turboing my 2002 RS

I want to put a turbo into my RS but im not sure which way to go. I dont know a great deal about the systems but ive been trying to learn as much as i can. I read the FAQ here as well as a couple others and ive been looking at turbo kits from various sites. www.forcedairtech.com has some good looking kits but im still a little confused. Does the intercooler add more horsepower? at thier site the Stage 1 and the Stage 2 have the same components except for an intercooler on the stage 2. it says they have same horsepower gains however. Also if i put in one of thier kits with a intercoolers, will i need a hood scoop? how would i put one on a 2002 RS 2.5? The other option i have been looking at was a Front mounted intercooler, ive found a FMI that goes in my car but unfortunatly no kits that come with them. I also have not been able to figure out how they work. Any help or advice you can offer will be much appreciated.

An intercooler is there to help cool the air coming from the turbo before it gets to the intake manifold.
A turbo, through its design adds to the temperature of the incoming air, an intercooler will help reduce that air temperature again.
The cooler the air going into the engine the greater the gain, in this sense an intercooler is definitely an advantage.

If you went with a top moung IC, you could get a hood off a WRX and fit that to your car, it's a direct swap and really easy.

Front mounts will cool the air even more due to the greater air flow over the surface, the downside is front mounts are more prone to damage whereas top mounts are protected more.

Ok, so if i wanted to go with a Front mounted intercooler what kind of turbo/parts should i get.

You could get the non-intercooled stage 1 kit, and buy an intercooler, then have a shop make the piping for it.

you need the same turbo as you had with the TMI but you just need a FMI and then differnt pipeing to get the air from the turbo to the Intercooler then to the intake of the engiene

if you have any friends with turbocharged cars who actually know about turbo systems then make the kit yourself. you will save hundreds of dollars. You will need to get a new exhaust manifold (one designed for a turbo), the turbo, the intercooler, for your intake plumbing and exhaust some 2.5 or 3 inch steel tubing ( unless you are good at welding aluminum which is very hard ), a mig welder ( you could rent one but i suggest buying one as they are extrememly handy, especially for making a custom short throw shifter for free ), some engine management stuff, a fuel pump, boost and A/F guage, bov, and some oil lines. if you make it yourself you can get a big fmi which will flow way more air and jsut put a piece of screen in front of it to protect it. And you can spraypaint something cool on the screen or on the fmi itself ( like a logo or a cuss word ). Now that i typed all that i guess it is a little more complicated than it first sounded, but you will apreciate it way more, know more about your car, be able to fix things when they break and change out things easily.

one more thing that i have actually heard of people over looking. When you get your turbo kit on, make sure you put 92 or 93 or whatever the highest octane fuel at whatever gas station you are at is, in your car.

thanks guys, what sites would you guys recommend as the best for buying parts not in a kit? and maybe a site with some more detailed instructions as to doing this? Also if i wanted to have a shop do the piping, how would i find a shop that could do this for me?

this will help you understand turbo systems better
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm

check these one out too
http://www.turbocalculator.com/custom.html

oil line stuff
http://www.turbonation.com/oilline.htm

this one is super helpfull, just remember that it doesnt matter what kind of car you are making a custom kit for, its all the same
http://www.cse.uconn.edu/~yelevich/turbo/turbo.html

hey thanks, any suggestions on which turbos to go with for my RS? wheres the best place to get the parts for my kit?

t3 if you dont really plan on building any internals

t3/t4 hybrid if you plan on getting some forged internals

t4 if you plan on building the hell out of your internals and going for a very fast car

i would go with the t3/t4 cause you do have a 2.5


eBay, dude

you can piece together a kit for around 1500, probably even less. of course, it will be just that, a $1500 turbo kit....lol

used wrx turbo...get it clipped
used wrx TMIC (if it cools a wrx running around with 14.5 psi stock, it'll be fine for the 5-6 psi you'll be able to run).
Stock bov, or GFB, something cheap that'll be a direct replacement
Subachad up and downpipes uniquemotorsports.com (i think he still makes the pipes...)
A voltage clamp for the map sensor
intake....with filter....ooh that'll be a difficult custom mod..:lol:
a boost gauge, egt temp gauge, maybe oil pressure
gauges mounts
a wastegate
custom exhaus


or you could be a badass and go with a tec-3 ecu, some t3/t4 BB turbo, MRT FMIC (which will severly cut down the safety of front impact accident..lol) some TWE or other equal length headers, header heat wrap, fidanza flywheel/cltuchmasters stage 3, and then a nice BOV, tial wastegate, custom up/down pipes, and then don't forget...the all important spare tranny with sti gears!

just the tec-3 would give you mad tuneability and let your mind rest whilst running 10+ psi on stock internals.

don't forget to think about getting the heads o-ringed....from previous experience, it's not really all that worth it to turbo the 2.5. For probably the price of a mid level kit you can swap a wrx better yet jdm wrx/sti engine AND tranny. then you'll be able to play around with a stock hp range of 227 - 276.

i'm telling you...you turbo the 2.5, then strengthen something else, like getting a tec ECU. Then you can comfortably run 10 psi on stock internals....but does it stop there..no...you say...heeeey let's just o-ring the block and turn it up a psi or 2. then what happens...oooh the valves are starting to float...let's just get the twe valve set....heeey...feeels nice....turn up the boost a couple psi....ooh man, i'm maxing the injectors...gotta get 660's or 720's....ahhhh, gots the gas, turn up the boost....then what happens...eh? you're on the interstate racing a supra, kicking ass, then...then...you hear it....detonation...you feel the timing pull back...BAM it's too late...and you've wasted about 10 grand on aftermarket internals. lol...that's just one example.

its cheaper and more effective to do an engine swap, because the 2.5rs engine cant handle a big turbo

it's not that the 2.5 can't handle a big turbo...i know a couple of ppl off hand that are running 10 - 14 psi on stock internals. It's all in the tuning, that's all. It's just that for the cost of PROPERLY turboing an RS....a whole engine/drivetrain transplant is a better option. and you'll still have a unique car. and if you opt standalone, then you only have to do about 2/10's of the wiring necessary.

Or... you could enjoy the throttle response, powerband and torque a 12% larger engine offers, especially with the higher compression. Thats the reason 7psi on an RS is faster than 15 on a WRX.

that's very true...a turbo rs is very fun....but with such a wide variety of factory turbo engines and aftermarket parts now available somewhat cheaply, is it going to be worth that extra throttle response if/when something major happens? i guess it's all up to the owner of the car.