How can i get my car to run more "efficiently"?

[icetc]

ok so i was thinking the other day because my car kept giving me rough starts and idling a little funny and it just didn't seem "smooth" the whole day, and then there are other days where it feels like a million bucks and i'm saying to myself what gives? and i got to thinking, how can i maintain my car or how do you guys maintain your car to keep it running smooth and efficient, not necessarily with fuel mileage but how it runs overall


i keep up with all my maintenance, oil changes, 30k service stuff like that but some days it doesnt feel as good as it should sometimes.

the car as of now has about 35k on it and has been tuned stage 2 for about 20k, made 296/316 on an airboy dyno which i know reads low so its def over 310 for both hp and tq but responded very well when it was tuned. here are some things i was considering to smooth it out some more


Grimmspeed AOS, i've removed my IC and fews times and have felt the oily substance in there and did some more research about it killing octane and all that so i want that gone so hopefully that will help smooth it out

Spark plugs, i'm still running oem and am still not sure whether to change these to another brand besides subaru oem i've read and heard that suby uses probably the best ones we can use on our car

i'm still running regular oil as of now and it has been great, doesn't eat a drop but i'm thinking i should make the change to synthetic, i do all my oil changes at the dealer so i will probably use subaru synthetic

i'm changing my brake fluid tomorrow from the horrible subaru oem to this fancy blue stuff so i know that will help with the braking and the way the car feels bc brake fade on 09 wrx's is all too common

Grimmspeed master cylinder brace....again bc the brakes feel like mush on 09 wrx and i will be upgrading pads and rotors at around 40k


so i'm wondering if you guys have any options or opinions i should do or things that you have done to the car? not only motor stuff just all around in general, like if you know that certain bushings tend to give out and you've upgraded them for example.


thanks in advance for any replies! and hopefully this thread can be useful to others on this site

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[oguitar]

Replace your air filter and clean the MAF sensor. Make sure the tires are all properly inflated.

[CRAZYHAWK]

Remove the spark plugs and read them. If they're white, you're running too hot.
Check with the stage 2 supplier if a colder plug is recommended.

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by CRAZYHAWK

Remove the spark plugs and read them. If they're white, you're running too hot.
Check with the stage 2 supplier if a colder plug is recommended.

no...just no

there is no need with the 2.5T to use a colder plug until you are well on your way to having to build the motor after you blow it up

[08STI206]

Ive heard through the grapevine you should go 1 step colder plugs for roughly every 75hp increase over stock. As far as running smoothly, try switching to a good synthetic oil. Definitely felt her idle smoother and much better response after switching to XXX brand FULL synthetic oil.

Master cylinder brace is a good idea but maybe try a flush with ATE Super Blue first and if still not satisfied, switch to ss lines.

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by 08STI206

Ive heard through the grapevine you should go 1 step colder plugs for roughly every 75hp increase over stock. As far as running smoothly, try switching to a good synthetic oil. Definitely felt her idle smoother and much better response after switching to XXX brand FULL synthetic oil.

Master cylinder brace is a good idea but maybe try a flush with ATE Super Blue first and if still not satisfied, switch to ss lines.

stop listening to ****ing fruit

the 2.5 has a 1inch reach plug...they really dont need 'colder' for the vast majority of us.....leads to a lot of issues that you dont want or get with stock heatrange plugs

leave the colder plugs to the 2.0 boiz

[08STI206]

I didnt listen to fruit, lmao. I actually took the advice of my tuner. He suggested I change em out before my tune since my car had 50k on the odo at the time.

Went with Iridiums, 1 step colder. I would rather listen to Dominic than you, haha.

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by 08STI206

I didnt listen to fruit, lmao. I actually took the advice of my tuner. He suggested I change em out before my tune since my car had 50k on the odo at the time.

Went with Iridiums, 1 step colder. I would rather listen to Dominic than you, haha.

if you start having fouling issues you will know why

[icetc]

Originally Posted by oguitar

Replace your air filter and clean the MAF sensor. Make sure the tires are all properly inflated.

Good idea on the MAF, I have the cleaner in my garage I'll clean it up, my air filter I'm on top of, I have a k&n intake on my car that I clean every few months with their cleaner

As for the brakes I recently did a flush to the super blue and am so glad I did, the brakes feels so much better, night and day difference over stock but I'm still going to consider the brace

I'm also considering an upgraded boost control solenoid as well, I'm tuned for 19.5 psi which from what I know is about the max limit for the stock solenoid before it will start to break up, I plan on eventually tuning the car for about 22 psi so I think the solenoid will help either way and the sparks I plan on doing around 50k probably going to go with oem ones, and I have read about the colder plugs for every 100 hp or so but I know the stock ones are pretty good

Any other ideas? Thanks for the info so far guys

[icetc]

ok so an update, i recently did an oil change and made the switch to synthetic using subaru synthetic 5w30 and so far the car seems to be running great, def smoother and does not feel as rough especially with the cold starts lately

i also cleaned the maf sensor and intake and it feels that it idles better no weird sputter every once in a while so far

i also did the brake fluid, swapped to the ATE super blue and it is AMAZING! the brakes feel so much better and don't fade and the pressure feels great especially now that the master cylinder is nice and full

i still want to do the sparks, going to replace them with oem ones, i have 36k on the car right now and been tuned for stage 2 for a decent time now so i think it's time.

i've also been testing the waters of different gas stations and am just trying to keep an eye on fuel economy and how it runs which i also think is helping with the idle

once i get a better solenoid i'm going to have the car retuned and smoothed out some more

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted by icetc

ok so an update, i recently did an oil change and made the switch to synthetic using subaru synthetic 5w30 and so far the car seems to be running great, def smoother and does not feel as rough especially with the cold starts lately

Oh man, you're gonna give Uncle Scotty a heart attack.

You modify your car to produce more hp so you should modify your oil beyond what's recommended on the oil cap and see what's stated in the owner's manual, IMO. There are a few robust 5W-30's out there but the Subaru oil isn't one of them.

-Dennis

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by bluesubie

Oh man, you're gonna give Uncle Scotty a heart attack.

You modify your car to produce more hp so you should modify your oil beyond what's recommended on the oil cap and see what's stated in the owner's manual, IMO. There are a few robust 5W-30's out there but the Subaru oil isn't one of them.

-Dennis

i just think the guy is outa his mind thinkin he bought any sort of 'efficient' car in the first place

he needs a prius and done....stop screwin around with a turbo'd awd car and having these delusions about 'efficiency' ....and doin stupid things thinkin he's gonna have any impact on the car being 'efficient'

this is one of those 'dumb' threads we see here all too often

[billzebub]

Look on ebay for one of those little vortex generators you stick in the intake.

[icetc]

Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty

i just think the guy is outa his mind thinkin he bought any sort of 'efficient' car in the first place

he needs a prius and done....stop screwin around with a turbo'd awd car and having these delusions about 'efficiency' ....and doin stupid things thinkin he's gonna have any impact on the car being 'efficient'

this is one of those 'dumb' threads we see here all too often

What makes you say I'm out of my mind? If you read my original post I said I'm not talking fuel efficiently I'm talking about getting my car to run as smooth as possible for where it stands as of now

For example let's say if you have two 09 wrx's one making 350whp on the vf52 at 24psi which is really high for that turbo or one making 350whp with say a 35r the one with the 35r will be more efficient because that turbo is better flowing and will not have to work as hard to make the same power so the amount of stress and strain on the compressor is less that's the point I'm coming from

Like for an example I have some oil in my IC hose and such so I just bought an AOS separater to help with the issue because the oil in there is lowering my octane value so with the AOS it should help gain some of the octane numbers back and make my combustion better

Hope I got my point across thank you

[daddyphatsax304]

i dont think the ATE Superblue is any different from any other brake fluid really. I am guessing just the fact that you flushed the system and refilled is what really made the difference. I am guessing a bleeding and fluid cap off (Autozone brand or any other) would have given the same results. The stainless brake lines are where its at. Those in combination w/ the MBC will prove to make a huge difference. fancy blue fluid...not so much.

If your car is idling rough...I would look into the major possible causes before I go throwing money into the simple things.

U didnt mention for how long it has been doing this or started doing this out of nowhere recently. is ur CEL on or ever flash? I am guessing since u service ur car at the dealership that if it were on they would have caught it and informed you of it.

Check ur spark plug gaps. Run a compression test. I am just trying to think of the basic free maintenance things you could do that may give you results before trying to throw money at it to fix the problem.

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by icetc

What makes you say I'm out of my mind? If you read my original post I said I'm not talking fuel efficiently I'm talking about getting my car to run as smooth as possible for where it stands as of now

For example let's say if you have two 09 wrx's one making 350whp on the vf52 at 24psi which is really high for that turbo or one making 350whp with say a 35r the one with the 35r will be more efficient because that turbo is better flowing and will not have to work as hard to make the same power so the amount of stress and strain on the compressor is less that's the point I'm coming from

Like for an example I have some oil in my IC hose and such so I just bought an AOS separater to help with the issue because the oil in there is lowering my octane value so with the AOS it should help gain some of the octane numbers back and make my combustion better

Hope I got my point across thank you

you just have a lot to learn

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by daddyphatsax304

i dont think the ATE Superblue is any different from any other brake fluid really. I am guessing just the fact that you flushed the system and refilled is what really made the difference. I am guessing a bleeding and fluid cap off (Autozone brand or any other) would have given the same results. The stainless brake lines are where its at. Those in combination w/ the MBC will prove to make a huge difference. fancy blue fluid...not so much.

If your car is idling rough...I would look into the major possible causes before I go throwing money into the simple things.

U didnt mention for how long it has been doing this or started doing this out of nowhere recently. is ur CEL on or ever flash? I am guessing since u service ur car at the dealership that if it were on they would have caught it and informed you of it.

Check ur spark plug gaps. Run a compression test. I am just trying to think of the basic free maintenance things you could do that may give you results before trying to throw money at it to fix the problem.

actually the super blue is NOT DOT approved due to its color...ATE makes an identical fluid...the 200 that IS DOT approved because it isnt colored....and good brake fluid can and does make a difference...but the factory fill is usually garbage and changing that out is a great thing

and rough idle can be a lot of things from a blown piston to bad valve adjustment

[icetc]

Well here I am learning, basically what I'm trying to say is if my car makes 300whp I want it to make the same 300whp every single day and to run as smooth as possible and I'm also considering all aspects of the car, not just throwing in a lot of go power without compensating with sufficient stopping power as well as suspension mods to be able to handle it all

Being a mechanical engineering student and almost done with my degree I think I've learned a lot about how the aspects that I'm talking about work and how I'm trying to improve on what subaru has made based on cost and using the right components for the price


As for the changing the fluid it is definitely noticeable, the 09 wrx suffer from brake fade very quickly so having a better fluid against heat retention is a bonus, if you look up some of the threads of the guys that race, their main complaint is the brakes and the fading that comes with them, one guy posted about bring his brand new 09 to the track and after a few laps the fluid was boiling, now technically my weaker components would be my stock pads and rotors which will be swapped out shortly for better ones

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by icetc

Well here I am learning, basically what I'm trying to say is if my car makes 300whp I want it to make the same 300whp every single day and to run as smooth as possible and I'm also considering all aspects of the car, not just throwing in a lot of go power without compensating with sufficient stopping power as well as suspension mods to be able to handle it all

Being a mechanical engineering student and almost done with my degree I think I've learned a lot about how the aspects that I'm talking about work and how I'm trying to improve on what subaru has made based on cost and using the right components for the price


As for the changing the fluid it is definitely noticeable, the 09 wrx suffer from brake fade very quickly so having a better fluid against heat retention is a bonus, if you look up some of the threads of the guys that race, their main complaint is the brakes and the fading that comes with them, one guy posted about bring his brand new 09 to the track and after a few laps the fluid was boiling, now technically my weaker components would be my stock pads and rotors which will be swapped out shortly for better ones

oh THAT explains a LOT to me

[icetc]

Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty

oh THAT explains a LOT to me

Ok so your probably assuming that I'm one of those kids that thinks they know it all because of what I'm learning in school and such but I'm not, majority of what they end up teaching me is theory anyways, I've learned a lot more by being hands on and doing things on my own, also my father being a mechanic I've learned a lot from him I guess writing all this through a forum so you can't hear the way I'm asking my question exactly, but if you have some better accredidation be my guest and lay it on me and I'll value and respect your post and opinions instead of just dropping one liners that don't contribute to the thread

Back on topic please

[Ernest]

I have two acuras and my subie. Subies do not run smooth - period. They might run smoother relatively to the rough ride you are having now, but smooth is not in the vocabulary.

I know - step out of my MDX and get into WRX - go from feeling little to feeling everything. But that is at Stage 2 with many suspension/bushing mods and louder exhaust. I like it.

You want smooth and quiet get a lexus.

[jddssc121]

Originally Posted by Ernest

I have two acuras and my subie. Subies do not run smooth - period. They might run smoother relatively to the rough ride you are having now, but smooth is not in the vocabulary.

I know - step out of my MDX and get into WRX - go from feeling little to feeling everything. But that is at Stage 2 with many suspension/bushing mods and louder exhaust. I like it.

You want smooth and quiet get a lexus.

^^^^ This

[jts749]

Originally Posted by Ernest

I have two acuras and my subie. Subies do not run smooth - period. They might run smoother relatively to the rough ride you are having now, but smooth is not in the vocabulary.

Not smooth?? Have you forgotten that its a four cylinder, its worlds smoother than any other four cylinder without a balance shaft that I've worked with.

[evil03mustang]

Originally Posted by billzebub

Look on ebay for one of those little vortex generators you stick in the intake.

That made me rofl.

[icetc]

I know the smoothness he's talking about and that's not what the kind of smoothness I'm looking for, as we all know these aren't luxury cars and I enjoy the mechanical feeling behind it bc your still driving the car, not the car driving you like most newer cars I mean smooth as in when I stomp on my pedal, power comes on strong and stays that way every time.

The subies have some trouble bc of the horizontal motors it creates a rotational torque and you can feel it transfer through the body of the car, that why if these cars are low on oil you can really notice a difference on them