On Friday I will take delivery of a 2009 MY10 Gen 5 Liberty GT Manual. It's an out of warranty/lease stock with 60k wearing all the depreciation that the ugliness of the MY10 attracts (when I am sitting inside it I am not looking at it am I?)...I am looking to get some mods to it, having some good previous experiences modding an MY08 WRX (
still ashamed of buying the worst Rex ever) and an MY09 Forester (the missus loves the dump, tune and many other mods to make it fun!).Having spent some time investigating with Mercury Motorsport in Brisbane on the MRT TBE and TMIC XB upgrade vs Process West TMICS and VANEX solutions for a reasonable upgrade, as well as googling and reading blogs both here and elsewhere here is a bit of what I have gleamed to date regarding the MY10 GT:
1. The Turbo is a revised VF46 (now called VF54) which is a better low end performer due to its short pipe bottom end fitment, but is hard to upgrade. It's better than a TD04, but does not have the top end of the VF52. However even going to a VF52 stretches the relatively weak pistons in the engine when tuned to the VF52 limits. Hence should stay with VF46, unless upgrading internals to a BNR 18G solution, as the new location of the turbo has not been developed all that well.
2. Standard TMIC is better than MY08 WRX or even MY09 Liberty GT to the point that with the VF46 there is little point in upgrading the TMIC as it is ok up to 230kw ATW, and with standard internals you should not go past 200kw.
3. TBE's now here's a quagmire! The MRT solution is good (it has the split flange recommended for the VF46), but bloody expensive. Varex seems to be the go though given noise flexibility vs performance gains. Still unsure here.
4. Tuning does not appear to be extensively documented other than the facts that with tune bottom & mid range are vastly improved but top end tapers off similar to an MY08 WRX (although at higher levels) with top of 186kw ATW. TBE and std turbo and internals peak at around 200kw atw max. hence looks like turbo just can't breathe at the top end.
5. Little to be found on impact of Whiteline sways and ALK, at least the DB4000's fit under wheel arches unlike in the WRX and Forester!
6. Short shifter only improves performance by 10% which is way less than previous models.
7. At the end of the day a tune maintaining stock internals will create a great GT cruiser (little power difference between 4000rpm and 6500rpm - hence low end grunt without top end rush), but it will never be a rocket ship without major internal mods.
8. No news (good or bad) ref. the 5+1 manual gearbox.
9. STD tyres are 225 width 18s, Can I get some wider tyres on std wheels? Can I get wider wheels put on with wider tyres? I know the drivetrain can handle 245 width, but just need to know how.
Please feel free to confirm or disagree with on any or all of the above with your experiences or expertise to assist me with distributing the $5k on various mods that The One Who Makes The Decisions is allowing me to spend on the car. At the moment, I am thinking the Vanex and Tune, skip the TMIC, Sways & bushes, ALK, flexible strut bar, skip the short shifter, upgrade brakes when due for swap (another 20k), upgrade tyres (and wheels if required), braided brake lines and maybe an AOS.
Looking forward for your feedback!
