MadGrip

I bought and drove home my 2001 bugeye WRX about 3 weeks ago and was loving it..today however after 3 weeks I'm worried , paranoid even that something will go pop..
When i bought the car the dealer (a "Well" known place in Batley) told me that apart from the Magnex BB & forge VTA D/V it was totally standard.. however..i noticed after a few days that it was hsitant on boost and not very smooth accelerating.
After a bit of digging around on these boards and a bit of time under the car i have found that aswell as the things the dealer told me about it also has what i think is the centre section of the exhaust replaced with an after market one and ..this is whats worrying me.. a superchip with a bleed valve.I've had various recommendations as what to do with this, some say get a boost gauge, whichi s'pose will tell me if something is a miss,some say remove or close the bleed valve which i presume would take the boost back to factory settings.
so is there a possibility of damage occuring (or maybe already happened) or should i just take it back to where i got it from, I was also told that I had 1 year of Subaru warranty left but again from reading these boards I seem to think that my warrenty is void anyway.Iworked long and hard to be able to finally get the car i wanted as we all do, but not sure what to do. do i take it back to were i got it and ask for a refund or car swap ??
I've tried to contact the previous owner but he is now out of the country, i spoke to superchips to ask them details of what they've done but they said they dont keep the records.Any advice is appreciated

[Edited by MadGrip - 8/1/2003 6:28:00 PM]

MadGrip

I'm also hopefully going to get some advice off David Wallis next week as he asked me to mail him,which I'm sure will be very valuable .

also forgot to mention that the dealer said he would give me 3 months warranty..but didnt really say what was covered

[Edited by MadGrip - 8/1/2003 7:04:36 PM]

MadGrip

shame really, but i dont mind sacrificing a bit of OOmmph for a bit more reliability..

I cant afford another £15K for another car,

thx for the advice so far..

more advice and opinions wanted please...

Also if i just take off the bleed valve and leave the chip will that cause problems ??

Let me know how the car feels blobster after you've had all the bits removed / replaced etc.. if you cant find the thread please e-mai as per profile..thx

[Edited by MadGrip - 8/1/2003 10:49:04 PM]

Leviathan

I would either take it back and ask them to put it back standard
or- tell them to put it in writing that they will pay if it goes pop.
I think they will do the former.
It aint worth the risk, bleed valves are a crude, cheap mod to obtain more power, along with superchips IMOH.

Leviathan

Yeah, rrrrrrite!
If it did go bang, he would probebly say something like the following-
"oh no sir, we cant cover that, its got a bleed vavle onit and one of those chip things"
Make sure you cover all the corners, just in case!

Blobster

Mad Grip,

I had exactly the same problem with my MY99.
I spoke to the dealer, who agreed to remove the superchip, the bleed valve and even replaced the ECU (in case it had been remapped - doubtful with Superchip) but problems of stutter, hesitation etc. remained.
I've just had these symptoms diagnosed as a failing lambda sensor (by local specialist as Main dealers do not seem to be able to find their @ss with both hands), which has now been replaced so we'll see how we go.

Get the superchip off! But you will notice the lack of oomph.

Blobster

scoobySTI/WRX

If you want to speak to somebody about youre worrys speak to kev at scoobyclinic Tel: 01246 590 807 they are in chesterfield, he will probably do a once over on youre scoob, all the lads there are top notch and love scoobys and wont rip you off!!

MadGrip

Thanks Scooby I'll give 'em a ring after the weekend
Any opinions on removeing the bleed valve and leaving the chip ??

And what about the warrenty issue ?

[Edited by MadGrip - 8/2/2003 7:40:42 AM]

[Edited by MadGrip - 8/2/2003 8:02:45 AM]

pugoetru

warranties are crep

MadGrip

which ones are crap ? Subaru warrenty or dealers?

doobiedooo

Madgrip,

You replied to my post the other day as I was suspicious that I had a Superchip.

Just to update you on my course of action....I have removed both the Chip and the Bleed valve and it was a very simple job - took about 30 mins.

Speak to Superchips tech support and they will advise you how to remove it.

MadGrip

I spoke with the dealer where i got it from and the service manager said that they'd been fitting them for years and are 100% safe if fitted proffesionally..

Its going back on monday however because the boost dosnt seem very smooth (MAF ??) and i found that the nearside front tyre is bald on the inside so i want him to check geometry and fit a new tyre while its in