After last month, you probably think that we have a sense of money on par with that of Bill Gates. Stick with us, though; we know what we’re doing. Our intent with the Budget B5 Buildup is to make a bad-ass boulevard cruiser that exudes MAX style but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Last month, we spent $3,316 on wheels, tires, springs, and shocks. It’s a huge chunk of our $5,000 budget but makes an amazing difference in both appearance and performance. This month, we also made a huge difference, but for a lot less dough. For this installment, we decided to play with the 1.8T motor.
We want to be able to go faster—can you blame us? We also want something that says, “Yeah, we can go fast, what of it?” Therefore, we called up Neuspeed, Bosal, and K&N. The three combined brought Project B5 to life. First, we replaced the stock filter with a K&N drop-in unit. K&N’s panel filter flows much better than a stock unit, is much cheaper than an aftermarket intake system, has a one-million-mile warranty, and doesn’t need to be replaced, only cleaned, every 50,000–100,000 miles, depending on driving conditions. Ultimately, a K&N panel filter is even cheaper than replacing the OE one every 15,000 miles. At a cost of $59.93, we couldn’t pass it up.
Next up on the performance list was the Bosal Brospeed muffler we installed at Bud’s Muffler in Covina, California. The stainless muffler and tip are more free-flowing than the overly restrictive stock muffler and, as it burns in, offers a beautiful tone. At freeway cruising speeds, the tone is barely audible, but when you get on it, you’re rewarded with a silky bass note. As if the tone itself wasn’t enough, the twin DTM tips protruding from beneath the bumper truly give the car the “what of it” attitude. Another plus of the Bosal muffler is that it includes an installation kit, making it that much easier for Bud’s Muffler to finish off the exhaust modifications. For a suggested retail price of $219.95, this was another must- perform modification.
The final performance mod performed was the $349.95 Neuspeed P-Chip. The P-Chip is an ECU upgrade that boosts power throughout the powerband by modifying the factory fuel and boost settings. Not only that, but the P-chip is in the process of receiving CARB certification as well. Again, this is a can’t-miss performance modification we had to perform.
So, what are all these parts good for in cold, hard numbers? When we took the car to R&D Dyno in Gardena, California, and had them dyno the car at the beginning of its project life with all its stock gear, the maximum horsepower measure was 136.5. Strapped back on the Dynojet at R&D with the chip, muffler, filter, wheels, tires, and suspension, the horsepower reached a very healthy 157.4, a 20.9hp gain.
With $629.83 of our budget spent for performance upgrades, we still have $1,054.17 to spend on making our Budget B5 look and feel even more MAX than it already does. Until next month, refrain from tapping into your savings account.
