I’m in the market for a WRX to be used as a commuter. If I’m going to drive for almost 2 hours a day, I’m going to do it in a car I like. I’ve been looking for mostly stock ones, but have come across a stage 2 tuned WRX. I’m not as mechanically gifted as most of you and I’m not asking whether I should buy the car, but I’m asking about whether you think the modifications done would make it a poor daily driver. Looking for it to still be reliable and not too aggressively modded.

As far as I can tell, the applicable mods are:

- Full set of white line sway bars
- Stage 2 (262 whp on 93, 344 whp on e85)
- Cobb flex fuel kit (e85)
- Cobb CAI Cobb turbo back exhaust
- Cobb AP Cobb boost controller
- Boomba BPV Process West top mount verticooler

Thanks I’m advance!

The mods seem fine. Comes down to the tune if it's reliable or not. But if your just gonna daily the car your probably better off looking at stock or something more economical. I drive my stage 3 as a daily but I also take it out on the weekends.

I DD my 400whp '15 and have all of that plus more under the hood. I drive it in traffic and around town and no issues.

Biggest thing I'd worry about is how has that car been driven by the current owner (ie launched, etc)? 344whp shouldn't be enough to worry about having supporting mods for the motor, I don't think... but what year is it? 2015 and 2016 had issues with ringland failure even on stock motors (mine failed while it was stage 2). I'd also suggest finding out where the car was built/tuned. Maybe you can get some additional info on the car, that isn't from the owner. At the least, find out what clutch is in the car if you're looking at DD. 6 puck can be a chore in traffic.

I know some folks will be in support of buying a tuned car. I'm not since it's hard to know how the previous owner(s) drove it. I bought mine nearly stock (catback only) from an ex-military guy that put 22k conservative miles on it. I did everything else to it myself, knowing that if something went wrong it wasn't because of something that wasn't disclosed by the previous owner. If you want to make it go faster, perhaps get a stock one and do the work yourself and with a local tuner - then you know exactly where you're at with the car. Just food for thought.

Thanks for the info so far. It’s a 2017 with ~30k miles on it. As far as I’m aware, the clutch is stock. I’ll test drive it today and see what I can learn. I do know the name of the company that tuned it. Think they have records/information on the tune that they would share?

Can't hurt to ask. Or at least get their opinion on the car. I know my tuner is pretty damn honest about stuff. He'd let you know if the car was "fragile"

Sounds like a fairly decent sounding car a a DD. Heed SnoBrrru's statements regarding current owner, how it was driven, etc.

Before you drive it, have the Owner drive it. See how he drives and use that as part of your decision process. If he was a maniac on the road, he'll do the same thing w/a test drive to show you how great the car is. Then you know to just walk away.

If you decide to consider the purchase, get a full pre-purchase inspection from a qualified Subaru shop or Dealer.

Don't use the same shop that tuned the car, or at least use them and another to make sure you are getting the straight dope.

Also consider what the exhaust sounds like. If you are driving 2 hours a day, and it has a loud exhaust, you may tire of that extremely fast, but you could always change the exhaust if the rest of the car is good.

These are great points. I was going to have it inspected for sure, if I’m buying it. As far as the exhaust goes, my current car is fairly loud as it is. I don’t mind it.

so what is he asking for it?

Have you priced out a new base WRX? I've had plenty of jobs that had an hour commute each way. What did I buy for every single one of them? A brand new car that I left stock. You're going to put a ton of miles on the car and as much as a few more hp might be fun on the weekend, when you're on cruise control for 45 minutes, you could have 65 hp and the car would do exactly the same thing.

At least worth considering.

Good point. Though, I have commuted with a feels-like 65 hp stock car for years already. My commute is actually only 30% freeway and rarely use cruise control.

No big deal dailying that car with those mods.

But more importantly... any tuned/modified car is going to be a bit if a lottery. So if you DEPEND on the car to get to work... i would not buy a previously modified car (let alone a WRX).

This ^ unless you can make a dependable assessment of the car's conditions. Either you know the owner, you know the little nitpicks of these cars, know exactly what to look for to check if something is about to fail, know how to fix minor hiccups, etc etc. Some modified cars can be mint, but you have to know what to look for.

Mine is more modified than that, and I daily it no problem. My drive to work is like 45mins each way (mostly because of traffic). But i got it new and I can easily take transit to work if need be; also my wife has a car, so mine doesn't need to be 100% dependable.

Well I have a 2003 wed wagon stage 2 with similar upgrades... couple of things that I realized that didn’t make my commute any better. 1 the gas, pretty self explanatory. 2 upgrading the upper strut mounts, made every basic bump seem like the end of the world to the suspension. Finally the clutch anything more than a stage 2 and didn’t enjoy shifting constantly. Hopefully this helps

I DD my WRX everyday to work. For my past couple of jobs my work has only been 4-5 miles away, so only 10 miles round trip, but my car made 308/339 and all mods were done right when I bought the car in 2013 with 8,000 miles on it. I drove the car at least 15-20 times back and forth from Columbus, OH to MD. A 400+ mile trip over and over again with not a single issue. I would just maintain normal wear and tear and change to winter tires when it got cold, because heading towards Columbus, going through the mountains through WV it would just randomly snow sometimes. I would usually just set the cruise control and get 27MPG easily. The car was very reliable with all the mods I added, and I must say I installed them all in my garage in Ohio.

I would steer clear, because what others have said, it depends on how the previous owner drove their car. I'd say with those mods, it would be more than "spirited" and you're playing with a ticking time bomb right there. If you can get new, get new, if you can get CPO for a decent price that's not modified then that's not too bad either.

I would have to agree, the mods are fine but how the car was treated is a bigger factor.

how much torque does it make on E85 is the question you should be worried about? The stock rods on the FA20 are weak, 380 FT Lbs or more and they can break.

The FA 2.4 rods are a direct swap however and are MUCH stronger....as are any of the aftermarket rods. Modifications available for the 2.0 should be tuned to keep the torque output below 380 Ft. Lbs, breaking a rod is going to result in catastrophic engine damage.

Really comes down to 2 things: your preference as well as the tune. I daily my stage 2 2011 with flex fuel and I don't mind it at all. It's a stiff ride and loud but I have no complaints. That being said, I'm not sure I'd love a 2 hour drive in it every day. As for reliability, if it's tuned correctly and not abused the heck out of, it should be fine. Keep in mind though that with every modification done, the car does become less reliable than stock.

Good luck!

He pulled the trigger on this car last July. It blew up in August and now he has a civic.
I just pm'd him to ask for an update on the civic.

Never buy someone else's headaches.

I would look for a completely stock car that you can verify it has not been modded and reverted to stock. I would put a mellow catback exhaust and a stage 1 tune to make it run better and be more fuel efficient. I’d do a stylish set of wheels and keep the suspension stock. My Ideal daily driver if I were you. Instead I winter dd an 05 wrx wagon, stage 2 with a modified stock size turbo, stock coil springs and koni insert adjustable struts, factory 20mm front sway bar, 20mm oem bugeye rear sway bar. 235/45/17 all season rubber or 225/45/17 winter rubber.
Also a good weather only dd ver7 swapped 02 wrx, also stage 2. Koni adjustable struts and pink USDM coil springs with 20mm drop. Factory oem front and rear sway bars, 245/40/18 summer only rubber. I drive the wagon from NY to Missouri a couple of times a year, comfortable suspension and factory ride height comes in handy many different ways. Specially winter time when I hit snow accumulation. The 02 bugeye has more power and rides firmer, I’ve never driven it more than on 2 1/2 hours each way trips. I can see how it beats my body up more and would be too tiring for 1,000 mile day trips. I’m 56, when I was younger I much better tolerated harsh suspension and loud exhaust, I still do but for only so long. A WRX or STi is definitely an enjoyable way to travel, I look forward to getting in my cars and getting out on the road every day. When I have to drive our Toyota Sienna I feel like a part of me is not there. I hope you find a good car that you can transform yourself into your own idea of what it should be. I think it is more fun to start all stock, enjoy the research and planning of mods and savoring the moment when you first drive on your mod. It’s a richer experience, that’s the good life snoop.

My stage 2 still going strong for 12 years.

Not as long but similar. Stage 2 E30 FA20. Had a BigSF intake, tomei expreme TI, Invidia catted DP, turboxs hybrid BOV and a handmix E30 setup without a HPFP, regulator or injectors. Put 40k on that setup without issue. 3k oil change intervals with full synth.

I bought my '15 WRX with 59k on it last Jan-Feb and it's been fine so far especially after I had it tuned a few months back. I commute about 25 miles to work 5 days a week.

Mods on car when I bought it were:

Grimmspeed TMIC
Mishimoto Chargepipe
Mishimoto Cold Air
Grimmspeed Catted Jpipe
Grimmspeed Boost Controller
Killer B EWG equal length headers
Dual Tial Wastegates
IAG TGV Deletes
IAG EGR Delete

Mods I've installed are:

Cobb AP
Nameless Catback (the exhaust was rusted out)
IAG Street V3 AOS

My tuner swapped out the springs and lowered the boost on my wastegates so I'm making 297-300 whp on 93 octane. I mostly use cruise control as it's basically all highway.

This thread was started almost a year ago and was the OP's last activity on NASIOC. Still useful posts here, but just wondering if the OP ever bought the car...

Someone posted that he bought the car and it blew a few months later. Then bought a Civic.