The dilemma that develops with turbo size is that you put on a small enough turbo to eliminate lag on a low HP motor, by low HP I'm referencing less than 300hp, and you end up running out of turbo on the top end. It's not difficult to turn a low HP motor into a high HP (over 500HP) with a turbo, and then put a large enough turbo on to not run out of turbo by 800-1000hp. The way to stop the lag with a big turbo in cars like ours is by either using a standard transmission or putting in a high stall, quality converter into your auto.Lag is not necessarily a bad thing. With a 200 hpr engine. Lag makes it suck. A little lag with a 700 hpr engine. Means traction or not. Take a ride in a high horse power turbo car, and you will see why they are so awesome.
Small turbos have but one use - low rpm, heavy load applications. Meaning trucks that pull a camper or whatever you have that is heavy. Mentality towards turbo sizing has changed dramatically in the past 10 years.
I can't speak of any AWD experience, but a G-body with a 10-12" wide street tire can be turned to smoke at 70mph with 700-800hp without issue and at will.I don't know anyone with one running at the moment 🤣 I was hoping with the AWD and 12" tires in the rear I should get some decent bite to keep traction
If you're going to be happy with 4-500whp (which is ALOT), then a small turbo, i.e 7665, S363, etc. is great. But boost is addictive (mentioned previously) 😉 The popular sloppy mechanic 7875 turbo is bigger than a GT45 and has less lag and is more than capable of 800+ numbers - it's why they are so popular.