My 1988 Conquest TSi

[twastheglow]

That thing is unreal. Ugh!

[Bangarang]

Car looks amazing.

[lepichichi]

Classic, i love it.!

[PAdutch]

That car is awesome. What kind of mods are done? I gotta admit I don know alot about them. What kind of potential do they have?

[dmyers151]

They're a 2.6L, SOHC inline four, iron block, aluminum head. Retaining the stock cam, more often than not, yields big torque numbers. The style of fuel injection, throttle body, is their main downfall. Most guys serious about making big power switch to an MPI setup with a standalone; Megasquirt, SDS, and Haltech are common in the community. Stock numbers are 190hp, 210tq at the crank. 300whp is achievable with TBI but sacrifices driveability in most cases. MPI and a nice turbo will get you 400+whp without terribly too much trouble. There's a few guys on the boards making over 500whp and even fewer that have made it up over 600 and near 700.

These two cars are the more publicized ones, both make pretty serious power:
Starion v. Camaro
Starion v. Roush GT

I think this one holds the record for highest HP 2.6 car on the boards:
Rank's 700hp Conquest

Setups similar to mine yield around 225-250whp and 250-275wtq.

My extended mod list is something like this (pulled from an online magazine interview I did last year):
Drivetrain:
- 70k mile stock longblock
- Balance shaft elimination
- Jet valve elimination
- Powder-coated; turbo heat shields, valve cover, oil pan
- Delphi 65lb primary, 95lb secondary fuel injectors
- Ported & polished throttle body mixing bowl
- MK1 intercooler hard pipes
- HoseTechniques 4 ply silicone couplers w/SS t-bolt clamps
- Knockoff RFL BOV
- Hallman Pro RX boost controller w/heavy spring
- All vacuum lines replaced with silicone lines
- TD05-12A (stock) turbo @ ~18psi
- LSP SS braided turbo oil feed line
- LSP SS braided turbo coolant feed line
- Modified Honda Prelude intake
- 1g DSM MAFT w/3″ GM MAF
- Jolyrgr full 3″ straight exhaust
- BLSG short shifter
- Delrin spherical shift knob
- RX7 spec clutch
- Lightened stock flywheel
- Redline MT-90 trans fluid
- 3SX SS braided clutch slave line
- Jolyrgr 3 row, cross flow aluminum radiator

Chassis:
- 16×8 “SHP” front rims, 16×8 standard rear rims, PC’d black
- 245/45/16 tires, front & rear
- ST sway bars, front & rear
- MK1 performance gas struts, front & rear
- Cosmo “dual spring” coil-over sleeves, front & rear
- MK1 front “pillow-ball” camber plates
- MK1 rear “flat” camber plates
- TEP rear strut tower brace with battery tray & brace
- 3SX one piece SS braided brake lines, front & rear
- Semi-metallic brake pads, front & rear
- Dimpled & slotted rotors, front & rear

Misc.
- Full AC delete w/duct, firewall plug & alternator bracket
- Cruise control delete
- ABS delete
- Rear seat delete
- Charcoal canister delete
- EGR delete w/block-off plate
- Sparco 4pt harness’
- Manual seat belt center console
- D_Venable LED 3rd brake light
- LED dome light & door lights
- HVAC controls relocated
- AEM UEGO wideband mtd. on gauge hood
- Hand made center mounted gauge cluster
- Autometer Phantom gauges; Boost/Vac, Oil psi, Water temp
- Battery relocation
- Custom CNC plasma cut intake heat shield
- 1983 Starion hood
- 1983 Starion tail lights
- MK1 fiberglass upper hatch spoiler/sun visor
- Custom made polished aluminum center caps by Starquestrims
- Custom fender stripe by Ron @ Moto-On.com
- Zipties
- Heli-coils
- Electrical tape

[bl@ckvr4]

I really want to learn more about them. I heard about them having 2 fuel injectors? Causing really lean conditions in the rear cylinders?

[PSIPROformance]

Looks good man, welcome, always loved these cars

[Muggus]

Dam that thing is nice. I almost bought one a while ago and really regret not doing it.

[Slevin]

man this thing should have been the knight rider back in the day

[frosti108]

awesome car.

[dmyers151]

Originally Posted by bl@ckvr4

I really want to learn more about them. I heard about them having 2 fuel injectors? Causing really lean conditions in the rear cylinders?

Yeah, throttle body injection (TBI). So they have only 2 injectors, mine has a 65lb and a 95lb, they are offset sizes and fire at different load situations or both together.

The intake manifold runner & plenum design is what causes the lean condition, but I wouldn't call it "really lean". There's a guy out in Western PA making 300whp/400wtq with the stock intake manifold. It's just an odd, finicky setup that requires a little more thought to get right.

[PAdutch]

Thanks for the great description. sounds like a really cool car and yours is really clean.

[dmyers151]

Not a problem, haha. I tried to be short about it but still give enough info. They really are great cars, and they get a lot of attention.

[TNTramair]

they were/are great cars...loved them since the first day i saw one and finally had the chance to own one. my accomplishment was getting it from a 170rwhp car to 497rwhp car......it only took about $12k..lmao. they were ahead of their times though in the late 80's....speed sensative wipers...electronic climate control...steering wheel stereo controls...abs...IRS...staggard wheels...styling thats just timeless.

i hope to pick up another one day and restore it with a ls1 or Turbo 6....one day.

[dmyers151]

^ Yup, you know it.

497 is serious, what were you tuning with? What'd you do for spark? Transmission? haha

1/2JZ swaps are big in the community now. I think there are 6 or 7 complete and running 1/2JZ swapped cars, and 4 or so in the process.

[TNTramair]

Originally Posted by dmyers151

^ Yup, you know it.

497 is serious, what were you tuning with? What'd you do for spark? Transmission? haha

1/2JZ swaps are big in the community now. I think there are 6 or 7 complete and running 1/2JZ swapped cars, and 4 or so in the process.

what do you mean with the tuning? i was running a Haltech at the time..it was dynotuned...buddy of mine took care of all the tuning as i can put them together but i hate tuning them. spark...i cant remember exactly...bought a system from EIP way back when....i should have did their intake manifold set up too but i allready had invested in the TEP stuff when i found out about EIP.

[dmyers151]

What I meant was ECU, sorry. I have no experience with the Haltech units, but the guys that run 'em seem to really like them. I think the EIP system was a crank fired system with a 36-1 wheel.

Yeah, the EIP guys fell off, I'm not sure they do anything with these cars anymore. Their manifolds are still around though, they pop up on eBay and the forums sometimes. I've done some dealings with TEP, but they are overpriced for my tastes.

[TNTramair]

if i knew then what i know now i would've just built my own manifold and put something together. they were/are over priced but thats what happens when you're one of very few that do things for these cars, you get to charge more..lol.

[impcingout]

never seen one this nice. Very nice!

[BlkWhtTSI]

Soooo where can i haz my own UNnaturally aspirated sticker?