New to the WRX World

[RogerSteadman]

hey everyone, y name is roger and i just purchased a 2003 subaru wrx wagon and ive always been into the tuning sene so i figured id join some forums, i did this with my old se-r spec-v but any way, my wrx already has mods done to it, and honestly i dont know what all has been done to it i just know that most of the mods were done at the factory, so thats a plus, but any way when i got the car there was no speakers and no radio in it so i had to go to best buy and get a new set up so that was my first mod done by me to the car dot know what to do next... any thing i should watch out for being a new wrx owner, any problems, anything?

[michaelwfox]

Post a picture of the engine bay and we might be able to see some of the mods for you.

Car looks great man!

[RogerSteadman]

ok heres pics of the engine bay and the exhaust

[SD_GR]

No mods are done at the factory. Your car has an exhaust, intake, BOV, and braces visible.

[michaelwfox]

Well the obvious things are:

-K&N Intake (not sure what filter that is)
-Turbo-XS BOV....not the best for our cars but with it being an 03 it's not a huge problem
-Aftermarket radiator probably Mishimoto.

I have no idea what kind of exhaust that is though.

[RogerSteadman]

well thts what the guy at the dealership told me haha, i think it has an aftermarket radiator and fans it says mihimoto on it and i dont think it came with a mishimoto radiator on it right?

[RayfieldsWRX]

+1^^^

Someone may have sold you a false bill of goods if they claimed that the car was put into that condition at the factory. A previous owner either did it, or paid someone to install them.

No sweat, the folks here can help you sort it all out!

[RogerSteadman]

the blow off valve is an HKS i do believe sorry i dont know anything about it im just saying what i see just trying to learn

[michaelwfox]

the blow off valve is an HKS i do believe sorry i dont know anything about it im just saying what i see just trying to learn

It's cool, they look exactly the same lol.

[RogerSteadman]

HKS is pretty high dollar equip right?

[michaelwfox]

In terms of cost maybe, but BOV's aren't really meant for our cars. Take a look at this thread.

"The BIG BOV thread" (Where all bov question threads get merged)

[Heide264]

Get a shot looking down at the turbo/down pipe. The down pipe is a common one and would be a consideration when looking at tunes.

If you could crawl under a bit and get a picture of where the exhaust manifold/headers attach to the uppipe, that is another common one.

[cjm1991]

It's cool, they look exactly the same lol.

It's an early hks ssqv, I've had them on 2 cars.

They have a unique sound which appeals to some people. They are a great bov when VTA on higher boost. On your car it's not necessary. Usually they make a otherwise stock vehicle run a bit rich. You'd benefit from recirculating it to the intake, it wont make the chirping sound as loud though if that matters to you.

[Mikie13]

It's an early hks ssqv, I've had them on 2 cars.

They have a unique sound which appeals to some people. They are a great bov when VTA on higher boost. On your car it's not necessary. Usually they make a otherwise stock vehicle run a bit rich. You'd benefit from recirculating it to the intake, it wont make the chirping sound as loud though if that matters to you.

Agreed the sound is subjective. I dislike the sound personally. As for "good" in quality? Not so much...do some searching and you'll find that they are pretty mechanically unreliable.

[cjm1991]

Agreed the sound is subjective. I dislike the sound personally. As for "good" in quality? Not so much...do some searching and you'll find that they are pretty mechanically unreliable.

Yeah I remember reading about them somewhere they have leaking issues.. OP needs a stock bpv or a quality recirc style valve