intercooler on my 1990 Turbo

[georgiaboy71]

Hey all. I'm new to the forum and have some performance questions about getting a little more out of my 90 turbo. She's got 145k miles on her. I'm the second owner. The car is in amazing condition; I flew from VA to FLA to get it. I'm not a big car person by any means, so please dont laugh too much........I was talking to a friend and he told me the best way to get more from a turbo charged engine ( since nitrous really wont be an option for me ) is an intercooler. Do i have a factor installed intercooler? and if not is it worth spending the money? The car is stock with the exception of a K&N filter and a turbo timer. The valves tick a little, so when they get adjusted I'll be having a HD head gasket installed. Botom line, what's the best single way to get more performance out of an already awsome car? How about a header?

Thanks for any help

[TcmaBoy]

Do a complete tune up. To inclued the timing belt (if it hasen't been done recently) .

A good intercooler is a must have item, and is well worth the money.

A metal head gasket is a must.

I would toss the K&N. I am not a fan of oiled filters. They don't filter well, and the oil will migrate into the intake tract, especially on forced induciton motors. Use a paper filter, or one of the new synthetic dry filters like the ones from AMSOIL and AEM.

The really important thing is how much do you want to spend to go fast?

[georgiaboy71]

thanks for the info. But the question remains......does this car have a stock intercooler on it or will I need to add one? I've been told by several expert buddies that my list should start with;

1.) exhaust ( cat back )
2.) intake
3.) intercooler


head gasket is a given. and thanks for the tip on the K&N.

I'm not looking to spend a fortune; I want the most bang for my $. but 75 or so more horses would be nice.

[TcmaBoy]

To find out if there is an intercooler installed on the car just follow the intake line from the turbo. If it passes through something that looks like a radiator then you have an intercooler. If not, then you don't.