RagingKileak

Hi all,

I'm quite new to Subaru ownership. I've got a 2003 WRX with PPP which is great I guess, but its failing to really excite me!

I can have a great time in corners any time, I admit.. but on the whole I find the car hard work to get going fast - I seem to end up using first gear more than I wanna and in a slow sharp corner I feel I am tempted to drop into first which is pretty nuts!!

Anyway, I'm sure there are loads of individual bits and pieces of mods I could get to take the car to 4, 5, 600 bhp with strengthening etc but as I have NO SKILL whatsoever with cars, and no desire to have that much power I am hoping someone can point me in the direction of a retailer that has a package to suit me!!

What do I mean? Well surely there are companies out there who do say...
Induction Kit, Intercooler, larger turbo, ecu remap for like £2000 or something?

Kind of like a PPP upgrade but with the major parts changed...

Thanks!!

Matt

RagingKileak

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh come on

Matt

andythejock01wrx

Where are you mate ?

corradoboy

tuning services

PowerStation

The limiting factor will be that it is a WRX. With PPP most of the performance components are getting near their limits, so to get over 300bhp or so you will need to start down the expensive route of bigger turbo's, intercoolers, fuel pumps, injectors etc etc. I always found my WRX PPP adequate in power (265bhp) and could quite happily mix it with severely tuned STi's as I focussed my upgrade route on handling (click 'view my scoob'). Only the very tightest of hairpins (Strines Moor, Hardknott Pass et al) saw me needing first, but with a mix of supreme handling balance, adequate power, ***** of steel and no fear I could easily corner at speeds well over 3 figures (and I mean over by a lot).

My advice would be to consider chopping the WRX in for a JDM STi, possibly with some decent mods already done. Litchfield Type 25's can be had for IRO £16k these days, and with 350bhp, loads of torque and the same chassis products my old car had and more they are a devastating road warrior. I drove one a few years back and was very impressed.

53

iTrader: (41)

"View My Scooby"... sorry to tell you your PPP probably isn't pushing the numbers you think it is.

corradoboy

May be, maybe not, but I consistently held my own against much higher powered cars, and still do now I drive a diesel Skoda. Power isn't everything, although I have seen people on here RR Prodrived WRX's to realise anything from 240 to 280 bhp. As it's a generic map which is installed it can vary wildly from car to car, and of course the rolling roads vary massively too. I no longer own the car so aren't in the slightest bothered what power it is/was, but even when I did own it I preferred to spend my time honing my driving skills on track and challenging roads than stood around on industrial estates in a blue fleece waiting for a print-out to justify the last few £000 I'd spent to allow me to brag on here and in the pub. My car and I proved without fail that power cannot make a shoddy driver into a fast one. It just makes their accidents more spectacular whilst emptying their wallets quicker.

53

iTrader: (41)

Calm down I wasn't talking to you. I know your car from posts of old and have read that reply a few times too

If I was responding to your post then I'd agree to chopping the WRX in for a JDM STi But there is alot more you can do to improve on the WRX PPP package which handling alone cannot give you.

RagingKileak

Right oh, as I'm only going on hearsay and I know sod all I can only say that I have 'heard' that a WRX will see about 320bhp without much of a problem. I'm quite happy with that if it comes with a similar increase in torque.

To give you more of an idea where I am, I dont mind uprating the Fuel Pump, Injectors, Turbine, Intercooler all as part of any possible work done. What I dont want to do is strengthen engine internals too much if it can be avoided.

Not a chance of chopping it in for ANY STi or JDM of any kind, due to insurance, confusing JDM spec and already bolted on mods. For the same reason I wont uprate anything I dont understand, I wont buy anything which is already incomprehensible to me!!

As for handling, I dont drive hard enough on the road to challenege the car as it is, but in reality the car lacks torque for day to day use and possibly for the style of driving I like, hence why I wanna go for this kind of upgrade!

Cheers for the replies so far!

Matt

RagingKileak

Double post... Sort of intentional...

Tuning Services package#3 looks ideal. Price is a little more than I would wanna pay but to be fair its about right for the parts included I guess.

Also noticed Powerstation Street Legal Package#2 which also looks ok.

Im based in West Yorkshire, but I will travel anywhere!!

Matt

corradoboy

With regards to insurance, many people pay much more for a mod'd WRX than others pay for a standard JDM car. My mate has a Litchfield Type 20 and pays IRO £800, another mate enquired about putting an STi wing on his WRX and his price would have risen from £750 to £950 Some insurers aren't too bothered by mods, but others will hit you in the wallet if you give them any reason to. JDM cars aren't anything to be scared of, they're damn near identical to UK ones except better. If you aren't planning on getting your fingers dirty modding or maintaining it yourself then a host of specialists will cater for JDM cars just as well as UK cars.

Based in West Yorkshire you should inquire at RE Motorsport near York. Rick is amongst the most experienced and professional Scooby mechanics there is. There's also HDC Subaru in Hebdon Bridge, again Howard knows his bacon. Both of these can offer pretty much anything Powerstation can but probably much cheaper and with local support. Call them both and discuss your expectations and budget and I'm sure they'll both provide good solutions.

nooobyscoooby

I drove a an '03 WRX STI PPP for the first time last week and thought it was too much, kind of too sharp and too snappy between the changes, for an everyday drive and I'm surprised your WRX PPP isn't exciting enough for you. But torque is always more important to me than out and out BHP so I understand your frustration if you are not slingshotting out of corners in the way that you want.

There are some really good answers in this thread so far - some I will look at for myself!

andythejock01wrx

Do they hand out free blue flleces with each RR printout these days Dave ?

More seriously, do all Newage JDM Sti's have ASTs ?

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I don't think you'll get over 300bhp with the tdo4 turbo that you have.
Go for the following:
VF35 turbo - £350
3 port solenoid - £100
Re-map- £650
V7/8/9/10 sti intercooler - £250
Full decat/sportscat system - £500-£700

Source the bits yourself (2nd hand is fine as long as in good working order)
and get a good local specialist to fit. Labour wise, i'd say around £300 - £500 to fit that little lot.

This should easily give you 320bhp/320lb/ft torque (80 up on what you have now!). This however will be close to the limit for your internals and gearbox. If for just road use, the standard bakes will be fine.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

What he said! I'd get your headers ported as well, lowers spool threshold by a couple of hundred rpm, improves resonse and liberates a few extra ponies.

Beyond that, it starts to get pricey!

Ns04

wilde 1

My WRX is running 305bhp with 280ft lb's

View my scooby for modds

<<<<
Im more than happy with mine,bring a smile every time I turn the key.Especially with the origional headers making the deep flat 4 burble still

Mocom Racing

iTrader: (2)

To obtain over 300bhp you're going to need to change the turbo, there are many available that will give you what you want but will vary slightly in their power delivery. TD05-16G, TD05-18G, VF28, VF30, VF34 for example.

I would suggest

• Decat and wrapped uppipe (removing the cat)
• Sports cat downpipe, or decat downpipe and full system (replacing the remaining cats)
• TD05 big 16G
• STi intercooler
• STi injectors
• Walbro fuel pump
• Colder spark plugs
• STi panel filter
• Ported OE headers
• Remap

Expect to pay around £2800 for this little lot but it would give you around 330ftlbs and +300bhp dependent on exhaust type.

Drop us a line and we can go through the options in achieving more or less power

Mocom Racing

iTrader: (2)

RagingKileak

Some good help here, thanks in particular to Corradoboy. I might well ring the chaps reccomended, especially Rick.

I had a do in the Impreza after work tonight. It comes into its own when there is no traffic to get stuck in, thats for sure!!

No 1st gear action required today!

Matt

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Matt, Corradoboy is right, I would stick a Whiteline adjustable rear anti roll bar on it, makes the car turn-in and corner so much nicer...
Best value mod I've made to my Scoob....
Power isn't cheap, I'm going there....
One cheap and crazy option is to drop the car onto 16" wheels with low profile tyres, screws up the speedo, but will make the car feel alot quicker....

Dunx ( Addicted to more ! )

P.S. Get to a WYIOC meet and pick (our) their brains

RagingKileak

Dont worry Dunx, I will be at a meet or two before long!

Regards
Matt