Any GS model experts?

Rusty12 · Post by **Rusty12** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 3:07 pm

Anyone here know a lot about the GS FTO's? I have a tip 95 GS with 60k's, K&N pod and ECU chip (i think gear ratio's have been changed cause its changes gears at 5000rpm most of the time).

anyway, its certainly not slow, but it could certainly do with alittle more tuning i think. performance varies greatly depending on the weather. When its hot it just feels so sluggish some times, then at night (particularily in winter) it just goes. I know this is due to air temp, but what other things could be done and a low cost to get just that little bit more outta the car?

There doesn't seem to be many people around that know much about the GS.

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 3:21 pm

basically the motor u have in the GS is similar to the 1.8l Lancer GLXi engine, and there has been numerous turbo installations on this motor already on local Lancers / Mirages etc... Most workshops should be able to perform a turbo conversion on your 1.8l motor...

the beauty part is that your GS motor is an inline configuration, meaning all plumbing pipework for the turbo etc is relatively simple compared to the V-engine on the GR or GPX (which means lower labour costs). expect up to $6K for a basic bolt on turbo kit.

If you don't have that much to spend, well you can always go for extractors, custom camshafts, 2.25" full-system exhaust, CAI, and head porting. However, IMHO carrying NA mods as mentioned above on a 4-cyl motor with auto trans is not going to yield justifiable gains for the outlay involved...

Just my 2c.

thecook · Post by **thecook** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 5:57 pm

yea what mikey said

or u can just install nos into your car!

Rusty12 · Post by **Rusty12** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:01 pm

If I was to go turbo, I don't want some 300kw beast, I just want something that will just give it that little bit more edge.

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:18 pm

just adding a turbo will not make 300kw, 300kw @ the wheels from your engine would be extremly expensive, and you would be looking at well over 20k+. Im justh aving a rough estimate here but a basic turbo kit should be good for around 100kw @ the wheels

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:10 am

Rusty12 wrote:If I was to go turbo, I don't want some 300kw beast, I just want something that will just give it that little bit more edge.

well it depends on what your needs are... what do you define as 'more edge'? low-15s? high-14s? mid-13s? there is a few thousand dollars' difference between each second there... a high-mid 14s package will prob suit you best, because any lower than that and you're talking mega $$ for mega mumbo...

if you only want a decent street package to give ricey Lancers/Hondas a run for their money then a basic 8-10psi kit with a smallish ballbearing T25 or T28 turbo (incl tuned ecu, upgraded fuelling, FMIC, 2.5-3.0" exhaust and airfilter) will do before requiring any major surgery work to the 4G93 internals... expect up to 100-110kw at the wheels or about 125-135kw at the flywheel, but then again your auto transmission might absorb about 15% of that power anyway so you're not gonna get its full potential... the bright side of it though' is that it's still one helluva improvement over the NA 4G93.

at this point i should also stress that turbo is not necessarily the best option either because the extra torque could overwhelm your drivetrain or tyres easily if the whole package is not put together properly or abused.

there are also cheaper alternatives to get lower ETs without forced induction or NA mods... Good tyres like soft-compound street-legal semi slicks will make a big difference (sometimes up to 0.5s off the mark), perhaps an LSD or extensive weight reduction (by stripping unnecessary parts from the interior), a beefier clutch, so on and so forth....

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:27 am

i suggest you sell it and get a GPX

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:22 am

I agree with Danny, cause by the time u spend all those money on the GS, it should be around the same price of getting a GPX, the worst part is, even if u done the upgrade, u most likely get "trash" by a GPX in manuel form.

Post by **smorison** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 1:27 pm

How much money you got?

for 20k i can organise for an EVO3 engine + running gear to be transplanted into the FTO (and yeah it almost bolts straight in). that'll turn you into an EVO FTO

but on a serious note, look at mods made to Colts / Lancers / Mirage's etc that's what'll be the easiest and any performance shop who's worked on these cars.

Rusty12 · Post by **Rusty12** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 6:39 pm

thanks for the info. I wanna keep the car because the transmission is in PERFECT condition (the whole car basically, internals and externals).

I'd say it already does very high 8's for 0-100, but its just too varied depending on conditions. Its also dodgy because my GS has been kitted out with everything a GPX has, its just got the 4G93 engine instead, so I am not sure what other mechanical options have been carried over (maybe none, im not too sure about the different options).

anyway, I should be happy with what I have. Its a great car, handles amazingly (its got stiffer shockies, 40 profile 17x8's). I was mainly wanting more power to make the car safer, ie better overtaking performance). anyway, thanks for all your info.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 6:55 pm

in that case get a evo half cut and transplant the motor into it and could probably find it easier to make it AWD using the evo running gear and you could have the first AWD FTO that i would have heard of

Bluntman · Post by **Bluntman** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:32 pm

sorry to hijack the thread but roughly how much $$ would it take to make an fto awd??

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:37 pm

15-20k

Bluntman · Post by **Bluntman** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:18 pm

sh*t ... ok maybe when i win lotto then...

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:52 pm

decent turbo job is going to cost you close to 10K

I spent over 20K so far

I stoped counting it

Post by **smorison** » Tue Dec 23, 2003 9:23 pm

some people have more money than sense....

(oooh is that the pot calling the kettle black???)

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Dec 24, 2003 12:14 am

yea if i knew it would cost this much i dont think i would have started

scracy · Post by **scracy** » Wed Dec 24, 2003 9:29 am

If everything else about your gs is good, then why not get a half cut of a gpx and transplant the bits you need and sell the bits you dont. A half cut wouldnt cost more than maybe $4000 which is a lot cheaper than $20000 . Just a thought

Rusty12 · Post by **Rusty12** » Wed Dec 24, 2003 9:46 am

What is a half cut and how would it help?

RallyMad · Post by **RallyMad** » Wed Dec 24, 2003 1:53 pm

Hi Rusty, I don't know exactly what a half cut is but I assume it would be the front half of the car (a GPX taken from a wrecked FTO

) Anyway, for example a front cut is ussually taken from the firewall forward, a nose cone is ussually from the radiator or something forward, getting a half cut I assume would give you all the parts, including engine and everything to upgrade to a GPX, effectively doing an engine swap with the half cut giving you all the computer and everything you need, maybe even the larger GPX front brakes, please anyone correct me if I'm worng.