What top mount?

[amccan10]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking to get my 99 UK Turbo remapped in the foreseeable future and was planning to also change the top mount and 'Y' pipe

I’ve had a look on here:
http://autospeed.com/cms/title_TopMo...8/article.h...
http://autospeed.com/cms/A_1619/article.html

I’m considering either trying to pick up a second hand intercooler from a new age or an aftermarket item like the jap speed top mount

Can anyone suggest what would be the best top mount to go with and if there is anything else that I should consider to get a decent result after remap?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

[ScoobieWRX]

Just get a TMIC from a newage STi. Minimum hassle to make fit and should be good for c.400bhp but then you still have an issue with stationary heat soak unless you do some heat proofing of the uppipe, turbo and downpipe. Fitting an intercooler spray kit is a good idea too and you just run 50/50 Methanol/water mixes to keep the water cool in the resevoir, specially on a hot day, slows down evaporation of water sprayed on the intercooler making the water spray more efficient.

Equally, you can pay a shed load of money for aftermarket TMIC's, some are rubbish and end up performing worse than the STi intercooler. You will have to spend some proper money on a TMIC to get better results than the STi intercooler.

I supppose it depends on what you're looking for in terms of future upgrades & remapping results. You may be as well to go for an FMIC. Looks good, lots of scope for future upgrades and won't suffer from heat soak, and doesn't have to be an expensive setup to get good results with minimum hassle.

Both the above solutions will cost though and how good your setup is will depend on how deep your pockets are. What is your budget?

[JollyGrnMonster]

Pointless in standard turbo

[amccan10]

ScoobieWRX said:

I supppose it depends on what you're looking for in terms of future upgrades & remapping results. You may be as well to go for an FMIC. Looks good, lots of scope for future upgrades and won't suffer from heat soak, and doesn't have to be an expensive setup to get good results with minimum hassle.

Both the above solutions will cost though and how good your setup is will depend on how deep your pockets are. What is your budget?

Hi Thanks for the advice.

I was considering the top mount as it seems a fairly straightforward and inexpensive upgrade with plenty of info om the forums to carry it out myself, water injection is getting a bit more complex for me

As for future upgrades I won't be making any. I just wanted a bit more power with out changing too many bits as a standard UK turbo doesn't feel as quick as its looks suggest.

[ScoobieWRX]

Just stick a decent high flow flat panel air filter in the airbox if it still has an airbox, otherwise a CAI (Cold Air Intake) is a good choice, the usual exhaust mods (decatted), and with a decent remap you should see some reasonable bhp gains over factory, but more importantly a decent amount of torque which with your standard turbo and injectors is the better outcome, and makes it a much nicer drive not to mention decently quick.

Whoever you decide to remap your ECU will give you their take on which mods you should do to make the best of your standard injectors and turbo without breaking the bank, but ultimately it's your choice.

As the tuner is hopefully likely to have done many of your model Impreza over the years, and all with varying degrees of modification, he/she should be able to give you an educated guesstimate of likely ouputs after your remap given your modifications.

Good luck with your mods

[amccan10]

ScoobieWRX said:

Whoever you decide to remap your ECU will give you their take on which mods you should do to make the best of your standard injectors and turbo without breaking the bank, but ultimately it's your choice.

I was planning on :

Uprated fuel pump (Walbro etc.)
Fuel pressure regulator
Dump valve

and already have:
Hayward and Scott 2 1/2” Turbo back exhaust
K&N Panel filter.

[ScoobieWRX]

amccan10 said:

ScoobieWRX said:

Whoever you decide to remap your ECU will give you their take on which mods you should do to make the best of your standard injectors and turbo without breaking the bank, but ultimately it's your choice.

I was planning on :

Uprated fuel pump (Walbro etc.)
Fuel pressure regulator
Dump valve

and already have:
Hayward and Scott 2 1/2” Turbo back exhaust
K&N Panel filter.

The only thing i would say was pointless is the aftermarket dump valve, stick with the standard factory Air bypass valve that bolts on to the front of the intercooler. If you like the pssshhhttt noise then all you have to do is block the dump valve recirculating return hose (the one that would normally plumb back into the turbo inlet pipe) and you get a heck of a dump valve noise, plus you retain the reliability of the newage STi factory air bypass valve (dump valve) which is super reliable and virtually lasts forever.

Aftermarket dump valves are one of the most common single issues suffered by Subaru owners that swap out the factory valve for a Forge, or Bailey Bov etc... They are not only unreliable but often the spring goes weak and won't hold boost or they stick open creating a massive boost leak.

Stay well away. The good thing using the factory valve is that when you eventually get fed up with the pssshhhttt noise you can easily plumb the recirculating hose back in and it runs quietly and smoothly afterwards. like factory.

[JollyGrnMonster]

The newage sti intercooler is a pain to fit on the classic. It will do but often touches bulkhead etc and it is difficult to make a proper undertray to bonnet scoop. The amount of after market or just larger intercoolers I see with little or no under tray and the air passing over it. As I said elsewhere I woukd be tempted to stick with oe one on the td04 turbo or even leave the stock intercooler and buy a secondhand turbo off an sti if you are seeking more power.

Simon

[ScoobieWRX]

Shortening the throttle body a bit stops all the chaffing on the bulkhead. Intercooler brackets can be easily modified to accomodate the fit. It's not a difficult mod to do and fair play to him for wanting to do it himself. Not many people do.

As the OP isn't swapping turbos or injectors and has already made some other hardward changes the STi intercooler should finish the job nicely, look good, accomodate the remap well enough and by the sounds of it will provide all the scope he needs.

He still has ample scope with the Sti TMIC for STi injectors and VF35 turbo swap in the future should he ever want to but it doesn't soumd like he will.

For some people making the best of what they have is more than enough and there's nothing wrong with that.

[JollyGrnMonster]

With the same cost anc effort put in he coukd have a quicker car on an sti turbo.

Depends what he wants out of it.

Most owners wont want to cut the throttle body down and unless you remove it and put it through a parts washer and clean it properly then likely to cause more damage and they still then need to make an undertray that works.

Simon

[ScoobieWRX]

I didn't pay a lot for the Alumnium scoop undertray i've got on my bugeye. I had a look at that this morning and it doesn't need a lot of faffing with to make it work. Even a bog standard undertray from a WRX can be easily modified to make work but the aluminium ones are better and easier to work with.

There are a fair few brand new bits i've bought for my own car over the years that generally required some faffing about with because they need something doing to them to exactly fit your purpose. Once you start modding nothing is standard.

[amccan10]

Do you have any pics of the undertray?

[ScoobieWRX]

This is the standard tray for yours if you don't currently have one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Impreza-WRX-STi-B...

This is the one on my car. I couldn't find one on fleabay. It is stanless steel not aluminium so apologies for the misinformation earlier.

[amccan10]

Hmm don't have one of them fitted. Another thing on the to do list.

Thanks for the help

[ScoobieWRX]

When you start modding there is always something else that needs to be done. You could go on forever so it's good if you know where to say stop. Stick with your current goal/plan, don't deviate and you'll have a decent running car at the end.

[amccan10]

ScoobieWRX said:

When you start modding there is always something else that needs to be done. You could go on forever so it's good if you know where to say stop. Stick with your current goal/plan, don't deviate and you'll have a decent running car at the end.

That's the aim to have a fairly decent car.

The plan is remap (with supporting mods such as fuel pump)
BC coilovers and an anti lift kit.

I'm considering also front and rear anti roll bars and drop links but not too sure if its ott

[ScoobieWRX]

Suspension is another can of worms that left financially uncontrolled could cost you several arms and legs.

With the state of UK roads currently, and getting worse by the day, you can have a decent setup that still gets you around corners quick without sacrificing comfort on rough/damaged/potholed roads, but that doesn't involve coilovers. I personally don't like coilovers unless they are used on track at which time they really come into their own, but on UK roads, i really don't like them but it's a matter of personal choice.

Bilstein Dampers, Eiback Springs, thicker rear anti roll bar and stiffer bushes, Leave the front ARB standard, front/rear solid drop links, anti-lift kit, and fast road geometry setup. Then you're good to go. Makes a mahoosive difference over standard. Makes the car very well planted and reduces understeer bigtime although classics to be fair don't suffer as badly as newage cars.

So you've got a quick car and it goes around corners at physics defying speeds so....How are you going to stop it?

Standard anchors aren't good enough so you'll need to start with decent brake pads, new rotors, braided brake hoses and decent brake fluid. And if that's not enough (it probably will be fine actually) you'll need a proper big brake upgrade.

You see, Imprezas are like Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles.....Once you start you just can't stop!!!

[amccan10]

The brake disks, pads and fluid were changed 2 weeks ago.

I didn't change to a higher spec fluid as I feel you need to be really pushing it to get the benefit.
90% of the time I'm not and would struggle to get the temperature up.

As for the springs and shocks I was considering that route but the BC coilovers were working out at a similar price

Stiffer bushes, again I'm not too sure that they would be for the best. Some of the ones I've seen in the past are too hard and bring in too many vibrations and rattles into the car and end up needing replaced more frequently.

Hahaha and the fun begins as in order to with bigger brakes I need new wheels. There's currently 1/2 a baw hair between the brakes and wheel.



So basically what I need is two subarus. One stripped out track hooligan and another bogo standard with big fat tyres and raised suspension for our uk roads :-)

Edited by amccan10 on Thursday 22 March 20:13

[ScoobieWRX]

And cheaper in the long run

[amccan10]

ScoobieWRX said:

And cheaper in the long run

sounds too sensible tho