[1st too fast, 2nd too slow? Lugging?]

SO I have a bugeye and I find that quite often I am in that dreaded grey zone of "too fast for 1st, too slow for 2nd." It mostly happens when I am approaching a light or sign and I start to slow down and i am about to depress clutch and suddenly traffic starts moving. Now, I have to come to a complete top to get into 1st and by this point I am going too slow, like 1,000rpm so taking off in 2nd is usually out of the question.

 

Usually I just stop, shift into first and go, and anyone behind me can suck it up, but today I was at a major intersection and busiest time of day and I did not want to stop so I was in 2nd gear, I was coming to a stop and it happened but instead of coming to a stop, I just decided to take off in 2nd gear at 1,100rpm ish. I probably only gave it maybe 10-15% throttle but it felt like the car was violently trying to go forward but couldn't and shaking.

This only probably happened for 2 or so seconds until I hit about 2,000rpm.

 

My question is, I know lugging is bad and never do it but is doing it once or twice any issue? The engine has 205,000km so it is an older engine which is what is making me worried!

[Is it bad to launch WRX every so often?]

15 minutes ago, Timmah said:

Nah bro you're all good, WRX's are tough, a launch or two won't hurt.

 

Haha yeah I just feel dumb as, I hate doing things like that.

 

Just out of curiosity, I am always weary that the trans could go, especially since I have a 200,000km vehicle. What is the best option to fix at a decent price. I don't want to spend 4k on a full STI swap, so do you just buy a used 02 trans? Or is it better to buy a used 03 - 05 trans? Or any other options?

[Is it bad to launch WRX every so often?]

Hey guys so this is probably going to sound stupid but I "accidently" launched my car today. I was about to turn at an intersection and there was another car that had right of way, so i started rolling very slowly to get moving behind him but he then stopped and was letting me go for some stupid reason. Because of that, I realised I could not just keep rolling forward so I pushed the clutch back in and was gonna stop, but then because I was at an intersection and he was stopping, my mind went GO and so I simultaneously pushed clutch in and engaged the accelerator, putting RPMs to about 4,000 before dropping clutch.

 

As I said, this was all a muddle and happened so fast but I heard any car but WRXs in particular should not be launched.

 

I just had mine tuned to 302 flywheel horsepower so it has a good bit of power running through it.

 

I never launch it, always roll on the power and am very careful about NEVR launching it, so right now I feel a bit worried about the damage.

 

If car is still driving the same and no burnt clutch smell, is the worst I have done accelerate drivetrain wear a bit? Does damage from launches usually happen "instantly" like you blow a gear etc, or could I have legitimately weakened things a lot from 1 or 2 launches?

 

Just feeling dumb right now as I have finally tuned my car, I always make sure to look after it, service it and not abuse it so I get annoyed at myself when I do dumb s*** and also worry since I don't want to be shelling out lots of money for transmission or drivetrain repairs.

[Intercooler Upgrade for custom tune?]

6 hours ago, boon said:

whp? From a TD04? What was the TCF on the dyno, that's a crazy number.

 

No that is at the flywheel so 250whp roughly I think, used a bhp to who converted so could be slightly different. Not sure on the TCF sorry.

 

Still extremely happy with it.

5 hours ago, ginganinja said:

The top left corner of the sheet says flywheel torque, hp and kw. So maybe its not at wheels. 

 

Even so thats still very good number from a TD04. I have a friend in aussie with v7 wrx with a vf48 on it and sti intercooler and only made 176kw at wheels.

 

Hi there yeah it is flywheel, but really stoked with it on a stock TD04 and engine with 205,000km. Car feels really good, smoother and just much nicer to drive. The biggest improvement tho is car pulls all the way until 6,250 rpm, whereas before it peaked somewhere between 5k - 5,500. Having that awesome feeling of the car hitting 5.5krpm and it still pulling harder is definitely an awesome feeling :D.

8 hours ago, Timmah said:

 

Sh*t yeah that's awesome! Enjoy

 

Thanks man yeah completely new car love it!

[Intercooler Upgrade for custom tune?]

On 23/01/2021 at 10:58 PM, Timmah said:

Who is your tuner? They'd know if it's worth going to a STi intercooler.. probably not so much on the TD04, that and the WRX scoop probably isn't tall enough..

 

Will be interested to see your dyno plot to compare against mine

 

Hey man got it tuned by WRC Developments. Graham was fantastic!

Made an awesome 302hp (222kw) on a custom tune with stock intercooler, stock turbo and stock downpipe, up from the 240hp it was.

 

Pretty happy with outcome!

[Intercooler Upgrade for custom tune?]

2 hours ago, boon said:

Have you resolved the massive oil consumption issue yet?

 

No point running the STI intercooler if you don't have the splitter.

 

Never heard of the AC lines thing either.

 

EDIT: Ugh why are you still using multiple accounts? Choose one and stick with it or I'll ban all of them.

 

EDIT2: And using a VPN or something? What in the f*** is going on here? WHY ARE YOU STILL LOGGING IN TO ALL 3 ACCOUNTS AFTER YOU WERE SNAPPED AND SAID YOU WOULD STOP DOING THAT?

 

Crap sorry! I wrote this post from work which was automatically logged into that account! I was told I could merge them so I'll sort that out tonight.

 

Oil consumption has been fine I had car cleaned recently and it is getting looked at next week to see where the small leak is and I'll sort it then but it is a very small leak.

 

Definitely not using a VPN sorry i logged in from work today but as I said, my apologies will get it sorted tonight!

2 hours ago, ginganinja said:

If you don't end up using the STI TMIC I could be interested in buying it if it is in tidy condition.

 

Hey mate will let you know if I end up using it :). At this point it is probably going to be not using it. It is in pretty good nick could send photos for you if I don't end up using it.

 

Cheers

[Intercooler Upgrade for custom tune?]

Hey guys!!

 

I'll Try to keep this short.

 

Getting a custom tune in a 2 weeks which would be akin to the US "stage 1," so not doing any aftermarket parts like downpipe etc.

 

At this point I am doing just a reflash and upgrading fuel pump.

 

Only thing I am still tossing between is if there is any point in upgrading the intercooler to an STI one? I have one but if it is a waste of time then I wont bother doing it as I can save the funds. Also, I read that the STI intercooler can sometimes wear through the AC lines. I mentioned this to my tuner but he had never heard of it which concerns me.

 

Car will be roughly 270 - 280bhp once it is tuned from tuners estimates but obviously every car is different. Basically will be a 20 - 30hp increase over stock for my bugeye.

 

I already have an STI TMIC in my garage and also have the Version 8 scoop fitted to car because I like the look.

 

I would only put the STI TMIC on car if it is worth it otherwise I wont bother. At those levels of power on a TD04, probably running around 16 - 17psi after tune, is the stock WRX intercooler more than fine?

 

Also, pressure drop I heard is 2-3 psi.

 

Does anyone know if the STI TMIC is better?

 

I don't have a splitter yet tho so would have to buy one of those if fitting the TMIC is worth it.

 

Thanks!

[Anyone ever left their oil cap off by accident?]

4 hours ago, Gripless said:

Ok my 2c

TLDR; pretty much what everyone else has said. 

the oils cap isn’t directly on the cam cover like a inline engine since the heads are so low in the engine bay. That’s why no mess as the cams and rockers etc would have to splash oil all the way up the filler tube which is 20cm long and has a bend in it. 
 

over filling to 1cm is noticed in the engine note at idle and light load but still won’t break anything. 5mm is perfectly fine. 
 

The oils light is a problem.  
Firstly make sure it still works. From a cold start turn key to ACC and then ON but don’t start. The oil light should come on. If it doesn’t swap out the bulb and sensor ASAP. 
the dash lights are meant to be checked every time, not that anyone does. 
Ive had an engine oil pressure switch die and it came one short burst for a bit then stopped forever. It died at higher rpm when the oil pressure was normal peak being old it just gave up. 
I’d be tempted to replace the sensor anyway as cheaper than chasing low pressure and finding out it was a sensor the whole time. 

 

Thanks man and yeah I will look into it. It has not been an issue since I topped up and it is weird as the engine never chews oil and I topped it up recently so will keep an eye on it and get the sensor replaced.

 

Cheers!

38 minutes ago, boon said:

You should definitely spend $1000 on tuning an engine that is mysteriously consuming so much oil that the oil pressure light came on

 

Haha I feel you man. It is weird tho as it has never consumed oil before. If it continues to do so I definitely wont tune it and will get that addressed very quickly.

 

Cheers!

[Anyone ever left their oil cap off by accident?]

43 minutes ago, Loren said:

If you don't have oil spewed all over the place then you are fine. Plenty of moisture builds up in the engine naturally, but is then burned off when the engine is up to temp.

 

Oil level so low that the oil pressure light comes on is a lot more concerning

 

Haha sweet! yeah it was concerning me as well as I definitely topped it up, although I did take car for a very spirited drive through some windy backroads for an hour last weekend, probably more than she is used to :P.

 

I'll definitely keep an eye on it but thanks for letting me know about the oil cap.

 

What about if oil is overfilled? It was sitting probably 5 mills above the full "hole" amrker. Should I drain it or should I be all good?

 

Cheers

[Anyone ever left their oil cap off by accident?]

Hey guys

 

So I turned my car on today to go grab lunch (Bugeye WRX), and I noticed the oil pressure light on which was weird.

I checked oil and it was really low for some reason which was weird as I topped it up a few weeks ago and my car never really chews oil, but regardless, I topped it up and then drove 5 mins down the road to grab some lunch and came back.

 

I got home and realized that the oil cap was off as I forgot to put it back on in my rush to get lunch and now wondering if this is bad?

 

I researched and most said that oil would piss everywhere but this did not happen to me I checked under hood and engine bay.

 

Should I be worried about any damages? The pressure light or oil level light was not on during the drive but I did notice the car was driving a tad rough (almost felt like a slight misfire), but it might have been my imagination as no engine light or anything came on.

 

I only drove for maybe 5 mins, 10 mins at MOST and I was just cruising as it was raining.

 

I assume the oil filter would have captured any contaminents?

 

Am I all good?

 

Also, any issue with slightly overfilling oil? I usually never worried if it was but just thought I'd ask. It is sitting just above the hole in the dipstick that indicates full.

 

Cheers!

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

1 hour ago, Loren said:

 

Oh you could just keep the $1000 and not bother with the retune? 

 

Yeah but I wanted a little more out of it and for $1,000 I can get 20 - 30hp as well as some better torque. For a year or two I think it is well worth it Insert other media

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

1 hour ago, boon said:

 

I wonder if you're up to V7 STI money yet

 

Not quite going back to study next yeat and have decided to just spend $1,000 and get a retune. That'll do me until I can get an STI in a few years.

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

3 hours ago, Loren said:

 

Probably not... still on the factory tune with loads of safe guards.

 

 

Well you can pull the motor apart and look at the condition of the bearings... but you'd probably just see 200,000 km of wear

more than anything.

 

You could also stick an endoscope into the spark plugs holes to check for pitting on the piston crowns.

 

I doubt you have done any damage.

 

3 hours ago, Loren said:

 

 

Haha thanks for  answering my queries. I'll do my best to move on and try to forget about it and look forward to getting car tuned in 4 weeks :).

 

Last question, if the engine was detonating and I have not noticed any adverse affects yet, if I fix the issue then I should hopefully be all good going forawrd? I understand the engine can go boom at anytime tho so gotta be prepared for that.

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

6 minutes ago, Loren said:

Actually I wasn't even thinking about your tmic

 

So yeah even worse not having the splitter as your intake charge will be hotter than it should be, causing detonation

 

Oh jesus now I feel worse again. So you saying that the 6 months or so of driving without it could be causing detonation?

 

Is there anyway to know if I have done damage? Any tests or anything I can get looked at to see?

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

24 minutes ago, Loren said:

 

That seems like the obvious thing, but you'd be surprised how hot you can get the motor before the factory gauge even moves.

An aftermarket gauge would be better... but in your case I'd say not knowing anything would be better as you tend to panic

quite easily.

 

 

 

There is no way removing the splitter would cause overheating while casually driving along... even on the dyno it would not do

anything... but get out on the track with constant high load and high speed... that's where you might find you can only do a few 

laps at a time before the water temp is climbing too high.

 

I don't think the factory computer would save you from overheating either... an aftermarket computer can do anything you want.

 

 

Cheers man yeah I do panic it is part of my personality can't help it haha. Oh well that makes me feel better yeah I can put the splitter back on no stress I was only worrying about long term damage or any damage I could have done. Reason I was stressing was I asked my tuner and he said that it could cause detonation and knocking and I might not hear it and think everything is fine.

 

Yeah I considered getting an intake temp gauge actually and I am also tossing up between putting an STI intercooler on.

 

I have it sitting there and car is getting reflashed in 4 weeks so might just get the intercooler put on at the same time.

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

52 minutes ago, Bugle said:

Long term damage... Every time the crank goes around you are doing long term damage lol

 

If it wasnt overheating it was running within tolerances, put the splitter back in, chalk it up as a learning experience and enjoy your bugeye

 

Haha good point! What would indicate that it was overheating btw? The factory temperature gauge on the dash?

 

Yeah will do I am getting vehicle reflashed in 4 weeks super excited so finding out I have been running my car wrong was a kick to the stomach haha.

 

But basically I can stop worrying about any damage as if anything was wrong I would have noticed a loss in power right? Also if it was running hot and pre ignition was occuring the ECU would retard the timing/richen the mixture correct?

 

So if the vehicle was not getting cooled properly then the ECU would I guess prevent engine damage to an extent? Am I correct there?

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

2 hours ago, Bugle said:

If it didnt need a splitter it would not have left the factory with one, I'd put the WRX one back in

 

Match the intercooler with the splitter (vs the scoop with the splitter) is my go to. The scoop just gets the air from outside to inside, the splitter and the intercooler do the mahi

 

Yeah I should have realised I just thought the bigger scoop and having the WRX splitter was pointless but I see I made a big mistake.

 

It has been like this for 6 months, would I have caused any long term damage? Or would it just have caused power loss if there was issues with cooling?

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

47 minutes ago, Loren said:

You need to have something to divert the air down through the intercooler and under the car... even if you didn't have a tmic,

you still need the air to be diverted under the car. If you have no splitter the air just hits the firewall and creates a high pressure

zone, meaning the air coming through the radiator at the front of the car, can't flow nicely ...and I bet if you hit the track it would

cause over heating. Happened to me... no tmic... took splitter out... caused temp issues.

 

Cheers I'll put the splitter back on tonight.

 

Any long term issues the more I read the more worried I get as a lot of posts are saying that most of the air wont even be going through the intercooler and I have been driving without it for 6 months! I just hope I have caused lots of wear on my engine or turbo etc?

 

The car has had no issues last 6 months so would I have noticed if there were issues already?

 

But I will put it on going forward

[WRX splitter with STI Scoop?]

Hey guys

 

I have a V7 WRX and put a Version 8 STI Scoop on the vehicle about 6 months ago. Because the Scoop was much bigger, I decided to take off the splitter as I thought a lot of air would bypass the Duct and not even touch the intercooler.

 

However, been reading and it seems like that is not a good thing to do? I have been running without a splitter for 6 months and car has had 0 problems, but is this bad long term?

 

Also, can you use the WRX Splitter while I have an STI Scoop? Is it better than having no splitter at all?

 

I have a stock WRX intercooler.

 

Cheers

[Revving in neutral safe?]

Hey guys

I don't usually rev my engine in neutral ever as it has done 200,000km and is a bugeye WRX. Had some friends around and they wanted to hear it and I revved it to 3k rpm in neutral maybe 4 or 5 times. No further than that and also car was warm as I had been driving in 10 mins before this happened.

I read that is not necessarily good to do while engine is unloaded but I assume a few revs to 3k in neutral would cause minimal additional wear correct?

I am just wondering since vehicle has high km and also going to get it tuned soon! Cheers

[STI Spoiler on WRX Trunk]

20 minutes ago, Loren said:

 

no... it's an STI trunk... GC era... maybe that's the difference.

AH yeah the WRX trunk has weaker torsion bars so that is probably why mine slams haha. But no difference in the 4 bolts if you only used 4 bolts it will have the same stability as my WRX boot, just different torsion bars.

[STI Spoiler on WRX Trunk]

1 hour ago, Loren said:

It will be fine, they are very solid... that's why they weight about 10kgs. Mine has 4 bolts only.

 

So you also only bolted in the 4 bolts? Do you use a WRX trunk as well?

[STI Spoiler on WRX Trunk]

Hey guys

Just had a few questions regarding STI Spoiler. I put an STI Spoiler on my 2002 WRX about 5 months ago. I did not think anything of it until recently when my boot accidentally slammed and I heard a cracking sound or some sort of weird sound.

 

I then researched and found out I should have either replaced the trunk or at least the torsion bars which I never did and now wondering if I should.

When I installed my spoiler, I installed the 4 bolts that the WRX Spoiler fits into, and then put some adhesive under the spoiler where the other 12 or so bolts would go as well as around some other places.

 

However, in my research it seems that a lot of people are saying you need to install all 17 holes but a lot of people are saying that they have done the 4 holes only.

In my experience, installing it with just the 4 holes and some adhesive has held up really well and I have not had any issues.

 

I have the following questions:

 

- What is the likliehood I damaged the Spoiler from dropping the boot with only WRX torsion bars. I usually lower it gently but I knocked it by accident while working on the car and it crashed down hard and I am worried I cracked the spoiler. I cannot see any external cracks but I am worried about internal cracks. Is that likely or am I overreacting?
- Should I be drilling more holes or getting an STI trunk, or if the 4 holes are holding up well will that be fine?
- Are the Perrin Stabilizers worth getting?

 

Sorry for the long question!

[Would this damage my catalytic converter?]

11 minutes ago, Loren said:

I get where you are coming from... and I can be the same too... but cars are supposed to be fun as well... so relax and have fun

 

 

 

 

Haha cheers :D. Car is going for a tune in January so super excited!

[Would this damage my catalytic converter?]

2 minutes ago, Loren said:

Jesus dude, stop worrying so much. It'll be fine.

 

I know man sorry it is just my anxiety I am quite a perfectionist when it comes to things I own I hate having s*** damaged. I don't even park my car next 2 cars as I am scared people are going to open the door on it haha.

 

Sometimes it can be a burden...