you came to the right place fellow scooby driver. my advice is just look around on these forums and learn about your car before you start modifying it. that way you dont needlessly spend your hard earned money.

 

search, search, search. practically anything you could ask has been covered before. Don't forget that "searching" includes more then this site alone, the Google is your friend.

 

hope u like this theres tons of sites here more to look at (have visine ready) www.topsubarusites.com

 

Buy a haynes service manual and try doing basic stuff first like changing your oil and sparkplugs, stuff like that. Once you get comfortable with general maintainance then start doing stuff you dont feel as comfortable with. But work your way up gradually. Believe me, it seems like your going to foul something up at first but its surprisingly easy. And just about everyone on this board is more than willing to help. So if youve got a problem or dont know how to go about doing something then just ask.

 

Also, grab a friend who is a little more experienced than you are. Even if they haven't done the mod you're doing, a second set of eyes and opinions is ALWAYS useful. Just make sure they're not an idiot.

For good "starter" mods, look at a swaybar (rear one is kinda easy) upgrade. Easy enough to do by yourself. Very difficult to screw up, and instant results. It took me (a complete novice, at the time) just over two hours to do it.

Seriously, though, go ahead and change your own oil once or twice to get used to tools.

Oh yeah, that brings up a great subject. Get some decent tools. A full metric wrench and ratchet set (8mm-22mm) plus some vice grips, zipties (IMPORTANT) multiple lengths and styles of screwdrivers, wire snippers (also called dikes ). You can splurge on a torque wrench, but most of the time I still use the "tight enough" method. All in all, about $200 worth of tools will be VERY SUFFICIENT for most mods.

More than once I have had to make an emergency trip to the hardware store to get a seemingly innocuous tool that was VITALLY important (get box wrenches when you get your wrenches. Trust me. It saves on the rounded-off nuts)

Just do your research (scoobymods.com is awesome) before you try something new. I'm a total wuss about trying something new, but I've done alright, and haven't managed to destroy my car yet.

Long post. Hope it helps.

 

Hey I was looking to get some tools. The set I use in my garage is missing a few important sockets. Would this basically cover everything? And to make sure, when I go to detailed specs, this is Metric right?

http://www.sears.com/sr/product/summ...id=00933644000

 

It says metric/standard, but you would have to look. Try emailing them for a detailed description of included socket bits. The ones you'll need the most on a WRX (that I've found) are 8mm (bleeding brakes) 10mm (most small bolts) 12mm 14mm (the most popular. Don't lose these like me!) 17mm (large bolts on the subframe and brake rotors and oil plug) and 19mm (lugs on the wheels). I think the gear oil drain is a 21mm or 22mm (haven't done this one yet, word of mouth), but those sockets and wrenches are a bit harder to find. You might want to settle for an adjustable wrench. Once again, call or email Sears about that set. If it has the right metric settings, Craftsman quality is hard to beat.

 

if you look on amazon.com there are some books with lots of information about factory forced induction tuning, engine management, etc. i've bought some of these and i like you started from scratch. i think the one written by A. Graham Bell is one of the most informative i've read so far. this is a good place to start, then you can make your own choices as to what you're looking for and what you want to do. as mentioned above, you can also search these forums for more hands-on information and hear what others have to say. in fact, you can even participate in some of the discussions that go on, but don't be a smart a$$.

for starters though, i can tell you that removing your stock up-pipe is one of the best first modifications you can do, as well opening up the exhaust a bit, turboback or catback exhaust will do. then maybe a cobb reflash or reflash of some sort to get the most of your modifications. then after that you're on your own, so have fun and mod on.

 

Drivers School! Learn to drive your ride FIRST! Autocross it! Learn to drive through the cars problems and work on your fundamental car control skills. Then, when you know some of the cars issues, mod them in a targeted manner. You will be able to build up the car in a logical manner without wasting your money. Good Luck.

Karl