okay my wrx is on 351bhp at the moment running fine,its got an afp 18g turbo with supporting mods on but its a bit laggy for my liking!
now all i want is to reduce this lag abit and i will be happy! i want to get the tgv deletes off an sti,harvey ported headers and then a map tweak,guessing this will roughly take it to 370bhp plus more torque,is my block upto it? i dont thrash it but like a good blast now and then!
and before people say it i dont want to sell it and get an sti!and im not worried about the 5 speed either! just dont want the engine to go bang.
has anyone got personal experience and ran high 300's on standard wrx's?
thanks

 

Probably better off getting the STI which has the 6 speed box I'd reckon

 

Can you afford a rebuild if it lets go.
Personally, I think your playing with fire taking a standard wrx motor to those levels. But if you've got the funds to fix it then go for it.
Rather you than me though chap.

 

If I just swapped the block to a sti semi closed would that be enough?

 

the block should be ok , having said that i only took my STi to 370 before reforging it, its the gearbox thats going to cause you problems at that power level

 

at the mo im running 320 with supporting mods on a bugeye uk 300 (but it has the 2.5 bottom end conversion) no probs so far

im going for the sti tmic and new map so gonna aim for the 350 mark

 

I ran a 350+ wrx for more than five years. Std box was fine all the way up to 390hp.

In those five years I had zero engine or gearbox problems.

I didn't do many launches, but the mid and top end power range were regularly exploited. Also did five-six track days on this setup.

I also ran an exedy pink clutch with an API lightened flywheel.

Obviously I ran it knowing that it might blow up, but a rebuild wouldn't have been an issue.

 

I have a near brand new wrx bottom end in my 2005 with cosworth forged pistons which apparently is good for 380-400. I'm currently running 350hp on an sc36 turbo. I have an sti inlet manifold (tgv deletes) and a front mount (ready for track days,etc) going on soon so the car will need a map tweak...... I held it back at 350 last time for the gearbox, what would people recommend power wise? I really could do with the gearbox not letting go for a little while due to all the other money spent recently but it wouldn't be the end of the world as it will need upgrading eventually anyway

 

The con rod bolts are the weak part [ weakest !! ] in a WRX motor. They are never good above a line of about 350 hp - when NEW. Break one and it will cost money.

The standard pistons aren't great up there either. BUt it all depends upon the mileage, service history and so on of the donor engine.

David APi

 

if you build a 370 bhp wrx you will always be waiting for it to pop, if you cant drive it properly for fear of breaking it whats the point??

 

I have never not driven mine 'properly' for fear of breaking it.

Obviously it's a calculated risk, and everyone is risk averse to a different degree. Personally, I'm happy to rebuild the engine and change the gearbox if either goes pop. Until that happens, I don't see the point of spending extra on it for the power levels mentioned.

My car is obviously not a day to day car, so downtime doesn't matter to me other than that it's annoying not to have a weekend toy.

 

Exactly that,I'm won't enjoy driving it if I always know in the back of my mind it could possibly go bang,spoke to my mechanic and we are now on the look out for sti block and do the swap over