2008 TBSTI auto more power or save for 2011 WRX premium?

[unisafe]

Hey good people.
Recently got my Liberty TBSTI in an unmolested state, well looked after with low Kms.. but now I own it. ..
Basically, I want that feeling were you get thrown back in your seat.
Do you people think for example an XB kit from MRT or similar would give me that kick on the guts and sub 5.5 0-100..
Or should I just save my pennies and get a 2011-> wrx down the line?

I do like my car.. it's basically the perfect second hand car condition wise.. but if my previous bomb didn't die, I probably would have saved for the 2011- wrx..
hmm.
Suggestions, feedback are very welcome.
Maybe I should be great for what I have.. most likely. .
Cheers

[jslayz]

Auto or manual WRX?

[unisafe]

I believe the WRX from 2011-2013 only came in manual.
I don't think I could afford the new Gen haha

[THE SpecB]

Hey good people.
Recently got my Liberty TBSTI in an unmolested state, well looked after with low Kms.. but now I own it. ..
Basically, I want that feeling were you get thrown back in your seat.
Do you people think for example an XB kit from MRT or similar would give me that kick on the guts and sub 5.5 0-100..
Or should I just save my pennies and get a 2011-> wrx down the line?

I do like my car.. it's basically the perfect second hand car condition wise.. but if my previous bomb didn't die, I probably would have saved for the 2011- wrx..
hmm.
Suggestions, feedback are very welcome.
Maybe I should be great for what I have.. most likely. .
Cheers

What is your Liberty auto or manual?

[kiwigene]

Topic title says it's an auto.

If you like the car I suggest you keep it. If you haven't had it tuned, then that's the first thing.
The car will feel significantly better. It's then relatively inexpensive to mildly mod it to get the rush you're looking for.
You don't have to pay MRT money to get that...

[shav]

I would source parts elsewhere than pay MRT prices. Can get the same results for significantly less. Up to you though if you want that fuzzy feeling of paying more.

It also depends on if you intend on keeping this car or eventually upgrading to the wrx later on. If upgrading is still on the agenda, I wouldn't spend money on the TBSTI. They are probably worth more in their unmolested state.

If the TBSTI is the car of your dreams, then spend away.

My 2c.

[alexeiwoody]

Hey good people.
Recently got my Liberty TBSTI in an unmolested state, well looked after with low Kms.. but now I own it. ..
Basically, I want that feeling were you get thrown back in your seat.
Do you people think for example an XB kit from MRT or similar would give me that kick on the guts and sub 5.5 0-100..
Or should I just save my pennies and get a 2011-> wrx down the line?

I do like my car.. it's basically the perfect second hand car condition wise.. but if my previous bomb didn't die, I probably would have saved for the 2011- wrx..
hmm.
Suggestions, feedback are very welcome.
Maybe I should be great for what I have.. most likely. .
Cheers

You want to be thrown back in your seat. There is one problem. You have an auto.

The torque converter comes on smooth, and no torque is lost on gear changes. You never get to feel the rough/hard changes that the manual Soobie gets. Compared to a manual - the auto (5EAT) is faster 0-100, but it doesn't feel as impressive. When someone changes gears in a manual, the car goes from no torque to full torque and it will always kick you back harder than the smooth auto.

You could get a bigger kick out of the auto if you let off the throttle, change gears, then floor the throttle again. It will make the car slower, but kicks you back harder...

On to things to make the car faster
1. Tune. Kido or MSR do a decent auto tune. From experience one is cheaper (road tune) and the other is more thorough (dyno tune), so it depends how far you wish to take the car. Not all tuners can tune the auto properly, and as far as value for money MRT does not get a very good rep on Subaru forums. They do have a very nice website though...
2. In order of descending value for money (kw/$): Remove milk bottle resonator from air box (free). Dump pipe. Silicon turbo inlet. TMIC. Cat back exhaust. BOV. 3 port ebcs. - You'll be slightly faster than 2008-2011 WRX/Stis. Probably reached the point of diminishing returns on $$ spent.
3? Injectors/ fuel pump + E85. You'll get the kick you were after. (E85 is a bit of a wild card on on stock engines... Quite a few blowing headgaskets even on built engines. Recommend running ARP2000 or even better 625+ head studs).
3. Fuel pump. Turbo upgrade. Should provide a nice kick and much stronger all around the power band. Definitely reached the point of diminishing returns (especially on auto). Focus on suspension/handling/braking mods.

Anything more (and even any turbo over vf52 size, can reduce the engine service life significantly, but you'll have a 5 second 0-100 car with that turbo) and you're really pushing that stock engine. Save up for forged pistons/ported heads/cams/built gear box etc.

[THE SpecB]

Good advice from Alexi. Alexi the vf52 I was told puts low strain on the engines like the vf46 is this correct?

[shav]

Alexei speaks truth. Concur with his thoughts entirely

[GONEWALKABOUT]

to add my 2 cents. The build quality in the lib that you have seems to be a bit better than the wrx's, perhaps to save on costs. My parents had an 2011 wrx and after 2 years (32,000km) the back shelf was rattling according to the rpm. However they do feel quite good off the shelf to drive, more snappy than the lib. Definitely would also need money chucked at it for the kick back in the seat though.

[HardwareBoB]

Tune, dump, silicon inlet/throttlebody/post maf, catch can.
This will give you best bang for your buck and make the car a LOT better.

.. just be careful not to keep hunting more power and mods, it can get quite severe

[unisafe]

Thanks for the info' alexeiwoody.
Very informative. I did suspect having the auto would lessen that effect. With that information, I may just try a mild mods/tune and see how I like that. I know I definitely want the exhaust modified so I can actually hear it, as stock it's pretty tame even if it has STI bits.
I reckon the 2011 onwards wrx is what I'm longing for performance/appearance wise, but as a cruiser/daily my TBSTI is pretty nice.
If I still have the urge for more performance after a few basic mods, I'll guess I'll have to bite the bullet and accept the Wrx. Ha
I love this forum, you blokes definitely know your shit.