Cut a hole in the bonnet and go TMIC. It will be more responsive. Fuck the FMIC. GDA+ TMIC FTW (Spec C TMIC are supposed to be even better). FMIC are all hype I think. Yeah, they are better for lack of heat soak. But that's about it.
My shopping list would be, with the motor you have.
1. VF35 - Why? because you can get one at 1/2 the price of a VF34. With your motor, I would run 1.2 - 1.3 bar (17 - 19 psi) of boost. I made 252hp ATH & 370nm of torque with mine, at 1.6 bar (23 psi). Mine is a EJ207 though. Sold my VF35 for $370. VF34 are $950+ second hand.
2. Catless up-pipe, or smash the cat (honeycomb material) out of yours. If you have a cat in it, I think you will have.
3. Power FC - Why? Will do better than any standard Subaru
ECU of your
ECU age. One on ebay for $900 ATM. I think its for your model. You can get an
ECU-teck tune for your
ECU I think though. Not sure how good this is. But, it is an option.
4. Full
TBE, should be able to do it for under $800 new, or search for second hand options.
5. CAI, goes without saying really
6. Boost controller. This is a must for low end pull, with any turbo you choose.
7. Put bigger cams in your heads. Your motor is out of the engine bay (I think), saves time and money. Probably look at 264's. Possibly some porting / flowing of the heads too. There are some ported STI heads with cams on Rexnet ATM.
8. Higher rating (opening pressure) waste gate actuator. HKS have a 1 bar one that would suit you I think.
I cant stress enough that you need to remember you have a weak bottom end. You can only push it so much, its not forged. I would not go over 1.2 -1.3 bar myself on it. But it s up to you. VF35 will get you up to 1.6 bar if you want it too, with a boost controller that is, & upgraded waste-gate actuator.
I think this would get you 220 + hp at the hubs with 340+ nm of torque (with head work, or STI heads). Which is heaps for a daily. The VF35 will spool up real quick and go hard till around 6000 - 6300 rpm, until it runs out of flow. The VF34 will keep going another 500 to 700 rpm, but it will cost you 3 times the amount in coin, for another 35 to 45 hp. VF34 over the VF35, worth it? I don't think so, but others do. Its a personal opinion I guess. Power for money? Its always a compromise.
Try to go TMIC for throttle response if you can. Don't forget, you have a weak bottom end, that will more than likely let go when you least expect it. Especially if you push too much boost into it / run it too hard.
Definitely work on your heads ad cams though. This will make a massive difference on which turbo you choose and how it flows. These can always be taken to your next project if you have some replacements.
As for the
ECU & the rest of the build, think long term
. So long as you keep the original
ECU & other parts. Say you get a Motec or Vi-pec
ECU, you can pull it out, swap it over with the standard
ECU that you already have and take it to your next project. The money you invest now will save you money in the long run. Just keep this in mind.
I guess it depends on your long term goals though......... I paid $1000, or close to it, for a Verso tune. If I had paid the $2500 for the Vi-pec then, I could have saved myself the $1000, due to changing my set up and chasing more power.
Tell us more what you have now & more importantly what you want out of what you intend to do, with the project you are about to start. We could say get a TD06 - 20G turbo, boost it to 1.8 bar. Your motor is not going to last very long though.
I have a EJ207. I am running 1.6 bar with a HKS GT2835. I doubt my motor will last another 25,000ks. That's why I am building another motor. Remember, Subaru only ever intended the WRX motors to run around 1 - 1.2 bar of boost pressure. That's WRX to STI. Sure they are probably engineered to run twice that amount. But I doubt this would be for extended periods of time.
Explain in more detail, what you have & what you intend on building. My general consensus is you have the wrong motor to be wanting to build up. Especially the necessity to be running a FMIC.
If the answer is as easy and simple as the question, TMIC & Power FC would be my choice.
FMIC. Look for a 2.5 inch turbo inlet to inter-cooler and 3" out of the inter-cooler to the throttle body.
Ask more questions and give us more detail, if you cant find what you are looking for using the search function.