fastfrank

Test drove a PPP'd WRX03 yesterday with a view to fitting one next year. First impressions... WOW. Acceleration in 5th is like 4th, and massive torque increases. The vehicle on had 3000miles on the clock and felt way looser when compared to mine which has 5500miles. I guess thats demo cars for ya though... ragged to death by every contender.
When I asked the salesman 'what happens with the old bits you replace' he replied, 'we send them back to prodrive'.

Is this true? I would hope to keep such items to sell on and make some money out of them. Why do they need to send them back?

Also, what exactly gets changed because he said one of the CAT's is replaced with a straight through and new chip is installed. I though it was just a new backbox and a reprogrammed chip?


Comments appreciated.

r5obbo

fast frank,
they only send back the ECU to be reprogrammed. they change the silencer for a prodrive one which i understand is made by scorpion, centre section cat replaced with straight through, prodrive stamped intercooler pipe (in blue), a certificate that it has been fitted with a ppp. you can keep all the other bits, along with the torque more than a STI.
have fun, robbo

DJ140

Buy one, but tell the salesman he talks crap.

The only thing that goes back to Prodrive is the ECU, exhaust and spare Cat are yours to keep, or sell.

The rear Cat and backbox are replaced, intercooler pipe and ECU swapped, for Prodrive items. IMO it is a very worthwhile upgrade, far better sound and increased performance, as well as similar MPG to the standard car, worth every penny.

Dan

fastfrank

Guys,
Whats IMO?

Is the upgrade cheaper if i was to take it to Prodrive themselves?

The salesman like yourselves told me there were MPG gains but i thought he was speaking Bullsh1t? What Gains do you get? (I usually see 18-21MPG normal commuting).

The only things that concern me are when i come to sell it.... will it put people off having a PPP pack add-on? (ohh yeah, and the insurance cost to upgrade :-( ).

dsmith

IMO = In My Opinion

Steve777

iTrader: (8)

No its not cheaper taking it to Prodrive.

In the old days only Prodrive would fit the mod but due to the popularity of it, it is now a dealer fit

MPG - Yes the remap does improve MPG on both WRX and STi. I have had both cars and both have had PPP. I have noticed the difference under normal driving. A bit different when driving hard though ! but to be expected !

Insurance - Depends on your company. If you have a good company it will be no extra charge. A bad or company that doesn't understand can charge a stupid amount for this upgrade

Some companies charge a small amount as well.

The bits you take off the car aren't worth keeping. I have been advertising my standard Sti BB for ages with no takers. Eventually it will go down the tip

It is true that the original ecu goes back to Prodrive to be remapped for the next customer. There is another rumour that they now use Ecutek software for this. It used to be a piggy back chip used to control the Turbo's boost pressure. This has thankfuly been ditched.

Scorpion Exhaust products - It is a well known fact that Prodrive use Scorpion for the exhaust BB and centre Decat (Front section on Sti7/8). However Prodrive deny this I don't know why though

Hope this helps

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

Prodrive Performance Package.
On the 03 WRX the fuel pump is not changed but it is for the STi.
These are the bits that are replaced by the kit.
I had to substitute an "Iceland" chip as the OE one has to go back to Prodrive as an exchange item.


Mark


[Edited by FLAT ERIC - 7/28/2003 10:13:17 PM]

fastfrank

thanks for the reply steve and eric for the pics. Pitty Prodrive won't do the upgrade for the same price. I was rather hoping to get it done by the pro's as I don't trust my local dealer as they've only just switched from being a Citroen dealer.
One of my mates has had to got to a specialist because they couldn't sort out his on-going problem (but thats another story).

Does anyone know how much Prodrive would charge?

Steve777

iTrader: (8)

Frank

The Prodrive crew are often on here. Try searching for Mike wood or just Prodrive and email a profile. You might be able to e mail from their website.

I do believe that some people on here have fairly recently had their cars done at Prodrive, but not many these days. I guess it depends how busy they are. You could end up having to leave your car for ages.

I'd go for the dealer and then put the thing on a rolling road to check the figures out.

Mine was fitted with no problems at the dealer. I have had two kits fitted by my dealer no problems. There isn't that much to change so it would be difficult to **** it up.

fastfrank

thanx for the advise, I'll bear this in mind when I upgrade.