Before I start I will warn you all that my car will not be on the road for testing and tune until spring so until then this thread will address cosmetic and fitment.
I had to give one of these a try as they fit the bill for what I was looking for in a turbo. Budget $1200, oem fitment.

I first attempted contact with Kinugawa via email through their website:
http://shopping.kinugawaturbo.com/
and their contact form, I never got a response to either poor customer service there. So I wasn't about to send them a thousand bucks out of the blue.

I turned to ebay and I have to assume that Authentic Boosting is the only authorized distributor for north america. I purchased my 25 through them with the Evo 9 install kit which all looks top notch.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Anti-Surge-T...ht_1472wt_1163

I also picked this up as the stock intake pipe would no longer fit the 3.25" OD inlet on the turbo. I hope to make it work with a 3.25" - 3" silicon adapter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/03-04-Lancer...ht_2126wt_1163

For the full gallery of my images click here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/10267...15120451571953

Shipping was very quick, I had it to central Canada in less than a week. Packaging was excellent, double ply box and injection foam stuff.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...15458715822290

A comparison of the stock evo 9 16g and the 25g, I had already purchased a forge WGA previous. It fits up nice and makes me just want to sit the turbo on the coffee table to admire for a while...

I have a decent amount of experience porting so what better time to port match and smooth the turbo and the exhaust manifold. I have a full 3" turbo back with O2 and test pipe but am swapping in a 3" high flow cat this winter since I can't handle the noise anymore.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...15460844733090

port matched hot side inlet.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...15424513859170

port matched, but mostly a lot of smoothing for good gas flow.

So this is where I am at, I have to port the exhaust manifold yet and then I will throw it in.

Any suggestions welcome as again I seem to be the self appointed guinea pig in the evo community for new parts. (see Mishimoto radiator install)

 

Looking forward to the results...

 

I wonder how long they warranty the turbocharger for? Or do they at all?

 

One year warranty. In the little I had read, people have said they have positive customer service.

 

prob more than so called reputable turbocharger companies

 

Looks like a nice piece. It seems like you did your homework and found an authorized dealer for the turbo on ebay rather than just a guy selling kits from his garage. Looking forward to results...

 

Definitely following thread..justin

 

Looking forward to results and long-term testing!

 

I've been running this turbo for the last 4 months,i had a little problem with the wastegate which they fixed right away,i can post my VD sheet if you want,i don't want to just post my own results on your thread without your consent,overall i'm well pleased with the results considering the price i paid.It's a very good option to the other turbos out there,if you tune yourself i can email you my tune so you can have a good starting point tune wise.Good luck

 

sure would like to know the inducer/exducer diameters of these wheels. can you measure them for us?

 

absolutely, we need as much info about these as possible. Post away!

What is your mod list, I might just take you up on that tune.

 

according to Authentic Boosting:

"Wheel Size
Compressor wheel : 60.2 / 78 mm
Turbine Wheel: 54.1 / 61 mm ( 11 blades of TD06SL2R Turbine wheel)"

 

That's pretty good....I look forward to see the result.

 

their specs are often wrong.
the specs also say the compressor wheel is 6 blade, when its obviously 5.
so thats why I would like actual measurements.

 

1 year warranty isn't bad...looking forward to your results sir, keep us posted & good luck!