I think you missed the point.

The Elim can be used with any HFC/Test pipe that is designed to replace the stock cat and with any stock or stock replacement down pipe which is what everyone gets when changing out the exhaust. For a full body BT you have to replace the TP/HFC/Cat and down pipe with one that will work with the BT setup. So this is an added cost. So is the cost of doing a Turbo inlet pipe/hose for the full BT and not to mention new hot side IC pipe since anything for the stock K03 is not going to line up.

Sure you can throw a full body BT on the car, but whats the point of spending all that extra money over a Elim to just run low boost to make the same power you would have with the Elim kit?

The main reason people go with a BT is the fact that it can look 100% stock and smog legal.

Its going to take more then a journal bearing T3 turbo to beat any Evo's or STI's even if they are running a stock turbo and the person behind the wheel cant drive to save their life. If that is what they are looking to do then they better be ready to spend more then $10k.

Yes Journal bearing turbos dont have that slam like the GT's, but then thats because they spool up much slower. If the person wanted a smooth power cuve then they should start looking at V8's, because that onset of power is what getting a turbo is all about.


Lets also not forget that we are talking about going from a pretty much 100% stock A4 1.8t or one that just has a few mods like chip/exhaust. So the cheapest way to get to 300hp is to go with a Elim kit. Plus its not like you see used elims on the market all that often and that is because they get snatched up quickly.


Now if the person was to post that he was looking for 300hp now but was 100% sure he was looking to make up to 500hp later down the road and was not worried about looking stock then I would have said to go with this.


GT2871r with T3 exhaust housing on a Full-Race manifold. This way the turbo just needs to come off and even a GT35r can go on.

 

I know exactly where your coming from, but i just see it differently. I was including the cost of the aftermarket hfc/tp in the elim build, so its taking up a good chunk of the cost of a BT dp.
And the journal bearing arguement was more to show that you could use that as a step on the way to real power and not be forced to buy the same parts twice, except the turbo, which can even be converted to a dbb chra. I was more pointing out that its really not that much more money to get a full size turbo in the car than an elim. Once you have a full size setup, you can always swap out to bigger turbos, ie your full race example. Anything with a t3 hot side bolts in.
You said yourself that we are starting with a basically stock 1.8t. So any cost to get the elim in and working optimally (Tuning, injectors, dp, higher flow mani, exhaust, fmic, etc) could be better spent by buying parts you will not have to replace later for big power. I realize that we are jacking a thread that the op wants 300hp, but i didnt think thats what we were talking about. Ive heard of many people throwing an elim on because they think they can spend less money for a fast car, when in reality, they are happy with the power for awhile and then get hungry for more like we all do and end up spending big money to replace a bunch of the parts that they already upgraded.

 

to the OP, if you dont want this thing to become a serious addiction and arent concerned with having more than 300awhp tops, then the elim is probably best for you, especially in your price range.

 

This car is my baby and will be taking it with me to the grave... point being, i want to make this thing a monster so mods down the road are a definite. Sorry i didnt clarify that in my OP

 

Thx for all your feedback guys