Im very new to turbo cars.

I have a 2003 Evo with 80k well taken care of miles. Its still stock. Down the road, I would like to upgrade the turbo. What kinds of things do I need to be cautious about? What do you recomend I replace before doing this?

 

Sgt, you have to do the homework on this one. There is plenty of info on this forum to aid you in your quest. Many things need be concidered. Driving preference- track only autox sometimes and DD. Ultimate performance goals- stock block built stroker motor. You cant expect to throw a gt42r turbo kit onto a stock motor and expect 700AWDHP. Start sluthing around. You will find what you need.

 

he is worried that 80k mile evo will not be able to withstand the power of bigger turbo, not looking for turbo recommendation.

sgtseanzie, as long as your evo follow the maintanance schedule it will be ok.

 

timing belt and water pump for sure. clutch and since it's an 03 you might want to rebuild your transfer case . other than that if you took good care of it, a bigger turbo should not be a problem.

 

Fluids, belts, hoses, make sure oiling and cooling systems are in good shape as well. Research your mods carefully, this place has more info than you can take in a few years.

 

Cool. Thanks to you guys. Very helpful!

 

Has the 60k service been done? If not, do it and replace all belts, water pump, etc., while you're in there.

If you like it all stock now, you will be amazed with it when you wake it up with some mods.

As others have said, do your homework (there's tons of good information on this site) and don't go too crazy with it if you want it to be affordable, streetable and reliable.

 

Yup, it has been done. This guy was very meticulous with the car! It was a great find, I think.

 

Just like everyone else said, as long as your maintenance records are up to date, the motor should be just fine.

To be on the safe side, just made sure"
-Water Pump
-Oil Pump (its your preference, but probably a good idea)
-plugs, coils, and wires
-strong clutch
-all belts
-all fluids



you really can't go wrong with all of that replaced out.

To be a safe daily, i wouldn't recommend anything over 400.

 

...what everyone else says and check the compression!

 

the more aggressive your tune and the harder you beat on it the more problems you will have. I know that sounds obvious but a lot of people don't truly "get" that piece of common sense.

 

Maintenance + good compression = add go fast parts!

There are people in my local area making 500-550 on 80-100k engines with no issues.

 

i have 108xxx and shes running beautiful, i chose to stay around 25psi as not to push it over the edge, but as long as you keep good tabs on things, temps, fluids, and dont drive like a maniac you should be fine. ive put 10,000 miles on my set up now and everything is perfect.

 

please be wrong. lol

 

Do you actually want to push more then 400awhp on a 80k mile stock block with no worries?