New to Subaru.. SWP Hatch on order

[Whap Whap]

Hello all,
Just placed an order for a SWP WRX hatch, limited package. Coming from an '02 Audi A4 quattro, that I babied for the past 10 years, until it was totaled in an ugly accident last month. Now that I've taken 3 weeks to grieve, I pulled the trigger on the WRX this morning. I've loved subies since the bug-eye generation, and very happy to get into a new WRX hatch.

Ordered with a few extras to satisfy my mod bug for the time being, STI short throw was thrown in for free, cargo net, Sirius radio, homelink mirror.

Maybe you guys could answer a few questions i have
whats the regular "Break-in period"? 500-1,000 miles of coddled driving?
What coil over kit is popular (under $900 i hope)
any exhaust recommendations? something just a tad louder/throatier than stock. axel back most likely not looking for any crazy power gains)
Looking at a set of rota grids with a nice deep concave whats the lowest offset this car can hold on lowered suspension?

Pics and stats on the Audi:
Bored out to 2.0 liter
Garett "eliminator" turbo kit
ER Frontmount intercooler
Decorsa Exhaust w/ ER downpipe
REVO tuning
Stasis Race Coilovers
Privat "Kup" Wheels and VMR RS4 wheels custom painted Bronze

[SubiEj255]

Sick ride bro. Congrats on the WRX purchase. You're very welcomed here and we will try to answer your questions to help you the best we can.

As for the break in period, it has been highly debated. Some say a break in isn't required. Reason being when you baby the car, you don't seat the internals properly, therefore possibly causing oil consumption. Others say different. When I first got my wrx I didn't baby it. I didn't drive 10mph all over the road, but I wasn't scared to hit the gas either. Again, some may disagree with this. You have to just search around and put together what seems logical.

As for coils, if you were to get any coils for under $900 brand new its not going to be a good product. You get what you pay for with them. Generally people seem to love BC; they get high reviews, but I've read that they are most likely from people who haven't owned a nice set of them. Again idk how they know this, but it seems to be true. Why coils? You do plan on "auto x'in" the car? Will they be for lowering purposes only?
If no both of those questions, springs and struts might be better for you.

As for an axel back, it's not really a HUGE difference in brands there. They are all relatively the same. Many people have nameless ones and are happy with them.

Hope I answered everything. Remember to just look around, you'll find plenty of info on here. What you don't find ask us. That's what we are here for..... Enjoy the car bro.

[Whap Whap]

Thanks for the quick response!. Going to do some research on the break in period, thanks.

As for the coils, i agree, you get what you pay for. I did a good amount of auto-x with the audi, and the stasis coils i had on there were not cheap, but i absolutely loved them. Not going to do any racing with the scooby, but i do like the option to adjust the height/dampening. maybe just springs/shocks this time around. if anyone has recommendation in this category it would be much appreciated

[subiebk]

get the spt cbe. not too loud and you get a deep,boxer rumble sound. I love mine.

[Calvinball]

Go ahead and do some research, but personally I have never seen actual empirical data suggesting that the "hard" break-in is any better/worse than the recommended. Therefore I stuck with what the people who built the car told me to do:

1000 miles: Drive calmly for the first 1,000 miles and vary your driving with a normal mix of city and highway.

Avoid hard starts and stops.
Avoid over-revving the engine, try to keep RPMs under 4000.
Vary your speeds over the full range of city and highway driving
Don't use cruise control much, if at all.
City and freeway driving is fine because that will vary the speeds

[SubiEj255]

get the spt cbe. not too loud and you get a deep,boxer rumble sound. I love mine.

SPT catback is nice, but it's to flaws I've noticed. One it's 2.5 inches and 2 it's very expensive. Although catbacks with dual mufflers are. If you don't mind that good for it. I have an SPT catback, but will be switching to a 3" soon.

[jsBLwrx]

Since you are coming from an Audi with a nice silky and smooth reving motor, be prepared to go stage1 or 2 right after your break-in, not to mention sway bars and end links..... I was thinking the same about the engine mods, warranty and blah blah blah, but the stock tune absolutely sucked and horrid :banghead:

Oh, sorry and welcome

[Zman13]

I always follow the break in instructions from the Manufacturer! ^As explained above..

[Whap Whap]

Since you are coming from an Audi with a nice silky and smooth reving motor, be prepared to go stage1 or 2 right after your break-in, not to mention sway bars and end links..... I was thinking the same about the engine mods, warranty and blah blah blah, but the stock tune absolutely sucked and horrid :banghead:

Oh, sorry and welcome

I modded the Audi so heavily, I'm going to keep it relatively quiet with the scoob. I left the Audi with only 200hp, so the 265hp stock on the Rex is plenty for me. Will certainly be doing some suspension mods (coils or springs and sways) and a few other cosmetics. Thanks everyone for the input, it is much appreciated to come to a forum as a newbie and receive such a warm welcome.

Still open to suggestions on coils/springs, and short ****er options!

[11blackwrx]

congrats on the car