Few Comments:
-LOL at all the people in this thread suggesting thesre huge ass unresponsive and laggy turbos for 400whp.
-My t25 at 19-20psi would spin FOURTH on cold nights
Okay guys....first off a DET will hold 400whp all day. The thing that wont hold are either the rings, or the headgasket. Even then my old DET saw 3 plus years of HARD abuse before It stop making compression. Theres no point in me even taking it apart to see whats wrong with it either. Just swap in another DET and go.
OK 400whp on a DET can be done SUPER cheaply. Your gonna need S4's or something around there specs. Fuel system: top feed rail (you can normally get these on here for like $75 used if you look around) 72lb injectors (these can be had cheap also. Normally around $150 if you look), FPR and harbor freight pressure gauge. Then youll need a walbro. Fuel done
The motor: New rod bearings and any other bearings you wanna swap. New front and main seals. NO head work needed. Take the STOCK manifold, drill a hole in the top and get a shop to weld on a wastegate flange ($100 at most). Your done with the motor.
Turbo: Your choice here. But you also have a choice of having a super responsive 400whp (20psi) or a super laggy but less heated up and stressed turbo. The latter will leave you wanting to turn the boost up. The former will leave you wanting to find everything else to improve on the car cause the powerbands perfect. The gt2871 is a great turbo. But there are TONS of other cheaper turbos that will get you to 400whp and give you a great power band also.
Like Rican said. Alot of you guys come into this turbo thing over thinking everything. Then you wind up overspending on stuff for a result you couldve gotten way waaaay cheaper with some research. Most of the guys with fast cars on this forum arent the guys with the cleanest engine bays or the ones who spent the most money. Most of the fastest guys here are the guys who keep it simple and strait to the point.
Proper sized turbo for your goals (not a gt40 just to run 10lbs), fuel system setup to handle the power with a little room to grow, clutch to handle the power, tires/drag radials to put the power down to the ground, and suspension. Thats it. All this VE head ect ect is just extra stuff until you hit 400whp or more. Start with the basics. Once you start making power THEN start looking to complicate things. It doesnt take a
VE anything to make 400whp on a STOCK det.