It's really funny the amount of people that think the 4 pots are crap. I've never been in an Impreza with upgraded brakes so i don't know how good brakes can be.
My car is on 4 pots with standard disks and pads and when i come up to a junction, i push the middle peddle and the cars stops. When i'm driving a little bit spirited, i push the middle peddle and my car slows down enough for the next corner.
Up to press, both disks and pads have done 31,000 miles. I think to upgrade would be a financial no, no for me.

I'd just like to add that i don't drive like a tart. The power gets used on a regular basis.

:D

[Edited by Brun - 6/2/2003 10:27:41 AM]

He said ECOtek, not ECUtek. DO NOT FIT AN ECOTEK, especially not on a turbo car.

And what the hell is a 'Boost Box'?????!!!!???? Sounds like it could be a Superchip or the like, but it makes your 'Gears longer and smoother'???!!!???

[Edited by DreXeL - 6/2/2003 7:02:53 PM]

I've recently purchased a GORGEOUS blue '99 UK Imprezza turbo wagon with 15k miles and I am in awe. This IS a CAR, pure and simple, it's the way all cars should be. After one week of ownership the realisation set in that, I just could'nt own a normal car again. Short of a lottery win, it's gonna be Impreza's forever, (maybe the odd forrester). I get in my company car now (Avensis) put my foot down, hear the noise and then nothing, it feels like a milk float. When I'm in the scoob (see, even learning the lingo) I'm driving with a constant grin on my face.

Before I picked the car up I had the dealer put a 'Boost Box' ? in it (fitted by a company called TD tuning) which made the car a lot quicker (and my wallet £400 lighter) about 40 more bhp apparently and made the gears seem longer and smoother. There's no denying, it's very fast.

I've had it a few weeks now and am ready to make a few more changes and have been advised on the following mod's :

Dump Valve - Ultimately, what's the best for <£200ish

S/S exhaust - I want to keep my standard back box as it's nice & quiet but I want to take out all the cats.. What do I need to do this ? when they say 'Full system' does that include the downpipe ? Does the up pipe need to be changed ?

It's also very very thirsty, I've read about this ECOtek thingymabobber that can reduce fuel cons. & improve performance, does anyone know if it's worth fitting ?

Air filter - I read somwhere on here that 99 have sensitive (cant remember the name of it) and that airfilter choice is important, am I safe with a K&N ? or is there a better option ?

Turbo-timer - HKS ?

The brakes are 4 pots and feel superb, and the rest of the car is standard apart from 17" alloys.

What kind of gains cold be expected with these mods and will the power delivery still be smooth ?

I sooooo love this car, I have'nt enjoyed driving so much in 15 years, I test drove a lot of cars before buying this (some twice it's price) and none of them came close, I knew I had to have it after 100 yards.

Boost box?
well i havnt the foggiest what that is??????
EcuTek ecu remap.... a definate, but i would upgrade your exhaust at the same time (which no matter what you do, ie full decat etc, will increase the noise levels).

Brakes..... SUCK!!!!! (and thats the 4 pots!!!!) god help you if you had the 2 pots!!..... go for something like an AP or Brembo set up (the equivelant is like this.... ok im working.... hmmmm getting there.... braking.... braking..... hmmmm still braking.... (subaru 4 pots) v ok im braking..... braking.... BRAKING!!!!!!!!!!!! STOPPING!!!!!! STOPPED!!!! :D (trust me i did mine and ok, its rather expensive but worth it ;)) (Brembo 4 pot calipers and AP 308MM discs and Mintex 1144 pads).

Airfilters..... try www.scoobymania.co.uk who do an official STi panel filer (it doesnt naff the MAF up ;)) which wont really increase performance but will clean more air than the paper filer ;)

Tony:D

What you say about the brakes is blabla...
The 4pots are pretty good when you use a decent disc and a decent set of pads. I have Prodrive grooved discs and Pagid RS42 Blue pads. You can always have a passenger ride with me, don't forget a sick-sack because you will see the content odf your stomach again...

Creepy,

Trust me, those 4 pots suck :p
You can change the disc's and pads and they will still suck (as they are only 294mm).
Now try a real setup ;) and it will stop considerably quicker than the 294mm setup with whatever pad/disc combo you wish to try out ;) (plus Brembo calipers are a little bigger than the Subaru ones ;))

Tony:D

I've recently upgraded my pads to Mintex 1144 (on the same discs) and it is a vast improvement over the standard setup.
What do you expect for £68??

And ive still got 2 pots on my MY98 PPP with full decat,it goes round corner quickly as it cant stop :) but to be honest unless your doing track days the brakes should be fine.
Id like to know what that boost box is, sounds like a super chip kind of thing :(

Andy

Boost box - TD Tuning, thought they did upgrades and black-boxes for Turbo Diesel cars (hence TD Tuning)

Would be interested to hear what TD Tuning fitted to a petrol car for your £ 400.00. Probably a Supachip as i think there is some sort of link up between the two companies although i may have got it wrong (and not for the first time) although i thought they were around £ 275.00.

Brakes worth a look at if upping the power along with the bumpsteer mod (do a search on Bumpsteer mod) money well spent IMHO

A few MY99's had monkey metal disks, i got through two sets lasting around 20K each on mine, replaced under warranty. I had uprated groved & dimples (not drilled) + pads, to be honest they wern't the best but there are some good combos out there and perfectly suitable for fast road use.

Exhaust certianly worth doing, i only removed the centre cat and changed the backbox along with an induction kit and it transformed the car, much free'r revving and pulled like a train in all gears, even to the red on 5th!

Changing the dump valve will be a waste of money unless you simply must have the psssshhhhh. I had a vent to atmosphere (the 1 that goes psssshhh) and was advised to remove it by a very reputable tuner when I had my ECU re-mapped. The standard item you have fitted does a good enough job.

Why don't you just enjoy your car for now?

In my opinion most of the mods mentioned are bóllocks on the road, just learn to drive what you have properly and you can still embarrass the mod squad.

On the track it will be a different story though.