Archive for August, 2008

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to let you know that we will be kicking off the Subaru Secrets teleseminar series again soon.

After the success of the first series we have some great repeat guests coming back along with some interesting new additions.

We will be covering your Subaru from top to bottom from STi to Forester, from MY99 to MY08 – no matter what model you drive, the Subaru Secrets teleseminar series will provide you with loads of great information.

Here are a couple of the people you will be hearing from in Series 2 of the Subaru Secrets Tele-Seminars:

Ecutek:  Ben Dagenais is responsible for training all of the EcuTek techs in the UK, Canada and the USA and will provide some great insights into the ECU and the secret answers to the tuning enhancements that your local tuner may not be aware of or might not tell you.

Go Fast Bits: Brett Turner from Go Fast Bits who provide a range of innovative and high-quality blow-off valves, boost controllers, pulley kits and short shifters. Learn the secrets to adjusting a BOV correctly or don’t want to understand how to correctly choose the right BOV for your  application.

To find out who else is lined up and to tell us your hot topics you can sign up today at

http://www.SubaruSecrets.com

I look forward to hearing from you and hope you can join us when the calls start.

Cheers

Brett

Hi Everyone

I often find myself fielding questions from customers who want a larger or louder exhaust.

I recently recorded a 55 minute MP3 that explores some of the traps involved in fitting a larger exhaust and some of the risks that you may or may not be aware of with the different models.

This MP3 will allow you to understand some of the common myths and mistakes that you can make when it comes to fitting a larger or better sounding exhaust system on the Subaru turbo range and models.

In this 55 minute downloadable MP3, you can understand how to choose the right exhaust for your Subaru and learn more about the intricate changes in your exhaust system.

Plus, you will also find information on the Liberty, Liberty Twin Turbo, 2.5, 2.0L Turbo the early model RS Turbo Liberty and Legacy Models as well as Pre-2000 models and more…

If you are already signed up as a member of the site you can access this in the download area.  If you haven’t already signed up just CLICK HERE to listen to the 5 minute preview and sign up to get the full 55 minute MP3.

Leave a comment below to let me know what you think.

Cheers

Brett

Wheels magazine has named the new generation Impreza WRX STI the winner in an extensive comparison test against the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

Read full story

Our new Grudge Match 2 video has hit 1000 hits on video sharing site YouTube after just 2 weeks.

I was amazed yesterday to be checking the site and thinking to myself, “we should have passed 1000 by now” only to click on the link for the video and see it showing exactly 1000 hits.

I was so amazed I took a screenshot of it.

Then it got me to wondering what the chances were of checking again on a milestone number given I probably only check it once per day, if even at all some days.

Click Here to view the video if you haven’t already seen it.

Leave you comments about the video and what my chances are of seeing a 000 based number again on YouTube.

Cheers

Brett

One of the most common questions we get asked at MRT Performance, literally on a daily and weekly basis, is whether I would buy an Mitsubishi EVO X or an EVO IV compared to a Subaru MY08 STi or an MY07 STi.

I am going to give you a few thoughts on the different models to help you make a judgment on whether the Mitsubishi Evo or Subaru STI is the better car to buy.

If you’re trying to decide, do you buy an STI or do you buy an EVO? If you work for Mitsubishi or Subaru, this may come as a surprise, or it may come as no surprise. The way that we most often help people these days to make a decision is we ask one simple question:

Where and how often are you going to drive the car?

Are you going to drive the car every day of the week, or are you just going to drive it on the weekend? Is it your daily driver and the most common car that you do drive, or is it the car that you’ll only drive on weekends for a bit of a fun car to drive at the track or out through your favorite, twisty country roads?

The reason for this is because, unfortunately the STI model cars, particularly in the Impreza range really aren’t what I call, not hard core, but the sporty type of car that the previous models used to be.

The seats are not the same. It’s toned down a little bit. I think Subaru tried to make the new STI range a little bit too common now. They’ve widened its appeal. Maybe they’ll sell more. Maybe they’ll sell less because I’ve certainly had several people speak to us about how the seats in the ’08 STI are not as good as the previous models. In my opinion, they’re certainly not as good as the ’99 or ’00 model car.

Frankly, they’re made for wide-assed people. They’re made to suit as many people as they can. Of course, if you’re a bit beefy in the back side, and you want to sit in a ’99 or 2000 model, you’re probably not going to like the seats, but you will like it in the STI. Who knows why they decided to do that, other than the fact that they obviously want to sell more cars.

Now, when it comes to the EVO range, it’s a little bit more hard core. I think Mitsubishi has effectively kept its focus on where it’s really going with that model. That can be good and that can be bad. If you’re going to drive a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO range of cars, definitely like the ’09 on a daily basis, it can be quite annoying. For example, it doesn’t have cruise control if you drive in freeway traffic and you want to have a bit of a plod, or you’re going home late one evening.

The Subaru comes with cruise control factory standard. The other thing is that, for Australian conditions, the EVO has pretty poor air conditioning. I don’t think it’s really been thought out that well. I think it’s an add-on. In a race car situation, you sack it. You don’t want it so you get rid of the weight. It certainly doesn’t perform as well as a Subaru. Bluntly, the EVO’s got an absolutely shocking turning circle, whereas the Subaru has got a good turning circle.

That can be good and bad. If you’re a bit of an animal, and you don’t have any mechanical sympathy, if you put the steering wheel on full lock on a Subaru, and you give it a big launch, you effectively will pop the drive shafts out of the outer CV joints because there is too much angularity in the outer turning circle because of the drive shaft connection in the front of the car.

Mitsubishi obviously limited that with the turning circle to stop you from doing that. It’s effectively built in an idiot factor. The downside is if you want to do a nice, cruise-y, take-it-easy type of u-turn, or go around a very small round-about, you can’t make it without doing a two-point turn. That looks absolutely stupid when you are driving a car as new as that model EVO IV..

Performance wise, on the road, standard suspension compared STI to EVO, the EVO is firmer, a little bit harsher, but it’s not really an issue. So you can start to get a bit of an idea of why I asked about how you’re going to drive the car. The answer is if you’re looking to buy a car that you’re going to drive in a sporty, fun way on the weekends, then you would buy an EVO.

If you’re going to drive that every day of the week to and from work, then you would buy an STI. There really is no accurate, black-and-white answer. On the track, both cars pretty much hit the nail on the head with a different recipe. Obviously the drive train, engine layout and diff controller system on a Subaru is dramatically different to a Mitsubishi, but the lap times come up pretty close together.

I think it’s because Subaru has dulled down the STI a little bit. The EVO is a little bit more fun to drive out of the box, but then, I’ve got a bit of a weakness for Subarus. I’ve owned a Subaru for a long time with my rally car. You can’t beat that boxer beat when you make the exhaust sound a little bit better. An EVO, then, has a separate advantage. I’m talking positive with everything in that if you want to open up the exhaust and squeeze a bit more grunt out of it with the right package of parts, you can do it a lot easier. When you open up the exhaust, it doesn’t get as noisy as what a Subaru does however.

Hopefully that has given you a few ideas on my opinions of the Mitsubishi EVO X or an EVO IV compared to a Subaru MY08 STi or an MY07 STi.

Hi Everyone

The Grudge Match 2 video has been loaded onto YouTube so you can finally see whether power or handling win out on the track.

We put a lot of work into getting the cars ready for this and really hope that you enjoy the video.

Follow the link below to watch it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqG2bNknOo0

Leave a comment here on the blog or under the YouTube video to let us know what you think.

And we are planning another STi v Evo Grudge Match again with the Evo X.

Hope you enjoy the STi Grudge Match video as much as we enjoyed making it.

Brett