New member from Vermont

Hi! My name is Kristin and I am new to this forum and thought I should introduce myself. I have a 2005 Subaru 2.5I that I have owned for about 2 years now, and recently bought a clean 2005 Legacy GT Limited Premium with a blown motor for a great price. My 2.5I is in nice shape and has a few suspension mods which include Tein Street Flex Coilovers, Tribeca front sway bar, 22MM rear sway bar, white line endlinks, nameless axle back exhaust, short shifter, GT brakes..its fun, but not as much as the GT will be once it is rebuilt. My Husband and I plan on buying an IAG stage 1 shortlock and doing a turbo upgrade at the same time. I prefer the look of the flat hood which will mean the Racer-X FMIC. From what I've been reading this will open me up to any 04-07 STi fitment turbo as well? We're a bit hung up on turbo selection still. I'm aiming for over 300WHP. We're at elevation and have no E85 available anywhere around us so it will be tuned on 93 with up to 10% ethanol or 91 ethanol free. 93 with ethanol is far more prevalent, however so that should be what it's tuned for. This will be a nice day DD and we don't have much for long, open roads around here so low RPM response is more important than top end. From everything I've read I think an 18g or 20g would do what I want with all the proper supporting mods. I have been unable to find many builds in the style that I'm planning on. Most people I've seen running other style turbos are also using the STi intake manifold. Here are a couple pictures of my cars and any insight would be much appreciated. I'm just getting my feet wet in the turbo world.

http://i66.tinypic.com/244wdj9.jpg

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/244sdb9.jpg

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/2cwxu9.jpg

 

http://i68.tinypic.com/2q1bbe9.jpg

 

http://i67.tinypic.com/2ep4kqt.jpg

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/2cehm50.jpg

 

http://i66.tinypic.com/2bsg9t.jpg

Could a mod please change the title to say, "New member." Instead of "ew member"? Thanks!

Welcome. If your looking for 300 to wheels id probably point you to either a vf52 or a 16g turbo. All depends on how much you want to spend , whether its a manual or auto, and what you plan on doing with the car. With more info on the car and a clear goal , we can point you in the right direction.

I guess I should have said at least 300whp. Thats's the minumum I'm looking for. I was looking at the 16g over the VF52 for the extra available on the top end. Especially with a FMIC. They're both 5 speed manual cars and I'll be upgrading clutch and flywheel at the same time. I don't want to run a 16g if it's working too hard to achieve the 300hp mark. I have been looking at the Tomioka 18g, but if I'll be able to run an STi style turbo, maybe there are better options out there? The BNR HTA68 looks like it's pretty well liked for what I'm after but seems so be preferred when there's E85 around. Not here. The GT will be a daily driver for nice days only. The 2.5i will still handle winter duty.

A 16g wouldn't be working too hard to hit 300 to the wheels. But i would go with the 18g which will definitely be over 300. There are some good brands out there, id suggest kinguawa . I run a 16g legacy and my brother runs a 20g in his sti putting out around 400 to the wheels on pump. If your looking at the range of a ht68 or a 20 g id suggest a blouch 1.5 xtr. Has the spool of smaller turbo but with the power of a 20g.

You prefer Kinugawa over Tomioka? I've read pretty good things about both with a few horror stories mixed in here and there. As with anything else.

18g or 20g variant is your best bet. Blouch makes a nice selection of turbos, the 1.5XTR being among the best in the "20g-ish" category. FP also has a few offerings that would fit your build goals, at a better price than Blouch, but they seem to be lacking in the customer service department.

I really wouldn't mind saving a little money on the turbo considering all the other stuff I'll be buying at the same time. I've read enough good things about Tomioka to consider one of those and I have read good things about Kinugawa as well. For the TD05 18g on the Kinugawa site it gives you the choice of 7 or 8cm turbine housing and 9 or 12 blade turbine wheel. Which would be best for me? I'm guessing 7 cm for quicker spool, but which wheel? Or the Tomioka turbo I'm looking at is http://www.tomiokaracing.com/index.php/products/turbos/billet-td05-18g-td05-20g-turbo-for-subaru-impreza-legacy-and-forester.html And it seems like 740cc injectors would be about right?

I really wouldn't mind saving a little money on the turbo considering all the other stuff I'll be buying at the same time. I've read enough good things about Tomioka to consider one of those and I have read good things about Kinugawa as well. For the TD05 18g on the Kinugawa site it gives you the choice of 7 or 8cm turbine housing and 9 or 12 blade turbine wheel. Which would be best for me? I'm guessing 7 cm for quicker spool, but which wheel? Or the Tomioka turbo I'm looking at is http://www.tomiokaracing.com/index.php/products/turbos/billet-td05-18g-td05-20g-turbo-for-subaru-impreza-legacy-and-forester.html And it seems like 740cc injectors would be about right?

 

If going for an upgrade, I wouldn't recommend a 7cm^2 housing. Maybe for a 2.0, but not a 2.5 motor, especially on pump gas. I'd go 8cm sq. The 1.5XTR comes with an optional 10cm sq housing, which also performs really well. The 7cm would be a choke point on the top end if you're shooting for north of 300whp.

 

12 blade might be interesting for spool, but I'm not too familiar with Kinugawa's wheels and how a 9 blade would compare. I'd assume better on the top end, but I'm not sure what the trade-off curve looks like. Call up the manufacturer and see if you can get someone on the phone who knows what's up.

I like kinguawa and their customer service is really good with a manufacture warranty for about a year. In terms of fan blades , more blades = quicker spool because of more blades grabbing air while less blades = more airflow because of more surface area on the wheel. So basically a quicker spooling turbo or more power.

I might go with the Kinugawa 18g with the 8cm housing, billet wheel and 12 blade turbine wheel for now. That will surely be better than what's on it now. What would you all recommend for injectors and fuel pump with that turbo?

The car came with a catless uppipe on it already. Not sure if it's an STi part or aftermarket. Any recommendations for a nice turbo-back for these cars? Would it be beneficial to go EWG at these power levels?

I dont think you would need a ewg at those boost levels but you can always consult a tuner. For a 18g go with a 850cc injector and a upgraded fuel pump . A aqueduct fuel pump is the DW65. As for the up pipe, it should be fine. Just make sure you have a aftermarket downpipe and if the turbo is out, its a good time to look at headers as well.

That sounds like some sound advice. Does anyone not recommend the CNT equal length headers? I was also looking at the Agency Power and Kinugawa stuff. I see the CNT headers are now version 2 and I didn't see anything bad written about them in my searches this morning.

hey there and welcome. I'm in the Burlington area if you ever want to check out my car. It made 300WHP on a stock motor and VF48. You shouldn't have any issues hitting your goal on a VF52/VF48 or similar with the right supporting mods. There's plenty of fun to be had with a stock turbo before you throw on a 18g or 20g, especially coming from a 2.5i. 300WHP is a great number for zipping around this area, as you will start to see the safe opportunities for WOT disappear once you get more power.

I've even got a scoopless hood if you want to see how it looks. Just shoot me a PM

Thank you for the offer! We'll definitely take you up on the offer next time we're in the area. Unfortunately, we live in the Southern part of the state in Bennington. My husbands family is in the Burlington area so we used to be up there fairly often. Most of them have passed on, so we haven't been up in a while. We're replacing the turbo as a precautionary measure based on the engine issues and known VF40 issues. This car will be purely for nice days and spirited driving. I'd like to also get into a little drag racing at the local test and tune just to hone my skills and want something that will keep a big smile on my face for a while. I figure with a little larger turbo I can always detune for daily driving then have a fun days map. And my 2.5i (the silver car) has a scoopless hood that I much prefer. Are you running a front mount?

Thank you for the offer! We'll definitely take you up on the offer next time we're in the area. Unfortunately, we live in the Southern part of the state in Bennington. My husbands family is in the Burlington area so we used to be up there fairly often. Most of them have passed on, so we haven't been up in a while. We're replacing the turbo as a precautionary measure based on the engine issues and known VF40 issues. This car will be purely for nice days and spirited driving. I'd like to also get into a little drag racing at the local test and tune just to hone my skills and want something that will keep a big smile on my face for a while. I figure with a little larger turbo I can always detune for daily driving then have a fun days map. And my 2.5i (the silver car) has a scoopless hood that I much prefer. Are you running a front mount?

 

Yeah I have the FMS front mount intercooler (TurboXS knockoff, but works and fits quite well for $600 shipped.). I bought the car with the RacerX FMIC on it but I was really unhappy with the fitment and design. A larger turbo isn't going to have the same response of a smaller frame turbo, regardless of the tune. My advice would be to start with a VF turbo and work your way up from there. It will help you develop an accurate power goal for the way you prefer to drive. I've driven on a VF52/VF48 for nearly four years and I'm just now upgrading to a Blouch 440xt.

 

You might not have to throw away your VF40 right off the bat if it's in good condition. The issue stems from restricted oil supply to the turbo, which isn't inherently a problem with the turbo itself.

I wouldn't run the stock turbo for the fact that if the rod bearings are indeed shot, then I wouldn't trust the oil that's been flowing through the turbo. I haven't ruled out a big 16g yet, but I'm trying to stay away from a VF turbo because of all the issues I've seen with them.

And from what I've seen, a big 16g will outflow a VF52 while keeping the stock response or close to it.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/turboi-wiki-twist-178684.html

Based on your list in that thread, I'd put myself at scenario 3. I'll have a stage 1 IAG shortblock, FMIC, fuel pump, injectors, clutch etc. It seems, based on your list, that an 8cm TD05 18g would suit my needs. That seems so be the turbo that everything points to for my goals.

If you have a FMIC I'd go straight to the Dom 1.5XTR instead. Spools and responds very much like a TD05-18G in 8cm2 and does a lot more. I got 90whp more from the Dom and on a less aggressive tune. Couldn't be happier with it. You don't need to do an intake manifold swap but you will want to delete the TGVs and use a decent equal-length header to get the most out of it.

1.5XTR seems like an excellent turbo. I'd have one if I could afford it!

I don't think I'll feel like spending that kind of cash on a turbo this time around. That will probably happen whenever I go 6 speed. I'm really leaning toward a Kinugawa or Tomioka. 850cc injectors are a good size for a TD05 18g 8cm?