Trying to make a list of what I need.
 

Hey everyone. Hope y'all are enjoying your day. I have a kind of noon question. I read stuff on the forums all the time on upgrades people do to there car. I have an Auto FRS which just hit 36000 miles. I have a goal of getting over 300 - 400 whp in the future and am willing to spend the money for it even though its and auto and still going to be my dd. From everything I've read it seems the best way to go about it would be to get a turbo ( preferably fbm ) running around 7 - 11 psi since its a dd, a good tune, a uel header to fix the tourque dip in our car, air intake, tires, oil cooler, intercooler, better tranny, 3" cat, brakes, guages and at least a few mods to make the motor stronger but hardly know anything about building motors. I also don't want the car to be really loud so would probably look for the quitest exhaust.

I'm pretty sure this would get me to my goal I'm really just asking people on the forum if this sounds correct for upgrades to actually have a good running turbo charged auto FRS that won't have major failures with in the first few thousand miles. The forum has already been incredibly helpful with my other questions so I figured why not come here again.

Anything I need to add or consider please tell me. Any and all suggestions are appreciated

Keep learning young ninja. You will know when you are ready to go FI its not just something you can jump into. For example nearly all turbo kits come with a manifold so you can take headers off your list. Also if you are going turbo you probably do not want cats. Turbo kits come with air intakes, other intakes will not work. Hey but its your car and if you want to spend 20k on it go ahead.

:popcorn:

Consider contacting someone that does this for a living and just have them tell you what you really need and what kit works well with an auto trans as they would know.

Reach out the HRI tuning. James is a hell of a nice guy and very knowledgeable. I believe his FRS is sitting around the 550whp mark now.

You will learn soon enough that 7-11 PSI wont get you there. Youre also assuming a stock engine, you wont be reliable on a stock engine either with that kind of power in a DD.

This is absolutely true. I think your expectations are a bit high, OP, unless you are ready to dump boatloads of cash into the engine build (boat loads is subjective to my opinion vs cost of the car). However, if you don't see track days, 7-11 psi is relatively reliable for a DD with a great tune. I don't think you need more for public roads but that is, again, just my opinion. Try to go to a meet and catch a ride with someone in that range of boost and see what the power feels like in such a light car and ask yourself if you honestly need more. If you think you do, then a built engine and 15psi+ is in your future. You should look into the costs of a built engine as well and factor that into your decision making. Hopefully this helps in your search.

You'll need alot more $$ than expecting to spend. I've spent over 10k+ now and I'm still just over 300hp. Recent mod is pcv delete, crackcase 1/2 barb and catchcan to atmosphere.

Everytime I read anything over 7 psi is good for a DD I see a new thread of someone's shit blew up. I'm saving for a motor build.

Other note 300hp is a nasty fun and with the right setup it's quick as hell.

So would it be a good idea to spend the money and get one of the built shortblocks from fbm or to buy the forged Pistons, rods , bearings and the other things required to have a properly built engine.

Truth right here. I'm mean seriously 300 WHP is like 350 bhp. In a 2700 lb. car that much power is just bananas on the street. For non-drag cars it kinda seems like people want 400 WHP to go giant killing GTRs, Vettes, and M cars on the I-10 more than canyoning, HDPE or AutoX. I'm like 240 WHP / 275 BHP with 210 TQ and can say that in a car this light, speeds can get really high, really fast, with lots of good times had in the process. There is the occasional itch itch for more power, but the cost, reliability and street responsibility make me wonder if more power would be only theoretically more fun given the added costs.

Yes. Yes. to OBI-DAEMANO do you listen. Sorry im a Star Wars geek.

But what DAEMANO is saying above is true. I have owned 3 different BRZs, one was an FBM turbo car pushing over 400whp. It was very fast. But once the novelty of new power wore off. It was not as fun to drive on the street. And forget the track...it would overheat in a lap or two. Plus I was running 265s (tires) in the back and still could not get all that power to the ground. I did not do an engine build, and i never had the car long enough to see the longevity of my project. But i assume my days were numbered. However, I still spent a good 14k getting into a quality turbo build with different tunes for different fuels. That does not include engine internals, trans, diff or axle upgrades.

In short, since your fairly new to this, aim a little lower on power. You can always add more power later. Once you start chasing power, there will never be enough, and someone is always faster. There is a lot for you to learn along this road. Don't jump from 1st grade straight to 4th grade. There are some good lessons to learn along the way. Hope that make sense.

Or, screw what i said and go build a beast. But its a lotta money, and not as fun as your thinking. Plus its likely you will chase little problems or issues here and there. Most of us expect that, and accept it. But be sure that your ready for some aggravating days with a car not quite running perfect. 7 to 10psi is good. somewhere around 275whp is a good place to start. Then decide if you need more to enjoy your car.

Its a matter of how much financial commitment you want to make. If you go big first, then you may have some buyers remorse.

Are you making that with your ESC?

Yep. So far so good. Will be heading back to Church Auto's Dyno in Feb sometime for up to date numbers. After that will be trying some new exhaust products with a re-tune to see if they make any difference/gains.

Interesting, that's piquing my interest in it just a little bit more. If only the wait time and the damn exchange between CAD and USD wasn't so bad...

FBM doesn't make an Unequal manifold JDL does. If your looking for power then go with EL manifold.