Help with upgrades on classic wrx
 

Hi everybody. I'm the proud owner of a 95 wrx import with quad head light conversion hi level spoiler no rust nice wheels lowered suspension and grooved and drilled brake discs but still on 2 pot sliders. Would like advice on a couple of things please. It's got standard dump valve and would like to upgrade to a better one so help there please. Also need a turbo timer and a set of gauges ie oil temp oil pressure and boost gauge. Anyone selling or advice is greatly appreciated.

OE recirc valve is the best upgrade :)
You do not need a turbo timer.

Do a search on here for the general consensus of both those items.

Gauges well you're spoilt for choice at the top end is Defi but they are very expensive. Propsport gauges are meant ot be very good though and a bit cheaper :)

imo the first thing to do is to go to a rolling road (preferably a Subaru specialist) and see how well the car is running and get them to give the car a general inspection e.g. suspension bushes etc.
4 pot calipers from a later model Impreza would be a good upgrade although you will need to buy new discs/pads and have wheels that will fit over them.

as above forget the turbo timer and dump valve. plenty of gauges to suit all budgets on ebay. boost gauge and oil pressure/temp are the ones id go for.

Forget the dump valve and turbo timer, use that money to buy a pair of 4 pots. Upgrading the front brakes will be the best mod you can do.

Gauges wise, i wouldn't go with the defis. I personally think they are well over priced, a set of prosport steppers are a far better option and offer much better value for money.

Thanks boys. Brakes are on list after steering rack and power steering pump. It's got 17's on so 4 pots would go straight on and under the wheels.

17"s don't guarantee clearance of 4 pots, for instance the Prodrive 17" Speedline's don't clear 4 pots because the spokes foul the caliper. Which 17"s are you running?

Ill have a look tomorrow and post. Also I'm after a fast road clutch any ideas on price and where's best place to get one from and fitted?

Hi Rob.
Sounds like ou have a good base car. I feel from your posts that ou have an itch to mod, and why not! The guys are right about gauges....prosport is what I have in my car and they are fantastic and accurate. Oil pressure and temp gauges are very important on the Subaru....and please install the sensors at the recommended places with the fitting kit. Don't use a sandwich plate.

One unsung hero is the water temp gauge...I have recently got myself a 'LingLong' (eBay Chinese cheapie) water temp gauge for now as you will be amazed how inaccurate the oem one is.

Brakes are a good idea....keep an eye out for the 4 pots. I just ordered a set of 4 pot front discs, pads and standard rear discs and pads from Graham Goode Racing for just shy of £130 delivered. They are not fancy drilled or grooved but if its good enough for them, it's good enough for me. Reason I'm saying his is that you will more than likely find a set of 4 pots with discs etc. just clean the calipers up and use new discs and pads.

Clutch wise, if you are no pushing big power or abusing the car, oem or equivalent is good enough. If it wears out just install an Exedy oem replacement.

Next, concentrate on the bushes...and gear linkage too. That is my next step.

You will be amazed at how much you will enjoy the car by keeping it as standard as possible, but with superior parts...and only modify if you feel you really need to (or its cheaper as is often the case).

Look out for ARBs and strut bars as well.

Hope this helps,

Jason.

On eBay there are new 4 pots not remanufactured with discs and pads for 250. They look ok. Mod wise and car wise it's a 95 wrx which has been mapped to around 280-300. Got nice 7 spoke alloys. It's been lowered but until I get wheels off and have a look don't know what shocks are. It's a bit too stiff to be honest but car handles really well. Just need all roads to be race track smooth. Need to change steering rack as its leaking but not too big a job. As regards bushes I think I'm going to poly bush rear end. What's your thoughts on poky bushes? Cheers Jason for reply

Its been mapped ?
ESL ??

Paulo do you mean Newage brembos or Subaru 4 pots as I think that is what the OP means, though he is probably better going for the Brembos. :)

Got to check on ecu. No print out so can't be sure. If its been mapped it must have after market ecu. Need to get carpet up and have a look at weekend if sun ever comes out. Only picked car up yesterday. Will post some photos if I figure out how to do it as I'm quite thick when it comes to technology!!! Big spanners and bigger hammer!!!! Lol

set up a photobucket account (it's free) ,upload pictures from PC or smartphone to photobucket then copy and paste the bottom option (IMG) into a post on here and et voila the picture will be there for all to see.

Won't necessarily be an aftermarket ecu, the standard one is mappable with a daughter board fitted.

Subaru 4 pots, brembos make the wheel choice more limited due to the size of the caliper. Most 17"s clear 4 pots however not all do.

Re brakes, I'd go with some re-ferbished subaru 4 pots performance friction discs and pads, braided brake lines, 5.1 fluid and a brake stopper on the servo, that set up is more than adequate up to mid 300 bhp on a road going classic.

Handling wise, front strut top brace, anti-lift kit, rear roll bar and solid drop links along with the all important geo set up, you could also fit a set of camber bolts, you may want to consider a set of front drop links as well as yours will be getting on a bit and they are liable to snap as one of mine did.

That lot along with a decent set of tyres will totally transform the car and be worth more than a 50/80bhp power hike. ;)

Nice one. Got to sort handling as we're going to track day it as well as use it daily.