A new Turbo owner asked in January 2013 what is needed to reach about 240 bhp without making the car loud. The thread is a good snapshot of what owners did and what they paid. All figures are owners' own claims, and dyno numbers differ between machines.
What reaches about 240 bhp
- One owner says you need an exhaust, a sports cat and a remap, and maybe airbox mods. Others say you can get there without a full exhaust: remove the pre-cat (replacing it with a downpipe), fit BKR6EIX plugs and remap.
- Stage 1+ from a tuner: airbox mods, pre-cat replacement, uprated plugs and a remap gave one owner 240+ bhp. He says the real difference is how the engine pulls in higher gears: he could overtake in 4th or 5th where he used 3rd before.
- Another owner: 241 bhp (on-road dyno) with "very little extra noise", barely louder than standard.
- A third: 237 bhp on a tuner's printout with airbox mods, plugs and a map.
- Stage 2: one owner with a Milltek system, sports cat, pre-cat replacement, airbox mod and remap got 259 bhp.
- One owner calls the pre-cat replacement a quick gain, and another notes it also removes the catalyst as a heat source. A sports cat (100 or 200 cell) is a further step, normally done as part of an exhaust replacement.
What it cost
- A remap: £400 to £500 (one owner's estimate, 2013). The two tuners owners most often named were MMG and Courtenay.
- A pre-cat downpipe: £125 to £150. A full new exhaust: about £1,300.
- One owner's summary: £600 for a 40+ bhp increase, but £2,000 for 45 to 55 bhp from standard. So the exhaust is hard to justify against the benefit, as another owner who did stage 1+ also notes.
- One owner who just wanted a quiet car points out that in his experience exhausts mainly make the car louder, so he chose the pre-cat route.
Clutch and turbo limits
- Most stage 2 cars have been fine on the standard clutch, but it is at its limit. One owner says 259 bhp was fine and about 265 was fine, but at about 270 it started to slip. Another is at about 265 on the standard clutch.
- Opinions on torque: owners say torque is what kills clutches, not power. One says torque around 270 to 280 will severely shorten the life of the standard clutch. Another had 290 lb ft with a standard clutch that lasted two years before he decided to upgrade. These conflict; it seems to depend on how the car is driven.
- One owner suggests keeping a stage 2 car to about 245 bhp for clutch reasons.
- Standard turbo: one owner advises limiting torque to about 260, as the boost needed and inlet temperatures are then lower and the original turbo will last longer. He also says to do the basics: a regular new paper filter (OEM is good) and oil changes. See Turbo stage 2.5 exhaust and power limits.
Owners argued over whether an on-road dyno or a rolling road is more accurate. One owner who has used both found the on-road dyno gave very similar results to a rolling road, and says rolling roads vary, so he used the same one for stages 2, 3 and 4. Another asked not to restart the argument. One owner's own 241 bhp figure came with the caveat that it "could be 200 to 280 bhp". Don't compare figures across different dynos.
For the NA equivalent, see NA exhaust tuning: which parts restrict and NA pre-cat removal.
Help wanted
We don't have a verified list of the parts in each tuner's stage 1 and 2 packages, or current prices. If you have a dyno sheet, please tell us what was fitted and what the machine was.