My friend bought a 2008 WRX new, great deal etc. Before you tell me to trade it in on the new one, that isn't happening. What should they do for more"pep"? I know the turbocharger got bigger in 09 but is there anyway to get this thing to rev a little more freely in the upper half of the rev range? I'm guessing exhaust and reflash, but what's the point if the intake manifold is the most constricting element? Thanks

 

If you think the intake manifold is restrictive, you need to dial back right now and do some research, 'cause you are on the wrong track. You can make 350 WHP with that stock manifold and intake in place, with no problem.

 

If your buddy with the '08 WRX wants to get his car moving a little bit quicker, a good solution is to get an AccessPORT from Cobb with a decent catback exhaust and a downpipe. Have him run the Cobb off the shelf Stage II map and he should be around 220-230whp I believe.

Then, you could get a manual boost controller and an external waste gate with the required up-pipe to complement boost control. A protune with the Stage II setup plus a Manual Boost Controller (MBC) and External Waste Gate (EWG) Setup could yield 240whp... I believe, but I'm kind of guessing.

I would PM your local tuner and ask them how to meet your goals
-Steven

 

If you go out and grab the March issue of Sport Compact Car (sadly, the LAST issue ever) there is a very good, detailed article on tuning the 08 WRX with dyno charts for each stage of their mods.

 

Plus you'll have the last issue It was a great issue for Subaru owners.

 

There are a couple of 08 wrx turbo swap dyno runs on youtube running around 300 whp. Check it out.