Hi all, I have a 06 2.5l Wrx Hawkeye. I have owned it for 7 months It has done 53000 miles and is totally standard apart from a very recently added non resonated cat back miltek exhaust ( sounds awesome ) . The car is my everyday runner and I don't drive fast all the time, just the occasional blip. I have been considering getting it mapped. I don't want silly bhp just a tweek to 260-270 would great. My concern is that is that I'm going to ruin my otherwise perfect car and end up having to shell out for a new clutch etc etc pretty quickly or is my wrx standard equipment up to the task of handling a extra 50 bhp ? I appreciate that if standard items are already worn then obviously they will need to be replaced wether it's standard or not. I'm just worried that my standard parts won't be up to the job and the bill won't end with the mapping ?

 

I did the same (new exhaust) and just got it mapped because it was a decat and wanted the car running ok with it. I wasnt looking any extra BHP , just peace of mind as its a fast enough car already . Any extra HP is just a bonus.

 

It's a toss of the coin, some do just fine up to 350bhp and others let go at standard power, you have the "chocolate" 2.5 so it's any bodies guess really and you won't know the answer until it lets go.

I'd make sure I had £3k spare for a rebuild if I were you before I started thinking about anything else.

P.S, the clutch is the least of your worries and should be fine up to 350bhp.

 

Clutch will be fine way above 350, i'm running 390/405 and its fine. Hawk wrx clutch upgrades seem to be a ball ache to come across.

 

I would personally leave it as it is and forget a remap untill you have enough cash in the bank to go the fully forged route as its a 2.5
Check out the massive" engine gives pop "thread

 

You'll be fine with a remap, will find it much better than standard, and probably safer with it rather than without having changed the exhaust. The 2.5 in the WRX is quite fragile, but the internals aren't that bad - the prodrive pack lifts to 270bhp and has a manufacturer's warranty after all. Get a replacement panel filter and a custom map, finding a mapper who'll leave a safety margin rather than pushing it to the max, and you'll notice a benefit. Even better get the turbo back portion of the exhaust to fit as well and go for 290. Makes a big difference. At that power level no problem with the clutch or box unless you drive very poorly. The main problem on the 2.5 is the head gasket, which would probably have failed and been replaced at around 30k miles; how long the replacement will last would depend on what was fitted, an upgraded HG and studs would help avert problems.

(My hawk wrx came with PPP, replaced with power station's milltek based upgrade for 290, big improvement, went up to 330 with a VF35 on standard internals, all with no problem. Now on 400bhp with forged internals and a 6 speed box, but they were planned upgrades rather than responses to failures)

 

Just read my previous posts for why not to have your standard 2.5 Mapped.....I have a 2.5 STI hatch which I stupidly mapped without any internal engine work. For the extra BHP it gave me I really wouldn't even think about doing it! My car before I started was a healthy 300bhp standard Sti, within 2 weeks was a smoking mess....DO NOT DO IT!!!!

 

hmm, i;d be asking questions myself if it went 2 weeks after mapping

 

6 months and 10k after mapping I'm still fine ,, its a risk yes but with no risk is no reward

 

just get a conservative remap

 

Thank you all for all your thoughts and advice. I have had a chat with Neil at Slowboy racing in brands hatch and as and when I can sort the cash, ( quite reasonable ) I'm gonna go for more of a tune up mapping rather than the most BHP he can get approximately 270, same as PPP pack with both cats still on. I have had work done by these guys before and have found them to be bang on, and Neil really knows his stuff. I'll update later and let you all know how I get on ; )