NEED QUICK ADVICE - Subaru Gurus thanka!

[AVIONX]

OK. Call me an early adopter. Looking at a 03 WRX sedan. Details below. Runs/Drives. Interior is OK. Anyone know what the typical cause for a high idle in a WRX is? Too many mods a bad thing? Any warning signs / bad combos? Most importantly what do you think it's worth in thousands? I'm talking about stealing it, where I could sell it for more the nextr day if I needed to. Thanks guys?

[AVIONX]

118,000 miles.
Idles high around 1200 rpm. No time to mess with it.
Missing a fog light cover.

Engine:
tdo5 18g 7cm^2
38mm EWG dumped
Ultimate Racing Uppipe
3in Bellmouth Downpipe
Brullen Dual Tip catback
DW 750cc injectors
Perrin FMIC
Snow Performance Meth Injection
GM BCS
Gimmick Motorsports Turbo Inlet
TurboXS RFL BOV
Ported STi Headers

Driveline:
ACT Streetlite Flywheel
Kartboy Front and Rear Shifter Bushings
Kartboy Short Throw Shifter
Stop Tech brake rotors and pads
Whiteline steering rack bushings
17x8 Rota Torques in Hyper Black

Suspension:
Cobb springs front/Eibach springs rear (I both sets, just haven't gotten around to swapping the springs so they are a matching set)
Whiteline 24mm Rear Swaybar
Whiteline Heavy Duty Swaybar Mounts
Perrin rear endlinks

Interior:
Pioneer AVIC D1
Clock replacement 3 guage pod with prosport gauges (Boost, oil pressure, Oil temp)
Replica Carbon fiber trim
Hardwire kit for Passport Escort 8500 X50 in Blue

[forced4]

Find out what engine management is being used...with that bigger turbo, injectors, exhaust and meth injection it needs to be properly tunded. A high idle could simply be a mis-set parameter. Or a bad MAF maybe?

[AVIONX]

Find out what engine management is being used...with that bigger turbo, injectors, exhaust and meth injection it needs to be properly tunded. A high idle could simply be a mis-set parameter. Or a bad MAF maybe? Thanks for the quick response. What do you think it is worth as a SMOKING deal?

[AVIONX]

I am ready to pull the trigger if some of the experts think it's a great deal at what I can get it for (<$7.8k)

[Evan78]

Looks like it's sold already.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2031877

[Draco-REX]

Mods are negative value on a car. Private party value on a good example is 7.9k. Considering it was modified by persons unknown, and likely thrashed within an inch of its life, I'd ask for 6k and be happy with 6.5k. Just be ready to pay someone to verify the tune on it. And do the usual checks ( smell for gas in the oil, etc.) And drive it! You want to check for a crunchy 3rd gear. The 5mt is easily damaged when the power is increased.

Personally, I'd stay far away from this car.

[StatGSR]

^ this

[crobin4]

^ this
+1 ^^^

[Evan78]

I disagree somewhat that mods are always a negative. It all depends on the market. Obviously, some mods are a lot riskier and create a lot more questions than others. Engine management is critical, and extremely variable, so things such as turbo swaps and custom tunes deserve a lot of scrutiny. A leakdown test can give a good indication of engine health. Unless you are familiar with the tuner and willing to trust the tune, it should be assumed that you'll have the car re-tuned, or at least verified by someone qualified and trustworthy.

Other items such as wheels, suspension, etc that are harder to screw up and easier to inspect, are different. Sellers are nearly always better off financially by parting out their car, so that possibility is usually a factor in the negotiation.

[AVIONX]

I disagree somewhat that mods are always a negative. It all depends on the market. Obviously, some mods are a lot riskier and create a lot more questions than others. Engine management is critical, and extremely variable, so things such as turbo swaps and custom tunes deserve a lot of scrutiny. A leakdown test can give a good indication of engine health. Unless you are familiar with the tuner and willing to trust the tune, it should be assumed that you'll have the car re-tuned, or at least verified by someone qualified and trustworthy.

Other items such as wheels, suspension, etc that are harder to screw up and easier to inspect, are different. Sellers are nearly always better off financially by parting out their car, so that possibility is usually a factor in the negotiation.Well....Went to see it. Test drove it...Fell in love... Bought it. Car is ultra clean. Got it dirt cheap. For a clean 2 owner car with a known history and quality build/tune done by AWDTuning in Houston. Car is complete, tight/solid, and almost too clean to use for a donor and has a dyno verified 400+HP @ the crank. Mods are worth over twice what I paid for the car. I will DD it until my kit is ordered. Then I am pretty confident I will be able to get all my donor part (mostly race quality!) for a net cost of ZERO $ or lower!!!

[Evan78]

Sounds fun, glad to hear you're happy. Upload some pics :)

[Draco-REX]

Did you tell them that you plan to tear it apart and leave it an empty shell when you're done? ;)

[AVIONX]

Did you tell them that you plan to tear it apart and leave it an empty shell when you're done? ;)Duh. NOOOO!

[Draco-REX]

Duh. NOOOO!
Heh. The guy I bought my WRX from is still a little shocked to see what I've done to it:

http://www.jasonmasseymedia.com/wp-content/gallery/9-18-11-ovr-rallyx-nat-chall/IMG_1956.JPG

[AVIONX]

Heh. The guy I bought my WRX from is still a little shocked to see what I've done to it:

http://www.jasonmasseymedia.com/wp-content/gallery/9-18-11-ovr-rallyx-nat-chall/IMG_1956.JPGThat is awesome. He should know that that is what these blown imprezas were born to do :) With the windows down, how do you keep the turf out of your back seats?

[AVIONX]

Find out what engine management is being used...with that bigger turbo, injectors, exhaust and meth injection it needs to be properly tunded. A high idle could simply be a mis-set parameter. Or a bad MAF maybe? It is running the stock ECU. The tune was done by the pros @ AWDTuning in Houston. They use open source tuning. So it's not a parameter. I'm thinking MAF or IAC.

[Draco-REX]

That is awesome. He should know that that is what these blown imprezas were born to do :) With the windows down, how do you keep the turf out of your back seats?
No back seats.

I need to hose the inside down at some point....

[AVIONX]

5063Here is a picture of my new donor!!! I am so psyched. When will my kit be here?????

[Evan78]

Looks nice, I missed the STi brakes in the ad. How are you feeling about the EWG?

[AVIONX]

+1 ^^^LOL. I would laike to say thanks for all the advice, but most of you told me not to touch it with a 10 foot pole and I love it :) But I do appreciate everybody giving their honest opinion and responding. There is a lot of wisdom collecting around this project. Just becuase I didn't take your advice, don't think I don't value it. I just fell in love.

[Justen]

LOL. I would laike to say thanks for all the advice, but most of you told me not to touch it with a 10 foot pole and I love it :) But I do appreciate everybody giving their honest opinion and responding. There is a lot of wisdom collecting around this project. Just becuase I didn't take your advice, don't think I don't value it. I just fell in love.
Subarus seem to have that effect on ppl

[bu11dogg2]

It is running the stock ECU. The tune was done by the pros @ AWDTuning in Houston. They use open source tuning. So it's not a parameter. I'm thinking MAF or IAC.

no codes?

1st, verify the CEL works (turn the car off then on to see it the light cycles)
2nd, buy a new gasket for the IACV ($5.00 from a dealer)
3rd, disconnect the battery
4th, when the car is cold (this is important, you will get sprayed with coolant) remove the IACV, be carefull not to strip the screws, tap the top of the screw driver with a hammer if they won't budge.
5th, clean then reinstall with new gasket

[Horhay]

LOL. I would laike to say thanks for all the advice, but most of you told me not to touch it with a 10 foot pole and I love it :) But I do appreciate everybody giving their honest opinion and responding. There is a lot of wisdom collecting around this project. Just becuase I didn't take your advice, don't think I don't value it. I just fell in love.
Wish I could find someone like you to buy my STi!

[BrandonDrums]

You could part out all the aftermarket goodies and make more than 6.5 k just putting this car back to stock. I don't think that mods are always a negative value, I'd say a mildly modded car is negative, but a car with this many high quality parts starts to negate the negative cost of the added wear and tear I say.

Not a bad buy at all! Clean the maf which is easily unplugged and removed and cleaned with a q-tip, pipe cleaner and some Non Chlorinated brake cleaner or of course MAF cleaner.

http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/attachments/f51/4486d1259552481-idle-fuel-air-senors-wrx-maf-sensor.gif

I doubt it's the MAF causing the issues though, it would make the car run bad everywhere and you probably would have noticed when you test drove the car.

Did the guy say anything about it idling high? Did it always idle high? WRX's have a few tables for idle control in the ECU. One for cold start, it will idle high if the coolant temp is low to warm the car up. Another for Low-electrical load which is the normal idle, another for high electrical load which is engaged when the lights are on or the AC is on etc.

If you can get your hands on a tatrix cable you can check those tables way easy (unless the tuner "locked" the tune with a custom ROM definition)

anyway, I hope it works out for you. Keep GOOD oil in the car and it will be great. I suggest Shell Rotella T6 synthetic. Can't beat it for these cars, at least not for the price. With a 18G turbo and all those other mods, you want to be sure you have good anti-sheering protection in your lube and high-heat breakdown resistance. The 2.0L EJ motors will spin a rod bearing if you're not careful.

If the tranny is in good shape and hasn't been rebuilt, I'd say that's a good indication that the car has been taken well care of and driven responsibly. That's a better indicator than an odometer

B

[AVIONX]

There is a Code. P0519 (?) Anyway its for a bad IAC valve. I'm picking up the gaskets (I ordered 2) tomorrow and I'll let you know how that goes. Tranny is stock, original and in good shape. Car ran perfect for 3 years following mods. High idle, cutting in 1st gear under boost and check engine light all happened at once 4 months ago. He tried to clean the IAC, but he knows nothing about cars so I'm going to redo that. If that doesn't work, I'll clean the MAF. If that doesn't work....I'll come back here for more awesome advice :) Thanks guys.

[AVIONX]

Looks nice, I missed the STi brakes in the ad. How are you feeling about the EWG?

I love the blow-off valve. The EWG is weird. Terrifies everybody inside or outside the car when it hits. Rumor is it is not legal. All of the plumbing to return it to the exhaust is there if I get sick of it. Since it;s not my DD, it is cool for now.

[Evan78]

Well at least you can control the EWG with your throttle position. I can't imagine it being legal in any state when its bypassing the muffler and catalytic converter. Some people use little mufflers from motorcycles or other small engines to reduce the noise.