s_nold Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 My turbo is finally going and everything is still OEM/stock. My heads did fail on me at about 145k and had to be replaced/reworked by the dealer...that hurt. They(dealer and SOA) say it was bad gas and QuickTrip's gasoline is supposed to be guaranteed, but they didn't back it up. During getting that work done, they gave me a heads up that the turbo probably needed to be replaced, but that I could re-install it and keep an eye on the oil consumption as a sign of impending failure. I'm there now...oil is being consumed at a far too rapid rate. Here is my delima: I have 195k miles on the car, the top end of the engine is fairly young at about 50k while the bottom end block is original. I'd like to be able to improve performance since the labor is being done regardless and I'm certainly not affecting a warranty, but I also realize that reliability is a factor..and I don't want to throw money away by putting money into something that is not going to last. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with any local shops/tuners and don't want to be sold a bill of goods that is good for their pockets but not my interests. I did most of my own work on my 02 bugeye, but have left my Spec.B stock. I recently sold my house and am currently in a condo, so that doesn't lend to turning wrenches either.. The furthest I would take mods is a turbo in the realm of an 18G with supporting mods, but I would prefer to stick with stock injectors, so that is really not much of an option. Anyhow, I am curious what this great community might suggest. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_nold Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 I guess spring has come early, because I'm hearing crickets... OEM it is then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhitter Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Honestly, your choices are OEM or 16g / VF52. You wrote up a long list of reasons why you don't want want to mess with your car. You basically told us what you want to do... A 16g or a VF52 will require a retune, an OEM is install and go. Unless you want more power, then leaving it as OEM is fine. If you want better than OEM contact JMP (PM JmP6889928) and get a rebuit VF46 / discuss your options with him. He can make the VF46 flow more and give a little more power. But, you will need to be tuned at stage 2 (downpipe and tune) to really take advantage of it. My OBXT build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_nold Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thank you OB2.5XT, I really appreciate the honest feedback! I guess I was more or less performing a sanity check to make sure I wasn't missing something. I would like more power, am willing to mod(spend some money) and take on a slightly higher risk of impacting reliability, but I don't want to increase the risk of impacting reliability to the point of likelihood. Of course, I realize I'm asking for something that is not so easy to answer, but unasked questions never have a chance to get answers. I was also hoping that maybe someone in or around Kansas City would be able to say if a particular tuner or shop is a good place to go or a place to avoid. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExitVisa Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I was also hoping that maybe someone in or around Kansas City would be able to say if a particular tuner or shop is a good place to go or a place to avoid. The only tuner I know of in the area is Modified by KC (mkcperformance.com). There is Revline Motors on 18th street, but I'm not sure if they can (or will) tune your Legacy. Are you a member of the spec B group on Facebook? There is a kcsubaru group as well that might be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhitter Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Speaking about reliability is really hard with these cars. Some have really good luck at many different non-stock power levels. Others (me) break the engine at what should be a safe level (discovered a ringland was broken at stg 2, only showed up in cold weather, no idea how long it was broken for) With 195k on the engine, I would be prepared for a $6k rebuild. It might not happen, but just be mentally prepared that it might happen. My OBXT build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spec.B Dream Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 If you're OK with a drive to Des Moines, or are OK with an etune, Graham Gaylord at Boosted Performance is one of the best in the area. I drove there from Omaha this past summer after being fed up with several less than positive attempts at tuning both with a local tuner and a highly recommended etuner from this site. If you're prepared for a rebuild (which you probably should be with those miles either stock or modified), why not upgrade and get more smiles out of the deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_nold Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 I appreciate the heads up on the rebuild, unfortunately I did have to rebuild it about 50k miles ago. I just don't want to go through that again. I will lookup Graham Gaylord at Boosted Performance. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExitVisa Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 If you're OK with a drive to Des Moines, or are OK with an etune, Graham Gaylord at Boosted Performance is one of the best in the area. I knew there was another option, just couldn't remember his name. I think I'll get in touch with him too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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