Hi folks

I'm considering buying my first Impreza in 2010 and was wondering what basic mods I should consider a sensible and cost-effective first step.

I'm thinking about a facelifted first gen 2-door WRX Type R.

If we assume that the car I end up getting is absolutely factory standard, what should I look at as the first things to do?

What I mean is that there are often some very basic and cost-effective mods that release a chunk of power. The initial tweaks are often the cheapest bhp and torque you'll ever get, and because of this they're considered almost essential initial mods and the bar for a "standard" car is set at that level.

For example, for anyone that buys a Pulsar GTI-R the basics are an induction kit, exhaust + decat, iridium plugs, and boost upped to 1 bar, giving an immediate rise from 220 ponies to circa 270-80. They also upgrade the brake discs and pads, as the factory ones are shocking.

So if you had a fresh, virgin gen 1 WRX what would you do with it to start with?

 

My 98 Type R is running 303bhp with a remappable ecu (from the standard 276bhp) and that is the only mod,the airbox on imprezas is good for a lot more than i'm running and i can't be arsed swapping the exhaust over every MOT time.

My next mod is a big brake set.

 

Well, the car in question will be a MY97-00 Type R, which all have 280PS (276bhp) as std.

If it's a MY97/98 you'll need an aftermarket ECU such as Apexi PFC or Simtek, etc. This can then be used to map simple aftermarket bolt-on mods i.e. decat downpipe, panel air filter, NGK PFR7B plugs, Walbro 255 fuel pump. You should see upto c.320bhp and slightly lower lb ft of torque at between c.1.1-1.3bar. It's the mapped decat d/p that is responsible for this big hike in power (as you already illustrated re the Pulsar/Sunny).

The MY99/00 requires the same mods for similar bhp/lb ft... except that the ECU in these cars is mappable via mappers who use ECUTek software. But the 1st map rerquires you to pay an additional 'unlocking' licence fee - so is still quite expensive at c.£600+...

 

So assuming you've got the PFC installed, do you have to get the car remapped every time you add a mod? Surely that gets a teensy bit expensive??

"Great - just fitted a £100 induction kit - now to pay £XXX to get the car remapped"

3 months later...

"Super. Just fitted my new Mongoose exhaust - time to stump up for another remap..."

etc. etc.

I have to admit that when I had my Sunny GTI-R I never even bothered with a programmable ECU - chucked on a bleed valve, had HiTeq check the AF ratio was ok and off we went with 1 bar lmao. Chucked on a decat, Mongoose system, induction kit, plugs, leads, bleed valve - all without any ECU mods and it ran just fine :P Oh the sweet joy of ignorance!

 

It depends on how far away from PFC's original map the mapper has to go.

If it's just a few tweaks, then typically most mappers will charge c.£150 for it. If it's most of the existing map needs altering - and I'm guessing it would be for those mods - then you'll be looking at more like £350, or so.


Which is fine...... up til the point when the engine grenades!

 

Lol very true. The irony here though is that the GTI-R ran solid and strong, and is still going like a train now, years later, with her new owner. After that I bought a GT-R and ended up with a cracked head and finally replacing the whole engine, then sold that and got a Cerbera and somehow managed to put a piston through the side of the block, yet the poor little Datsun hatch that I abused with a bleed valve is rocking and rolling still lol

So I guess then that the best value for money approach is to get the car checked when bought to make sure it's running well (not too rich, not too lean), buy the mods and PFC and then fit them all at once and get it all mapped in one go