turbo the p5 or trade for WRX

D

dficken

Member
OK.
Now that I see someone had problems with their tranny and they were pushing about 155whp, I am having 2nd thoughts about turboing my p5.

Now I am thinking about trading my p5 in for a 03 or 04 WRX.

Reliability is very important to me since my car is a daily driver. If I go turbo, I was planning on the FM kit and NOT going over 6psi. But now the tranny issue has got me worried.

What would you guys do (condidering that I need a reliable car for a long time)? As of right now, the pro toward the WRX is warranty.

btw... Does anyone know how much HP the p5 tranny can handle? Also, would the auto handle about the same as the manual?

Thanks.
 
I would go with the WRX if you want power, and reliability. That car is made for peformance, while the P5 is meant to be passenger car with some spunk.
 
As much as I would like to see another P5-T I am going to say if you have the funds go with the WRX. Factory turbo with a warrenty can't be beat.


Later
 
If you are looking for a constant project on the cutting edge that you will be the beta tester for, go with the P5. If you are looking for a factory warranty with boost that is highly upgradable, and has a large aftermarket following already, get the WRX....I would probably get the WRX!
 
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I would so go with the WRX as it was designed for boost and will be covered under warranty. If it's your daily driver, you don't want to have to be tinkering with it every night when you come home from work. On the other hand, havving a turbo P5 is definitely a fun project though, but the engine really isn't designed for any serious boost.
 
Need I say trade for a WRX?
I'm not going to trade my car in, but the thought of turbo has been crossing my mind every day. My P5 is my daily driver and even though a turbo kit would be a fun project and would really help the performance of the P5 it's much easier/takes less of your time to tinker with a turboed car.

So, go with the WRX, you won't regret it.

By the way, I hadn't driven a turboed car in a while and just drove my friend's WRX last weekend, that really got me salivating for power. Too bad $3500 + installation $$ (I wouldn't trust myself with it alone) is just way too much to pull from savings right now.
 
i got my daily driven pro5 and love it, i just like the look and feel of the pro5, no doubt the wrx is a good car, but i just personally like the pro5. i know its probably going to be a lot of money to be put into it still, like suspension, motor work, brakes, etc. but i like the project and its a good learning experience. its all up to you man, if you love your pro5 i would get that turboed, its not too hard to do and its pretty fun, i like working on my car. but if youre iffy about it, just go with the wrx. cant beat that AWD! hope it helped.
 
i think you should be asking all the turboed p5s out there, because (not to sound like a dick) most of the guys who have replied dont have one, and they dont know the difference in feeling from stock and turboed. if youre looking to race a lot on freeway, ive beat wrxs with only 4lbs bo0st, and not even trying =0P. i guess i just love my p5 that much. hehehe
 
up to you...what do YOU want to do...me personally i would take the wrx in a heartbeat...the wrx is a great project car and there's a huge aftermarket growing here in the US and already well established in japan and the uk...when i bought my p5 i got everything that i was looking for as a daily driver(reliability, styling, drivability) but it's not what i would consider a project car but it will tie me over until i can save enough for a real project car...good luck with whatever you do...
 
duMb KeoLa 's right. I don't have a turbo P5 and wish I did, but right now I have to think more about my finances going towards investments, not just money into a car.

But if I had my finances squared away and not too many big $$ plans for the future I would definitively spend it on a turbo, new clutch/flywheel, motor mounts, lsd, and any other way of beefing up the engine/drivetrain for turbo. Even if it's a daily driver, if money ain't holding you back go for the turbo P5.

Like Keith from FM said, something like "reliability is in the installation."- not direct quote. He was using their Miata kits as an eg saying that 85% have no problem, 15% do, with the same exact kit!

I'm pretty sure if you do a thorough job on putting the kit (and realize that the car's engine/drivetrain aren't indestructible) you won't have any reliability issues with the turbo.

Again, I don't have a turbo myself, but I know that I've only had the car for 1 year, I'm still young, don't plan on getting rid of my car anytime soon, and drive a lot (34K in first year). For the moment I'll spend $$ and time with smaller stuff that would help in the future anyway if I do decide on a turbo (exhaust, clutch, mounts).
 
Another quick thing to think about:

Count how many WRXs you see out there, then

Count how many P5s you see out there, then

Count how many turbo P5s you see out there:D


Now, if having a unique car is part of your decision then you have your choice. I don't know of any turbo P5s in CT yet and I'd die to be the 1st:cool:
 
THANKS MAN, thats exactly what i was talking about. i guess we just take pride in our cars and just like you, i wouldnt trade my car for nothing!
 
I forgot to mention...

I like my p5 alot. In fact I like everything about the car except the limited power.

And if I do go turbo on the p5, I plan to drive out to Colorado and have FM install it (for reliability reasons). So I don't think I will have failure due to installation issues. I would be more concerned with engine or tranny failure. That's why I am curious what the stock trannies can handle HP wise.

As for the WRX... I just went to the dealer and looked at the '04 model. The back end looks way better and the front clip looks better at some angles, but I like the '03 model better at other angles.

Last, I agree that not many people have turbo p5's and I would rather have that over a stock wrx. But I also need the reliabilty and don't want to tinker with my car all the time. I guess I am curious about other turbo p5 owners and if they "have" to tinker with the tuning on their cars all the time, or do they just like doing it? :-) Cause if I could run 6psi on the p5 and not worry about it after FM does the install, I would be content with that.

I prefer the leather, moon roof, and sport shift auto in the p5. But it would be nice to have warranty with wrx (and the upgradability for future).

right now i am still 50/50.
 
WRX all the way
that peice of machine is a beeeaast
honestly though, might not look as good as p5 (but there are more aftermarket kits) and it doesn't come in yellow
you can either be the fastest pro5 (not gonna happen with 6psi) or you can be faster than all pro5 (WRX)
 
i will be turbo'd in about a month and i've been researching the drivetrain issues...most definitely have to get a stronger clutch and probably get the 14lb mspeed flywheel

i've also been researching whether I can buy an lsd equipped jdm mazdaspeed tranny...as it has some further development to handle the extra stress such as shot peening the shift forks, etc. i'd rather spend the extra and get the best unit than take a chance on destroying the tranny

a concern i have is that i've read about lots of failures from cars with little or no modifications
 
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