Who's professional opinion do you trust?

[Fastfrog007]

I bought a new car last week, WRX Sti from a dealer that took it in on trade. It has an aftermarket down pipe, exhaust, and intake, but no ECU work to make it all come together.(its a turbo) I spoke with the previuos owner, he had an ECU reprogrammer, but took it off and sold it before he traded the car.
So, I ask everyone if the rest of the parts are compatible without the ECU being modified. The answers were all different.
Subaru dealer says it good to go, the stock ECU will figure out the A/F ect... and Ill be fine.
The down pipe manufacturer says good to go.
The intake manufacturer says we dont know, you've got other parts on it too, same answer from the exhaust company.
The Forums say it needs a tune, stay out of the boost or pay the price!!
A reputible tuner of these cars says I need a tune, they'll be happy to do it for $500, on sept. 3 and they're 250 miles away.

Whats the play? I'm not sure who to believe, they all should have knowledge in this area, but they have different answers.
Idealy I put the car on a trailer and go the tuner and enjoy, but thats not really on option.

Who would you believe? what would you do?
Thanks .Org-ers

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Used car should have at least come with 30 day powertrain warranty no ?
If so hammer that thing and see what happens ?
Sputtering , loss of power at boost , backfiring on letoff and such .
Something pops take it back and tell dealer obv they were wrong
Tuner of course will say 'oh yeah you need a tune , don't drive it' He's a business man and trying to drum up biz.
He'd make no money telling people they were ok without a dyno tune , right ?
Cars usually are not as sensitive to mods as bikes are so you may be ok .

 

[Blue'87GT]

Trust the owners forum if they have experience in owning/modifying them...and the tuner if they are a reliable/known tuner in the area. BTW, ask the owners forum if the tuner is a good shop...they are not all created equally!

 

[Fastfrog007]

Trust the owners forum if they have experience in owning/modifying them...and the tuner if they are a reliable/known tuner in the area. BTW, ask the owners forum if the tuner is a good shop...they are not all created equally!

Thats how I found the shop

 

[Busanova]

I have an Evo IX, and have been following the boards since new. They say that even a stock car benefits from a tune. Mine is unchanged, it is a DD and the tune would affect my warranty. But one thing I have seen time after time is that if you modify, you must TUNE. The stock ecu can only adjust for minimal modifications. With the the mods you have on your STI, without a tune, they are at best wasted, at worst you can fry the engine. Once you modify the car, the tune is the best performance buy for the buck and the best thing to do to insure it it does not fry because of a bad A/F ETC at boost and rpm. Hope this helps.

 

[kromdom]

Have 2 questions to ask yourself:
* how much is peace of mind worth after the car is properly dyno'd and tuned?
* if NOT properly tuned, how much will a new engine cost if it grenades when you get into boost?

P.S. I have a supercharged truck and did not waste time in getting a dyno/ttune after I upgraded the exhaust, intake and pulley. I went this route based on the LESSONS LEARNED of other owners so my vote is go with the consensus of members/owners

 

[hckyguy1]

500 for a tune is better than paying a few grand for a new motor IMO, especially for a car you just bought. better safe than sorry

 

[Strife]

Don't forget to pour sand into the motor so it can polish the heads and such.

I'd get it done,but would try to get the dealer where you bought the car to cough up some $$. It's worth a try. Not worth the risk.

 

[Bosshound]

Allways buy stock from the Dealer then Modify it Yourself. 30 Day Safety Warranty is in Effect on ALL Cars bought from a Dealer.

 

[Fastfrog007]

Don't forget to pour sand into the motor so it can polish the heads and such.

I'd get it done,but would try to get the dealer where you bought the car to cough up some $$. It's worth a try. Not worth the risk.

They wont even pay for the Subaru dealer to inspect it and tell me what is and isnt stock. Not very pleased with them right now. The car isnt broken, seems fine, but my research tells me it may not last in its current state. Ive decided to have it looked at by a Subaru dealer to get a list of mods then park it till i can get it tuned correctly. Looks like the Busa will be the daily driver for a few weeks.

 

[afterhours]

dudes on a forum are the last place to get advice....most won't have a clue, and will only repeat what they hear from others without knowing if its correct or not.

The Subi is a great piece of technology, you can drive it like it is.....but it will be better with a tune. Just like a Busa, you can throw on an exhaust and drive it around.....but to see the real effects you need an ecu flash or a PC, etc....

unless you abuse the thing it will be fine, and it should have a built it cut/off if it spikes lean.

 

[Got-Busa?]

They wont even pay for the Subaru dealer to inspect it and tell me what is and isnt stock. Not very pleased with them right now. The car isnt broken, seems fine, but my research tells me it may not last in its current state. Ive decided to have it looked at by a Subaru dealer to get a list of mods then park it till i can get it tuned correctly. Looks like the Busa will be the daily driver for a few weeks.

Why would they pay for that...? It's your responsibility to have the car looked over, inspected, and tested BEFORE purchase...


I don't see the problem... ???

Find the closest AWD load dyno and have the A/F checked.

If you are not happy with that or can't do that. Then go get the car properly tuned BEFORE you beat on it. Otherwise, stay out of boost and drive the thing around like a normal person until you can afford to do what it needs.

....and NO the car will not self adjust to the proper tune. People continue to pass this incorrect CRAP around and it couldn't be farther from the truth. Ya, the car is a little fat from the factory but with all the changes that have been done I wouldn't be willing to test the theory about how close or NOT it is.

You just bought a new car, what's another $500 or $1k to get it checked out and running properly...

 

[crawler]

Call COBB Tuning and they can get you a flash box witha good base to get going, they might even have a few tunes with your exact combo.

Now, keep in mind I stepped out of the WRX and EVO game a little while back. But, I had good luck with COBB on normal stuff like that.

When I really stepped it up, then it came down to all custom.

 

[Commuta_Busa]

I would think if you had just a down pipe, OR just the intake, OR exhaust each piece by itself would be fine with no tune. Once you sum up all of the changes then it's probably best to get it tunned. I'm no subaru guy but that just seems like common sense.

As related to a busa, if you ask the guy about needing a tune after the airbox mod they'll say no.

As far as listening to people on a board where the members are enthusiasts and tuners I would listen to their opinions. That's what we do hear.

 

[ogre]

call cobb. they should have a reflash for you.

 

[GoldenChild]

Why would they pay for that...? It's your responsibility to have the car looked over, inspected, and tested BEFORE purchase...


I don't see the problem... ???

Find the closest AWD load dyno and have the A/F checked.

If you are not happy with that or can't do that. Then go get the car properly tuned BEFORE you beat on it. Otherwise, stay out of boost and drive the thing around like a normal person until you can afford to do what it needs.

....and NO the car will not self adjust to the proper tune. People continue to pass this incorrect CRAP around and it couldn't be farther from the truth. Ya, the car is a little fat from the factory but with all the changes that have been done I wouldn't be willing to test the theory about how close or NOT it is.

You just bought a new car, what's another $500 or $1k to get it checked out and running properly...

it's like buying a bike and assuming cause it's got a turbo it's been tuned,it shouldn't be a question.I would find a shop just like guys do here,get the a/f checked and see for yourself the tune and then go from there if it's good keep on moving along.

 

[Strife]

They wont even pay for the Subaru dealer to inspect it and tell me what is and isnt stock. Not very pleased with them right now. The car isnt broken, seems fine, but my research tells me it may not last in its current state. Ive decided to have it looked at by a Subaru dealer to get a list of mods then park it till i can get it tuned correctly. Looks like the Busa will be the daily driver for a few weeks.

If/when you get it tuned. Try to get the map/tune that was in it prior to them doing their magic and after. Ask the tuner if the prior tune(assuming it was stock) would of caused damage. Then maybe hit up the dealership with the documented claim. Still might be a long shot,but if you do recover even a portion of the $$ of that $500. It be worth it.

 

[Got-Busa?]

If/when you get it tuned. Try to get the map/tune that was in it prior to them doing their magic and after. Ask the tuner if the prior tune(assuming it was stock) would of caused damage. Then maybe hit up the dealership with the documented claim. Still might be a long shot,but if you do recover even a portion of the $$ of that $500. It be worth it.

Why would he have a claim with the dealer? He didn't buy it from a Subaru dealer so it was his responsibility to check it out BEFORE purchase. ???

 

[Strife]

Why would he have a claim with the dealer? He didn't buy it from a Subaru dealer so it was his responsibility to check it out BEFORE purchase. ???

Cause the car is a week old from purchase(yes used) and if he can prove they sold him a grenade waiting to happen,then they might help out of the cost it took to fix the issue. He tried to bring it to their attention and they claimed "Don't worry about it". Some places actually believe is customer service. It's a fading thing,but it's still out there. Some dealers claim they do "X" point checks on cars they sell, blah blah blah...

Might not see a dime,but is always worth the effort.

 

[fastblackblur]

I don't know much about Subarus but I would get it tuned....
If you start fooling with boost levels it's really not that hard to pop a motor