Hi all, I have a bog standard 2003 Impreza WRX blobeye,

I wanted to know what would other fellow user would suggest I install to give the car a bit more power.

Not looking to spend crazy money for crazy numbers in the horsepower department, just something to make it a bit more faster.

I have seen a number of posts saying decat uppipe, with an upgraded exhaust and a remap can work wonders.

Has anyone followed a similar route or had experience in upgrading parts and remapping their Subaru. Much appreciated

 

Slippery slope. That will do you the very best or change for an STI.

 

What mileage has the engine done?

I would go sports cat and uprated fuel pump and a remap. Other options would be STI intercooler, STI injectors for more power.

Reason I ask about miles is I wouldn't bother if the engine has high miles, just going to cause issues.

 

lpg it

 

Budget?

 

The main bits i would do would be , a 200 cell sports cat down pipe about 20 to 30 extra bhp plus quicker spool , exhaust delete mid section more noise better flow , fuel pump would be needed as current pump won’t flow enough fuel , and then a re map , i would be inclined to get rid of the up pipe cat , known to break down and go into the turbo , it’s not cheap getting rid of the up pipe cat , but it would allow turbo to spool quicker , you are limited by the strength of your gear box , but straight after the mods are done ,do a re map which would be a good improvement , find a recommended scooby mapper near you , i use Richard at FB tuning , he knows his stuff

 

Why is it not cheap to replace the uppipe?

Thought they were only catted on early classic models?

 

i believe .. that new age onwards wrx’s , not the sti had an up pipe cat , the sti only having a down pipe cat and maybe a mid section one too , my Fsti one had a cat one had a silencer from the factory , ( classics i don’t know ) the cats fitted where varies on cars , to get to it it’s quite a few bits to remove , i think it’s still a turbo off job to access bolts , so it’s not a 5 minute job , even more so if it plays hard ball un doing turbo nuts etc , the last time i did one was around 10 years ago , and i borrowed a garage lift , i did manage to do it but it was not straight forward due to bolts etc , plus you need the decat pipe to replace it with 👍

 

NO classics were fitted with "catted" up-pipes........... all 2.0WRX new-age UK / EU cars are but not 2.0 STi and was discontinued for the later 2.5's of all variants
obviously the 'best' option for a replacement is one of the pukka Harvey Smith 'trick' up-pipe variants......

** there is a specifically sized diameter version to suit the small TD04 spec cars **

 

My first WRX has walbro 255 fuel pump, high flow air filter, removed up-pipe cat, full 3" turbo back exhaust (no cats) and a remap. Made 293bhp and felt like a different car and was a perfect daily. Cost around £1500
With the second one I added ported headers, Harvey up-pipe, a billet VF35 turbo, 3" exhaust with 200 cell sports cat, RCM 340 fuel pump, STi intercooler, tumble valve deletes, pink injectors and a remap and that made approx. 360bhp. Cost around £5000+ (all fitted myself)
I found that the long ratios of the WRX gear box limited the fun factor of the second one. For what I spent, I could of bought an STi; so that's what I did instead.

My advice is keep it simple or buy an STi.

 

the only bit other than above , in my opinion is have a sports cat down pipe , less hassle mot time , a warmed up 200 cell down pipe cat on its own would pass an mot , you only loose a few as in 3 or 4 bhp on a sports car v a de cat , i’ve had a couple of wrx cars but way prefer my 2.5 Fsti , the set up i was suggesting is on one car giving 330 bhp and another with elh 340 bhp , no lag and about the same bhp as foot pound 😁👍

 

Even the early imported ones?

 

?? early classic cars only had downpipe cats wether UK or JDM and only later UK versions gained the "2nd cat" in the mid section circa 1998??