Stage 1 + E85 vs Stock

This setup made – 267 HP / 294 FtLb

Peak Gains of 85 HP and 84 FtLb

This car was stock besides a NexGen Cobb Flex Fuel kit,  Detsch Werks Fuel Pump, Grimmspeed Electronic Boost Controller. and E85 in the fuel tank.

This stage made 47%/84.6HP Peak, 40%/84.1 FtLb TQ Peak over stock.

We saw gains of 31%/63.3 HP Peak and 37%/79.6 Peak over STG 1 pump gas. With E85 we were able to make more power over our STG 1 pump gas tune throughout the rev range. From 3500-4000 we saw a 30-35hp power increase. From 4000 rpm to redline we saw a 50hp increase ramping up to the peak 63hp increase. Boost went from 20psi tapering down to 13psi by redline.

As you can see E85 on a pretty much stock car will net some awesome gains and is a great power per dollar to increase your power.

Stage 2 vs Stock

This setup made – 228.8HP / 250.1 FtLb

Peak Gains of 48 HP and 41 FtLb

These are the typical results you can expect when you have an Intake, Boost Controller, Top Mount / Front Mount Intercooler, Optional ChargePipe and/or Turbo Inlet Pipe. At this stage you can upgrade the J-Pipe but there is not much if any power to be had with all of the other mods already increasing airflow.

You can expect around a  48HP or 26% increase in peak HP and 41FtLb TQ or 19% gain in TQ over stock. We saw gains throughout the whole powerband increasing to a maximum of 65HP at 6100rpm.

Upgrading the factory intercooler is one of the best modifications you can do on these vehicles. With the factory intercooler we commonly see manifold temps peaking between 130-150 deg F by 6500 RPMS. With the most upgraded intercoolers we commonly only see 5-10 deg increase compared to the 30-50 deg we see with the stock intercooler. This is where a lot of the power increase will come from.

A note on intercoolers – Some of the less expensive intercooler kits don’t actually function much better then the stock one so its always a good idea to do research before purchasing a intercooler. Also if a TMIC doesn’t come with or have the option to get a hood splitter its probably not that good.

Click here to view our  Stage 2 Power Builder Package.

Stage 2 + E85 vs Stock

This setup made – 290.4 HP / 291.4 FtLb

Peak Gains of 109 HP and 81 FtLb

This included the same items as our stage 2. Additionally we added a NexGen Cobb Flex Fuel kit,  DetschWerks Fuel Pump, and put the vehicle on 85% ethanol. A High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) is not needed at this power level but is not a bad investment as we are very close to the limit of the stock injectors and HPFP.

With this stage we found a 109.2 HP or 60% increase in peak HP and 81.4 FtLb or 39% gain in TQ over stock.

Compared to Stage 2 Pump Gas Power we saw a 61.6 HP or 27% increase in peak HP and 41.3 FtLb or 17% increase in power. This increase is mainly from E85 alone.

We purposely keep the wheel torque around 300ft/lbs to help protect the weak rods in these engines. We saw gains of around 52 HP at 3500 RPMS climbing up to around 132 HP at 6400 RPMS over stock.

Click here to check out our Stage 3 Power Builder Package.

FP Blue + E85 vs Stock

This setup made – 316.0 HP / 289.8 FtLb

Peak Gains of 135 HP and 80 FtLb

Once you have reached maximum power on the stock turbo the next step is a upgraded turbo. To take full advantage of this turbo you will want to have all of the parts from the previous stages. This is a FB Blue Journal Bearing Turbo. You could see slightly better spool rpm if you went for the ball bearing version.

With this stage we found a 135 HP or 75% increase in peak HP and 80 FtLb or 38% gain in TQ over stock. The larger journal bearing turbo spools a bit slower than stock but once past around 3200rpm the FP Blue takes over and makes more power till redline. Where the stock turbo peaks power at 5200rpm the FP Blue is making 107 HP more. From there the power keeps increasing to a maximum power difference of 170HP at 6300rpm.

Compared to Stage 2 + E85 we saw a 26 HP or 9% increase in peak HP. Peak Torque remained basically the same. We purposely keep the wheel torque around 300ft/lbs to help protect the weak rods in these engines. The stock turbo spools quicker and makes more power until around 4000rpm. At about 4800rpm the stock trubo starts to fall off and the FP Blue carries power all the way to 6900rpm with a maxim power difference of 37 HP at 6300rpm.

A High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) is needed at this power level if you want to run full E85. The stock injectors are basically at there limit with this power on full E85. If you wanted to make more power you could run E40 or install some larger injectors. The only company that make injector upgrades that we are aware of are Nostrum. These are also sold by IAG as “IAG Spec High Flow Direct Injectors“. These injectors offer 10% more flow than stock so you wouldn’t be able to see massive gains by installing them.