Need Passat Upgrade Advice

[K3rm1tTh3Fr0g]

Hello,
This is my first post on this site so be gentle. I have a 99' passat 2.8L V6 with 219,000 miles on it. I want to be able to go fast and look awesome doing it. It would also be awesome if my car sounded loud too. I was thinking that I could add a turbo and a straight pipe instead of a muffler. I just don't know the exact parts to buy. I got the car for free from my mom and I just spend $2500 getting the throttle body replaced as well as the vacuum hoses and I also had the spark plugs and spark plug wires replaced I also just bought new tires and some other miscellaneous items. I don't want to spend a few grand on some performance parts just to have the car die on me. I would appreciate your guys' input on this and if you guys could drop some links to some performance upgrade parts I could buy and install to boost the hp or the torque.

Thanks for all the help,
Kellen

[MikeCStig]

Modifying a car with that much mileage go fast on a budget is risky business. It absolutely can be done, but it will likely have an adverse effect on reliability. A cold air intake would be a good idea and that loud exhaust you want would probably be fine too. Putting in a turbo at this point is the risky part. You may be able to get away with a low pressure (7-8 psi max) turbo, but anything more than that I wouldn't recommend unless you do a full engine rebuild or swap in a low mileage replacement engine. Another thing to consider is the rest of the drivetrain. How will the transmission hold up with added Power? If it's a manual, how's the Clutch? How will the driveshafts do? Also suspension components, especially in the front end, along with all of the steering components. These are all things that may not be strong enough at this point to handle too much additional power.

[K3rm1tTh3Fr0g]

Originally Posted by MikeCStig

Modifying a car with that much mileage go fast on a budget is risky business. It absolutely can be done, but it will likely have an adverse effect on reliability. A cold air intake would be a good idea and that loud exhaust you want would probably be fine too. Putting in a turbo at this point is the risky part. You may be able to get away with a low pressure (7-8 psi max) turbo, but anything more than that I wouldn't recommend unless you do a full engine rebuild or swap in a low mileage replacement engine. Another thing to consider is the rest of the drivetrain. How will the transmission hold up with added Power? If it's a manual, how's the Clutch? How will the driveshafts do? Also suspension components, especially in the front end, along with all of the steering components. These are all things that may not be strong enough at this point to handle too much additional power.

Yeah a turbo is pretty expensive too. As for the transmission it's an automatic and I have yet to have it slip. I also need to fix the front control arms for my tires. How much does a cold air intake and a modified exhaust go for? and can you provide some links if possible? Also how difficult is installing each one going to be?
Thanks

[Stealthee]

I'd save up money that for stuff that is going to break. And from personal experience stuff for VW's and Audi's are expensive. The suspension is a huge pain in the ass too.

The 2.8's are ticking time bombs. They are interference engines which means if something goes wrong in the timing belt system you have a paper weight that is going to cost a few thousand to get fixed.

The intake and exhaust will only be for sound. You aren't going to gain any real power out of them. At most 5 hp at the crank which is negligible.

At this point in your life you don't need to worry about "going fast", you need to worry about staying safe. My 17 year old cousin was killed in a car accident earlier this year "going fast." He took a 16 year old girl with him and another 16 year old girl was in the back seat, but thankfully lived.

Be smart, stay safe.