I've been lurking on the forum for the past year without adding much but I finally feel inclined to add my first post. I tend to swap cars every few years and have owned various hot hatchbacks including a Blobeye (and also more recently a Classic). A couple of years back I was the owner of a MK5 Golf R32 and yearned for something with a bit more character so naturally I ended up looking at Scoobies again. I initially started looking at RB320s but my wife decided that they looked a little bit over the top and so I ended up with a 2008 STI ppp hatch.

Unlike other cars that I've owned, I quickly got addicted to adding/upgrading various bits and bobs and ended up with uprated discs and pads, most of the Whiteline catalogue and a remap to 340/390. The car felt great and never failed to put a smile on my face. It was then a few months back that I came into a chunk of money and so after some "discussions" with my wife, I was on the phone to David at API. I explained that I was after reliability and somewhere in the region of 450bhp with the below spec then being agreed upon (with other sundries such cam belt and oil pick up pipe etc):

mahle pistons
steel con rods
acl race bearings
dual valve springs and retainers
nimonic inlet and exhaust valve set
modified oil pump
arp head studs
sti gasket and seal
cosworth sump baffle
cosworth air valve delete
competition clutch stage 2
billet flywheel
cobra 3 inch decat resonated exhaust
sc42 turbo
induction kit
perrin fmic
catch can with return to sump

Working through all this with David was a pleasure. He was knowledgeable and honest at every point - I would strongly recommend API after my experience here . With everything agreed on, I dropped the car off and was given a green classic (non-turbo) waggon which I then strangely grew quite attached to .

Fast forward a few weeks and I received the news that my number 4 piston (the car was on 56k miles) when removed was as below:



Apart from using oil (within the limits that Subaru mention), the car did not display any symptoms of ringland failure (I have always used vpower and hoped the remap had made things safer), so I counted myself as being very lucky to have caught it before any major damage was done.

A month ago, I parted ways with the green waggon and set about racking up the 1000 miles in my now much louder, slower (due to the running in map) car. Coming from the standard 2.5, I was very used to checking the oil so it was great to see that the car didn't appear to use a drop over the course of the run in.

It was then yesterday that the car finally went back to have the final map done by Bob Rawle and have some 740cc injectors fitted. As the car was road mapped, I don't have a graph to share but the peak figure that Bob came back with was 455bhp on vpower. Driving home (apart form some traffic on the M1), the car felt transformed with the wait to get it back was instantly justified.

So all in all I thought I would share my experiences for others, as it's been great working with David and the guys at API, I've avoided destroying my engine, and ending up with a fantastic driving car.

 

Great news

Congratulations on the outcome, and also reinforcing my belief that the 2.5 is shat in standard form

Rob

 

Cheers Rob. I've got to admit that initially I was in the "it only happens to few cars" camp but after doing my best to avoid any issues, I'm not so sure now. A properly built 2.5 on the other hand is starting to look like a great option.

 

I bet that's a bit of fun to drive, what's the sc42 like on the 2.5? Bet it spools nice and early in the rev range.

Looks like you chose the right moment in time to upgrade the engine, some may say it was fate

 

When I was first looking into options, the sc46 seemed to be the stock reply to people asking about turbos for the 2.5 but I decided to listen to api (who really rate the sc42), rather than my nether regions. You don't quite get the headline figures but the spool is there from 3k and you get much more usable power.

 

Nice one sounds a bit of a beast.

David know his Onions

Tony

 

You got fond of the passion wagon too!

It's hard not to love it - you go from a car that needs to be looked after meticulously and where you're constantly scared you'll bend something or loose your licence to something that just WILL NOT DIE. It's just one of those cars that does nothing spectacularly, but everything well enough that you don't notice it! A real workhorse and you have to respect that!

I remember when David handed me the keys and I asked what petrol I should put in it. His reply:

"The cheapest nastiest **** you can find"

Keep it to yourself but I actually fed it 97RON cause I liked it!

I also had a forged 2.5 from API and echo everything you say, although at the time the SC46 was the "no brainer". I guess he recommended the 42 to you because you said 450 rather than 450+ Must spool mentally quickly, when Bob mapped mine he said it spooled like a car with a much smaller turbo! 1bar at 2.6k rpm if I recall and full boost not long after!

Enjoy it!

 

Even better when twin-scroll

 

But a what cost man ......what cost!!! You lost the Subaru burble!