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Which turbo kit is right for you?

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289K views 459 replies 223 participants last post by  JohnWright 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
This is for all the "What turbo should I put on my RSX threads". If anybody wants to add to this to make it the most comprehensive thread on RSX turbo kits, then feel free to do so. Maybe if we get ONE good thread going that we can keep uncluttered then we can get one step closer to a better boost forum.

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When looking at turbo kits for the rsx, the first thing in your mind should be "how much power do I want to make?" After you answer this question, you will be better suited to choose which kit you should go with.

This thread contains various dyno plots from boosted vehicles: Boost Dyno Thread Use it to gauge power potential with various mods. Keep in mind that all engines, tuning devices, and dyno measurements are different and are in no way a gaurantee of outcomes, but they can be used to roughly predict output.

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Cybernation Motorsports was in the forefront of turbo kit design for the RSX. They offer kits for both the RSX type S and the base model RSX. While the quality of the components in the kit may not be as good as the HKS / Greddy kits, what they lack in craftsmanship, they make up for with upgrade potential. Cybernation kits are available for everything from a street setup containing a T3/T4 combo turbo, to monster race setups with their stage 3 turbo kit containing a 62-1 turbo and a complete internal rebuild of the engine. Many users have found success with their 60-1 turbo and are making 12sec passes with it. Cybernation (CN) kits come with turbo piping, intercooler piping and intercooler, injectors, gauges, an exeternal wastegate, and their Guardian E.I. engine management system that allows the user to install their turbo kit, wire up Guardian, and drive their vehicle relatively safely without having to tune the vehicle. Care should be made to verify that guardian is working for you by dyno testing your car with a wideband 02 to ensure a correct a/f mixture, although many users support its function. Guardian updates are constantly made and revisions are able to be upgraded into the Guardian through your computer.

Full-Race Full-Race is a very well known and respected company amongst participants in various import drag race circuits, producing products deployed by both professional drivers and amateurs alike. Full-Race employs some of the best fabricators in the field, and uses state of the art equipment to produce their wares. They are a full service fabricator, which can produce damn near anything race related, that you may need, from full turbo kits, to custom design intake manifolds.

Regarding K-series equipped vehicles, Full-Race is finishing off the development of top quality kits Produced with the same Materials and workmanship which has made them famous. As with all of their streetable manifolds/downpipes, the K-Series stuff will be produced of the finest grade stainless steel available; Robotically TIG welded, to ensure proper joining off all seams, for guaranteed lifetime service. Full-Race is certainly not your average “one size fits all” manufacturer, so you may request custom changes to your kit, to suit your needs. The equal length manifolds and true merged collectors will help the K-Series enthusiast to achieve his/her goals as efficiently as possible, extracting the most power per pound of boost of any of the available kits.

Full-Race turbo kits are designed for those who are serious about tuning their kits and are not willing to settle for anything less than top quality, as the kits will prove to be some of the highest priced systems available for the K-series family of vehicles, with quality comes a premium.

The Full-Race kits will not include any fuel enrichment devices, so the tuner will need to seek out the engine management system of their choice.

Buy with confidence, as you will certainly not need to “upgrade” any component of the kit in short order.


Greddy kit is a good, well rounded kit featuring a nicely sized turbo designed to produce great gains in the 7-10psi range. It comes with the Greddy E-Manage tuning solution which offers the user a nice preprogramed map for stock boost levels, but the option to tune it yourself and add on further options to tweak your tune. The base kit does not come with an intercooler or blow off valve (BOV), but those are things you can add on at a later date, or purchace the Greddy Intercooler kit, which comes with all the piping and accessories needed to mount the intercooler. The kit does have problems with the oil lines but solutions are becoming available in the form of aftermarket braided oil line kits. Users have had significant gains when switching the e-manage for hondata k-pro.

The HKS kit is relatively new and is still widely unused, partly due to its high cost. Similar to the greddy kit, it is designed for relatively low boost settings with relatively little upgradeablitiy. This kit is very well engineered and setup as a relatively high end solution for lower boost needs. It uses a GT2835 ball-bearing turbo for longer turbo life, an internal wastegate setup, and a HKS SSQV BOV. No fuel / engine management system is supplied, although HKS recomends their own HKS F-con Vpro. Greddy e-manage and Hondata k-pro are alternatives for engine management. An intercooler is available seperately from HKS if you wish to have one and not custom fabricate your own.



RevHard [i do not know enough about the Rev Hard kit to feel comfortable writing anything on it. If somebody with more knowledge would be willing to create a Rev hard writeup, I would appreciate it.]

Putting a turbo system on any car that did not come from the factory designed for Forced Induction (f/i) is never something that should be looked at as being 'easy' or 'cheap'. If you try to make a budget turbo kit and do not make wise decisions regarding your component choices, you will end up dissatisfied. More times than not, the costs required to build your own turbo kit is equal to, or greater than the costs of purchacing a completed kit to begin with. This is in no way meant to throw off people from trying to build their own kit, merely letting them know what they are getting into.

The most important aspect in your turbo kit will be the engine management system that either comes with it or you choose on your own. There is much debate over the available engine management systems, and the important thing is to do your own research and find what you feel works for you given your needs, tuning knowledge, and price range. The ECU and Electronics Forum is a great place to begin researching available tuning options.





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If anybody has any information / corrections to make, please feel free to do so... I did this fairly quickly so errors are probably there. Please point them out and we will perfect this thing. Lets make a good thread that can be used to suppress these redundant threads.
 
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#355 ·
Hey all.

I might be purchasing an '03 Rsx Type S in a few days.

I probably wont be able to afford a turbo for a little while. But I want to know which one would be a good choice for me?
My car is stock, just a custom exhaust, no idea which company.

What would I have to buy, I want to get to 350-400 Whp.

Thanks all.
 
#357 ·
hey...i have a 2003 rsx type that i want to turbo within 2 years. im 16 so it takes a while to make money. i just want to know where to start. should i go with the exhaust and the basics first? or do i start with the engine?? thanks



Learn how to drive your car first/experience behind the wheel before turboing your car. Then maybe after a couple years you will be ready. Lots of kids get in wrecks for driving to fast around corners, etc, etc... Stick to basics for now Intake, header, exhaust, ECu reflash
 
#359 ·
You writeup is quite appreciable which is very important as well as useful. In my opinion turbonetics are the best which have a low price and are quite affordable. In many cases, the turbo kits that are sold are designed to be installed on a car that did not come factory with a turbo, therefore slight modifications and adjustments may be required to get the perfect turbo kit.
 
#363 ·
im about to get this 2003 type-s and i was definitely into throwing a turbo in it..just starting i was thinking about that Greddy kit..any help? :eek:
dont even bother with the greddy kit. its hard to get 300hp with that kit cause your so limited to turbo selections with that manifold.plus the emanage sucks, kpro is the way to go. you could get 400hp by piecing together your own kit with a rev hard or treadstone mani and a decent sized precision turbo. (6262 or 6265) . and it would cost the same or maybe even cheaper if you buy used. thats what im doing. do some more research theres more than enough info on here. hope that helps.
 
#365 ·
Just picked up a RSX Type S yesterday! It's slow. I'm coming from a 505WHP, 10 Second Evo that was rear ended in June and it was totaled out. I had a full race setup and that car and see that they make a pretty sweet setup for th RSX. I'm thinking the T3 kit with the FP GT3076 HTA looking for that same 500 WHP at 30+ PSI on E-85. Does anyone make a better kit then the Full-Race?
 
#366 ·
heh well quality wise i doubt it, we sell the FR kit here:
http://www.clubrsx.com/cr/FPB-TURBOKIT.html

i had a buddy with a FR 30R kit who made almost 500whp at Carz performance on race gas, at that was around 21psi holding till redline, with E85 i dont see any issue at all

do you have any pics of your old EVO? did you race up at a bandimere a lot?
 
#372 ·
time to turbo i have 5 grand to spend. i have had my 06 type s for a year now and i have a rbc im, injen cai, and hondatt img, looking to boost, what is the best way for kit, or to piece together one. im looking to make around 400 to 500 hp. i know i could have done some more searching but thanks for inputs.
 
#376 ·
This is probably a N00B question, but I'm not planning on doing any type of Forced Induction until I rebuild my engine which will prob be in another 100k miles, but does going turbo affect fuel efficiency? I understand that there are different fuel demands, and I understand that the point of a turbo is power, not necessarily fuel efficiency, but it seems to me that if the max power of an engine is increased and driving habits remain constant, it would take a smaller percentage of the engines max to give the current results. Basically what I'm saying is my car is, and likely will be for a while, a DD and I don't want to end up killing my fuel efficiency just so I can have a little fun.

Also, my father in law (whose knowledge of turbos is from the early 80's) is COMPLETELY CONVINCED that if I turbo my car, I'll be replacing headgaskets every 10k miles. Is there a particular part of the set up of a turbo that, if done imporperly, would cause this result?

I know I'm a noob and I'm sorry if these questions have already been answered... I have had several questions answered by reading this thread as well as several others.

Thanks in advance,

Jon
 
#378 ·
newbie to the rsx...Do I need a built engine to get 400HP

First off mods if I am posting in the wrong place I am sorry and just move my thread. I have a RSX-S 2002 and am looking to get around 400HP. Everything is bone stock on my car and I don't want to buy anything till I know what to get. I searched and didn't see much on turbonetics on this site. I found a bolt on minus injectors and engine management. I will post below what is included. My question is what I am looking at, can it make close to 400HP without modding the internals? Also will what is below make it to that horsepower with a safe PSI? I realize I will need a new exhaust but can I delete the cat since I don't get emisions checks and will be using a EM system? I am sure there are tons of smart people here to help me and i thank you all in advance. Wish it was ball bearing.

DESCRIPTION: 02-06 ACURA RSX (TYPE-S OR NON TYPE-S) TURBO KIT WITH TURBONETICS TURBO (COMPLETE BOLT ON KIT)

(BOLT ON TURBO KIT )

turbo kit comes with

- k20a cast manifold
- direct bolt on aluminum intercooler piping for rsx ( with silicones and clamps )
- intercooler
- Turbonetics T3T4 .63 TRIM turbo charger (good for 350-400 hp)(journal bearing)
- 38mm godspeed waste gate (7psi)
- ssqv blow off valve
- intake piping and intake cone
- waste gate dump tube
- oil feed line, and oil return line kit
- stainless turbo elbow
- 3" stainless turbo down pipe
 
#379 ·
First off mods if I am posting in the wrong place I am sorry and just move my thread. I have a RSX-S 2002 and am looking to get around 400HP. Everything is bone stock on my car and I don't want to buy anything till I know what to get. I searched and didn't see much on turbonetics on this site. I found a bolt on minus injectors and engine management. I will post below what is included. My question is what I am looking at, can it make close to 400HP without modding the internals? Also will what is below make it to that horsepower with a safe PSI? I realize I will need a new exhaust but can I delete the cat since I don't get emisions checks and will be using a EM system? I am sure there are tons of smart people here to help me and i thank you all in advance. Wish it was ball bearing.

DESCRIPTION: 02-06 ACURA RSX (TYPE-S OR NON TYPE-S) TURBO KIT WITH TURBONETICS TURBO (COMPLETE BOLT ON KIT)

(BOLT ON TURBO KIT )

turbo kit comes with

- k20a cast manifold
- direct bolt on aluminum intercooler piping for rsx ( with silicones and clamps )
- intercooler
- Turbonetics T3T4 .63 TRIM turbo charger (good for 350-400 hp)(journal bearing)
- 38mm godspeed waste gate (7psi)
- ssqv blow off valve
- intake piping and intake cone
- waste gate dump tube
- oil feed line, and oil return line kit
- stainless turbo elbow
- 3" stainless turbo down pipe
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=727190

here is this kit already on a k20a2. I wouldn't call it very impressive. I don't care to read through again, but I think something was holding him back from making more power because I have seen a vtec killer a3 put down 303hp at 9psi with the godspeed/emusa turbo kit with just the chinese emusa turbo. I would swap out that wastegate for a Tial, new stainless oil feed and return lines, and maybe even a new BOV.
 
#380 ·
Does anyone have a build sheet for 400HP...please

I have been reading so many posts taking me so many directions that I am now more confused. Does anyone have a list of everything it would take to make 400HP. I know there are tons of people that have learned the hard way on what works and I would like to learn from their mistakes. Please help. From what I have read the kits can't make the HP I want so buying pieces seems the way to go. So gurus show me your knowledge.....thanks to all that can help :noes:
 
#382 ·
I have been reading so many posts taking me so many directions that I am now more confused. Does anyone have a list of everything it would take to make 400HP. I know there are tons of people that have learned the hard way on what works and I would like to learn from their mistakes. Please help. From what I have read the kits can't make the HP I want so buying pieces seems the way to go. So gurus show me your knowledge.....thanks to all that can help :noes:
If you are looking for 400+, then the full-race kit will supply what you are looking for. That is a sidewinder-style turbo though, so there will be extra work involved. I honestly don't know if you realize how much power 400+ HP is, but if that's what you are looking for, that may be your best way to go.

Ight yeh i have barely had my 02 rsx base model 5 speed for almost a month.. i absolutly love it. one problem.. not fast enough. im getting new headers an a greedy exhaust. but ik its not going to be enough. so i want to go turbo.. any suggestions for which turbo would actualy go on my base and not blow my engine.. im not looking for 400hp. im just lookin for a lil extra bang!
If you plan to go turbo, don't bother wasting money on a race header as you wont be able to use it when you are boosted. It sounds like you are new to modding.. So I recommend you to just scan through the turbo threads to find exactly what you are looking for.

For a good idea of the main pieces you'll need to get boosted, just take a look at the mods in my sig. Have fun learning and enjoy the new RSX!
 
#381 ·
Ight yeh i have barely had my 02 rsx base model 5 speed for almost a month.. i absolutly love it. one problem.. not fast enough. im getting new headers an a greedy exhaust. but ik its not going to be enough. so i want to go turbo.. any suggestions for which turbo would actualy go on my base and not blow my engine.. im not looking for 400hp. im just lookin for a lil extra bang!
 
#384 ·
thanks

Thanks djardy07 I guess I will have to pull the trigger and get the full race. I was hoping to get something cheaper. Everyone assumes if you want 400hp you never had a car with it but I have had two. 2004 rx-8 427rwhp (blew oil seals and locked it) and a srt-4 with 412hp and just 2100 extra invested. I am just new to the honda side of tuning. Just got rid of a 98 bmw 540 with a little over 400rwhp supercharged. I am going to keep searching, there are a lot of kits out there.
 
#385 ·
Thanks djardy07 I guess I will have to pull the trigger and get the full race. I was hoping to get something cheaper. Everyone assumes if you want 400hp you never had a car with it but I have had two. 2004 rx-8 427rwhp (blew oil seals and locked it) and a srt-4 with 412hp and just 2100 extra invested. I am just new to the honda side of tuning. Just got rid of a 98 bmw 540 with a little over 400rwhp supercharged. I am going to keep searching, there are a lot of kits out there.
those are simple bolt ons to get 400whp. in an rsx it requires a/c line modification, battery relocation, etc. youre making the kit fit onto the car, which can be the hardest part for someone who is trying to learn. just make sure to get quality parts and a good tune and you should be able to hit 400whp with a decent size turbo
 
#387 ·
i dont know much about greddy kits or fullrace/hks... but i would like to say that i bought a piece of shit chineese turbo kit (brand new) for 350 bucks (complete) and i made 290 hp with nothing more than 250cc injectors.. and it has been running strong for over a year now. =)
 
#388 ·
Arent stock type s injectors 310cc.... Why would you downgrade?
 
#392 ·
provide a picture of your injectors and a dyno sheet of your car. it is not possible for 250cc injectors to hit 290whp even on a dynapack. you will max out your injectors way before that and that will create a physical limitation on your power... plus its not safe for your motor at all.
 
#395 ·
lol just forget it all together. clearly something is off and you dont know what youre talking about

*edit*
better yet, id love for you to come to one of the meets. i see that im local to you and i know what a 290whp rsx feels like, since its pretty close to what im pushing. my setup runs 750cc injectors but id love to see this setup youre talking about.
 
#398 ·
Yes but your fuel system is fluked sonewhere. 250cc injectors cannot make 290whp and that's all I'm trying to prove. My friend is running an ebay kit with modded base injectors and it's running well. Would I run it? No but I will say that his is running well after tens of thousands or miles. He is not as fast as my turbo setup but his base injectors are only modded to 480cc. He does not have anywhere above 250whp
when and where? you live in fuckin apple valley... how is that local? either way whenever your in my neck of the woods you can eyeball my shit all you want
Apple valley? LOL 818 is San Fernando Valley. That's a 20 min drive to LA and I don't want to "eyeball your shit" cuz I know it's not possible and I have a more reliable kit on my car that suited my needs.
 
#399 ·
yeah well.. im not the first owner of the car.. not that it compensates for whatever it is your getting an orgasm over. but who knows whats up with the fuel line? who knows what kind of injectors it had on before? like i said its what i was recommended to for cheap. so thats what i did. and dont tell me to meet up with you so you can "SEE MY SETUP" and then act like you dont need to because you payed 3 grand for your pretty turbo.
 
#400 ·
The kit alone cost me a grand, nothing more. Im saying you cannot make that power with hose tiny injectors but whatever, I give up and you'll never be convinced. Fyi it would have been cheaper to keep your stock injectors or mod your stock injectors. Even he stock ones max out well before 240whp

Fyi take some basic english classes so you can learn to spell
 
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