Hi guys,

I'm new here. I'm still about 6 months off buying an impreza due to a few things but I like to fully research my cars before buying.

Now I know I want a blobeye and I want an sti. It will be a weekend car so I don't really need the niceness of the wrx.

I was wondering without spending silly money or forging the engine etc what is safe power the blobeye sti ej20 can handle. I have seen a few sitting at 300 or 320bhp but I'm sure I read the engine could easily go up to 400ish bhp? I could very well be wrong about this though.

What mods would be needed to take a standard sti to about 400bhp and xxx nm or whatever power level is safe? I.e. turbo, injectors etc etc. I know mapping is a big point.

Lastly when running close to the limit of safe power does reliability go downhill or are the engine still pretty solid? Does the gearbox and clutch hold up?

I will continue to do research about the blob eye. I was recently researching evo's but I wanted to give the same chance to the Impreza as I really respect both cars.

This seems like a great forum and hopefully before I know it I'll be a in a nice sti.

Cheers for your time

 

The key question is......what is your budget. That dictates everything.

 

There are a few on here running 450 on standard engine just with supporting mods

 

And many other that has blown up.

 

UK STI engine and box are good for 450bhp without any major problems, the main contributing factors to longevity are going to be service history and how it's been driven prior to your ownership.

If you're going to tune to this level I would suggest you use one of the more reputable tuners from here as mistakes can be VERY costly, best to have a good long chat with 3/4 of them and see who you get along with and makes the most sense for/to you.

You also need to remember there are no guarantees when tuning any car and just because some get away with it doesn't mean your going to be one of them.

You're off to a good start coming on here to do your research though, don't be afraid to ask questions, better to sound like a bit of an idiot than actually be one.

 

My opinion would be when you buy a car, do a few thousand miles in it to find out if it's using loads of oil, etc. then get it mapped by a reputable mapper who know scoobies who will be able to tell you if they hear/see anything they don't like.
As been said before how you drive it will make a big difference, but if you get a naff engine in the first place it won't matter.
If your upping the power don't forget to up the braking power!!

 

Wong on here had a 2.0 STI at around 450bhp with an MD321 and he absolutely kicked its head in for years with no issues. But it was well looked after.

 

450 is the sweet spot, some have ran more upto 500 or a tad over but then it's how longs a piece of string.
400-450 is the figure you should aim for (that's what I'm going for) but as said, decent mileage and cared for car prolongs longlivety

 

Yes I did

 

Start with a JDM STI Blob, better engine, and twinscroll turbo...far better suited for tuning, bigger bang for less and a bigger smile

 

I read they don't make the burble though . No but seriously I did look at JDM's too.

My budget would be about 10k max. I could buy an ok one and spend a few K on it but honestly I think I'd rather buy a well sorted car from an enthusiast. But I'd probably like an 05 onward with DCCD and wide track and I don't think my budget would cover a modded nice 05 blobeye.

Even at 400bhp it must be silly fast. I don't think I'd use the full performance but I'm the sort of person who likes to have overly fast stuff. I even overclock my work pc which only gets used for spreadsheet .

I have seen there are alot of Impreza/Turbo specialist up in Scotland which is good. Andy Forrest performance gets rave reviews and "the dentist" which although is a silly name gets a good rep for mapping too.

Thanks for the info though guy, I really appreciate it.

 

My 05 STI PPP was pushing the standard 305 bhp and to be honest I found it to be fast enough, it felt quite brutal and picked up so much speed quickly i wouldnt think of making it go any faster. I was happy with its : )

 

Jdms burble lovely with a Genome exhaust.

You have good money, why waste it on a poverty spec uk model all for a 'noise'? You have the budget for a jdm sti, so do it properly, do it once.

 

A UK wide track is hardly poverty spec, an exhaust an a remap will give similar performance, they also have some of the spec c chassis.

 

It is, and no , you wouldn't really, no replacing a twinscroll, no matter what poverty spec owners think. Nor the extra toys like folding mirrors, privacy glass etc

I thought all the newage Impreza chassis's where the same? did Subaru make a special chassis for the UK Blob?

 

Wide Track sti has the spec c roll bars etc, heated mirrors over folding, twin scroll looses out at the top end of the rev range. You can do a lot to a UK car over what you would pay for a JDM for the price difference over the 2. Swings and roundabouts.

 

So you mean chassis 'components' not chassis?

Its the old age arguement, but the JDM is the better car, and our speed limit is 70mph, therefore why would I want top end? and a big laggy turbo to get going? point to point, JDM STI wins hands down everytime. This is a true story.

Those heated mirrors must be ace though lol

 

Heated mirrors must be as good as the JDM folding mirrors

Like i said with a remap the performance will be similar so it won't be laggy. Your very protective of JDM. With a exhaust and remap a uk wide track will still be a cheaper car and have similar performance and still have money left over
I'm not a JDM hater, as I've had 2 classic Type R's previously.

 

Well no they are not really, folding mirrors, fold in electronically, so to avoid getting a mirror smashed on the street, or hit by another car, the owner can press and button and have them fold in automatically, without having to resort to 90s poverty style folding them in when you get out of the car.

Sounds like you havent owned a JDM twinscroll, until that day, you cannot really make an informed judgment, between a JDM and UK poverty spec newage, its like night and day.

Im only protective because they are the better car, and advising a newbie that a UK car will have similar performance with money spent on it, is categorically wrong. I like to protect the newbies from that waffle

Type Rs are fantastic cars, but they are not JDM newage vehicles with twinscrolls and the rest of the fun bits added.

 

And no doubt the extra premium on the insurance for a jdm over a uk car makes it worth it too

I dont doubt the jdm's are a better spec car but writing off the uk specs completely is utter crap, they are still a very capable, comfortable and reliable motor and as already mentioned can be made just as quick with a basic mods and a simple remap.

 

I was a bit more specific than just a UK car, I said the wide track you clearly haven't driven one . If you want to advise on having the best blob then it's the wide track spec c which is a totally different kettle of fish to your regular JDM STI. so you should sprout waffle about the regular JDM STI being the be all end all

 

It's only because he had one, then had to sell it, so is now suffering with depression, hence the dribble you see him spout on a day to day.

 

No, I quite like not feeling like I am being hauled down the road in a tin bath, as in the Spec C (had one of those as well)

Spec C is not an everyday car, a car for me, is one that is used everday

 

What a load of rubbish the spec c not being an everyday car, I used my type R's every day latterly doing 40 miles day, and they higher geared and more hard core than a spec c.

 

Pmsl

 

What has a Type R got to do with it? He isnt after a Type R?

I loved my Type R, did everything. The Spec C, no it didnt, tin bath.

Nothing to do with gearing really. Have you owned a Spec C?

 

Save your breath Mike. The JDM is apparently the Holy Grail.

 

It is

 

Get yourself a mint uk sti widetrack. 400 bhp can be expensive be coz u will need a lot of supporting mods. Stage 1 shouldn't break the bank. Goodluck

 

As Mike said earlier swings and roundabouts. Some people prefer the delayed power delivery of the UK model. The quintessential burble is missing from the JDM. There are differences and perhaps as an overall proposition the JDM edges it but it's not night and day by any stretch of the imagination.