My new car, need opinions on which way to go

BigMac

Airplay355 wrote: »

If you rev it too high it shifts up for you in sports mode. My mom has an impreza with the same sport mode. It's pretty worthless.

I used the sports mode today and tried to get the same results. I did not experience that at all. When I really got on it as hard as I could the only thing I noticed was that the car did not shift to a different gear when you let off the gas to slow down (not using brakes). It stayed in the same gear and the rpms stayed high so you can have faster acceleration should you want to get on it again. It did shift gears once the rpms got pretty low though.

I went in for my appt. at the car shop and this is what they suggested. CAI,headers,exhaust. No need for the ECU to be flashed like the other shops on the phone mentioned yesterday (that saves $400.00) or for cams at this point. Guy said it would be pointless unless I had a turbo and was doing alot more mods than I am currently adding. Basically, the non turbo version of this car only has so many performance upgrades available. The GT version though, now that is another story. As far as the fog lights, I am going with PIAA and for tint I am going for medium black all around. Going with Brembo brakes was overkill plus it would add weight according to this guy. He suggested going with a bigger caliper or using the Legacy GT brakes (would have to do a few things for them to work on my Subie). One thing I added was this film that goes over the headlights to protect them from all the road grime. Minimal cost for those and I think it will be a good preventative choice that will pay off down the road.

On a side note though, there was a badass heavily modded STI there that was insane. It had over 500 hp and looked almost stock from the outside. You never would have known by just looking at it. As this guy left the parking lot and pulled onto the main drag he got on it. Flames shot out the exhaust and he was gone before you could say, "holy shiot". That was one mean little car!!

concealer404

If you're in sport mode, and leave it in a gear and don't shift, will it shift for you anyways or will it bang rev limiter?

BigMac

concealer404 wrote: »

If you're in sport mode, and leave it in a gear and don't shift, will it shift for you anyways or will it bang rev limiter?

If you shift to sports mode and just leave it it never reaches the rev limiter. Now if you put it in sports mode and shift it manually then yes it will hit the rev limiter. I was jammin earlier but felt kinda guillty pushing the car that hard. It handled well though, even at max speed.

audiobliss

How much are you really wanting a fun, fast, personalized car? How far are you really willing to go with this? I've never research Subaru's before in great detail, so I have no idea if the engine/transmission mounts are the same/similar/completely different, but before you spend any money on the powertrain, I would honestly research pulling a turbo engine AND manual transmission out of a junkyard car and how much it would cost to swap. Maybe it's not really feasible if the engine and transmission are really different outside, but it also might not be a huge deal if all the mounts are the same.

That would give you a lot meatier engine right from the get-go, with a lot more potential still left in it. AND it would give you a manual, which is basically a prerequisite for any fast little sporty car you're looking to mod.

That's my $0.02

concealer404

audiobliss wrote: »

How much are you really wanting a fun, fast, personalized car? How far are you really willing to go with this? I've never research Subaru's before in great detail, so I have no idea if the engine/transmission mounts are the same/similar/completely different, but before you spend any money on the powertrain, I would honestly research pulling a turbo engine AND manual transmission out of a junkyard car and how much it would cost to swap. Maybe it's not really feasible if the engine and transmission are really different outside, but it also might not be a huge deal if all the mounts are the same.

That would give you a lot meatier engine right from the get-go, with a lot more potential still left in it. AND it would give you a manual, which is basically a prerequisite for any fast little sporty car you're looking to mod.

That's my $0.02

I'm in agreement here. Unless you're just going to be happy with very slightly increased performance and a good sound.

But if you ever want to do more than intake/header/exhaust, i'd be looking at swap options now.

If you can live with an older 2.0 turbo, that probably wouldn't be all that expensive, and would offer a lot more grunt.

Expensive is relative of course. It would seem expensive to me, but i'm building a car that i bought for $600, and getting an engine that will put out 335whp with the addition of a boost controller only. For $2000 shipped to my door including transmission, ecu, wiring harness, fully dressed.

But that's why i build old cars that i don't owe money on.

BigMac

audiobliss wrote: »

How much are you really wanting a fun, fast, personalized car? How far are you really willing to go with this? I've never research Subaru's before in great detail, so I have no idea if the engine/transmission mounts are the same/similar/completely different, but before you spend any money on the powertrain, I would honestly research pulling a turbo engine AND manual transmission out of a junkyard car and how much it would cost to swap. Maybe it's not really feasible if the engine and transmission are really different outside, but it also might not be a huge deal if all the mounts are the same.

That would give you a lot meatier engine right from the get-go, with a lot more potential still left in it. AND it would give you a manual, which is basically a prerequisite for any fast little sporty car you're looking to mod.

That's my $0.02

I am just going to do the mods listed in my last post. Later down the line I may sell this car and get the GT version but for now I will be content with my current choices. Thanks for your advice.:D

concealer404 wrote: »

I'm in agreement here. Unless you're just going to be happy with very slightly increased performance and a good sound.

A slight increase in performance is all I am after now since I do not have the GT version of this car. Originally my thinking was that I could increase the hp alot due to so many after market mods available. As I researched this a little more I realized that almost all the performance mods are for the GT version of the Subaru Legacy. It's kinda a good thing as I will save alot of money I don't need to be spending,lol.

concealer404 wrote: »

But that's why i build old cars that i don't owe money on.

My car is 100% paid off already. I don't owe even one penny so my thinking was to use the saved money I originally had budgeted for the car and add a few mods.

concealer404

BigMac wrote: »

I am just going to do the mods listed in my last post. Later down the line I may sell this car and get the GT version but for now I will be content with my current choices. Thanks for your advice.:D




A slight increase in performance is all I am after now since I do not have the GT version of this car. Originally my thinking was that I could increase the hp alot due to so many after market mods available. As I researched this a little more I realized that almost all the performance mods are for the GT version of the Subaru Legacy. It's kinda a good thing as I will save alot of money I don't need to be spending,lol.

My car is 100% paid off already. I don't owe even one penny so my thinking was to use the saved money I originally had budgeted for the car and add a few mods.

Gotcha. Then it sounds like basic breathing mods is the way to go! I honestly wouldn't mess with the cams unless you REALLY REALLY want them.

I'd probably be happy with breathing mods on it, myself. It's not a HORRIBLY slow car to begin with, and i'm more about handling these days. (Which sounds stupid after just talking about the motor i'm installing, but whatever.)

audiobliss

Sounds like a good decision, BigMac. In light of that, as concealer404 said, I'd go through with intake and exhaust, maybe a few other things here and there (underdrive pulleys, electric fan if it doesn't already have one, re-tune, etc).

However, since power is no longer the focus, I would look into getting some lighter wheels with some grippy tires, lower it a bit with some stiffer suspension, get some thicker anti-roll bars, add a cross-brace (can't remember the term for this) under the car, and perhaps a strut tower brace under the hood. Just stiffen it up and make it more responsive, and it'll feel like a whole new car. Could be a great way to enjoy it without dumping loads of money into the engine.

AudioGenics

you probably already seen this factory subaru performance.
pasting it in

http://www.subaru.com/subaru-performance-tuning/performance-parts.html