So i have a little over 2,000 miles on my new baby and i have been itching to get some mods/tuning done for it. After talking with people and getting thoughts and opinions the general talk is waiting a bit so you can actually notice what the mods have done for your car. I was planning on getting a stage 1 cobb upgrade to start. What is everyone's thoughts as far as companies to buy from and upgrades under the $1000 mark. I really would like to get a intake and a bov. I'm new to the tuning game as well so any thoughts are appreciated.
2017 wrx mods and thoughts
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You're wasting your money on an intake, it performs well enough. (I've read it should handle nearly 400whp). The BOV is even worse of an option for modifying. To put it simply, the ECU is measuring the air that flows in and out of the turbo system at all times. When you allow air to go to the atmosphere that the ECU is expecting to recirculate, you're causing a rich air/fuel mixture. You can research the effects of that. If you want "mods", keep them cosmetic for I'd say atleast 5k miles; personally I'm going 10k miles before tuning. If you go tuning/modding stuff and mess something up it'll be beyond costly when your warranty claim is denied. You should do some more reading on this forum, you'll see this is the trend. In addition, there are a plethora of build threads and questions answered just like this that will provide more information than you can absorb. Good luck.
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I'd keep the stock BOV.
MaPerformance.com has some good package deals with the Cobb PA.
MaPerformance.com has some good package deals with the Cobb PA.
If you're gonna do any performance mods pick up a Cobb Access Port. Even the Stage 1 OTS is better than the stock feel imo. Some will say stay stock until your warranty runs out but if you're itching, jump.
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If you ask me, I would find it impossible to and don't know anyone who would want to wait to modify a car and wait 3 years or 36,000 miles to do so... I'd get so bored of the vehicle way before then. I use to have the same thought process but if you ask me its not worth it to wait. Just do what makes you happy. Live life on the edge and learn from your mistakes. You never know, you could wake up tomorrow morning and a dump truck plows into your car. (a bit extreme but I digress)
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It's not unheard of to see a dead WRX/STI under 36k. You willing to shell out the 8+k to repair it when it fails?
I'd ride it out for a few years, then decide. The blow off valve is a waste in my opinion, it's money that could be spent elsewhere that makes an actual difference. They also tend to make the vehicle run rich because they dump metered air out into the atmosphere. That and there are a ton of crap ones out there that leak or don't work properly in some aspect.
Common first mods are things like turbo back exhaust, tgv deletes, intake, Cobb AP. I mean your wallet is the limit.
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Thanks for all the responses guys, I apprciate the feedback. I'm not planning on any mods until after I pass my warranty because I feel it's just silly to waste a good warranty. I will do some.more searching on here and some reading and see where I land.
Keep your stock parts if you do mod before it ends. Find a local tuner / install shop through the forums that is trustworthy (in NJ we have AZP Installs) and talk to them. In the meantime work on ICE, exterior, suspension, and wheels.
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I went Cobb stage 1 at 300 miles. I'm currently at 600 miles. As soon as I hit 1000 the Cobb turbo back exhaust/stage 2 91 octane tune is going in (and I run 93 octane for safety). I'll leave the performance mods at that. I've read of too many issues with intakes- even the Cobb one. It seems this motor is extremely sensitive to intake mods.
I'll also add: If the motor pops, I'll be getting a short block from MAPerformance for $3000 and put it in myself. I don't know why you would spend $8-10k at a dealership for a new stock motor.
I'll also add: If the motor pops, I'll be getting a short block from MAPerformance for $3000 and put it in myself. I don't know why you would spend $8-10k at a dealership for a new stock motor.
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Because it's infinitely more reliable. A built short block is great for surviving huge power for a short amount of time and typically last 10k or less. Built blocks are terrible for low power applications where they offer no benefit and only last 10k
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Call whatever you want. I'm just giving you facts. A built short block lasts nowhere as long as factory and usually is dead around 10k miles and is completely unnecessary for anything but holding big power
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It's not an absolute, but an OEM shortblock will generally be more reliable than an aftermarket shortblock at OEM power.
He's correct, and given that both XJ and myself work professionally in manufacturing, we know a thing or two.
The reason for this is that FHI has invested quite a lot of capital in production jigs and fixtures that can achieve much more repeatable tolerances than what an aftermarket shop can generally achieve. Again, this statement is susceptible to plenty of counter-examples, but is true on the whole. BTW, this is generally more applicable to boxer motors since the tolerances to build the motor are much tighter than standard inline motors.
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There are tons of things that go into making an engine reliable. One of the major factors is the fit of the parts, and the surface finish of the moving parts.
For instance. Let's say I'm cutting a punch for a transmission spring. There is about .01ish tolerance on the fit, of the die and the punch. Now, I can hold that all day long on my lathe, but because of how the parts interact it would seize almost instantly.
Same idea happens for things like bearing surfaces, cylinder bore and piston. A piston is sized so that when the engine reaches operating temperature the cylinders seal properly. When you changed to forged pistons the expansion rate changes compared to what was engineered to begin with. This means piston to wall clearances are much more open allowing piston slap and blowby until the engine is at temperature, and or under heavy load. You also have a tolerance for the perpedicuarity of the cylinder bores. Many companied bore them from the deck, when in reality they need to be bored perpendicular to the bearing surfaces for the crank so the pistons are moving in as close to a straight line as possible. If your pistons are moving laterally there will be excessive wear on the cylinders and that causes loss of compression and a dead block.
The cylinder wall finish is also important and takes more than. Just hitting it with a hone to look scored. There is an surface finish call out to ensure that it's smooth enough to seal against the ring, but has enough to wear in the ring to the shape of the bore.
I've been spending much time on the topic of building my car. There is much information on this as why built engines don't survive as long when built. Several of our own members here can attest to the shortened life.
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For instance. Let's say I'm cutting a punch for a transmission spring. There is about .01ish tolerance on the fit, of the die and the punch. Now, I can hold that all day long on my lathe, but because of how the parts interact it would seize almost instantly.
Same idea happens for things like bearing surfaces, cylinder bore and piston. A piston is sized so that when the engine reaches operating temperature the cylinders seal properly. When you changed to forged pistons the expansion rate changes compared to what was engineered to begin with. This means piston to wall clearances are much more open allowing piston slap and blowby until the engine is at temperature, and or under heavy load. You also have a tolerance for the perpedicuarity of the cylinder bores. Many companied bore them from the deck, when in reality they need to be bored perpendicular to the bearing surfaces for the crank so the pistons are moving in as close to a straight line as possible. If your pistons are moving laterally there will be excessive wear on the cylinders and that causes loss of compression and a dead block.
The cylinder wall finish is also important and takes more than. Just hitting it with a hone to look scored. There is an surface finish call out to ensure that it's smooth enough to seal against the ring, but has enough to wear in the ring to the shape of the bore.
I've been spending much time on the topic of building my car. There is much information on this as why built engines don't survive as long when built. Several of our own members here can attest to the shortened life.
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I've got the COBB turbo back with the resonator and I think the system sounds great!
Adding the additional J Pipe really gave the sound a much better gurgle. I feel with just a catback the noise isn't really anything but a civic on steroids
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