man @ home again. SIGH
I've never in my lifetime heard of ca's breaking belts when boosting or driving fast, it was probly some idiot who decided to do amateur job at rebuilding and forgot to tighen the belt tensioner... If you are doing your own work get a belt tension gauge, it looks like a rod with a gauge on it. one side has a hook which fits arround the belt, just pull and measure, easy task for even beginners.
Ca's have no issue pushing 280hp. nor do they have any issue going over 350-400 HP. but dont expect to slap on a huge turbo, boost the shit out of it and achieve that, sr,ka and even RB owners can explain this to you as well so it does not just apply to the ca engines. i wish i would have had my ca still. The parts market has grown soo much in the past 2 years. I use to have to search my ass off just to find an aftermarket manifold. now everyone is making parts and starting to provide for the ca engines. Pick a turbo that will give you what you want and take some time to tune the engine. crower, eagle, cp, arai ect all make components for the ca18. Dont be affraid to also upgrade your OE or atleast replace the OE parts. oil pump, fuel pump, water pump.
i'd say a safe zone for the ca18 interms of stock engine w/ supporting mods would be some where arround 250"ISH" wheel \. this is where the stock ca18 injectors are far past their duty cycle and need to be replaces. from there upgrading the maf andinjectos, possible intake plenum and cams with tuning can get you well over 300 wheel. I prety much just followd the sr20det guidlines for power. i did 240 wheel on my ca18 with just fmic, manifold, z maf, hks gt2510 on 15 psi.
as far as gauges, it depends on what you plan on monitoring. id go with the following.
egt(for upgraded turbos only)
boost
water temp
oil pressure.
you can do oil temp if you'd like but most of you now are geting the AUS engines. so they come with oil coolers. no need to monitor oil tempreture. for those whoare still receiving jdm clips a oil cool wont hurt. it will do you some good.
watch oil starvation when in higher rpm's that can be a ca's LIFE ENDER.
for high boost applications sometimes it comes down to engine condition.
contact
www.yellowmunsontuning.com about boosting.
safe zone for me would be arround 18 psi.
hope i was of some help.