The beginning
I bought my UK MY98 Impreza Turbo 2000 back in June 2002. Just like many first time Impreza owners I had a Scoobysport back box fitted but otherwise was adamant that I wouldn’t get into modifying it. If I enjoyed the Impreza as much as I suspected I would the plan would be to upgrade later to a STi.

It wasn’t long before I started to “need” to change things. I blame this wholly on ScoobyNet because before reading the Forums I wasn’t even aware of half the things I “needed”

Things started out reasonably cheaply and harmless enough in the form of de tango-ing the front end. The car looked much better. SN members were absolutely right – I had “needed” to do this! That was the start of a pattern of modifications and changes ranging from a TSL boot mat to swapping each exhaust part one by one until I was decat’d.

The conundrum
Last year I got to the stage where I still loved to drive the car but it no longer felt like it had the same super car feel it used to have. I needed more… However, I had a dilemma on my hands. Should I spend anymore money on a car that was now worth quite likely less than half of what I originally paid? And did I want to spend money on modifications that I would probably never see much of a return on. To add to the conundrum the car has by now done 85,000+ miles.

Having talked to a number of specialist Subaru garages about my different options I came to the conclusion that I wanted an APEX ECU plus up rated fuel pump and that would do me…, or so I thought. For a while I stalled again. Sell it, mod it, sell it, mod it, sell it, mod it!

A decision is made
After much quiet debate with myself (ooer) I finally decided that as the car was now worth so little anyway I may as well keep it and finish off the few bits that need sorting and enjoy it until it finally falls apart. My first mission would be to get the fuel pump changed so I could go for the APEXI and mapping at anytime and this would also help spread the cost.

Happy with my new plan and no longer worried about whether or not to spend money on this car I booked it in at API Engines http://www.apiengines.com
to have the fuel pump changed. I’ve been getting to know API over the last few years and couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered a Subaru specialist literally 15 minutes from my doorstep! In fact I have cycled past the driveway to their unit many times and never had a clue what was tucked away there.

Carrots
On the day I took the car in I got talking to David about the APEXI (again). David was very mean and dangled many a carrot in front of me so that there was no way I could resist! How about a low mileage STi VF turbo, 440 injectors and a good condition STi TMIC? All available as “used” off the shelf and at a price you cannot say no to. Oh, and ported exhaust headers at a give away price…

Order placed
I played it cool but I think David knew I wouldn’t be able to resist Over the next working week I bugged him with emails until I ran out of questions or concerns and eventually concluded by placing my order.

You know how it is once you have made a decision. You want the new toy(s) and you want them right now! David was great and offered to book me in for the following week but I wanted to find somewhere to do a power run first. I’m not fixated with BHP but it seemed all part of the fun to do a before and after run. David advised me to give Thor Racing a ring. A local company that I had never heard of until now but they have a Dynapack dyno http://www.dynopak.com
rated to well over 1000BHP. It’s also reported that Prodrive use their dyno so that was good enough for me.

Pre modification fun: Power Run I
I rang the guys at Thor and got myself booked in. They are quite a small operation but they have some serious special projects on the go and certainly seem to know their stuff. They even had a guy down from Cumbria who had come to see them with his Supra and he clearly thought it was worth the effort. Find out more about Thor here http://www.thor-racing.co.uk

My car is running a STi panel filter in the standard air box. An H&S decat down pipe and a Blitz NUR Spec from the down pipe back. The dyno calculates the output as 193.5BHP at the wheels and 181lb ft. I was pretty pleased with that, calculating the fly wheel figure using *22% transmission losses meant I was running 248BHP. My MY is specified at 208BHP so the decat is certainly doing a good job!

*Note: The Dynapack is reported to be more accurate than rolling roads so possibly the 22% is too high? I know RR figures and the whole grey are of what % transmission losses occur is often debated so I have just gone for the “usual” 22%. Please don’t turn my post into another debate about transmission losses.

Lets mod!
The day after the power run I was booked into API to have the new toys fitted. Nathan and gang would do the business under the bonnet and then the day after that David (armed with my map requirements) would take the car out with Pat Herborn who would map the APEXI.

Having had the Walbro fuel pump fitted already the shopping list pre map was:-
STi TMIC
STi VF turbo
STi 440 injectors
API Ported exhaust headers
Wrap the H&S down pipe
NGK Platinum spark plugs PFR7B

Collection
I got a phone call from API on the day the mapping was done to say everything was complete and I could go and pick up the car. Without delay I bunked off work and went to fetch it. When I got to API David gave me the low down. Everything was good news. The parts had all been fitted without any nasty surprises hiding under the bonnet. The mapping went well, det cans quiet etc. He was pleased with the map and the car and Pat had been pleased with it too. The manual work had taken longer than estimated but the invoice was raised at the already agreed price. Can’t ask for more than that!

The thing that struck me while we were discussing the car was that David seemed like he was grinning at me all the time?! Hmmm. Anyway a quick word of thanks to Nathan as he showed me the parts that were left over and helped load them into the boot and I was off!

The drive
Wow! That is all I could say or think to begin with. The journey back to work didn’t give me much chance to warm her up or press the go pedal very much, but wow! I emailed David that afternoon to offer up my thoughts which weren’t much more than “Wow!” David’s reply was that he knew I would be pleased! I now knew why he had been grinning. Having witnessed the transformation himself he knew what I was going to find and how my Subaru experience was going to change!

Over the next few days I took it out around some my private roads and started to get a feel for it. The bigger turbo does take a little bit more effort to get wound up and you need to consider that with gear changes etc. Nothing new when you have been driving a turbo car but as things now happen at a slightly different point in the rev range I needed to adjust my style slightly to accommodate.

However, once the turbo comes on song it pulls that hard I have to hold the wheel firm for fear of torque steer! The front end noticeably lifts as it flies through the rev range and for a while I was changing gear a bit too late because it was getting to the red line in the blink of an eye. Unlike the old turbo this one just does not run out of puff and the car pulls as hard when you are changing gear at high RPM as when it first kicks in. If you have the road for it then from one gear to another the nose stays lifted and you stay planted firmly against the back of the seat.

It is now a couple of weeks since this all happened and I still cannot get over the difference. It’s great to feel the power as the driver. You know how a car can feel quite different when you are the passenger versus when you are the driver? I am now enjoying the thrill again just as I used to when my friend passengered me in his Impreza.

The car feels to me now like this is how it should always have been. I suspect I would feel very disappointed if I were to get back into this car in its pre mod state. I’m still learning how to safely use the extra power as I can’t just boot it in the same place as I may previously have done on some of my favourite open corners – there is simply too much power. Well, I say that but of course there are also driver limitations and I will look seriously into getting some driver training.

Post modification: Power Run II
OK, the bit I know you are all waiting for. I’ve told you how great it drives but what did the dyno say?

Back to Thor Racing…

This time it runs 241.2BHP at the wheels with 218.6lb ft. Again using 22% as the transmission loss percentage I calculate the fly wheel power to be 309BHP. To give those numbers a useful comparison I have worked out the BHP/Tonne.
208 / 1.235 = 168.42 BHP per Tonne (Standard)
309 / 1.235 = 250.20 BHP per Tonne (Now)

Depending on how you do the sums and what you decide to use for the transmission looses then of course it could be a bit less or even a bit more. For the pub talk I am happy to say its 300BHP and David has even sent me some API Engines Performance 300 badges!

A happy Impreza owner
I am currently (until it’s no longer enough ) a very happy Impreza owner. One thing David said to me early on and has rung very true is that if I sold my car and put the same money I spent on mods to it then I wouldn’t have got myself such a sorted car! I’d of course want to change things to my own liking on the replacement as well… Excellent advice and he even made me think that I worked that out for myself!

I’d like to say a big thank you to API for all the realistic advice, tremendous value for money and the friendly attitude and great hospitality. I’ll see you soon for those dampers… Thank you to Pat Herborn for a great job on the map (check out the lovely lines on the graphs) – although such a good job has been done on the AFR I’ve lost most of my pops and bangs! And thank you to Thor Racing for the hospitality and for fitting me in very quickly.

The spec
For those of you who might be interested in what modifications I have made, here’s the list. Fully inclusive so you can laugh at the comedy items: -

MRO Air dam / splitter
Colour coded mirrors, handles, sills
Aftermarket rear drop links
JDM STi Panel filter
H&S wrapped down pipe
Blitz NUR SpecR
Eibach spings
STi Quick shift
Sparco pedals
TSL 4 wheel fast road laser geometry
Inovit 17" Redline on Toyo T1R
Scott Lowe mud flaps
HKS SSQV VTA DV
TSL Car Boot mat. Hehe! At least 5BHP
PIAA wipers. Another 5BHP
Momo Race/Air gear ****. Another 5…
Sboobyclinic semi-uprated clutch
Clear side indicators
Clear front indicators
4 pot brakes (from MY00) & Steel braided hoses & AP Racing fluid
Front strut brace
Walbro 255lph fuel pump
STi dampers
STi TMIC
STi VF Turbo
STi 440 Injectors
APEXI PFC+HC
API ported exhaust headers
NGK Platinum spark plugs PFR7B

On the list
Of course there is always something else you “need”. Still to come: -

*Decide what to tell the insurance about the above list! They know about some of it but not all, hmmmm.
Rear spoiler. Going bigger but not as big as the STi6
De badged boot
Replacement de badged front grill
STi rear lights
Misc small items to tidy it up

The photos
Standard, the beginning!
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/scoob-front2-p.jpg

With new wheels
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/Inovit2smaller.jpg

On the dyno at Thor
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/Thor1.jpg

Dyno results
The yellow figures and blue line is run one. The green figures and green line is run two. I don’t think the MPH means anything as the wheel size wasn’t put into the configuration – something like that I can’t quite remember what Pete said, but the rest of it is as it says.
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/Dyno1Smaller.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/Dyno2Smaller.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/Dyno3Smaller.jpg

Some pictures from when it was last cleaned although the wheels and exhaust have changed since.
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/1-small.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/2-small.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/3-small.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/4-small.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/5-small.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/6-small.jpg
http://www.apteco.com/downloads/Matt/Scoob/7-small.jpg

Cheers!
Molds

 

Nothing else to say really.

David APi

 

Chuffed for ya dood... sounds really impressive..

1 question though... You fitted a later STi i/c, what supporting mods went along with the i/c , Bigger scoop, diffuser ??
I was thinking about an STi 8/9 i/c but was concerned about fitting a Larger Scoop (don't like the look) and how to attach the diffuser to the OE scoop.(heat-soak worries) So now i'm thinking about a FMIC.

Cheers

 

Sounds awesome... really happy for you mate.

Not sure if its just the angle.. but the exhaust is maahhhoooosive!

 

Hi Molds, i don't no if you remember me, i spoke to you at API whilst i was having my clutch done and you were having an uprated fuel pump put in i think

Your cars come along way in not much time..............
Glad you made the right decision

 

Nice read and car.

 

Torque figure seems a bit low...

 

Great post, enjoyed the read... enjoy the ride.

 

Glad you're happy mate. I too have had the APi stage 2 conversion (with Bob Rawle mapping) on my classic and the car goes like stink!!

Very effective upgrade. Enjoy!

Ns04

 

Nice mods matey - I wouldn't worry too much about the mileage - my 98 uk had 142000 on the clock when I sold it and I was running 320bhp/300lbsft !

Enjoy

Mark

Subaru Impreza Page

 

Dan_2 - I am not sure which STi IC went on. Its err, the silver one! I don't think it is as new as an 8/9? David can probably enlighten us... I have kept the OEM scoop without any plans to change it or fit any sort of diffuser.

marmski - I did have a TSL Firestorm back box (as seen in the pics) but its now running a Blitz which looks slightly smaller. The Firestorm exit was BIG

Hey Tim! Yeah I remember you. Nice green classic looking way too clean for winter It was that day we were both at API when David really got me wound up about the upgrades. I started emailing him the following Monday and well, here we are!

scooby_matt - I thought the torque figures looked about what you would expect?

Thanks everyone for the positive comments

 

Very good read and taking a similar path myself .

 

I would have expected around the 300 lb/ft torque figure

 

im planning on an impreza soon............no doubt i'll start off saying "no im not modding it" then after a few weeks/months end up writing an essay like yourself!

 

Hmmm, think i could do with one of those clutches

 

scooby_matt that torque figure is the at the wheels figure...

>>>This time it runs 241.2BHP at the wheels with 218.6lb ft<<<

Presume you have done the sums to ramp it up as I have done on the bhp?

 

Sounds like a great drive now! Sorry to ask boring question but, how much worse is the fuel economy now??

 

Haha! You don't want to know!

From full to a quarter tank got me ~86 miles

That included the power runs, map etc. so all hard driving, but still...

Doesn't bother me though as this is just a play car and not a daily driver - good job!

 

Just curious, you've put a lot of time and money into your car, but why didn't you but an STi in the first place?
You've maybe good reason but I'm always baffled by this

I have an STi V3 I bought 7 years ago and I went after the STi because I wanted the extra power over the UK car.

 

I had an R33 Skyline GTr that made 380 hp and that did 9 gallons in 54 miles one day ON THE ROAD when working it hard

 

Simple, WRX and UK . Euro cars have cheaper insurance.................

David APi

 

I wanted an STi Kevin but at the time I couldnt afford one. Also I had been company car driving for a while and then car-less (read zero NCD) so insurance was crazy!

As I said at the start of my write up I slowly got sucked into the mods. Then as the years past the car lost its value until it wasn't worth selling and again as I said, if I put the mod money to what my car is worth now I would be hard pushed to get a better sorted car etc. etc.

So basically I got so far with it, then it became worthless, I decided to keep it until it falls apart. I have spanked some cash on it to keep me interested for the next #n years, and for the fun of it - and I'm lovin' it!

I don't think I am all that unique in ending up down a route like this. Have you checked out MikeyB's write up on his WRX modding? A newer car but again started from something less than he would initially have liked.

Cheers

Molds

 

Ok, makes sense, I'm an old git so my insurance has never been that bad.
I was tempted to start modding as well, had intended to go for the 2.5 lump this winter but the car made serious power the first time on the rr for a standard STi so doesn't seem worth ripping it apart........yet

 

I was 32 and the worst quote was from the AA at over £4000 for a UK car I ended up with Liverpool Vic for ~£1550 so you can see how an STi, particularly a JDM would have been impossible to justify.

Go on, pull that car apart... Enough is never enough

 

Great write up. Well done bud

 

Thanks FMS!

*I'm still enjoying the Blitz although my other half isn't so keen