Mods vs possible BRZ STI
 

If I were to get aftermarket exhaust, intake, ECU tune and header. Would that be a better alternative than a possible future BRZ turbo release by Subaru? I'm looking for about 250-270 HP. I hope that can be extracted from the 2.0 Liter engine. The mods appear to be cheaper than a possible $30K+ BRZ STI. For example the WRX STI is way more than the base WRX.

I've never modded a car before.
How would these mods effect reliability.
I've been reading these forums for a while.
Thanks.

I don't think you are going to see 250-270HP out of this car with bolt on mods, unless one of those bolt ons is a turbo or supercharger. :) I'm guessing optimistically 240HP is about where things would peak out with I/H/E/tune given what I've seen thus far, which is ~30-35whp from all of those mods combined.

No one knows quite yet how it will affect reliability but from the tuners perspectives I've read, I think the car could be reliable with those mods. They aren't doing crazy things to eek out power like running super lean or anything.

You could always make a WRX into an STi-like package but it's not quite the same. I don't think the bump in price is going to be quite as high with a BRZ STi, mainly because they will probably end up using the same transmission. Going to the 6MT/DCCD from the 5MT in the WRX is a big upgrade. I think with a BRZ STi you'll see basically the same car except with a bump in power and maybe some 4-pot brakes (even though they aren't needed) and different wheels/body styling. I'm guessing it will be $2-3K more even if they decide to turbo it.

My guess would be at least a $5k bump in price with roughly a $35k price point. It depends on how aggressive they get with it, and if they want to sell a few units for more cash or more units for less cash. Plus it would match other options that are currently or planned to be available.

Of course it's widely speculated they will build one, but we don't really know anything yet.

I wouldn't worry about reliability of those specific mods as long as you go with a respected aftermarket company.

I think there has been some talk at the executive level about a future BRZ turbo, but personally I think the STI will be a lightweight N/A.
There will probably be plenty of people replying with supporting and counter arguments so I guess my point is I would just buy the car right now rather than waiting. You will not regret it, even if the STI comes out and it's exactly what you want. I think the resale on these will be pretty good so if you really wanted to later on you could just trade it in!

As far as 250-270 (crankshaft) hp... It's starting to look like that range will be achievable N/A. I think 240-250 is possible with your list of mods but cams and other tricks will be required to get anywhere near 270.

If that much power is good enough for you I'd buy the car now. If you think you may want to go with BIG horsepower later on, then take your chances and wait. Or buy one now and pay for a turbo kit. There are a few in development. So yeah, there really is no reason to wait ;)

I agree with 35k, even though it's likely they use the same tranny and the fact it already has LSD.
I think there are 2 possibilities with the STI:
1) turbo, 18" wheels, bigger brakes
2) Slight bump in N/A power, lots of lightweight parts

Both will have aggressive body styling and STI specific interior appointments/logos.

Think of it this way: how will a BRZ STI affect the Subaru line up, particularly the WRX?

only two possibilities:

1. they position it above the WRX performance wise. Which would see a significant price jump positioned to be higher than the highest non-STI trim WRX, but will beat WRX's performance in terms of lap times. Let say about 250HP with turbo and stickier tires, functional body work. Highly unlikely in my opinion.

2. they go the lazy route and just gives it minor / mostly cosmetic upgrades that aren't so functional... then expect maybe 20 hp more non-turbo. This will be priced below the highest non-STI WRX trim. By keeping its performance below the WRX, subaru can ensure there're less cross shopping between the two. Unfortunately, I think this will be the route they'll take if they ever decided on a BRZ STI.

Of course, a lot will depend on the new WRX/STi that supposedly will be coming out in 2013, how it performs, and what kinda power and gadgetry it will have. I'm sure they will try to sell it as a technologically advance product whereas the BRZ will remain a more old school "pure driving" type car.

BRZ TRD!

Supahchahge it!

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Learn to mod yourself. Its way more fun and you get to know your car better

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As Canadians, Subaru Canada's pricing screws with our perpective on the 'hierarchy' of the Subaru line up.

The BRZ and WRX in the US are basically positioned as equals, given the $100 difference in starting pricing. So there would be nothing wrong with a BRZ STI being of similar performance to the WRX STI...

except nothing beats factory warranty. I'd rather have performance thats factory warrantied vs getting near that performance via aftermarket and not having a warranty.

Kinda hard to compare a bunch of unproven aftermarket parts and some vaporware version from Subaru

The question is are you willing to wait for what could be vaporware. The STI version was a concept but never confirmed so its hard to know if it will come out and when.

It could be next week, it could be 3 years from now with a refresh. Or it could just be factory addons. Its all in the air.

The STi/TRD version is going to have revised throttle body, heads, exhaust, brakes, wheels, and interior/exterior. With all the changes it will rev. closer to 8000-8500 rpm and have hp rating of about 250 N/A and lighter than the standard BRZ/FR-S.

No Turbo... Tubro charging of the FA20 is reserved for the WRX and WRX/STi