Ok I just purchased my 2005 rs used with 10k miles. I want more power. I am researching these forums and can't find a thing about doing this to this car. So i just figured I would Post a new Forum.

Ok I want to put a turbo on this car and I was hoping everyone in here could help me with this.

What information I have so far:
I need to relace the intake & exhaust manifold
A stock STI turbo will work and a wrx intercooloer
Needs to be retuned with a piggyback

I am still working on gathering more info but I had a couple people tell me it is deffintally possible to run around 8psi-13psi on this engine.

Thats why I am here asking everyone. I am a little retarted when it comes to cars sometimes but I have some good friends with very good knowledge of cars, they just want me to do the research so I learn it better. Lets get this done together so my car can stomp on some WRX's.

the N/A EJ25 won't handle 8-13 psi reliably in stock form. it will be much cheaper for you to sell your RS, and get an used WRX, than modifying your 2.5, with the WRX, at least you don't need to replace every little parts to up to 300hp

Yup, most turbo'd RS blocks run around 5-6 psi.

Should have just bought a WRX. Save your money and swap in an engine if you're hard pressed to put a turbo beneath the hood.

AJ

what kind of little parts are you speaking of?

Pistons, rods, basically the lower end of the motor.

Not to mention the fact that the RS deck is open, and therefore slightly weaker than the semi-closed and closed decks of the turbo models.

You have a couple options I think.
1.sell
2.swap
3.blow it up eventually with a kit.
4.leave it n/a and take that mod path.

Look in the conversion forum.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

if your looking for a turbo kit i would suggest avo kit they sell it at rallitek it is said to give 100 whp over stock so around 212 which will be consideribly faster then the wrx it will boost about 6psi on stock injectors and comes with pretuned maps its about 45 hundred and to this date is the most reliable turbo kit i have seen. but then again if you live in cali for about a grand more you could swap in a wrx engien with turbo and everything including 6 puck clutch installed and pass smog ull be at 180 whp but u have a better options of upgraded where if you went with just the turbo kit on your car ud be pretty much maxed out as far as bolt on's go.

side note the wrx swap in my opinion is the better option because the car will just drive better all in all u could put on the turbo kit and then ull want to do cams and then pistons and then ur car is going to idle like **** and ur not going to have a smooth power pull while if you went the engine swap nice and smooth and you can get easlier to 212 for about 2 grand more with just getting a cobb stage 2 which is just a tune and turbo back exhuast....

this is really one of those things where it pays not to skimp out the only reason im considering doing a swap is because i have a 2 door impreza rs and they didnt have a wrx in two door but if i had a new rs i would sell it and get a wrx because its basically the same car ei shell.

Yes, dont do a turbo kit, do a swap or sell the car and get a WRX. I had a stg 2 RS that I spent over 5k (power, suspension, brakes, everything) on and had 142 whp and 158 ftlbs of wtq to show for it. I wanted more power, thought about a swap, but then I would have had WAY too much money invested in teh car, since i already had about $18,000 in it. So I sold my RS and most of the mods, and bought a WRX and had about 2 k left over to purchase parts. so now with about $15,800 in the WRX I have 225 whp, and about the same tq.

I just wish I would have done it much sooner.

Do the swap. the only way to make an EJ25 reliable for a kit is major bucks. you would need a new block, rods, pistons, **** everything..

Oh god... I remember when i used to think like that..... i want to turbo my RS so it can be exactly like an RS till i actually figured out that it is very very difficult n definately not worth it.

So right now ive come to the conclusion that if u want power outta ur car u can do any of the following:

1) Do a full on N/A build up which consists of: Short block, lightweight crank, light weight high cr piston heads, lightweight rods, cylinder heads, valve train, cams, ECU, Cold Air Intake, full exhaust system, possibly no cat depending on where u live, clutch, and RA gearset.... not to mention maybe a better radiator.

2) A USDM STi swap, JDM STi motor Swap, or any STi motor in ur car will pretty much kick ass..... but i think ur tranny will get murdered pretty quickly.

3) Sell You're car.... get a WRX or STi. have fun. Most likely not the option you will choose.

I think that the N/A build up is the best, cause if u wanna be unique, and not like the other billion people with turbocharged impreza's, it'll do some good. STi power with no turbo kicks ass. Plus you get the luxury of sayin you got owned by an RS.

I think that the N/A build up is the best, cause if u wanna be unique, and not like the other billion people with turbocharged impreza's, it'll do some good. STi power with no turbo kicks ass. Plus you get the luxury of sayin you got owned by an RS.

are you saying with a fully built N/A you will have STi power? cause if you are, I would think otherwise. I think the most you can get out of a streetable EJ25 RS is about 200 WHP

N/A is tuff to get alot of hp out of wthout spending a billion dollars i hate to say it but a wrx would have been a better option. you better off just going for small mods like pulleys,exhuast maybe cams or somthing

Dude if you want a turbo car, then you bought the wrong one. You could have bought an 02 WRX for probably 15k, maybe even a little less. Sell your car now and just buy a WRX. You will save a ton of money in the long run. A turbo ej25 is a complete waste of time unless you get lower CR pistions to handle the boost, but it's still cheaper to just buy a WRX and start modding from there.

Maybe not STi power but it would go just as fast probably since the car is much more lighter.

if you think about it an STi has 250whp and more weight, an RS with 200whp with less weight would prob perform pretty close.

you might find better help in the aftermarket turbo forum... naturally aspirated means no boost. you're asking about boost in a no-boost forum...

Maybe not STi power but it would go just as fast probably since the car is much more lighter.

if you think about it an STi has 250whp and more weight, an RS with 200whp with less weight would prob perform pretty close.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

There is no f'n way that a 200whp rs would keep up with a 250who sti, or even be close in performance. Do you know how much of a difference 50whp is? Yeah we are lighter than the STi, but we can't use the excuse of shorter gearing like we can when we compare to the wrx. The STi has short gears too.

That was by far the funniest post I've ever seen. And, I myself am guilty of saying some really stupid ****, but not that stupid.

Sorry caplin, no harm meant man, it's just that was way to funny.

I am going to turbo or supercharge my stock internal RS. But I am going to use a nice stand alone engine management. This is the only way to keep it safe and reliable. Everyone on here loves engine swaps and stuff, and they HATE nitrous, but I like to do my own thing. Good luck on whatever you may choose.

I agree with everyone else on the board. I'm already regretting that I didn't save my money and purchase a used 02-03 WRX. Unless you have oodles of money just lying around to WASTE, then just get rid of that car and get at WRX or wait for an STI. You won't be satisfied if you try to put in all the time and effort into building up that 05 RS. Especially if you don't even want to engine swap. Just for the sake of money, get a WRX. I could see the older models wanting to turbo charge or build up the N/A, but with the new body style? Just get a WRX. Easy as that.

and btw, that 200 hp "light" car vs. 250 hp STI comment was indeed funny. Thats a huge difference.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

There is no f'n way that a 200whp rs would keep up with a 250who sti, or even be close in performance. Do you know how much of a difference 50whp is? Yeah we are lighter than the STi, but we can't use the excuse of shorter gearing like we can when we compare to the wrx. The STi has short gears too.

That was by far the funniest post I've ever seen. And, I myself am guilty of saying some really stupid ****, but not that stupid.

Sorry caplin, no harm meant man, it's just that was way to funny.
yeah. he probably got confused, when i said that the GC rs is lighter than the GD rs, he probably thought i meant rs's are lighter. the difference between GC and GD can be around 300lbs... the difference between RS and STI isn't more than 100.

the new age (GD6) RS is only around 100lbs lighter than an STI, and even with 200whp you're still not making enough hp to keep up with an STI.

he says a whole mess of stupid ****. don't mind him. i tried to correct him for a while, but it gets really tedious. he's always saying something that's either wrong or stupid.

a turbo 05 RS is going to weigh almost as much as an 05 WRX. the RS isn't any lighter of a chassis. the engine is bigger, so the lack of turbo/intercooler/coolant resivour isn't even that significant either.





i'm going to say this again- this discussion of turbo'd RSs DOESN'T BELONG IN THE N/A FORUM!!!!!!

meh i think it'll work.... just gotta get some money n we'll all find out, I'd rather be the first stupid person to do a full on N/A built 05 impreza than be like all the other people to turbo their WRX's. The STi uses a short gear ratio but the RS uses even more of a short gear ratio, thats a +. When the engine is rebuilt it'll be with cobbs stage 2 short block n cylinder heads... thats a big +. That means light + short gear ratio = faster than most things on the street.... in my opinion thats good enough.

like all the other people to turbo their WRX's.
WRX's are turbo. you mean build their wrx's?
The STi uses a short gear ratio but the RS uses even more of a short gear ratio, thats a +.
the STI's final reduction gear ratio is 3.9
the RS's final reduction gear ratio is 4.11

you're wrong. simple as that.

When the engine is rebuilt it'll be with cobbs stage 2 short block n cylinder heads... thats a big +. That means light + short gear ratio = faster than most things on the street.... in my opinion thats good enough.
dude, did you not hear us? the RS isn't significantly lighter than the STI. since this is all benchracing at best, we need to stop throwing up numbers and start giving a range of possibilites that are probably.

30-70 less whp
less than 100lbs lighter
.2 higher gear ratio

your fully built RS will cost as much as, be slower than, and have a void warranty when compared to a stock STI.

go ahead and build your car with all the money that you have- but until then stop talking out your ass. the RS can be a monster when it's fully built, but it's still not going to keep up with STIs without lots more work than just a full engine build. you're going to need coilovers, tires, suspension, and weight reduction to even think about having a comparable car.

haha smackdown!

Yep, I agree with the majority. Don't turbo your RS or TS!

I spent many years researching the possibility of turbo-charging MY00RS and gave up on the idea. Why?... Because it doesn't make sense once you get all the information and the numbers. I was quite disappointed because I originally bought MY00RS in 2002 with intentions of putting a turbo on it within three years, which would be this year.

I estimated the total build cost to turbo-charge a N/A RS and make it reliable would be about $13,000. Cams, injectors, Low compression pistons, fuel pump, intake, exhaust and headers, intercooler & piping, not to mention the turbo kit with an up pipe & down pipe, and a piggyback ECU all this adds up very quickly. Then there is the down time while the car is being worked on which is well over 40 hours shop time. It isn't like you can partially run a turbo; it's all or nothing if you want reliability.

Word to Hughesj04:
If you are serious and are still going to do it, I'll pass this on to you...
My researching leads me to believe that you may get away turbo-charging an EJ25 for quite some time if you run about 6 to 8psi boots and religiously add 104 octane booster to your gas. The higher the octane the less likely there will be compression detonation and compression detonation is what kills the turbo-charged EJ25.

My best suggestion:
1) Cams
2) Equal length headers; high flow cat and a full 2.25" exhaust
3) High flow intake (CAI)
This will put you over the 190hp mark and it will be very reliable.

There is never going to be a car fast enough that will please everyone and there will always be one faster that doesn't.

That is why I went a different rout. I went for quality and smart suspension mods. There is not one stock WRX, or STI for that matter, that can carve the corners faster than I can in MY00RS. They catch and pass me on the straights but I catch-up and pass them in the twisty corners. This is what makes me feel happy and what I call real performance. I've challenged a STI down a twisty mountain road in the Gatineau Park and gave them a head start. I caught up and handed them my taillights about halfway down the mountain.

WRX's are turbo. you mean build their wrx's?

the STI's final reduction gear ratio is 3.9
the RS's final reduction gear ratio is 4.11

you're wrong. simple as that.


dude, did you not hear us? the RS isn't significantly lighter than the STI. since this is all benchracing at best, we need to stop throwing up numbers and start giving a range of possibilites that are probably.

30-70 less whp
less than 100lbs lighter
.2 higher gear ratio

your fully built RS will cost as much as, be slower than, and have a void warranty when compared to a stock STI.

go ahead and build your car with all the money that you have- but until then stop talking out your ass. the RS can be a monster when it's fully built, but it's still not going to keep up with STIs without lots more work than just a full engine build. you're going to need coilovers, tires, suspension, and weight reduction to even think about having a comparable car.

Nuff said.

Caplin is also the guy who thought drilling holes in his muffler would sound cool. This guy doesnt know his ass from his elbow.

Nuff said.

Caplin is also the guy who thought drilling holes in his muffler would sound cool. This guy doesnt know his ass from his elbow.

Lmao! This thread rules.

I'd love to see a completely built engine. But the fact remains that after all those thousands and thousands of dollars goes into that build, it will still not compete with a stock STI. If you have that amount to waste, awesome! Go for it. But we're all just trying to tell ya that you may be dissapointed when it all comes together.

You obviously dont seem to understand wat i mean by 'lightweight'. The motor build up consist of light weight parts..... Lightweight crank, rods, pistons, cylinder heads, short block.... all these are lighter weight..... thinner head gaskets for cr bump, ECU, Intake, Exhaust, clutch, lightweight flywheel, pulleys, spark plugs n wires, fuel injectors, fuel pump, bore n stroke..... most of these thigns do contribute to power gains n weight loss. All im tryin to say really is that it will compete good enough...

I'm interested in how much weight reduction all of that would entail. And any possible gains it'd have in relation to horsepower vs. the STI. Even with all of that on a "lighter" chasis, how are you going to compete with a stock 300 HP beast?

But, since it's later at night and I'm bored, here are cost estimates of the above you posted (using Cobb parts and replacing most stuff with 04 parts from their website)

Stage 3 Cylinder Head Package (SOHC) - $3995 + $1200 Core Charge
Club Racer Camshafts (SOHC) - $499 + $400 Core Charge
High Lift Valvetrain Package (SOHC) - $495
Stage 3 Short Block (SOHC) - $4950 + $1000 Core Charge
Stage 2 Drivetrain Package (Chromoly Flywheel, Pro-Street Clutch Kit and bearings, Double-Adjustable Shifter, Shifter Bushings, Upgraded Transmission Mount and 5 quarts of Redline 75W90NS Gear Oil) - $1145

So, we'd hope we'd at least break 250hp with the above, righto? And this is all without labor plus the time needed to do all this.

$13684.

Of course cobbtuning is a bit expensive. But this is even a lowball considering all the other things needed to build the engine up (including a turbo or supercharger, if you go that route.) My knowledge of bulding up a N/A to turbo is pretty limited, but I still don't see the point.

But I digress. We've hijacked Hughesj04 thread.
Answer: You'd need much more than the above. The Subaru Conversions forum would be more suitable to answer your questions. But basically, you won't be using your engine without having a TON of work done to it to support a turboing application. It'd be easier and more cost-effective to either buy a WRX/STI or do a direct engine swap.

End of story (cost-wise.)

the STI's final reduction gear ratio is 3.9
the RS's final reduction gear ratio is 4.11

you're wrong. simple as that.

4.11 is a "shorter" gear ratio than 3.9. Numerically higher = lower geared.

I don't know why y'all are so pessimistic about turboing the EJ251. The only weakness is the ring lands. Advantages over WRX - You can do a full turbo kit, + management, + forged pistons for the price of a WRX swap, and you'll have a MUCH faster car that drives just fine. A turbo RS, making the same power as a WRX, will be faster. More displacement means less lag, better powerband, better throttle response. Yeah it's an open deck, but that doesn't really matter unless you're planning on making big (400 +) hp. And since when is higher compression ratio a bad thing? Take a turbo RS and a WRX both making 250 whp. If the WRX is 8.0 compression and the RS is 10.0, the RS is gonna be a MONSTER compared to the WRX. On top of that, it'll be better in a daily driver sense too, cuz it'll still make power off boost.

Don't listen to the naysayers, boost it! When I get around to doing my engine build, I'm going for about 9.5 compression, a 16G sized turbo, and a small dose of nitrous. If I see any of you at the track, I hope when I put 3 car lengths on you before the 60 foot mark, and still have less money invested than your stock WRX swap, you can find some comfort in the "He should have just bought a WRX" line.

To hell with a bunch of paying 6 grand for a loss of half a liter of displacement and only gaining about 70 whp up top...

^^ yup i agree with all of that but i dont think turboing a block that wasn't built for forced induction would be a good reliability factor. Maybe a STi shortblock then it'll be all good but not stock block.

If you really enjoy blowing money & spending all your time fixing busted stuff (or waiting on somebody else to fix it for you, depending on your talents), then knock yourself out.

I just don't understand why someone would buy an 05 2.5RS & spend more money on it than it would take to buy an 05 STi, and still be owned by a totally stock STi in any performance category you can think of. I've thought about doing a swap or rebuild/turbo on my 2000 2.5RS, but when I add up all the costs, I could buy a used STi & have something a lot better. Yes, the old-school RS looks cool and has character, but damn - when you've experienced what the STi can do... :eek: There's a lot more to an STi than power.

If you're trying to be "different" - ok, have fun. But if you're looking for real performance, think about what you're trying to achieve, and evaluate your options first. Turning an RS into something even vaguely comparable to an STi is not something you're going to do for less than the price of an STi. :lol:

first of all thanks for all the feedback!
Please dont talk to me about selling this car and getting a wrx. Let me tell you why?
I was at the dealership there is this practically new 05 rs and look over here same color 02 wrx with 36k miles. Ummm what do I do? I needed a car had no advise figured this car has less miles and I would put 90% of the miles on it. I just wrecked my 96 acura TL and my rental car was up so I only had a night to think of which one to buy. I thought about it for a while. To be honest I think the only reason why i went with the rs is cause the license plate. It said 5JOE420. I figured it was a blessing. I know I should of baught the WRX now that I have been doing all this research. But now I am out to get that car and thats my mission. Just to stomp on those cars.

ok my 2 cents. there is 326pound difference between stock 05 sti and stock 05 rs. 50whp makes a huge difference.

But this is also my deal I'm not trying to pass an STI. i dont want to spend that kind of money. What i want to do is whop on a wrx with mods. not just a stock.

But I am all about what Sober_One said. Its all in the corners actually I figured my first thing I am going to do is get springs and a rear strut bar.


But please I want more feedback! Thanks for all your help guys.

oh and buy the way the cars where about the same price. I think within a grand apart. I know that was my first dumb mistake. But I just felt I should go with the new one so i would know what kind of damage and been done to it since I did it.

Theres no way youll whop on a modded wrx with an RS, even a conservative setup like COBB Stage 2 as I have is pretty close to an STi, and that would be no contest at all. If you run into anyone with a larger turbo, injectors, etc theyll fly by like a rocket. Its just not possible to make an RS that fast and reliable. Good luck with whatever path you choose.
-Sean

No offense, but if you decide on a car because of a license plate, maybe you had better settle down and do a ton of research before deciding to pump in money to an RS block that doesn't want forced induction? I really don't mean to be an ass, and I want to put in my .02 cents as well as I can to you. If your mission is to stomp on WRX's and STI's, you had better have a lot of courage, and a TON of dough to put into that car.

I admire the motivation you have, but I can almost promise you it'll all be in vain unless you have many many many hours of patience and many many hundreds of dollars.

I just don't understand why someone would buy an 05 2.5RS & spend more money on it than it would take to buy an 05 STi:


eh nobody seems to understand.... but ill try givin an explanation anyway. You rebuild the engine full on. Cams, cylinder heads, bullet proof block, rods, and piston heads, etc etc, and all that crap. Then when you want more power you can go turbo, and once you go turbo you have the capability to just swap out the piston heads and run HIGH HIGH boost cause you got the bullet proof block n all the other bullet proof internals to match up. Sure it'll be on the expensive side but i love a project that lasts forever.

In more simple terms you can just say you get the joy of seeing how much power is capable at N/A and whenver u want that extra power go swap piston heads n get a turbo when u get more money.

oh and buy the way the cars where about the same price. I think within a grand apart. I know that was my first dumb mistake. But I just felt I should go with the new one so i would know what kind of damage and been done to it since I did it.

I think you made the right choice. Everyone else here just has hard ons for EJ20's I guess.

P.S. I can "whoop up" on lightly modded WRX's (exhaust mods, manual boost controller) with less than a grand in engine mods. Don't let them tell you it can't be done...

Oh yeah, my car has been doing this for almost 3 years, on stock internals, and is in great condition.

Its just not possible to make an RS that fast and reliable.


You know this because...?

eh nobody seems to understand.... but ill try givin an explanation anyway. You rebuild the engine full on. Cams, cylinder heads, bullet proof block, rods, and piston heads, etc etc, and all that crap. Then when you want more power you can go turbo, and once you go turbo you have the capability to just swap out the piston heads and run HIGH HIGH boost cause you got the bullet proof block n all the other bullet proof internals to match up. Sure it'll be on the expensive side but i love a project that lasts forever.

Cap, I'm not trying to be as ass, but there is so much wrong with your post it's not even funny. You really need to do your research before you go and post something like this. Someone migth think you know what you're talking about and just go from there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fitz12444
Its just not possible to make an RS that fast and reliable.




You know this because...?

Now I agree with this fully. Who says you can't make an RS that fast and reliable??? Please tell me. I'm wondering what makes you the ultimate RS tuning expert around here?

Hughes, if you want more power you have quite a few options to choose. You are only limited by how much money you have to spend.

N/A build: You can do a nice N/A build for some decent power. Notice how I said decent power not huge power. This build would consists of parts like a CAI, Cat back exhaust, Equal length headers, high flow cat or track pipe, light weight pullies, light weight flywheel. All of that would be good for about 140whp and maybe 150wtq. That would be a fun car for sure.

If you want to get more crazy with the N/A build you could then get a set of cams, have your heads ported, and get some high CR pistions, get a semi-closed deck block for the high CR pisitons that is fully blanced and bluprinted. With something like this you could expect at the most 250hp at the crank, and probably 170whp, and possibly 180whp. The torque on this set up would be amazing, and you would probably see as much as 200 maybe 205wtq. With a set up like this you would be able to hand a stock WRX it's ass in every way, but once they add a TBE, and a reflash you're done for.

If you want to compensate for the N/A build and get a little more power you could add nitrous to your set up. This would yeild somewhere around 230whp, and 260wtq, Very nice numbers. Then you would keep up with moded WRX's.

A build up like I just listed will cost you probably in the neighberhood of 10k.

Turbo kit: If you want boost, and you want to do it on the stock Ej251 block, then a kit is the way to go. The kit will come with everything you need, and with nice parts. The most popular kit for our cars is the AVO turbo kit. Another kit for our cars is the F.A.T turbo kit. IMO both kits are top quality products and will give you what you want. Both kits will come with some sort of EM, a turbo, IC, piping, oil lines, possibly some gauges, and some other small misc parts you will need to install it. Expect a kit to run you about 4k, then you can install it, or pay someone to do it for you.

However you're not done just buy throwing the kit on there. YOu will need a few extra things to get some power. You will need to buy an exhaust, probably a 3" if not at leaset 2.5", you will also need a new clutch to hold all that power.

Expect to pay about 6k for a turbo kit with full tbe exhaust and a new clutch and any other misc stuff you will need to get it running right. That's 6k if you install it all your self. Expect to pay around 7k to have someone do all the work for you.

Power levels will be in the 210whp range. You will be able to stomp on a stock WRX all day. Probably be able to keep up with a stace 1 WRX. A stage 2 WRX would leave you in the dust, making you wish you went with the next option.

Swap: Take any Suabru engine you want and swap it into your RS chasis. The most popular swap being the ej20. We will use the USDM ej20 for this example.

This is an easy one to explain. Find an ej20 motor with everything on it, and then get the ECU and wiring harness. Take out old engine and put in new engine. You will want to get an exhaust while your at it.

If you can do all the work your self then expect to pay about 2500 to do it all. If you have to have some one else do it, it will cost you probably around 6k for everything.

Hp numbers will be right around 180whp, and 185tq.

The good thing about the swap is that you have good power to start with, and you can mod from there.

If you can do all the work you're self you could probably do a swap and then get something along the cobb stage 2.5 and be running about 270whp all day, and be reliable.

All of the above options are very different in every way possoble. They are all good ways to go. Each mod path has it's up's and down's. All of the above options can even be modified to fit what you want, and can be taken even further than what I listed. The optoins are endless with what you can do. IMO choose one and stick with it. Money and time will be your only limits.

Good luck.

Engine swap.

Have a nice day. :)




And I thought this was the N/A forum?

=S2=

My point was that, unless you "live your life a 1/4 mile at at time" :lol: :rolleyes: the STi would be a better alternative to a $30k 2.5RS.

If you just want to have mucho fun with the car, my advice would be to do a few bolt-on power mods, but get a GREAT suspension and track-worthy brakes. You can have a lot more fun on a race track (or autox course) than on a dragstrip. :)

X4 SRT "Turbo kit: If you want boost, and you want to do it on the stock Ej251 block, then a kit is the way to go. The kit will come with everything you need, and with nice parts. The most popular kit for our cars is the AVO turbo kit. Another kit for our cars is the F.A.T turbo kit. IMO both kits are top quality products and will give you what you want. Both kits will come with some sort of EM, a turbo, IC, piping, oil lines, possibly some gauges, and some other small misc parts you will need to install it. Expect a kit to run you about 4k, then you can install it, or pay someone to do it for you.

However you're not done just buy throwing the kit on there. YOu will need a few extra things to get some power. You will need to buy an exhaust, probably a 3" if not at leaset 2.5", you will also need a new clutch to hold all that power."

Sorry I didnt know how to Quote his reply. But anyways,

I was just looking at the AVO kit. If i go that route you think I should get the headers and exhaust now or after I install the turbo? I have had my eye on the Borla headers.

But it looks like I am going to want to take this route.

If you're planning on going with the AVO kit then I wouldn't even buy headers. The stock ones flow more than enough when you're running a turbo, and they're not going to crack on you like the borlas. Save yourself 400 dollars and put it into something else.

There is alos room for improvement onthe stock headers. If you pull them off and look down the piping you will see a little lip on the inside of the header. This is bad for flow, because it causes the exhaust gas to hit it, and then tumble. What you want is a smooth flow of air. If you can do it yourself or have someone do it for you then smooth down those lips, and you will have free horsepower. I did this on my RS, and I'm N/A and noticed a very nice difference. The gains would be even better with a turbo on your car.

ok then that takes care of that. But is it cool to get that big of an exhaust before I do everything else. And would 2.5 be really really loud or just LOUD.

Yeah you should get the exhaust when you install the turbo kit. the stock exhaust is way to restrictive for turbo application. Get at least 2.5", 3"would probably be the best. It won't be too loud depending on what you get. You're going to have to search for what exhaust you want, because there are way too many out there, and i"m not going to spend the time to go over all of them. Just jump in the turbo forums and see what they are running, and ask how loud they are.

hmm no offense here buddy but i think youre jumping the gun and getting a little cocky in the process

a wrx swap for me is 2700 dollars give or take, id do the work myself from what i understand its not that hard just a lot of hours

if you look reliabilty vs cost you will narrow in on the fact an sti shortblock is the best, most reliable way to go

building the ej25 puts u at the cost of an sti shortblock
if u can get one used w/ like 10k miles on it for 700 bucks, put in new pistons, get the crank balanced then u have a block proven around 400+whp, 8k redline

the ej25 isnt gonna like that for long and like everyone on here says, even if youre good, theres still a chance youll get a dob of oil on a crank bearing or something and there goes one bearing, its failure causing u atleast 5 hours of work to pull the motor and replace it then you gotta put it back in again....not fun



4.11 is a "shorter" gear ratio than 3.9. Numerically higher = lower geared.

I don't know why y'all are so pessimistic about turboing the EJ251. The only weakness is the ring lands. Advantages over WRX - You can do a full turbo kit, + management, + forged pistons for the price of a WRX swap, and you'll have a MUCH faster car that drives just fine. A turbo RS, making the same power as a WRX, will be faster. More displacement means less lag, better powerband, better throttle response. Yeah it's an open deck, but that doesn't really matter unless you're planning on making big (400 +) hp. And since when is higher compression ratio a bad thing? Take a turbo RS and a WRX both making 250 whp. If the WRX is 8.0 compression and the RS is 10.0, the RS is gonna be a MONSTER compared to the WRX. On top of that, it'll be better in a daily driver sense too, cuz it'll still make power off boost.

Don't listen to the naysayers, boost it! When I get around to doing my engine build, I'm going for about 9.5 compression, a 16G sized turbo, and a small dose of nitrous. If I see any of you at the track, I hope when I put 3 car lengths on you before the 60 foot mark, and still have less money invested than your stock WRX swap, you can find some comfort in the "He should have just bought a WRX" line.

To hell with a bunch of paying 6 grand for a loss of half a liter of displacement and only gaining about 70 whp up top...

the wiring harness is a bitch. YOu have to know what your doing or you can seriously mess stuff up.

hmm no offense here buddy but i think youre jumping the gun and getting a little cocky in the process

Possibly, I was just getting tired of everyone downing the EJ251. I agree an STi shortblock is probably the best option. My point was just the 251 isn't as bad as people are making it out to be, and given the choice, I'd take it over an EJ205 any day (207 is a different story :) )

And I was working off what seems to be the standard price of a complete WRX swap at a "reputable" shop, which is $6000 give or take a few hundred.

i see what youre saying jasona...

and crash, ive talked to a few people that have done the swap themselves
its all about removing one pin from the old wiring harness and putting it into the new one
as long as you know up from down and can spell u should be able to do it

anyone ive ever talked to has said it is hard. ive never done it myself.

the wiring harness is a bitch. YOu have to know what your doing or you can seriously mess stuff up.

I think crash knows best haha. It does make sense.... Swapping an engine into a car is more of a bitch to do than adding a turbo kit to the car.

I think crash knows best haha. It does make sense.... Swapping an engine into a car is more of a bitch to do than adding a turbo kit to the car.
I was gonna do a WRX engine swap in my RS, but I had jerry form deadboltspeed, kent (templar) from prestigemotorsports, and people from TopSpeed telling me not to do it because you have to KNOW what you are doing 100%. the main problem with mine was that the engine I found didnt have a wiring harness, so i would have had to use the RS harness.. WHICH IS STRONGLY ADVISED AGAINST!!!. even with a WRX harness, it will be very difficult. I knwo people who know ALOT about subarus and it took one 6 days of 14 hours days to do it.

It is not just plug in and go.

X4 and jasona, I dont claim to be "an RS tuning expert" just that I owned one for 2 years and did a lot of research and from everything I have read 200whp is the magic number for most RS's on terms of reliability and the owners cash into the original engine. after this point, a swap is usually the route taken and a very good route at that, I myself would love to have a pre 2002 RS with a WRX or even STi swap, who wouldnt. Im just giving my input from my experience to help someone that is trying to learn.

maybe ripping out the dash and using the wrx wiring harness, whats so wrong about using the stocker and just pulling pins out and putting them into the new connector for the wrx ecu ?!

So i figured I would want to put a turbo on here I just need to find ther right kit at the right price. I know I put this post in the wrong forum but hey I'm a newbie. If anyone could help me out with what I am trying to do please let me know.
THanks for all your advise peeps
Jon

Seriously man. If you're REAL into getting that turbo, your thread is gonna have to move over to the forced induction forum. This is N/A, so only a few people who browse here are gonna have details for you. Good luck with it!

Ok I will start a new Forum over there Please check it out.

Thanks
Jon

Funny Story with this peice. In the past 3 months it Blew up twice. Lovin it. Came to the conclusion since I first started this that Turboing this car is not worth it. Its just not. To much work, to much money, to many things can go wrong and for all that you could have yourself a new car. Like a 06 wrx.

So after my car blew the second time guess what I got?
<----- 06 WRX and spent probally less and have it now than if I would have even started with that car.

Just my last 2 cents on this topic.

Funny Story with this peice. In the past 3 months it Blew up twice. Lovin it. Came to the conclusion since I first started this that Turboing this car is not worth it. Its just not. To much work, to much money, to many things can go wrong and for all that you could have yourself a new car. Like a 06 wrx.

So after my car blew the second time guess what I got?
<----- 06 WRX and spent probally less and have it now than if I would have even started with that car.

Just my last 2 cents on this topic.
This thread needs to be linked to every person who wants to turbo an RS...

Funny Story with this peice. In the past 3 months it Blew up twice. Lovin it. Came to the conclusion since I first started this that Turboing this car is not worth it. Its just not. .


Ummmm, from what I read of your posts you never turboed your car, you blew it up because of lack of oil :eek: :huh:. So let's not blame the turbo, O.K.:devil: ?

And I think we need to link this to a basic maint thread, not a don't turbo your car thread.

and don't forget to check the oil in the new WRX weekly

to the OP. Read subiesport magazine. This issue has a big article on our 05 2.5RS build.

With a built motor, cams, headword I/H/E we are at 160whp
also we have suspension (endura-tech coilovers) and lots of little things like sways etc. we have done everything... We are at about WRX power now with a fatter torque curve.

If you want more power NA style, it will take some time and money. But you want a turbo so....

SELL THE RS AND GET A WRX.

It's the simplest way, if you JUST bought the car take it back to the dealer and see what you can work out to get into that 02 WRX. OR

Buy some used STi internals, buy a used short block OR just get an STi short block and bolt to your RS heads or get some WRX heads so about... $2000ish depending on if you go with new or used parts. Or just boost the RS motor till it pops.

Get a WRX exhaust mani, subframe, turbo, IC etc and make a DIY stock turbo kit and that will be cheaper than most of ways of doing it. And since you have an 05 you can get an accessport for it now. But in the meantime....

Learn to Drive... Find your local SCCA chapter or whatever and go autoX and learn about cornering and high-performance driving. /thread.

Travis
Managing Editor
Subiesport Magazine

http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39629
Total engine cost was about $2500.

Um, since you guys apparently skipped all the stuff on this page, the OP has ALREADY traded the RS for a WRX.

:lol:

Cliff's help...

The only weakness is the ring lands.


And I have 4 pistons from 3 motors to prove it! :D

the EJ253 can not handle a TD04-15G, let alone a VF39.

the path i would take if i had money to turbo.
1. spicy cams
2. COBB access port (once it comes out)
3. high compression pistons
4. head work
5. equal length headers, catless, 2.25" or 2.5" cat back (or maybe a dumpshoot)

thats my final plan i think.

for those sayin the RS is not streetable above 200whp well Scubie Sport magazine is building a 300 WHP N/A 2005 RS and its supposed to be done in November. Granted they have a huge budget to do it with but granted still 300 hp out of a N/A 2.5l flat four would be very impressive. Streetable none of the less.

for those sayin the RS is not streetable above 200whp well Scubie Sport magazine is building a 300 WHP N/A 2005 RS and its supposed to be done in November. Granted they have a huge budget to do it with but granted still 300 hp out of a N/A 2.5l flat four would be very impressive. Streetable none of the less.
Meaneditor can comment on this one :p

for those sayin the RS is not streetable above 200whp well Scubie Sport magazine is building a 300 WHP N/A 2005 RS and its supposed to be done in November. Granted they have a huge budget to do it with but granted still 300 hp out of a N/A 2.5l flat four would be very impressive. Streetable none of the less.

Yeah... see my above post about how we are only at 160whp after a full motor build, cams and headwork. 300whp NA on the street is a pipe dream at this point. And huge budget? Ahem... no lottery winners here. We use our "budget" to bring you the magazine.

I think the Zxyzx (<- or whatever) car has about the most NA hp out of anyone yet and it seems that car is a race car that gets to and from the track in a trailer (I don't really know so flame me for my ignorance if you like)

The harsh reality is that small displacemnt NA speed is hard to get at and will take some time to develope. And I don't think 300whp NA is in the cards... now on the bottle is another story...

The harsh reality is that small displacemnt NA speed is hard to get at and will take some time to develope.
http://tw.image.bid.yahoo.com/users/8/0/0/2/tun073957777-img600x450-1153069542_____138-7.jpg
From another thread...

There are stroker kits out there that would be fun to play with. Interestingly, the old 4 cam 2 liter boxer in the Porsche RS60/RSK was a free wheeling motor that could spin to 8000 rpm or so and made something like 250hp... in 1955.
But that again, was a race motor. There are things we have not messed with here. Titanium rods, dry-sump, bigger cams etc.

Ummmm, from what I read of your posts you never turboed your car, you blew it up because of lack of oil :eek: :huh:. So let's not blame the turbo, O.K.:devil: ?

And I think we need to link this to a basic maint thread, not a don't turbo your car thread.

Sorry I really didnt want to come across like I did turbo this car and the Blow it up. That was not my intension nor did I ever turbo this car.

I was just bored the other night and say this old post and thought I would update it.

From what I have learned about the car I would say it can be done. I have come across people with them and when my car blew up the first time I was acually over at Garagetuning and was considering a swap and saw some RS' is there that were done. (which if you read through the whole forum you would of noticed as well).

I was just stating from everything I went through learning about this car it would just be easier not to buy this car in the first place if you wanted more power. As you can read in this forum I was very determined to do this. I was really close too, but when I started to make the money and calculated everything I would have to do and all the things that could go wrong then ended up going wrong,it just made more sense to do this anyway. I just wouldnt recomend doing this unless you had nothing better to do with your money.

Actually before the car even blew up in the first place I kinda gave up on it was just going to get the coilovers and be done with her. It is still a quick car and beats everything in its class (besides maybe one or two) and I loved the pulling up to the Honda's. I was sad to see it go but I am very pleased with its replacement.

This is NA forum not a stinking turbo forum.