99 2.5RS Subaru

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I rock a WRX too. ;)

When I had my off-the-shelf Vishnu tune, I was hitting full spool around 3500, but that was without a TBE (2 cats still bottling things up). Now that I've got my high-flow TBE and custom dyno tune from Shiv, I'm at full spool by 3000rpm. This damn TD04 is way small.

How are you planning to hit full spool by 2500rpm? And 18 psi? On what turbo?

I'm currently looking at a slightly used VF34, that's being sold with pinkies and a Walbro. Damn good price. I'm tired of my turbo running out of breath by 5000-ish rpm.

I'll be on the stocker, except its port, polished, and coated.

I plan on hitting full spool by 2500rpms, by...

Cobb AccessPORT + protune
Pnp + coated td04 turbo
Ebay TMIC (which is almost 100% going to be traded for a STi TMIC for less lag)
Pnp + coated + wrapped, helix flex uppipe
Pnp + coated + wrapped, perrin divorced wastegate catless 3in downpipe
MRT racing 3in axleback with 1 highflow cat in the midpipe
Pnp + coated stock headers with upgraded crosspipe that removes the tiny diameter flex joint in the stock crosspipe for a smooth ID throughout.
Pnp throttle body
Pnp intake manifold (hondata upgraded gasket to lower manifold temps)
Deleted + Pnp TGV (tumbler valves for emissions)
Go Fast Bits lightweight + underdriven crank and alternator pulleys
Silicone intercooler hoses
Grounding kit
Perrin electronic boost control solenoid (should help me reach target boosts sooner and hold them, should be especially helpful for the low gears where its hard to reach full target boost on the stock solenoid.)
17x8 Enkei RPF1's wrapped in BF Goodrich T/W 2's

I have brake upgrades as well and an eibach pro spring kit in the car. The pro spring kit will be out eventually in favor of Konis/D specs + prodrives, cusco/whiteline f+r swaybars and kartboy endlinks. That will complete my suspension and buildup for now.

Basically I'll be hitting that spoolup because all the port and polish work, along with the coating and wrapping of some crucial components to help with exhaust flow. I should be posting some of the best numbers for a stock turbo (without alcohol) in the country. Unabomber on NASIOC, the famous mod, made 242whp on UTEC and a lesser setup.

I might eventually go pnp + coated 16g, '06 wrx injectors (cheaper than pinks and flow more), and walboro pump.

My new roomie had a '04 WRX with a vf34 setup that was protuned and hit full boost by 3100rpms.
 
Damn. Only 1500rpm worth of good turbo boost on the stock turbo?

Nah, its just by 5th gear and full boost which is usually around 16psi (stock is 14.7psi) the turbo starts to run out of wind.

I mean, its a td04 the 3000gt vr4 runs twin td04's. Its a tiny turbo but good for my purposes. I like V8 power and its going to be the only turbo that can give me power so low in the powerband.

The car shoots to 100mph and honestly it doesn't need to be any faster, than my car currently is and I don't even have all those things installed on the car yet. Its going to be so much faster as soon as that stuff is finished and I get protuned. I'm just waiting on my port and polisher to get some of that stuff to me. If I start making much more power, my tranny will shit the bed - but a 16g on my setup would be good for easily 300+ whp. Thats no joke.
 
I'll be on the stocker, except its port, polished, and coated.

I plan on hitting full spool by 2500rpms, by...

Cobb AccessPORT + protune
Pnp + coated td04 turbo
Ebay TMIC (which is almost 100% going to be traded for a STi TMIC for less lag)
Pnp + coated + wrapped, helix flex uppipe
Pnp + coated + wrapped, perrin divorced wastegate catless 3in downpipe
MRT racing 3in axleback with 1 highflow cat in the midpipe
Pnp + coated stock headers with upgraded crosspipe that removes the tiny diameter flex joint in the stock crosspipe for a smooth ID throughout.
Pnp throttle body
Pnp intake manifold (hondata upgraded gasket to lower manifold temps)
Deleted + Pnp TGV (tumbler valves for emissions)
Go Fast Bits lightweight + underdriven crank and alternator pulleys
Silicone intercooler hoses
Grounding kit
Perrin electronic boost control solenoid (should help me reach target boosts sooner and hold them, should be especially helpful for the low gears where its hard to reach full target boost on the stock solenoid.)
17x8 Enkei RPF1's wrapped in BF Goodrich T/W 2's

I have brake upgrades as well and an eibach pro spring kit in the car. The pro spring kit will be out eventually in favor of Konis/D specs + prodrives, cusco/whiteline f+r swaybars and kartboy endlinks. That will complete my suspension and buildup for now.

Basically I'll be hitting that spoolup because all the port and polish work, along with the coating and wrapping of some crucial components to help with exhaust flow. I should be posting some of the best numbers for a stock turbo (without alcohol) in the country. Unabomber on NASIOC, the famous mod, made 242whp on UTEC and a lesser setup.

I might eventually go pnp + coated 16g, '06 wrx injectors (cheaper than pinks and flow more), and walboro pump.

My new roomie had a '04 WRX with a vf34 setup that was protuned and hit full boost by 3100rpms.
I'd just be concerned that the stocker is going to be running outside of its efficiency range at that point. If it isn't, it's going to be damn close. It doesn't really matter what supporting mods you've got - that tiny thing just can't be efficient much past 16 or 17 psi. It's even less up here at the altitude that I'm at - 5000 feet. We can only squeeze 15 or 16 psi out of that little guy up here. Just sayin....be careful. If you really want that higher psi, consider the 16G like you said. Although, after getting a ride in a 2.0L/16G, I was VERY unimpressed by his spool time. Well over 3500rpm. Not what I want out of a daily driver....

FYI, I'm running Prodrive springs and Koni adjustables, and I absolutely love it. I can only imagine the D-Specs to be even better.
 
I'd just be concerned that the stocker is going to be running outside of its efficiency range at that point. If it isn't, it's going to be damn close. It doesn't really matter what supporting mods you've got - that tiny thing just can't be efficient much past 16 or 17 psi. It's even less up here at the altitude that I'm at - 5000 feet. We can only squeeze 15 or 16 psi out of that little guy up here. Just sayin....be careful. If you really want that higher psi, consider the 16G like you said. Although, after getting a ride in a 2.0L/16G, I was VERY unimpressed by his spool time. Well over 3500rpm. Not what I want out of a daily driver....

FYI, I'm running Prodrive springs and Koni adjustables, and I absolutely love it. I can only imagine the D-Specs to be even better.

Well the tokicos are actually not supposed to quite as nice as the konis but they're a little cheaper, and tokico also offers custom spring rates from the factory for the strut + spring combo of ~$700 but the springs don't lower the car very much. I'll have to see what I'm going to do.

I would only want the 16g if I could have full spoolup around 3000rpms. And also the stocker will be good at 18psi, plenty of veterans on NASIOC run it and even into the low 20's. The most efficient range is usually agreed to be between 16-18psi. We'll see how I like the setup when its complete. I really don't want to get myself arrested.

Well its time to go pick up some carbon fiber interior pieces so my car doesn't feel so damn chinsy.
 
Well the tokicos are actually not supposed to quite as nice as the konis but they're a little cheaper, and tokico also offers custom spring rates from the factory for the strut + spring combo of ~$700 but the springs don't lower the car very much. I'll have to see what I'm going to do.

I would only want the 16g if I could have full spoolup around 3000rpms. And also the stocker will be good at 18psi, plenty of veterans on NASIOC run it and even into the low 20's. The most efficient range is usually agreed to be between 16-18psi. We'll see how I like the setup when its complete. I really don't want to get myself arrested.

Well its time to go pick up some carbon fiber interior pieces so my car doesn't feel so damn chinsy.
If you go with the D-specs, let me know how you like them. Prior to the Koni adjustables, I was running the Tokico non-adjustable struts (the blue ones), and I had some serious issues. I think the shocks were improperly designed for the car. Anyway, after getting the Prodrive/Koni combination, all of my problems went away. So, had you considered the Koni adjustables in lieu of the Tokicos? Might be worth another look.

If you could achieve full spool on a 16G by 3000rpm, I'd be very impressed. I'd imagine that extensive porting would have to be done to the turbo, and the right combination of parts installed and tuned for. If you could do it, you'd have a monster. I really liked how well the 16G breathed up high.

While some the "veterans" at Nasioc may have run the TD04 up into the 20's, I'd still never do it. As you said, 18psi is pushing it. It's not worth the danger to my engine to attempt to push the turbo that far. As inexpensive as turbos for the WRX are becoming these days, upgrading is a no-brainer.

Good luck with the interior upgrade. I got lucky - when I found my car, it had all the interior options installed already - factory gauges, STi short shifter and carbon fiber trim. That sold me in a heartbeat. Plus, it's WRB, so how could I say no? :)
 
I got the carbon fiber trim for the center console and for all the switches, along with the STi aluminum shifter trim and a flat black painted center console by the radio. Makes the car look so much better its ridiculous.

I was going to go with konis but they're so damn expensive and I have to hack my stock struts. The tokico d specs are cheaper, have almost the same dampening abilities, and I don't need to hack anything up. Were you on illuminas or what were you on? Many people like the D Specs, Uncle Scotty on NASIOC rolls on them and of course if you've spent time there you know he's 100% into suspension and a genius in terms of cars.

...and I'm hoping with my setup I would be able to get the 16g to spool by 3000rpms, I've heard it spools almost as fast as the vf34 and my roomie got that by 3100rpms and I'll have so much port and polisih work done to the car that he doesn't and no one else does, so I should get there in theory faster than anyone else ever has before if I have a good tuner.

If the 16g wouldn't go that fast, then I'd have to go with a VF34 and port and polish and I would hope for full spool by ~2780-2800rpms which would still be very nice. At that point, I might be kissing the tranny goodbye.

And I see no problems on the engine running 18psi with a td04 its the same as running 18psi with a 16g. The wear and tear issue goes on the turbo from spinning so fast and sucking so much hot air, as I see it atleast.

I'm trying to get my hands on some Corbeau CR1 seats, if this guy parts his car out. That would make my day.
 
No, I had the blue non-adjustable Tokicos. I just think they're a shitty strut for this car. The Konis are awesome. Why would you have to "hack" your stock struts to install Konis?

I've ridden in both a VF34 and 16G equipped WRX, and the VF34 definitely spooled faster than the 16G. Anyway, why would you say pushing a TD04 to 18psi is the same as pushing a 16G to 18psi? The 16G is so much more capable of hitting that sort of boost. I maintain that the TD04 will be close to, if not already, running outside its efficiency range.

I hear ya on the tranny. I actually just grenaded mine a few weeks ago. I'm putting down 205whp up here at altitude (255 corrected), and while racing at our local drag strip, I managed to snap the mainshaft of the tranny in two. The power, combined with the fact that I'm running a lightened flywheel and upgraded clutch, was just too much for my poor tranny to handle. So, you can add me to the "Broken WRX Tranny" club. :)
 
I would have to "hack" the struts up to cut and drill them to put the inserts in, plus the inserts are quite expensive but thats the setup I wanted (I should have bought sti pinks + koni yellows used for $650 but the kid was being a dick and it took literally a year for him to come down from $700 to $650 that I offered him, so I didn't want to give him my money plus used suspension parts are questionable.)

I meant the td04 running 18psi is nearly the same as a 16g or any other turbo running 18psi in terms of what will happen to the motor. I could care less about whether the turbo has a shorter life span because its running hot, hot, hot and out of its efficiency range, I just care about the motor. If I blew the turbo up, I'd say... "shit....that sucks but was kind've fun, onto the next one."

I don't want to be a part of the broken WRX tranny club. =/ Stay away.
 
Why get the inserts? Just get a set of Koni yellows and throw the Prodrive springs on there....or even some STi pinkies. If you're looking for inexpensive suspension, check out this thread from my local board. It's got a few miles on it, but it's a good price, and he may be willing to move a bit on it.
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I get what you're saying about the turbo now.
 
Why get the inserts? Just get a set of Koni yellows and throw the Prodrive springs on there....or even some STi pinkies. If you're looking for inexpensive suspension, check out this thread from my local board. It's got a few miles on it, but it's a good price, and he may be willing to move a bit on it.
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I get what you're saying about the turbo now.

I don't know how I feel about that. I could buy KYB AGX's for $400 and I already have the eibach springs.

I just don't know how i feel about the pink struts and prodrives. Its also a '04, do you know if it comes with tophats?

...and I don't know what he would charge me shipping.

I want something that will be fairly soft for daily driving but handle well, I want a luxury type feel and thats why I was thinking of the konis. Closest thing to bilsteins without getting retardedly expensive. ...and I don't know what koni yellows go for, if they're not just inserts - I thought they were only sold as inserts into stock struts.
 
Well, I don't know the answer to most of your questions. But I'm pretty sure that you can get a full Koni strut, as the struts I have don't appear to be hacked. Also, looks like several people on eBay are selling Koni inserts that have already been fitted to OE strut bodies.

Good luck in whatever road you end up choosing.
 
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