Couldn’t agree more man. I’m on a stock ej25 block pushing about 390hp. I drive it pretty hard every day and the only problem I had so far is a faulty radiator cap not holding pressure. Other than that it’s been great. I love my subie. Just treat it well and please use some good oil and you won’t have any problems.
I loved my 2017 wrx and I now own a 2020 Bluebaru STI. I'm a total stock guy. I love what other subie owners do to their cars. Use common sense if you are doing mods and yes tune the car. 😊 A great video brother. 😊
@nexus5033 oh man i hope you’re not referring to the timing belt kit. You have to be extremely carful because there’s a lot of bad quality parts that will destroy your engine. I’ve heard nightmare stories of bearings failing after 3k miles and well it don’t end to well when that happens.
@paulmarsdensr1095 yep im a sucker for va chasis. They look so good especially when modified tastefully! But yeah hate when people say it’s okay to slap on random parts and you’ll be fine, then wonder why their car blows.
@@pl-boostcreep This one’s my second Subaru. I owned a 2016 base model wrx before the STI. It was a great car, zero issues at all. I just always wished I could get an STI and that served the purpose until I actually got one. There’s no other car for me that i’d prefer to drive in any situation other than an STI. They are amazing.
Ive owned subarus for over 10 years and did research prior to even owning one. Ive had nothing but a good experience, got to meet a shit ton of cool and knowledgeable people and won a bunch of awards. The guys who get them in the short term with lack of mechanical knowledge are the ones who jump in and expect huge power numbers with long term results without the proper upgrades and fail, then talk shit. The engineers at the subaru never intended on anyone pushing their power levels (drag racing) because they felt like it was a very balanced car for what they designed. Like you said they are a slightly more complicated engine then most engines so as you up the power levels certain aspects of the core design need to be modified to suit those goals.
I’m with the dealership that SOLD Donut media those Subarus AND engines. It’s not that they didn’t know any better because I was there when we TOLD THEM THOSE ISSUES were a thing. Ever since that series, I’ve had a chip on my shoulder about Donut media. Everyone saw people playing with cars they knew little about. Me and the guys at the shop only saw people playing stupid for content.
Got my 04 wrx as my first car at 18. Still have it at 22 and just like how said you have to have a strong base. While all my friends were modding them and blowing theirs up. i proitized bullet proofing mine. Installed the killer B oil pick up with the updated 2020 sti oil pan and baffles, cylinder 4 cooling mod, koyo rad, timing belt service, oil pump reseal, and AOS. Granted you dont need all those mods if you're gonna have it as a daily but ive been pushing 310hp for 2 years now with 0 issues. Absolutely love my car.
I think it's hillarious when people try to push over 300hp out of an unbuilt 4 cylinder boxer and then complain when it blows. Lots of other engines would need forged part replacements to handle that much power, whereas the only thing Subarus need are a bigger radiator and metal head gaskets. Outside of the tuner scene, normal people consider Subarus to be very reliable cars that last for decades when properly maintained. There's a reason why there are still so many old Subarus on the road, and why the Impreza is the lowest depreciating sedan in the US market. Stop throwing crappy EBay parts at your engine, change the damn oil, and you'll be fine.
I purchased my Impreza new at 21 years old, I’m 46 and still have my RS. It’s not my daily driver anymore, has 165000 miles and other than normal maintenance I’ve had no problems. It’s the best car I have ever had.
Modern day influencers don't help either. They openly shit on the cars, not knowing much about them, to generate traffic on their platforms. I've owned 3 wrx/stis and have never had issues with any of them. They're great cars!
What really grinds my gears is that NOBODY seems to replace crankshaft seals and then suprise they start to leak and behind timing belt seals oil pump! Guys if you do clutch or timing belt change please change those seals!
Thanks for the insight, I had recently bought a 2004 wrx bone stock as my first car and quickly realized that due to that, there were many components that caused problems. Cracked or old hoses, coolant and tranny leaks, dead bulbs inside and out. Currently saving to completely overhaul and refresh it brand spanking new. With that comes lots of research and I’m excited to learn as I go. I forget that it’s about 20 years old so things are bound to break soon! I just want to drive it again :(
feeeel that there currently rebuilding an 07 Impreza 2.5i, has given me lots of insight on fail parts on boxers and how to avoid major failures down the road.
This is what the beginners need to hear before they start doing stuff! I have a 21 sti that’s fbo e85 big turbo with all the supporting mods and still tuning. I’ve got 25k miles so far and have nothing bad to say about it, loving it so far!!!
When I first owned my 07 wrx it had 51k miles did every maintenance you can think of and daily the car til 270k miles before getting rear ended which totaled the car back in 2020. The car had simple reliability mods (radiator, killer bee oil pick up, cylinder 4 cooling mod, and IAG AOS). Only problem I faced was going through 2 transmissions other than that trips to tahoe for winter and 10+ trips down to socal was a breeze.
The whole donut media blowing up so many wrxs in a row put a sour taste in my mouth for them. I love them as content creators and I watch all their videos but for a car content company as big as they are now, they should not be making those kinds of mistake and while i absolutely understand it's impossible to know everything about every car ever... they couldve at least googled "what do i need to do to my subie before tracking it" and their issues mightve been completely resolved. Their mistake really added a lot of unneeded hate towards subarus.
i bought my 11 hatch with 70k miles and it was a 1 owner car. seemed to be mainly stock but it did have a intake on it and it was a risky buy because it was from a a used car lot. i immediately changed the intake to a cobb SF, added a turbosmart BPV, ividia exhaust, E tuned with a accessport and did all the recommended services for up to the 105k. sitting at 105k today and she runs like a champ. it really does depend on how you take care of them.
I own 2 Subarus, and still currently do own them both. First Subie is my Daily driver that I’ve had for 15 years. It’s just an 2006 N/A Impreza (EJ201) motor. The other Subie I’ve owned for 7 years now. Is my 2006 WRX STI (EJ257) motor. And honestly they have both never let me down. Apart from an Air pump failure in the STI. Very reliable cars. I feel the whole “Subies blowing head gaskets” is a just a stereotype that haters love to throw around. No different to the stereotype ”Mustangs and crowds” Sure it has happened. But it’s wayyy less uncommon then what people say over social media.. Anyway love your Hawkeye! EJ FTW!
That’s big facts. Anything that went wrong with my Subie was human error including yours truly. I DID IT. No head gasket issues. No burning oil. 127k miles and pulling strong.
First Subaru Sti 2021 owner here. (Thanks for the positive back ground cheers) One thing that I noticed through research (before upgrading) not all main companies have proven gains on parts. So be careful what you buy, this includes main companies that everyone who has a Sti goes for. Another thing I’ve noticed is yes everything you say is true, get the supporting mods. And take it easy after a tune make sure your car runs great before you rough house with it. The Subaru engine is like a baby, if it doesn’t like something it will let you know right away. I’m on 310 whp, goal 450whp.
Got my first Subaru Leone back in 1983! Currently driving a Forester (SH) and an S208. Just follow all the service recommendations, take care of them, and they will take care of you.
I'm on my first Subaru, bought my STi new in October '21. Almost at 9,000 miles and couldn't be happier. Still stock and no plans to change, but if there are reliability mods you can recommend, I'm all ears.
Swapped a 02 to a 06 chassis with my dad just super budget build, and it was a insane car, motor solid as a rock, but the trans blew up twice so I sold it for 4K back in the day… miss that car
Man, I love how you talk about Subarus I’ve had my Subaru for nine years now it’s a bugeye and I will never get rid of this car and everything you have dressed is true. Sometimes the problem with Subarus is the owners not the car they just don’t know how to take care of them because they don’t do the research before they start modifying them and then they want to make 1000 hp without making sure that all the maintenance is done. By the way, That bugeye you kept showing going around the track had me in love again I love Subaru especially GDs to death, but bugeyes will always be my favorite keep up the great work bro and I can’t wait to see your Hawkeye when it’s done
Had a 2006 Hawkeye now went back in time and got a GC8 2000 final version of the original. NEVER HAD ALL THE FAKE PROBLEMS!!! My car is near 25 years old and its a daily. Never miss a beat.
I own a VA wrx and it's been such a blast. It's been my daily driver for a bout 2 years and I put on about 50k miles since ownership in late '21, some basic mods and it has a track day under it's belt! I'm def curious about older WRX, like a hawkeye STI would be awesome to have, we'll see
mom has had 04 outback for 13 years 0 issues. had my 04 blobsti for 8 years. needs new pads and rotors and struts. aside from a bit of an oil drinking problem she is a workhorse and a right good winter car for up here in British Columbia mountains. i have friends who have had multiple engines replaced for double what i bought my entire car for. maybe i just got a gem of a build.
Agreed. I have a 2004 wrx, bigger blouch turbo, upgraded injectors, fuel pump, fuel rails, UEL, downpipe, and so much more mods, etc. stock block pushing 400hp. These cars need just proper maintenance and a good tune. I just ordered the 4th cylinder cooling mod too, I’m curious the benefits on the ej motor.
LET THEM KNOW!! Had an aggressive “pop” tune when I first got my subaru and that’s the reason she blew. Got it rebuilt the right way now with forged internals and pro tune and it’s been rock solid. Multiple bay area to La trips and not a single hiccup. Just do your maintenance and don’t get a pop tune because they are stupid and your car WILL blow.
I totally agree with this. My 2011 STI sedan, which I bought almost 8 years ago in 2015, completely stock w/ SPT cat back and 28k miles is still my daily almost 90k miles later. The first 4 years of owning it I only did the cobb stage 1+ on it running Mobil 1 5w-30. It was not until moving and having a homie buy a 2015 WRX, after riding in my car, that I started to really modify it. He was the first out of 3 buddies that ended up buying Subies because of riding in my car. TLDR, here I am with my 2011 STI, pretty much everything except motor and turbo are done to run flex fuel on my daily. I did all the reliability boosting mods like AOS, turbo inlet, gdt cyl 4 cooling mod, tomei EL headers ceramic coated, P&L Motorsports ceramic coated uppipe w/ 40mm TurboSmart EWG and dump tube, etc. There's too much to list but my stock motor and turbo at ~90k miles went to E85 and made 350whp on a cobb tune. (Given my airpump and tgv deletes, my next upgrades also include a Haltech ecu and display because cobb won't let you tune with TGV and air pump deletes, thanks EPA!) Car is still going stong now at 119k, recently replaced my radiator, it was leaking at the top plastic end, with a Koyoyrad and replaced the rubber hoses with silicone hoses. I have switched to using Motul 5w-40 oil when I made the switch to running E85. I'm currently in the process of building it to make around 550whp. New motor, rotated turbo, fmic, fuel pumps, etc. are inc. Point is you are right. It is all down to the owner. My 12 year old EJ 257 is still going stong even after running E85 almost everyday, from ~90k, on the stock motor and turbo to 119k miles. I still daily it. You need to do the right mods, take care of the car and know how you should be driving it. I don't beat it up everytime I drive it, though I will rip it if someone wants to run lol Your Subie will only be as reliable as you are. If you don't take care of it, it's not gonna take care of you.
Its almost always owner error when they blow up. Usually a kid who did an off the shelf cobb tune and nothing else other than cosmetics. If you want your far to be faster you have to get a real tune for your specific car and do the supporting mods to make it reliable. The head gasket issues are widely misunderstood and people wont listen to facts. I have a non turbo ej253 impreza with upgraded head gaskets and its rock solid reliable. Only other issue i ran into was a bad clutch fork at 170k miles. Its got over 180k on it now and still runs well. Leaks a tiny bit of oil from the valve cover but im too lazy to fix that.
2019 STI with 60k miles. Full bolt-on E85 with ALL supporting mods 400whp. Pro-tuned since 30k miles and driven to and from cali to Vegas multiple times. ZERO issues so far. Very reliable.
Got my 06 wrx a few years back and it was great then got into a mild accident that broke my radiator and after getting that all fixed i accidently swapped the radiator cap with the exspantion tank cap witch is not good so i ended up blowing the piston rings and burining a valve from the coolant system not being able to function properly , did a shit ton of research after to find out that one cap is a 2way valve and the other is only 1way so you cannot swap them and need to make sure the 1way is always on the radiator , so got a new outfrount forged block and rebuilt the stock heads to oem spec along with cobb stage 2+ supporting mods and after saving up was finally able to get a pro tune and damn the car really woke up after the pro tune there was a major difference from the ots tune , its been 1 and 1/2 years with that setup and ive had zero issues , pushing a mild 231HP and coolant temps are great , oil barely burns off but it gets 100+ in the summer here , motor has been realy healthy and nothing has poped up on the accesport to concern me at all , i drive the car hard whever i get a chance and never gives me a problem im cool or hot weather , currently have a stock pile of new parts waithing to go one once i get more parts in so i can do the next jump in power to around 300HP , then after that i gotta save up for a 6-speed swap to i can go even bigger in power , matinence is the #1 key to keeping your subie happy and running for a long time with no problems
i own a 02 wrx wagon has all the bolt on mods but only cobb ots tune on 93 my clutch went out so currently getting that taken care of then im planning on the the oil stuff you were talking about and then oncew i have to money goin with a pro tune thank you for the help you really inspired me to build mine 🤝
Keeping my 04 WRX stock. It’s fun the way it is. And I appreciate it a lot more than most because I started out with a 1999 Impreza 2.5 RS. It makes the 04 WRX feel 10 times better!!!
I have a 2006 saab 9-2x AKA a Saabaru. Just over 100k miles. I have the ej25 NA. It's been great. No major issues. Still kicking. It does consume a lot of oil. So I have to keep an eye on that. But I love my wagon to death. I hope to have it for a very long time.
I used to think the oil pick up tube issue was bs. I started noticing low oil pressure(get a pressure gauge yall). I dropped the pan, and there it was, big crack towards the top. My pan was solid and undamaged, so its definitely not from "user error" here, just a bad part. I bought an aftermarket pickup(dont replace with oem) and my pressure is back to normal.
I’d fully agree that they don’t suck. I’ve got a WRX GB270 Saloon (UK Hawkeye non-STi final edition, basically), which has an EJ255 that does 266bhp stock due to Prodrive factory equipment and tune. I bought mine over 3 years ago with mods already installed and no history, and it was basically fine until the last few months. Now, it’s a 15-year-old car and has done over 100,000 miles, 35k of those since I bought it, but things have started failing at an alarming (for my wallet) rate. The major ones were the radiator giving up, shortly followed by a head gasket leak. Arguably my fault for buying a car with no history, a few basic mods (it makes 281bhp) and a fair few miles, but for about 3 years it’s been good. Now it’s being expensive, and hopefully the stock short block is still in good shape so I can save £3k on the repairs required… In short, I love it, but the head gasket thing feels very justified. The fact that they need work to be “track safe” counts against them too, in my opinion… Still, it can, and will, be built.
First and foremost, I LOVE my car. I'm the original owner of my 2019 STi. No modifications, all services up to date from the dealership etc. 4 Months ago with only 21k miles on the odo, I was sitting at a red light then all of a sudden my car started to chug and died on me. Couldn't even restart it. I had to get it towed back to the dealership. The dealership pulled the motor and discovered that the main crank bearing was seized and I also had a crack on the exhaust side of my turbo. They had to replace the entire bottom end and the turbo itself. Thankfully since my car wasnt modified, it was all covered under the warranty. Otherwise, I would have had to pay over 12k in repair costs. Luckily for me, the dealership itself was tremendously helpful and Subaru of America ruled that the problem wasn't my fault. The Service Manager actually told me that he's never seen this before on a stock car, the whole ordeal was wild!
Build to application, not power goal. Be it a 350hp street car or 500hp track car, the application dictates the needed mods. Fix all maintenance issues before a single mod is done keeping application in mind. Fix/correct all know issues with the platform/engine. Fix the oiling issues. Pan, baffle, pickup, pump Everyone loves the rumble but fact of the matter is that uel headers are bad for the engine, go el headers. Go parallel fueling to prevent cylinder 4 from being starved. Doms cylinder 4 cooling mod, again, to keep cylinder 4 happy. ARP head studs Open the ring gap up. OEM ring gap specs are for OEM power levels. When you add power you add heat which closes up the ring gap causing the rings to buckle and break the ring lands.
I'm looking to buy a new car and I'm big into Japanese cars but i have been turned away from Subarus by many people. I saw one go around the isle of man and ever since i loved the unique sound. You've definitely changed my view on them but I'm going to do more research as I'm unfamiliar with the platform in general.
Bought a used 2014 gr w/40k on it. Went through all the reliability, supporting, and pro tuning mods. On boost one day oil pressure dipped about 15psi for a split second and boom bearing metal through from top to bottom lol fast forward 5months, I’m on a stg 2 iag long block, upgraded sump/ pick up, rcm pump etc. overbuilt on stock power…never again haha
Ive been pushing 645 wheel on stock 2.5 block ej20 heads only work done was custom head gaskets arp head studs upgraded valve springs and retainers ext cyl 4 cooling mod iag Pic up and tray and atp dampner and been going strong couple years several 100 Street hits ext never let loose on me
The real issue with Subarus is usually the owners. Subaru cars can be great platforms to mod and tune. But they are NOT forgiving at it. They are EASY to get power out of. But not while keeping the thing reliable. The flat 4 engine is not tolerant to poor tuning. I know for a fact, that most STI's and WRX's that have been kept completely stock from the intake to the exhaust, have survived over 300k kilometers without engine repairs or major turbo work. Given that the owner has stayed on top of oil changes, maintenance, and always let the car warm up properly before spirited driving. But you have the worst offenders, giving the car a homemade tune just to push a few more hp without care for the car running properly and cleanly. These guys usually also mix in aftermarket parts for the intake and exhaust. They blow up the engine fastest. Then we got the usual "bro I just changed the exhaust and intake", but this messes up the precise tune from the factory, causing the car to not run as intended, eventually leading into engine knock or other issues. And lastly, the most common Subaru killer.... the BOV installers. You think you just installed a harmless BOV that goes "psssshhh" and makes a cool noise? No. You fundamentally fucked with the air intake calculation. Turbo Subies have a sensor for airflow, which feeds the data into the car's computer. This computer calculates how much fuel goes with the air that has been compressed through the turbocharger. The stock valve in the car is of a design that feeds said air back into the system, and cycles it until you open up the throttle again. This causes you to have a bit less turbo lag, but also it doesn't throw off the calculations the computer made. Now when you replace this cycling valve with your cool BOV that goes "pssshhh", you vent the air OUT of the intake, but the car's stock tune still thinks you got the compressed air in the system. So after you step on the gas again, it will run rich for a second or two, before you build new boost. Which not only results in wasted gas, but can also even stall the car, or cause long term engine problems. You also lose performance, which is the opposite of what you want with a performance mod. A BOV should only be installed when you are running a very specific type of turbo setup, or have no MAF in the car (it's a very old car or something). I'm no expert on tuning, but I would assume you actually want a BOV for a setup that is running so much boost, that a cycling valve would be overwhelmed and cause turboflutter as you close the throttle. Then venting the pressure out would make sense. Especially if you have like a twin turbo setup that builds the power back up very fast with a small turbo, as the big one spools up. But the big one makes so much pressure that it just has to be vented with a BOV to make the turbo not disintegrate due to flutter.
I have had head gaskets fail on a EZ30 H6. They are supposed to be the most reliable of the scooby engines but despite taking good care of it, they still went. We got the car fixed and I still love it. But open deck all-alloy engines are going to be prone to head gasket failure when the mileage gets up there. Every engine has its weaknesses - pick your poison.
I love subarus too.I really want a WRX/WRX STi, but everyone always sells them for too much, or sells them with broken headgaskets and a lot of problems.I dont know if a subaru is a good first car, but hopefully I could get some advice and maybe buy one later in my life for motorsport?
My STi is suffering from ringland failure. I changed my oil regularly and checked the oil levels every day to the point that people at work made fun of me and called me paranoid and it still failed before 75,000 miles. I had fun with the car when I first got it but never raced it or beat on the car and after a few months the novelty wore off and I just drove it like any normal car and I still have people in the forums blame me saying it's my fault for beating on the car which isn't the case at all.
I had a NA 07 with rod knock. Went 20k & kept going when I traded it, although it could have just been some kind of exhaust issue. Sounded closer to one loose rod. I think you're right about it being the NA that thing had it's HG done like 2-3 times by the dealership in its receipts. Ridiculous.
MY SUBARU STORY: My first car was a 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i: I never really had an interest in subarus or cars in general before I started driving. I started 'getting into cars' after I got my licence, when I started driving the legacy like it was a 22b, did cold starts with borderline WOT like after a minute of warming up (New England winters). I basically beat the ever living hell out of her for my 'dumb kid' phase of driving. I truly drove this car like I stole it. Oil was changed regularly, the cvt made it to 175k miles (didn't even break, just wanted the slipping to stop) Only major work we'd ever had after owning her for 50k miles was a new exhaust, a ball joint, and the CVT. One time when on my way home from school, I was short on gas and made it 40 miles on the gas light and did 34.8 miles per gallon for the trip (175k miles on the engine). Engine still had 150-160 psi compression on all four cylinders before she was sadly totalled by some girl who was texting and driving. Nobody will ever be able to convince me Subarus aren't some of the greatest, well handling, most fun and most reliable cars on the market today, and I wholly attribute my car obsession to that 2.5i. I put 50k on her and I know she could've done another 70k at least. If I could do it over again, I probably wouldn't beat on her as bad as I did, but she was my own proof that Subarus can put up with that kind of abuse. The good news is I got a Legacy 3.6r with the insurance money! Give these cars regular maintenance and they'll go until the end of time.
I have a 2020 and i love it. Bone stock only because its my daily. But what do you recommend i can do to it without a tune. Where should i start first?
I kept my 16 STI stock. With regular maint and supporting maint. 119k miles on the factory motor. 🤷♂️. The problem is the "rip it to wherever I drive people". Most people that I know that their motor blew up was over dumb stuff like poor maintenance history.
Ive seen plenty of headgasket failures on wrxs and stis both stock and modded. Na cars are worse, they switched to mls gaskets with the ej253 but continued to fail at the same rate. Ive had turbo failures, oil leaks galore, and plenty more reliability issues on all my subarus. My buddy had ringland failure on his 2020 sti before 15k miles. No matter how well they're taken care of they are still less reliable than a majority of other cars.
They do have some inherent design flaws given the horizontally opposed engine but so does Porsche with theirs as an example. That said, theyre just different from other non HO'd engines and the approach for repair/maintenance or building is going to be a bit different than most cars. Its also important to note, that given these cars reputations for being a road-going "rally car", these cars are typically beaten to shit and improperly modified, especially without a supporting tune and neglected. Yet despite that, these cars can take quite a beating that other cars may not. You would think doing things right the first time around would be common sense but I digress. The same goes for the difference between repair and maintenance. Its typically user error, though, things do unfortunately happen sometimes. But that goes for every car
I agree 1000%, it seems over 90% of the hate again Subaru's are from people who never owned one and those that did never took care of it properly like what you mentioned ....throwing on mods with no tune then get surprised their shit blew up! The EJ is a very solidly built engine else it wouldn't have been in use across MANY Subaru platforms if it weren't.
I have an 06 wrx just getting into the game I have a few things done to but don’t anything at all when it comes down to it. Do you own or have a shop where you work on subies?
Take the anecdote how you will but I’m at 206k miles on the Fozzy, 04. The block hasn’t been touched, over 140 psi on all 4 cylinders. Last tuned back in 16 with an 18g at 20 psi and e85. Still going strong. Get the AOS immediately when you get a Subaru.
I got a 2020 STI and my first mods where an AOS, cylinder 4 cooling mod, downpipe, catback and had them all installed at the same time by @tougetuning then had them dyno tune it 👌 It’s been amazing! Definitely doing the oil pan / pickup before I track it or drive it really hard.
I love my 2017 Subaru WRX sadly I just blew up a brand new motor that had 1200 miles on it and have gone through three transmissions. Don’t know if they were just bad parts or something I was doing car is fully stock but I will keep this car forever
Aye man I’m thinking of buying my first car a 2006 Subaru Impreza wagon it’s only $3,800 with 78,000 miles any advice on what I should look for when I go look at it or like anything I should check and be worried abt being a red flag ? It also looks stock
Almost 140k on 05 sti still pulling strong! Headgasket at 85k Everything looking and sounding good. 🤙 She does like her oil, though 😅 Shell Rotella T6 has been excellent!
@@carterschichtel9678 yup and the engines are still running even after blowing pistons and remade pistons, the only catastrophic possibility would be the engine block itself cracks but that has to happen under like 9000 RPM and no oil change Why do people think toyotas are the most reliable cars but boring af because they're slow? Well toyota is wise not to boost the hp to the limit otherwise it will cost the engine lifespan and reliability and plus more Power doesn't mean more torque
I’ll admit that all cars has issues but people just forgets that some car require more maintenance than what they drove before if not that a new car platform.
2015 STi. Yes it was my fault a ringland cracked. Smh. Got a built short block dropped in and have been more meticulous with it. 50k+ on the motor now. No major mechanical issues. Some electrical gremlins here and there though.
Finally some positive vibes even in the comments. I swear i wanted to sale my car because everybody was saying they can break down suddenly even though you drive normal…..still scared man to push on a warm engine….subie community is really f uped man. Thanks for the video❤. PS: do i need to do a oil pickup change on my daily subi sti 13. I drive it normal everyday sometimes on straight way i push my car. But to max of 4k rpm😂??
my dad has a 2020 sti the only problems he has ever had are leaking coolant because subaru puts on crappy hose clamps on the coolant lines which that is a 20 dollar fix and he melted his clutch which is because he drove it home without letting the clutch cool down
What people don't realize is every car has some issues. Take the reliable Celica GT with the 5sgte motor. Solid motor, but prone to also burning up or leaking oil. If you don't catch that, it's a problem. A lot of people like short ram or cold air intakes, but if you drive around dusty areas, guess what? You get a lot of dirt into your motor which will fuck it up. I destroyed my Celica like that. Just because you can afford the payments, make sure you can also afford the maintenance. That's where I think many people go wrong. Unless you got money, chances are your BUILT car, cannot be a daily driver, if you want it to be "reliable". Not all OEM parts are bad, they are made to meet specifications to be driven. Most race cars have rebuilt motors after a single run on the drag strip. So not always performance means reliable or better than OEM. Choose what your car will be used for, responsibly.
I just got an 03 wrx with the ej205. I want to put an intake and a cat back exhaust for now. Do i need a tune for that? Im also at 142,000 miles so what is good preventative maintenance other than the oil pan baffle and pickup
As long as use the Cobb SF intake you should be fine as it was designed to have the same air flow as the stock intake. The Cobb intake will also be compatible with the Cobb Access port Stage 1 and 2 tunes. I have a 2005 WRX that originally came with an Injen short ram intake when I bought it used. But swapped it out for the Cobb intake when I learned about this. I have now been driving it for about 10 years with the Cobb SF intake and a stage 1 Access port tune without a problem. I would also recommend installing a catless uppipe that is located between the exhaust manifold and the turbo. That alone will give you a noticable performance difference in reducing turbo lag. Plus those pre-cats are notorious for damaging turbos when pieces of the cat start breaking of as they age.
What you should do before even any of that is invest in a better radiator and an aos. It’s better to do reliably mods first then get some nice performance parts. Then look into a cylinder 4 cooling mod & oil pan/baffle & pick up tube bro. As far as intake go with Cobb and a dp is your choice. You’ll hear the turbo spool like crazy! Invidia is a good choice as well as Tomei but more expensive! Also recommend getting one with a prewelded bung to put a afr gauge later on.
Just check your oil every morning and the subbie might last 7 years if you are lucky. Its not you, these engines really are poorly designed. That's why Subaru doesn't make them anymore.
hey guys !!! this is for anyone who’s buying an old subaru with high mileage, id you don’t have the service history i suggest the first thing you do to that car is a timing belt kit change ! trust me it could save you so much money in the future haha
Bought my first Subaru Wrx back in 2020, it was a 2013 with 33k mines, I’ve done EVERYTHING right to getting it serviced checked and even getting the 60kmiles recommended change around 40kmiles and I’ve had zero issue with it. These people really just are fake JDM fan boys who’s only like GTR and k chassis they wont ever talk about how unreliable and not even good engines from the 90s and early 2000s that are in alot of other JDM cars
Couldn’t agree more man. I’m on a stock ej25 block pushing about 390hp. I drive it pretty hard every day and the only problem I had so far is a faulty radiator cap not holding pressure. Other than that it’s been great. I love my subie. Just treat it well and please use some good oil and you won’t have any problems.
I loved my 2017 wrx and I now own a 2020 Bluebaru STI. I'm a total stock guy. I love what other subie owners do to their cars. Use common sense if you are doing mods and yes tune the car. 😊 A great video brother. 😊
185k mi. Unopened motor. Makes 541 whp 👍🏽
ive just had some back luck with quality control on some parts that were supposed to be quality but other than that my 06 sti has done me no wrong
@nexus5033 oh man i hope you’re not referring to the timing belt kit. You have to be extremely carful because there’s a lot of bad quality parts that will destroy your engine. I’ve heard nightmare stories of bearings failing after 3k miles and well it don’t end to well when that happens.
@paulmarsdensr1095 yep im a sucker for va chasis. They look so good especially when modified tastefully! But yeah hate when people say it’s okay to slap on random parts and you’ll be fine, then wonder why their car blows.
I just picked up a 2019 STI with 30k miles on her. Always been my dream car and i’m NEVER selling it. I love it so much
Just picked up a white wingless 2020 it’s my third Subaru but the first that I too will never sell
@@pl-boostcreep This one’s my second Subaru. I owned a 2016 base model wrx before the STI. It was a great car, zero issues at all. I just always wished I could get an STI and that served the purpose until I actually got one. There’s no other car for me that i’d prefer to drive in any situation other than an STI. They are amazing.
Ive owned subarus for over 10 years and did research prior to even owning one. Ive had nothing but a good experience, got to meet a shit ton of cool and knowledgeable people and won a bunch of awards. The guys who get them in the short term with lack of mechanical knowledge are the ones who jump in and expect huge power numbers with long term results without the proper upgrades and fail, then talk shit.
The engineers at the subaru never intended on anyone pushing their power levels (drag racing) because they felt like it was a very balanced car for what they designed. Like you said they are a slightly more complicated engine then most engines so as you up the power levels certain aspects of the core design need to be modified to suit those goals.
I’m with the dealership that SOLD Donut media those Subarus AND engines. It’s not that they didn’t know any better because I was there when we TOLD THEM THOSE ISSUES were a thing. Ever since that series, I’ve had a chip on my shoulder about Donut media. Everyone saw people playing with cars they knew little about. Me and the guys at the shop only saw people playing stupid for content.
Got my 04 wrx as my first car at 18. Still have it at 22 and just like how said you have to have a strong base. While all my friends were modding them and blowing theirs up. i proitized bullet proofing mine. Installed the killer B oil pick up with the updated 2020 sti oil pan and baffles, cylinder 4 cooling mod, koyo rad, timing belt service, oil pump reseal, and AOS. Granted you dont need all those mods if you're gonna have it as a daily but ive been pushing 310hp for 2 years now with 0 issues. Absolutely love my car.
I think it's hillarious when people try to push over 300hp out of an unbuilt 4 cylinder boxer and then complain when it blows. Lots of other engines would need forged part replacements to handle that much power, whereas the only thing Subarus need are a bigger radiator and metal head gaskets. Outside of the tuner scene, normal people consider Subarus to be very reliable cars that last for decades when properly maintained. There's a reason why there are still so many old Subarus on the road, and why the Impreza is the lowest depreciating sedan in the US market. Stop throwing crappy EBay parts at your engine, change the damn oil, and you'll be fine.
I purchased my Impreza new at 21 years old, I’m 46 and still have my RS. It’s not my daily driver anymore, has 165000 miles and other than normal maintenance I’ve had no problems. It’s the best car I have ever had.
nice
Modern day influencers don't help either. They openly shit on the cars, not knowing much about them, to generate traffic on their platforms. I've owned 3 wrx/stis and have never had issues with any of them. They're great cars!
What really grinds my gears is that NOBODY seems to replace crankshaft seals and then suprise they start to leak and behind timing belt seals oil pump! Guys if you do clutch or timing belt change please change those seals!
Thanks for the insight, I had recently bought a 2004 wrx bone stock as my first car and quickly realized that due to that, there were many components that caused problems. Cracked or old hoses, coolant and tranny leaks, dead bulbs inside and out. Currently saving to completely overhaul and refresh it brand spanking new. With that comes lots of research and I’m excited to learn as I go. I forget that it’s about 20 years old so things are bound to break soon! I just want to drive it again :(
feeeel that there currently rebuilding an 07 Impreza 2.5i, has given me lots of insight on fail parts on boxers and how to avoid major failures down the road.
This is what the beginners need to hear before they start doing stuff! I have a 21 sti that’s fbo e85 big turbo with all the supporting mods and still tuning. I’ve got 25k miles so far and have nothing bad to say about it, loving it so far!!!
When I first owned my 07 wrx it had 51k miles did every maintenance you can think of and daily the car til 270k miles before getting rear ended which totaled the car back in 2020. The car had simple reliability mods (radiator, killer bee oil pick up, cylinder 4 cooling mod, and IAG AOS). Only problem I faced was going through 2 transmissions other than that trips to tahoe for winter and 10+ trips down to socal was a breeze.
The whole donut media blowing up so many wrxs in a row put a sour taste in my mouth for them. I love them as content creators and I watch all their videos but for a car content company as big as they are now, they should not be making those kinds of mistake and while i absolutely understand it's impossible to know everything about every car ever... they couldve at least googled "what do i need to do to my subie before tracking it" and their issues mightve been completely resolved. Their mistake really added a lot of unneeded hate towards subarus.
i bought my 11 hatch with 70k miles and it was a 1 owner car. seemed to be mainly stock but it did have a intake on it and it was a risky buy because it was from a a used car lot. i immediately changed the intake to a cobb SF, added a turbosmart BPV, ividia exhaust, E tuned with a accessport and did all the recommended services for up to the 105k.
sitting at 105k today and she runs like a champ. it really does depend on how you take care of them.
I own 2 Subarus, and still currently do own them both. First Subie is my Daily driver that I’ve had for 15 years. It’s just an 2006 N/A Impreza (EJ201) motor. The other Subie I’ve owned for 7 years now. Is my 2006 WRX STI (EJ257) motor. And honestly they have both never let me down. Apart from an Air pump failure in the STI. Very reliable cars.
I feel the whole “Subies blowing head gaskets” is a just a stereotype that haters love to throw around. No different to the stereotype ”Mustangs and crowds” Sure it has happened. But it’s wayyy less uncommon then what people say over social media..
Anyway love your Hawkeye! EJ FTW!
That’s big facts. Anything that went wrong with my Subie was human error including yours truly. I DID IT. No head gasket issues. No burning oil. 127k miles and pulling strong.
First Subaru Sti 2021 owner here. (Thanks for the positive back ground cheers) One thing that I noticed through research (before upgrading) not all main companies have proven gains on parts. So be careful what you buy, this includes main companies that everyone who has a Sti goes for. Another thing I’ve noticed is yes everything you say is true, get the supporting mods. And take it easy after a tune make sure your car runs great before you rough house with it. The Subaru engine is like a baby, if it doesn’t like something it will let you know right away. I’m on 310 whp, goal 450whp.
Man, I can’t wait to watch your VB WRX build! It’s gonna be con-tent!❤
Got my first Subaru Leone back in 1983! Currently driving a Forester (SH) and an S208. Just follow all the service recommendations, take care of them, and they will take care of you.
I'm on my first Subaru, bought my STi new in October '21. Almost at 9,000 miles and couldn't be happier. Still stock and no plans to change, but if there are reliability mods you can recommend, I'm all ears.
Swapped a 02 to a 06 chassis with my dad just super budget build, and it was a insane car, motor solid as a rock, but the trans blew up twice so I sold it for 4K back in the day… miss that car
Have had my Hawkeye sti for 3 years now and have had no issues so far. Love the car makes me smile every time i drive it
Man, I love how you talk about Subarus I’ve had my Subaru for nine years now it’s a bugeye and I will never get rid of this car and everything you have dressed is true. Sometimes the problem with Subarus is the owners not the car they just don’t know how to take care of them because they don’t do the research before they start modifying them and then they want to make 1000 hp without making sure that all the maintenance is done. By the way, That bugeye you kept showing going around the track had me in love again I love Subaru especially GDs to death, but bugeyes will always be my favorite keep up the great work bro and I can’t wait to see your Hawkeye when it’s done
Having the supporting mods to your power goal is spot on; I would add a well experienced tuner that knows these engines. Subie Gang
Had a 2006 Hawkeye now went back in time and got a GC8 2000 final version of the original.
NEVER HAD ALL THE FAKE PROBLEMS!!! My car is near 25 years old and its a daily. Never miss a beat.
I own a VA wrx and it's been such a blast. It's been my daily driver for a bout 2 years and I put on about 50k miles since ownership in late '21, some basic mods and it has a track day under it's belt! I'm def curious about older WRX, like a hawkeye STI would be awesome to have, we'll see
mom has had 04 outback for 13 years 0 issues. had my 04 blobsti for 8 years. needs new pads and rotors and struts. aside from a bit of an oil drinking problem she is a workhorse and a right good winter car for up here in British Columbia mountains. i have friends who have had multiple engines replaced for double what i bought my entire car for. maybe i just got a gem of a build.
Agreed. I have a 2004 wrx, bigger blouch turbo, upgraded injectors, fuel pump, fuel rails, UEL, downpipe, and so much more mods, etc. stock block pushing 400hp. These cars need just proper maintenance and a good tune. I just ordered the 4th cylinder cooling mod too, I’m curious the benefits on the ej motor.
LET THEM KNOW!!
Had an aggressive “pop” tune when I first got my subaru and that’s the reason she blew. Got it rebuilt the right way now with forged internals and pro tune and it’s been rock solid. Multiple bay area to La trips and not a single hiccup. Just do your maintenance and don’t get a pop tune because they are stupid and your car WILL blow.
I totally agree with this. My 2011 STI sedan, which I bought almost 8 years ago in 2015, completely stock w/ SPT cat back and 28k miles is still my daily almost 90k miles later. The first 4 years of owning it I only did the cobb stage 1+ on it running Mobil 1 5w-30. It was not until moving and having a homie buy a 2015 WRX, after riding in my car, that I started to really modify it. He was the first out of 3 buddies that ended up buying Subies because of riding in my car. TLDR, here I am with my 2011 STI, pretty much everything except motor and turbo are done to run flex fuel on my daily. I did all the reliability boosting mods like AOS, turbo inlet, gdt cyl 4 cooling mod, tomei EL headers ceramic coated, P&L Motorsports ceramic coated uppipe w/ 40mm TurboSmart EWG and dump tube, etc. There's too much to list but my stock motor and turbo at ~90k miles went to E85 and made 350whp on a cobb tune. (Given my airpump and tgv deletes, my next upgrades also include a Haltech ecu and display because cobb won't let you tune with TGV and air pump deletes, thanks EPA!) Car is still going stong now at 119k, recently replaced my radiator, it was leaking at the top plastic end, with a Koyoyrad and replaced the rubber hoses with silicone hoses. I have switched to using Motul 5w-40 oil when I made the switch to running E85. I'm currently in the process of building it to make around 550whp. New motor, rotated turbo, fmic, fuel pumps, etc. are inc.
Point is you are right. It is all down to the owner. My 12 year old EJ 257 is still going stong even after running E85 almost everyday, from ~90k, on the stock motor and turbo to 119k miles. I still daily it. You need to do the right mods, take care of the car and know how you should be driving it. I don't beat it up everytime I drive it, though I will rip it if someone wants to run lol Your Subie will only be as reliable as you are. If you don't take care of it, it's not gonna take care of you.
Its almost always owner error when they blow up. Usually a kid who did an off the shelf cobb tune and nothing else other than cosmetics. If you want your far to be faster you have to get a real tune for your specific car and do the supporting mods to make it reliable. The head gasket issues are widely misunderstood and people wont listen to facts. I have a non turbo ej253 impreza with upgraded head gaskets and its rock solid reliable. Only other issue i ran into was a bad clutch fork at 170k miles. Its got over 180k on it now and still runs well. Leaks a tiny bit of oil from the valve cover but im too lazy to fix that.
07 sti. Surprised there was no mention of an AOS. I would also say that's a must have for reliability.
2019 STI with 60k miles. Full bolt-on E85 with ALL supporting mods 400whp. Pro-tuned since 30k miles and driven to and from cali to Vegas multiple times. ZERO issues so far. Very reliable.
Got my 06 wrx a few years back and it was great then got into a mild accident that broke my radiator and after getting that all fixed i accidently swapped the radiator cap with the exspantion tank cap witch is not good so i ended up blowing the piston rings and burining a valve from the coolant system not being able to function properly , did a shit ton of research after to find out that one cap is a 2way valve and the other is only 1way so you cannot swap them and need to make sure the 1way is always on the radiator , so got a new outfrount forged block and rebuilt the stock heads to oem spec along with cobb stage 2+ supporting mods and after saving up was finally able to get a pro tune and damn the car really woke up after the pro tune there was a major difference from the ots tune , its been 1 and 1/2 years with that setup and ive had zero issues , pushing a mild 231HP and coolant temps are great , oil barely burns off but it gets 100+ in the summer here , motor has been realy healthy and nothing has poped up on the accesport to concern me at all , i drive the car hard whever i get a chance and never gives me a problem im cool or hot weather , currently have a stock pile of new parts waithing to go one once i get more parts in so i can do the next jump in power to around 300HP , then after that i gotta save up for a 6-speed swap to i can go even bigger in power , matinence is the #1 key to keeping your subie happy and running for a long time with no problems
i own a 02 wrx wagon has all the bolt on mods but only cobb ots tune on 93 my clutch went out so currently getting that taken care of then im planning on the the oil stuff you were talking about and then oncew i have to money goin with a pro tune thank you for the help you really inspired me to build mine 🤝
Love your videos, I have 1999 WRX and never had issues
Thank you!
I’ve had my STI six years now and it’s my daily. It’s never let me down, not even once.
Keeping my 04 WRX stock. It’s fun the way it is. And I appreciate it a lot more than most because I started out with a 1999 Impreza 2.5 RS. It makes the 04 WRX feel 10 times better!!!
I have a 2006 saab 9-2x AKA a Saabaru. Just over 100k miles. I have the ej25 NA. It's been great. No major issues. Still kicking. It does consume a lot of oil. So I have to keep an eye on that. But I love my wagon to death. I hope to have it for a very long time.
Absolutely agree with you man. I have a 2019 STI with 65k miles on her making 420whp with 350tq and she’s going strong. Been on top with maintenance.
I used to think the oil pick up tube issue was bs. I started noticing low oil pressure(get a pressure gauge yall).
I dropped the pan, and there it was, big crack towards the top. My pan was solid and undamaged, so its definitely not from "user error" here, just a bad part.
I bought an aftermarket pickup(dont replace with oem) and my pressure is back to normal.
Just did that same exact thing. Got the IAG Competition Kit. Best purchase ever 🙏🏾
@@builtvisions Hell yea mang, i went with the Killer B one. It really doesnt matter which one is picked, just stay away from OEM and you're set.
@@stoic7049 Facts, lol
I’d fully agree that they don’t suck. I’ve got a WRX GB270 Saloon (UK Hawkeye non-STi final edition, basically), which has an EJ255 that does 266bhp stock due to Prodrive factory equipment and tune. I bought mine over 3 years ago with mods already installed and no history, and it was basically fine until the last few months. Now, it’s a 15-year-old car and has done over 100,000 miles, 35k of those since I bought it, but things have started failing at an alarming (for my wallet) rate. The major ones were the radiator giving up, shortly followed by a head gasket leak. Arguably my fault for buying a car with no history, a few basic mods (it makes 281bhp) and a fair few miles, but for about 3 years it’s been good. Now it’s being expensive, and hopefully the stock short block is still in good shape so I can save £3k on the repairs required…
In short, I love it, but the head gasket thing feels very justified. The fact that they need work to be “track safe” counts against them too, in my opinion… Still, it can, and will, be built.
First and foremost, I LOVE my car.
I'm the original owner of my 2019 STi. No modifications, all services up to date from the dealership etc.
4 Months ago with only 21k miles on the odo, I was sitting at a red light then all of a sudden my car started to chug and died on me. Couldn't even restart it. I had to get it towed back to the dealership.
The dealership pulled the motor and discovered that the main crank bearing was seized and I also had a crack on the exhaust side of my turbo.
They had to replace the entire bottom end and the turbo itself. Thankfully since my car wasnt modified, it was all covered under the warranty. Otherwise, I would have had to pay over 12k in repair costs.
Luckily for me, the dealership itself was tremendously helpful and Subaru of America ruled that the problem wasn't my fault.
The Service Manager actually told me that he's never seen this before on a stock car, the whole ordeal was wild!
My 18 Sti has been at 430/430 whp and tq for the last 40,000 miles with no issues….on the stock block. All depends on the tune and mods. Great video
Thats actually pretty good. Whats mods did you do? Ive been contemplating on doing some engines mods for my 18 sti aiming for 350whp nothing crazy.
@@Jaegusoflex fuel, turbo back exhaust. 1050 injectors, stock lines and rails, aem 340 pump, killler b header, and fmic.
@@ehesh1499 was expecting more to be done but thats awesome! Im assuming you’re making 430 on e85? Whats the number for pump gas?
as someone who is the 4th owner of a 2012 Impreza, I appreciate this vid a lot man LMAOO
Great video❤ always run and upgrade my Subaru like that, never have any problem after 7 cars.
Build to application, not power goal. Be it a 350hp street car or 500hp track car, the application dictates the needed mods.
Fix all maintenance issues before a single mod is done keeping application in mind.
Fix/correct all know issues with the platform/engine.
Fix the oiling issues.
Pan, baffle, pickup, pump
Everyone loves the rumble but fact of the matter is that uel headers are bad for the engine, go el headers.
Go parallel fueling to prevent cylinder 4 from being starved.
Doms cylinder 4 cooling mod, again, to keep cylinder 4 happy.
ARP head studs
Open the ring gap up.
OEM ring gap specs are for OEM power levels. When you add power you add heat which closes up the ring gap causing the rings to buckle and break the ring lands.
100% agree with you. One more thing I would is getting a shop that will treat you right and know what they are doing.
Yes someone finally said it, like I've been saying most if not all Subaru WRX/ WRX STi problems come from bad owners.
I'm looking to buy a new car and I'm big into Japanese cars but i have been turned away from Subarus by many people. I saw one go around the isle of man and ever since i loved the unique sound. You've definitely changed my view on them but I'm going to do more research as I'm unfamiliar with the platform in general.
Bought a used 2014 gr w/40k on it. Went through all the reliability, supporting, and pro tuning mods. On boost one day oil pressure dipped about 15psi for a split second and boom bearing metal through from top to bottom lol fast forward 5months, I’m on a stg 2 iag long block, upgraded sump/ pick up, rcm pump etc. overbuilt on stock power…never again haha
Ive been pushing 645 wheel on stock 2.5 block ej20 heads only work done was custom head gaskets arp head studs upgraded valve springs and retainers ext cyl 4 cooling mod iag Pic up and tray and atp dampner and been going strong couple years several 100 Street hits ext never let loose on me
I have a Legacy B4 sport 2007. 225k miles. Still going strong
The real issue with Subarus is usually the owners. Subaru cars can be great platforms to mod and tune. But they are NOT forgiving at it. They are EASY to get power out of. But not while keeping the thing reliable. The flat 4 engine is not tolerant to poor tuning. I know for a fact, that most STI's and WRX's that have been kept completely stock from the intake to the exhaust, have survived over 300k kilometers without engine repairs or major turbo work. Given that the owner has stayed on top of oil changes, maintenance, and always let the car warm up properly before spirited driving.
But you have the worst offenders, giving the car a homemade tune just to push a few more hp without care for the car running properly and cleanly. These guys usually also mix in aftermarket parts for the intake and exhaust. They blow up the engine fastest.
Then we got the usual "bro I just changed the exhaust and intake", but this messes up the precise tune from the factory, causing the car to not run as intended, eventually leading into engine knock or other issues.
And lastly, the most common Subaru killer.... the BOV installers. You think you just installed a harmless BOV that goes "psssshhh" and makes a cool noise? No. You fundamentally fucked with the air intake calculation. Turbo Subies have a sensor for airflow, which feeds the data into the car's computer. This computer calculates how much fuel goes with the air that has been compressed through the turbocharger. The stock valve in the car is of a design that feeds said air back into the system, and cycles it until you open up the throttle again. This causes you to have a bit less turbo lag, but also it doesn't throw off the calculations the computer made.
Now when you replace this cycling valve with your cool BOV that goes "pssshhh", you vent the air OUT of the intake, but the car's stock tune still thinks you got the compressed air in the system. So after you step on the gas again, it will run rich for a second or two, before you build new boost. Which not only results in wasted gas, but can also even stall the car, or cause long term engine problems. You also lose performance, which is the opposite of what you want with a performance mod.
A BOV should only be installed when you are running a very specific type of turbo setup, or have no MAF in the car (it's a very old car or something). I'm no expert on tuning, but I would assume you actually want a BOV for a setup that is running so much boost, that a cycling valve would be overwhelmed and cause turboflutter as you close the throttle. Then venting the pressure out would make sense. Especially if you have like a twin turbo setup that builds the power back up very fast with a small turbo, as the big one spools up. But the big one makes so much pressure that it just has to be vented with a BOV to make the turbo not disintegrate due to flutter.
Only thing you missed that I recommend is a AOS system (air oil separator)
Other than that your point on brother!! 👌🏼👌🏼
Try that in the north. Results aren't good.
@@remissiveslavecatchcan than!!!and i live in the north and don’t winter drive mine.
I learned to tune myself and have my ej205 pushing 400whp on e85. Stock block over 130k miles. Never had any major issues.
I have had head gaskets fail on a EZ30 H6. They are supposed to be the most reliable of the scooby engines but despite taking good care of it, they still went.
We got the car fixed and I still love it. But open deck all-alloy engines are going to be prone to head gasket failure when the mileage gets up there. Every engine has its weaknesses - pick your poison.
I love subarus too.I really want a WRX/WRX STi, but everyone always sells them for too much, or sells them with broken headgaskets and a lot of problems.I dont know if a subaru is a good first car, but hopefully I could get some advice and maybe buy one later in my life for motorsport?
My STi is suffering from ringland failure. I changed my oil regularly and checked the oil levels every day to the point that people at work made fun of me and called me paranoid and it still failed before 75,000 miles. I had fun with the car when I first got it but never raced it or beat on the car and after a few months the novelty wore off and I just drove it like any normal car and I still have people in the forums blame me saying it's my fault for beating on the car which isn't the case at all.
what year sti?
@@yungplagueg5963 it's a 2016
04' STi with 229K on the clock. Original engine, original transmission. Preventative maintenance vs reactive maintenance goes a long way.
I had a NA 07 with rod knock. Went 20k & kept going when I traded it, although it could have just been some kind of exhaust issue. Sounded closer to one loose rod. I think you're right about it being the NA that thing had it's HG done like 2-3 times by the dealership in its receipts. Ridiculous.
MY SUBARU STORY: My first car was a 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i: I never really had an interest in subarus or cars in general before I started driving. I started 'getting into cars' after I got my licence, when I started driving the legacy like it was a 22b, did cold starts with borderline WOT like after a minute of warming up (New England winters). I basically beat the ever living hell out of her for my 'dumb kid' phase of driving. I truly drove this car like I stole it. Oil was changed regularly, the cvt made it to 175k miles (didn't even break, just wanted the slipping to stop) Only major work we'd ever had after owning her for 50k miles was a new exhaust, a ball joint, and the CVT. One time when on my way home from school, I was short on gas and made it 40 miles on the gas light and did 34.8 miles per gallon for the trip (175k miles on the engine). Engine still had 150-160 psi compression on all four cylinders before she was sadly totalled by some girl who was texting and driving. Nobody will ever be able to convince me Subarus aren't some of the greatest, well handling, most fun and most reliable cars on the market today, and I wholly attribute my car obsession to that 2.5i. I put 50k on her and I know she could've done another 70k at least. If I could do it over again, I probably wouldn't beat on her as bad as I did, but she was my own proof that Subarus can put up with that kind of abuse.
The good news is I got a Legacy 3.6r with the insurance money!
Give these cars regular maintenance and they'll go until the end of time.
Blew my STI headgasket immediately after protune 😥 After rebuild its been super solid tho
I have a 2020 and i love it. Bone stock only because its my daily. But what do you recommend i can do to it without a tune. Where should i start first?
A proper tune and staying out of redline all the time is the key to success
Modern 2.5 subaru engines have multi layered head gaskets. My 2012 Liberty 2.5i has them.
Good Video Bro!!
I kept my 16 STI stock. With regular maint and supporting maint. 119k miles on the factory motor. 🤷♂️. The problem is the "rip it to wherever I drive people". Most people that I know that their motor blew up was over dumb stuff like poor maintenance history.
Ive seen plenty of headgasket failures on wrxs and stis both stock and modded. Na cars are worse, they switched to mls gaskets with the ej253 but continued to fail at the same rate. Ive had turbo failures, oil leaks galore, and plenty more reliability issues on all my subarus. My buddy had ringland failure on his 2020 sti before 15k miles. No matter how well they're taken care of they are still less reliable than a majority of other cars.
Yeah, I call bs on that, lol. Turbo Subarus have never had head gasket problems in history…
They do have some inherent design flaws given the horizontally opposed engine but so does Porsche with theirs as an example. That said, theyre just different from other non HO'd engines and the approach for repair/maintenance or building is going to be a bit different than most cars. Its also important to note, that given these cars reputations for being a road-going "rally car", these cars are typically beaten to shit and improperly modified, especially without a supporting tune and neglected. Yet despite that, these cars can take quite a beating that other cars may not. You would think doing things right the first time around would be common sense but I digress. The same goes for the difference between repair and maintenance. Its typically user error, though, things do unfortunately happen sometimes. But that goes for every car
I agree 1000%, it seems over 90% of the hate again Subaru's are from people who never owned one and those that did never took care of it properly like what you mentioned ....throwing on mods with no tune then get surprised their shit blew up! The EJ is a very solidly built engine else it wouldn't have been in use across MANY Subaru platforms if it weren't.
I have an 06 wrx just getting into the game I have a few things done to but don’t anything at all when it comes down to it. Do you own or have a shop where you work on subies?
Take the anecdote how you will but I’m at 206k miles on the Fozzy, 04. The block hasn’t been touched, over 140 psi on all 4 cylinders. Last tuned back in 16 with an 18g at 20 psi and e85. Still going strong. Get the AOS immediately when you get a Subaru.
I got a 2020 STI and my first mods where an AOS, cylinder 4 cooling mod, downpipe, catback and had them all installed at the same time by @tougetuning then had them dyno tune it 👌 It’s been amazing! Definitely doing the oil pan / pickup before I track it or drive it really hard.
what mods would you recommend for the naturally aspirated engines like the 2.0, 2.5 and 3.6r
I got a legacy gt wagon swapped w sti 6 speed and iag stage 3 engine making 400 I drive it 60 miles to work and back never had a problem
I love my 2017 Subaru WRX sadly I just blew up a brand new motor that had 1200 miles on it and have gone through three transmissions. Don’t know if they were just bad parts or something I was doing car is fully stock but I will keep this car forever
Aye man I’m thinking of buying my first car a 2006 Subaru Impreza wagon it’s only $3,800 with 78,000 miles any advice on what I should look for when I go look at it or like anything I should check and be worried abt being a red flag ? It also looks stock
Almost 140k on 05 sti still pulling strong! Headgasket at 85k Everything looking and sounding good. 🤙 She does like her oil, though 😅 Shell Rotella T6 has been excellent!
The reason why WRC rally cars don't break down and are still running even after a lot of abuse is that they never overtuned the HP up lol stock.
Doubtful they run the same engine multiple events
@@carterschichtel9678 yup and the engines are still running even after blowing pistons and remade pistons, the only catastrophic possibility would be the engine block itself cracks but that has to happen under like 9000 RPM and no oil change
Why do people think toyotas are the most reliable cars but boring af because they're slow? Well toyota is wise not to boost the hp to the limit otherwise it will cost the engine lifespan and reliability and plus more Power doesn't mean more torque
no need to defend. you are speaking the truth. most people dont understand subarus when coming from a different platform.
radiator blew and i kept driving, HG's are fine. that's what I always clap back with
I’ll admit that all cars has issues but people just forgets that some car require more maintenance than what they drove before if not that a new car platform.
2015 STi. Yes it was my fault a ringland cracked. Smh. Got a built short block dropped in and have been more meticulous with it. 50k+ on the motor now. No major mechanical issues. Some electrical gremlins here and there though.
100% Agree, They are reliable i'ts usualy 99% User/Human Error lol
And I am about 270k miles on my 06 STI still runing stock
Finally some positive vibes even in the comments. I swear i wanted to sale my car because everybody was saying they can break down suddenly even though you drive normal…..still scared man to push on a warm engine….subie community is really f uped man. Thanks for the video❤. PS: do i need to do a oil pickup change on my daily subi sti 13. I drive it normal everyday sometimes on straight way i push my car. But to max of 4k rpm😂??
my dad has a 2020 sti the only problems he has ever had are leaking coolant because subaru puts on crappy hose clamps on the coolant lines which that is a 20 dollar fix and he melted his clutch which is because he drove it home without letting the clutch cool down
Long story short...
You can't take a machine too far outside of the application it was engineered for and then blame the machine for breaking.
My girlfriend's STi had a koyorad and a aos even before an accesport was instal. Safety first 🚀
ngl my firs car 02 wrx 40k miles never had a issue just did simple maintenance and still beat the snot out of it. 2.0l turbo is gooooddd ej205 ftw
Hopefully this will hold true for my VB!
If I got a catback exhaust do I still need to tune my bugeye??
What people don't realize is every car has some issues. Take the reliable Celica GT with the 5sgte motor. Solid motor, but prone to also burning up or leaking oil. If you don't catch that, it's a problem. A lot of people like short ram or cold air intakes, but if you drive around dusty areas, guess what? You get a lot of dirt into your motor which will fuck it up. I destroyed my Celica like that. Just because you can afford the payments, make sure you can also afford the maintenance. That's where I think many people go wrong. Unless you got money, chances are your BUILT car, cannot be a daily driver, if you want it to be "reliable". Not all OEM parts are bad, they are made to meet specifications to be driven. Most race cars have rebuilt motors after a single run on the drag strip. So not always performance means reliable or better than OEM. Choose what your car will be used for, responsibly.
I just got an 03 wrx with the ej205. I want to put an intake and a cat back exhaust for now. Do i need a tune for that? Im also at 142,000 miles so what is good preventative maintenance other than the oil pan baffle and pickup
As long as use the Cobb SF intake you should be fine as it was designed to have the same air flow as the stock intake. The Cobb intake will also be compatible with the Cobb Access port Stage 1 and 2 tunes.
I have a 2005 WRX that originally came with an Injen short ram intake when I bought it used. But swapped it out for the Cobb intake when I learned about this. I have now been driving it for about 10 years with the Cobb SF intake and a stage 1 Access port tune without a problem.
I would also recommend installing a catless uppipe that is located between the exhaust manifold and the turbo. That alone will give you a noticable performance difference in reducing turbo lag. Plus those pre-cats are notorious for damaging turbos when pieces of the cat start breaking of as they age.
What you should do before even any of that is invest in a better radiator and an aos. It’s better to do reliably mods first then get some nice performance parts. Then look into a cylinder 4 cooling mod & oil pan/baffle & pick up tube bro. As far as intake go with Cobb and a dp is your choice. You’ll hear the turbo spool like crazy! Invidia is a good choice as well as Tomei but more expensive! Also recommend getting one with a prewelded bung to put a afr gauge later on.
What really sucks is that I cannot decide between a rally inspired look or a cookie cutter, but awesome, street look
My FA20 starting ticking around 90k miles. In the process of replacing the engine as we speak
Just check your oil every morning and the subbie might last 7 years if you are lucky. Its not you, these engines really are poorly designed. That's why Subaru doesn't make them anymore.
hey guys !!! this is for anyone who’s buying an old subaru with high mileage, id you don’t have the service history i suggest the first thing you do to that car is a timing belt kit change ! trust me it could save you so much money in the future haha
Bought my first Subaru Wrx back in 2020, it was a 2013 with 33k mines, I’ve done EVERYTHING right to getting it serviced checked and even getting the 60kmiles recommended change around 40kmiles and I’ve had zero issue with it. These people really just are fake JDM fan boys who’s only like GTR and k chassis they wont ever talk about how unreliable and not even good engines from the 90s and early 2000s that are in alot of other JDM cars
30k mile type RA short block just took a shit on me last week🥲saving up to rebuild again..