Hawkeye WRX VF43 help
 

Hi All,

I have a WRX Hawkeye Wagon (55 plate) with 87k on the clock (Full ServiceHistory) and have had for a while a VF43 Turbo which I am wanting to fit, butkeep hearing stories of Gearbox Failures once the power in the WRX is increasedpast what a TD04 can deliver.

What is a Safe BHP/Torque figure for the Hawkeye WRX gearbox to handle?

Will a VF43 with all CATs still in place be safe for my gearbox and whatBHP/Torque can I expect?

Thanks all and I’ll let you know how I get on.

this link has useful info, may worth speaking to the guy directly.

https://www.scoobynet.com/middlesex-...wkeye-wrx.html

Thanks, much appreciated.

Hi all, just a few more questions, sorry but if I'm going to upgrade my wagon to STI ppp standards of power, I want to do it right, I have a vf43 and just want a bit more.

1:- should I upgrade any internal engine components, or will the WRX be good for 320/330 bhp and 360/70 torque.

2:- will the diff's cope with the power hike?

3:- what's a good 5 speed box rebuild option (if it goes) or are you better going for an sti box?

Thanks all and there will be more questions no doubt, but any help at this stage is greatly received.

Hi,

Dont run more than 1.35 bar boost as it may cause your pistons to fail prematurely. At that level you should still see the power figures you want. I have 06 WRX running vf48 and 1.35bar making 334bhp & 381lb/ft torque courtesy of Rich @ FB Tuning and Duncan (Race Dynamix). Immense to drive.

Gearbox @ diff can cope with power, just, but you WILL shorten their life dramatically. Will need changing eventually as wont last. Some last longer than others, but still not the strongest. If it goes, uprate to 6 speed STI setup. Will be expensive as prices high at moment, but well worth it.

Good luck. Andy

Thanks Andy.

So I at 1.25 bar ( that's what the TD04 is running) and fit my decat centre and prodrive backbox, should see 310/20 is and will be safe?

How many miles does yours have on it? How longs have you had the vf43 fitted for?

Thanks again.

You won't get that power from a TD04 but should easy from a VF43. Had mine for 4 or 5 months at that power now. Is great. Been faultless.

Thanks for the advise, I know the TD04 is only good for about 280 on the hawkeyes (so I've been advised) and have a VF43 on standby, just need to get it fitted.

So there is no point upgrading the Pistons for the power gain then, but the gearbox may break after a time along with the diffs.

How many miles have you done with the power increase and how many miles has your Hawk got on the clock?

Thanks again and I'll let you know how I get on, just need to book her in.

My car has done 47k and is an every day car so have done about 5k with the power increased from standard in last 6 months. Some have gone 3 years, maybe more without an issue at this power level, some have not lasted long at all. It’s all a lottery when you increase the power and stress the various components past their safe limit.

Would be my bet that the gearbox will go first, possibly pistons, but impossible to tell. Every car different and yours may run perfectly forever! :)

No point upgrading pistons for power gain if your only aiming for 350bhp as the standard pistons can do this. But…. If your upgrading to forged pistons to add a safety factor to your engine to run safely at 350bhp then it’s a very good idea. I will be building a forged engine and fitting a 6 speed setup when mine finally goes pop!

Good luck.

ive had a vf43 fitted to my hawkeye wrx for 18 months now,and its a daily driver.running 355bhp 353lb/ft
the car was fine but my front diff started to whine so befofe the box gave out i went 6spd set up,
i know of people running 380lb/ft on the 5spd box with no probs,

if ure not wanting that then just tell ure mapper what u want and im sure they can adjust it to what you want

Yeah, I might just ask for low bhp/torque and not too much that it will damage the gearbox.

I'm also going to get a price on forged pistons, for reliability purposes only.

If I do eventually go for an STI box, can you use the dccd controller on the wrx?

Just on another note, is a VF43 noticeably quicker than a remapped wrx with a TD04 for day to day use?

My first post but I thought you might be interested in what I have done with my 06 WRX in the last few months.

Got an 06 wagon which I bought with the PPP pack already installed but always thought it was quick but not what I was looking for. Took it to Triton Motorsport where I had a prodrive sports cat fitted, walbro, filter and custom mapped by Duncan at racedynamix. Was producing around 280 BHP and 340lb/ft tourque and it made a massive difference over the PPP setup. This was pretty much the max which the TD04 was going to produce which I was happy with that for about two months........

At the time I asked what would be needed to take it a step forward and the only thing that I was told was a new turbo and a remap. I had concerns (like you have) around pistons etc etc but after reading threads on here and speaking to other owners I took the plunge and bought a VF35 and got the upgrade. I have not had it on a rolling road but Duncan reckons its now around 340/390 and quite frankly its totally transformed the car. Obviously its going to but strain on the engine, gearbox etc but I have now done 4000 miles on this setup and its not missed beat. I drive the car hard once warmed up and don't abuse it such as full on standing starts as this will probaly chew something up quite quickly.

I think its quite easy to start stressing about gearbox's, pistons etc and if something is going to go pop or not but in the end take the advice of the 'experts' and just remember its going to put extra strain on some components. My advice is go for as in hindsight I should have gone straight to the VF35 as it really makes the car. For interest my car has now done 93k, original gearbox and clutch!

Good to hear it is still running sweetly :thumb:

Have mapped lots of hawk wrxs to 350/380 over several years and the only gearbox issue I have seen is where someone stripped first gear about 3 months after I put launch control on there for him. It turned out that he ALWAYS launched it !!... every set of lights, every day in that time and was something in the region of 600 launches lol. The clutch was fried too.

I was tempted with launch control when you mentioned it could be configured with that option but that story pretty much confirms why it would of been a bad idea ! Flat shiffting is pretty cool once you reprogram your brain though :-)

That's great to hear, thanks Duncan, planning on getting it into the garage in a week or so. I use Andrew Carr to map my car's (have only heard good things about you also Duncan but he did a really good job on my old Forester and he's already mapped the WRX to its current power with just the TD04.

I can ask for the map to be on the safer side of 350 bhp, but to be honest, I think 320/30 wil be more than enough for me as a daily drive, although I did say that when it got mapped 1st time round.......

Hi all,

What are you're thoughts on a td04 hybrid on a wrx hawkeye?

Should I get 300 out of this? Or just go for the vf43?

Thanks

Chris.

VF43 :thumb:

^^^ What he said!

TD04 will run out of puff even a hybrid. VF35, 43 48 or anything similar spool like crazy will be much nicer to drive!

i have a vf43 mapped by duncan on my blob sti, think it was running 1.6:thumb:

Hi all,

So, I was going to fit a vf43 (maybe for sale if anyone's intrested) to get to say 330 bhp, but know long term I would want more, so what turbo would make a good car road wise and also what else would I need to do/spend to get something that has 380/400 bhp?

Can a hawkeye take that much engine wise?

I have just brought some 18" gt1 prodrive wheels and am thinking k-sport or brembo breaks as a must, plus a gear box. Any advice appreciated.

I also know that an STI would be a better starting point, but I love the wagon and how many are there with 400+ bhp that you see, just makes it a little more special to me.

Thanks all.

Chris

if it helps i got vf48 on wrx 2.5 06.remapped 355bhp an 408 torque.just changin clutch 2day for uprated 1 to hold the power.no probs as yet an was mapped in nov by bob rawle..top fella..

kev

Hi Chris,

I have GT1's and brembos do not fit these wheels unless you use spacers which is not really recommended. Alcons or Ksports fit but I went with braided hoses, godspeed discs and kevlar pads which is a massive improvment over stock.

Cheers

Ross

When it goes 'pop' does it not cause additional damage? I have heard that pistons that do let go cause £3000 of damage, where as pre-empting and going forged before anything goes wrong cost win the region of £1500. This is just from a bit of research so if this is wrong can someone please let me know.

Hard to put a price on an engine failure. You may be lucky, you may not be. At the very least I would expect to do a re-bore on my block when I was upgrading to a forged engine and possibly a journal grind for new bearings & a head skim. That would apply if my engine had failed or not really.

I'd have said that if a rod had snapped then there is every chance your block and crank may be destroyed, but it tends to be predominantly piston/piston ring failure or head gasket failure on the 2.5 engines.

Again, every failure is different so it's impossible to say really.