Remapping/Tuning Advice?

Hi everyone

I am facing a dilemma and I need your expert opinions on what to do. My 2007 2.5 Hawkeye STI is currently remapped (by Neil at Scoobyworks) to 345.6 Bhp and 370 ft/lbs at 1.3 bar. The car is my daily commuting/everyday use and I want to keep it as that. I do however feel like I want (not need!) more power! Car has EcuTek map, Walbro 255l fuel pump, Turbosmart dual port BOV, Afterburner de-cat downpipe, Afterburner cat pipe, Hayward & Scott 2.5inch Non-res centre section and a Scoobyworld Tornado 2 rear silencer. All other internals are standard including the VF43 Turbo, standard air box & snorkel, apart from a K&N panel filter.

The map is a very safe and stable map and very nice to drive/live with. What I would like to know is what would I need to do/upgrade to get more power whilst not sacrificing too much of the daily usage. Would I need to upgrade to forged internals for example and who are everyone's recommended mappers/tuners up this way?

Many thanks and if you need any more info on my car set-up, etc just shout!

First of all in my opinion the 2.5 sti is a cracking car with just a remap, it is very flexible and great fun to drive, if you enjoy the car now then my advice would be "just enjoy it"

A lot of people tune there car then hate it afterwards, they end up selling it.

Choose your mods carefully and don't go number chasing.

The limiting factor is the reliability of the pistons in the 2.5 engine.

I have mine at 370hp, any more than that will put the pistons at risk, if you are wanting more than that then a set of forged pistons is a must.

400hp is in my opinion the sweet spot for the 2.5, it can be reliable at that power with great drivability.
Forged pistons, a larger turbo and larger injectors are required, to this you could add a front mount intercooler and a better induction system as the standard intake is on its limit at 400.
Of course a mapper that knows that they are doing is also a must.

Not cheap for an extra 50hp though.

Jonny Gav wrote:

First of all in my opinion the 2.5 sti is a cracking car with just a remap, it is very flexible and great fun to drive, if you enjoy the car now then my advice would be "just enjoy it"

A lot of people tune there car then hate it afterwards, they end up selling it.

Choose your mods carefully and don't go number chasing.

The limiting factor is the reliability of the pistons in the 2.5 engine.

I have mine at 370hp, any more than that will put the pistons at risk, if you are wanting more than that then a set of forged pistons is a must.

400hp is in my opinion the sweet spot for the 2.5, it can be reliable at that power with great drivability.
Forged pistons, a larger turbo and larger injectors are required, to this you could add a front mount intercooler and a better induction system as the standard intake is on its limit at 400.
Of course a mapper that knows that they are doing is also a must.

Not cheap for an extra 50hp though.

Jonny - I think you have hit the nail on the head - why spend all that money for an extra 50hp when I love the car just as it is? I was thinking about 400 - but it is a lot of money as you say. Thanks very much for your advice.

Mario

Jonny Gav wrote:

First of all in my opinion the 2.5 sti is a cracking car with just a remap, it is very flexible and great fun to drive, if you enjoy the car now then my advice would be "just enjoy it"

A lot of people tune there car then hate it afterwards, they end up selling it.

Choose your mods carefully and don't go number chasing.

The limiting factor is the reliability of the pistons in the 2.5 engine.

I have mine at 370hp, any more than that will put the pistons at risk, if you are wanting more than that then a set of forged pistons is a must.

400hp is in my opinion the sweet spot for the 2.5, it can be reliable at that power with great drivability.
Forged pistons, a larger turbo and larger injectors are required, to this you could add a front mount intercooler and a better induction system as the standard intake is on its limit at 400.
Of course a mapper that knows that they are doing is also a must.

Not cheap for an extra 50hp though.

Hi Jonny & Marietto

I have been thinking about this myself as well. I have a WRX Hawkeye which made 349bhp and 395 ft/lbs at 1.4 Bar at motorscope and was looking for more !!! But after you see what it is going to cost your pocket for that bit extra, it really makes you think if its worth it ?

Jonny are you still running the 5 Speed gear box in your Hawkeye and have you ever had to replace it ?

I was tempted to get RaceROM on mine for the launch control etc but i have alreay replaced one gear box with hard driving(Not that i drive like that all the time) so was wondering if it would be worth doing ?

Cheers

And that my friends is why being part of NESF is worth more than its weight in gold. You get to talk to people who have been there, seen it, done it, bought it, tried it, broke it, mended it, sold it, made the video, worn the t-shirt and ate the big breakfast.

JG has just saved you a few grand and months of heartache all for the price of a free mouse click.

kgt wrote:

And that my friends is why being part of NESF is worth more than its weight in gold. You get to talk to people who have been there, seen it, done it, bought it, tried it, broke it, mended it, sold it, made the video, worn the t-shirt and ate the big breakfast.

JG has just saved you a few grand and months of heartache all for the price of a free mouse click.

100% agree with you mate - NESF and it's members are mint.

As Jonny says 370 would be the limit, I would go on a standard 2.5 engine, just had my sharkeye mapped, the engine and turbo are nearly the same and mine is mapped to 365hp / 390 lbft which makes a great road car.

The hawk is running about 400hp on a vf48 maxed out, but this has a fully forged engine.