SCC did a cover story on the 08 WRX for their latest issue. And I can't help but feel crappy after reading it.
The following was written by Jay Chen in the June issue of SCC. Commentary to follow:
Reading this has done nothing but further sour the taste in my mouth for what Subaru has done with this new WRX. The exterior changes were bad enough (I couldn't stand it the second I laid eyes on it) but now to hear what they've done with the engine components I think it goes deeper than that.Jay Chen wrote:Chalk one up for the bean counters.
Although the new upscale WRX will undoubtedly be faster and more powerful than the 2.0 liter variants of old, the smarter and cheaper to produce Legacy GT engine has distinct drawbacks compared to the engines in older WRX's. Tuners will have to drop their tried and trusted tuning tricks and head back to the drawing board if they expect to make the same gains out of the new WRX.
We talked to some of the top Subaru and Legacy 2.5GT tuners like Crawford Performance, Cobb Tuning, Easy Street and Squid Auto (formerly Kingpin) to get their take. Here's what we found:
The advantage of added displacement and variable intake and exhaust cam timing means the stock car is already plenty fast, with boost response to match. But we're not called Stock Compact Magazine.
The Legacy's EJ25 uses the same block and similar heads as found on STI's and 06 WRX's. The main difference is the intake manifold and associated plumbing. In order to reduce manufacturing costs, the Legacy motor uses an ABS plastic intake manifold and end-tanks on its top mount intercooler. This is good for weight reduction and lowering intake temperature, but comes at a cost for high-boost turbo cars. Unlike conventional aluminum intake manifolds and runners, plastic manifolds typically use a recessed rubber O-ring to seal against the cylinder head instead of a flat gasket. Under stock boost, this is fine, but for anyone who wants to upgrade turbos or just increase the stock boost levels past 17psi, the O-rings just might do a Challenger. The plastic intercooler end-tank will have similar issues with high boost or prolonged beatings at stock boost.
While bolting up an aluminum STI manifold to the heads in order to hold more boost is a relatively easy task, getting the rest of the Legacy fuel, vacuum, and boost plumbing to fit is not. Changing manifolds requires almost a complete engine bay fuel system swap since OE-quality fuel lines and connectors are near impossible to modify. That means the intercooler and throttle body will have to get changed out too.
Changing the stock VF40 turbo also presents another set of problems. Unlike the STI and WRX, the VF40 compressor outlet is a flange that bolts directly to one of the plastic end tanks. Not only is this not the greatest idea, WRX and STI turbo upgrades will not work with Legacy manifold/throttle body/intercooler set-ups.
Again you'll have to change the manifold or look for a Legacy bolt-on turbo from companies like Deadbolt Performance.
The lesson here is really to not be greedy with power. Keep the hardware stock and change out some intake and exhaust plumbing, and the new WRX should be more car than most can handle. If you have to have big power, then get ready for a huge financial commitment.
I think that Suby is abandoning a core group of their customers.....the enthusiasts. WRX and STi owners are, without a doubt, a community. We've loved the cars because of their looks, their power, and the ability to make them our own through tuning them and modifying them. I'd dare to say that the number of stock WRX's and STi's on the road is rivaled by the number of modded ones.
Subaru has abandoned the looks and style of the car and now they've quadrupled the difficulty (and cost) of doing the things that so many people have done with their cars up to this point under the hood as well.
The Toyota influence here is definitely coming out but Subaru needs to keep in mind that if we wanted Toyota's we'd have freaking bought them. We didn't. We wanted Subaru's. And it looks like we're losing the choice.
Agree? Disagree?
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