Well the ECU is your computer that controls the car. It won't run without it, but you can have it tuned to make more HP and Touque as well as increase throttle responce and In somecases raise your redline a few hundred RPM's.

As far as being dissapointed in your RS, DON'T BE. I have much more respect for a nice, clean, quick RS then any other WRX or STi that I see everywhere.

Intakes.... well I'm not sure if you'll be able to find the 04 Injen CAI (cold air intake) but you are able to find a ton of AEM CAI's on e-bay or any performance website that caters to subaru's. I've got a Injen CAI on MY05RS and it works like a charm.

I'm actually ordering my exhaust on tuesday. It's a OBX header and midpipe. IT's a knockoff of another brand but actuall makes alot of power for half the price. But if you'r looking for name brand, TWE and BORLA are a few of the more popular ones.

BAsically man, don't be dissapointed, alot of the WRX stuff fits on our cars so we can be just as good in some respects as our turbo'd bothers. I'm in Union City and if ya want to come take a ride down to our meets on Tuesday nights go to the UCKK thread under MEETINGS, EVENTS, and DOUGHNUTS (wow that's spelled wrong) in the bay area forum. And if ya want to check out my ride i'll send you over to my CARDOMAIN.com website.

-Matt

 

Hey Drewp is your car MAP or MAF??

 

You can do this! Swift springs with KYB GR-2's. These shocks can work with your '05 top hat. Just add a washer(s) that is 14mm I.D. and 18mm O.D. and 5mm thick. This will slip over the rod and stop on the 1st shoulder (under the top hat). I did this on all four struts (then the threads will push down and seat the springs firmly).

The ride is absolute perfection. Firm without crashing on sharp bumps.. also am using Suby Solutions 7/8" FSB and 3/4" adjustable RSB. Using a front strut tower brace as well from Primitive Racing.

www.mann-engineering.com (springs)
www.rallitek.com (struts)
www.primitiveracing.som (strut brace)
www.subysolutions.com (sway bars)

Below is my '05. I just mounted 17" rims and tires today (Steel Grey centers with polished lip ~ they look sooo sick!).

 

What he said ^ indeed they are... I have one on order with a black aluminium tube.

 

no lol. i love the car. im dissapointed that i settled for the automatic version. its still a fun car, but if it were manual it would be alot more fun....

i dont if its MAP or MAF, whats the difference? and what does each one do?

 

He's got a 04RS so he has a MAP.

 

what the difference between the two years?

the cosmetics are the same right?

 

First of all, don't be so disappointed with the automatic.. I have a metallic 2.5RS with automatic too. I know that manual is more fun, but hey, automatic is just EASIER. Being about the same age (I'm 17), I'd say... try to keep this car forever, and do a tranny switch to a STi 6 gear in college or something. (Driveshafts don't need to be changed, so its a bit cheaper.) ^^. Besides, automatic doesn't mean you'll be slow by any means. Heck, some argue that it could be faster, since you don't need to do all the footwork in turns and stuff. (In rally anyway. Left foot braking) But this is just hearsay. hehe.

As far as your question: Pretty much the only difference to the 04 and 05 is the airflow sensors in your intake. Our 05 intakes measure the amount of air flowing using MAF (Mass Air Flow) Sensor, which measures the mass of the air flowing into the car through wires with a current running through them and measuring the temp of the wires. As the wires increase temp, it should reach a calculated point in electrical resistance. But since the air flow cools the wires, the electrical resistance decreases. By knowing how much the electrical resistance decreases, you can figure out the air flow/mass. It also has an air temp reader since the initial air temperatures also plays a part.

MAPs stand for Manifold Absolute Pressure: This type of air measurement works by measuring the pressure in the intake manifold, and comparing to the outside atmospheric pressure. Since absolute pressure is proportional to air density, and air density is proportional to the mass of air, the ECU can figure out the mass of the air, and adjust amount of fuel and timing accordingly.

As for the particular advantages of each, I don't remember much, but I think MAFs work better with CAIs, because of temperature change. But they also require more tuning and are more stubborn with the ECU, again because of the temps.

MAPs are more flexible but do no have as much gain from an intake.

Or at least thats what I think.
I'm a noob, so correct what I have please. Thanks =D
--
Edit -> Do '02 + Exhaust options work?
And if you want to get exhaust, and you don't have problems with money, get Techworks, otherwise, OBX is a great economic choice, but it isn't the most long lasting. But nothing like a 50 dollar repair job to fix you right up.

 

hey i need a high flow cat, and ...well a whole exaust system! where should i look, i searched greddy they don't have anything and i look at bps or what ever that site is and i couldn't figure out how to but anything, and i looked at ralliTEK they have some but its ugly. lol i know i'm picky i guess, but if anyone can help me PLEASE do. i have a 2005 2.5rs
love my car!

 

ah. thats the same thing that ive been thinking. This car is pretty much brand new, it can last me forever, and i can even save up money from jobs and get a 05 sti, or swap in a 6 speed sti engine, or 5 speed 06 wrx engine. The 2.5literTurbo just sounds too good.

exactly how hard is it to do a tranny swap? or how much time/money?

and, do i lose power by having the 4EAT? it just being a 4 speed?

 

you lose power with the 4EAT because of the added weight and load of turning a torque convertor. theres really no way around it except to trade it in and get a 5 speed

 

I want to keep this a comfortable and quiet ride. Could i chip my car without exhaust and not harm anything? Or even mount a stock STi exhaust system?

 

I mounted the SPT/Bosel on mine and didn't really change the sound much at all, tho it did look alot better (i think i got more power too, but don't really have a tuned butt dino yet ) I don't know if a chip without mods would do anything for you or not tho.

 

hey, im new to the subaru world. I was wondering if the 2005 2.5RS can use the same parts as the 05 WRXs.. i searched ebay for parts (such as springs, short shifters, etc.) and most of them says its for the 04 05 wrx. Im wondering if i can still use these parts for my 2.5rs.

 

Hello,

I am from land from the far east Singapore and own a MY05 TS with a EJ16 engine. Ya its just a puny 1.6 NA car cos its expensive owning cars here. I guess the 2.5RS is about the same kind of engine as mine as I have heard of ppl dropping in a EJ25 NA engine into their 1.6 TS over here. Law is pretty strict here and its quite restrictive on the mods we can do to our rides. But I have done some tinkering on my humble TS to make it slightly more drivable.

Was going thru the threads and saw some posts of aftermarket camshats being available for the 2.5RS. Was wondering if anybody has actually fitted such camshafts to their ride? Would like to know cost for this mod. Is it a worthwhile investment and can it fit my EJ16 engine?

TIA