Who's professional opinion do you trust?

[Fastfrog007]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Im goin to the Subaru dealer tomorrow for a good once over and info gathering, then parking it till sept 3rd when it goes to the tuner. Ill update tomorrow

 

[Got-Busa?]

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.

What does that have to do with anything?

He bought a modified USED car with ZERO WARRANTY from a dealer that doesn't sell Subaru's. They aren't required to do anything for him...

 

[dabeechman]

Dyno tune it or install your own A/F meter.

 

[Fastfrog007]

What does that have to do with anything?

He bought a modified USED car with ZERO WARRANTY from a dealer that doesn't sell Subaru's. They aren't required to do anything for him...

The other box is checked on my car, full cost, parts and labor for 90 days.

 

[Got-Busa?]

The other box is checked on my car, full cost, parts and labor for 90 days.

So what does the warranty coverage include? Did you get a copy of it because normally they are just a bunch of fluff. They are probably going to claim the car is mechanically sound per the contract since wide open throttle Air/Fuel tuning runs aren't exactly a warranty item....

 

[godspeed01]

your car is not going to blow up i had a 600hp wrx i know subarus better than i know busas you can drive it like that just fine but i would get a programmer when you can either a cobb accessport or get and ecutek tune at a good dyno shop the biggest thing you would have to watch out for not having a programmer is boost creep and egt temps, but if your not wot all the time you will be safe. what kind of downpipe does it have is it a bellmouth? what brand catback and intake?

 

[Rauzer]

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

Do you know what ECU programmer he had? The most common is the Cobb Access Port (AP). What he probably did was "unmarry" it from the car and then sold it. I dont know if that puts the tune back to stock (the AP stores the stock tune when you hook it up). Find out if he returned the tune to stock.

Here's what I would do...

Your car will run with the mods you have without a tune, its not optimal, but it will run ok. I wouldnt beat on it. Buy a Cobb Access Port. Cobbs website has all different kinds of tunes you can download (free) for what you have done to the car. For best results, yes, have it professionally tuned. I was at your "stage" at one time and thats exactly what I did. I had an SPT intake then bought a Cobb turbo-back and AP and did it myself, ran fine. I then had it tuned and it opened it up more.

Most tuners in the area are $500 a pop, usually up to 2 hours. Check with the place your going to have it tuned at and see what program they are planning on using. Maybe its something different and you dont need to buy the AP. There's some other programs out there, Cobb just seems to be the most popular for most folks.

Oh, and to the other guy that said dont listen to forums... ???

Sure, there are idiots everywhere, just look at the Harley-hater posts here, but NASIOC has some very smart people. Check out "Unibombers Manifesto" there, he put tons of info together, good stuff to know. I wasnt on here this week, but feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any other questions, I'll at least give it a shot.

 

[Fastfrog007]

your car is not going to blow up i had a 600hp wrx i know subarus better than i know busas you can drive it like that just fine but i would get a programmer when you can either a cobb accessport or get and ecutek tune at a good dyno shop the biggest thing you would have to watch out for not having a programmer is boost creep and egt temps, but if your not wot all the time you will be safe. what kind of downpipe does it have is it a bellmouth? what brand catback and intake?

Not sure if its a bellmouth, or even what that is, but its in Ividia downpipe with an HKS hi-power exhaust. The intake is a K&N typhoon. I have an appt in a couple weeks at Innovative in Buffalo NY for a tune, they said the can do an open source tune so i wont need another AP