Hello everyone,
I am gathering info on what MY 2.5RS 5spd. is the best to turbocharge. I will be purchasing one when my lease is up and the Forester is paid off. So in the meanwhile, if any of you can help me out I'd greatly appreciate it. I want driveability,but still don't mind roosting some unsuspecting teen once in a while. ;) TIA
~ferretboy signing out

I think the best possible base motor for a turbo would have to be around the 99 ish area. The important part is find a motor that has a phase-II block with phase-I DOHC heads. I have this on my Legacy and even from stock with no mods I could feel that I have a little more high rpm power and faster throttle response.

For some reason I think those hybrids were only in Legacies. Could be wrong. In which case an RS w/a Phase II Block and single cam heads would be good. Whatever the case, its the Phase II block you want.

MY99 2.5GT - You are partially correct
1) yes the Legacy GT's in 1999 came with DOHC and phase 2 block, but only some, the rest used the phase 1 block.

2) You want to find a '98RS that is as close to that last build date possible, reason why is b/c that's when they had the DOHC + phase 2 block. If you get a '99RS, it will have a phase 2 engine with the phase 2 SOHC heads.

How do you tell the difference between a phase I and a phase II block?