Currently driving a mitsubishi 3000gt, and looking at subaru imprezas (i love these little cars). The WRX seems a little pricey, but I've been considering just picking up like a 97 - 98 Impreza RS and turbocharging it. What companies make turbo kits for an RS, if any? Anyone know of anyone else turbocharging an RS? Any info would be appreciated.

.jon

Vishnu
http://www.vishnuperformance.com/

Ludespeed

ASR

Edit: Rallispec
http://www.rallispec.com

JC Sports (but just on word of mouth alone I do not recommend dealing with them.)

There are a few others as well that I do not recall off the top of my head. I'm sure others will fill in the blanks with URLs and company names. You might also want to search around the turbo forum. Hope this helps. http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/biggrin.gif



[This message has been edited by closure (edited April 12, 2001).]

http://www.carmodifications.com/

do a search in turbo powertrain as well for more information.

j. www.subiegal.com (http://www.subiegal.com)

www.azscooby.com (http://www.azscooby.com)
2 turbo charged Impreza 2.5 RS. Both in Silverthorn and are Bad A$$.

Awesome, thanks for the quick responses guys. I've got about 6 - 8 months before I even purchase the car, I just want to make sure and plan all of this out well.

Ok, so whats stock compression on a 2.5RS? And how much boost can I run on the stock fuel system (injector, pumps, rail)? Can anyone w/ a turbocharged RS here give me a basic run down of your kit, where it was purchased, how the installation went, etc? I know, its a pain in the ass, I would really appreciate it though. I bet you guys get this same question about 20x a day huh? Ah well, thanks again for the help every1.

.jon

98-99 are 9.7:1
98 is DOHC and the shortblock might be "iffy"
They are MAF equipped but the 99 MAF is a fragile hot-film type

00-01 are 10.0:1
They are MAP equipped, so you'll need more controls to turbocharge them safely

You will need an uprated clutch, and shift politely or you'll need a new gearbox. It's waaaay to early in the WRX game to know if the WRX's gearbox is notably stronger, how easy/difficult a swap might be, etc.

edit: oh, and 7-10 psi is safe assuming proper fueling and tuning.

[This message has been edited by ColinL (edited April 12, 2001).]

Any possibilites of converting? Maybe VPC? Just curious, not a big deal. Also, how much hp can the stock transmission take? I guess they never made a 1997 2.5RS, or at least didn't import it, as I can't find any used ones for sale. Also, what colors where they made in? All I'm aware of is the silverthorn, green, the rally blue or whatever, black, and red. I'd really like to find a white one.

.jon

yes, it debuted in 98. note that the 98s have a different front fascia... they don't look like the 99-01. 98s also have different interior, black gauges, a sloppy shifter and rubbery shift boot.

98 colors:
acadia green, black diamond pearl, brilliant red, "rally blue"

99 colors:
black diamond pearl, silverthorn metallic, aspen white, "rally blue"

00 colors:
silverthorn metallic, aspen white, sedona red, blue ridge pearl

01 colors
same as 00 plus black diamond pearl returned, and they also have the cheezy (IMO, sorry!) carbon fibre interior bits standard.

00-01 have a rear viscous LSD.

I have heard baaaad things about the WRX transmission already.

everyone who rallies them has told me that they replace the synchros every event or else replace the entire trans ($10k - ouch) every couple events... i've also heard that if you cut every thrid tooth off the 2nd gear synchro they last a lot better, or something like that... but in any case, the WRX trans is no better than the RS. either pay the big $$ to import an STI 6-speed or get a stronger gearset from one of the tuners.

Safir, Pat Richard's post was talking about the older gearboxes and his 98-99 RS.

He doesn't have a MY02 WRX box.