Engine Are Tuners Worth It
- Thread starter arena314
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Ok so I raced an 05 wrx earlier it was my friends 05 auto with an sti turbo running 18 pounds with an sti top mount and a turbo back exhaust. I have a 96 gt with full pi heads cam and manifold swap o/r xpipe and magnaflow magnapcks with an intake 373's and tr3650 trans with a pro 5.0 short shifter and apparently tuned but needs a re tune. We raced earlier from a roll and I lost by 2 cars. I was surprised to see that because I thought I'd beat him. We were only able to do 1 run which sucks but I started in the top of 2nd and I did the honks do you think I lost by so much because of the way I drove? I also didn't power shift I let off the gas completely to shift. I told him once I get my new intake get a tuner for it and get better at racing I'll definitely beat him. What do you guys think? Was his car actually that much faster or was it the driving. Once I get better at racing and get my car tuned do you think I'd win? Lmk thanks
skyline247
Advanced Member
People still race from a roll? [emoji47]
It would have probably been even worse from a dig. Didn't you already get a tune? If you did, you arent going to get much from an intake and retune. If not, I still doubt it will make up for two car lengths on a roll.
I would go to your local drag strip and practice until you can't lower your time anymore. Don't keep throwing money and parts at it hoping it will make up for any deficiencies you may have in your driving. Learning how to drive your car to its potential can make a huge difference in any type of racing. While you're at it, race the wrx at the strip. This will show how different the two of you really are.
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It would have probably been even worse from a dig. Didn't you already get a tune? If you did, you arent going to get much from an intake and retune. If not, I still doubt it will make up for two car lengths on a roll.
I would go to your local drag strip and practice until you can't lower your time anymore. Don't keep throwing money and parts at it hoping it will make up for any deficiencies you may have in your driving. Learning how to drive your car to its potential can make a huge difference in any type of racing. While you're at it, race the wrx at the strip. This will show how different the two of you really are.
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skyline247
Advanced Member
All the more reason for you to practice at the strip.
Fyi, another way to see who puts down more power/weight is to compare trap speed at the track. ET will depend on this and other factors as well (i.e. traction).
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Fyi, another way to see who puts down more power/weight is to compare trap speed at the track. ET will depend on this and other factors as well (i.e. traction).
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I think downshifting to 3rd would of been better bc I don't have to shift right at the begining of the pull and I'd start in high rpms's plus I need a taller gear in a race from a roll so it revs out longer due to my 373's my 1st and second are very short which isn't any help racing from a 40 mph roll
skyline247
Advanced Member
Hooking in 2nd from a roll is different than hooking from a dig in 1st. I don't know why you would ever downshift after starting. You just start in the right gear. Yes, you should have probably just started in 3rd if you were already at the top of 2nd.
Again, roll racing on the street is not only dangerous, but also inadequate (imo) for comparing two cars. If you want a real comparison, start from a dig and compare slips at the track. If you are serious about improving your driving, practice at the track. Just drive your car and learn how to shift quickly at the best shift points.
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Again, roll racing on the street is not only dangerous, but also inadequate (imo) for comparing two cars. If you want a real comparison, start from a dig and compare slips at the track. If you are serious about improving your driving, practice at the track. Just drive your car and learn how to shift quickly at the best shift points.
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skyline247
Advanced Member
Why would you think you had a chance? PI top end simply puts you at the same power as an 99-04 GT. So in other words, you are pretty much stuck vs turbo swapped car. I dont know what numbers he had but a stock STI has 300+hp.
your midpipe and cat back arent worth
for any real HP. Get a set of long tubes, new plenum+TB with a real CAI(like from JLT) and get that tuner.A stock sti has 300 crank but you gotta remember that the sti has a bigger motor so swapping everything over to a smaller engine would mean less power in most cases. And I've also heard that the 96-98 blocks with the 99-04 heads had higher compression then the full pi motor they make I believe 5% more power meaning the 96-98 with the headswap would make around 275 crank stock
Not really, you maybe make 5 hp more at the wheels over a 99-00 but 01-04 had 9.4:1 compress over 9:1 the 99-00 had. The PI swapped 96-98s put the compression around maybe 10(if I remember correctly). Plus your block is 20 years old, those rings arent sealing too well anymore.
My buddy had an STI, I could only keep up with it from a roll with full exhaust, plenum, TB and gears. Wait till his engine is 20 years old, it will be blowing oil out of the turbo, then you'll pull on him!
That's the thing with Subis. You can stand around and listen to two different groups of ten people talk about em. They're always taking about how to fix them and how to modify them. You RARELY hear anyone talk about actually driving them in spontaneous conversation.
skyline247
Advanced Member
Turbo Subaru's can have reliability issues when they get beat up on. At least on the newer ones, it seems like the weakness is in the pistons and rings. They can pull like crazy though and with a good set of tires, they are fun to drive around the track.
I agree that most people jump to bumping up boost without worrying about potential issues. But the same can be said for most people in the tuner crowd.
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I agree that most people jump to bumping up boost without worrying about potential issues. But the same can be said for most people in the tuner crowd.
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