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Old 09-08-2012, 01:04 PM   #1
Pawl-
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Question 05 Legacy GT Limited - 06-09 wrx / turbo fitment??

Hi guys! need your help..

I have a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited. the turbo gave up on me yesterday when I was on my way to work. (Turbo damaged confirmed by my mechanic).
I called putnam subaru and the price for new turbo is crazy expensive..

Now im looking for a used replacement turbo and I saw 2 turbo for sale on craigslist.
First is a turbo charger from a 2009 Impreza Sti
and second is a turbo charger from a 2006 Impreza wrx..

Do you think those turbo would bolt on to my engine without modification?

Advice would be greatly appreciated..

thank you
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Old 09-08-2012, 01:17 PM   #2
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neither of those will fit. you need a turbo from a 05-09 lgt/spec b, or one from a 08-13 wrx. I will suggest you stay away from the 08 though. look for a good VF52(09-13 wrx), and get a tune for it.
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Old 09-08-2012, 01:53 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shtbxr255 View Post
neither of those will fit. you need a turbo from a 05-09 lgt/spec b, or one from a 08-13 wrx. I will suggest you stay away from the 08 though. look for a good VF52(09-13 wrx), and get a tune for it.
Thank you so much for the quick response.

when you say "look for a good VF52(09-13 wrx), and get a tune for it"
do i need to take it to the dealership and re tune my ecm?

I'm not planning to increase my hp or something.
i would just like my car to work normal again..
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Old 09-08-2012, 02:01 PM   #4
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The dealership will not tune you for a different size turbo.
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Old 09-08-2012, 03:36 PM   #5
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You will need a vf40 from a lgt if you do not want to tune or gain from the new turbo
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Old 09-08-2012, 05:04 PM   #6
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You don't really NEED a re-tune for a different turbo, but if you want a re-tune for any turbo you will get significantly better performance from the car, and in certain cases will gain reliability margin, as there are portions of the stock mapping that are prone to knock issues.

Bay area places for that include:
GST motorsports (Hayward)
Equilibrium tuning (Fairfield)
Fine Line Imports (Sonoma area somewhere)
LIC motorsports (peninsula)

Turbos you are looking for are 05-09 Legacy GT or 08+ WRX.
There are a few aftermarket options.
The Kinugawa 16G will respond similarly to a stock turbo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kinugawa-Tur...item19cf38ea56
Blouch 380XT is a little bigger, and there is better customer support as they're US based, but the price is higher too: http://www.bptstore.com/Subaru-Legac...ger_p_113.html

Last edited by Concillian; 09-08-2012 at 05:11 PM.
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Old 09-08-2012, 06:12 PM   #7
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Don't need a retune for a different turbo?
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Old 09-08-2012, 08:28 PM   #8
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ok. so i found another one from ebay.. mine is a vf40 and the seller has a vf46 from a 2006-2010 legacy.. will this work?
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Old 09-08-2012, 08:40 PM   #9
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yes. but to be nitpicky, the VF46 was from 07-09. 06 had VF40, and 10 had VF54.

basically, VF40, VF46, VF52 is what you can use. If you wanted to sacrifice power, in a pinch you could use an 08 wrx TD-04.
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Old 09-08-2012, 08:41 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pawl- View Post
ok. so i found another one from ebay.. mine is a vf40 and the seller has a vf46 from a 2006-2010 legacy.. will this work?
vf46 is from a legacy spec b. yes it will work. you will need a custom tune though. i would go with the stock vf40 if you arent ready to get a tune.
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Old 09-08-2012, 08:43 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shtbxr255 View Post
yes. but to be nitpicky, the VF46 was from 07-09. 06 had VF40, and 10 had VF54.

basically, VF40, VF46, VF52 is what you can use. If you wanted to sacrifice power, in a pinch you could use an 08 wrx TD-04.
and still need a custom tune. no one is telling the op that. you cant just throw a different turbo on an call it a day.
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Old 09-08-2012, 09:01 PM   #12
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vf46 is from a 07-09 legacy gt/spec b. yes it will work. you will need a custom tune though. i would go with the stock vf40 if you arent ready to get a tune.
fixed.
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Old 09-08-2012, 09:05 PM   #13
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so basically i can use the vf46 without tuning but i wont get the full potential of the power of the turbo? did i get that right??
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Old 09-08-2012, 10:51 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 424wrx View Post
and still need a custom tune. no one is telling the op that. you cant just throw a different turbo on an call it a day.
Only one person really said he didn't need a tune FYI.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pawl- View Post
so basically i can use the vf46 without tuning but i wont get the full potential of the power of the turbo? did i get that right??
No, you NEED to tune for any turbo that is not stock. You need a VF40 that came stock, otherwise you will need to be protuned to run correctly.
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Old 09-09-2012, 12:15 AM   #15
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If you get a bigger turbo, you can run a hose from the compressor nipple directly to the wastegate actuator to bypass the boost control solenoid. That will limit your boost to whatever the wastegate spring provides, which is rather low. That will let you run safely without retuning the ECU. You'll be leaving a lot of power on the table by doing that, but you'll be safe. And it will feel like a whole new car when you finally do get it tuned.
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Old 09-09-2012, 05:05 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HinshawWRX View Post
Don't need a retune for a different turbo?
With stock ECU, your boost control will be stock. Fueling isn't affected and at the same boost levels, your timing will be okay too.

No, the car will not blow up if you swap turbos and don't tune for it. It's not strictly necessary, but you will not see any benefits either.

In CA, if you get a ticket and have to go to the SMOG ref, he will ignore a big honking turbo, but fine you for an intake or different injectors or an MBC... as these are things that actually will affect the tuning.
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Old 09-09-2012, 02:24 PM   #17
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I am surprised that no one mentioned this yet. You will have to do more than just change the turbo. When the turbo goes on an lgt it can do some major damage. At the very least you need to do/buy the following:

New oil cooler
Drop oil pan and clean debris from turbo carnage
New turbo oil feed line/avcs filters

I suggest going to legacygt.com and read there if you have not done so already.
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Old 09-10-2012, 12:25 AM   #18
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There would be no need for a custom tune with a VF46. It is only a slightly updated version of the VF40. I would be surprised if you can even buy a VF40 from Subaru anymore, more than likely it would be a VF46.

And if you made a large change to the turbo, i.e. from the stock VF40 to something like a 16/18G or any of the other various BOLT ON turbos for the LGT, you would need to retune. Not for the fueling or timing necessarily, but because a turbo that different will need the wastegate duty cycle tuned. Without even going to a massively larger turbo, I had to make pretty considerable changes to the WGDC to keep it from overboosting.

Honestly though, stock turbo for an LGT is in the $1000 range brand new. That isn't bad, and going with a used turbo (especially another VF40) is questionable at best.

And also, pay careful attention to post #17, or you'll be replacing the engine in <1000miles.
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