In all the newage that I have mapped I have never felt the need to fit a 3-port. But hey it looks' good to some up the pub when you spout off your specification.
Infact I was handed a Prodrive 3-port once to fit and the cheap brittle plastic snapped whilst fitting, so we just cracked on with the 2-port.
The restrictor swap is only really needed on bug WRX as you cannot get any more then 1bar out of them, on a TD04, without changing the restrictor.
I have never had to swap out any others. But it is a way/means to control boost spike that's a lot cheaper then than another remap or the cost of a 3-port. But only if the problem presents itself, which I have never witnessed.
Just another few £££ wasted IMHO.
Steve's car has done very well over the years. If he has plenty of ££££ and will be content with plenty of head scratching, research and several bites at the cherry then I am sure he will fill his boots and crack on.
I have seen too many people throw £££££ at a repair using it as an excuse for an upgrade. Or even pulling a perfect engine and replacing it for an upgrade. Only to see 20BHP increase and lots of strife along the way.
I've seen people sucked into this and spend £18K only to achieve 30BHP over what the original stock setup could produce and again the road to achieve this extra 30BHP was not a smooth one.
I'm just throwing out there that when you stray from the simple you may wish you hadn't.
If done right the headgasket fix should see it right. It's just a shame that on the flat-four it's not so simple as whipping the head off on your drive.
Personally I would recommend Vince at RDS, that's where I would take mine if in the same situation. He will do it right, not cut corners and source most parts from Olly at RCM, who he knows well from his Rally background.
It may not be a quickjob as he's a touch laid back and never turns away work, from the more mundane to the exotic.
But it's where my money would go.
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