As proud as I have been of my GE turbo build I am over the terrible OEM throttle for its restriction and it's poor idle control. Also the cross over intake manifold makes for a lot of clutter and difficulty in accessing plugs/ injectors etc. A popular upgrade now days is a Bosch 82mm TB that is very friendly with stand alone computers and integrated idle air control. Unfortunately there are no adapters to the 3 bolt GE intake. I am thinking of sourcing a GE head bolt pattern front facing intake and an adapter kit for a Bosch TB. The task seems daunting though. I know I would have to get a set of GTE style inter-cooler pipes and I've read I'd need a drive by wire pedal too. Id like to upgrade to individual coil packs eventually too which isn't possible with the crossover intake.
I'm looking for any information on what all needs changed to swap to the GTE style intake. I have a plan to take my build to the next level with a twin scroll turbo and larger trim.

 

So far I have found out, I'd need the front facing intake from an aftermarket source because the OEM GTE welded to a GE flange runs the throttle into the power steering reservoir. The aftermarkets angle the inlet out, but requires moving the ECU/ cutting or deleting the box. That is much easier than dealing with a power steering relocation though. Then depending on what throttle you want to run, you may need an adapter plate. In my case an adapter for a Bosch 82mm TB which would need pinned to the AEM ECU and tuned for, as well as a DBW accelerator pedal and also pinned/ tuned for. The airflow out the turbo goes in the opposite direction through the inter-cooler, so in addition to new hot/cold side pipes, a flange for the BOV needs welded onto the new cold side pipe and a bung for the IAT sensor. Turbo will need clocked to accept the new hot side pipes too. Other factors are all of the vacuum lines to the old intake will need lengthened or shortened and routed to the new intake location. There are several solenoids related to the EVAP and ACIS system to relocate or delete. Word also has it that the GE fuel rail won't bolt to the GTE style intakes or work with the injectors fit for the GE. I've seen that most intakes come with a rail because of this. But if injectors have to be changed, that's another $1,200+ for the swap and re-tuning the entire map for fueling. I'd also have to decide if the individual coil packs mod is right to do at the same time because it has to go in for tuning for all the other things anyways. Would cost more in the long run to go back for that if I changed to them afterwords.

The crazy part is that this modification doesn't inherently add any power or change the characteristics of my current turbo etc.It's just a preparation for an even bigger future power goal down the line.