supeing up a subaru?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kyle2k
  • 34 comments
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Is it worth the money putting any other engine parts into the subaru wrx sti?

  • Yes

    Votes: 17 77.3%

  • No

    Votes: 4 18.2%

  • Not Sure

    Votes: 1 4.5%
  • Total voters
    22
K

Kyle2k

Messages
145
i been thinking :banghead: the subaru wrx sti...maybe not the nicest looking car...but...it has a 300 hp engine, why would u want to supe it up and second of all ...what really room is there for improvement, besides a better interior, and maybe a turbo upgrade(which probably isnt worth the money)

if anyone knows of anything else you can do...tell me ( and if u say body kits or nitrous i will slap you)
 
Sure, I suppose you could improve it quite a bit. Slap on a new exhaust system maybe, improve the suspension a little.

The WRX STi is quite nice looking.
 
Since the thing is so new, it's hard to find anything for it. All of my guesses are just from what how the WRX has been tuned. ECU reflash, bigger up-pipe or down-pipe, turbo back (if emission free, or you don't mind being illegal) exhaust may help, maybe a cat-back.... hard to say on that one though.

In many of the Solo IIs we've gone to, the STi has some serious (for a high-performance sedan) body roll. Stiffer suspension, I imagine, would help this. I read that the 2004 JDM STi has a little less horsepower (although, who can trust their horsepower ratings :D ), but a much better suspension. Could always try that if you had a good deal of money to blow. A rear sway bar would probably eliminate any understeer found. High performance tires.

Also, a lot of the stuff could just be by preference. For instance, my 2.5RS had no badging on the rear, along with the OEM sedan spoiler, powder coated wheels, and huge coffee can exhaust. I'm replacing all of this. Getting all of the badging and the spoiler from the factory. Keeping those wheels so I can be in a stock Solo II class but putting used WRX wheels (finding some used 2.5RS wheels is just plain annoying) for everyday driving. Plus a new, smaller, but still performance exhaust. But ya' see what I mean? You could rather make the STi feel/look how you want it to.

If you want something more than 300 horsepower and 300 ft/lbs of torque maybe you should look elsewhere. I imagine tuning it would be very expensive and take a lot of time and know-how. But I'd be willing to turn down many other more poweful vehicles in exchange for this one, just because I love Subarus. I'm all in favor of tuning it, and spending wads of cash on it, but I'd wait until I knew how to handle the already massive power it has. This would give time for companies to work the STi and get performance parts out for it.

A lot of this is just speculation. Things I'm firing out of that bad, bad, orifice. :D

PS. One thing I think I would have to have (depending on the stock unit)... big, loud, audible BOV. :D
 
so...those websites...are those sites...and products on those sites boost performance or will the just keep it the same or what...cuz im not really sure...wrx does have and intercooler already...and the factory air intake...would a cold air one increase hp or not..

im not the subaru expert so im not gonna act like it i jsut want answer to certain questions
 
Colder air defintiely increases horsepower. Those intercoolers could also add power due to better efficiency or more cooling, especially when you start making more power. I'm not sure if this works for the EJ25's, but upping the boost with a 50$ manual boost controller, downpipe, catback, and better intake should net a significant gain. After than your modifications are as much as you can imagine, I'm sure you could push a good deal of air through that engine.
 
damnit i wis there was more sutff available for the Subaru Impreza WRX Sti ,i see all sorts of stuff for the normal wrx's but not the StI edition or w.e...its stock 300hp tho...so atleast thats a damn good start....
 
also...does anyone know where i coud get healdlamp conversions to the old wrx models...and also some fender flares...or soemthing...id liek to make it look as much like the one in the rallies....without all the vynll and stuff...but i want the flares ,etc
 
Perhaps to beef up the suspension a little bit, but for engine parts, no. THe STi probably has too much horsepower for you to handle already, and comes with more HP than the WRC car, although the WRC car is lighter.
 
If ya in the UK the WRX STI Prodrive version should always be bought over the WRX STI. Its 20bhp plus all the little modifications, and its only a couple of £K more
 
Actually, what I've seen on Cobb Tuning, WRXs and cold air intakes don't mix too well. Your best bet is getting a K&N filter. Hard to say how the STi reacts to one.

Also, Sport Compact Car recently had a article on their project WRX where they replaced the stock intercooler with an APS one. Some results turned out better, but suprisingly, some didn't. Before the ECU adjusted to the new intercooler, it was down on horsepower from it's previous status. Even after it was adjusted, it only added a horsepower. If I get the article I can relay the test results, if anyone is interested.

Kyle, check on eBay or the NASIOC forums.
 
Yeah, they had to tune it to get better results. I didn't like that intercooler choice though, the should've gone with a front mount.

With some creativity you can buy a gallery of parts. Just because a company doens't make a kit for it doesn't mean it can't be done, it just means you'll need to be a bit more creative (and in lots of cases spend more money) to get there. APS ( http://www.aps-wrx.com/ ) sells ball-bearing turbos specially for the WRX capable of well over 600hp. Beefing up the engine and tuning it is all up to the owner.
 
put on bodykits and NoS!!!! :)

I would improve suspension , intake, catless uppipe, down pipe, mid pipe and ECU Chip upgrade

that can bring u up to 350HP if not more

for a daily driving u should be running mid 12sec.. oh yeah...
 
Originally posted by boostcreep
Yeah, they had to tune it to get better results. I didn't like that intercooler choice though, the should've gone with a front mount.

With some creativity you can buy a gallery of parts. Just because a company doens't make a kit for it doesn't mean it can't be done, it just means you'll need to be a bit more creative (and in lots of cases spend more money) to get there. APS ( http://www.aps-wrx.com/ ) sells ball-bearing turbos specially for the WRX capable of well over 600hp. Beefing up the engine and tuning it is all up to the owner.
Click to expand...

It said the front mount would of lead to more turbo lag. And with the feedback they got from this one doesn't really seem like the front mount wouldn't help. Hard to say though, seems like more area coming into contact with air. Mehnuh. Me know little aboot the turbos.
 
Well actually they had an artical on the WRX STi in Import Tuner a while back. But of course you can make a WRX STi faster and no I am not talking nos or any of that ricey crap, I heard that the fastest WRX currently in Japan has 550 hp:O

Any way here is something every one on this web site can use, go to www.raretrick.com and there is all the JDM parts for your car from all the BIG names like HKS, APEX'I, TEIN, SPARCO, BLITZ, etc. so go there and I garantee you well find what you are looking for;)
 
first off..you said if someone says nitrous..that's stupid?

nitrous is the easiest way to gain power for cheap cash..so nitrous is ALWAYS in the game for making your car faster..

subaru has pushed the crap out of the sti engine..making 300hps and 300 lbs/tq..but you could just upgrade exhaust, downpipe, up-pipe..for a couple hundred..if you wanna go more, upgrade the turbo system..not just turbo itself..and get a fmic, dont get a fmic when you are running stock turbo...it's just gonna make things worse..and you can always do weight reduction crap.., not really improving horsepower..but you're improving your power:weight ratio..and that's always good..more hps for less pounds..
 
Unless your pumping nitrous into your weaksauced engine that was never meant to handle that sudden surge of power.

I don't see why everyone says get a FMIC. I haven't heard enough about intercoolers to know what makes one better or not. But I would think Subaru would know what they're doing to their engine. Putting the intercooler on top would probably reduce more piping (I believe that there was a few feet extra in a WRX FMIC) therefore reducing turbo lag.
 
VG30DETT, you're right. On stock vehicles, or even vehicles with 75 horsepower more than stock, the stock IC or a top-mount upgrade is better, less lag, less pressure drop. But I think (no basis for this claim, just think) that when you're pushing 75-100hp more than stock, a top-mount just won't be enough, it'll be heatsoaked too easily. But if you're making that much extra power, you've got other things to worry about:)
 
You're right...The top mount IC on the subaru does serve alot better job than a FMIC would.....of the same trim......However, if you could get a IC that is more race oriented, and the subaru doesn't ALLOW for the space above the engine....Not to mention the fact that sitting ontop of the engine does equate to some heat.....That hood cowl can only do so much......But heck...They even have "Cowl upgrades" to increase the flow through the IC.....I say if you wanna get serious get a FMIC, that isn't mounted on your bumper, because not all FMIC's are bumper show car ones....Otherwise, get a slightly larger IC and keep it top mount, upgrade the turbo.....get some electronic work done and some plumbin...and you'll be tearin u a vast percentage of the cars in your town.
 
if you really want to get serious do the turbo/intake/intercooler/etc.... stuff and then go for a coustom cam, lifter, valve setup and have the heads ported and polished and get a performance crank/rod/piston set...

You would be surprized how much more power old school mods like this will give you....
 
Originally posted by mr2dude'91
Well actually they had an artical on the WRX STi in Import Tuner a while back.
Click to expand...

Import Tuner...bleah. Anyway, I have nothing to add to this not covered by the extremely knowegable Subaru people, so I'll stop posting here.
 
I would doubt that companies have any final productions of camshafts, pistons, cranks, etc. I haven't looked, but it's just a theory of mine. Cobb Tuning barely has anything for STi, and they're all Subaru.

Kyle, do you have a 2004 Subaru WRX STi? If you do, congrats... you lucky SOB :D Do you know how to handle the car? Are you sure you need more power? If you just want it for boasting rights, go for it. But do you know how to use all of that, efficiently?

I saw a Z06 in a Solo II once that got all sorts of squirrley. I'm sure it won't be a problem for the Subaru an it's AWD, but the Z06 constantly had the back end coming around, and just wasn't very fast. It sounded nice, and fun to watch, but he was slower than the other Z06s that knew what they were doing. Driving skill has a lot to do with how fast and how fun the car is to drive. Something to consider. A fast car doesn't mean fast lap times. A Neon (Neon, not a SRT4) was beating Z06s.

If you just want some straight line performance I would suggest doing a lot of research on this before you decide to purchase a part. Whatever you get will most likely be pretty expensive (a Cobb 2.5RS exhaust is about $600) and certainly nothing to be taken lightly. Think of the Warrenty too.
 
as i said before in my previous post..you should get a fmic only after you upgraded all the turbo components..piping, wastegate, bov, and turbo itself..because when you run more boost, you need more air, and that top mount ic isn't gonna do the job..but if you're just runnin stock turbo, intake, header, exhaust, and some minor stuff, the top mount would serve fine..and yes, less piping is needed for the top mount..since it's right on top of the engine, the fmic needs to go through the bumper, around fender, and then into the engine..so more piping, more air loss, more turbo lag..turbo lag = bad..
 
Ive heard TurboXS has got some parts in develoment for the STi, might wanna check them out. I really dont see the point of modding an STi tho, yes i do recommend things like new intake and exhaust and so on, but not much else, the car is already perfect how it is IMO, but yeha you could do still do a lot to it like what everyone else has mentioned

You could also check out Modified Magazine too, their current project car is a WRX STi
 

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