Getting to the specifics of this car. The fact that would be good to know is exactly what has failed and what caused it. If its the ringlands...well...we all know about the weak ringlands in 08 sti's. Jesus himself could have tuned it and it would still do a ringland. If something else, well it would be good to have that knowledge shared. Doesn't mean we need to start (another) freaking tuner war, but everyone is here to learn about these cars so that if we can keep the debate civilised then we all might get something out of it.

It is the ringlands.
Its a weak point but not all tuned 08s pop a ringland... I think that most out there are fine when tuned accordingly and at safe power levels. Mitch's, Jack's, and plenty others floating around.
Can't have jesus as a tuner, what would legal threats to jesus be like....

Anyway it's crap to be debating this on his thread while his engine is out of action...I think we should let him be and hopefully he'll be back once he's recovered from this with an open mind. Anyone here saying I told you so won't help him right now, I think he's realised this by now and knows where it went into the danger zone.

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06 STi: 337hp @23psi on E85...
06 STi: 309hp @22psi on 98ron...

Tune aside ...... There is no tuner on earth that could make a factory 08 with a turbo this size LAST with 1.7 bar ..... Yes some might last a touch longer but we all know where its gunna end up

using the Perth-WRX mobile app

my old rex was tuned by mao at 284 + 441nm.. Drove it hard as you do with your first rex.. lasted over 3 years before a roo took it out. never showed signs of failure.. hence why i got the same car again. i did religiously check the oil and do mid service changes. everyone bagged the tune because it was reduced so much in the top end. i think thats what made it last. it was rarely if ever near the redline. i think that is where most 2.5's have probs.. high boost on high rpm. honestly id have no worries with mao tuning my car again. my 2 cents.

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06 sti

Mitch's had ring failure in the end. My MY08 so far has held up, no oil consumption of note, pushing close to 1.4 bar.

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[COLOR=Black]Liberty GT Spec B tuned 240 HP & 372 Nm at the hubs.[/COLOR] "Instead of banning high performance cars - ban low performance drivers"

At the end of the day it's forced upgrade time when it goes ... Yes sucks not having car on the road for a few weeks or months

but damn I'm glad I have the motor I have now over the stocker

using the Perth-WRX mobile app

You said that motor was using oil and needed topping up every week from memory?

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Bye bye betty blue. Hello F6.

IMO people chasing this sort of power from a stock 2.5 should look at E85 and flex tune with injectors and pump as an option before bigger turbo on stock internals .

Even forking out for an ECU with flextune capabilities would probably net around the same torque and power increases as a slightly larger turbo and injectors but the added bonus of much lower combustion temps for the power increase and the added bonus of higher octane further preventing knock issues.

The negitives of higher fuel comsumption are far outweighed by the positives and the car can be tuned for a mild increase over stock as the ethanol content lowers to BP98 giving you economy and driveability for everyday use. When its time to go for a squirt or down the drags track etc , just fill up with E85 and reek the goodness.

Out laying similar money for just new turbo pump injectors and stock ecu tune on BP 98 seems like an unnecessary risk IMO. One of the reasons I am going flex flexfuel .

Our climate has to many extreames for a two tenths tune on 98 with stock bottom end 2.5 and ecu. But remember Gordan always said he was quite aware of the risks pushing his motor to limits and past.

The tensioner failure is well known. Even from new with the motor sitting on an engine stand I have had the factory tensioner new out of the box fail. Then there is the mount it bolts to, fails the thread or the bolt brakes. It's floured with failure points.

Interesting in the RS & early wrx the series 1 tensioner never had any issues.

Yep, it was.. under prolonged hard boost it consumed.. Most likely turbo seal in my mind. mainly had to keep an eye on it after runs to and from perth. not many rexes that are driven dont consume oil at some level. even my new one will and i dont think its about to explode any time soon. its when people dont monitor the oil that things explode.

that said.. i could have been anything.. but it still ran fine.. could have lasted god knows how much longer..

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06 sti