AVO Turbo Installed on A/T BRZ
 

Intro

I bought my A/T BRZ in May 2012, I have about 7k miles on her now. Since owning it, I felt it needed more power IMO. I know some will argue "it's not meant to have a turbo" ...

Several months ago I had a chance to drive Paul's @AVOturboworld turbo'd M/T FRS, about a week later I pre-ordered mine w/ ceramic coating. I arranged installation and dyno tune with Bob @Drift-Office in Auburn, WA.

I stayed in frequent contact w/ Paul and Bob. I was confident that the AVO turbo was for me. With both parties involved, the end prodcut would be excellent based on their reputations, experience and customer service.

While waiting for the turbo, Drift-Office flashed their NA stage 1 Ecutek tune. The added power and torque gains were substantial, however; it made me realize that I wanted a lot more power and torque.

REVIEW DAY 1

So, the AVO turbo recently arrived at Drift-Office, which I quickly dropped my BRZ off with Bob. My turbocharged BRZ was picked up yesterday afternoon at Drift-Office. Right now, my setup is on Drift-Office's stage 1 tune with 4.6 psi, ~221whp/~181wtq (STD correction) from the stock 165whp/137wtq (w/ HKS catback).

From the one day of driving it, I loved it! It is surprisingly quiet w/ my HKS exhaust, almost as quiet as NA. I immediately noticed the lack of the infamous torque dip and the modest power gain felt significant. Extra power and torque are accessible along the entire RPM range.

Down sides are probably a lower MPG and some rear tire slippage from a heavy foot. I noticed that while NA, I had learned to shift to avoid the torque dip between 3.5-5k RPMs; this habit changed quickly when I noticed easily accessible power in each gear.

I think for some people that want "a little bit more power", this is what they want. They want the stage 1 AVO turbo. This is perfect for a DD in this modest boost setup...

but I do plan on upgrading from the stage 1 to the Drift-Office stage 1.5 and eventually stage 2, which I hear will be awesome :drool:

I'll leave the technical information to Bob and Paul. Dyno results and pics will be posted soon! For now, here's a video Paul shot of my BRZ!

[ame]http://youtu.be/WM4M6r267dc[/ame]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27957

This is AVO's thread about my build.

What's the speculation about AT durability/longevity with each stage?

And what is each stage for this kit - what happens at 1.5 and at 2?

Wow that is very quiet.

From what I understand, the A/T can handle much more power, while the stock clutch on M/T would probably have to be upgraded.





Nothing official from Bob yet, he has a thread somewhere about stage 2. His reported preliminary numbers were <10psi, ~253whp/~220wtq. He has remained hush about any new developments, but he promised me that I will be impressed :rolleyes:

Yeah, even Paul was surprised how quiet it was. I think it's mostly to do with the HKS Legamax catback. The exhaust note is different with the UEL headers, which has a unique growl.

Wow fast! Nice car man I bet you love driving that around. :thumbup:

That's the first good vid I have seen with an A/T also, by far the best I have seen outside of a supercar. My '04 G35 left a bad taste where A/T "sport shifting" is concerned, but clearly it is a different world now.

:w00t: car!

Very nice! I feel like if Toyota/Subaru actually made a turbo version of the FT86, it would be exactly like the AVO kit. Have fun and be safe!

I feel there's more durability in the AT transmission than the manual AZ6 found in our cars. Additionally, not many people are addressing the limits of the stock clutch or trans when going beyond 250# TQ...

More of that to come... later.

And that you will. :)

Regards!


Bob @ Drift-Office, LLC

@Drift-Office what do you think the limits are for the AT and MT transmission for these cars? And I understand the stock clutch should be replaced around 230ftlbs?

230#s would be very close to the limits. There's no longevity at that rating on the stock disc / pressure plate. Apply a generous dose of clutch kicks on the track and well, you'll need a replacement and soon!

The MT? Haven't found the limits... yet! :)

Regards!


Bob @ Drift-Office, LLC

Get back to us when you do! Keep up the good work and thanks for all the info.

But of course, don't I always? :)


Cheers!

Dyno results
STD correction

SAE correction

I initially only posted the STD correction. After doing so, Bob politely insisted that I post the SAE corrected charts also so that all information is transparent.

+1 @Drift-Office's honest business practices.

Here's a quick vid :

[ame]http://youtu.be/o5qLV4fdlSQ[/ame]


Cheers!

@brzranger, freaking flat torque curve (not really curve (more like plateau) LOVE IT!!!

Thanks, it can definitely be felt! After a couple days of driving this, it truly feels OEM and not some tuner-monster. It's great to be able to not have to avoid the "torque dip".

I am really excited to see what else @Drift-Office has in store for me. Also I'm really grateful that Paul @AVOturboworld squared me away with the first production AVO turbo in the states.

Maybe if Bob has time, I'd love to see the dyno chart of stock baseline vs turbo!

Anyone know if this is legal in California?

Anything that removes/modifies a Cat will not be legal in California. Also, any mod that you add needs to be stamped for CARB to be legal. So no, it is not legal in the People's Democratic Republic of Kalifornia.

Yeah, this state is all about taking away fun. :(

Bravo for a fantastically low boost threshold! The threshold is significantly lower than the prototype AVO kit; they obviously changed turbos, but is there any information on what they changed it to?

It would be more complete to post a dyno showing stock vs. AVO stage 1, to show the percentage delta.

Any particular reason the dyno pull didn't go to redline?

Agree! Nice to see almost full torque reached under 3000 rpms. Now a little more boost pleeze and some higher numbers (I know they're in there)!

We didn't change turbo's! Same turbo, final production exhaust manifold design. Automatics also load up on a dyno better than the manuals, you'd find similar boost performance on the road in a manual.

Here's the base line of that car vs. our basemap - pure bolt in and go setting.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/media/b...basemap_02.jpg

Drift Office's chart earlier in the thread show's why getting a Pro-Tune afterwards certainly would have benefits.

Thanks. In that case, that is a major improvement to the final production exhaust manifold. Kudos! :thumbup:

Ever since I've driven the twins I walked away from the test drives saying they'd go from good to awesome with an extra 50 LbFt across the band. Looks like you guys are pretty much spot on with that. Very good work.

Baseline and DO stage 1
@Drift-Office

Welcome to the club @brzranger

After about one week I am getting just over 20 mpg, better than expected on this winter blend gas and a heavy foot.

[QUOTE=brzranger;724509]After about one week I am getting just over 20 mpg, better than expected on this winter blend gas and a heavy foot.[/QUhow bad is the winter blend here in wa state?

Very nice setup, impressed completely

Wow, that is an amazing dyno chart! Peak numbers don't tell even half the story of that chart, solid gains right from 2k, really impressive AVO. Must be an absolute blast to drive around town.

Also, kudos to the tuner, that AFR is spot on all the way through.

BRZRanger, do you have any CEL's?

Thanks! @Drift-Office did a great job tuning her and they were able to massage out some extra HP/TQ from the stock AVO tune, all while keeping nice AFRs.

You're right, the dyno doesn't really tell all, it definitely has to be felt. There are a lot of other really nice FI BRZs/FRSs out there with some seriously high power. For me this is the best setup, but when a stage 1.5 or 2 come along, I'll probably jump on board.

Never had a CEL in the BRZ, before or after FI. Only light that comes on more frequently is the traction control :burnrubber:

Honestly, I am not sure if it's that much different than what we get the rest of the year!

That flat torque curve from 3200-6500rpm is pretty insane. I wonder how the driving experience is with that type of delivery. If you were on the east coast BRZranger, I'd love to swap cars to experience the two very different setups.

Maybe you two could meet each other half way! :thumbup:

Do you offer many members ride alongs? :)

Happy to do so whenever I have time... Unfortunately been extremely busy with family and side projects...

How many miles? How the trans holding up?

Like your car

Thanks! 13k miles, holding up great!

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