chicken stevens

Hi people,

I have a my99 uk car with 70k on clock. i want a bit more power but i am a novice when comes to upgrading and need some help.
it allready has a exhaust with centre de cat, dump valve and induction kit, is this a good start and what else is available ? it would be nice to get up to 280 bhp but money is tight with wife and mortgage !!! i live around OXFORD and dont know of any recommended garages for my scooby. Can anyone help !

Cheers

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Scoobyworld ninja sports cat down pipe £299
Decent backbox, type depends on preference for volume and tone (Haywood and scott do great scooby exhausts) circa £270
Ecutek remap £600

Personally, I'd ditch the induction kit for the std airbox, with a decent panel filter, especially on a MY99 which have fragile mafs (an induction kit will not have much effect at your desired power levels) and if you have a vent to atmosphere dump valve, I'd ditch that and return to std too; it does nothing to help performance and will impair drivability on a maf based ECU configuration.

Should see you to 270-280 very safely

Ns04

chicken stevens

cheers mate, i am needing all the advice i can get at the mo !!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Your welcome!

Slick81

iTrader: (1)

Just to add to Ns04, you`ll need a fuel pump aswell to keep the "juice" flowing safely.

You`ve got Power Engineering in Uxbridge which isnt too far from you but iv neva had any work done from them so cant comment. But if you can make the trip up the M1 then id recommend Zen Performance.

Was in same position as you untll I got the work done on it and the car feels alot quicker and driveable

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Yep, quite right, forgot about that

Walbro 255lph circa £80

Nice spotting!

chicken stevens

spot on lads !! just need to bypass the joint acount so the mrs dont know i am spendind the cash !!

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

Having owned several uk MY99 the current being around 500 bhp I can categorically state the following:
The induction kit will do you no harm providing its a decent one. The only time the dump valve is a driveabilty issue is when gently coming off boost on the motorway. It judders sometimes, nothing major.

As has been mentioned a fully decat exhaust system with a good flowing backbox. I'd look at some headers too they are cheap enough these days. When i first got mine they were nearly £800 they can be had for around £300

Again a fuel pump is a must but if you do replace the fuel pump I would also replace the standard fuel pressure regulator. I learnt the hard way with this. I didnt replace mine and it failed resulting on melting a piston when the reg let too much fuel back to the tank.

ECU wise if you're using ECUtek your first one will cost around £600 as you'll need to pay for the licence. Subsequent maps are half that.

You could also go for a replacement ECU such as the Apexi Power FC which is a lovely bit of kit especially when you have the on dash handheld commander to go with it.

(shameless plug mode on) Incedently I have one for sale which would suit your car complete with commander for £400. I'm changing because I have just bought a V3 TYpe R and also need to go Mafless because of the rotated turbo setup (shameless plug mode off). It will cost you around £250 to get that remapped.

With your standard turbo (TD04L) you should reach 280 bhp beyond that you'll need another turbo an exellent turbo is a VF34 which will give you around 350bhp but the gearbox is then in jeaopardy.

Beware, its a very slippery and expensive slope this modyfying lark its cost me a fortune and thats doing the work on it myself!!

Good luck

Reef

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to jump on your thread, but would a bigger TMIC make much of a difference? I've got a MY00 and am in the same position

chicken stevens

what about milage ? is 70k a big issue when starting to upgrade exhaust, ECU etc

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Daz,

No disrespect intended mate: I know you've had these cars for longer than moi.

K and N 57i seems most MAF friendly, but I still maintain they're rather pointless at this level and do increase the risk of wrecking the maf (even if only very slightly with the good quality ones) The std airbox is fine up to much higher power levels. I guess if he'a already got it on though..... Personally, I'd dump it.

That does depend on what one you get, some are truly awful, others ok, but there are no issues with the std recirc one; it's what the car is intnded to run, so why suffer any impairment in drivability. I know 3 people who've gone from VTA back to recirc and all have said the car ran much better with the latter. Again, a pointless mod at the OPs level I'd say.

I'd gor for a sports cat, saves all the MOT emissions hassle and insurance issues. Ninja ony £100 more than decat. You loose about 2bhp..


At this level, I'd say porting and wrapping the headers better. A TD04 set up is never going to have a great top end. I think the OP would be better maximising spool and response etc and ported headers willl be better for that an aftermarket ones.


Mine has been fine at 320bhp, but your comments have made me soil myself and now I'm thinking of getting one pronto!

Not going to interfer with your plug


I'd go with the VF35 every time. Cracking little turbo and better value than the 34.

Spot on!!

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

70k is no issue..

Simon

Slick81

iTrader: (1)

From what iv gathered its not really needed unless your going for around 330 or more.

naughtyhunnybunny

iTrader: (7)

Hi,
i'm not jumping in and taking over, but as we are on this topic.. I have a
MY00 and have already done the ported headers, total decat, TSL Firestorm back box, remap (Bob Rawle) decent panel filter.. was a tad dissapointed as she only made 270 but I suppose that could be the turbo on it now. I am having her mapped again shortly as I've now aquired a 3 port boost solinoid, fuel pump (have also noted the point about the regulator, I didn't know that) and another turbo but!! I got a TD05, before I have the map done in a couple months is it worth changing my idea and getting a different turbo such as the vf35.. I have a bit of time as I'm looking for a front mount/induction kit befoe the map.. Thanks Julie

rigga

iTrader: (4)

Td05 converted to front entry is a very good upgrade over the standard td04,makes me smile

naughtyhunnybunny

iTrader: (7)

Okie dokie, I'll give that a whirl then, you know wht it's like if you read and read you begin to doubt your original choices have you done all the mods too, what's yours running at with the TD05 on ? If any of you guys & girls know of anyone selling a frount mount I'd be very interested ??
thanks rigga

mellinator

you wont need an uprated fuel pump mate. Your std one will see you safely to around 320bhp.
This is not a figure out the air- this comes from andy f who is the best mapper in the uk

rigga

iTrader: (4)

see view my scooby for spec,power wise nothing deffinate,had a run once at weston performance at 288 but the session was dogged by dodgy results for everyone who ran,every car produced well under the expected figures for the spec of engine,id suspect and jgm agrees it will be easily over 300 as it is.

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

NS04,

Some good points there mate. I would agree that a panel filter (greens cotton or similar) would be ok at that level. I've had K&N's and they have been very good.
I'm still running maf on my Rotated GT30R setup and thats been fine. Big K&N on it too.

I've only ever had the turbo smart dump valve and its been pretty good.

I've heard many times that the best after market DV is the forge recirc item. Might be worth a whirl.

Again I'd have to say ported headers are great at this level but with decent headers being quite cheap it might be worth the extra incase you want to take things a bit further at a later date

Not meaning to scaremonger on the fuel reg thing just reflecting on my experiences.

Cheers

daz

Ryo

I get all my servicing done at Cotswold Subaru, near Whitney Oxon.

Superb bunch down there, its official subaru service center, are ok with modded cars and do discounts if you are a SIDC member.

Not sure if they will fit mods for you, but for general service and parts they are spot on.

jeansmechanic

I am running a VF30 turbo, 225lph fuel pump, ported headers, full decat exhaust with magnex 3" back box, JR panel filter, ECUtek remap. I would have to agree with others on this thread that a cone filter is not ideal for the level of tune you are going for, and they can mess up the poxy MAF sensor. FMIC not really necessary i wouldnt have thought at this level. Upgraded fuel pump has been put on as a safty measure more than anything. Also have a lightened flywheel, the car is fantastic to drive. I havent had it dyno`d, not that interested, but is supposed to be 300 bhp.

Dont mean to jump on the thread, but thought you might like another persons journey with modifying. And YES it is addictive!!!

Had all my work done by API in Leamington Spar.

Hope this helps?!

reeperb5

hi mate i have an rb5 (same eng as you) and with the standard turbo full decat, piperX induction and a fmic i made 260bhp...

then i swapped the turbo for a vf23 and had a remap (ecutek) last week it made 306bhp @ 1.1bar... its going back for a tweak next week and should see a bit more bhp and over 300lb of torque... (will be running 1.4bar after tweak)

personally if i was you, id get a d/pipe 1st, noticable difference.. then a sti TMIC and a remap.. that should safely see you to your desired bhp...oh and im not running a uprated fuel pump as yet and all is well with mine.. + shes on 117k miles!!!

terzo320

great thread
bypass the joint account is a must and get everything sent to your work or a mate and when you get caught tell her it cost £50,its worked for me so far.
i wish i had not gone down the aftermarket headers route and just got my standard headers ported as i have had 2 sets blow on me now also fitting a front mount and removing dump valve was a great mod.
been modding my 98 uk turbo for 2 years now on the cheap ebay ect and has cost me around £2500,now upgrading engine,turbo,ect another £4000+.
adictive yes,cant seem to stop

chicken stevens

its certainley more involved than i thought. I am gonna start with de-cat down pipe then a pay rise then more mods !!

Thanks for all your expertise, really helpful !!

burt2000

iTrader: (1)

lol this is so true i do the exact same, ive told the gf my remap/ecu will only cost 100 quid lol and most of my parts cost around 50 quid too

as for the topic
im going down the VF35 route on my 99 turbo 2000. already has panel filter, greddy EBC and full hayward scott DP and decatted magnex....ive the turbo,sti7 top mount and walbro bought, just need to get a FPR and get them all fitted and then sort the ecu side of things....i was gonna go apexi but im wondering should i spend the extra 2-300 quid and go for a mafless simtek, are they really that bad for eating mafs once tuned over 300bhp?

rigga

iTrader: (4)

The level of horsepower achieved has nothing to do with the maf life.... some have to be changed on a regualar basis ( and some guys say they should be treated as a servicable item anyway and changed yearly)and some like mine are original and many years old with no problem...... late clasics do not like non standard air filters that are not secured fully and vibrate,or are the oiled typeand over oiled...... both kill the maf's,run the engine lean and therefore kill the engine....... apexi with the hand commander by the way allows you to monitor the maf voltage to check if alls well

burt2000

iTrader: (1)

cheers rigga, yeah i changed it when i bought the car as a precaution and had planned doing it once a year also wether it needed one or not. if the apexi has the features there to be able to check it then thats a good help, i would know then if it was starting to go a bit weird?

rigga

iTrader: (4)

Can check a few ways on mine,apexi monitors voltage and also have a air/fuel guage that shows mixture........ important part being when on boost,on mine all green when foot to the floor then all is well.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Yes, the MAF is fragile on the MY99, but with the right set up, you can increase the chances of them having a good service life. Induction kits can be one way to reduce the odds! Not woth it unless you need one IMHO. Best thing to do is get a knocklink, if your maf starts playing up, you'll probably notice more activity on this before the classic symptoms even appear and can get it sorted. I think a knocklink or similar gear should be mandatory on tuned scoobies TBH. You want to know about any det issues asap. Too many examples of the std ECU not doing anything in time!

Mafs are usually pretty easy to spot when on the blink though, so just stay vigilant for the usual symptoms!

Ns04

Tidgy

personally i would go for a full decat, pannel filter and a ecutek remap. you'll see roughly 260bhp and it will feel like a whole different car.

i wouldn't bother with a fuel pump at this level, although if you can run to it then its one less thing to do down the line, if you plan to go further.