Well I want to learn more about cars and having more power is just a plus. Also, I like having something to show for hard work. And I figure the top swap is a better choice than turbo because a turbocharger costs 2k alone, where a supercharger and all these other parts cost 2k all together.

 

I agree with Enzo, your spending that kind of money you might as well do a swap.
btw, how are you showing hard work put into it if YOU didnt do it yourself. Only way to be proud of hard work is to do it yourself. read up how to do it yourself, it will save you money and you'll have fun doing it. or like i said in the first sentence. go the easy route and do a full swap..

 

Also you have to remember Supercharger draws power from the motor itself. You make more power off a Turbo because it works off of the exhaust as where the supercharger runs off of the belt therefore drawing power.

 

Either way it's 2k each.

 

I would be doing most of the swap myself, just with some help from a professional auto mechanic who has doing things on the car 10 years before I even saw it. He knows the car more than anyone else in the world. And I probably will be proud of it even though I didn't do it ALL.

Thanks for the support and suggestions!

 

Sounds alot like me when I had my first car...and when I had my second car (89' Mustang gt). I said I was going to turbocharge it, give it a fresh paintjob, lower it, put some nice chrome torque thrust wheels on it. Did I? nope. Because it was taking too long to get the money, and I got impatient. If this is your first car and your in high school, your best bet is to stay stock. Only reason kids in high school modify their cars is to make something of themselves, and they wound up wrecking it. Trust me, I been there.. Im telling you this from personal experience and only because from what your all telling me reminds me back when I was in high school. Do yourself a favor, keep it stock. Its a good daily driver to get you around. whats going to happen if you wreck it and need to get a new car? because i gurantee you your next car wont be as nice. I had an Acura Integra that was my first car, rolled it 4 times in the air before coming to a stop upside down in a ditch. After your first wreck in your first car last thing you want to do is get behind the wheel for the next few months. I highly doubt you'll take my advice but I can almost bet you that your parents if they even know your wanting to do this would not want you doing this. Trust me dude.

 

Gaskets- maybe cheaper at local Napa or something?
Catback- wouldn't even bother; just do a muffler/tip swap later on if you want the car louder.
Gauges- as mentioned above, used off clubgp- especially the aeroforce, those come up quite a bit. Also, none of them are really required for the top swap- you're not going to have a knock issue serious enough to chunk a piston running headers, a tuned pcm, and a stock size pulley. Not that its not a good idea to monitor KR- but its not necessary for the swap. If you're that concerned about having massive KR, spend that ~$200 and get modded stock 1.9 rockers as well.

...and make less power, not know the previous history of the new engine, and not have all new upper end engine gaskets. Also, the way I see it- the actual top swap is only about $1200 there- a lot of the rest of that is msic parts (catback, gauges) not really needed for the swap.

More power than all but a few of the most heavily modded NA 3800's out there, and the potential to make much more power for less money than the NA guys.

IMO there is nothing wrong with having someone more experienced there to help, and still doing some work yourself. He'll still know how to do it, and learn a ton in the process if the other guy doesn't make him sit across the room out of the way. I'd rather it be that way than have him go it 100% alone and something go wrong.

Honestly, I disagree. Not every kid in high school is going to start going out and street racing everyone and wreck their car just because they added a top swap kit, some people are more responsible and safe about it than others. That's not to say I never raced anyone in high school- but I certainly wasn't doing it fast and furious style sliding in and out of traffic either.

 

Thank you bumpin! That's one thing I hate, when someone judges based on what the "norm" is. I'm a responsible 17 year old. What makes you think I'm going to street race? I've never even skipped a class!

Should I go ahead and get the rockers instead of the Aeroforce gauge? That way I could reduce KR, instead of just monitoring it.

 

Good luck with this, I hope it goes smooth and with someone experienced helping out it definitely makes it easier, keep us updated on the progress of purchasing the parts, the actual install and the final numbers...

I also recommend keeping in mind the transmission going, hopefully it holds together for a while but just a heads up.

Again best of luck,
Joe

 

Always have the gauge to monitor KR. Never assume you are lowering it.