Turbo options
 

I've been reading the forums for about a month now and just can't seem to find any longevity posts, on how it's performing after install. I'm stuck between a couple options:

AVO's turbo kit
Full blown
Garret
P&L's kit
STS Turbo
Crawford (Super expensive probably paying for the name)

All seem to have pretty good standing with no negatives besides a bad tune or weld here and there.

Any help besides vendors sales would be greatly appreciated on with some input.

My build I'm looking for a 260-290 WHP 93octane build with a larger pump and injectors. Not looking for crazy power, but looking for quality and longevity for my car at this time.

If you know of any other kits that have a good track record let me know.

Thanks,

Josh

If you aren't completely set on getting a turbo, you could easily achieve those HP numbers with a supercharger which seems to be a relatively safer option, since you mentioned longevity.

Ptuning turbokit

GReddy kit would achieve your goals easily, currently have a bit over 10k miles on mine and have not had any issues and it is daily driven in the California heat :P. Full Blown, P&L, PTUNING are high quality kits as well and will also meet the goal but use a larger turbo if you want to go for more power later on.

You really can't go wrong with most of those kits you listed. I have just over 10k miles on our kit, daily driven at 322whp, in the winter, stuck in traffic in 98 degree heat, no leaks, no overheating It's been pretty solid. As long as it's a quality kit, installed properly, and tuned safely, it should last quite a while. Please keep in mind, you do have to keep your eyes on things more. I wouldn't just bolt on a turbo and drive it like it's N/A. I do check my oil often, I check for leaks all the time, I keep on eye on my temps regularly, but that's part of the game. I think those horsepower goals of yours are a good safe number for longevity.

Thanks for the info so far guys. It really helps out on the info on what is quality and what isn't.

I'm looking for more room to grow in the future for horsepower. Most likely it would be a couple years down the road after I get settled into a new house and have free money to spend.

Siffa, I'm sold on a turbo charger. Superchargers I only like on big blocks. My prior cars I've owned that I've put a lot of money is a 2002 WRX and a 2008 STi. Those are the main reason I'm staying with turbo charged car. Sti was great after a bigger turbo etc, but rwd is so much fun and this car handles so much better then that heavy car.

Take out the STS turbo & the Crawford turbo setups. My vote is for FBM, PTuning and/or P&L

Crawford gets mostly negative things said about their kits, and the videos they put out early on had clear problems. Full blown has proven themselves on the drag strip. Ptuning has the turbo placement I prefer. STS puts it in the back, which seems stupid to me. Avo has had many happy people, but also many unhappy people. Garret seems like you're paying extra for the name when there is another company with an essentially identical kit that has some upgrades. I cannot remember their name.

If you're going for a low power level, these all should be fine with a good tune. I'd probably go Full Blown or Ptuning. However, I'm happy with stock power, to be honest.

As far as long term reliability, A lot of it is how you tune it and how you support it. You have a conservative tune running moderate boost and you have a dedicated oil cooler, various heat shields, upgraded fuel system, etc...? It'll last a long long time. You've got it tweaked out on the ragged edge without additional cooling and you're pushing your fuel system at 100% duty cycle? It might not last so long.

You're thinking of Greddy and Speed By (Greddy's) Design.

I like avo's design the most as it keeps the turbo down, low, and away just like the FA20DIT engine. The only problem is that their turbo has funky specs to it and finding rebuild parts will likely result in having to send the turbo back. All the other guys use Garretts and Precision turbos which you can easily access parts for and that's why they mainly appeal to me. If only the AVO was combined with a more well known turbo, I wouldn't look at anything else.

What do you guys think about the SBD turbo kit? i've been reading on here and people say its good and others of course say its cheap and a knock off. Anybody had experience with this kit?

I know the SBD and Greddy kits are almost identical. I think they come from the same supplier. I have no idea who designed the original kit. Greddy may very well have just bought parts and made a tune.

Definitely the tune matters most of all. Part fitment also matters a lot. I wouldn't get an SBD kit nor a Greddy kit. If I were to go 100% crazy on my car, I'd have Element Tuning build the motor and fuel system, installing a PTuning or FBM kit and a dry sump. I'd probably just get a C5Z06 instead, though.

That's what I'm getting when I'm in a better financial spot. Damn thiefs

If I could do it all over (and I am planning on it in a few months), I would go with PTuning kit. There kit has excellent craftsmanship, R&D time, placement, and consistency. It also retains the crash bar if that is important to you. FBM and P&L would be a second and third choices. AVO, Greddy, and the like are okay but I feel they limit you if you ever decide you want more power or different options. STS is interesting, I have only seen one on this platform.. I feel like it's unnecessary to have the turbo that far back, PTuning kit already places it just outside the engine bay in the perfect spot.

Ask yourself things like do you want the factory crash beam to remain intact? Aside from how much power you want - where do you want it? Do you want it to be able to make more power in the future without changing most or all of the kit? Etc.

As somebody else said, the tune is 75% of it. Next would be the turbo itself. Everything else is mostly just quality of craftsmanship. The piping/manifold will make some difference, but the tune and the turbo are most of it.

Whatever you do, stay far far far away from FA20Club.com..