I hit the realization (without blowing motors but still) that I:
A: Will never be truly competitive in a speed3.
B: Really like my car and the noises it makes.
C: Am only really interested in driving MY car on track.
That helped me a lot in my investment/enjoyment calculations. If you really...
It's definitely worth a shot, and the litmus test is really how well the tow vehicle drives when it's loaded up. A squat doesn't necessarily mean it's unsafe to drive, you can tell pretty fast if it isn't in a safe configuration if the front feels floaty, you get a fishtail effect, etc.
The Uhaul trailer isn't at fault, it's just saggy springs. Happens to everyone in old age.
I'm looking to grab some airbags myself at some point, but my squat isn't as bad as yours and I have a pretty heavy metal 20' trailer. Bags should do it fine if it rides normally without a load.
I got a 2012 Lexus GX460. Tows 5500, I put on a trans cooler for ~$100, a brake controller (which they come pre-wired for) and it was ready to rock and roll. Very very comfy, bulletproof and semi-snoozy 4.6L V8.
(Just read your budget - this will be above that, but the 2010 and up are all...
That's scary as hell, and no guarantee a new OEM hub won't sheer off anyways so swapping every 2 events seems like a half-baked solution. Comes down to how married you are to the platform and setup, in which case the fancy hubs could be totally worth it.
You pushed your power band up, it should feel like it's pulling all the way to near-redline once it spools. The K04 has a lot of lower end torque and drops off steeply earlier in the RPMs, so if you are just daily driving it you aren't going to be in the optimal power band for the BNR S3 like...
B12 / other carbon cleaning products can do a solid job in freeing up stuck rings which can help with compression, that's pretty well documented. Just make sure you rotate the crank a few times over the 24 hour period and do an oil change right after (and probably another one at a short...
I also vote stock - seems like a lot of work for "some" gain time-wise, and in the meantime you can drop in a new junkyard motor every year and still come out ahead with more track time to boot.
Do a boost leak test, check the plugs, buy an accessport and find out what the car is up to. Black soot on the exhaust is the normal operation for these cars. When you say its backfiring, is it a loud pop or what?
The HKS EVC thing is pointless since you have the accessport, you likely can't use both and the accessport is going to be infinitely more useful - especially since you will need a custom tune in order to get the car to run properly with those mods.
To this point, keep in mind that Mazda / Ford chose this block for a boosted application for a reason, and chose to toss the 2.5L into their Altima analogues. The bean counters at Mazda and Ford would have mandated the 2.5L if it stood any chance of being a cost-reasonable substitute, rather...
Little mini non-Speed3 update, installed a Hayden Transmission Cooler on the GX460 yesterday - really simple to install, went in well. Gotta love how much space there is everywhere on this vehicle. Should be ready to tow no issue in the hotter months over these mountains.