There's a pretty strong contingent of people around who question Subaru reliability when pressed. I'm curious if a mildly tuned 2.0 WRX (250 WHP) will stand up to frequent flogging. And if not, what mods can be done to significantly improve reliability?
In reply to Kreb: My 2.0 has been flogged since 55,000 miles. It currently has 179,000 miles. It has been a dedicated race car for at least 40k. The engine is all oem. Mine has been fine. Keys for longevity include keeping an eye on oil level. Keep it full+. Transmissions can be tough, keep a weaker clutch as your fail safe. R compound tires, where your tire leave the ground then grab grip suddenly can be problematic for the tranny. The 2.0 handles the abuse better than the 2.5 in my opinion. While it might not have the low end torque, it will last awhile longer. One weak point to watch for is the oil pickup tube, and that is why it's import to keep the oil full. They can crack lower on the pickup.
stock they hard up decently, modified much depends on who performed the ECU tuning, there are A LOT of terrible tuners doing subarus, some of which have big names and use popular devices such as accessports. The other issue, potential failures aside, from tracking a Subaru is that they are hard on consumables and lack a great amount of driver feedback on track. Almost every driver that I instructed in a subaru had a miata or E30 by year 3 of HPDE as the amount saved on consumables covered the cost of their RWD trackrat. That being said, cheap, light FWD options aren't a bad option as well.
Is this question about a real wrx or something with a wrx like motor?
In reply to icaneat50eggs:
yes, it's for a middie, not the Frankenfiat. I don't think that I'll track the Frankenfiat without a complete rear suspension redo.
If just then engine, then oil supply is your biggest concern then.
Put killer B oil pick up in it. Make sure it has the right oil tray in the pan, and keep the level full. Beat on it and go home smiling.
Tune is very important though.
In reply to Kreb: If it was for the frankenfiat I was going to ask what did you do to get the suspension worked out, since you didn't strike me as the suicidal type
I have a friend who owns a Sube dealership in PA who tracks an STi. He does a lot of track days - 30 a year - and has had his share of problems. Now, he owns a dealership so... these are not huge problems for him. So he keeps on keepin' on and fixing it. He is also an older fellow and does not fiddle with boost and so on. It's mostly stock except suspension/swaybar upgrades to contain understeer, track tires and pads.
That I know of:
- One blown engine
- A dead snail
- Several axle failures
- Some sort of drama involving the clutch
That is all in 2 years. I just spoke to him over the holiday and he had just got it back with the new crate motor. Talk turned to a new Vette pretty quickly :)
In reply to Huckleberry: That is a 2.5 motor fyi.
I blew up my stock EJ25 in my 98RS at a track day. No warning, just down the front straight at Summit Point and kablam, holes all through the block. I swapped in an EJ255 and as far as I know it is still going strong, after many autocross, and hillclimbs, and a few track days (all on slicks).
I did grenade the trans at a hillclimb as well (getting back on the power after a relatively sharp turn), and have seen a few at autocrosses as well (most on launch), but for a track day I would say that would be less of an issue.
Listen to what sachilles says about oil, and the tune, and you should be good to go. Of course if you are starting with an engine that has already been abused then all bets are off.
camaroz1985 wrote: I did grenade the trans at a hillclimb as well (getting back on the power after a relatively sharp turn), Listen to what sachilles says about oil, and the tune, and you should be good to go. Of course if you are starting with an engine that has already been abused then all bets are off.
Funny that is how I killed my last transmission, albeit a 4.11 RS transmission. Hillclimb, sharp up hill turn, rear inside tire came off the ground, and came back down with a sticky dot slick there went the gear box. I've since removed the rear sway bar, to allow better droop.
I know a couple of people who have blown trannies, two people who have also blown engines, and quite a few who have said the brakes are inadequate.
Which makes sense given Subarus are poorly built tin can shitboxes.
@ mister fister.........yes they are poorly built poo cans, it has to be that because we all know Subie drivers never slam shift the snot out the boxes or tweak engines on the cheap. EVOs suffer from the same build quality issues as well.
OK being serious we have several at track days and autocross; the stockers never have issues. The modded ones locally for the most part are sensibly put together and I've only seen with a minor failure which was a simple fix. The oil level is a definite must check often.
Having tracked my 02 WRX and 05 Saab 92X both for a couple years each I can say I would focus on oiling and the tune with oiling being number 1. I blew the motor in my 92X with fresh oil change and full+ with a better tune than the 02 had. No warning but the bottom end bearings were gone in a longish right hander (Turn 2 at Gingerman) The oil pick up was good as I saw the teardown but it left a sour taste for tracking them seriously. I loved the cars for fun and consumables weren't too bad but I stuck with super sticky Non R compounds so I got more tire life and less stress but that also means more ?? for the oiling problem. Both cars were 2.0 liters and modified with full exhaust,tune,intake and IC but stock turbos and bottom ends.
I think an Accusump is a good idea for any car that will be tracked regularly, unless it is a car with a reputation as being unkillable -- like a Miata.
I would say that I've seen some Subies blow up at HPDE, but I've seen some of everything blow up at HPDEs...usually due to oiling.
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