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TheLion
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I'm going to try and edit my original post and add in all the information we've learned at some point then just stop posting lol. That way at least people can see what the end results were and what works well without having to read through the entire thing or skim. But for now I'll summarize below.
Hopefully this fall I can get to the local drag strip as well, they just sunk 10 mil into redoing the entire thing, our elevation is only 1100 ft so not too bad and probably about average. They have open test and tune nights about once or twice a month. If I wait til fall and get good turbo weather in the 50's, 60's or low 70's that will also give us the best results of what the car CAN do as is, or at at least what I can do with the car as is (I'm average as a driver).
In a nut shell use the Ford Performance Calibration with a good Stage 1 inter cooler or something no bigger than the ATM.
Stage 1 Types: CP-e, MAP, Mishimoto and Garett etc...
Full Size Types that are lag free: ATM and possibly the MAP Race (ask Glenn G. on it as he tested it).
Full sized race type inter coolers just don't play well with the stock turbo in terms of making the best power (assuming we can get over the -CJA vs. -CJB debate) across the RPM band. The top end is where the car needs the most help and I have proven that the ATM in concert with the latest revision of the FP Calibration does pretty well and gives us a nice broad power band.
Regardless of any questions people may have, I made what I think is some pretty impressive power with just the Ford Performance Calibration, Inter Cooler and Gearing on 93 pump gas. The whole point is to remain warranty friendly and insure the car lasts 150k~200k instead of throwing a rod by the time you hit 30k. For the cost of a new motor, you could have bought the GT that will still best even the tuned and inter cooled EB on the highway by quite a bit.
This entire thread was geared towards daily drivers and making the most of the Ford Performance Calibration which really means just the best inter cooler you can get.
DV+ valve upgrade helps and some constant tension hose clamps or good charge pipes to make sure your not leaking boost as well, but that's more of a reliability upgrade.
Oil cooler and a low NOAC rated oil like AMSOIL Signature is better than ANY catch can, hands down. No worrying about emptying it and oil consumption is so low it's almost non-existent. I think it's a better solution than just catching oil that's burning up for two reasons. 1. boiling oil will also gum up and leave deposits in the hot spots, namely the turbo bearings = not good so keeping it cool and using an oil not as prone to boiling is better 2. it's no maintenance comparatively. You won't even have to add oil until it's time to change! No forgetting to empty the catch can and risk letting it over flow. No gas / oil smell (I always had that nasty smell even with a high end unit, couldn't get it to stop until I returned it to stock).
I have a slightly used Mishimoto oil cooler sitting on my kitech table i picked up for $250 that's going in soon, but I've been running AMSOIL Signature 5W-30 since 9,500 miles when I had 3% left on the factory oil life and changed it. I only lost 1/4 of a court of AMSOIL over 10k while I lost a tad over 1/2 quart of Motorcraft Semi Synthetic (still not bad because I ran the piss out of the car while on the factory oil to break in all the bearing surfaces).
All the lost oil is obviously going through the PCV system and most of the boil off is due to the turbo and pistons (oil cooled pistons). I ran a catch can for a while but after switching to the AMSOIL it was almost entirely water. I just don't see a need for them unless your running a factory grade oil with a higher boil off rate, even then for daily driving it's likely not necessary, especially if you use an oil cooler.
Then there's good old fashioned gearing, at least for us base model guys. PP guys it may not be worth a gearing change unless you want to actually do track or auto cross, then it's worth it for the Torsen alone.
Exhaust can net you some weight, slightly better flow (mostly due loosing the "briefcase") and way better sound.
Light weight flow formed 19's or Forged 18's or even factory 18's keep the unsprung weight low = better acceleration and better handling. RTR makes some good reasonably priced 19" flow formed wheels you can see on my car a few posts back. They come in 4 different colors as well.
Rest is just suspension mods and cosmetic stuff. I'd suggest only running oiled cotton filters at the track. While they do flow better, they also allow much higher engine wear, not worth the 5~7 hp gains. They are easy enough to swap back and forth and the synthetic dry filters provide same protection as paper filters but at a lower cost over the life of the car. Just spray them, rinse them out and put them back in.
A clean dry filter will flow better than a dirty oiled filter anyway and oiled cotton filters have have only about 1/2 the dust capacity so they clog 2x as fast. They are just not well suited for daily use but do work good at the strip. It's not worth the wear on the piston rings, especially on a very high compression engine where compression is uber important to make full power.
It's one thing to make the power, it's a whole new ball game to keep making the power. Think if your daily driver as a LeMans car vs. a drag car. Two different aspects of racing entirely! And of course nothing helps more than a good set of tires, good track prep and some plain old driving. Have fun and stay safe!
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. I'm pretty happy with my half engine for now though. As is it has a really good balance of power and handling.