Page 1 of 1

2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:51 pm
by Ben.E
Hi guys,

I'm recently on my Green P's and looking at buying myself a 2.5T Wagon ( as they are legal to drive in NSW for P platers) and was wondering if the EJ25DET was a good engine to get more power out of when I get onto my blacks? (Bigger turbo/ supporting mods)

I'm fairly knew to the whole car scene but now that I'm getting on towards my blacks I'd love to learn as much as I can :)

Re: 2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 7:40 am
by bigBADbenny
To an extent, read the tune FAQ link in my sig for a reality check.
It's dependant on your ability to health check the state of your tune, the effectiveness of your supporting mods, and the skill of your tuner, versus the inherent weaknesses of the stock ej255, mainly pistons/ring-lands and their intolerance to detonation.
Keep your budget and expectations realistic and you'll be fine.

Re: 2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:45 am
by TheGreatPunanski
I remember before purchasing my 07 Liberty GT TBSTI, had the Mechanic go over everything under the car, inside engine bay and testing clutch and gearbox. Everything was ok.

It was until I dug deep in the forums and came across 'Head Gasket issues'.. checked my coolant overflow tank and what do you know.. frothing/bubbly and smell of exhaust fumes.. very expensive to repair.
Strange thing was my car ran normal, no signs of overheating and temp gauge was sitting halfway..

Just something to keep in mind before buying these cars..

Re: 2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 9:13 am
by Manaz
TheGreatPunanski wrote:I remember before purchasing my 07 Liberty GT TBSTI, had the Mechanic go over everything under the car, inside engine bay and testing clutch and gearbox. Everything was ok.

It was until I dug deep in the forums and came across 'Head Gasket issues'.. checked my coolant overflow tank and what do you know.. frothing/bubbly and smell of exhaust fumes.. very expensive to repair.
Strange thing was my car ran normal, no signs of overheating and temp gauge was sitting halfway..

Just something to keep in mind before buying these cars..


The fact that a mechanic failed to find this is a worry. Checking the condition of fluids is an absolute basic check that must be done in any inspection (and you should be doing it every time you fill the car with fuel).

Not that unusual that you weren't seeing the symptoms - the problem starts small, and gets bigger over time (there's also the issue of stock temp guages basically having three readings - cold, normal and "too hot, damage already caused", with nothing worth speaking of in between. You mentioned that repairs were expensive - given the engine wasn't overheating, you shouldn't have done much damage, what exactly was done to fix the car (and please tell me the same mechanic who gave the car a good bill of health initially wasn't the one who did the work...)?

Re: 2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 6:12 pm
by bigBADbenny
Trusting mechanics and dealers... Never ever. And indeed I consider myself a student mechanic :P

Re: 2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 10:14 am
by jp928
Re the @#$%^ temp gauge - same on most cars today. Most people dont like to see temps moving around. I run an ODB-II display, and while the temp gauge never moves once hot, I have seen actual coolant temps run from 83C to 97C. Curiously, the temps seem to go higher on cool days in traffic, where in hot weather it tends to hover close to 90C. Running downhill against the engine can pull it down near 80C sometimes. Also interesting to watch the intake air temp rise once you slow down in traffic - seen up over 80C due to heat soak.

jp 08 GTB 6mt wagon

Re: 2.5T Good Starting Car?

PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 4:07 am
by TheGreatPunanski
Manaz wrote:
TheGreatPunanski wrote:I remember before purchasing my 07 Liberty GT TBSTI, had the Mechanic go over everything under the car, inside engine bay and testing clutch and gearbox. Everything was ok.

It was until I dug deep in the forums and came across 'Head Gasket issues'.. checked my coolant overflow tank and what do you know.. frothing/bubbly and smell of exhaust fumes.. very expensive to repair.
Strange thing was my car ran normal, no signs of overheating and temp gauge was sitting halfway..

Just something to keep in mind before buying these cars..


The fact that a mechanic failed to find this is a worry. Checking the condition of fluids is an absolute basic check that must be done in any inspection (and you should be doing it every time you fill the car with fuel).

Not that unusual that you weren't seeing the symptoms - the problem starts small, and gets bigger over time (there's also the issue of stock temp guages basically having three readings - cold, normal and "too hot, damage already caused", with nothing worth speaking of in between. You mentioned that repairs were expensive - given the engine wasn't overheating, you shouldn't have done much damage, what exactly was done to fix the car (and please tell me the same mechanic who gave the car a good bill of health initially wasn't the one who did the work...)?



Apologies for late reply haven't logged in for months, it's all good.. car is no longer in my possession, I sold the car around 7 months ago lol :wink: