[sperry]

There's not really such a thing as a reliable and cheap 450hp STi. Sure people will tell me I'm crazy, but I challenge anyone to show me a 450whp STi that's got 100,000 miles on the motor at that power level.

Frankly, if you don't literally have $10,000 in your pocket right now that you can just throw away, don't bother trying to build a monster STi. In the long run, you're either going to bankrupt yourself and end up having to sell the car, or you're going to have to cut corners that ends in have another blown motor.

Second, what killed the first motor? If you don't know what did it, what's going to keep it from happening again? The answer to this question can be anything from mechanical/tuning issues, to driver issues. For example, I've gone though several motors myself... and the biggest contributing factor is that I would keep pushing the car for "just one more lap" while the oil temp gauge is screaming at me to back off.

Third, Scotty's right. You'd likely get way more bang for your buck if you spend the money on stage 2 non-built motor, suspension and brakes, and track day entry fees. But of course, that all depends on *why* you're building the car. To me, the most important thing is that the car is fun to drive... and big horsepower is nowhere near as fun as turning and stopping fast. The STi is already a ridiculously powerful car right out of the box. Lots of people will disagree, simply because there are so many big number STis these days, but seriously, the STi doesn't need power nearly as much as it needs suspension.

My suggestion would be getting a new stock long block, or if rebuilding really is cheaper forged pistons at the most, and some stock heads. A TD05-20G is an awesome turbo on that setup... it won't make big numbers, but it's very responsive, has a nice wide powerband, and is definitely faster than a stage 2 STi. Then get some good d/a coilovers and spend money on getting seat time at the race track. You'll have way more fun with that use of your money than you will by having a car with massive dyno numbers that you can't ever safely drive on the street near the limits.

Keep in mind that even with the small build I outlined, you're still going to need injectors, fuel pump, larger intercooler (either TMIC or FMIC), full exhaust, and ENGINE MANAGEMENT (probably the most critical component and I haven't seen anything mentioned). Lots of people feel like they can just slap an open source map on the car and hit the freeway a few times to tune it up, but longevity is critically dependent on getting the car professionally tuned on a dyno. There's a reason why you hear about so many blown motors these days now that every T D and H are "tuners".

As far as those parts you're planning on buying... a 35R is a massive turbo. Unless you've got $10,000+ to spend on getting the motor built right (remember, Cossie heads are $4,000+ without the $1000 cams) you're never going to get anything from that 35R except turbo lag. I'm not saying don't buy it... just know what you're getting yourself in to. I've spent $10,000 on a motor build and that was for a TD05-20G and WRX heads... doing it right and/or big is expensive... and comically so once you realize that big power still isn't all that fun, unless you get tons of enjoyment out of number bragging.