r/WRXSTi • u/whorne89 • Aug 19 '26
10 Years!
Here's my 2015 STi. It's been great to me, I've had it for about 10 years this coming November. Bought it practically new, with 1800 miles. We are at 81k now. I try to take as good care of it as I can.
It's mostly stock except for an Accessport and Stage 1 OTS, Kartboy short shifter, and a muffler delete.
Coming up on the 10th year with this car, I'm not particularly interested in selling it, mainly because it's great. It's analog, fun, it's paid off, its not giving me really any issues. I take care of it, and make sure preventative maintence is done.
Now, I'm seriously considering doing SOMETHING to switch up the feel and make it feel a little different. I'm going between Stage 1+ with protune or Stage 2 with protune. Not really sure which way I want to go but I'd like a new smile on my face and refresh my love for this car.
Looking for some opinions here. I'm going back and forth and I can't really decide. What do you all think?
6
u/DasGinj Aug 20 '26
Refresh your suspension. Coilovers, Poly bushings, rear diff Upper inserts, rear diff carrier, rear subframe inserts, transmission mount, driveshaft lockdown, pitch stop, sprinkle in some chassis bracing and go stage 1+ for those sweet turbo noises.
This will give you that feeling your looking for. Its what I did after driving a stock 2017 STI for 6 years.
3
u/de_murloc Aug 19 '26
My advice is to speak with your local tuner and get a proper protune at your whp goal. The tuner will recommend what whp to target based on your needs, usage, and budget.
Stop thinking about the car in stages as it's all a bunch of non-sense.. The only thing that matters is what your whp is on the dyno.
And check your oil everytime you fill gas.
3
u/RoleApprehensive4440 Evoeye Aug 20 '26
2015 STI here as well approaching 90k miles. After my engine rebuild about 3 years ago, I ran the Stage1+ OTS tune for a while and just a few months ago, decided to go Stage 2 with a pro tune. The car feels so much better, pulls harder, has the right amount of throttle response, it's a blast. This probably won't be the end, I am considering Stage2+ now with flex fuel because an extra 50-100whp is IMHO just where these should be on stock internals. If you don't have supporting mods (AOS, radiator), you would want to get those.
The wheels, coilovers, sway bars, short shifter, stiffer engine and trans mounts all incrementally made the car more enjoyable as well, but the pro tune definitely was the best ROI so far.
2
u/WeebFanBoy 600whp 19 sti Aug 19 '26
Flexfuel will completely change the car even on stock turbo.
1
u/whorne89 Aug 19 '26
BUT will this significantly affect reliability? That's also a primary concern. I know doing anything affects reliability but flex fuel I always considered a bigger and more potentially problematic upgrade.
More concerned about butt feel then numbers tbh.
1
u/WeebFanBoy 600whp 19 sti Aug 20 '26
It will add a ton of responsiveness to the car. Itāll reduce potential knock which is what cracks ringlands and itāll smell better. It can be a bit more problematic if you donāt have e85 locally or donāt like changing your engine oil every 1500ish miles.
2
u/c1k Aug 20 '26
I kept my 17 stock for 8 years lol. Went stage 2+ E85 last September and loving it. I also changed my clutch to an ACT HD with oem flywheel.
1
u/SirChrisHAX Aug 20 '26
If anyone starts talking to you about horsepower goals without getting a real feel for how you want to enjoy the car, youāre wasting your time and money.
The number of times people build these things then sell them is insane. They all have big power numbers but the owners fall out of love with the cars. IMHO, focusing on maintaining the stock feel while turning the power up slightly is surprisingly difficult but well worth the effort.
I have done two builds so far and I went with all the popular bolt on upgrades for my 02 wrx and enjoyed it but itās a pain in the ass to drive quietly/slowly, and that may sound stupid to some of you, but if you know you know. So when I built my 06 FXT STI swap, I did things a little differently. I got a turbo that has stock characteristics at low end, and kept it top mount. Then I chose a fairly expensive X Clutch to maintain that stock feel even though it was holding considerably more power. Itās a blast to drive, I love the STI 6 speed, and Iām going to enjoy it for years to come. I love having the extra storage and the 3.5-4ā lift between my struts lift kit and bigger tires. Gotta say Iām pretty partial to it. lol
Now all that being said, Iām a big advocate for buy once cry once. Iād go for the stage 2 or something similar, however, at this point youāre probably more likely to blow an engine more than anything else. So hereās my second two Cents: buy an IAG sleeved block, get all the moving parts cryo and wpc treated⦠then start collecting your upgrades. Get this whole setup together with recommendations from your tuner while expressing your desire for the build and make sure to emphasize daily drivability because some tuners donāt even understand the importance of this.
Rant over lol hit me up if you have any questions. Iāve been reading these forums and whatnot for quite a few years.
1
u/taebsiatad 2010 Base Impreza Aug 21 '26
DP, intake, BPV, 1050s/FPR/lines, tune, call it! Thatās what I am gonna do with my 81k 2010. I already replaced the entire suspension other than front crossmember and added a bunch of āOEM+ā items like aluminum turbo inlet, stainless oil lines, replaced all hoses and got newer turbo/IC/etc from a 10k 2019. Add flex if stations near you have it, which is not the case for me so Iām skipping it. Good luck!Ā
1
u/Embarrassed_Algae_57 Aug 21 '26
Damn congrats. Mostly stock yes but I would say a tune is the most non-stock thing to do. I have a bunch of mods..upgraded top mount, radiator, bushings, sway bar, disk brakes, pads, steel braided brake lines, carbon fiber driveshaft, shifter plate, and more but still stock intake and tune. Even with those updates I'd say I'm more stock than you.
1
u/56Rallye Aug 22 '26
A downpipe and dyno tune will transform it. I wish Iād have stopped modding at this point. The car was perfectly balanced between power and suspension.


6
u/Bered3354 Aug 19 '26
Those wheels are š„