Element GT52 Turbo/Hydra/Hydramist 436 whp

[Element Tuning]

I had a chance to finally tune one of our GT52 turbochargers on a 2006 STI. This turbocharger is very similar to many other 7cm TD06 20G framed bolt-ons but that's where the comparison ends. In this particular turbocharger we are using a Garrett compressor and turbine wheels. The compressor is a GT30R rated at 52 lbs utilizes an internal wastegate.



Engine Modifications:

Engine is OEM 2006 STI
Element Hydra EMS
Element Hydramist
Element GT52 Bolt-on Turbocharger Internal WG
Element Header
Element Fuel Surge Tank
Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump
TurboSmart E-Boost 2
TurboSmart Megasonic BOV
Clutch Master’s STG4 Clutch
1000cc Low Impedance Fuel injectors
BDL Fuel Rails
Ported TGV Housings
FMIC
TBE (2.5” axle section)

The biggest hurdle I ran into was the silicone inlet pipe. It just kept collapsing but it was old and maybe past it’s prime. Pulling the air filter and various plugs on the intake didn’t help so I removed the intake system completely. Since we are using the Element Hydra EMS this didn’t present a problem. Once we had all the issues ironed out the first clean pull on pump gas with the Hydramist water/meth injection kit netted 400 whp. I turned up the boost more and more until we started to max out with the boost level. I was tired at this point and really didn’t want to try and preload the internal WG more on a hot turbocharger so boost would drop to 21 psi absolute. I could raise the torque by increasing boost but it would always drop down around peak power. I did what I could with fuel and spark tuning to net a peak power of 436 whp. Ideally I would have much preferred to up boost a couple more pounds which should have put this setup in the 450-460 whp range but this just wasn’t going to happen on the dyno. In the real world I had no problems holding 23 psi due to the higher loads generated.

All in all this is a pretty awesome setup for a bolt-on turbocharger with 20 psi peaking as early as 3600 rpm (on the dyno a little longer) without boost creep. No doubt an external wastegate setup would have allowed me to hold boost on the dyno but in the real world this just wasn’t an issue. The power delivery is fantastic for road racing as it allows great straight away power but more importantly you can short shift the car in technical sections and just let the torque pull you through where easily metered power is faster.

If you don’t visit the Motosports forum much here is a video at a recent NASA TT event where we finished first with this setup

http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/...1.20%20web.wmv

Thanks,
Phil
http://www.elementtuning.com

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[car_cursed]

what engine?

[pux888]

Simply amazing power and delivery for a bolt on turbo!

[Element Tuning]

The the car is a 2006 STI. The engine is bone stock.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[Element Tuning]

Originally Posted by pux888

Simply amazing power and delivery for a bolt on turbo!

The Hydramist really allows the turbocharger to shine as it's almost like tuning with race gas. The GT52 bridges the gap nicely between the average bolt turbocharger and the rotated Garrett setups. While something like our GT65 kit will make 435 whp on straight pump gas you do have more turbo lag and a higher investment cost. By going with the GT52, a Hydra, and Hydramist you can hit those power numbers a little easier if you've already been modifying your car and currently already have an exhaust or FMIC etc.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[ejh25]

This is great news Phil!
My car should hopefully put a wee bit more down!

[48mpg]

so what would i expect from at GT65, hydra, hydramist setup on a bone stock, '04 STi motor, on pump gas,

much more than 435 whp, or is the hydra mist more for a cushion on a stock motor, pump gas??

thanks,

[Element Tuning]

Originally Posted by 48mpg

so what would i expect from at GT65, hydra, hydramist setup on a bone stock, '04 STi motor, on pump gas,

much more than 435 whp, or is the hydra mist more for a cushion on a stock motor, pump gas??

thanks,

We have dyno plots on our website of a stock motor STi running the GT65 kit. You can get 435 whp with just pump gas but on a stock motor I recommend backing that tune down to 400-410 whp to reduce any chance of detonation. Adding the Hydramist will easily net you 70 whp more. Our car which also had camshafts did 532 whp on pump gas with the GT65, Hydra, and Hydramist. I attribute about 35 whp to the camshafts.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[Scooby921]

Hmmmm...one of the locals has a GT52. The car isn't tuned yet, but I've been wondering what kind of power it'll put down. The engine is a bit far from stock, so I suppose it should put down well over 450whp.

Just out of curiosity, what is the max boost for the GT52? My friend claims he hit 2.5bar, and that was supposedly wastegate pressure.

[Element Tuning]

Originally Posted by Scooby921

Hmmmm...one of the locals has a GT52. The car isn't tuned yet, but I've been wondering what kind of power it'll put down. The engine is a bit far from stock, so I suppose it should put down well over 450whp.

Just out of curiosity, what is the max boost for the GT52? My friend claims he hit 2.5bar, and that was supposedly wastegate pressure.

The standard WG is about 13 psi minium and the upgraded wastegate is 19 psi minimum. 2.5 bar would be 36 psi which this turbocharger may hit for 1 second if the wastegate line is disconnected but I wouldn't recommend that. You can hit 30 psi with this turbocharger but it will not likely hold more than 27 psi. The GT52 maxes out just under 500 whp with all the supporting modifications. When our Time Attack STI returns from the west coast I'll push a VP C16 tune on the stock motor and post the results.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[redrex2002]

thankyou i have been waiting to see some good numbers and charts on this turbo for some time now how well do u think this turbo would do with a bumped up red like like 8-8500k rpm?

[THE-95-STi]

I hope I can get mine Finished so I'll be ready for my tune I'll throw up some pic's of it in a sec

Few pics of my gt52

[THE-95-STi]

Originally Posted by Element Tuning

When our Time Attack STI returns from the west coast I'll push a VP C16 tune on the stock motor and post the results.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

If you want we could do that on Tuesday, I'll provide the C16 and pay for your time, if you can talk them into using the dyno for free??

and did they send you the part for my Hydramist??

[rjrutzky]

Good stuff as usual, Phil. Is this still prototype stuff or can you buy it now? (header, surge tank, GT52, GT65)

[THE-95-STi]

^^pics I got his last one, he is waiting on his next batch

[Element Tuning]

Originally Posted by rjrutzky

Good stuff as usual, Phil. Is this still prototype stuff or can you buy it now? (header, surge tank, GT52, GT65)

The header is some time off and is still really in testing. The GT65 kits have been fully tested and are only 2 weeks out. We have the Element Surge tanks in stock and the GT52 we've been selling quietly for some time now. I just wanted to make sure all the turbochargers were holding up and we weren't getting boost creep with various brands of downpipes.

He did buy the last GT52 we had in stock but more are on the way and I may have a dealer or two that have them in stock

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[Element Tuning]

Originally Posted by redrex2002

thankyou i have been waiting to see some good numbers and charts on this turbo for some time now how well do u think this turbo would do with a bumped up red like like 8-8500k rpm?

Unfortunately I don't have the answer to that. Like any bolt-on turbocharger it has limitations surrounding the turbine housing. I think with all the supporting modifications such as head work and cams to support an 8500 rpm redline the powerband would still be in the 4500-7500 rpm range but the output would be higher. It's hard for me to judge with this dyno plots as the limitation here was the boost dropping off so it doesn't accurately show what the GT52 is really capable of at high rpm.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[Dynasty336]

400whp possible w/o hydramist/alchohol/water injection or race? just pump?

[SuperSTI]

Phil does BLOUCH make your turbos?

It kinda looks like http://blouchturbo.com/turbos/WRX_Dominator_III/

[eviltuna7]

since you said it was fairly similar to a 20g, how is the spool of the gt52 compared to the 20g (i realize it's going to have more lag, but how much more)?

[Element Tuning]

Originally Posted by Dynasty336

400whp possible w/o hydramist/alchohol/water injection or race? just pump?

On an aggressive tune it will but I would say 385-390 is more realistic for a reliable tune.

Like I said this turbocharger is very similar to what many of the other manufacturers are doing as we can only differentiate our turbocharger by so much and still use available off the shelf components. We do outsource the building of our turbochargers but I'm not going to say which manufacture makes the turbocharger for us. That link however is not the Element GT52 turbocharger. If you like Element Tuning and you like our service you'll be happy with our turbochargers. I think more importantly dealers will be very happy selling them so you’ll have some choices and street pricing should be competitive with other alternatives.

Spoolup is similar to our GT49 which is like the Green, SZ 49, etc, etc. We've been able to get away with modifications to the hot side which haven't hurt spoolup, but have eliminated creep and increased turbine flow.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[SilverSurfer04STi]

EDIT - nevermind, you answered my questions Phil.

Thanks for the great information.

[SilverSurfer04STi]

I guess I have one more question - How much more power is possible with an EWG and without the water/meth injection using straight pump gas? I realize the IWG is super convenient and preferable by the masses, but I'm using EWG so I'm curious.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Element Tuning

On an aggressive tune it will but I would say 385-390 is more realistic for a reliable tune.

Like I said this turbocharger is very similar to what many of the other manufacturers are doing as we can only differentiate our turbocharger by so much and still use available off the shelf components. We do outsource the building of our turbochargers but I'm not going to say which manufacture makes the turbocharger for us. That link however is not the Element GT52 turbocharger. If you like Element Tuning and you like our service you'll be happy with our turbochargers. I think more importantly dealers will be very happy selling them so you’ll have some choices and street pricing should be competitive with other alternatives.

Spoolup is similar to our GT49 which is like the Green, SZ 49, etc, etc. We've been able to get away with modifications to the hot side which haven't hurt spoolup, but have eliminated creep and increased turbine flow.

Thanks,
Phil
www.elementtuning.com

[D Money]

wow, sick!

[rjrutzky]

Me wants this cold side to go on my 8cm hot. 3 inch inlet would be buttery too. Make it happen Phil. You heard me