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9000 Aero project - 400+hp for cheap

63K views 176 replies 61 participants last post by  Area6 
#1 · (Edited)
I guess I've gone and done it!

This weekend I pulled up 426whp and 429wlb/ft in my 1995 9000 Aero. It's come a long was since it was an auto trans 200bhp 222lb/ft car!

A bit of history, since I never really made a "project thread" for this car. There are lots of little threads dating back to Sept 2005, but nothing to chronicle all of it in one place...so here we go:

Bought the car in september of 2005 - rust free with 185,000 miles.




next step was to replace the automatic trans with a manual trans, I did this a mere 4 months after buying the car (January 2006) :lol:

Next I bought $250 worth of 3" tube and made a 3" exhaust system (February 2006)



Finally I got a Td04 15t to replace the T25 that was original to the car because of the original auto trans. At the same time I also installed a China-made intercooler, together they cost me $175. Took a while, but I eventually fount time to install it (March/April 2007)

At this point in time the car was over-powering the 1 year old stock clutch, so I had another purcahse to make. The clutch was $650 or so, installed it in April 2007



Next was stage 4 software from Jak Stoll, which I was very satisfied with. This kept me happy from August 2007, until November 2007 when I got a Holset HX35 for $200 shipped. This was intended for a different car, but that car ended up being wrecked in a race this September 2008. So, I installed it on the Aero along with a Walbro 255lph fuel pump ($150) and a set of Seimens Dekka 660cc injectors ($165) and an Innovate wideband ($260).



Car looks roughly the same on the exterior other than a custom grille, lowering springs and wider that stock tires.



I really don't have any photos of the turbo on the Aero, but I do have these videos and graph of the dyno pull!

4th gear pull




The car has since been re-tuned a bit to take care of the lean condition over 4,000 rpm, I've also turned the boost down a bit!

I'll try top keep this updated on any changes I make to my setup, or any issues I encounter. I plan to overhaul much of the suspension because there are some tired bushings with 230,000 miles on them. The shocks and struts are new, as well as the springs, but I have a feeling the stock sized race pads will not be able to keep up on the track anymore - so something will need to be done about that as well!

Other future items include engine oil cooler, 3 bar MAP sensor, I might try a 3.5 or 4 bar FPR as well, right now I don't see a need, but its worth looking into.

edit: Grand total so far for the power end of this project is just under $1900 including the computer stuff (BDM, power supply, etc). $1850 just for the hardware.
 
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#39 ·
Nothing in T5 Suite for it. I think someone tested a T5 car with a black DI and used a Tech2 to check for knock, and the DI still sensed knock just fine. Plus certain people have been using these for years with out any long term damage of any sort.

I'm taking my chances.
 
#41 ·
I cut the video off way too soon and didn't catch the 2nd half...then the second video that was from around 50-105 I apparently didn't hit the record button. So, pretty much fail, but I'll go out and get more soon

 
#62 ·
Yes, it is from the green parts Aero, but it was actually in better shape than the one on the black Aero...just the wrong color!

We'll see how the fill goes, shouldn't be very tough. The new welder is so much better than the old one for tacking/welding thin stuff, not sure why I fucked around with flux core for so long...oh yeah, because I was poor and in school.
 
#65 ·
well, let me clarify. when i first got it, you couldnt tell. but the paint has started to crack around where the body filler was, and it looks stupid.

they also used copious amounts of filler on the rest of the hood; it almost looks flat, no definition to it.
 
#67 ·
Still, gobbing filler in there is an amature way to get it done - and this is coming from someone who is certainly no professional. I had a plate cut and rounded out and tacked in place in probably 5 min. Its not going to have 1/4" of filler in there to shrink after time and/or crack due to shutting the hood.

The hood is not a great place to use body filler, and using anywhere near 1/8" to 1/4" (or more obviously) would be unwise in my opinion.

Tech schools are great for n00b body work. I remember working on a wrech that had previously been worked on by a tech school, it was a Pontiac Grand Am GT...at least that's what the bitch who owned it and her dad told us. We ended up getting the wrong front bumper because they said it was a GT, what they failed to tell us is that the tech school "changed it to a GT" at their request. This entailed only installing GT badging...no GT bumpers. Anyway, that car had so much filler on one of the 1/4 panels that we couldn't stick a fridge magnet to it.
 
#71 ·
At a good school with a teacher who shows them how to do it the right way (seems to be rare at the community college tech schools in my area). Or like the place I first worked for they bring in the people from the community college tech school and hope that they can unlearn all the shit that the hack teachers there taught them.

There are plenty of GREAT schools out there that produce really good mechanics and body techs right out of their doors. However there are plenty that also advocate pulling a 1/4 panel until its in the rough shape it should have been and then fill smooth it over with a gallon of Everglass, even fill the door jamb with it to get the shape back :lol:

The great schools are usually spendy and I'm sure there are more people who want to get into automotive work than there are good schools to handle them, and probably less yet who want to put in the hard work to pay for those good schools. But thank God for those who do learn to do it right.
 
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