ive got my scooby blobeye wrx running with the prodrive kit, so running around 260bhp. At the start of next year il have some cash lying about, so my question is do i first start with handling mods i.e Coilovers, Roll bars etc. or start work on the power side of things? i know scoobyworld do performace & handling packages so this could be an option.

anybody with past experiance or personal preferance to this subject would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Scott

 

Always handling & brakes first.

 

100%

 

With weight reduction esp rotating and unsprung mass you can have both!

 

Your car will be able to make the most of the power it has already by improving handling and braking ability. And if done correctly it will be able to maintain and carry more speed.

Before anyone can make any recommendations as to what modifications to make what's your intentions for the car? Track, fast road ?

 

They say good brakes are worth 50bhp, cars that handle well can give away significant amounts of bhp and still come out on top, hot hatches are a perfect example, they can literally give away 100's of bhp and you'll still struggle to stay with a well driven one under certain circumstances. In relation to another thread, people on here in particular get really caught up on bhp and top line figures, but in reality they mean nothing other than in a straight line, yank muscle cars being the perfect example.

 

my preference would be coilovers: obviously some good ones, not chineese ones.

I done my build the other way around: i started with the engine rebuild, then more power, 2 different turbos and I was still chasing more power...

Then some cusco coilovers came on sale cheap, so I had to buy them. Added them with new 8J wide wheels and i was shocked by how much it changed my car's character. Never touched the engine since!

 

You really are a prize bellend. Remind me again who you are?

Every 50hp increase made, makes a difference in the real world to how drives and behaves, and of course handling etc. Do you think that 600hp cars are all about ***** waving?

Do you have a sc38 by any chance that you keep telling folk thats what they need?

 

lol! Personally I'd fit a set of premium tyres before making it go faster or handle better.

 

A road going newage sti, with Brembos etc, can easily handle 400bhp before handling and brake mods are required, and then a set of PF-Zs and perhaps grooved discs will do the job. After all, the standard car is capable of 150mph without issue (other than probably being thrown in jail of course)

 

The STI is a well put together car but...The standard Brembo disc and pads are inadequate for 400 bhp.I do agree with you though about the Brembo calipers working well with a disc and pad upgrade,like the PF setup that you already mentioned but the O.E stuff at 400+ modified power level are pants and that's talking from experience...SJ.

 

To answer the OP question "both" when required.Modifications should both work in Harmony as their is a balance that needs to be adhered to so as to have a complete and well modified car,that ticks all the boxes and makes for a proper drivers experience.SJ.

 

Don't go telling people things like that, it's all about numbers apparently, the bigger the number the better, forget how it drives, just strap on a big turbo and it's happy days.

 

Well I'm talking from experience too! What does 400bhp bring to a newage car other than more violent acceleration? I'm not talking track but road, where top speed even in standard trim is already well beyond anything that anyone but a lunatic will deploy. I admit that with full supension and brake mods the 400bhp+ car enables you to drive much quicker safer, but where can you do it?

 

I hear you...But 90% of cars in the Subaru community are used predominantly on the road,and 400bhp is still 400bhp whether its been driven on the road or track,and still will require a adequate brake setup to stop efficiently,I doubt most Subaru drivers purchase their cars to drive at 30mph,whether its right to go quicker on the queens highway then the law stipulates is a discussion for another day.SJ.

 

Combination of both, Ive done it both ways power first then handling and vice versa and my preference is to have the handling, chassis and brakes ready to handle 400 plus bhp then add the power after

 

I'm sure you're right but the earlier suggestions that handling and brake mods on a standard car will let you outrun more powerful vehicles is mostly wishful thinking. Admittedly, once you exceed 450bhp you find you can hit 100mph+ in a flash. At that point you find yourself catching other vehicles very quickly, and upgraded brakes are then quite handy!

 

Yes that is wishful thinking lol

 

I've got 'Epic' stopping power and handling and for all of my 350ish bhp still came 10th at the JGM day with just a remap under the bonnet and a splash of meth

 

Agree with gaz
350bhp is plenty for the road in my opinion. For road use, a good chassis is the key. I don't believe you can use 500bho on the road effectively especially on road tyres. Track days and circuit use is a different story,

 

Yep agree with this, even on my low boost map which is 380ish at the wheels in the current weather with NS2-R tyres 2nd and 3rd it lights up all 4 wheels fun but not good for making progress

 

Even on track it's still not cut and dried, all more power does is make a car more of a handful, which in turn means more skill required to get the best out of it, a lot depends on the track too, if it's narrow and a bit twisty you won't get chance to power past, even if you do get the opportunity to use the power you still have to slow it down and get it around the next bend without binning it. A less powerful lighter car with a good chassis and decent brakes could still out brake you and carry more speed through the bends while your busy trying to drop a few cogs avoid going off and get back on the power without lighting it up, he's gone see it all the time on various tracks. Thing about big power is you need the space and skill to use it.

 

No doubt due to early spooling twin scroll, larger useable power band and a well set up car, i'll wager there were a fair few behind you with significantly more power. wouldn't mind a look at your dyno printouts if you have any.

 

I agree with that as even at totb I had a reasonable result considering I've got a VF37 fitted, think the lowest powered car above me was 475bhp/500lbft and did me by 0.19, that was a 2.5 with a 321t and meth, so lightweight and spool ftw with massive stoppers

 

Not got a graph as it's currently set up but mid 300's bhp and high 300's on lbft, but comes on full boost mid 3k rpm...only problem is it tails off mid 6k as most VF's do so time to grab another gear