Erik Blume July 09 2014

Part One in our Four Part Series: How to install a Subaru BRZ turbo kit!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

This project should not be performed by the novice mechanic. You should be familiar with turbochargers, how they operate, and know the components included in the kit before even lifting the car off the ground. With that said, the installation guide here should make the task much easier. If you run into any issues, feel free to contact us for clarification or advice. We're always willing to help! Before we get started, you're going to need access to a few specialized tools including a welder, a cut-off wheel or Dremel, and an advanced mechanics tool kit with deep and short well sockets, extensions, screwdrivers, and torque wrenches capable of both foot-lb and inch-lb measurements. Lastly, you'll need a place to install the kit, as the car will be inoperable for a few days. Our kit should include everything needed for the installation, but backup transportation to the auto parts store is highly recommended.

Now that we've got that out of the way, lets get started! First, disconnect the negative battery terminal, then raise the vehicle and drain the oil. When the oil has been drained, you may begin pulling the belly pan. It is held on with 6 body clips, eleven 10mm bolts, and twelve 12mm bolts. With the belly pan off, you may begin removing the front bumper, front air dam, and all underpaneling. For more details on how to remove these components, check out our FR-S Oil Cooler Install Guide. Once complete, you may begin draining the coolant from the radiator.

When the coolant has completely drained, close the drain plug and begin working on the exhaust. Please note that our car here has an aftermarket exhaust with a slip-joint exhaust clamp. This will be different on stock applications, as they utilize a regular 2-bolt flange. Remove the bolts from the slip joint (or flange) along with the O2 sensor on the mid-pipe. Next, remove the two 14mm bolts from the exhaust manifold flange and set the mid-pipe aside. Lastly, remove the last O2 sensor from the manifold and remove the six 14mm flange bolts. Remove the stock exhaust manifold from the car and set aside.

Lower the car and remove your stock airbox. Again, our car shown has an aftermarket intake setup, so we're not able to show that procedure. However, it is pretty straight forward and simple, as it only requires removing a few bolts and some clamps. Remove everything related to the stock induction system including all ducting, deflectors, and insulation as it will not be needed with the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ turbo kit's intake system. Remove the stock radiator and all hoses along with the stock overflow tank, which is held on by two 10mm bolts. Unplug the fans and un-clip the harness from the shroud. Remove the upper radiator support brackets by removing the four (2ea side) 10mm bolts. Remove the core support and hood latch fasteners, a total of twelve 10mm bolts. Remove the four 10mm fasteners attaching the AC Condenser to the radiator and support the radiator so it doesn't fall. To make it easier to remove the radiator, remove the crash bar by undoing the eight 12mm bolts. Set the crash bar and radiator aside. Lastly, remove the windshield washer fluid reservoir by taking off the top retaining clip and two 10mm bolts.

Now that you have 90% of the old pieces off the car that need replacing, lets start by modifying the things we need to keep. First, we'll modify the fan shroud. Since our turbo housing is going to be sitting on the passenger side, we need to remove the rather large stock BRZ fan on that side. Using either a Dremel tool, cutoff wheel, or Sawzall, remove that fan by cutting as close to the base as possible. See the photo's for reference. You also want to remove the stub from that side as well. It is circled in the photo. Place your cut shroud over the supplied Mishimoto radiator, placing the supplied slim fan under the newly created opening. Mark where the mounting tabs are and insert the zip-bolts through the radiator. Fasten the shroud to the radiator, and flip the assembly over and secure the fan. Re-install the assembly on the vehicle, using all OEM hoses. Finish by reattaching the AC Condenser to the radiator. In the next step, we're going to modify the oil pan and install the hot-side components in our Scion FR-S / Scion BRZ Turbo Kit!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4