Originally Posted by TheShodan

...as many turbo gurus have stated on here, you need to be a bit more specific in terms of what you're looking out of a turbo in order for the car to do a bit more what you want. Understanding the PURPOSE of the car is key, though I have a feeling you're going to say, "I plan on doing this mainly on the street, w/ occasional weekends at the track, and want to break a 10 sec E.T." (Please prove me wrong.. ). I'm not saying at all that it is not possible, because it is, but you may need to understand about the positives and negatives regarding a FWD honda (yes, even w/ LSD) on the street vs. the drag strip. Unfortunately, in order for your goal to be a bit more realistic, one use may have to override the other. More street, or more strip, pick one.

Ok. Now that you've made that decision, now let's look at the setup you plan to use. Its more than likely you're on some sort of VTEC B-series engine, but you may be on a Non-VTEC or K-series engine. We don't know, so you'll have to enlighten us w/ your story. (But keep it simple). Actual displacement, Static compression, max rpm, and even cams all play into understanding the needs you're looking for ...

Alright, done.. you've stated the internals and technical blah blah.. Now, let's look at the turbo. What budget are you looking at? Be aware, if you want 600+ HP, plan for over $1100-$1500. (Yes, people have sales on stuff all the time, so no one get their panties in a bunch as to how much they paid for something, these are simply average costs for the larger units). Many people out here throw up suggestions without reasoning, with a big THUMBS UP, but honestly, who knows what you want better than yourself? There are plenty of dynos, charts, maps, and other empirical information than you can shake a stick at, so start searching around, and asking the turbo and tuning gurus around here.

Budget stated, great. Only one thing left. Fitment. Are you trying to do T3 flanged, or T4?. Bottom mount, or top mount exhaust manifold? Twin scroll? Divided inlet? V-Band? 3"downpipe? 4" downpipe? Ball-bearing cartridge? Journal bearing cartridge? Do you even know yet? This is where once again your information about the setup is going to impact that budget that you were looking for. Understanding the differences b/w journal bearing and ball-bearing (other than "spool") is going to be important, because face it.. At under 2.5 litres, you've got to spin the motor, to move the turbo. For 600whp+ "quick spool" is out of the question whichever cartridge you choose. Deal with it.. plain and simple. But that doesn't mean "lag" is a bad thing necessarily. Most of the larger units reach maximum pressure by about 4600-5500rpms, (once again, average, no need to post what everyone else's did) depending upon what you choose. Ball-bearing cartridge can work, but if it breaks, and you don't have the budget for the water lines, bye bye turbo, hello $1300+ paperweight, because on most damage, it cannot be rebuilt, and its costly. Journal bearing cartridges can work as well, especially with the newer designs of compressor wheels, and can be rebuilt, because if you want to go fast, you're gonna break something eventually. Garrett & Borg-Warner are the main ones that can foot the bill, each with their advantages and disadvantages.

Welp, there you have it in a proverbial "nutshell". Unfortunately, we can't read minds, so don't expect us to, and H-Ters have a tendency to not spoon-feed, you you've got some work to do, and some questions to answer before we can help further.