I'm quite new to this subi thing (not that new, but you get the point). I was wondering wheres a good place to modify the subies (intake, exhaust, header, piston replacement, etc.) in the lower mainland area. Preferably its somewhere in Vancouver, Richmond, or Burnaby. Anwhere else seems a bit too far for me (Delta can be nice, i can go get krispy cremes XD). Im asking this cuz i dun no how and i dun wanna break sumthing just cuz of my stupidity. So enlighten me plz guys

What car do you have?
For simple replacement of parts, any local shop will be able to order and install it for you. Some shops are more capable than others. You can do a search if you are interested.

And you won't break anything due to stupidity. If you break anything, its a learning experience. I've spent close to $300 on things I had to replace because I broke it, but its a learning experience. That $300 I spent was the best $300 I used to modify my car. ;)

Vancouver barely has any shops due to expensive rent. Pat Richard has his own shop in Squamish area and specializes in ECUtek and tuning. He is wicked.
Burnaby has PDM Racing who specializes in Nissan but does Subaru. He is the distributor of Whiteline.
Richmond has alot. GarageFive are nice guys. REV orders alot of parts. I work at Velocity Racing and do alot of orders for Subaru guys.

well, i have a 02 Subi TS 4EAT and im looking for some aftermarket replacement. I've seen so many shops in richmond area but im not sure which one gives me the best service for the money. I know if i break something, i learn something new. But i dunno where to start... since i can hardly recognize the parts inside the engine bay. :(

What's your goal with the car? Looks performance? To be honest with an auto 2.5 you are not going to gain much in the performance area of the engine...there is a lot available though if you are willing to do it.

Exactly what Jamie said what you want with your car.
If you want performance, save yourself the trouble and trade it in for a 5MT WRX. I refused and ended up turbo'ing the RS but you'll run into serious problems in the long run.

Aftermarket replacement? In terms of "performance" and sound, I'm assuming you'd be looking for an aftermarket exhaust or rear section muffler. Depends on your budget. Most people go for a brand name rear section canister which is just the muffler. You can buy one for $150 no-name and have it welded onto your stock mid-pipe and it will yield no performance gains, only sound. You can get a $300 name-brand canister and you will gain nothing either but its a bolton rather than weld-on. Much easier when you want to take it off and re-sell it. A catback exhaust replaces the midpipe and muffler and usually goes for $800~. Performance gains on a N/A 2.5L is about 5hp~ which is nothing. If you want an intake, there are two choices: short ram intake or cold air intake. I recommend a short ram intake. To get a catback exhaust and intake new you are looking at about $1000 for about 5hp gain. Not worth it but it sounds nice.

Suspension modifications are alot more common for the 2.5 guys. But you are looking to spend alot more. Springs itself are about $300 and install is $120~. This will give your car a lower stance and offer stiffer spring rates which can be a benefit. However, some people replace their shocks along with it with KYB AGX which make the car more responsive and handles alot better. This package generally goes for $1000~ new. Coilovers are another choice which is twice the price but usually offer height adjustability and rebound adjustibility.

Rims are pricey as well. Depends if you want looks or performance.

for an 02 ts, id get:

prodrive springs
20mm rear sway
PDM CAI
17" rims (rota grids are nice)
winter tires (Nokian WRs)
Summer tires (Falken st-115s)
lightweight pulleys

then go to a muffler shop and get them to make you a custom dealy with 2.25" piping

rev.. aj ..teamwork..
I get a lot of staffs from aj and rev

A&J caters to Honda/Acura.
REV has been discussed on the previous ECUtek threads but are nice guys.

But ish expensive :(

i was thinking of something like this in mind:
1) moderate increase of power (no turbo cuz of structural design of EJ25)
2) total sleeper (no aerokits) so i dun have to get pulled over by damn cops
3) dont drink gas like fat kid chasing for a muffin

The things i was considering for the car in terms of parts are:
Cobb CAI (heard it was quit good from other posts) or AEM Short Ram
Borla Headers (though ppl say it gets fustrating to install it cuz of some fitting issue)
Cobb Catback or Stromung Exhaust

Then some icy on the cake:
Higher compression ratio forged pistons (10.5:1???)

Its the only way i can think of to get more power out of the car without TC or SC. Maybe if theres like a piggyback or actually replace the ecu with something else. Another thing i have to be in mind of is that i might sell the car away in say 3-6 years. So im not sure if its all good with mods or should i just have fun sometimes with it and go for a rough ride.

Strut bars and anti-sway bars are in the process of thinking, but im not too sure as of the future of the car will bring. As to trading for a WRX... money... I wish, but I cant. Plus, I think N/A cars are fun too. So ya...

What's wrong with the structure of the EJ25? EJ25>EJ20 ;)
http://www.sfu.ca/~dtana/car/turbo/1.jpg

Problem with having performance is that your gas mileage begins to suck. When I first bought my car I was getting 520km/tank and after a catback, intake, headers, heavier wheels I was at 430km/tank.

Cobb CAI is expensive but works very well. Injen CAI are also of good quality. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on a CAI, I'd rather go for a SRI and just benefit from the sounds. With a Injen CAI, you lose your passenger foglight because thats where the filter sits. I'm always scared water will get inside through the filter and cause a hydrolock = new engine. But they have bypass valves. Nonetheless, two of my friends have had to buy new Honda engines due to hydrolock even though they had a bypass valve on their CAI.

Borla headers are good. Don't expect any gains, maybe a little VERY little more UMPH on the lower rpm's. It gives a good boxer sound on the Subaru. I had one on my car and loved it. Fitment issues? Not really. You'll learn to realize every aftermarket part never fits the same as OEM ;)

Cobb/Stromung exhausts are nice :) Well worth the money.

I wouldn't even bother building up the EJ25 for N/A power. Especially on an auto. No offense :) I was going to biuld up the EJ25 and even for a "smooth" ride I was looking to pay close to $3,000CAD. I believe those are your goals for the car. I wanted it to be as fast as a WRX and Cobb has a package for $10,000CAD. Thats gross :)

There is a torque chip available for the Subaru but I never really tried it. If you are planning to sell the car, make sure you can part your car in case of a sale.

I had alot of fun with the Subaru doing turns. If I could re-do it all, I'd spend all the money I spent on "performance" mods for the N/A EJ25 into suspension. Stickier tires, thicker sway bars in the rear, coilovers, and a rear strut bar would be what I'd go for :)

Good luck. I just ordered two Stromung exhausts for VIC NASIOC members so feel free to PM me if you need anything.

Ya, you read my mind about 90%. I'm not looking for a beast inside the hood. I'm looking for a happy time while driving without screaming at the engine to go faster. I know EJ20T>EJ25 in terms of hp. But in terms of "funness", i think EJ25 will win. In NA, you get the whole powerband power at your disposal, but in EJ20T, you have to wait for the turbo to spool to do anything (eventhough its farely fast). Personally, I would go for the WRX. But cuz im still underage (aka minor), and I'm not too sure if my parents will let me trade in the car for the "same" brand but different engine. I could find a place to do swaps but dunno bout it...

Money money money... As I said before, I'm looking for a fun ride, not a fast ride. So I wont be throwing money to the engine bay much. What I posted on the previous post will be the max things im putting in terms of power. Plus, I need to part it back to stock pieces if I decide to sell it away. Or I can sell the car by bits to other subi lovers (engine block for $50 :P). Im not too sure...

fukamoto, as i can see in your pic, looks like you got the AVO turbo kit they offer. If i recall, EJ25 cant hold much boost since they have open block design (6psi max??). Either you have a sem-close/close blcok and new internals (injectors, sparkies, etc), your car won't run that well. Plus turbo will make the car more stress than throwing higher CR pistons at it. Oh, my mind is on higher CR piston cuz I can also sell it back to the subi dealership and fake it as stock pistons, hope they wont notice =P

I hear you man. I got douche'd to a EJ25 for my first car instead of the WRX. But the Rs is fun :) I have a OEM rear lip for sale if your interested just sitting here. PM me. Open block design is one of the factors why EJ25'ers are scared of boost. High compression ratio is another. The car ran fine w/ stock block. You can get a USDM STi shortblock for $1400USD shipped, yum.

I'd suggest just looking for what you want. The "Normally Aspirated" technical forums offer good advise for 2.5'ers. www.pdm-racing.com sells a short ram intake for the 2.5. cobb and stromung exhausts have to be ordered from the States. if you need to place an order, you can pm me or come by the shop i work at and i can help you out :)

before going pistons, go for some cams too - according to cobb's forum, they've verified that you can get 200bhp from their intake, cams, pulleys, headers, and exhaust. prolly the route you want to go. they're well known for their performance parts. i personally wouldn't go for the borla headers unless you are just looking for a change in sound - they're not known for performance gains, same with the AEM intake(?).

i'd prolly save the cams and pistons for later. as you slowly mod your car you'll start learning for yourself what you would like to have done next. don't forget that labour really hits you in the wallet. also, remember that you might want to consider things like alarm and fuel management...

for me fun is in its feel, so i went for a short shifter, suspension, and brakes. don't ask me how my car is now - that's another story...

ya, i might want to take it step by step so i wont get too hype up about everything and lost all my money. I did in a point of time decide to go full out Cobb but in more sure... I wanted to install the CAI and exhaust myself but i dunno how, so im just leaving it to the shops ( hence throwing money stupidly at mechs so they do my job :)) oh well... pistons and cams... a must for mechs... even i wont risk it myself, too dangerous to me if anything breaks there (ie. piston rubbing against cylinder wall - no good). Alarm, I got a Prestige Alarm they gave me for free when my parents bought the car. But lately, its been going psycho - it wont respond to the remote control once in a while. Fuel Management system... Greddy! But this will be too expensive to start my way. I'll just stick back to intake and exhaust then feel the car, then add more parts. That why i know my baby subi is growing up.

02 TS wagon i would probably go for some brake and wheels upgrade first...as well as rear sway bar...maybe i like the car to handles better than to be only tiny bit faster on the straight w/ basic intake and exhaust setup...not much of a gain anyways...

02 TS wagon...we have a good example here...hehe...Reset!!!!

check out some prev post and u might be able to give urself an idea how a 02 TS wagon can look a like!

to get urself started quest has some very good suggestion:


prodrive springs
20mm rear sway
PDM CAI
17" rims (rota grids are nice)
winter tires (Nokian WRs)
Summer tires (Falken st-115s)
lightweight pulleys

personally i would probably take 16s stock RS wheels w/ some SP5000 so that u can use it for all season...or some summer rubbers and keep ur stock TS wheels for winter...17s...might not be wise cuz that will slow ur car down already...:D