It appears that my factory turbo has cracked it's waste gate... which apparently is super common in 04 STI's
Mike at GST recommended I replace it with a 16G-XT-R looking at all the info, this looks to be the perfect turbo for a hot street car.

Anyone care to talk me out of it?

 

It's too small. At the minimum for it to be worth it IMO at least do an 18G. That turbo will run out of steam almost as fast as any VF series.

 

evos stock turbo is about the same as a 16g right? I say might as well get it for a fairly stock car

 

The wastegate crack, if it's small like how most cracks are, won't lead to any noticeable drop in performance. If you have no problem with it, there's no point to spend money to fix something that still works fine unless you want to upgrade. If you want to upgrade, the small bump in performance from a 16G will not be worth the cost. It'll run out of steam towards the higher RPM range with the 2.5L (which I'm assuming you have since you said '04 STi). I'd recommend, at minimum, the 18g. You'll get similar spooling with a better top end.

 

+ 1 for 18g

 

Go 20G that way you won't run out of power, you can tune it to a specific power range and if you want more power down the road there's room to gain more power

 

20g is still smaller than a green and my green with an ewg spools like a ****. I would say go at least 18g and a properly setup and tuned 20g should not be laggy. That being said you could try to find the used turbo from 07+. Anything too big even if not laggy and the car starts becoming harder to use for fun shenanigans on a regular basis IMO.

 

GST figured out my stocker was cracked on the dyno. The car just hit the wall at 5200RPM and power went flat. Mike said it wouldn't pull more than 14psi.

For me, throttle response is a lot more important than peak power. This is a street car that sees occasional Autocrosses.
I really wasn't looking to do a turbo swap, but this is pushing me towards it

The powertrain is pretty close to stock (catted downpipe, light weight pulley) and being stealthy is key to me.

 

Well said.

 

35r 4 life.......

Agree with the others. 18g is probably the better choice if you want a nice bump in performance without anything too crazy.

 

you can always run a similar
FP TD06-68HTA

decently better top and and spools pretty on par with the stock turbo

 

If you just want the easiest fix and dont want to upgrade your fuel system (pump/injectors) pick up a used stock turbo from someone to replace it with. Otherwise I would skip the 16gxt and move to a 18gxt w/ supporting fuel mods & tune. 18gxt is a great turbo on the street with the 2.5

 

I have a 16gxt on my 2.0. It's got great lowend and middle end. Top end kinda runs out of breath. On a 2.5 I would get a 18gxt

 

save yourself from changing out your turbo again in the future, go dom 3 or fp green XD

 

The 16gxtr is awesome! 16g is a good size turbo for someone that just wants something more but not too much. I love my 16g, it's snappy as hell. That 16gxtr is a ball bearing turbo and I believe you can get it with an 3" inlet...add e85 and you'll be making some great power out of that thing.