Tuning Stock GC8
 

Hi Guys,

Hope everyone is well :)

I'm new to the forum and so happy to have stumbled across this forum as I also live in Perth and your expert advices is desperately needed :)

First of all I am new to the performance scenery, in fact it's only been this year I've found my lifelong thrill of owning a Turbo Car. Beginning of the year I bought a POLO GTI 9n3 but found the power to be a little soft and plus to tune the car cost a fortune because there isn't much performance parts available out there.

I then decided to look into fulfilling my boyhood dream car which is the original GC8 WRX, after months of looking through at least 10 GC8 WRX, my heart is not set as most of them have been thrashed until I found this one which I bought right away, so it's a 99 GC8 WRX Limited Edition with Momo Woodgrain Steering wheel and tan leather interior, it's of course 5 speed manual, it has been meticulously maintained, full log book service history, lots and lots of receipts including new exceedy clutch, new suspension etc, the car drives like a dream and is very2 neat and tidy, an absolute credit to the previous owner. The best part is believe it or not I am the second owner of the car from brand new. The car has been kept on stock standard, everything is completely stock even the wheels.

So now I wanted to put a few mods to the car to get a bit more torque. My initial thoughts is to put the following:

VF34 Turbo
Process West TMIC
Exhaust (Not sure which one yet)
CAI (I've got the universal K&N Apollo initially for the POLO)
Tune

SO as you can see nothing too crazy as I'm not looking at a track purpose or anything like that, I just wanted a fun daily drive that will be strong and reliable.

My dilemma is that the car although it is meticulously maintained, it has done 206,000km and some people are telling me that I'm asking for trouble by putting all those mods in a 200k engine, first of all is this true? or is that a load of rubbish if the car is in very healthy condition through years of proper maintenance? Because many people also said to me that 200k is nothing on the EJ20 especially if it's been well maintained and why fix something that's not broken.

If that is true, then what are my options?

I've read a lot in the internet about short block subaru engine but by the time I also do the transmission conversion, I'd be up for $12-13k and my wife would slaughter me if I spend that sort of money.

Or should I do an engine swap from an STI half cut? This seems to be the cheaper way I found so far, but if that's the case what sort of engine and tranny would you guys recommend for 99 GC8 WRX? I've heard people say that you can't put a newer model engine and tranny in GC8 because there's too many difference between them to make it work without spending a fortune and if that is the case I'm not gonna be gaining much as I will be swapping a healthy high km engine into something slightly less km but puts a big question mark on the history

My concern is that I would have about maximum $8k budget to spend, I really love the GC8 in comparison to the newer model, call me crazy but the GC8 has had a big effect on my life and I'm sure some people might say save yourself the trouble and buy a newer version STI with lower km but to me my heart is still set on GC8 and plan to keep it a long time.

With the budget of $8k in mind, I need to be smart with it and that's why I'm asking for your opinions, what I mean by this is that I don't want to end up spending the $8k and upgrading the turbo and bits on the current motor only to have it blow up in the end and then I won't have the budget to rebuild the motor or to do engine swap. I will have another budget to spend next year so if it comes to it I'd prefer to stay on the safe side and do an engine rebuild this year, tranny conversion next year and maybe the year after start looking into the turbo etc. But of course at the same time I don't wanna waste the money if it's not needed on the rebuild or swap.

Just to give you a general idea on the kind of driver I am, I am far from the typical hard hoon driving, I would probably put my foot down up to 6,000rpm at the max 10-15 times a week and that is also not constant gear changing etc, I just love the g force that pulls you to the back of your seats what I do is put my foot down and once it gets to the speed limit or a little over I would let go and slow down as I'm scared to death with getting my car impounded for reckless driving. The reason I'm telling you this is because a lot of my friend said with my style of driving there's nothing to worry about in terms of stressing the current motor with all the upgrades.

Anyway thanks guys for taking the time to read my post and I apologise for what maybe a stupid or silly questions on some of my thread LOL as I said I am a very newbie to the performance scenery and wanted to absorb all the information I can slowly :)

Hope to hear from you soon.

[QUOTE=Ben628;839114]

VF34 Turbo
Process West TMIC
Exhaust [COLOR=Red]- Depends on budget, but look into Ultrex Performance, Invidia, or second hand for a good Butler Built or Magnaflow system.[/COLOR]
CAI [COLOR=Red]- Not Required, standard air intake will be more than enough for planned mods. CAI adds nothing but noise.[/COLOR]
Tune [COLOR=Red]- Can tune on ECUTek using licensed workshops such as Maximum Motorsport or Racetorque, or an aftermarket ECU such as a Power FC or Autronic unit which can be done by workshops on the following list, as well as Tokyo Motorsports and BYE Performance.

[URL]http://www.perth-wrx.com/vb/mechanicals/6775-perth-workshops.html[/URL][/COLOR]

My dilemma is that the car although it is meticulously maintained, it has done 206,000km and some people are telling me that I'm asking for trouble by putting all those mods in a 200k engine, first of all is this true?

[COLOR=Red]It could be and it couldn't be, some take the approach to just mod it and if it goes bang then you deal with it when it happens, others would rebuild/replace the motor[/COLOR][COLOR=Red][COLOR=Red]. Typically most have been used and abused and pushing them after the 170k mark or so is asking for trouble, but with a quality tune and good maintenance and driving habits yours may turn out fine.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

Or should I do an engine swap from an STI half cut?
[COLOR=Red]The common plan of attack is to buy a new EJ207 short block from Subaru or Rising Sun Subaru over east, have the existing heads serviced, use a good quality head gasket set and some ARP head studs, use your existing engine ancillaries and combine it with the mods you have suggested. That way you're left with a fresh motor that fits exactly the same as standard, you've got a strong bottom end and won't have to worry about it. With a half cut, the most effective way is to use a STI half cut from the same version as your existing car so you don't have to swap engine looms etc, but you're still left with a second hand motor of potentially questionable history and they're getting very hard to find. Subaru like to chop and change engine management systems, ancillaries, and cylinder heads, so transmissions and engine blocks are pretty interchangable but mixing and matching the rest can be more effort than it's worth.[/COLOR]

With the budget of $8k in mind, I need to be smart with it and that's why I'm asking for your opinions, what I mean by this is that I don't want to end up spending the $8k and upgrading the turbo and bits on the current motor only to have it blow up in the end and then I won't have the budget to rebuild the motor or to do engine swap.

[COLOR=Red]Talk to a workshop listed in the link above and see what they suggest, they can give you an indication on what you can expect to spend and how to approach. The thing with dumping that much cash into the car now is you risk doing work to the motor only to have the transmission blow up or vice versa, so I'd be inclined to do the turbo/intercooler/exhaust/tune and have some fun with that, and if it breaks something you've got the funds to put together a new motor or drop a better gearbox into it. Otherwise stash away what you would have spent on it this year and combine it with next year's budget and do the engine and transmission upgrade at once.[/COLOR]

[/QUOTE]

Hope this helps!

Wow thanks so much for all that thorough information, yes it's definitely helpful.

I might just give it a go with the current motor, but I'll be sure to stash enough fund in case anything happens and maybe take it easy a bit before I can afford the rebuilt.

Thanks again, much appreciated ��

Hi again guys,

Following my last post I have decided to give it a go on the current motor.

What I wanted to ask your expert opinion is on the tuning side:

So after I upgrade all those mods listed:
VF34 Turbo
CAI
TMIC
TBE

I do understand that I need a tune, now I have been quoted $1650 by Maximum Motorsport for an ECUTEK tune and Dyno but as a comparison and knowledge learning I also went to S Technik and they advised me that it will be far more cost effective to get an STI ECU from version 5 or 6 (still the GC8 chasis) with minor wiring modification and voila we've got a street weapon with all the mods and it will cost me $500-$600 instead of $1650. First of all is this true and will this work?

Also with regards to Power FC or autronics as a secondary unit mention by Patch, is this what they call piggybacking the ecu? is there any difference in terms of performance and reliability compare to the ECUTEK?

FYI I don't think I'd be planning anymore mods other than whats listed above, my next fund will go towards the engine rebuild and 6 Speed conversion and as I was told all those mods will not go to waste when I do this.

Thanks again so much guys and again I'm sorry if I ask perhaps a stupid question, very new to the performance scenery and my first turbo car :)

Sorry one other thing,

I saw couple of add on VF36 Turbo for sale second hand.

Just thinking bout saving some money if I can get one in good condition but how different are they form the VF34? and is it a good idea to get a second hand turbo? how do you determine if they are still in good condition or not?

Thanks again guys.

They are twinscroll it would require new headders and uppipe brackets

using the Perth-WRX mobile app

Before my current set up, I went with a Version 6 STI ECU, with VF24, turbo back exhaust, and bigger top mount intercooler. It turned the WRX into a rocket!! I then installed an electronic boost controller and set boost to 17 psi, giddy up!!

The Ver 6 ECU works very well, is cheap, and offers awesome bang for buck! I highly recommend it.

You should be able to find a V6 ECU for $200 or less.

Thanks Jacob92, again excuse the ignorant question so does this imply that to keep modification minimum I should not go to a twin scroll turbo or is it just this particular turbo?

Thanks matto20V, I might just do that then rather than spending the $1650, and I take it you have no issue with reliability etc? I mean it doesn't do funny things like check engine light on etc?

[QUOTE=Ben628;839455]

Also with regards to Power FC or autronics as a secondary unit mention by Patch, is this what they call piggybacking the ecu? is there any difference in terms of performance and reliability compare to the ECUTEK?
[/QUOTE]

The A'Pexi Power FC and Autronic SM ECU's are complete replacements for the standard ECU, and you can buy them as a direct plug in replacement for the standard ECU.

Thanks Patch,

There is someone in gumtree selling the Power FC locally for $700 but without hand controller, and Blitz Boost Controller complete for $450.

I'm just wondering with the Power FC, is it important to have the hand controller or is that for someone who wants to have the ability to tweak here and there from inside the cabin?

I would presume but please correct me if I'm wrong, if I had a full edu tune through Power FC then I wouldn't need a boost controller or is that a whole separate thing all together?

Thanks again :)