Warranty vs. Fun

[Darty]

So, I got a 08 sti that is extremely fun to drive, but the more I drive it and get used to the power I find myself wanting more. But pretty much any performance mod I add will void the warranty. I'm the type of person that has never owned a stock vehicle for more then a month without doing your basics: intake, exhaust, programmer, etc. and the only warranted mods that Subaru sells is a intake that they have not made for the 08's yet and an cat-back exhaust the has been on back order since the car was released, plus I don't really care for the sound of 4 bangers w/ loud exhaust.

The mods I’m thinking about is a 3" downpipe w/ highflow cat, and programmer, together I’m 'supposed' to get about 50-60 hp at the wheels. At a cost of about $1200 and a voided warranty.

Opinions welcome.

[texan_idiot25]

50 hp at the wheels sounds reasonable... But of course, gotta have stickers ya know!

Plus, cars are engineered these days to break down after the warranty expires, it's pretty much useless.

[Darty]

Nah, no stickers, 4 tail pipes and a hood scoop is flashly enough for me.

And my warranty is only 36k so i hope the car last longer then that.

[WhiteMKIV]

Originally Posted by Darty

Nah, no stickers, 4 tail pipes and a hood scoop is flashly enough for me.

And my warranty is only 36k so i hope the car last longer then that.

Its Japanese it will lol

[ling427ttvette]

Here's what you do.

Do bolt on mods, keep the stock parts.

If the car breaks, take off said bolt on mods and replace with stock parts. Call dealership, get car fixed under warranty. Put bolt ons back on after getting car back.

Of course if you do this, do easy things to take apart. Like a programmer and an intake would be extremely easy.

Hell, why don't you do a bunch of suspension mods? Lower it a little, make that thing carve the corners like crazy.. that would help balance things out a little.

[fordman239]

you cant put on bolt on mods and have it break down and take it to the dealer with stock parts becuz the computer will pick up any mod you do to it. i know a guy who knows a guy who did this to his 3500 chevy dually with a ton of mods and when he broke down and put on all the stock parts, he took it to the dealer and they said the EXACT mods he did to it and it voided the warranty so it cost him money to get it fixed. dont do that.

[suicide_star]

Here's my justification...

The warranty is for 36K miles...for the time being i'd save up and get all the parts you're wanting and throw them in the closet...it doesn't take long to put 36K on a car, i havent even had my truck a year and i got almost 20K on it. but anyways, when it hits 36K go back into the closet and you got aftermarket galore and a weekend of fun! i'll help you put em on, we can take pics i don't think the computer can track all your performance parts eric. what that dude should have did was put all the OEM equipment back on with the battery disconnected...start it up, let it idle for 15-20 minutes, then bring it in. but back on topic, as far as looking at the big picture...if you can afford an STI you should be able to afford to fix it

[fordman239]

in every car there is a computer, thats common knowledge, and this guy had crazy mods on it. maybe the computer wont pick up intake or exaust, but it very well may pick up a programmer or super charger, or something similar, but i agree with suicide, buy all the parts you want/need and put them away, or save ur money and buy them all when you want to put them on. if you are confident in ur car, you wont feel bad voiding the warranty.

[jimmythekid1]

I personally think 3" exhaust would be a little over kill, but I don't know if it would hurt any thing I'm not a big performance guy.

As far as the computer being able to tell if the car has any performance bolt on parts I doubt it. The computer just interprets data and controls out puts nothing more. A good tech maybe able to read the computers currant data and figure out that some aftermarket part maybe bolted on but only while its still on. There are no codes for aftermarket parts being installed.

[fordman239]

well, i think differently about the exaust, 3" is nothing compared to the 5's and 6's ive seen on civics and rsx's.

[suicide_star]

Originally Posted by fordman239

well, i think differently about the exaust, 3" is nothing compared to the 5's and 6's ive seen on civics and rsx's.

the 3" they're referring to is the piping from the cat, back...the 5" mufflers you see on cars is just the outlet, the inlet is probably close to 2.5" or so...but i don't think a 3" exhaust would yield that big of a difference...backpressure isn't that big of an issue on 4cyl

edit: just read it again...hes talking about upgrading the pipe before the cat....hmmm...

[Darty]

ya, the 3" is the down pipe only, from the turbo to the stock catback (it comes with a new cat). The large dia. helps the exhaust flow thuogh the wicked bend right out the turbo, alowing it to spool quicker then the small stock one. But for the most power you just put a cut out after the turbo, cuz the turbo gives the engin all the back pressure it needs.

And the way they catch u with bolt-ons is not always computer related, most of the time when u put a wrench on a car it leaves tool marks, if all the bolts on my stock turbo-back exhaust have shiny spot on them and the header bolts are evenly rusty, they'll know something was changed.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by suicide_star

the 3" they're referring to is the piping from the cat, back...the 5" mufflers you see on cars is just the outlet, the inlet is probably close to 2.5" or so...but i don't think a 3" exhaust would yield that big of a difference...backpressure isn't that big of an issue on 4cyl

edit: just read it again...hes talking about upgrading the pipe before the cat....hmmm...

Backpressure is somewhat needed. It's more about velocity and getting the stuff to exit fast over free flowing. Remember, you can upgrade everything, but the stock CAT can still be a major restriction.

EDIT:
Forgot it's a Turbo B-4... Restriction is less power..

Originally Posted by Darty

So, I got a 08 sti that is extremely fun to drive, but the more I drive it and get used to the power I find myself wanting more. But pretty much any performance mod I add will void the warranty. I'm the type of person that has never owned a stock vehicle for more then a month without doing your basics: intake, exhaust, programmer, etc. and the only warranted mods that Subaru sells is a intake that they have not made for the 08's yet and an cat-back exhaust the has been on back order since the car was released, plus I don't really care for the sound of 4 bangers w/ loud exhaust.

The mods I’m thinking about is a 3" downpipe w/ highflow cat, and programmer, together I’m 'supposed' to get about 50-60 hp at the wheels. At a cost of about $1200 and a voided warranty.

Opinions welcome.

First off, your driving a STI, YOU DONT HAVE WARRANTY! Dealers are the biggest ****ing warranty hogs ever on wrx's and sti's you can basically kiss your warranty good by on any mechanical failure. they will find some way to blame it on abuse because 99% of the time it is abuse. So do the smart thing. Go sell your warranty back to the dealer right now. they will cut you a check and give you a couple grand to forfit your warranty. Do this before u get denyed on soemthing, cuz then your screwed. Go blow your warranty money on mods, and just fix your car when you break it.

and do you realise your driving a subaru? have you ever heard these things with exhaust? they dont sound like a honda, they sound like a v8 muscle car with a nice loppy cam more than a ricer.

Originally Posted by jimmythekid1

I personally think 3" exhaust would be a little over kill, but I don't know if it would hurt any thing I'm not a big performance guy.

As far as the computer being able to tell if the car has any performance bolt on parts I doubt it. The computer just interprets data and controls out puts nothing more. A good tech maybe able to read the computers currant data and figure out that some aftermarket part maybe bolted on but only while its still on. There are no codes for aftermarket parts being installed.

3" on a turbo car, specially a subaru is pretty much the bare minimum you want to run. 4" is even better on some higher HP applications. Back pressure is a killer in turbo cars. open that sucker up.



im a subaru tuner, enthusiast, and pretty much eat sleep and **** subaru lol. If you have any problems with that 08, just send me a pm, ill help ya out way more than a dealer ever will.

and go for a 4" down pipe, trust me.

[jimmythekid1]

I'm going to guess the fact that sti's are turboed is comman knowledged in subie world. But I did not knwo that it was turbo.

yes wrx and sti's are turbo'ed, thats common knowlegde, and they are very fast for factory vehicals.

More common knowlege, any new age subaru you see with a hood scoop is turboed, and is very quick. yes foresters, legacys, bajas or whatever, if its scooped, its turboed.

theres only a couple little exceptions to that rule for subarus back in the 90's.

[texan_idiot25]

Jimmy is old school.

[Darty]

Hey SPR, is there a perticular brand for after market part u perfer.
Right now i'm looking at:

COBB 3" DOWNPIPE or INVIDIA 4" DOWNPIPE

and

Cobb AccessPORT

And is it worth getting the PERRIN TURBO INLET HOSE

the invidia 4" would be my choice.

but honestly ebay downpipes are every bit as good for way less money. Might think about that.

but if you have hte money, and want to stick with name brand, cobb and perrin are the only route i would go.

the access port is sweet and user friendly. but the turbo xs utec is more tuner friendly, and my choice over all.

and yes a turbo inlet is totally worht getting. helps with turbo spool and honestly i think mades it a little louder. i noticed quite a bit more whistle coming from the turbo after installing a turbo inlet.

[Darty]

well i ordered all my goodies todat, so hopefully they'll be on my car in a few weeks.
I got the:
AccessPORT from w/Perrin map(cuz u can get the cobbs for free, want to try both)
Invidi Downpipe
Perrin turbo inlet
turboXS cold air intake

Should be a noticeable difference