The AVO at
http://www.rallitek.com/pparts.asp?VEHID=2

The Ludespeed Stage III at:
http://ludespeed.com/products/subaru/impkits/stage3.html

The AVO costs a little more, but I can't tell if it includes the fuel system (pump rails etc.) like the ludespeed. The ludespeed also comes with an pre tapped oil pan. AVO seems to spool up faster due to a more efficient design. Any other minor differences that anyone can tell? I am trying to decide of which one of these I should get.

Faster spool up is more in line with the character of the EJ25, and that pre-tapped oil pan is worth a lot in saved headaches and convenience. I'd go with the Ludespeed.

I had a Ludespeed kit, although it was never installed. I sold it when I sold my 2.5, but the buyer had no problems with it at all. I, BTW, had done alot of research before commiting and liked the Ludespeed the best.

Love the Ludespeed Kit, plus the other 4 I have installed.

yeah Ludespeed rocks and Tom is one of the best subaru parts dealers out there. If you want best bang for buck you should go with the ludespeed kit.

Go for the Ludespeed! Let us know what you do!!

Yep...Go with stage 3...I just ordered one from him day before thanksgiving.

~Anthony.

I heard that Ludespeed closed up??? How true is that rumor???

www.ludespeed.com

Oops, I guess they're not taking any orders- Sorry

Yah get the one from the company that no longer is taking orders, instead of the one from a world leader in aftermarket turbos for 30 years.
The AVO is better period IMHO. But I'm biased... so :)
This thing is the real deal, it dynoed 215 whp at brainstorm for Turbo magazine feb 03 issue.

http://ludespeed.com/products/subaru/impkits/results.html

here are some numbers from the ludespeed site... if he ever get's back in business.

Bump for Tom... Ludespeed should be taking orders again now.

Why don't we try getting a group buy organized for the Ludespeed kit?

I know I'm up for it :)

the ludespeed kit sounds great, and the more i read about the RS turbo kits the more it makes me forget about the ej20 swaps. (even tho it sounds cool) but its not worth the 7k for the install. Which RS came with a sohc motor? and are there any year RS's better to turbo then the others? also it says its made for the daily driver, could i drive cross county with one of these(not that i would) but could i?

you could drive it whenever, however, whereever you want. That's the beauty of turbo kits for our motors. IF you get the Link with the stage III you can program pretty much whatever you want: daily driver, strip only, autocross etc. And you can store each of those maps and reload one for that specific day.

A group buy sounds great, but I'm about a month and a half away from purchasing one.

Dominic

how long will the engine and trans hold up to this kind of power?

A lot of things depend on how you drive the car while under boost, and how much boost and what kind of engine management you have.

I have had my Turbo Kit on for nearly 2 years, 30k miles and a few track days and everything is still running. Though lately the tranny has been startign to make funny noises. the one time I ran 16 PSI of boost the head gaskets started to leak.

Though this was on a 99 RS SOHC which is definitely better then the 00 and 01 I think. I have only tuned and built up about 6 RS-T's now, every year 98-02... I would say the best engine is the 98 DOHC by FAR!!! Though they have a very bad weak point the head gaskets. If you get those replaced with better ones then you will be set for a while, as long as things are correctly setup. Then I woudl say the 99 RS because it has lower compression then the 00 and up. After that they are all the same and the hardest to make lots of horsepower on without doing engine work.

Hopefully that helps.

Bill at I-SpeedUSA.com

yeah that helps quite a bit, what are the differences between each year? if you dont mind stating them, i am not sure how i will be driving the car, i know i wont be a baby with it tho i am getting this car to have fun :). i want a nice fast realible car, i am still deciding to go either RS turbo or an ej20 swap. to me, the ej20 seems more realible because the motor came turbo from factory.
which do most people recommand? i want a fast fun and realible car that i can drive everywhere and if i ever had the need to, i could drive cross county. also what is the difference in weight? 2.5rs w/turbo kit and a ej20t...

The turbo kit adds some wieght, but you also have to take off some small things. I would say it adds about 10-15 pounds, that is about it.

Difference between years:
1998 - Dual Over Head Cam (Better Air Flow)
- more available power as these engines are detuned from Subaru quite a bit.
- the weakness is the had gasket, get a better one and you are all set
- MAF intake, though a Link PLus will remove that all together
- Could run 5 pounds daily with no problem, even with no engine management, as the MAF can change the settings as it does not really read pressure but air flow
- 9.7:1 compression

1999 - Single Over Head Cam (Air Flow suffers)
- still more available power then the 00 and up but not as much as the 98, though headers do wonders, especially on a Turbo kit
- no headgasket problems unless you boost far too high
- MAF intake, though once again Link Plus replaces it, still better then MAP (00 and up) though
- 9.7:1 compression

2000 and up - Single Over Head Cam (Air Flow Suffers
- these engines have some more power to give and if tuned well with a Turbo Kit can run up to 10 PSI no problem. they will be a little faster then the 99 RS on 10 PSI because of the higher compression
- weakness is the MAP, though Link Plus will remove it.
- getting pretty high in the compression 10:1 now
- headers make a big difference on all the RS's as the stock ones SUCK! unlike the WRX where they really don't make much of a difference until about 300 whp.

With the WRX swap
- if you have the RS tranny, it will still accelerate pretty quick from a dead stop. Nto quite as fast as a RS-T but faster then a WRX by far.
- spool up time depends on the Turbo, some can be done as low as 3000 RPM's if not lower
- weakness is probably the tranny, but then again that is the weakness on every Subaru except the STi.
- besides that the WRX swap is incredibly reliable, if you ever got pulled over, you would be legal as long as you had it smogged of course.
- Driving cross country if you did break down any Subaru dealership would know how to fix it. Unlike a RS-T which they may not even except into the shop.

Bill

how realible is the ej20 (wrx) after mods? how far will the tranny take me (hp wise) i dont plan on dragging this car very offen, once every rare moon.... anyways thanks for all the help
:)

its as reliable as much care you give it. Dont be a boost junky and manage it well thats all it takes. People blow motors because of carelessness and pushing things beyond its limits.

People bring thier cars to the track all the time and the trannies seem to hold up fine. I guess as long as you dont dump the clutch.

which kit does everyone recommend, also i read that ludespeed isnt taking orders? what kind of 1/4 times can the AVO kit produce
(not gonna be a drag car just curious) also the same question for the ludespeed III kit. it has times posted for stage II which was 13.6?