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Just bought used 2016 STI, found previous owner on FB, mods.

3K views 42 replies 13 participants last post by  zax 
#1 ·
Bought a 2016 STI with under 5,000 miles on it, previous owner left a receipt in the car, being curious I googled the guy and searched on Facebook. Found pics of the car on Facebook, had put an AEM intake on the car, and a blow off valve. Neither of which are still on the car.

Intake is fine, don't care about that one bit. BOV however, don't know what to make of it. Seems like sometimes they're a vanity mod (hear the whistle!), but could the guy have been pushing extra boost? Rest of the bay didn't look crazy.

His photo:
Vehicle Engine Auto part Car


Car today:
Vehicle Engine Auto part Car Subaru
 
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#3 ·
Well here are my initial thoughts from the previous owner. He obviously knew nothing about the car he had. And hopefully he had an accessport and/or a tune for that intake. The BOV on the other hand, just an awful, unacceptable modification on these cars with running a MAF based intake system. He was more than likely some ricer fanboy that wanted to sound and look cool in front of his friends/girls with having a BOV.

Unfortunately there is always a chance of doing damage to the engine when having a intake that is NOT properly tuned for. And there is no real way of telling how many miles were on the car when he put the parts on. Both parts he had (intake, bov) can cause the car to run lean, thus possibly damaging the engine. Lucky for you, the car has very low miles. So the time/milage of those mods on the car are sparse. And it appears everything is back to stock for you, also a good thing.

The only real way to ensure that your car is indeed still healthy is to have a leak down and compression test done. I would get these done asap. If you bought this from a Subaru dealership I would contact them and let them know you have proof of mods done to the car before you bought it and are worried about the health of the engine and request they perform those tests at no cost and go from there. But I think you will be just fine.

Also, congrats on your STi and welcome to CLUBwrx!
 
#7 ·
Both parts he had (intake, bov) can cause the car to run lean, thus possibly damaging the engine.

I highly doubt a BOV would make the car run lean.. maybe rich if it were leaking (which is what the SSQV is best known for), and of course rich between shifts, but that shouldn't cause any long term damage.


The intake could be a problem, I would be surprised if it was actually tuned for.. My biggest concern would be that since it looks like the previous owner didn't know/care about keeping the car running well they would also likely neglect maintenance, but the miles are low enough that they couldn't have really missed an oil change or anything.
 
#4 ·
Yeah, going to have to have a compression test done. As to the intake, didn't know about a tune being required to run those. I came from NA cars previously where you can bolt on an intake, and while you need a tune to optimize it, they weren't required. As to the BOV, yeah, it was my understanding they were not useful unless you had a fully custom ECU that accounted for them, thought they'd run rich since the ECU was dumping fuel in for air that had been vented.

Miles, well it had around 4,500 when I bought it on Saturday, so the guy couldn't have put TOO many on there. Looks like maybe 6 months at most. Appeared to be a toy.

Aside from this, I'm pretty excited. Read maximum boost cover to cover a few years ago when I was doing research on turbocharging my '03 Miata, been aching for a turbo ever since.

Car list: Probe GT (college car), Miata, GTO, G37S, now STI. All stick but the G37, GTO and Miata had minor bolt-ons, GTO a tune. Hopping into the 6-spd STI was like meeting up with an old friend.

Drove a GT-R on a track right after a Ferrari, it blew the Ferrari out of the water, right then I was bit by the AWD performance bug as well. STI is similar, just claws at the road and goes.
 
#5 ·
congrats on the new car! I would try to contact the seller and see if he/she had tuned the car. If not then you will either need to remove the intake and replace it with the stock one or have the car tuned ASAP for the AEM intake.

BOV is just a vanity mod as you expected. However, they do some harm. I would replace it with the stock oneif you have it as soon as possible, or an OEM replacement.
 
#10 ·
Ok, had a conversation with the guy on facebook, then phone.

List of mods (that are now removed):
- AEM Intake
- ETS (?) Exhaust
- HKS BOV

No tune.

Also a few cosmetic: CF lip, shift knob, bulbs (possibly) and tint of unknown legality. Upside is, he has the second key and is friendly enough to hand it over.

Also, said he sold it because among other things, prefers the EVO, ha.
 
#11 ·
Welcome. :)

Hope you got a great deal and the car wasn't abused too much.


Nothing wrong with someone preferring EVO to STi or vice-versa... However, given the previous owner's chosen mods and lack of EM for them, his pronouncements on which he prefers would be about as interesting to me as his thoughts on which "my little pony" is the best.​
 
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#13 ·
Have 5 yr old daughter, clearly Twilight Sparkle for life.

I mean, no clue about EVO. I looked around for them a bit as it made sense to cross shop, but not many around. Guess that's why its cancelled now. You can argue which car is better in theory, but the best car is the one that actually EXISTS.

Looks like i was shopping in the period after the EVO died, and before the RS arrived. Only the Golf R around, which for whatever reason didn't resonate with me. Also, wanted a proper H pattern shiftier.

Deal was good, car looks in fantastic shape, I did an oil change which could have been a bit premature but I wanted to reset that to zero so I can keep up with it on an ongoing basis.
 
#15 ·
Ha, so intake leaning out, and BOV riching out is a wash right ;)

Anyway, I for sure will do a lot of research before modding. To be honest, in terms of performance not sure that I even want to do anything out of the gate, I just want to drive it for a while and determine where I want to improve it in the first place. For me actually getting the car was the biggest mod to do.

Maybe lighter wheels, maybe go down a size to 17" since they improve everything and don't require a tune (possibly spedo calibration).

Also, research is half the fun of mods!
 
#18 ·
Welcome to the forums and also Texas. Although you probably lived here before buying the STi. lol. It looks like you're in the Houston area don't know if you know about any of the meets going on but I know that Coffee and Cars is at the Memorial City Mall on Saturday at 8am. Great group of people and it'd be nice to see more subbie's there.
 
#20 ·
There's one at Memorial City? A while ago I went to the one in Vintage Park.

Also, good looking WRX, man. One thing I've liked about the WRX over the years is the strange and potentially polarizing styling. I think the one I have is real nice and aggressive but yours is one that I think ages really well. The bugeyes are really distinctive.
 
#21 ·
I was debating between the WRX and a MKIII Supra (87-92) Found the WRX at a steal and couldn't pass it up, plus the color is one I've looked for for many years.

Thats what the meet page on fb says: https://www.facebook.com/events/290919891265214/
I've been to it before a few years ago, I had a mazda3 then though. Roughly same color as the WRX I have now, not that I think about it. lol.
 
#27 ·
Love the MKIII Supra, though my dream one would be a big power high comfort version which seemed too similar to the car I just had (a GTO)

So the dealer you got it from was aware it was modified, had him return to stock, and made no mention to you?

Non-disclosure and all that.

:nono:
Well, if I wanted to cause a stink, yeah. To be generous, what I assume (generally I assume apathy/incompetence over evil) is that brought it in to one person the first time, then another person after de-modding.

Everything seems fine, runs well. Asking for them to do a compression check on them.
 
#23 ·
Is the exhaust just a catback? If not you need to get a reflash ASAP.

I wouldn't worry too much about a few thousand miles on an intake, as the car does actively control knock. Long term though is another story. I'd probably not waste the money on a leakdown test unless you are doing it yourself. One good thing about that he didn't tune it is that the dealer will have a much harder time telling it wasn't stock. So, your warranty might still be intact.
 
#24 ·
So, met the guy this evening. Gave me the spare key and also some LED daytime running lights as irickchad noticed. They are OLM 2500 Lumens LED. Not sure what to make of them.

Got a better feel for the kinda dude, seemed to be a guy who'd buy a flavor of the month, drive for a while and then trade for something else. Had a BMW 7 in the garage when I was there. Ha, looking to sell his friend's black STI with all the mods he pulled off my car plus some.

No mechanical mods the dude put on the car are currently on the car, apparently they wouldn't let him trade it in until he returned to stock. Since the pics I inspected the car very closely, on and under, compared to stock photos I looked at from all over.

I got the impression that he had a standard list of mods he'd put on a turbo car, likely influenced by an EVO he owned previously... or his time playing Gran Toursimo. Kept talking about the HP potential of this car, or that car, whatever else. I told him, if I wanted HP, I'd have bought a Mustang, Camaro, or another GTO. Sure the STI can get more (who doesn't like more?) but this isn't a dyno queen kinda car.
 
#25 ·
Good that he followed up with you, too many sellers refuse to follow up with the buyer tis a shame. But I digress, welcome to the finicky world of turboed Subarus. Congrats on the car and I'm sure you'll mod and take care of her well!
 
#26 ·
So the dealer you got it from was aware it was modified, had him return to stock, and made no mention to you?

Non-disclosure and all that.

:nono:
 
#29 ·
Who's the previous owner? If he's on facebook, I might know him and be able to give you add'l info. I'm the admin for the 2015+ STI Owners group (feel free to join if you haven't already).
 
#31 ·
I disagree a bit with WRX-maniac, you don't need a tune for most aftermarket intakes. Now, if you were planning on a few mods then yes, find a great tuner so they are involved with the vehicles development. Also, those mods would not void the warranty. I don't think you need to piss away $300+ bucks to get a compression test done unless you want to, can do it yourself, or if the dealership will do it for free. If the BOV was not fully recirculating he probably threw a check engine light a few times. I doubt the previous owner had an access port either.

Welcome, I'm also new to the forum.
 
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#32 ·
I disagree a bit with WRX-maniac, you don't need a tune for most aftermarket intakes. .

Welcome, I'm also new to the forum.
You're not just disagreeing with WRX-Maniac, you're disagreeing with every person that actually knows what they're talking about with these cars. As a matter of fact, most aftermarket intakes now have a sticker over the MAF hole stating it needs aftermarket ECU tuning when you install it, so basically, you're dead wrong. Welcome to the forum.
 
#33 ·
And that's your opinion. Now we can argue semantics all day, but when I say tune, I'm referring to a pro-tune on a dyno. So no, I'm not dead wrong and thanks for the welcome.
 
#34 ·
Welcome.

For the sake of longevity it is in your best interest to rescale the MAFv tables when an intake is installed.

Do you have to? No. Do you risk engine damage? Yes.

What these aftermarket intakes are doing is leaning out the fuel curve by "tricking" the MAF sensor into believing it is consuming less oxygen than reality. A leaner charge produces more power (higher BMEP), but also a faster and more chaotic flame front. You risk predet -- especially with lower octane and poor quality fuels -- as well as non-linearities in your MAF scaling tables.

Given this information, would you still make the same recommendation? I would never run an intake without proper remapping.

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#35 ·
This seems like a really important discussion to have when first getting a STI. Those of us coming off NA cars, the intake and exhaust mods, simple bolt-ons benefit from tuning, but do not require (and many cars not worth the cost to tune).

Very interesting from my end.

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#38 ·
The mechanics of a MAF system is identical between an NA car and a turbo car -- the same concepts apply to a NA car. However, there is one glaring difference: MAF placement.

NA cars place the MAF back close to the throttle body where the airflow is laminar and less tip-in enrichment is required. There may be 12" or more of intake plumbing between the filter and the MAF.

With a turbocharged car, all the turbo junk is in the way forcing the MAF sensor to sit very close to the filter. This setup is much more likely to be affected by an aftermarket intake change.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
#39 ·
I appreciate your answer and tact. I also agree with remapping and learning the pluses and minuses / cause and effect.
Seems some other people are a bit sensitive and jump to assumptions. Granted, I might refer to different terminology as well. Obviously a communication issue.
I appreciate your time.
 
#40 ·
WRX-maniac:

1. I wasn't calling you out. I was not fully agreeing with you. Big difference. Nor does it mean I totally disagree with you either.
2. We probably use different terms and words have different meaning to others. Communication is always key, and I also did not provide a quality answer.
3. Was not starting a row, but your defensiveness and rant do seem concerning.
4. Kind regards and have a pleasant day.
 
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