Prepare FA20 for Turbo?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by BrahmaBull1990

See this is useful (meme and all)! And I agree, the spirit of the car is great and I would not want to mess that up. I have a SC on the way, so maybe I am validating myself a bit here. My personal gripe with my car is it’s so slow even on back roads with a slight hill and a stop sign. I just want a *little more (already have header and tune). But hey, I could have bought a V6 or something but I wanted this one. Maybe I am a parent upset my kid isn’t a doctor haha

You will be fine as long as you are reasonable about it. You can always go back to NA if you decide it is not your cup of tea.

[TommyW]

I'll tell you, a good header and tune wakes these cars up. I just don't see the need to go FI with all the potential costs and issues and never getting your money back on selling. I'd just get a Cayman if you need more than what the header|tune offers.

[WorstCaseOntario]

So unfortunately I think most people got the wrong impression with this post, or just didn’t answer the question at all (but not everyone). Not looking for answers like “it depends, some cars are fine others aren’t” because that’s just stupid. I’m trying to be well prepared for it and have everything decently reliable. I do have a second car which I use along side my brz, but I still want to be able to drive it(BRZ) often.

I am more than aware that this car is not designed to have FI, which is exactly why I’m asking what options I have to make it work. I am not looking for crazy boost levels or even reaching the 300whp range, I just feel that the car could use a bit more power. I have the money to spend on professional installs and engine rebuilds if I become overwhelmed, all I care about is doing it with the smallest risk of an engine blowing.

[WorstCaseOntario]

Originally Posted by TommyW

I'll tell you, a good header and tune wakes these cars up. I just don't see the need to go FI with all the potential costs and issues and never getting your money back on selling. I'd just get a Cayman if you need more than what the header|tune offers.

Thanks for the info, I’m more than happy to explore alternative methods to getting a power increase with this car. I don’t have any attachment to idea of FI, it just seems like the popular method to getting power gains.

[WorstCaseOntario]

Originally Posted by Grady

The car is already ready for boost. You do not need a spare engine but you do need the finances to cover mistakes and unforeseen issues. You also should have an alternate method of transportation. This will give you time if you run into problems to fix correctly and not worry about getting it done. The engines that blow due to boost are mostly going to be due to shitty install, shitty tune, Abuse. Or any combination of the above.

In my opinion ITB’s are cool, but a complete waste on a turbo FA20.

One of the few useful replies I got, thanks for the info.

[WorstCaseOntario]

Originally Posted by PulsarBeeerz

I would do much more research before you do anything. Greddy turbo kit (if you can find one) and ITBs(not worth it), you are already $7k-8K in with just the basic hardware.

I am aware of the price of these products. You telling me to do more research is exactly what I’m doing right now by asking on these forums. I have talked to many brz owners both with and without FI, and have gotten mixed responses. I was hoping to get an actual answer to the question, and not whatever this was supposed to be...

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by WorstCaseOntario

So unfortunately I think most people got the wrong impression with this post, or just didn’t answer the question at all (but not everyone). Not looking for answers like “it depends, some cars are fine others aren’t” because that’s just stupid. I’m trying to be well prepared for it and have everything decently reliable. I do have a second car which I use along side my brz, but I still want to be able to drive it(BRZ) often.

I am more than aware that this car is not designed to have FI, which is exactly why I’m asking what options I have to make it work. I am not looking for crazy boost levels or even reaching the 300whp range, I just feel that the car could use a bit more power. I have the money to spend on professional installs and engine rebuilds if I become overwhelmed, all I care about is doing it with the smallest risk of an engine blowing.

The best thing to do is find an installer and tuner you can work with, let them know your goals, and work forward from there. And when I say "goals" not just the power level you may be shooting for, but what you intend to do with the car. Otherwise you are just going to get the shotgun approach when it comes to suggestions. You can go through the FI section and get an idea of what you may need, but there are a lot more pieces to the puzzle then just buying parts and slapping it together.

[WorstCaseOntario]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

First off there is no magic number. The "300HP"gets bantered around so much that I think people somehow believe it is somehow a cut off point. It isn't. They have blown up well under and over 300HP. It is a pet peeve of mine that people always target 300 anyway. Are you trying to improve performance or are you trying to get numbers that impress your buddies at the meet? What is wrong with 250, 270, or 290? why do you feel you need to almost double the WHP on a daily driven street car?

Now as far as blown engines go my mantra is usually, as you said, that we hear of bad but not good. The thing with the FI failures is we have heard of so so many failures that I run counter to my normal thoughts and believe it is indeed an issue. I don't however believe that all the failures were by the FI per se but more with poor installation, bad tunes, cheap products and yes misdriving. The engine has proven it can take boost to a limit when all is good but it does have it's know issues that are magnified once you throw boost at it. We know there are oiling issues (yes even before the recall work) that usually don't get addressed beyond slapping a cooler on them. Heat management is very important but a lot of the things you can do to vent the bay are only good if you live in Socal or Arizona so it get's ignored. The car and engine simply are not in any way designed to be boosted and that will always be a challenge no matter what parts you throw in the block.
All in all the people warning about possible problems are right. As soon as you change any engine component you increase the RISK of something happening and this reduces the reliability. If it is your second or third car and you accept the increased risk and are not going to be stranded if it does die then knock yourself out and boost to the level you want. If you need a reliable and always available transport to trundle you back and forth to work and have the occasional fun run on the twisties or track then the less you change it the better off you will be. It all comes down to understanding and accepting the risk.

You somehow managed to write an entire essay without answering the question. I do not care about the numbers whatsoever, that is simply the number that Greddy got with a dyno test. I included it as a rough estimate so people knew what sort of power output it would make.

I have seen many people with turbo BRZs that last over 5 years and counting, so I was simply asking what the best way to prepare the car was. I may not be mechanically inclined, but I do now how to drive a car without destroying it. I frankly couldn’t care about what your (or anyone’s) personal opinion of FI, just what kind of upgrades the car could use to increase its longevity.

You finished your post with “it all comes down to understanding and accepting the risk”. Yes, I am more than aware of the risk of overpowering an engine, which is why I’m asking on here for some pointers towards preventing that...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by WorstCaseOntario

You somehow managed to write an entire essay without answering the question. I do not care about the numbers whatsoever, that is simply the number that Greddy got with a dyno test. I included it as a rough estimate so people knew what sort of power output it would make.

I have seen many people with turbo BRZs that last over 5 years and counting, so I was simply asking what the best way to prepare the car was. I may not be mechanically inclined, but I do now how to drive a car without destroying it. I frankly couldn’t care about what your (or anyone’s) personal opinion of FI, just what kind of upgrades the car could use to increase its longevity.

You finished your post with “it all comes down to understanding and accepting the risk”. Yes, I am more than aware of the risk of overpowering an engine, which is why I’m asking on here for some pointers towards preventing that...

Don't get snippy.
If you can look beyond yourself for a second you will notice that I was discussing a comment made by another member. The HP and other statements were made in response to what he said. Nobody was even pointing at you.
There is no answer to your question. Some things worked for some and failed totally for others. You say you know some that lasted 5 years. Well that is cool there are many that didn't last 5 days. Hell there are some that blew up on the dyno and never even hit the street. No magic bolt on parts exist that will prevent it.
I addressed your question by pointing out there is already a whole section on this if you bothered to just go read it instead of being about the ten thousandth person to ask the same question and expecting immediate and complete spoon feeding on how to do it.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by WorstCaseOntario

I am aware of the price of these products. You telling me to do more research is exactly what I’m doing right now by asking on these forums. I have talked to many brz owners both with and without FI, and have gotten mixed responses. I was hoping to get an actual answer to the question, and not whatever this was supposed to be...

BINGO!
That isn't going to change by asking here.

[WorstCaseOntario]

My mistake, I am new to the forum environment and thought this was a response to my post.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by WorstCaseOntario

My mistake, I am new to the forum environment and thought this was a response to my post.

No problem. Word of warning though on this (and most forums) you don't bite the hand that feeds you. Snarky responses to people answering, even if you don't like the answer will quickly lead to no answers. Or worse yet answers from the people with the same attitude that don't have a clue what they are talking about.
You WILL get jokes, opinions, and comments that don't seem to relate but that is the nature of the forum community.
This ain't Facebook, Reddit or Instagram.

[DarkPira7e]

There isn't really a recipe. Any changes induce risk of improper installation, leaking vital fluids like coolant or oil.
Even if an amazing shop does the install, you still have the risk of part failure.
The air filter might start coming apart and the turbo sends it into the intake. Maybe you hit a bump and your oil return line from the turbo comes loose, bleeding your oil supply dry in a few minutes?
Maybe the af/r gauge the shop is using hasn't been calibrated in a while, and 11.3:1 is actually 12:1?
It's a gamble no matter how it's done. You can be the most talented person in the world, but material defect still applies to you.

If you insist on being turbocharged, get a basic kit, ECUTEK, run wastegate pressure on the turbo the kit comes with at no added cost, and figure out what you need from there.

People are so pre-occupied with preventing failure, that they don't realize adding more unnecessary variables can do more harm than good.

[BrahmaBull1990]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

There isn't really a recipe. Any changes induce risk of improper installation, leaking vital fluids like coolant or oil.
Even if an amazing shop does the install, you still have the risk of part failure.
The air filter might start coming apart and the turbo sends it into the intake. Maybe you hit a bump and your oil return line from the turbo comes loose, bleeding your oil supply dry in a few minutes?
Maybe the af/r gauge the shop is using hasn't been calibrated in a while, and 11.3:1 is actually 12:1?
It's a gamble no matter how it's done. You can be the most talented person in the world, but material defect still applies to you.

If you insist on being turbocharged, get a basic kit, ECUTEK, run wastegate pressure on the turbo the kit comes with at no added cost, and figure out what you need from there.

People are so pre-occupied with preventing failure, that they don't realize adding more unnecessary variables can do more harm than good.

Never noticed you linked your build! I’m reading it now and loving it….I feel inspired to start a slush fund for an IAG stage 1 short block.