I'm thinking about turbo charging my car. My friend told me that it would be better to get a smaller turbo than a larger turbo for quicker spool response and longer life on the motor. What kind of turbos should I get? Also what other precaution should I take in preparing my motor before boosting. Do I need to replace the pistons and rods or should i stick with my stock ones? Thanks the your response in advance.

 

Size of the turbo will not effect the life of the engine as much as your power goals and fuel management. Forged rods and pistons are always nice for piece of mind, but I'd put a stand alone ecu (ie Hondata, AEM EMS) and some tuning at the top of my list. The archives aren't working but there should still be some informative threads hanging around about both of these systems so a search will still be fruitful.

A smaller turbo will spool up faster, but first you need to decide on your ultimate power goals. Then you'll have a better idea of where your options can take you. You may not like the limitations that a small turbo will have or you might just go sc.

If you are really serious, I suggust a trip to Barnes and Noble or Borders and pick up Maximum Boost or any other intro to turbo charging book and a basic blue printing guide book. Desktop dynos is a nice read as well. There is nothing better than investing time and knowledge into yourself.
HTH