2008 tbSTI Owner

[Remnofski]

Hey everyone,

I just picked up my 08 tbsti 10 days ago and cannot get the grin off my face! It is a change from my 2000 GC8 WRX thats for sure! First of all I never knew cars could be this quiet and still punch you in the back of the head! (Have to admit the silence is a bit un-nerving!)

This is going to be a daily driver/family car/I will not be ashamed to drive the car around. So the mods will be basic, not going for better lap times or thinking my street car is awesome because I have $3000 worth of Coilovers which will not be used to there potential. I will be seeking a bit more sound from the exhaust both for the warm and fuzzies it give you when you punch it and the flow of the engine, and a tune to remove that horrible attempt at a tune Subaru have installed. Any help with this would be great!I am hearing good things and bad things about Ecutek, can someone give me a good reason it would not be worth it?

I have seen mention of a 3 Port Boost Solenoid, as I am new to the Liberty and new WRX side of things what will that give me?

Thanks for your help and look forward to updating you on what is happening!

[peadya100]

Welcome

The main reason people dont like EcuTek is that it locks your computer.. and costs HUGE money to unlock it. If for any reason the tuner that used ecutek doesnt do a good job, youre then forced to find another tuner that used it.. and there arent too many. Its up to you of course, but i would steer clear of it if its an option. I see youre in brisbane, so your best bet would be to ask people on the forum from that area who the best tuners are - there are many bad ones around aus.

[senator]

Contact a member here Coyote about a tune.

Best bang for your buck:
Tbe
Revalved OE shocks for lower and firmer springs
Sway bars
Tune

If the budget allows:
Vf52
Tmic
Fuel pump injectors
E85 tune

[Remnofski]

Hey guys, thank you for your reply, that info about the tune if great. I guess just a Flash tune would be fine. I've read up on the 3 Port Solenoid and it seems to give the Tuner a better platform to tune from is that correct?

Also in regards to the mods as I said I am not going to shave times so sway bars might be overkill for a family street car. Re-valving the shocks could be a go, I would love the car to sit and inch lower than it is right now! As for the other power mods, that would not be happening unless this became my car full time and we had the spare cash. As a family car I want to keep it simple, reliable and comfortable.

I am waiting for a spare moment to take some pics and post it up!

[peadya100]

Hey guys, thank you for your reply, that info about the tune if great. I guess just a Flash tune would be fine. I've read up on the 3 Port Solenoid and it seems to give the Tuner a better platform to tune from is that correct?

Also in regards to the mods as I said I am not going to shave times so sway bars might be overkill for a family street car. Re-valving the shocks could be a go, I would love the car to sit and inch lower than it is right now! As for the other power mods, that would not be happening unless this became my car full time and we had the spare cash. As a family car I want to keep it simple, reliable and comfortable.

I am waiting for a spare moment to take some pics and post it up!

My tuner didnt recommend getting the 3 port when i only had the turbo back exhaust and the turbo inlet.. although some other tuners do like you to have it. Now that im changing the turbo that same tuner did recommend getting one. Its really up to you, but theyre only $100 so it probably wouldnt hurt getting one.

The bilsteins are great out of the box for a daily driven car. Depending on how many kms your car has i wouldnt think youd need to revalve them until later in their life.

If you want to lower the car by an inch, Tein make a good spring thats not too expensive, although the STi pink springs are a nice spring if you can learn to deal with the ride height.

[Newbie GT]

Hey guys, thank you for your reply, that info about the tune if great. I guess just a Flash tune would be fine. I've read up on the 3 Port Solenoid and it seems to give the Tuner a better platform to tune from is that correct?

Also in regards to the mods as I said I am not going to shave times so sway bars might be overkill for a family street car. Re-valving the shocks could be a go, I would love the car to sit and inch lower than it is right now! As for the other power mods, that would not be happening unless this became my car full time and we had the spare cash. As a family car I want to keep it simple, reliable and comfortable.

I am waiting for a spare moment to take some pics and post it up!

My tuner didnt recommend getting the 3 port when i only had the turbo back exhaust and the turbo inlet.. although some other tuners do like you to have it. Now that im changing the turbo that same tuner did recommend getting one. Its really up to you, but theyre only $100 so it probably wouldnt hurt getting one.

The bilsteins are great out of the box for a daily driven car. Depending on how many kms your car has i wouldnt think youd need to revalve them until later in their life.

If you want to lower the car by an inch, Tein make a good spring thats not too expensive, although the STi pink springs are a nice spring if you can learn to deal with the ride height.

Interesting does the 3 port really need doing what advantages does it have ? I was told not needed by MRT I know but I got ECUTEK :/

And I was told that upgrading a turbo does not decrease engine life or reliability if tuned correctly.. Vf52 that would be

[Manaz]

The 3-port boost control solenoid allows more precise control of boost.

Prodrive (who ran the factory Subaru rally cars) used them. MRT (who didn't run the factory Subaru rally cars) apparently don't see the need.

[Remnofski]

The 3-port boost control solenoid allows more precise control of boost.

Prodrive (who ran the factory Subaru rally cars) used them. MRT (who didn't run the factory Subaru rally cars) apparently don't see the need.

Perfect, that sounds like a go then. Also is there a problem with the stock BOV? I see a fair number of people going after market, any reason or just chasing noise? I know in high boost applications a good BOV has main pros but in a car that will only see 16 psi at the most after the tune I am not sure.

[Remnofski]

Hey guys, thank you for your reply, that info about the tune if great. I guess just a Flash tune would be fine. I've read up on the 3 Port Solenoid and it seems to give the Tuner a better platform to tune from is that correct?

Also in regards to the mods as I said I am not going to shave times so sway bars might be overkill for a family street car. Re-valving the shocks could be a go, I would love the car to sit and inch lower than it is right now! As for the other power mods, that would not be happening unless this became my car full time and we had the spare cash. As a family car I want to keep it simple, reliable and comfortable.

I am waiting for a spare moment to take some pics and post it up!

My tuner didnt recommend getting the 3 port when i only had the turbo back exhaust and the turbo inlet.. although some other tuners do like you to have it. Now that im changing the turbo that same tuner did recommend getting one. Its really up to you, but theyre only $100 so it probably wouldnt hurt getting one.

The bilsteins are great out of the box for a daily driven car. Depending on how many kms your car has i wouldnt think youd need to revalve them until later in their life.

If you want to lower the car by an inch, Tein make a good spring thats not too expensive, although the STi pink springs are a nice spring if you can learn to deal with the ride height.

Those Bilsteins are amazing to be honest. Great over bumps but can handle with the big guys. (To a level of course, starts to feel like a boat when thrown through a corner) I will have a look at those Teins, I have full Tein coilovers in my WRX so I have a lot of love for Tein. Would not like to drop more than an inch. That front lip is pretty low!

[Manaz]

Perfect, that sounds like a go then. Also is there a problem with the stock BOV? I see a fair number of people going after market, any reason or just chasing noise? I know in high boost applications a good BOV has main pros but in a car that will only see 16 psi at the most after the tune I am not sure.

A BOV is required - Subaru wouldn't include one stock if it wasn't.

That said, the stock one isn't the best - it's a basic design, and doesn't react quickly. I've gone for the Turbosmart Kompact full plumb-back model. For noise, most people go with an atmospheric venting model. However - atmospheric-venting BOVs are illegal (they fail emissions rules), they can also cause issues because they're positioned after the MAF, and MAF has already measured the air in the intake system at the time they vent - if you vent to atmosphere, there's less air in the intake system than the ECU thinks, and you'll run rich for a bit (dirty exhaust, you'll lose power).

[bass_straitener]

Boost on a stock Lib is about 13psi. Most tuned Libs will run about 17.5 with a VF46.

The stock BOV on a facelift model is known to leak at about 15psi as a safety feature.

That's the thought behind going aftermarket.

[MumblesOfficial]

S-techs will give you about an inch drop. Iv got them in mine and it only scrapes the exhaust on really steep driveways and speed bumps

[alexeiwoody]

Welcome! From what you've said, you don't really need an aftermarket bov... As bruce said std leaks at 15psi, but as it does it's job below, and you won't notice any gains anyway, it can be left as the last thing to do, if you want. On the other hand Senator's post has hit the nail on the head. Definitely give Coyote a pm also, for best money-to-kw-properly-done-BAM!

[alexeiwoody]

The 3-port boost control solenoid allows more precise control of boost.

Prodrive (who ran the factory Subaru rally cars) used them. MRT (who didn't run the factory Subaru rally cars) apparently don't see the need.

Perfect, that sounds like a go then. Also is there a problem with the stock BOV? I see a fair number of people going after market, any reason or just chasing noise? I know in high boost applications a good BOV has main pros but in a car that will only see 16 psi at the most after the tune I am not sure.

Check out senator's post again. He actually built a beast. You don't need a 3 port. Waste of money. The preciseness of it is up to the tune, if your tuner has attention to detail a 3 port can't beat a 2 port. Hence waste of money and time. Up to you though.

I would caution against taking advice from people who haven't ever built a racecar. Reading posts here that an atmospheric venting bov causes the car to run rich and that loses power?? Running rich means you have more parts of fuel to parts of air which would result in more power. Also a bov doesn't quite work like that.

Running rich or lean depends on tune, not on any bolt on. Haha sorry I couldn't hold back! Goodluck mate

[Remnofski]

Thanks for all the help guys, I will give Coyote a PM and see what he suggests. I guess since I have just got the car I am still tossing up what can and can't be done with the car. I will speak with my tuner and see what he can do and go from there.