ok so my 05 sti is in the shop right now getting repaired from his boo boos. and im finally ready to make upgrades on the engine....i havent done anything yet except your basic BOV and Turbo XS exhaust with straight pipe. so heres what im thinking........and bare with me.... ok pardon me if i sound like an idiot...im trying to start learning more about the engine so hopefully im saying this right... should i start my major upgrade by getting new heads? im not familiar with which ones are the best..which is why i ask you guys. and also what about cams? or injectors? or what not?........................i dont think im going to touch the turbo yet...i think ill save that for last.... i want to do some major up grades before i do that i see what i can get outta everything. im getting familiar how it works with american muscle cars which is what my boyfriends always works on and i try to help so i can start learning more...but i know things are going to work differently between his 99 corvette FRC and my 05 sugaru STi....................so please help me guys! =0)
Theres very little to be gained with heads if you are still using the stock turbo. Whats youre ultimate goal, how much power, roadcourse, street, dragstrip etc.. That will help me help you. Wont you help me help you Sorry matt
i agree with slowwrx... both of us have big turbo setups with the factory heads and our cars are making enough power...
What exactly are your goals? You could say something like Im a budget but I want speed or you could say something like I want 600whp. Get me there.
I would definitely consider new pistons before new heads. My reasoning behind this is similar to the above statements. The heads are pretty decent from the factory. You could always get your existing heads ported and polished. There do not seem to be too many AVCS cam manufacturers out there currently, so cams are unfortunately not a good solution other than sourcing some JDM AVCS cams, but again, seems like a big waste on a factory turbo car. Even Pistons is a waste on factory turbo...as mentioned already engine management, like the Cobb AP, Ecutek or something similar. I tend to favor the AP. The new AP 2.0 has some really cool features from what I hear. Bang for the buck, I think a turbo back exhaust (downpipe, mid-pipe and muffler) is your best bet. Pair that with and AP and you should really like the results. Plus, other than going rotated, you can use the same exhaust for any stock mount turbo and the AP 2.0 can be used for any turbo including rotated mounts, it just requires some custom tuning. Sooo, that being said list of mods in order: 1. Turbo back exhaust 2. Engine management (depending on exhaust may be required with exhaust) 3. Better turbo 4. Pistons, Cams and some port and polish work (can be done at same time as pistons).
Ok Kali....here I go with my $5... Your stock factory engine is perfect as long as you take care of it...aka regular oil changes, always check the level at each trip to the gas station, etc etc etc... Since you've already got a nice turbo back exhaust, now you need engine management. The Cobb Access port Version 2 will be nice. Have Scott at SOG tune it on up and thats a nice start. From there...how much money do you want to spend, and how fast do you want to go? You can make 500 hp at the wheels reliably on the stock engine. Right now you sit at about 270~290 at the wheels. Another question, what do you want to do with your STi? Autox? Stay with a smaller turbo. Depending on what class you run in, depends on what modifications you can do. Right now you are only legal for BSP since you have no cats in your exhaust. Drag? You can spend as much money as you want here. Its all about how fast do you want to go? How reliable do you want it to be? Road course? Again, you can spend a lot here....how fast and for reliable? As for heads...nothing is better than the stock peices. There is still the argument of if the Cosworth heads and cams are better. Supposedly a 50 hp/50 tq just bolt on....but that was with a stock turbo. So far there is no evidence supporting that a built engine makes more power than the stock one when utilizing the same displacement. I know of a situation where when going from the stock engine, where it was making right at 600 hp at the wheels...the fully built one (pistons, rods, ported heads, aftermarket cams...etc etc etc) only made 560 wheel hp. Of course, I do not have any charts to back that up, but it has been a hot discussion topic otherwise. 1. Fast 2. Cheap 3. Reliable Pick two. You cannot have all 3. If you want it fast...its going to take money to make it reliable, otherwise, its not going to be reliable. If you want it cheap...you sacrifice reliability or how fast it is. If you want it reliable...it's either not going to be fast, or it's not going to be cheap.
thanks for all the advice guys! yea i want it fast...but its my daily driver so it has to be reliable...id like to get like 400whp. so ill take the advice on the cobb acessport v2. i figured id try to keep the stock turbo..just because i have a fear that once i get a bigger aftermarket one that im going to run into more problems...i guess just cause what ive seen and heard with others doing it. but i definetly want to start making it fast than your stock sti. i dont want to break any records or anything....just want braggin rights and the ability to smoke someone if i like =0)
Well in that case... I'd stay with the stock intercooler, and once you get the AP, upgrage with a fuel pump and a set of injectors, and a Deadbolt 20G. Call it a day at that.
if you plan on staying with the stock turbo, port the wastegate. You'll see boost creep as you add modds
Don't be a girl get the FP RED 400hp on pump with no meth and its fun to drive. Matt I'm sure Milo will take you for a ride in his car, and mine feels about like his, Ill be happy to give you a ride.
i have the superzilla 65 which is very similar to a red... matt's custom gt30r is a rotated setup but it performs very similarly if u r interested, i'll be happy to take u for a spin