I know for sure buying a new turbo won't be cheap, but definitely with the right help and advice it will be worth my money. I was looking to get the OEM VF52 on rallysportdirect which is a direct bolt on and it says: There's no need to worry about a re-tune or anything else, just install the turbo and be on my way.

My knowledge about turbos going bad, diagnosing and symptoms that follow isn't that great, but I'm slowly getting a better understanding the more I look at it. By the looks of it my turbo seals are going bad. I was looking to get some power out of my WRX in the future and my initial plan was to get the most power I can with my stock turbo in the safest way possible.


Please feel free to post your opinions, suggestions and help?


The only options I can think of right now
Option A:
-Any turbo repair shops on Oahu that can repair seals, rebuild, etc?

-Replacement parts for a bad turbo seal?


Option B:
Anybody have a OEM VF52 Turbo on the side for sell probably laying on the side from a new turbo upgrade. Definitely working properly and in good condition.


Option C:
-Buy a new OEM VF52 turbo, but definitely not from the Subaru dealer lol.

-Or look to upgrade my OEM turbo to a 16g, 18g (Only two turbo's I can think of which are not to high of an upgrade and definitely cheaper than the rest).





Mahalo I-club!

 

Precision fuel on sand island. Pretty pricey for a rebuild though. You should just go with an 18g.

 

Mahalo for the suggestion. I just contacted them. Talked to a guy name Sam. They will evaluate my turbo and see what the cost is.

 

if you go 16g/18g you are looking at injectors and fuel pump upgrade as well...more $$$ but better in the long run for future turbo upgrades...also a bigger TMIC or better yet...FMIC...the stock TMIC gets heatsoaked very quickly...even with the stock turbo.

FP 16g or 18 new are around $900-$1100...if you can pick up a reliable used one...maybe around $700-$800
Injectors~$500 ~$400 used
Fuelpump~$125
TMIC~$400-$800 ~$400 used
FMIC~$800-$1200 ~$600-$800 used

With this, you will also need a good tune...more $$$.
Tune: ~$400-$550 usually including 1hr dyno time here in Hawaii (PDX or AMS)


If you want to stay within some budget, stick with the stockish turbo...you don't want to starve your engine of fuel or cooler air using a bigger turbo without the supporting mods...It's always better to have some headroom above what you need in injectors. I would go Deatchwerks 850cc...plenty to go to an FP Green in the future...

Plan now for the future and you will save you big $$$$ and a lot of installation and down time.

Careful planning is the key to a successful modding future.

 

Thanks Island Style!
That was a great write up. Thanks for the great advice towards my turbo problem. Although I'm still leaning to sticking with my stock turbo. Sorry what else did you suggest if I stick with my stock turbo? Something about "headroom" So even though I have a stock turbo fuel injectors is something to think about as well as a different intercooler because of the heatsoak?

 

I have a similar problem with my turbo. I believe its the seals as well. Good luck with your situation! Hope everything goes well. I'll try to check out that precision fuel place too.

 

Have you done any servicing or know anyone who did? I was planning on checking them out too. This Josh btw. I was apart of Team Hoodrich for a short while lol. Hows the team? My turbo seals are going out too.

 

Np...just sharing what other's shared with me when I was first starting out.
When I refer to headroom, you want bigger injectors than what it "needs" if you are going to upgrade your injectors...it gives the tuner more room to do what he needs to without worrying about maxing out the injectors. Also...in case you want to go to a bigger turbo later like most people do after the Stg2 tunes...

I've seen Jarrad of PDXtuning make more power just due to someone using bigger injectors over the stock "maxed" out injectors (same mods, just bigger injectors)...again, it's all in the tuner's hands on how they tune...I'm sure if I would have put 740cc or 850cc injectors in my Forester (stock td04, now VF-39 turbo)...he would have tweaked more "clean" power out of my car during the last tune...

If you want to minimize your cost...go with the same stock turbo...you can probably find a used one on I-club or Nasioc pretty inexpensively...to have your turbo rebuilt by a third part will most likely cost $$$ (don't forget about the shipping cost to and back)...more than you wish you would have spent. I realize you need your turbo now, so your hands are tied...It usually takes me like 6mo to a year to gather up parts before I can tackle a big upgrade...being a dad with a 17yo and 14yo means I have major dollar constraints put on me. Hopefully you can find a cheap "reliable" used one locally...

 

Lol yeah the club is good, we're all registered for HIN, you should check us out. And as far as turbo work from them, we had some turbos repaired from our shop, big diesel turbos though. All work is great and i would recommend him to anyone. Sam is good at evaluating turbos but hes backed up with a lot of work so it might take a looong time for him to get to it.