering more power again :mad: