2002 Wrx Wagon..newbie Questions

[turbozted]

Hi my name is Ted

i'am going to pickup/buy a 2002 impreza wrx wagon

is there anything i should check and look out before i hand my cash over

it has a HKS full exhaust system fitted and a hks induction kit and another bunch of hks goodies fitted

its covered 66k and has service history...

the only thing i'am concerned about it..the exhaust system has a de-cat pipe fittted

will this cause a problem with a MOT!!!

also my insurance company wants a tracker Fitted..

Whats the Cheapest available.. i have searched the internet and got in twist trying to find a Tracker for a subaru

Sorry for being another pain in the butt newbie

help and advice would be a great help

Turozted

[paul n]

Hi mate & welcome, to answer a couple of questions,

If it's been decatted it won't pass an MOT, I would also want the ECU remapping if decatted & induction kit, this may have already been done

Hope all goes well & enjoy the car

[HairyDJ]

Hi Ted,

I'm currently running a 54 plate wagon & had a 51 before that - you've made a good choice.

I've never had an insurance requirement for tracker - when you read about some of the thefts, it's worth having for your own peace of mind, not just to keep insurers happy. In the past, it only seemed to be STi and upwards that insurers wanted trackers for, but maybe your company is a bit twitchier than others - if you are worried about the cost then a slightly higher insurance premium without the strings may work out cheaper?

Your concern to find the cheapest tracker is a bit worrying - owning & running a scoob is not a cheap obsession and if times are hard, or you're not one to spend on running a car then a scoob may not bring you too much joy.

Good Luck & bring the beastie along to a local meeting when you get the chance

[Davey L]

Have you tried some different insurance companies?

I got my WRX just before christmas and the price differences were shocking between companies and the requirement for a tracker or not. Tesco were cheapest for me (37, 8 years protected no claims, car securely parked, no points, etc) but they wanted a tracker fitted..... which added quite a bit to the price, i ended up staying with Admiral (increase of £120 from a 1.8ltr 3 series to the Scooby). Shop around even if it means means paying a penalty on your current insurance it could still be cheaper in the long run.

It could also depend on where you live though, i have a friend in Newcastle and every company he calls wants a tracker fitted!

Shop around.

[darryl_martin]

As said if it's been decatted it will need a remap, if it's not had it already and will fail the MOT. One option would be to fit a sports cat, unfortunately one of the more expensive parts of the exhaust, but you'll get a very minimal drop in performance and you'd need a remap as well! If you went for one in the centrepipe (most common option is the downpipe)it would be cheaper to fit, but a bit harder to get through the MOT as the cat has to be nice and hot to work properly and the further it is from the engine the harder it is to do that, but still do able (a mine just failed, but then passed lol!) Would be worth checking if it mates to the HKS system as well. I managed to pick up a sports cat from the STI PPP second hand which bolted straight on to my WRX, but that was a 2003, not sure on the 2002.

Insurancewise I have always needed a tracker fitted and they've either been from Tracker, or Trackstar. If you go for an online quote with Tesco/Directline then you get a list of possible trackers that they recognise up, but I'd say it was easier to go with one of the two above. Normally about £500 fitted, then £120 a year for subscription or you might get a 3 year or lifetime that you have the car deal.

I did recently change to Keith Michaels who didn't require a tracker for me, although I have one for piece of mind. Make sure you speak to Gary Moulson, MoleyWRX on here I think.

Welcome to the club

[turbozted]

Thanks guys

got insurance sorted... its just this de-cat prob... MOT is up in 3 months..

so i will have to shop around for a cat or sport cat which is gonna fit up with my HKS exhaust system

picking the car up tomorrow and will take pics and post the hks items the car has..

maybe you guys can tell me a bit about the bolt on's

Ted

[turbozted]

hang on second... if did get hold of a original 2002 wrx cat converter or a sport cat... i would still need a ecu re-map

WTF!!!...so its not a case of just bolting the cat converter on..

is it realy not possible for the car to scrape through the emissions test on the MOT...

i'am off looking for a Cat...MEOW

TED

[turbozted]

Being a little bit wet behind the Ear's when it comes to subaru's

is this what will get my wrx through a MOT emissions

Subaru WRX/STI UP PIPE+ EGT SENSOR + Gasket

cheer's ted..

ps can somone please give me a ruff guide to the impreza Exhaust system... all these blinking pipes

seems a bit weird!!!

[Davey L]

Yup another re-map would be needed if you fitted a cat. Because of the Induction system and exhaust changes already the car 'should' have be re-mapped then. Just adding a cat could confuse the sensors, there could be fuel issues and it would just ruin the cat, costing more in the long run.

Buying a modded car is always an adventure

[darryl_martin]

Standard system:

You have an up pipe with a small cat or pre cat in it. (This alone wont get you through and I think it's there to protect the sensor?)

Then the downpipe, biggesst cat on the system (hence it is the part that gives the biggest gains when replaced and a popular mod)

Then a second cat pipe with a smaller cat in it, but this is missing on some of the cars with the PPP fitted, but I think yours would have kept it.

Then a centre section with a silencer or resonator in.

and finally the backbox.

The car will pass an mot with just the cat in the downpipe, or a sports cat in there. Some manufacturers put a sports cat in the centre section, easier to change but harder to get to work efficiently for mot reasons (need to go for a good blast to get it hot before hand, shame )

If you go changing bits which change the car significantly then you need a remap to go with it. Firstly the engine wont be to happy running if the factory set parameters are being exceeded which can lead to damage on the long term, or short term depending on how drastic the mods are! Secondly, having spent a load of money modding the car the remap will get the most out of them and you'll get your money's worth, and the car will be running correctly.

If your car has already been mapped for the decat, which it should have been, it would be worth finding out what chip, ecutek etc, and who mapped it and if it's a licensed map (occasionally you get bargain remaps which don't come with a license, meaning if you mod further in the future and need another map then you need to pay full price again). Licensed maps are usually left open for any further tweaking so any future maps are nomally considerably cheaper!

Some places have a centre section with some cats welded in, and for a fee they swap the centre over, you take the car for an mot, pass (hopefully lol!) and then you return and put your original section back in.

This may sound pretty scary but it's all part of the fun! The HKS system may be interchangeable with standard parts, I don't know, worth investigating, hayward and scott seem to make all things scooby when it comes to exhausts so they could probably help you out. Also check how much it costs to fit the parts as this can add up too. Don't let this put you off, there are many, many cars out there decatted that go through this every year (but not mine sorry!) and I'm sure someone will be along with prices and ways round it to give you an idea. Also find out if it's a uk car or a jap import as I think the exhaust sections may be different lengths.

Hope this helps, and I'm happy to be corrected on any of the above.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Padtwo

[turbozted]

thanks for your help... great reply

so if i got myself a original cat and just fitted it for a mot

then changed back to a de-cat.. on the same day.. i would still have to have 2 ECU remaps done

this is insane....

and would probably cost ****loads...

[turbozted]

[turbozted]

found this picture on google...

i kinda of getting into a spin about this

i'am not sure which part of the exhaust has a de-cat fitted on the car i'am buying

picking up the car tomorrow and i'am having second thought's

There is engine warning light on which has gotta be because the lamda/02 sensor is missing

looking at the diagram i'm guessing the rear cat converter

[darryl_martin]

You should be ok fitting the cat for the mot and then taking it off again, but I've never done this, so best speaking to someone who has.

If it's been decatted all the cats should have been removed, or else the advert isn't correct. On a standard system the main cat is in the downpipe, visible if you look down by the bulkhead on the drivers side, and that would get you through an mot on it's own. Basically you need one decent sized cat in there somewhere, normally in the downpipe because that works best with the getting it hot enough issue, but sometimes in the centre pipe as this is cheaper to swap over if you want to.

That is the picture I was looking for. The rear cat is the one in the 2nd cat pipe, or midpipe as they call it, and not that big, the front cat is the one in the downpipe.

The warning light will come on if the car has been decatted and not remapped, normally caused by the 02 sensor, but it could be any thing, or any number of things, so I would proceed with caution! there are "fixes " to get it to go out if it's the O2 sensor but I wouldn't say they are long term! Warning light comes on when it picks up a fault code, but if it isn't cleared and there's another fault it will store them all, so it might not be just the one thing!

One of the things I recommend when buying a car is don't necessarily buy the first one you see, take your time and find a good one

Good luck

Edited January 8, 2009 by Padtwo

[bmwhere?]

One of the things I recommend when buying a car is don't necessarily buy the first one you see, take your time and find a good one

Good luck

Its all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all and buy the first half decent one you see! Its a buyers market at the moment, so there are plenty of good cars around to choose from.

IMHO, if the engine light is on, then the owner has been modding without really knowing what he's doing. If the owner knows his stuff, he will tell you exactly what has been done, who re-mapped it and what you need to do (if anything) to get it through the MoT!

If the car has not been remapped with those mods, then walk away, its just not worth the risk! If the guy can't tell you how to get it through the MoT, then walk away!