You Just Bought a Turbo Barra? Here's the First 10 Ways to Improve Performance on a Budget
So, you’ve just grabbed yourself a turbo Barra? Welcome to the club. Whether it came out of a BA, BF, or FG, you’ve officially got one of the most capable six-cylinders ever bolted into an Aussie car. Stock-for-stock, they're built tough, and with a few of the right mods, you’ll be making power without draining your wallet.
If you're chasing that 300–400kW mark, here's 10 proven upgrades that'll get you there without going overboard.
1. Valve Springs — Don’t Skip These
If there's one thing that gets overlooked early on, it’s the valve springs. The factory ones can’t keep up once you turn up the boost, especially at higher RPM. Chuck in a decent set of upgraded springs and you’ll stop valve float before it becomes a problem. Cheap insurance if you ask us.
We recommend Kelford KVS40 or Performance Valve Springs (available through our store)
2. Fuel System — You’re Gonna Need More
300KW+ means more fuel. The stock injectors and fuel pump will max out, well, almost straight away. Go for a set of 1000cc injectors and a high-flow fuel pump (something like a Walbro 460). That’ll give you headroom for a well designed 98 octane setup, and will get you into the e85 game. If you’re planning on turning it up later, perhaps even look at adding a drop in fuel reg, or go further with a billet rail and larger regulator.
We recommend Bosch 1000cc injectors, a Walbro 460 fuel pump kit, and if you’re after that little bit more, a plazmaman, process west or lacework’s fuel rail, paired with a Turbosmart Regulator (All available through our store)
3. Intercooler — Bigger Is Better (to an extent)
The stock cooler? Yeah, it’s basically there for looks. I mean, it does the job at stock boost levels, but once you start adding boost, you’ll meet with the dreaded “heat soak”. You want something bigger, thicker, stronger and with better heat dissipation. It’ll keep intake temps down, reduce heat soak, and help with throttle response. We offer anything from intercooler cores, piping, all the way through to turbo to intake kits. Check out our Plazmaman, Process West or Pulsar offerings (available through our store)
4. Tuning — It Makes It All Work In Harmony
No point bolting all this gear on if it’s not tuned properly. Whether you're looking to use PCMTEC on a factory ECU or something standalone later, a custom dyno tune is essential. It’ll make the most of your mods, keep it reliable, and usually improve drivability too. For a list of our top recommended tuners, feel free to contact us. We offer dyne-tuning as a service through our partner business “Prime Performance Garage”, feel free to contact us for further information.
5. Exhaust System — Let It Breathe
A big dump pipe (4” is ideal) into a 3.5” or full 4” exhaust will help the turbo spool faster and reduce back pressure. You’ll get a nicer note out of it too. We find the best options available come from either a custom made system (available through Prime Performance Garage) or an Ultrex System (available for purchase from ultrex.com.au)
6. Turbo Upgrades — Keep the Stocker or Go Billet
The stock turbo isn’t bad, but if you want faster spool or a bit more up top, look into a billet wheel turbocharger, alone the lines of a Garrett, or Pulsar. Both great bolt on options, with external waste gate alternatives available as a bolt on addition. Plenty of guys are still running the factory GT3576/3582 and making solid numbers, but an upgrade will always yield you the best results (available through our website)
7. Intake Mods — Simple but Effective
The factory airbox works, but a decent intake setup helps the engine breathe easier and sounds great too. Use a proper cold air intake, don’t just throw a hot engine bay pod filter in there and call it a day. Heat soak kills power (as we spoke about earlier). Our go-to is the Mackielec intake and battery relocation kits. If this is something you’re interested in, feel free to contact us, or visit mackielec.com.au
8. Boost Control — More Control, Less Spike
If you’re still running the stock wastegate it’s worth upgrading. A Turbosmart actuator or external gate gives you smoother, more reliable boost — and more control when dialing it in. External waste gate kits available through our store
9. Transmission & Driveline — It’s Gotta Hold Together
ZF autos can take a bit of punishment with a transcooler and a tune, but don’t push your luck. If you're on a BTR, you’ll want to start budgeting for an upgrade. At this power level, even your diff bushes and tailshaft can start to complain, so keep it all in check.
For you manual guys, we offer clutches to suit all applications, whether you want something to suit hard driving, or you want something that feels more like a stock clutch feel, our product line of NPC clutches will fit your needs.
10. Turbo Oil Feed Filter — Tiny Part, Big Deal
One of the most underrated mods, an inline filter on the turbo oil feed line. These motors can drop metal into the oil after years of abuse, and turbos don’t like that. More often than not, the standard oil feed filter has been neglected, so while you can, jump in and replace that oil feed while it’s cheap, before it becomes a costly turbo replacement. Contact us regarding oil feed’s as we do offer these custom made.
For any assistance, advice or guidance on what parts you’d like, what pairs well with what, and any tuning enquiries, feel free to contact us via our contact form.