Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

thinking of buying a WRX import in the near future have been reading the thread about engine failures in subarus but believe their more common in imports.

what im wondering is if i buy the car what safety mods can i add to ensure the engine does not go bang?
would a remap to suit british 97RON fuel be a wise idea?

plan to buy maybe a 40k or 50k standard car and plan to fit an exhaust with de-cat panel filter and dump valve(VTA or is recirc wiser/safer). should i fit these and then get the car mapped for these as well as the fuel all at the same time?

also im 21 so car would get the odd bit of welly but would plan to run another car for general use.

can afford to run service insure the car but do not have money spare for expensive rebuilds!!

would consider spending up to about £1000-£1500 on safety mods for the engine so give me a list of the best things for my engines safety!

911

IMHO:
Fit the engine mods and an Apexi FC ecu, mapped by AndyF.
That has spent the £1500 but you will have a safe flexible engine with a very nice driving character AND be able to run UK fuels yet maximise the output.
Check with the Insurers first.

When you change the oil on the car (or have anyone else do it) follow the correct proceedure BUT ALWAYS disconnect the crank sensor after re-filling with fresh good oil and spin the engine over (will not start) to prime the pump and oil gallaries of the engine for abot 20 seconds.
Connect the sensor and start the engine and all will be well for a long time to come, unles you are a boy racer like the rest of us

If you want to go faster still, do the chassis!

Graham.

MattPiece

Defo. Remap to UK fuel is very advisable. Some imports are able to run happily on Optimax (+ booster in some cases) without a remap, but for peace of mind, remap is the way. Mine has run 74K without a remap on UK fuel, but its having one next month!

Also, treat the car respectfully - warm up and down, frequent oil change using decent oil and avoid red-lining and very low fuel (see DavidAPi thread on typical engine failures)

EcuTeK and A'Pexi are the prominent ECUs at the moment, done by a host of good mappers (Pavlo, Pat, AndyF, Bob, etc.)

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

well got a wee pm from david API which i have replied to!!

i will definatly get the car mapped if necessary where about is Andy F situated?

MattPiece

AndyF does Apexi and EcuTek and is based in Edinburgh. Does travel though apparently...

FYI, there's a EcuTek 3 Group Buy under 'Group Buys' forum.

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

thats ok edinburugh is only 90 min away so is it advised that i run octane booster untill i get my car remapped to british fuel?

have not bought a car yet so not buyin an ECU yet but thanks for the offer!

MattPiece

For an added ° of safety, yup. Also, people advise fitting a Knocklink to see whats happening with det.

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

i planned to fit a knocklink anyway!!
where can i get octane booster and how much is it?

markwild

And just to add - Why are you planning on changing the D/V ? (Particularly if you're considering recirc...)

Mark

cefski

If you go the APEXi route, the PFC can be set up to make your CEL flash when knock is detected (from Andy F.'s site)

kev

wrxfox

oil temp and fuel pressure guage are also a worthwhile edition and converting to a parallel fuel rail adds extra safety at not a lot a cost

markwild

Though the apexi PFC can be configured to add more fuel to no3 cylinder to compensate for the serial fuel rail..... (If you're getting one anyhow)...

Mark

VAL113R

yep this is true Andy did this to mine


You are not from Dundee are you ? I recognise your username from somewhere.

Andy does live outside Edinburgh its quite a bit down the bypass. I thought it was just after Ikea but it is a few miles further. Worth the trip though.

I had an Apexi fitted by Andy a few weeks back and it was set up well on my MY93. Andy was a nice guy to deal with too as I am sure a few people on here will comment on.

I wouldnt be too scared about some of the posts you read about engines blowing up. I would guess its more down to how people drive and treat the car. A note to remember though the car your buying may not have been run on optimax and octane booster before you buy it. I pass a scooby everyday on the way to work and often I see them filling up in Sainsburys. I assume they are using Super but the car is a 93 import and I doubt they are using octane booster and I know the car is not remapped.

As said you would need a knocklink although I think they are difficult to see especially if it's not dark. There are plenty of ECU's on the market for you although I feel it comes down to where you can get it mapped and more so where you can get it remapped for any changes you make to the car.

It depends on how far you want to go with the car. If its just making the engine safe, then you could perhaps go for something along the lines of a scoobyecu.

Cheers

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

well not dundee but not far away alyth to be precise about 20 miles from pieland.
will weigh up my various options and pick which seems to be the tried and tested methods.

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

also wondering if i's possible to get an uprated MAF that is more robust and will not braek and lead to detonation?

markwild

Why not buy a UK model - surely the difference in price is less than the above mods anyhow - they are mapped for UK fuel and seem less prone to failure (according to Davids stats)

If you're not going to mod it, you won't need any of the above......

Mark

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

well 208bhp compared to 260bhp to me seems like huge difference plus u get better brakes and alot of low mileage imports for not alot of money

CJAF7R

from when i was looking into buying scoobies the imports do have a lot of benefits over the uk spec. suspension, engine, chip, turbo, rear wiper, aircon, climate, folding mirrors, stronger rear bulkhead, seats, more power, only downside is that they are used to running on 100+ron. nothin a remap cant fix tho

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

exactly why i want one just better all round and less WRX than uk cars about.

markwild

err. OK - depends which year I guess - a 97-> UK has the same seats, mines got aircon, not sure what you mean by 'chip' or 'engine' - the sti is different, but not sure the WRX sees much ? - Don't forget that the 260 figure is on 100 ron - soon drops when you shove our cheap rubbish in it. (I assume 'chip' is the ecu, in which case, with the exception of a 97/98, you can remap, just like an import)

Although the turbo on the import is larger (if the UK is 97->), the td04 can still get you to 280 bhp without too much trouble, with zippo lag....

Brakes - again, 99-> UK has 4 pots....

Anyhow, just a thought - I thought that you were more fussed about the reliability than anything else....

If you're going to mod anyway, you may as well go import, to get those 'upgrade' items to start with (Rather than add them, (when you decide to mod) like I did )

Mark

CJAF7R

hi mate, im not 100% sure, im a bit of a newbie to scoobie doo's but thats all i can remeber off the top of my head from when i was looking. (that is older models pre97 btw) sorry i did mean ECU being different, as well as the turbo

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

the ai will be to first make the car safe so it does not implode. my mods for the first year at least will only be exhaust de-cat dump valve and remap to make the mods work effectivly as possible and to suit 97ron fuel.

what sort of power increase would i expect from these mods and a remap 5-10?

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

just wndering if i fitted a de-cat exhaust panel filter and VTA dump valve before having a remap and add octane booster while i save up 4 a pe-map would this damage the engine?