No, it's tight. Also, it's probably unlikely to happen on two EFRs at the same time. I'd rule out the turbo itself as a cause.

No exhaust leaks? Two different turbos? Your motor is gravy?

All things being equal, have you tried a new tuner?

I would be interested to see compression and leak down test results.

No, cuz I'm the tuner :-D I talked to the owner of the shop where I got my turbo kit from. He suggested I add another 7* on top, which I of course declined - I dont' think my engine will live very long running 14* of timing at 250 kpa and RON95 fuel.

engine is freshly built with Wiseco rings and Supertech pistons. Break-in period was 1.500 km running N/A and the car ran strong. I then mounted the turbo kit and the lag of spool was apparent from the start. I really don't think compression or leak down are a problem, since the engine was healthy right before and after the rebuild.

This wouldn't be the first engine to shit the bed upon first startup. You have to rule it out, it's part of the game.

Have you tried doing a pull with the mid pipe removed from the car? This way you can either eliminate that being the issue, or figure out something in that is clogging and causing the problem.

Interested to see flow through the intercooler. ...How can this be tested easily. Fill with water then dump? Hard to quantify data, but at least you could see if it either empies fast, like instantly, or slow.

If you had the turbine speed sensor this might be a good troubleshooting tool as well. I am not saying you should spend the money for the hell of it, but if it's something you want to install in the future, now might be a good time.

my plan of attack is to first replace the intercooler with a straight 2.5" pipe and test how it reacts. This will rule out any negative effects by the IC.

I then will use said pipe and a few silicone elbows, and run a direct connection from the compressor outlet to the intake manifold. This will test for adverse effects from the IC piping.

then I will do a run with the shortest possible exhaust (maybe DP-only, or midpipe) to rule out the exhaust.

however, I'll be gone til Sunday night due to work :(

I would do a run without the mid pipe. As I am guessing that is where your catalytic converter is at, and that is what I would think would be clogged.

I would suggest you take the car to a dyno and properly tune it instead of trying things yourself with advice from your tuner.

Last time I let a tuner hold the car to 'figure it out' I got it back a month later with hardly anything fixed.

My checklist;

-Poor compression due to rings / valves / seats
-Plugged cat
-Timing is off either mechanically or set incorrectly
-Check for fluids around the spark plugs, I had a bit of water in one once and the car ran like balls.
-Plugs gapped to high?

In this image the green line, what is it? I find it strange that it says a max of 80% and drops while spool is almost at peak. Is that EBC dutycycle?

Thats normal for EBC. Hold the set max until you get close to boost target, then drop to control.

So is the wacky variation in RPM due to spark cut? I didn't use PWM PID for my EBC so I guess that's why it looks strange to me.

If you didn't use PWM how did you control the solenoid....

RPM variation is probably boost cut.

I just used the boost duty table. I didn't adjust any of the values in the PWM PID value set, I just use Open-loop. I am also on MS2 so it may be different.

Derp. I meant to say PID, not PWM.

Got it

Man that sounds like a frustrating problem. Cam timing a tooth out perhaps?

are you using the bypass valve on the EFR or a BOV? This seems like a potential issue.