Upgrading GB270 Wagon
 

Hi All,

I have recently procured a Hawkeye GB270 wagon. I am thinking about investing in some engine modification to get some additional ponies out the motor.

Whats the general consensus regards upgrading the GB270, is it worth the investment or better to just leave it stock.

Kind Regards
Dale

Anyone??

Hi Dale

Depends on your target,as many others suffered with engine failures on the 2.5L engines,if you would like to keep yours GB270 I would suggest save money on forged rebuild at later stage and upgrade later on turbo etc in one go and should be more cheaper in later stage


Jura

Depends very much on what you are after, mileage and history of the car and so on. Have you read up on/familiar with the engine problems/limits.

I'd say do the brakes first, suspension/chassis second and engine third unless you can do them all at the same time. Having said that the GB270 wagon's suspension with Prodrive/Eibach springs and a slightly uprated rear ARB is considerably improved over a standard wagon.

A remap will gain you some power and torque as the PPP map does not max the turbo out and mine only made 230BHP on Vpower as standard but a proper exhaust, STI topmount, better turbo (VF43 from an STI is a common choice) and (possibly just for piece of mind due to age) an uprated fuel pump and a better panel filter will make a vast difference. Then you 'COULD' be in to engine failure territory and heading for a forged build and all the ancillaries that go with it.

A few hundred quid for better discs, pads and hoses and anywhere from 1-2K for engine mods will make a really nice car.

Is it worth it? From a financial point of view or an investment then no but Each to there own. For smiles per miles then yes if that's your thing - was for me (see above link).

Hope you enjoy the car.:)

(also strip the stereo and speakers as well as they really are useless)

Thanks all, I have done loads of research on this and I totally agree with the point above. I have already sorted out upgrading the stock brakes, all the internally audio will be replaced as well. I must admit I didnt give much thought to the suspension as i figured the Prodrive pack would of sorted that out.

With regards to upgrades. I was thinking about upgrading the turbo to a TD05 18g and upgrading the fuel pump and panel filter. I wasnt sure on what upgrades would be needed for the exhaust though. Would the prodrive system suffice or will this need to be upgraded as well.

In terms of the cars background. well it has 50K on the clock, full Subaru service history including a cambelt change at 49K as well. The car looks in mint condition and I cant see any signs of previous modifications.

BR

I had the SC42 (version 1) 20g based billet turbo on mine with STI Tmic, K&N panel filter and full Miltek exhaust and it was really good - great spool being a billet turbo and was 'detuned' (to prolong engine) to 363BHP/321lbft at 1.2 bar boost - ran this for 2.5 years and 15 000 miles with no problems. It made an easy 400/400 when first put on at 1.4 bar.

A Scoobyclinic or similar billet turbo would be best but won't be cheap, or an AFP hybrid or equivalent but as previously the VF43 from a hawk STI is a great upgrade as well. Stay away from all EBAY cheap turbos - sure you know this but just in case.

Exhaust will really hold you back as it's only a Prodrive back box and still has the 2-3 cats in the standard exhaust. A decent second hand exhaust with a sports cat or decat (not MOT friendly if complete decat) is a must really if going for a bigger turbo/more power.

Suspension is better but can fairly easily be improved - 22mm uprated front and rear ARB's, ALK (anti lift/dive kit), solid drop links and a proper fast road geo will make a huge difference - again not so cheap but is a big improvement. The standard drop links are surprisingly plastic!

Did you go for braided hoses when you did the brakes? This really improved peddle feel/firmness on mine even from new.

Personally I would not be too concerned about the engine as long as you look after it properly but just be prepared that it could go. Also is it still on original clutch - mine was dying at 35 000 miles and was never launched and was well treated but again at 363 BHP it was never going to last too long.

Are you doing the stereo yourself? The aerial booster will need a power live if using a head unit lead adaptor (just in case you had not seen this).

Again hope you enjoy the car - get the mods started now!

Thanks for the reply, the scoobyclinic turbos seem to be getting a lot of good press so sounds like the way to go.

I am not sure about the clutch to be honest, will need to check the service records to determine if this was replaced.

Brakes did include a braided line upgrade and it certainly has made the pedal feel a lot better.

Regards the booster on the audio. I couldn't quite follow this, I am planning on putting in a kenwood dnx7200 double din. What specifically is it that I need?

BR

In the boot there is an aerial booster which requires a switched permanent live from the headunit - if you use an adaptor harness to wire in the head unit then usually there is no power provided to the aerial booster and you'll have very poor radio reception. Connecting up a switched live on/from the harness/head unit is a doddle though - no need ot do anything in the boot.

Link to explanation.

https://www.scoobynet.com/ice-2/8699...it-change.html

It's not a biggy but after wiring in and putting all neatly back together it's bloody annoying to have to pull out the headunit again and amend a wire.

Aye, that would be annoying. Thanks for the tip I will refer to the link you kindly passed on.

Thanks

I had some mods done to my GB270 wagon last year.

I'd already done the suspension as the rears were knocking so went for BC coilovers.
Then had STi TMIC, VF48 turbo, H&S turbo back system, Cosworth panel filter and an Andy Forrest ECUTEK remap with RACEROM.
Result was 350bhp/370lbft

Brembo front calipers alsofitted.

Car is great fun and had no problems with it.
If I want to go any further with power I'm looking at thousands of pounds for another 100-150bhp. For me it wasn't worth the expense for the horsepower and if the engine does have to come apart in future then I'll go the forged route, but not before.

Seen a few posts on forums regarding the GB270 fuel pump. Some say they already have an uprated one, some not. I was told it was already uprated from the factory and therefore didn't change it and had no probs. Just added a fuel pressure regulator.

Should be back on the road in the next 4 or 5 weeks after it's winter in the garage and I can't wait!

HenrySmith, your build looks immense. Wish I had the pennies for that!