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Engine

When this document was first written, there were surprisingly few options for improving the engine of the Subaru Impreza. This is not the case today, and too many different options are available to list in this document, so we shall just list the more popular/affordable ones.

Prodrive offer a performance pack for the car, and depending on the model year comprises a Ramair air filter, stainless steel free flow exhaust, revised engine management system and Mintex brake pads (up to MY98). This gives the Impreza about 15% extra power and torque, bringing it up to the 240bhp and 240 lb/ft mark for the pre MY99 cars. This may be fitted by Prodrive without affecting the standard 3 year Subaru warranty. For the MY99 cars onwards, they offer a similarly priced performance pack which adds a revised ECU, exhaust system and intercooler piping. Proven gains of 10 to 15% are offered, with a dramatic improvement in mid range response and urgency.

There are however a number of drawbacks. Firstly, the conversion is not cheap. Secondly, Prodrive will only fit the performance pack to cars with at least 16 inch wheels. For owners of pre '98 cars, this means an additional cost for a set of 16 or 17 inch wheels and tyres. Lastly, once upgraded, pre '97 cars must be run only on Super unleaded fuel. The conversion for the MY97 cars on allow normal unleaded fuel to be used, albeit with reduced performance. There are of course other options.

The Link ECU (also known as the Possum Link) is an aftermarket ECU which replaces the existing ECU, and utilises the same connectors. It comes supplied with a default map which can then be adjusted by the owner to help them extract the best performance from their car. There are various add-on modules available to assist the owner with this task. We would strongly advise owners to seek expert assistance in configuring/programming the Link ECU, as the results of entering wrong settings can be disasterous. Thankfully, the UK suppliers of these systems have the necessary expertise available. BR Developments are the acknowledged UK experts in the installation and tuning of this system

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