12 second 3kGT

hi, i'm a new 3000GT vr-4 owner. the 1997 VR-4 i just bought is stock. i'm not going to beat the car, but i want it to be faster than stock, which from what i've heard it is a mid 13 second car.

so my question is, what is the best, cheapest, and safest way to get the VR-4 in the mid 12 seconds, in the 1/4 mile? i've had a single turbo car before (Subaru WRX), so i'm guessing full-exhaust, intake, plugs, boost controller, cooling, loose a little weight somewhere, and a little tuning with the ECU? thanks.

also, what are the best sites w/ the best prices for VR-4 mods? or what are some of the other good sites besides 3SX.

well first of all, there are many different sites, and, as far as I know, there isn't 1 site with all the least expensive prices for all mods. they are scattered throughout different sites.

If you want a mid 12 second car the easiest way to do that is get a DP and a race pipe, k&n fipk, boost controller, gut the kitties. That right there would get you into the 12's, and a few more minor mods and you'd be mid-twelves pretty easily.

A race pipe goes in place of the stock cat, and I thought the DP eliminated the pre-cats.... only do this if you're sure you won't get caugh with emissions testing, becuase if so, than get yourself a high flow cat. converter. But gateway told it like it is... if you wanna read more, check out the FAQ, it's got some good shit mang.

Read teh FAQ, this along with tons of other new owner questions are covered.

Basically, a manual boost controller, aftermarket boost gauge, intake, downpipe, and gutting/removing the cats will put you in hte high 12s for only a few hundred bucks.

Rocker, no downpipe to my knowledge replaces both precats. Some replace either the main cat, or one precat, or both, but not both precats. My ATR replaced the main cat, but not hte precats.

yeah the stillen dp replaces the main cat and the front precat but not the rear.

so a mid-pipe/race-pipe would get rid of the rear cat right?

yes

How many miles on the car best might do 60k,120k service. Get it running good before you start throwing mods at it.

How many miles on the car best might do 60k,120k service. Get it running good before you start throwing mods at it.
:iamwithst

the 60k service has been done. it's not near 120k yet. thanks for the tip though...i definately know about keeping the car running in top shape before putting it under stress. thanks.

another couple questions....for intake, what would you suggest? i've been looking at stuff online, and it looks like the K&N filter replacement kit is plenty sufficient.

for turbo timers. i think i'm going to get the Blitz DTT, DCII because it has the boost gauge built in. does anyone have that? if so, how do you like it? I had the FATT, DCIII on my WRX, and it worked fine, but no boost gauge. also, i would think that an auto turbo timer that runs off the boost levels would be better for cooling the turbo down than one that goes off rpms.

would like to have an answer to those other questions, plus i thought of another couple after looking at downpipes and test pipes online.

when you install a downpipe and test pipe, do you get the CEL light from the O2 sensors? if so, will the computer automatically adapt, or do you need to get CEL fix (or similar) to remedy this? does the CEL light being on from the O2 sensors cause loss of power/performance? finally, what is the best way to get rid of the CEL light effectively?

on my wrx, the best way (but not really the cheapest) to go was to get an ECU programmer that bi-passed the signal internally throught the computer. I haven't noticed any programmers for the 3000GT VR-4. i did notice the e-manage on 3sx, which i imagine does similar to what the programmer would do. learning more about these cars daily. thanks again for the responses.

1) a drop in filter K&N is near worthless. You have a vr4, go with an open intake. Less restriction = more hp. That said, the K&N FIPK is WAY over priced. $150 is too much. If I were to do it again, I'd get the biggest freaking K&N cone filter I could fit in there, and then an adapter, all in all, should only run about $70.

2) If you have obdII, which your 97 is, yes you will get CELs from removing/gutting the cats. Find a friend who does inspections, or keep a good set of stock cats that you can swap back in for inspection time. The light being on, wont affect performance, it's just annoying and will fail emissions.

3) Turbo timers, I have an HKS, it shows battery voltage. I'm basically of the opinion, that any is fine. It really is pretty much unneeded, you can just let the car idle a minute on its own to cool down. So if you want one, go with whatever, I'd say the cheapest.

4) there really aren't any ecu cracks or chips for these cars. You can get piggybacks like the e-manage, or entire ecu replacements liek the AEM EMS ($2,000) but there isn't any crack because as far as it is known, our ecus aren't reprogramable.

thanks a lot man.

i got my turbo timer last night....the downpipe is on it's way. I only ordered this turbo timer because it has a digital boost gauge on it, and it will be easily mounted. also, the previous owner also already has the K&N FIPK, so that'll save me $70-150 on an intake. Will be ordering the EBC, and NGK spark plugs/wires here shortly as well.

I don't have emissions testing in area, so that's always good.

Got another question...the stock exhaust, is it 3" from the Y-connection back, or 2.5"?

thanks again.

2.78" if I remember correctly. But it mates up fine with an aftermarket downpipe. Just get new 3" gaskets to prevent future leaks