New To Me Turbod FR-S

[uDasBoot]

This past weekend I just purchased a 2013 FR-S. I've always loved the styling of the car and loved the driving experience on the test drive. As stated in the title, I noticed this has what appears to be an Avo stage 1 or 2 turbo kit. This car was rear-ended with minimal damage last October, sold to Carvana, fixed up, put up on auction where it was bought by the used car dealership I got it from. From what little I read, I know these engines don't like a ton of boost, but I believe the turbo kit on it only goes up to 8 psi. Other than upgrading the clutch (it slips when it builds in to boost, or is just worn), what should I potentially worry about and try to upgrade to ensure I don't grenade my engine? It has 79k miles on it, and I would like to somehow find the original owner to get more info, but it's been through two auctions so I'm not too hopeful on finding info. Would there also be a quick way to tell if any engine modification has been done? Don't currently have the car in possession, the dealership is doing some finishing touches on it (new rear wheels, some paint correction, and new taillights). Will have it hopefully this weekend.

[Lonewolf]

Some potential issues I would check:


1) Find out if the valve spring recall been performed on this car.



2) Before you take final delivery (I don't know if all the papers are signed yet or the car paid for), make sure you get adequate time and opportunity to take it for a lengthy test drive, look under the car for leaks, and listen carefully for strange noises coming from the motor (rod knock, etc.)


3) Hook up a scan tool and see if there are any stored or pending codes


4) It might be a good idea to do an oil analysis via Blackstone to check the health of the engine internals.



This car has been in an accident and was boosted by someone else and has been driven (likely hooned) who knows how many times by random folks at auctions, transports, body shops - be thorough checking it over.

[p1l0t]

Yeah like Lonewolf says, do your due diligence but hey turbo is fun!

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[soundman98]

It also never hurts to take it to a mechanic of your choosing to look it over-usually about $150 in my area for a vehicle inspection. And if the seller balks at it, it's sometimes a good warning to walk away as well.

[uDasBoot]

Unfortunately I already jumped the gun on this one. I do plan on having it inspected ASAP, however the previous owner owned it for 8.5 out of it's 9 years. I'm hoping, and praying to the car gods, that means it was well maintained and taken care of. I'd hoped to take it on a longer test drive, but the tank was pretty much empty so that was a no. I know it'd been sitting in the same spot for at least a week, and there was no signs of leaks on the ground or after the short test drive. I did notice the springs have not been done yet, but I plan on doing this myself because I do not trust a dealership to pull the engine and put it back together with the turbo kit correctly. It was last driven by an owner in October, as far as I know. Interestingly, it had a AF ratio gauge but no boost gauge, and the AF ratio looked good while driving, but I know that's not a definitive sign of a good motor. Will update with more info as soon as I get the car. Finally, any fun tag ideas? I'm thinking STU STU but not set on it yet, too cringey?

[Mars]

Coming from someone who bought someone else's turbo project (unbeknownst to me since everything was removed before I saw the car), make sure to inspect or have someone else inspect every single piece of the turbo kit and engine to insure that everything is functioning correctly and is a quality component. My motor blew 2k miles after purchase because the prior owner ran 16lbs of boost on a stock motor and the rod gave out. Two friends of mine with turbo kits had failures, one due to oil pan baffle issues and the other is still unknown. These cars are very reliable N/A but I've seen very few with turbo and no issues. Inspect it often and I'd definitely keep boost at a 7 psi maximum (since our compression is already so high and the rod design does not favor a lot of pressure). Just don't want someone else to suffer after their new purchase like I did!

[Grady]

The AVO kit is a good kit. I know I am biased but for longer term reliability it does not push the engine to much. One important thing is to get who tuned it, what tune platform they used, and get the license for you car if you can. Any dealer is going to shy away from doing the recall on your vehicle, plus if the f it up they will blame the Turbo. Doing it yourself is probably a good call. However I would just run it. At you milage if you do pull the engine I would rebuild it while you have it out. Put better rods in just to be safe.

[uDasBoot]

I was planning on upgrading the rods. I know at max it's probably only making around 250 whp. Not sure the actual numbers, but other than rods and springs, anything else to upgrade while i'm in there? Not too sure on anything for the tune, or if it has upgraded fuel components, didn't look good enough, just kinda got giddy when I saw the turbo.

[alex87f]

I find it weird that someone wouldn't put a car back to stock before selling it to a dealer, if only because those turbo kits are worth a pretty penny.

In any case, I'd try to have the car tuned, if only to know exactly what kind of tune it's running. Those kits can apparently push 400whp on E85, I can't imagine the stock motor lasting any length of time at these power levels.

I'd also ask for a lengthened test drive before taking delivery of the car, to make sure there isn't any kind of drivetrain issue you might not have found yet.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by uDasBoot

I was planning on upgrading the rods. I know at max it's probably only making around 250 whp. Not sure the actual numbers, but other than rods and springs, anything else to upgrade while i'm in there? Not too sure on anything for the tune, or if it has upgraded fuel components, didn't look good enough, just kinda got giddy when I saw the turbo.

Stock exhaust and premium gas 250 is probably max. When I had the stock exhaust on I would taper back down to 6 to 7 PSI at redline. The exhaust is the restriction you will need to go full 3 inch to get any more. Pistons(dont drop CR)/Rods, Head bolts, oil pump, anything else that looks worn.

[uDasBoot]

Originally Posted by Grady

Stock exhaust

I could tell that it seemed aftermarket, but not sure about it. I couldn't get the best look underneath due to it being lowered. I'm hoping I'll have it Friday. I bought the car in Georgia, but go to school and live in Alabama, so I cannot go and take a longer test drive. The one I went on was about 30 minutes and everything seemed fine. I needed a car and didn't have a whole lot of choices.