Category Archives: WRX

Turbo Blankets – We Know the Pros, But What About the Cons?

A week or so ago, I bought a used Perrin turbo blanket ($50), thinking that I’d use it instead of having to buy an aftermarket heat shield when I install my CNT downpipe. I did not want to have to modify the stock heat shield (cutting is involved, which would make the heat shield less effective).

So, I’ve been doing a lot of research, trying to determine if there are any real consequences in using a turbo blanket. The premise of using a turbo blanket is to keep the radiant heat of the turbo inside the hot side of the turbocharger, which would make the heat stream more effective. A possible consequence would be that the resulting heat would put the heat level outside the normal heat range of the hot side of the turbocharger, which could cause premature failure of the turbocharger. Another possible consequence would be that the additional heat could cause an engine that was recently stopped to coke any oil that is in the cooling system on the hot side of the turbocharger (this could be debunked due to the fact that modern turbochargers usually are cooled by both oil and water, such is the case for GR/GV Subaru STIs).

My finding is that there is no solid evidence that a turbo blanket will kill your turbocharger. Turbochargers are built to take very large measurements of heat, so adding a heat blanket should not overburden the turbocharger. Heat also makes the turbocharging system more efficient (the more heat, the better the turbo reacts to the demand for boost).

The main reason I want to use a heat blanket is so that my IC won’t be heat-soaked, since it is above the turbocharger (it is top-mounted). A heat-soaked IC would more than likely cause a pull in timing during the hot months of summer or in stop-go traffic, or even at local track events.

There’s a crap-ton of information regarding this topic and I can’t seem to find any solid consequence for using a turbo blanket, so I’m probably going to install my used example when I go to Stage 2. I’m also going to buy a top-tier heat shield, and I’ve evaluated a couple here.

Also, note that I’m well aware that there are cheaper variants of this style of turbo blanket (PTP). In doing my research, I also found that Perrin has allowed PTP the right to sell what is essentially a Perrin design (when I find that URL again, I’ll link it here). As well, there are apparently new versions of these blankets. They’re essentially made from ground lava rock, which allows these variants to retain heat more efficiently.

I Did Some Debadging

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I hadn’t planned to do it today, but ended up removing a badge from the trunk of my car (and removed a dealer sticker too).

I was outside and had just finished some yard work when I stopped to do a quick walk-around of the car (I do this from time to time). I went to a car meet this past Friday and there were a few WRX and STI owners there. I saw that the majority of people had done some level of debadging and I’d thought about it for awhile but never got around to it, so I immediately started toying with the dealer sticker. It came off easily but left very sticky glue residue on the trunk. I was able to get it off with WD-40. I then looked at the “Impreza” badge and decided to see how tough that one would be to remove (because badges are more than just stickers). That was a LOT tougher to get off. I ended up using dental floss to cut the badges off but that left not only glue residue the material that the glue sticks to. It was a BITCH to get that off and I didn’t have any Goo Gone, although I did have something similar to it (just not as strong).

Here is a “before” pic:

Here are “after” pics:

I will more than likely remove the “SUBARU” badge next, or the line below it (Symmetrical AWD).

Car and Driver – New (2015 WRX) vs Old (2010 Audi S4)

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I have not read the article yet, although I’ve read the Facebook comments (embedded into this blog below):

Post by Car and Driver.

What’s throwing me for a loop is that none of the magazines have compared the old 2011-2014 WRX with the new 2015 WRX. Also strange is the fact that all of them have compared the new WRX against the new STI (or at least discussed them against each other).

It’s almost like the car magazine industry is purposely not comparing the old with the new in a direct comparison, which is weird because that’s the sure-fire way of determining what the better changes are, without doing paper-stat comparing.

Once I’ve had time to read the article, I’ll add my 2 cents to the bottom of this post.

2015 Subaru WRX & STI – Cars 101

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Ever had statistical questions about the Subaru WRX and/or STI? Cars101.com can educate you.

The site even has pictures of various options on the cars.

I haven’t checked yet, but I believe that the site may even cover many more makes and models.

What I’m currently reading is the 2015 WRX/STI section.

Nameless Performance Cold Air Intake Installed!

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If you remember, I received my Nameless Performance cold air intake a few weeks ago. I didn’t plan to install my Nameless Performance cold air intake this weekend but I ended up doing just that.

I had a bit of a time trying to figure out how to remove the stock air box and how to install the new CAI. Only two bolts hold the stock air box in place. The bolts were difficult to reach but weren’t too difficult to remove. It’s reinstalling the stock air box that might be troublesome, IMO, because rethreading those bolts back on might take awhile.

In hindsight, I think I probably would’ve been better off getting the Cobb SF intake and airbox. I still might look into going that route, but I absolutely love the way the NP intake looks in my engine bay. I sorta wish I’d been able to see the different color options (that wasn’t available when I ordered mine, but it’s on the NP product pages now….they’ve many color schemes depicted.

The install of the CAI wasn’t all that bad. It’s a tight fit and the product uses the same mount points as the stock equipment, although you have to remove a bracket. I had to search on the web for a picture of a mounted NP CAI to see how to mount it. It comes with no instructions. Fortunately it didn’t take me all that long to figure out and install. It took me 1.5 hours to install, but that’s only because I kept stopping to take pictures and video clips, and I kept double-checking my work (since I didn’t have instructions).

Here’s a picture of my extremely dirty stock air filter (I don’t think the dealer replaced it like I asked them 9 months ago and the car’s barely been driven since then).

Here’s a shot of where the stock air box used to be:

Here’s the close-out and MAF housing that I managed to figure out how to mount:

Here’s where I mounted the MAF sensor (it only fits this way…I suggest you mount it before mounting the close-out…that way, you don’t end up dropping the little screws in the engine bay):

Finished!

I can now hear turbo spool-up…it is very noticeable. I can also hear air rushing into the intake.

Note that this CAI requires a tune. This unit is compatible with Cobb’s AEM maps. I’m currently using the Cobb OTS Stage 1 91-octane AEM map. I’ve logged a few miles with pulls included…the logs are kosher.

There’s a slight hesitation at throttle tip-in from idle. It only happens from idle and it almost sounds like the throttle plate is fighting a vacuum, but I’m not sure that’s possible. There’s no boost leak (I’m hitting peak boost without issue). I’m trying to determine what’s going on. I wonder if this is just a map issue that a tuner can tune out.

Oh, and here’s a video:

Did You Know?

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Did you know that the 2011-2014 Subaru WRXs and STIs use the same turbocharger? Although they’ve different nomenclatures, they are the same. The VF48 is mounted to the STI, while the VF52 is mounted to the WRX. The VF52 requires a different mounting flange (it makes them less than compatible where swapping between STI and WRX generations, but I believe there are adapters that allow interchangeability).

Most people think that the WRX has a smaller turbocharger that gives the WRX an edge at the drag strip. What makes the WRX quicker is the fact that it has one less gear cog (meaning the gears may be more suited for drag strip pulls). In quarter-mile testing, the WRX always finishes in one less shift than the STI. It’s the same for the rush to 0-60, too. Basically, it can go most distances with less shifting because it requires longer ratios since it is a 5-sp transmission. It’s not quicker because it is more powerful. The only reason it is quicker is because there’s less shifting (which saps time). The WRX is at a 40-hp disadvantage when compared to the STI…with a 6-sp with identical ratios, the WRX will not outrun an STI. The reason that Subaru used the 5-sp is purely for ecomony-sake (monetary, not fuel). The added benefit is that it requires less shifts, but it does not handle powertrain upgrades all that well. 350-hp and it’s done…that’s the most you should expect out of the 5-sp before problems arise. Can you swap in an STI gearbox? Sure, but they’re not cheap and I don’t think that’s an easy swap…the STI gearbox is expensive, too. That type of swap isn’t for the meek, IMO, and even if that mod is done, the car will never be an STI…there’s more to the STI than swapping it’s parts onto another car…it’s more than the sum of it’s parts.

References:

http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f121/my-turbo-vf39-vf52-29176/

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=37631014&postcount=36

Instagram for this site!

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I’ve created an Instragram site just for this blog:

http://instagram.com/sti_infatuation

I’ll be adding pictures as I take them. I’ve a ton of pictures already, but they’re archived and not on my phone or tablet, so it may be counter-productive to add those images. Most of what I add will be of Subarus, but the images won’t always be of STIs and WRXs; I plan to add other car makes as well. We’re all car lovers at heart…at least true enthusiasts are.

I’ll also be adding a Pinterest site…gonna see if I can bake them off to see which is better (gonna skip Tumbler for now).

Nameless Performace CAI has arrived!

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This is the Nameless Performance cold air intake (CAI) that I ordered a month and three weeks ago. I’ve been waiting for this a long time. At first, I was upset because I thought that most of this was pre-built, but after making a complaint to Jason (of Nameless), he e-mailed me stating that they were almost done building it. I did a mental double-take. Then, when I received it, I got a good look at the craftsmanship…it’s good enough to where I can mount it over my fireplace (I’m not joking). It’s almost a work of art. The close-out is powder-coated. If I’d have known it would look that good, I’d have maybe chosen another color. I opted to have the MAF housing as black in color. Overall, it looks great!

I’ll probably end up mounting it a week before my protune is scheduled. No, this CAI doesn’t need a protune, as it is compatible with Cobb’s AEM OTS tunes (although, a protune would be more efficient/safer). If I could, I’d get the car dyno’d and tuned before the parts are mounted and afterward, but I can’t/won’t. I’m also still mulling over getting an e-tune. I’ve a few e-tuners in mind, but will need to get the low RPM stumble fixed (there’s an online mod how-to here).

Do Cat-backs Add Power?

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Most people think that cat-back exhausts don’t offer substantial power. When compared to a turbo-back exhaust, no, but axle-backs DO offer torque. The thing is, most tuners don’t test for this and just make blatant assumptions.

Well, there’s at least one parts manufacturer that does test axlebacks: Nameless Performance.

Here’s what I saw a year ago on their Facebook page:

Post by Nameless Performance, Inc.

That car gained 30 ft-lb of torque. That’s rather significant, especially considering that this car wasn’t tuned…they just bolted on a catback and dyno’d it! And if you haven’t looked at the comments within that FB post, take a look:

FB User: Wow…that’s a very good gain for just a catback! And without a tune! Says a lot about the stock parts…LOL! Nameless should post that up at IWSTI, because all I ever hear there is that catback exhausts don’t add performance. Now, will GRs have a similar gain? I’ve the axleback…makes me want to replace some more bits.

Nameless Performance, Inc.: Well that’s some bs from what we’ve seen on our design – unless there is some serious shortcoming on other companies exhausts. I know our downpipe thumps on the competition for torque gains, but this was just a cbe with a stock downpipe and no tune. Will have more data forthcoming on full turboback with OTS S2 as well as our specific OTS S2 tune for these cars. Think we can hit 70ft lb? We shall see. Downpipe goes on tomorrow.

FB User: I’m quite happy with the CBE results, since I’m currently trying not to mod the engine. Maybe the other companies exhausts DO have shortcomings, but you guys just proved to me that, sometimes, internet forums are a crock of shit. I’m sure you can hit 70 ft/lb, because you’re almost halfway there already!

Nameless Performance, Inc.: Yeah I mean the total numbers on this CBE for peak HP gain are 12hp, but we make 17hp at 3100RPM and 29.5 ft lb at the same RPM range. I honestly think it’s a situation where CBE manufacturers don’t do the testing for the most part, so they don’t have any information to share which leads to people having to assume low power gains due to no advertised dyno results. I do think this one is particularly good, however.

Also:

FB User: How much gain on a 2011 wrx full catback ?

Nameless Performance, Inc.: 32ft lb / 22hp at the wheels for the ’11 Full Catback. That was dyno’d with a stage 1 ots tune for the baseline and no deviation from that tune on the equipped with cbe pull. This testing on the GD is stock vs. add CBE.

I thought I’d posted about this before, but I couldn’t find the post. It may’ve predated this blog. I also thought I’d seen a post referring to axle-back gains, but I’m still looking for that one (took me 50 minutes to find the first one).

Subaru still considering a five-door version of its new WRX – Motoring.com.au

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From Motoring.com.au:

http://www.motoring.com.au/news/subaru/impreza/wrx-hatch-still-a-chance-42559

Don’t give up hope for a hatchback version of Subaru’s new WRX just yet.

That’s the message from WRX Project General Manager, Masuo Takatsu, who told motoring.com.au at this week’s Australian launch of the fourth-generation model that a five-door body style was still under consideration.

I shared a very similar article back in Feb regarding Subaru possibly working on a hatch version. The more news we hear of this, the stronger the possibility that this isn’t just a rumor. Me? I’m not a hatch guy but I’ve no problem with a hatch version existing, as long as it doesn’t water down the platform as a whole (divided attention does tend to make for a less focused product).

Also note that the article talks mainly of the WRX. I’m not sure if this will trickle to the STI variant.