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GriffEdward
28-06-2018, 10:22 AM
Have owned a 1997 vr4 for half a year now and have fallen in love , but have reached a point where im going to start chasing better power figures, have been hunting through the forums here and have found some good reads relating to turbo upgrades. I am torn between whether to do a twin wrx fitment td04s or single turbo conversion to a t3/t4 , my goal is to not lose the down low power , most of my driving is through town so you can understand why i still want it to be a "street machine" and ideally dont want to have to remortgage my house to do it 😂

Confused
28-06-2018, 10:32 AM
What have you done to the car already? :)

GriffEdward
28-06-2018, 12:20 PM
Not much , bigger front mount intercooler , electronic boost controller , Walbro gss342 fuel pump , HD clutch , hks adjustable coilovers , 3inch catback ,

chris g
02-07-2018, 12:18 PM
Turbo upgrade might mean your house and an arm and a leg...

GriffEdward
04-07-2018, 06:51 AM
I dont need both my kidneys do i ?

chris g
04-07-2018, 12:15 PM
Maybe one kidney...

Subaru turbos were seen as alternative and upgrade but fittings and costs...?

iirc I think it is the work/costs associated with turbo upgrade as much if not more than the expense of turbos themselves...

One big turbo I believe might give big results as on Supra but you lose flexibility/lower down power...?

Not certain how change to single but similar size/slightly bigger turbo works out - benefit against cost...

Again IIRC fitting alt/bigger twin turbos is an issue of space, pipes, brackets and what not...

I think there are problems with thngymijigs connecting to whatsamacallits and space for the rest of the whatsernames...

Confused
04-07-2018, 12:54 PM
The "problem" is that the VR4 isn't a popular car. It wasn't sold in the US, (but we're in the UK, you say) - but it cuts down on an absolutely huge market for performance parts which would otherwise have had an opportunity to be made.

So - everyone is doing their own thing, because doing it as a product won't sell, because they're priced too high (because there's no competition, and because the numbers aren't there to make it viable) - it's a bit of a catch 22!

You've got a couple of options, really...


Upgrade both turbos. Most people going down this route have used TD04 from Subaru, because they're cheap and readily available. However, this means custom manifolds, exhausts, water and oil feeds, outlet pipes etc. Space is VERY tight, so takes time to make everything fit.
Switch to a single, bigger turbo. Modern turbo designs are MUCH better than they used to be, and you can get turbos that do work better at low speeds, so you don't lose as much low-down driveability (which is what the TD03s, and to an extent TD04s give you). However, you still need to get the exhaust feeds to the turbo, and the exhaust - but you're only doing it to a single turbo, which would typically be located above the gearbox so you'll have more space to play with, which makes it easier and cheaper in terms of fabrication time/cost.


But both routes will cost - if you're doing the work yourself, a bit of money and a LOT of time, if you're not doing the work yourself, a LOT of money, because it'll take someone else lots of time.

GriffEdward
06-07-2018, 10:37 AM
Appreciate the information, Ive been scouting the forums and seen a few people using t3/t4 on a single turbo setup with fairly good results and seems like the cheaper (less expensive) option. But it feels like single turboing a Vr4 takes away what the vr4 gives instead of evos and rbs, DILEMMA!