How much power can a stock-engined Gallardo make (answer inside)
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From: Tennessee
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Update: I picked up the car yesterday afternoon, and still can't wipe the smile off my face. 
The only thing better than a Gallardo is a TT Gallardo! But on to the details.
When I arrived, the car was freshly detailed and spotless inside and out, and after Kevin and I went for a drive, Kevin and KC went over everything with me (how to operate the boost controller, etc.) and answered all my questions. I also had an opportunity to talk with the technician who did most of the work on my car, and was very impressed. One of the things that helped me decide to send the car to Underground was the fact that I had an opportunity to visit the shop several weeks ago and observe what was going on. The entire operation is very impressive and professional (clean, well-organized, etc.), but the thing that impressed me the most was the techs--the guys who are doing most of the fabrication and installation of various systems, etc. To say that these guys were different from the typical automotive tech at a dealership would be an understatement. I realize this is a personal opinion, and my intention isn't to knock all dealership or other automotive techs as there are certainly some good ones out there, but these guys projected an air of confidence and professionalism that I hadn't seen before in an automotive environment. I mentioned my impression yesterday to Matt, the tech who worked on my car, and he answered simply, "It's a passion. We love what we do, and we treat customers' cars like we would treat our own." And that in a nutshell is the impression I got several weeks earlier from hanging around the shop for a while. Kevin and KC are really fortunate to have guys like Matt as part of their team.
The install looks even better in person than it did in the pictures (of course!). It looks like something OEM IMO. But even better is the driveability. It is not similar to stock, from what I experienced; it is stock. I drove the car the almost 4 hours back home including some very heavy traffic, a couple of stops, etc. and noticed nothing at all any different from stock, with the exception of some cool hisses and whooshes coming from the engine compartment occasionally. Outside temps varied between 85 and 97 with high humidity, but the water and oil temps and oil pressure all read basically the same place they did before, and stayed there. In short, I detected no driveability issues whatsoever. No idle issues, starting issues, no nothing. Maybe I'll have a hiccup of some sort sometime, but not so far.
There is one other thing that is different, however, and that is the exhaust. I was curious about how the car would sound with the addition of turbos and the X-pipe, deletion of cats and the factory muffler, etc., and I have to say it is just about perfect for me. The sound is similar in tone to the Tubi I had on the car, but maybe 30-40% louder at moderate to WOT, which is just right as far as I'm concerned. But even better is this exhaust doesn't appear to have the drone or resonance that the Tubi sometimes had at cruise/low rpm. The car definitely seemed quieter at interstate cruising speeds than it did before.
As far as power goes, unfortunately cops were crawling all over the interstates between Charlotte and here, and any significant WOT action (in the few places where traffic didn't preclude it anyway) would have been nuts. I did get into some boost briefly a couple of times though, and could obviously feel the major difference over stock, even at the low boost (4 psi) setting the car was on. At one point I was in the left lane with a car on my right and almost missed an unexpected exit ramp, which happened to be an almost immediate 90 degree bend to the right, and while just a touch of throttle easily squirted me past the car on my right quickly enough to dart onto the exit ramp, as I got on the brakes I realized that my very modest touch of throttle had caused me to hit the sharply turning ramp a LOT faster than I thought I was going and I was on the verge of breaking things loose--not good! But I was able to settle things down, and reminded myself that driving a powerful turbo car requires a substantial readjustment of one's driving perspective. It had been a while since I drove anything this fast, and fortunately my reminder didn't come with a price. In any event, by the time I got home, ate dinner, and cleaned the car up it was too late to try do any WOT testing. The weather wasn't very cooperative either (and looks iffy for the next few days as well), so for now you'll have to rely on the dyno numbers, which are undoubtedly more accurate than my butt-dyno anyway! I'll update things again once I have an opportunity to get out and do some boosting.
Overall, the delivery, like the rest of my experience with Underground, was handled very professionally. I'm very happy with the build and looking forward to putting some miles on the car over the next few weeks!
The only thing better than a Gallardo is a TT Gallardo! But on to the details.When I arrived, the car was freshly detailed and spotless inside and out, and after Kevin and I went for a drive, Kevin and KC went over everything with me (how to operate the boost controller, etc.) and answered all my questions. I also had an opportunity to talk with the technician who did most of the work on my car, and was very impressed. One of the things that helped me decide to send the car to Underground was the fact that I had an opportunity to visit the shop several weeks ago and observe what was going on. The entire operation is very impressive and professional (clean, well-organized, etc.), but the thing that impressed me the most was the techs--the guys who are doing most of the fabrication and installation of various systems, etc. To say that these guys were different from the typical automotive tech at a dealership would be an understatement. I realize this is a personal opinion, and my intention isn't to knock all dealership or other automotive techs as there are certainly some good ones out there, but these guys projected an air of confidence and professionalism that I hadn't seen before in an automotive environment. I mentioned my impression yesterday to Matt, the tech who worked on my car, and he answered simply, "It's a passion. We love what we do, and we treat customers' cars like we would treat our own." And that in a nutshell is the impression I got several weeks earlier from hanging around the shop for a while. Kevin and KC are really fortunate to have guys like Matt as part of their team.
The install looks even better in person than it did in the pictures (of course!). It looks like something OEM IMO. But even better is the driveability. It is not similar to stock, from what I experienced; it is stock. I drove the car the almost 4 hours back home including some very heavy traffic, a couple of stops, etc. and noticed nothing at all any different from stock, with the exception of some cool hisses and whooshes coming from the engine compartment occasionally
. Outside temps varied between 85 and 97 with high humidity, but the water and oil temps and oil pressure all read basically the same place they did before, and stayed there. In short, I detected no driveability issues whatsoever. No idle issues, starting issues, no nothing. Maybe I'll have a hiccup of some sort sometime, but not so far.There is one other thing that is different, however, and that is the exhaust. I was curious about how the car would sound with the addition of turbos and the X-pipe, deletion of cats and the factory muffler, etc., and I have to say it is just about perfect for me. The sound is similar in tone to the Tubi I had on the car, but maybe 30-40% louder at moderate to WOT, which is just right as far as I'm concerned. But even better is this exhaust doesn't appear to have the drone or resonance that the Tubi sometimes had at cruise/low rpm. The car definitely seemed quieter at interstate cruising speeds than it did before.
As far as power goes, unfortunately cops were crawling all over the interstates between Charlotte and here, and any significant WOT action (in the few places where traffic didn't preclude it anyway) would have been nuts. I did get into some boost briefly a couple of times though, and could obviously feel the major difference over stock, even at the low boost (4 psi) setting the car was on. At one point I was in the left lane with a car on my right and almost missed an unexpected exit ramp, which happened to be an almost immediate 90 degree bend to the right, and while just a touch of throttle easily squirted me past the car on my right quickly enough to dart onto the exit ramp, as I got on the brakes I realized that my very modest touch of throttle had caused me to hit the sharply turning ramp a LOT faster than I thought I was going and I was on the verge of breaking things loose--not good! But I was able to settle things down, and reminded myself that driving a powerful turbo car requires a substantial readjustment of one's driving perspective. It had been a while since I drove anything this fast, and fortunately my reminder didn't come with a price. In any event, by the time I got home, ate dinner, and cleaned the car up it was too late to try do any WOT testing. The weather wasn't very cooperative either (and looks iffy for the next few days as well), so for now you'll have to rely on the dyno numbers, which are undoubtedly more accurate than my butt-dyno anyway! I'll update things again once I have an opportunity to get out and do some boosting.
Overall, the delivery, like the rest of my experience with Underground, was handled very professionally. I'm very happy with the build and looking forward to putting some miles on the car over the next few weeks!
Thread Starter
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Registered User
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 136
From: Tennessee
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Awesome, thanks man. And no worries on the pricing - UGR PM'd me and that at least gives me an idea, and there are obviously variables on different packages so that gives a good starting place anyway.
Anxiously awaiting your impressions...are you driving it today?
Anxiously awaiting your impressions...are you driving it today?
Thread Starter
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Registered User
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 136
From: Tennessee
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Yes but at what boost level? Bear in mind I'm talking about a completely stock engine (with an 11:1 CR) at only 4 psi. With a built engine and a little more boost, you're correct, the same setup can easily make 750 rwhp or more on pump gas.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 3,190
From: L.A.
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Amazing job and I knew there was more to this. Thanks for the honest answers and congrats again on a crazy build. I know what that car is capable of with 100 octane and C16 at 27 psi. Enjoy in good health my friend.
-Art
-Art
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 768
From: Boulder
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I think they start around 30k and then obviously depends on customization and options. which considering the 210k price tag on the car is only about 15% of the purchase price...so not horrible considering.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Malibu
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No, not bad at all, but is that confirmed?
Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 840
From: Charlotte NC
Rep Power: 0
Prices on this system goes between 29k to 35k depending on options.
Thanks,
Kevin Howeth
704.361.3443
www.UndergroundRacing.com
500 Griffith Road
Charlotte, NC 28217