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Time for the ultimate driver


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My ‘05 GT Limited 5mt sedan has 33K miles on it and it has served me very well.

 

But after a year of working 2 full time jobs, I have saved enough $ to create, maybe, my version of the ultimate driver.

 

My finished product would be::

 

• Virtually indistinguishable from stock. I want it to be the sleeper of sleepers. Boost and temp gauges, etc., larger brakes, slighly lowered stance with new suspension - that would be it for any giveaway, if at all, by looking at the car.

 

• Daily driver. I want the car to be civil, idle smooth, and be relatively quiet. I will sacrifice some power for quiet. If I cant have civility, i would not do anything at all. I am old and like peace and quiet, until I mash the forward pedal.

 

• Um, more power (gee, no sh1t?). A lot more. I want 400+ hp. To do so, new short block, heads, turbo, etc. 80 percent of the time the car will cruise in traffic. 20 percent of the time it will passing, quickly, left lane bandits. No 0-60 attempts, dropped clutch, etc. Just an old man cruising to work and back . So, I want the car reliable, for a lot of miles. As such, nothing but overkill on quality and strength of everything modified. I want to own the car for many more years and have reliability while doing so.

 

• Brakes, suspension and drivetrain compoments to macth the added blur factor.

 

I have consider several cars, like a new '08 M3, but I am old and do not need any status symbols, etc. I am also no fan of BMW. Also, Idont want anything that anyone else has. Plus, the Legacy so blends in with everything else and I want to keep it that way. My ticket factor has remained low despite some spirited driving. I want to TRY to keep it that way as much as possible. Most people think my car is a Camry anyhow. Perfect.

 

What I want is to have a car that is absurdly fast AND still has the type of balance relative to what Ihave now. That is, I find my stock Legacy to be a wonderful daily driver. I want the same thing, when I am done, but so fast that the M3 driver will pee like a small child when he pulls up next to me and sees that a Subaru Legacy was what got by him as he blocked the left lane.

 

Is my vision of a quiet, reliable but very, very fast daily driver possible to achieve?

If so, what combination of wish-list components would you assemble into a big pile if you wanted such a ride and had no more than $30K to spend?

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Stick with the legacy, it won't even cost you that much money to do what you want.

 

That's his entire plan.

 

I wish I could find the thread where the TDC Tuning car was being sold. It made 400+ whp and the only thing that made it looked modded was the rims and a decal on the front quarter panels. Looking at what had been done to that car would be a good help.

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400 hp at the flywheel or the driving wheels?

 

The Legacy is a good choice, but you should check out some 400 whp Subarus (finding a STI should not be that tough) and make sure you see what it is like on PUMP GAS. Those big turbos are great but the driveability may not be what you want. You want a powerband that is more useable.

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400 whp would be the goal...

 

Couldnt agree more on the driveablilty AND with pup gas. That too is the goal.

Not sure if it can be done.

 

Again, if it cant be a daily driver with the civility of, well, a daily driver, i will skip it. I realize my vision is maybe odd as many would want all of the (nice and appropriate) bling and pure e.t. that goes with power increase.

 

Me? I just want to get to work, quickly, when needed.

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If AWD is a priority stick with the LGT......

 

400hp is really not that tough;)

 

If your eyes are wandering though.........

34-36K could prob. take it;)

http://i9.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/9b/d1/0e8d_12.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Audi-S4-2005-Audi-S4-9K-in-Performance-Upgrades_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43902QQihZ020QQitemZ300106242380QQrdZ1

Toyota 6EATS .........SUCK!!!!!!
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There is nothing smooth about getting 400 whp out of a 2.5l motor. Nothing at all... If you go this route I would buy a neck brace to keep in the car at all times because when that thing finally makes full boost your head is going to end up in the back seat.
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yup, i am looking at, or rather looked at , the '07 rs/4 and the '08 M3. Sweet cars. But it is a given when you look at it exactly what it is. I looked at the the TDC tuning car just now...it is precisely the type of thing i want. In fact, it is very close to what i want. Not sure how fast theirs is...

 

RE: displacement, yes, this is top of the list for "Can it be done?" Not sure how much more inches i can get with a new shortblock...

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Critisizing would be fine too...

 

400 isnt a contstraint per se, it is a goal. My original post has me envisioning a car with certain properties, and 400 whp would be one of them. I would think i would be happy if it has slightly less, but there are m3's and rs/4's and some other very fast cars out there. I want one to, just not of of those.

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Looks like you'll be modding or buying used then.......

 

The 08 M3 will be 60K+ & that will not even touch a RS4

 

400whp in a LGT would roast either of those cars, for that matter one with 350whp would take them;)

Toyota 6EATS .........SUCK!!!!!!
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"There is nothing smooth about getting 400 whp out of a 2.5l motor. Nothing at all... If you go this route I would buy a neck brace to keep in the car at all times because when that thing finally makes full boost your head is going to end up in the back seat."

 

Ahhh, yes, this is so what I want. the key here is "WHEN " it is at full boost. It is the BEFORE full boost that i want the civility. It is WHEN it goes to the holy sh1t factor that i want exactly what you post. Most of the time that will occur above 60mph.

 

Sometime ago, when i had motorcycles, i had a new 1988 Yamaha FZR (I think) 1000. At the time, this was a very fast bike. The redline was i think 13K. From idle to 6K or so, it felt like a few other bikes i had. It was civil and if anything, not very fast. However, after 6K, it was literally another bike.

 

Again, not sure if it can be done with my lgt, but i appreciate all the comments which be why i posted here ;]

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Also, my LGT is the first turbo car i have owned. I never tire of the rush it has now, and that is a minor one, when it i catch the load and revs jut right in 3 and 4th gear. I am hooked. I just want to, uh, increase the feeling, alot, but only WHEN i want, and the rest of time, poke around traffic like a normal civilian.
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Once tuned I will have a 400+whp LGT.....was about 30 shy of that before & it was by no means a "laggy" setup

 

370ftlbs @ 3650 with the old setup........ 395-405ftlb @ around 3800 with the new setup

 

Yes mine is a DD......BTW you would be very surprised with how your mpg increase as the turbo gets larger;)

 

Sure if you go with a huge turbo there will be lag **60lb** compressor wheel or larger.....but a really good tune on a 48lb to a 55lb can make a world of difference & hit your goals

My last setup felt like a very strong small block V8 once you hit 3k

Toyota 6EATS .........SUCK!!!!!!
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That's just it though. Large turbos and huge FMICs mean lots of turbo lag and bogging at lower revs. It won't feel like it does now at lower revs. Just with the basic gutted cats and Cobb StgII map I have the car has lost a lot of it's smoothness. Half throttle may as well be WOT at certain revs. This phenomenon will only be exacerbated with the aforementioned mods. I say go for it but forget the 400hp goal, it's just a number. Find a good tuner that can recommend proper mods for your drivability goals and go from there. You don't need that much power to whoop m3s and RS4s. When it comes down to it you want something that will kick you in the pants. 300 whp will do that nicely and surprise the hell out of cars costing twice the price of a LGT.

 

When you're cranking out that much HP your car becomes a dyno queen. The car looks great on the dyno but sucks to drive to work every day.

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Once tuned I will have a 400+whp LGT.....was about 30 shy of that before & it was by no means a "laggy" setup

 

370ftlbs @ 3650 with the old setup........ 395-405ftlb @ around 3800 with the new setup

 

Yes mine is a DD......BTW you would be very surprised with how your mpg increase as the turbo gets larger;)

 

Sure if you go with a huge turbo there will be lag **60lb** compressor wheel or larger.....but a really good tune on a 48lb to a 55lb can make a world of difference & hit your goals

My last setup felt like a very strong small block V8 once you hit 3k

 

You also have an auto right? I'd imagine there is an inherent smoothness when an auto tranny is rowing through the gears for you. Especially at lower revs.

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As mentioned dyno queens FTL........

 

When I get my car tuned I make sure to let the tuner know I'm not in it for ultimate HP. I want a very fast DD with a very flat tq curve......

 

For some people #'s mean everything....heck there are local civic'c putting down 400+ whp but there tq......:rolleyes:

Toyota 6EATS .........SUCK!!!!!!
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