Beyond Stage 2

[ct-hdi]

Right, I have no doubt this will have been discussed loads, but I cant seem to find a specific thread and all tuning threads seem to stop at stage 2.

ive been running stage 2 now for a while, reliable as you could ever need and economical too.

Ive been tempted away with a astra vxr or focus st but I don't know if I can justify spending 7+ grand to get a newer car that's quicker but not as economical, reliable, cheap to insure or tax.

What sort of options is there of going beyond stage 2, don't want it to be silly and unreliable, but just want to have abit more go as it seems to get out of puff these days.

I want peoples tried and tested mods.

Will stage '3' be reliable or is stage 2 as far as I can go? I do 25+k miles a year so need it to be as good as it is now. Not so bothered about a slight drop in mpg.

don't mind the clutch situation as I have tried most and decided what clutch id be using.

So, what options do I have, and what sort of costs are involved?

[Slam Wagon]

Imo, after stage 2 there is no tried and tested method, its starts to get very expensive and reilabilty tails off. So it doesnt sound like it ticks your boxes tbh

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As with everything thesmres alot of variables that will effect it. Eg. Driving style, mechanical sympathy, what mods you go for, how far you push it, pure luck etc etc

[Poodle]

Realistically it'd cost maybe £2000 to go "stage 3", but that's doing it properly with new clutch, new dv6 pressure sensor, reconned r70 pump, reconned larger turbo, reconned injectors with jtd tips, etc. Most of the options centre around the turbo, as everything else is fairly limited in what you can do in the way of upgrades. Even then it's relatively simple, make a choice between vnt and wg controlled then find something that makes the power you want where you want it.

Whether or not it's reliable depends on how you do it, anything can be made reliable. What qualifies as reliable depends on you too, it's to be expected that a motor running over double the power it came out of the factory with will require a bit more love and care to keep it sweet. But, as slam wagon says, above stage 2 there is very little tried and tested, just a few people with different approaches and experiences. Avoid stuff like hard-cut limiters and torque spiking and there's no reason it shouldn't survive just fine. The main restriction people have been coming up against is the exhaust flow, but a larger turbo, exhaust and ported manifold should solve that nicely, you just need to look at builds like tb205s to know it's possible.

[jammapic]

If it were me, I would simply put a bigger turbo on it. Something like a gt2052 or 56 in wastegate form for ease of install. Then get the mapping sorted. You'll easily see another 15/20hp and it should tide you over. If you feel you need more, then like poodle says there is a list as long as your arm of things you need.