GC8 Turbo Options
 

Hey guess i'm currently in the process of buying parts to upgrade my 1996 WRX performance wise. I recently bought a Power FC and was planning on getting a tune with the stock TD04h but someone suggested i upgrade to a larger turbo such as a TD06 18G. From what i've found is that this is a pretty big turbo for a stock 2 litre and im guessing i wouldn't be able to use the full potential of the turbo without upgrading internals.

Does anyone know what kind of power i could expect a stock ej20 to handle? Or if theres another turbo which would be better suited?

Thanks.

Vf34/35

[QUOTE=red dragon2002;763431]Vf34/35[/QUOTE]

Will that work fine on a stock motor? Engine is also 17 years old so no idea how strong it is now.

Any bigger turbo will put strain on any motor.

How long is a piece of string?

[QUOTE=Imprezive;763432]Will that work fine on a stock motor? Engine is also 17 years old so no idea how strong it is now.[/QUOTE]

Heaps gc8 owners use those turbo's. I am kind of the same boat as you however decided to tune the standard td04 and see if she's alright. It's done 230k km so will see what happens but i reckon she'll be right.

If the turbo blows up you motor then good excuse for a 207 :D

Is there a way to test the condition of a motor? i know there's leak down and compression test but do they give a good idea about the condition of the engine? If i could find out what my engine is like then i could decide whether to save for a rebuild and upgrade that engine or if the current engine is healthy enough to upgrade.

[QUOTE=red dragon2002;763439]Heaps gc8 owners use those turbo's. I am kind of the same boat as you however decided to tune the standard td04 and see if she's alright. It's done 230k km so will see what happens but i reckon she'll be right.

If the turbo blows up you motor then good excuse for a 207 :D[/QUOTE]

How much did you get out of the td04?

Thats what i was thinking haha thats why im not sure if its worth upgrading this engine or just saving for 207.

Go the VF34, it's veeeery nice :)

[QUOTE=Imprezive;763441]How much did you get out of the td04?

Thats what i was thinking haha thats why im not sure if its worth upgrading this engine or just saving for 207.[/QUOTE]

Will let u know soon hopefully. Picking up avcr next week and will then book tune. I have tbe, 04 rex ic, silicone intake, pod filter, elh so will see what she puts out. Not after numbers just more response really. It's my daily...

Twin scroll loving..

[QUOTE=red dragon2002;763444]Will let u know soon hopefully. Picking up avcr next week and will then book tune. I have tbe, 04 rex ic, silicone intake, pod filter, elh so will see what she puts out. Not after numbers just more response really. It's my daily...[/QUOTE]

pretty much same setup as me at the moment besides headers, keen to see what power that can make.

You could do what I did, a VF28 from a GC STi. I made ~250HP on that one with appropriate mods.

[QUOTE=SyncSubaru;763566]You could do what I did, a VF28 from a GC STi. I made ~250HP on that one with appropriate mods.[/QUOTE]

What other mods did you have?

[QUOTE=Imprezive;763568]What other mods did you have?[/QUOTE

Search "user name", started threads; a build thread/my driveway thread might appear.

Gt35 and lots of boost!

[QUOTE=Imprezive;763568]What other mods did you have?[/QUOTE]

Walbro Fuel Pump, Exhaust and a Top Mount Intercooler from a 2003-2005 model STi. I guess you could say the silicone hoses are important too.

And then we were using a ViPEC ECU to tune it - Not sure if an aftermarket ecu VS Ecutek/Verso will make a huge difference or not, but I would say the Fuel Supply, Exhaust and Cooling are the big ticket items.

OP speaks of a PFC which is perfectly fine for his objective I think. Many moons ago I ran a PFC, Walbro fuel pump, larger TMIC, exhaust and VF30 to the tune of around 160~170KW at the hubs on a stock EJ205. Ran all the way up to 200K kilometres with no hassles.

I've got similar mods:
Front mount intercooler
3" tbe
Silicon intake
Apexi power intake
And apparently has warlbro fuel pump and 440cc injectors but i Havnt checked yet.
And the power Fc which isn't installed yet.

So its pretty much all set for a tune. Just not sure if its worth upgrading the turbo.

I saw someone on here selling a TD06 60-1( which is apparently like a 20g) really cheap. That would probably make too much power for the engine but is it possible just run it on less boost or would it still be laggier because of the larger turbo?

[QUOTE=Imprezive;763592]I've got similar mods:
Front mount intercooler
3" tbe
Silicon intake
Apexi power intake
And apparently has warlbro fuel pump and 440cc injectors but i Havnt checked yet.
And the power Fc which isn't installed yet.

So its pretty much all set for a tune. Just not sure if its worth upgrading the turbo.

I saw someone on here selling a TD06 60-1( which is apparently like a 20g) really cheap. That would probably make too much power for the engine but is it possible just run it on less boost or would it still be laggier because of the larger turbo?[/QUOTE]

Im thinking that turbo with the front mount will be quite laggy indeed.

[QUOTE=SyncSubaru;763624]Im thinking that turbo with the front mount will be quite laggy indeed.[/QUOTE]

You are dead right, a blast up top but leaves you wanting at the lower RPM.

I had a TD05 18G which made plenty of power and had great punch in the lower RPM with a FMIC. Was a blast to drive :D

You already have the power fc. So do what is tried and tested by about a trillion wrx owners if you want good, reliable power without lag central.
Second hand VF-34 about $500-700
Fuel pump - $200 (you might already have it)
GD STI top mount - $300-400 (speak to your tuner regarding your front mount, again this will probably be a touch laggier than a TMIC due to all the added pipework, but will probably make more power)
Tune -$400

Don't reinvent the wheel on a 17 year old car. And don't go and spend $18 grand on something worth less than $8 grand...


If you throw a td06 on without huge boost, then there is no point. Do you trust your engine to throw in big boost? I wouldn't...
Waste of coin chucking a td06 on unless you want to spend big big dollars rebuilding that engine or getting another built engine to run big boost if you ask me.

For less than $2grand drive in drive out you could have yourself a street weapon with ~250HP atw running 17-18 psi so hopefully not stressing your old engine too much.

[QUOTE=REXXXED;763635]For less than $2grand drive in drive out you could have yourself a street weapon with ~250HP atw running 17-18 psi so hopefully not stressing your old engine too much.[/QUOTE]

Response & Reliability should be the aim of the game :D

My point exactly

In not after big power, just more responsiveness and kick out of the car. So the vf34 use suggested sounds like a good option so i will keep a look out for a good 2nd hand one. Was just wondering about the td06 because it was so cheap, about $400 i think and then when this motor eventually dies i would already have a pretty good turbo for a new engine.

[QUOTE=Imprezive;763677]In not after big power, just more responsiveness and kick out of the car. So the vf34 use suggested sounds like a good option so i will keep a look out for a good 2nd hand one. Was just wondering about the td06 because it was so cheap, about $400 i think and then when this motor eventually dies i would already have a pretty good turbo for a new engine.[/QUOTE]

Even still, a turbo like that requires alot of noise pedal to really get any benefits out of it. You want your boost kicking in hard by 2-2.5k and holding for a while. Its no good to you for a street car if you have to drive it in high revs to get what you paid for. The point of a Street WRX is to take off like a rocket and handle like its glued to the road, not slowly build up to a sudden surge of power when your already at or past the speed limit.

I have no clue on turbo types and sizes so i wasn't sure how big the td06 was, but by the sounds of it its too big for what I'm after. I'm after useable power in the lower rpms so the vf34 use suggested should be good for that, and if i did eventually rebuild the engine the vf34 should still be able to produce abit more power?

I have a VF24 on my GC8. Spools early enough. Holds boost all the way through the rev range. Shits on the TD04. Bought second hand for about $400. Im very happy with it. The car is for street only, and there's only so many places you can go 0 to 100.

Also, the VF28 I got second hand for my car I paid $200.