Sup everyone, wanted to know everyones opinion on my next performance modifications. I have decided on 2 scenarios either the BNR GT 2871 Turbo or the ZZP ported head and cams combo with a tune.
Please give opinions and if anyone has done either of these mods let me know how they worked out for you thanks..

 

I say BNR turbo since you won't need the extra air the heads and cams can supply without a turbo to move the air. KO4 is already out of breath up top. Of course either will show gains.

I look at it like chicken or the egg.

 

My first question is........what is your ultimate whp goal?


if you are fine with around 400whp.......then BNR gt2871r is the choice.


But if later on you would like to get into 500whp.......I will suggest the ZZP ported head and cams combo.

why?
1.) if you buy your gt2871r.....you will have to sell the kit......and buy a bigger turbo kit later on. You will lose some money on that gt2871r kit. Plus of course, you will have to pay for removal and install fees for the turbo kits (if you hire somebody to do it for you).
2.) even if you would like to go to 500whp and higher........your zzp ported head and cams combo will still be used. All you have to buy is a bigger turbo...and engine internals



thats my personal opinion. Getting whp, is already an expensive hobby. So if you can avoid, wasting some money...... plan what you buy!

 

Yep...I personally decided to go with a s252et kit from ZZP. It makes a good 20-30whp more than the bnr while still being in the turbid efficiency range plus when I build my bottom end I can always go bigger on the turbo size since ZZPs mani and downpipe bolts up to other turbos.

 

Turbos* damn autocorrect

 

charge pipes and an ic

 

My goal would be around 400-450 hp to the wheels, any more i fear stuff will start wearing out and having to replace parts.

 

hey so how much did you end up paying for the s252et kit, with labor and parts?

 

Labor, well....I'm pretty much just paying to have a local performance shop put my clutch and lightweight flywheel in because I don't have a garage with a lift which should cost me around 4-500. The kit cost me 2800 with shipping, I'll be installing it on the car because I don't have to remove the engine to install it, but I may just run up to the garage where they are installing my clutch and put my turbo kit on while they have my entire frame dropped because its a lot easier to put on with everything exposed. The kit will work with my existing charge pipes and it comes with a recirculated blow off valve system so I don't have to run a blow off valve since they're mostly for sound. I did however upgrade my intercooler to the even larger ZZP one. I think their intercooler has almost 200 more cubic inches of volume compared to the MPx one plus my MPx one steps down to 2.25" inlets due to it being one of the old ones. If you get the BNR you will need a blow off valve either welded to your existing charge piping or you will need to get all new piping for a blow off valve and of course buy a blow off valve. That is the reason I did not go with the BNR. Also you will need to find a core turbo for your BNR and to hit numbers like I will hit on 93 you will need Ethanol to hit on the BNR. I was going to buy the cams, head, and tune combo at first as well but talked to Matt at ZZP and he explained that a turbo swap would be more realistic for a good gain in power so I had them change my order to a turbo upgrade kit and here I am now.

 

I do have access to 93 pump gas, right now with the mods i have now im putting down 310hp and 360 tq. i think id rather go with the BNR turbo cause its a direct bolt on, and its cheaper than the s252.

 

Ah, ok. Well, just remember you will need a Blow off valve and new charge piping with the BNR2871 or a blow off valve flange welded onto your existing piping. You will also need a MAF relocate lower charge pipe if you want to be Trifecta tuned. Vince cannot tune a car very well with a blow off valve without a MAF relocate from what others have experienced. If you go with the BNR2860 you wont make as much power but you won't need new piping or a blow off valve and everything will hook back up exactly like stock. In the end its going to be a close call on cost between the 2871 and the Stage 1 s252et kit. Install will be slightly easier though.

 

Your selling me on the s252 kit haha

The hard decision now is either waiting for the efr which will be cheaper but it doesn't have the exhaust manifold or external wastegate(something i've always wanted).

 

I know, lol. I wanted the EFR too but ZZP doesn't know exactly when it will be ready so I just thought I'd go for the next best thing.

 

bump

 

ported head and cams, everyone wants a simple bolt on part. Do something that will give you more power all around more air is always better

 

Bump for more opinions and why. Thanks

 

p&p head and cams. itll sound sick have some more power and when u throw on a new turbo youll be ready to flow alot more air. not to many ppl cam there balt where i live. **** not many ppl have modded cobalts lol

 

Why I say do the head and cams first is this reasons
1. Obviously if your looking for a bigger turbo your going to want more air flowing into letting you to run more efficient not as much stress on the motor with the amount of psi you'll most likely be running.
2. It will give you more room in your new tune due to more air flow which will let you run more power.
3. In my opinion it's worthless upgrading to a bigger turbo if you aren't going to do anything to help this new turbo do what it wants to do.

That's my reasons but hey that's me and this is your car, not being a dick just stating how i feel about the situation and if it was my car that's what I'd do first.

 

Ok thanks, looks like I might go ahead and do the head and cam combo first, would I need to upgrade my intercooler or charge pipes if I get the head and cams or will the stock ones handle ok?

 

upgrading your IC pipes and intercooler would net a few gains, and with the head p&p with cams it would add to the gain, but you dont have to do them. but if u plan on upgrading turbos at some point, either make sure the turbo ur upgrading too can use the IC pipes u upgrade to, or else ur wasting money on IC pipes that u cant use with the new turbo set up.

 

The problem with the bnr is your not going to get much more out of it over what you can with the stock turbo and the head and cams package. I say the bnr may be good for 380ish, but you will make power in a wider range over the stocker. unless you go e85 and have a really good tune you wont get much out of the head and cams package, maybe 350 range, touching 360, but its going to be a peaky power band that has peak hp in the 5500 range. i would save your money for a bit more and do a basic 252 kit and make a solid 400 whp at only 22 or so psi all day every day, and carry the power through the rpm range. Thats your best option IMO, yes its more money but it also will be more reliable than the bnr and make the power you want that the stock turbo can not do.

 

I have the head and cams and I don't feel any less power anywhere in my powerband personally.. I went this route first to have a strong top end since it's a weak spot on these cars, mainly due to the valve springs. Boost is lower cuz as other people have said, the stock turbo runs out of breath; however, power is up across the board imho. It'll literally roast the tires in 2nd gear now where it would just spin for a second or two; now when it roasts for a second or two, it launches from 25 to 60 mph almost instantly. Do u have any mods at all, or are you starting from scratch? Most people fully bolt these cars before plopping a turbo on there. I still need a full 3" exhaust before I go turbo, so I'm hoping the EFR will be out by the time I'm ready for total insanity.

 

Yea I pretty much have all the bolt ons except the IC, and charge pipes. My mods are listed on the signature below.
Yea top end power would be great. So how difficult was the install on the head and cams. Is it easy to get everything tweaked right, any regrets going this route? How much hp do you think you gained?

 

I agree with the 252 kit that's whats going on my LSJ this summer, but a ported head and cams will open that turbo up

 

Anybody else put head and cams on an ss/tc?