 Attention crazy people...
Lets see...
The six offers many possibilities for further 'enhancement' down the road if desired. This is possibly an argument for a swap. (In the immortal words of Carroll Shelby: "There's no replacement for displacement")
Honestly, if you guys get the chance to drive a 250 (honest) HP ti, you will (OK should) be quite happy with it. 300 HP (or more) is nice for bench racing and all, but you WILL NOT hold speeds over 100 MPH in this country for any length of time where that kind of HP is needed. It sucks, but it's the way it is here.
I would have no trouble at all producing over 500 HP for a ti. Why wouldn't I you ask? Because there is simply NO BLOODY NEED for it. I could do a twin-turbo (variable vane Garret's, naturally) five litre V-12 and be someone's hero for a day. Big deal. (by the way, it fits just fine in a ti, and I'd be more than happy to charge to do this swap- save your pennies...)
The six swap (for me) is plenty powerful, gets good gas mileage, is totally reliable (I would not want to be driving that sick-ass 5 liter for 12 hours straight, I can assure you of that), and comfortable. I can go out on a date on Saturday, and autocross on Sunday. I like this.
If you want the most from your ti, don't touch the engine. Totally gut it instead. Throw out the interior, radio, speakers, dash etc. Loose the weight with the stock motor, and it will perform like a much more powerfull machine. Get the hp/weight ratio back in line. I like the comforts (except the radio, I deleted that- the 3.2 is MY music...) so it made sense to do the swap for me. If you are honest with yourself, and REALLY want the most from the car, you need to optomize the car, and this means sacrifice. This is exactly why 'all-season' tires suck. You simply cannot have one set-up that is right for all occasions.
Bottom line: Think it over, and do the swap for yourself, not to try and impress others. You will be happier with the results (what ever you decide to do) if you do this.
PS I was serious about that 5 liter job, if anyone has the bank for it. |