I have an 03 WRX with 35k miles on the clock. It's totally standard, never had a thing done to it.

I was considering the Prodrive Pack. But then I heard it was probably cheaper to go down another route and get similar gains.

Basically, I'm assuming that an exhaust system and reprogrammed ECU is the way to go for an easily achievable gain in power.
There are a myriad of exhausts out there when I look - but I'm never sure what to look for. A complete system? Just the back box? Will decat systems make my car non road legal? I don't want anything that sounds offensive.

And then the reprogramming. I'm from Oxfordshire - can anyone point me in the direction of someone who's got a good rep?

And is there anything else? Replacement hoses are part of the PPP.

I swore I'd never mod - funny how things turn out!

 

Ok firstly welcome to the world of modifying its very adictive
personally I would go for a de cat system including up pipe, or if you are worried about MOT time you can get a sports cat.
Re map is easy give Jolly Green Monster an e mail he is regarded as one of the best and he will travel to your home. Have a look at the group buy section for Hayward and Scott exhaust that will give you an idea of price, I think the re map price is around £600.00

 

Your obviously looking to go down the route of uping the power first so a good first set of mods would be a full exaust system, inc sport or de-cat (revolution do a nice system at a good price) pointless IMO just to fit a back box, uprated fuel pump, new spark plugs, posibly a uprated panel filter, then the re-map, i highly rate Andy Forrest, this should get you close to 300bhp and simular torque, when you get board with this level your looking at a bigger turbo i like the TD05-18/20G, de-cat up-pipe, bigger injectors, you have 380cc's, 550cc's would be a good upgrade, 3port boost solanoid, a version8 tmic or front mount conversion, optional steel mesh induction kit with cold air feed (not essential but makes a cool noise),and another re-map, now you should be looking at close to 400bhp, plenty for anyone .

 

If upping the power then do not forget about brakes and suspension as well

 

1st Mod imho should be a Walbro 255 Fuel pump!

 

I would recommend a sports cat downpipe, a decat uppipe, decat 2nd pipe and back box of your choice. A Green or K&N panel filter (don't get a induction kit) and a remap will be a good start. All the parts can be found from places like Scoobyparts or Scoobyworld.

Depending on where you are in Oxfordshire, you could go to Powerstation (in Tewkesbury), Bob Rawle (Swindon) or Zen (Northants) for the remap.

The back box will determine noise levels. A Prodrive box is pretty quiet, but gives a nice burble, a TSL Group N is a bit louder and then there are all sorts of big bore ones that will give more noise if you want it.

I would recommend getting an uprated rear anti-roll bar and drop links as they are the best value mod most of us have done. They tranform the handling for under £200.

 

Oh, I also have the PPP 2nd decat pipe for sale if that's the way you want to go matey!

I also recommend Zen Performance! 30mins from me he he.

 

Full Exhaust inc downpipe and decat

Uprated air filter either panel or cone

walbro 255lph fuel pump

upgrade intercooler

ported headers with a matching up pipe

remap

This would be your starting point you would then go onto bigger turbo etc

 

Cheers lads, that gives me a lot to consider.

Regards these decat exhausts, what are the implications? Are they road legal? At the end of the day I just want to tweak the power a bit, maybe add another 40-50 bhp - after all, don't want to shred the gearbox or clutch.

Jarv

 

Powerstation (Tewksbury).Subaru Impreza MY01+ UK 2.0 WRX
Street Legal Package 1
EcuTek Re-Map
3" Milltek Exhaust with Sports CAT
De-CAT Up Pipe
K&N Filter
~270bhp @ £1549
inc. Comprehensive Warranty
Track Day Package 2
EcuTek Re-Map
3" Milltek Exhaust with De-CAT Pipe
De-CAT Up Pipe
K&N Filter
~270bhp @ £1299
inc. Comprehensive Warranty

Street Legal Package 2 - NEW
EcuTek Re-Map
3" Milltek Exhaust with Sports CAT
De-CAT Up Pipe
K&N Filter
VF34 Turbo
~315bhp @ £2299
inc. Comprehensive Warranty
Track Day Package 2 - NEW
EcuTek Re-Map
3" Milltek Exhaust with De-CAT Pipe
De-CAT Up Pipe
K&N Filter
VF34 Turbo
~315bhp @ £2049
inc. Comprehensive Warranty

 

Best value mod on my car is an adjustable rear Anti-Roll bar ( Whiteline) this will kill the understeer, and you'll feel the turn-in to corners is much sharper.

Then chase the power !

Enjoy, meet me in Poverty in a few months time



dunx

 

Have a look in the forsale section, there was an RCM 400bhp package for sale at a bargain price!

 

You really need to sort your front brakes too. Quality discs and pads, braided hoses and uprated fluid (DOT 5.1) Budget around £650 to £700 for quality parts fitted. With uprated ARB and droplinks you will then be able to use and enjoy the extra power. Bob

 

Start with brembos from a sti, then a full decat with a remap. You'll be sure to find a MOT dealer who will still pass it

Wiley

 

Mine passed its MoT with just a sportscat. You will need a friendly tester if you go the full decat route. I'd say it was worth spending a bit more on a sportscat to stay safe and legal and you only lose a couple of bhp.

With a sportscat and 2 decats and remap etc, you will gain around 60bhp (to give you 285ish).

The gearbox is safe up to around 300bhp and many have had more than this with no problems.

 

2nd decat pipe is Legal matey as its part of the legal PPP upgrade!

 

LOL, here we go, another modding addict
I have a lot of advice, save yourself a fortune and think carefully about what you actually want from your car BEFORE you spend anything.
Stick with a sports cat whatever you change on your car, keep it road legal and you wont have to ever worry come MOT time. You do not lose power using a sports cat, what ppl say you lose is not worth worrying about, its nothing in reality.
Consider some money spent on better braking. Pads and disks go a long way as a first mod before you 'dream' about big brake kits for expensive upgrades.

Here are just some 'dont's' for yourself, do NOT buy tubular headers, ported OEM are all you will ever need. (Long story, proven by a lot of ppl on here)
do NOT waste money on stupid loud dump valves and silly cold air feeds either.
the kinda power you can get out of your car does not warrant it, nor is it necessary.

 

I contemplated on what to do when faced with my std 03WRX. ended up collecting all ppp parts 2nd hand, backbox, decat centre and the intercooler hose, then I added sti wheels and front brembos, then a de-resonated centre exhaust followed by a decat up pipe and 2nd hand ppp downpipe and a walbro fuel pump, then I got a tactrix cable and flashed my ecu with a prodrive map. With the sale of some of my parts have completed this for less than £850. gives me a good base to work with now. Just waiting to get some whiteline bits now, then decide if I change injectors and turbo, will have a proper mapping session though then to ensure I get the best from it.

 

Plenty of options touted. Only thing I'll add is that a WRX will definitely need a new boost pipe. The OE plastic molded item will split with the increased boost after the remap. Samco or similar.

If you View My Scooby and look at what I did you will see I created a fantastically balanced and amazingly fast WRX with a quite minimal power figure. Concentrate on handling mods and you will be amazed how fast it can be. Allied with driver training (the best mod anyone can ever do IMHO) you could easily outperform much more powerful cars whom may have lacklustre drivers or, more often than not, have an imbalance of power over handling. A good driver will be perfectly happy with the standard brakes too, just some decent pads and lines is all I needed, even on track. Another major benefit over big power modifications is reliability. Almost everyone I know who's been down the power route spends a large amount of time and money fixing their cars, whereas in three years mine needed 2 exhaust sensors and a wheel bearing.