Having imported my first WRX from Holland some nine months ago, I was wondering whether any of the other importers on the forum have carried out any official (warranty wise) engine mods.

Prior to importing I was unaware of the PPP issue whereby the kit must be fitted by a dealer in the country of origin. This makes(expensive road trip aside) the warranty friendly upgrade a rather costly option.

If anyone has found any loopholes which enable a similar upgrade to be carried out then please could they advise, as I would love to enhance the sound (and performance) of an otherwise cracking car.

Cheers,

Matt

 

My dutch WRX is about the same age as yours. If there's an easy way round this I haven't found it. I really don't know why a PPP fitted in the UK should be a problem (even at Banbury - come on!), but what good does moaning do? My plan is ditch the warranty and get better perfomance for similar money. So far, the best bet for me looks like a TSL sports cat downpipe and a custom remap with Bob Rawle. I'll let the warranty run on another year or so before doing this, and get the suspension and brakes done in the meantime. This strategy also has the advantage of allowing my wife to adapt mentally.

 

I'm beginning to think along similar lines. When I bought the car Gertjan (the dealer) was talking about MOTEC and a new exhaust system. I suspect that this would also have to be done over there, but could offer greater potential longer term.

 

There's little point shelling out for a Motec. It offers a level of complexity that you simply don't need, along with a stack of potential downsides like temperamental cold running, and reduced tolerance to bad fuel.

If you are going to go for an aftermarket ECU, the Link package offered by BRD is far better value, although you'd arguably get even better value from having the standard ECU remapped by an EcuTeK agent.