Hey guys
I was planning to stage 2 my bugeye WRX with 210,000km on it but after talking to heaps of people, browsing through the forums etc it seems the best consensus is to just buy an STI.
I cannot afford to get an STI for probably 2 years so I am going to have the WRX for 2 years.
I have 3 options:
1. Leave it stock (I enjoy car but I really want more out of it).
2. Get a basic Stage 1 reflash tune and not put anything aftermarket on.
3. GO stage 2 and do the following:
- Aftermarket downpipe install
- Aftermarket STI TMIC
- Walbro 255 pump
- 3 port EBCS
Along with this I would be putting on 3 aftermarket gauges
- Innovate Wideband Lc-2
- Oil Pressure and Oil Temperature Gauge
The things I am tossing up in my head right now are the following:
1. Will stage 2 be too hard on the engine, especially at that amount of kms?
2. I have seen that stage 2 gains are roughly 30 - 50hp. What would stage 1 gains be like? Car is currently 247hp stock so will I be happy with a stage 1 tune or will I feel like it is a waste and should have just gone stage 2.
3. The reason I am considering just stage 1 is to put money towards STI but for something a little nicer than stock until I get one. Is it worth it?
4. Are aftermarket gauges worth actually putting on car if you are stock or even stage 1? I actually already have all the parts needed and yes I could sell them but I'd probably lose money on them and I could eventually use them on my STI.
5. For my amount of kms, would stage 1 be better for a Daily Driver and reliability? It is my daily driver so I am also thinking about potential issues and not having a car, so Stage 1 might be better for that?
I guess I was wondering, once I get a stage 1 tune, is it worth putting gauges on as well? Or even worth putting them on if I don't decide to tune it?
Sorry for the long post, I am EXTREMELY picky and like to research lots and I find it hard to settle on something.