How reliable is a boosted FRS/BRZ?

[icemang17]

generally speaking adding boost to a 12.5 CR engine is NOT a good idea.....

making more power via boost is always an easy option for nearly any engine, but it must come in a properly designed package.... Its safe to say that Subaru feels confident that 300hp-300 torque out of their turbo version of our engines meets their lifespan requirements, and are regarded as long lasting engines.....

I look at it like this....if you ask an engine to deliver 150% its rated power, it should be able to do it (if well built)...

Bottom line if you are looking for big power....look elsewhere....2.0L of displacement will be hard pressed to throw down impressive dyno runs AND live for a while..... Power come from on of the following sources:

1: More displacement
2: More RPM
3: Boost

gotta pick your poison

[Neuro]

I've owned and driven work trucks all my life .. this is the first sport vehicle I have ever purchased. So im in the "learning stage".

So far the scion FR-s is a blast I love it. But I would like some more power in early acceleration .. Nothing too fantastic just a small boost .. Id like to see something like a 30-50 horsepower increase...

Would something so low in boost even be considered as a possible threat to reliability for a 2.0L with the compression the FA20 has?

the more important question is.. will any kits that cater to such conservative goals present themselves and make it to the market? Or is everyone aiming for 75 to 100+ horsepower increases

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by thermobox

We won't know until engines start popping. I was thinking about this today also and I rationalized that it was ok by looking at other cars at market.

The Hyundai/Kia's are using Di and turbos. Why can't we?

Originally Posted by Neuro

I've owned and driven work trucks all my life .. this is the first sport vehicle I have ever purchased. So im in the "learning stage".

So far the scion FR-s is a blast I love it. But I would like some more power in early acceleration .. Nothing too fantastic just a small boost .. Id like to see something like a 30-50 horsepower increase...

Would something so low in boost even be considered as a possible threat to reliability for a 2.0L with the compression the FA20 has?

the more important question is.. will any kits that cater to such conservative goals present themselves and make it to the market? Or is everyone aiming for 75 to 100+ horsepower increases

well there are multiple kits being tested, a couple of them see track time and have about 5000 miles on the kit at over 300whp

mind you that 50 hot laps around a track is VERY hard on an engine or 50 pulls down a 1/4 mile strip are also VERY hard on the car putting down double the factory hp

since a couple kits are now pushing 500whp and have 1000 miles put on them during testing(all testing is, it doing pull after pull and driving around town, then going to the track), im going to say 250 whp is pretty reliable and i would expect the engine to last at that power level to over 100k miles with the right maintenance , high grade oil in the engine/transmission/rear dif, and regular oil changes, 2.5k-3k miles, for me thats 5 years of reliability for others thats 10 years, and even longer the more time you spend out of boost on your normal point A to point B trips.

my last car i had a tuned and modified it to 9800 rpms(that is a LOT of stress on stock internals) ran it like that for 30k miles (i did the modifications starting around 122k miles on a 11 year old car) beat the shit out of it and had zero problems, would actually do a tear down when i was bored to check a few parts, i had zero scarring,no sludging, and almost no carbon build up in the combustion chamber, and everything stayed withing factory tolerance up until i sold the car at 152000 miles by then my car was 13 years old and saw one of the coldest winters and one of the hottest summers texas had been through during this whole process

reliability relies on manufacturing tolerances, quality of materials used, how hard you are on the car, and most importantly how well you take care of your car (more care suggested when beating the shit out of it )

but in the end i think the engine will be fin under 8psi for a long time, enjoy the boost folks!

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by icemang17

generally speaking adding boost to a 12.5 CR engine is NOT a good idea.....

I disagree... the higher CR means less boost for the same hp. Less boost means a cooler intake charge (compressing makes it hot).

As long as it's tuned well, and the internals are strong enough a high CR is perfectly fine for boost.

Diesel engines run way higher CR's, and they do just fine with a turbo

[jadewbj]

So far I am very impressed with the motor holding up in these multiple turbo kits. There have been tons of Dyno runs, 1/4 passes and track laps. Some of these cars are making well over 400HP.

For me that means my dream of a rather low boost kit with 300WHP would be a very reliable car.

If that fails then I will swap one of the new FA20 Turbo motors from the new WRX when they become available.

[Rayme]

For one thing, it will not make it more reliable and will reduce the engine's life and lower resale value - So it's an expensive trade off to be considered…

But as others as said, a mild boost would probably be reliable for a few years before major trouble, but will make you hungry for more! I supercharged a civic SI @ 5 psi and it gave me about 20-30 whp, it was faster but I felt kinda bad that for 3000$+ it wasn't all "that faster".

I hope some company come out with engine mounts relocators for swaping WRX/STI EJ's if that's even possible.

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by ottopilot

I supercharged a civic SI @ 5 psi and it gave me about 20-30 whp, it was faster but I felt kinda bad that for 3000$+ it wasn't all "that faster".

I hope some company come out with engine mounts relocators for swaping WRX/STI EJ's if that's even possible.

AVO for about 4K will give you about 100 WHP and 80 WTQ @ 5 psi while their main focus is reliability. They are looking very hard to beat right now.

[ft_sjo]

Originally Posted by Visconti

Only time will tell.

But I'll try my best to make sure these motors stay together.

What kind of spark angles and EGT's are you seeing on these turbo conversions? (pump and/or e85)

[Jaylyons1]

So a year has passed. Have there been any issues? I'm especially interested in any repeat or similar problems with different cars. I'm debating picking up a turbo kit over the next few months.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

So a year has passed. Have there been any issues? I'm especially interested in any repeat or similar problems with different cars. I'm debating picking up a turbo kit over the next few months.

There's a local with a rod through his block.

[Opposed]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

So a year has passed. Have there been any issues? I'm especially interested in any repeat or similar problems with different cars. I'm debating picking up a turbo kit over the next few months.

There are plenty of guys running 300whp+ with over 20k hard miles on them without any issues.

[Whitigir]

Originally Posted by thermobox

We won't know until engines start popping. I was thinking about this today also and I rationalized that it was ok by looking at other cars at market.

The Hyundai/Kia's are using Di and turbos. Why can't we?

Hyundai and Kia design their car engine and all to last about 130-150k Approximately. So they don't care what they put on it, Plastics, or Turbo, or Chinese Rims.

Toyota and others Japanese company are making cars to last you a life time, if not just 300k-500k Milages to the engine, and endless of the "Late Oil Changes" happens.

Therefore, Toyota or any Japanese company are taking heavy consideration and details in each Bolts to give the car the longest life. Nissan is the one doing GTR turbos right now. Honestly talking, it is Cheap for the price it has, and the works that put into it

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

So a year has passed. Have there been any issues? I'm especially interested in any repeat or similar problems with different cars. I'm debating picking up a turbo kit over the next few months.

I have had my Full Blown kit for about 8 months now and 15,000+ miles. In that time I have not blown my motor, had any CELs, or any other major issues. I am fully confident in the reliability of my boosted BRZ.

[brzaapi]

Originally Posted by King Tut

I have had my Full Blown kit for about 8 months now and 15,000+ miles. In that time I have not blown my motor, had any CELs, or any other major issues. I am fully confident in the reliability of my boosted BRZ.

I am hoping for the same. Good to hear.