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So.. let me get this right

8.3K views 82 replies 34 participants last post by  Garrett  
#1 · (Edited)
The new 2008 Subaru STi's have a problem with overboosting or getting to close to redline from the factory and can cause the engine to fail.

The latest COBB Accessport maps haven't stamped out boost creep and people have still been getting CELs which could eventually cause the engine to fail.

Sounds a lot like the same **** to me. Maybe it is or maybe it isn't. I'm in the market for a new 2008 STi and while this stuff kinda scares me I doubt it will scare me away totally. I loved my 2005 STi but, had to sell it for various reasons.

Anyway, I thought one of the ways to get rid of boost creep was with the Cobb AP. Or one of the reasons to avoid boost creep was to get a catted downpipe. Now I see people getting boost creep even with the catted downpipes. So whats the deal?

I'm confused and the more I read about either subject the more confused I get. I HAVE to have that Subaru boxer rumble if I get another Subaru so telling me to not mod the car is futile. :)

Also on my 05 I always set the shift light and beep to right around 5,000 RPMS.. with human reflexes it would probably be around 5500 by the time I shifted anyway. I did this because going all the way to redline was pointless as the boost died off pretty much right after 5500rpm. Must not be the case now.
 
#2 ·
The new 2008 Subaru STi's have a problem with overboosting or getting to close to redline from the factory and can cause the engine to fail.

The latest COBB Accessport maps haven't stamped out boost creep and people have still been getting CELs which could eventually cause the engine to fail.

Sounds a lot like the same **** to me. Maybe it is or maybe it isn't. I'm in the market for a new 2008 STi and while this stuff kinda scares me I doubt it will scare me away totally. I loved my 2005 STi but, had to sell it for various reasons.

Anyway, I thought one of the ways to get rid of boost creep was with the Cobb AP. Or one of the reasons to avoid boost creep was to get a catted downpipe. Now I see people getting boost creep even with the catted downpipes. So whats the deal?

I'm confused and the more I read about either subject the more confused I get. I HAVE to have that Subaru boxer rumble if I get another Subaru so telling me to not mod the car is futile. :)
Get it, but I'd say be ready to take that drive for the protune. If you want the car that badly, this should be a small inconvenience.
 
#3 ·
Hmm, I don't see the problem. Get a CBE and set the shift light at 5k like you've always done. That way you don't worry about boost creep since I haven't heard of any such issues on the stock ECU and you get the boxer rumble...and you save about $1000 to $1200 on the $$ you didn't spend on a DP & AP.
 
#4 ·
WTF? What redline reduction? That was speculation by a phone rep and now its fact?

Don't set the shift light, drive the snot out it like 99% of the people who don't read internet forums as many of us and you should be fine.

I do feel sorry for the folks who do have problems (bytor, TIC, etc.) but you can't take isolated cases as a definitive metric for the entire sample. Yikes!
 
#5 ·
Nobody's having "issues" with boost creep after tuning, one way or another I don't know where you read that.

Even if you did read it from one or two guys, thats one or two of thousands opinions, they may not even know what boost creep is.

Buy it, and if you maximum performance from it, get it tuned AP or Pro, mod it as you wish.

Stop taking everything in here as gold guys, buy the damn car.
 
#9 ·
Beyond Propertions

Yeah, I'm in a similar position (non '08 owner) yet have done a bit of reading and I have definately considered the "issues" but there's no way it'll stop me from buying the car b/c of it. My intent with the car, if the sale follows through, AP stage 1. . . and use it DD, find the tuner of choice, go catless DP, TBE, intake, stage 2 protune it and get the quirks out. If you really want it just go all out and do it right. Better runnning setups will always push your wants further as poor tuning or drivability loses its fun sooner.


Then turbo swap, forged slugs. . .
 
#10 ·
I don't see a problem either. Buy the car. Drive the heck outta it. Smile a lot. I have zero problems with mine and it's stock. It runs/feels/handles/sounds better than my '05. Get the car. Don't let all this negative talk spook you.
-rain-
 
#11 ·
It's not rumors....many people are having these issues if you read through all the threads in the tech section. I can only speak for myself but my situation is similar to the OP so here you go.

I live up on top of a small mountain. The road up here is 4 miles of 10-15% grade. I had a stage 2 05 that I drove the piss out of coming home everyday. 90+ degrees in the summer, near redline in 4th, pushing the limits of grip coming up the hill day after day. I was VERY hard on that car and it never made a peep.

The stock tune in the 08 isn't even an option - it's crap. Running Cobb's 1.01 map, I simply cannot come up my hill as fast as I did over and over in my 05. It's not a matter of the 0244 code coming sometimes - I will throw it EVERYTIME if I run the revs high in 4th. That blows. I'm very frustrated with the situation.

I really like/trust Cobb but this is a terrible wait. I hope a protune fixes it but I don't want to spend the money until I have an exhaust on and I'm waiting for Cobb's. They are aware of the map issues and are "working on" another version but I hope it comes out soon because until I can drive this car hard, I'm gonna keep *****ing about how much I miss my 05.
 
#13 ·
I abused my modded 04 like a cheap hooker that I diddnt intend to pay. I drive my stock 08 like I have paid an escort, but dont expect any at the end of the day
 
#14 ·
I might just got all catted stuff and do Stg 2 anyway.. if it starts screwing up I could pop the stock **** on and unmarry the AP. Hmm guess theres no point in worrying now .. don't even have a car.
 
#16 ·
Some of you guys are taking this a little too seriously don't you think? It is not THAT widespread of a problem when you consider that this forum is a small percentage of all owners. Some even find their way here just because they had a problem.

Drive it how you want and if something goes wrong deal with it then. For now just assume nothing can go wrong :)
 
#27 ·
Some of you guys are taking this a little too seriously don't you think? It is not THAT widespread of a problem when you consider that this forum is a small percentage of all owners. Some even find their way here just because they had a problem.

Drive it how you want and if something goes wrong deal with it then. For now just assume nothing can go wrong :)
Sorry, but a spun rod bearing and broken ringland at 1,987 accompanied by a bill for $10,600 to replace the engine a month and a half after driving it off the lot is a bit tough to not take seriously.

I used to assume nothing could go wrong, since nothing had gone wrong with my previous Subarus. One can assume nothing can go wrong, but doing so is foolish. "Nothing" is an absolute, just like "all".

Not "all" cars will fail and it's unlikely that "nothing" will ever go wrong for everybody. In fact, it's irrefutably proven not to be the case.

In the end, I've got a $50k+ STi that's stone stock except for brake pads, tires, and wheels, and runs so hot on the track I'm reluctant to use it there for fear it's going to self-destruct again and become a $60k car that's still a ticking time bomb.
 
#17 ·
Here's what I know after visiting these forums...

  1. An 08 can only be revved between 3000 and 5500 RPM unless you want your engine to explode
  2. The stock tune is both very dangerous and perfectly fine
  3. The Access Port will solve all of my problems except for the ones it causes
  4. The OTS maps on the Access Port are both adequate to run at a small loss of power and a huge risk; I'd be an idiot to use one
  5. An Access Port is detectable by Subaru mechanics and will instantly cause me to void my warranty, lose all my friends, and be convicted of a felony. It also isn't detectable at all.
  6. Being at a higher elevation or sea level independently lower and increase your chances of getting a CEL with a Stage 1 tune.
  7. Interactive mode on SI-drive substantially increases your MPG while not making any difference in your fuel efficiency
I think that's everything, I'll reply with more if I missed anything.
 
#73 ·
Here's what I know after visiting these forums...
  1. An 08 can only be revved between 3000 and 5500 RPM unless you want your engine to explode
  2. The stock tune is both very dangerous and perfectly fine
  3. The Access Port will solve all of my problems except for the ones it causes
  4. The OTS maps on the Access Port are both adequate to run at a small loss of power and a huge risk; I'd be an idiot to use one
  5. An Access Port is detectable by Subaru mechanics and will instantly cause me to void my warranty, lose all my friends, and be convicted of a felony. It also isn't detectable at all.
  6. Being at a higher elevation or sea level independently lower and increase your chances of getting a CEL with a Stage 1 tune.
  7. Interactive mode on SI-drive substantially increases your MPG while not making any difference in your fuel efficiency
I think that's everything, I'll reply with more if I missed anything.
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."

Welcome to the internet, Neo...
 
#19 ·
Its just always tit for tat... you will have people that nitpick the smallest things and others that realize that its life and there are no cars out there that don't have issues. Those that have problems and others that have never had an issue... (Pssst there are a lot more of us...)

Another one to add to the list is that some on Iwsti and Nasioc think that they represent the MAJORITY of Sti owners and if there are a few people having issues it is an epidemic!!!
 
#22 ·
All of this is VERY true!
 
owns 2019 Subaru WRX STI Base FP Green Flex Fuel
#20 ·
I think that most don't know the true definition of boost creep. There's a difference in boost spiking and uncontrolable boost creep. I haven't read too many stories about boost creep with the new Cobb v101 tunes. I'm sure there are isolated occurances. This holds true, OTS MAPS DON"T WORK FOR EVERYBODY. They will work for most, but there are certain climates, elevations, etc that just need custom tuning as each and every car is DIFFERENT. I have a Cobb catted DP on my 08 and run the Cobb stage 2 93 octane v101 map. The first few pulls that I made the car made 22.5lbs of boost peak and quickly tapered to the 19.5lbs that's targeted in the map. Is this boost creep? NO! After about 30 minutes of driving, the ECU learned and adjusted WG duty cycles and now the car hits dead on target boost EVERY TIME. You just have to take some of what you read around here with a grain of salt. I know that the problem cars are a VERY small percentage of total owners out there. Most will likely never have a problem just like in past generations. Buy the car flash to stage 1 and go from there. I have no fears with my car.
 
owns 2019 Subaru WRX STI Base FP Green Flex Fuel
#26 · (Edited)
They don't get boost creep bone stock, and even if they did that isn't what's causing the failures... Its the poor tune, and the high AFR below 4K RPM...

Get an AP and don't worry about it anymore.
I don't think it's always a poor tune and always a <4k RPM issue.

Mine stumbled at 5200 and AP Stage 1 didn't change it (though it made noticeably more power up until that point), so I ditched the tune and it still went kablooey. It always seemed to run well up to that point except for the occasional really bad idle, leading me to strongly suspect the whole cause of my problems was the camshaft that was randomly changing time due to the sprocket moving back and forth on it.

I don't think the problems with the car are universal or anywhere near the majority, but I think the number of cars having similar problems is cause for concern. And, of course, I'm angry that it appears that only mine wasn't covered by warranty.

Something that puzzles me. You posted elsewhere that it was no surprise that mine wasn't covered by warranty because of the AP tune (you apparently didn't realize it was uninstalled before the failure), yet your mantra seems to be "Buy the 08 and go AP Stage 1 ASAP".

Which is it? Is AP devil or saint?

Or perhaps you thought there was a lot more done to mine?

Others who've thought my warranty coverage should've been denied because of "racing" changed their tune when they learned that "track days" is mentioned in the owner's manual in such a way that implies it's acceptable use of the car, though "racing" itself (except autocross, which works the car a tiny fraction of the time a DE does) is specifically excluded.

If Subaru doesn't want to cover "track day" use if the owner is an Instructor or Advanced Student at such events, they need to change their verbage a bit, and if I'd been told that such use would void the warranty (when I told salespeople, sales managers, mechanics, and service managers how I would use the car), I certainly wouldn't have bought it.

And I could certainly understand if they wanted to change the verbage that way and stop marketing the car as a fire-breathing performance car. Though my usage pattern is very clearly NOT racing by any definition, the rigors of my use and the rigors of racing use are identical except that I don't make the SCCA-allowed mods which include reflashing it as aggressively as you want.

But the workload is identical only because of my experience level. It's still not racing by any legal definition.

That said, my previous STi's and the WRX before them never missed a beat and they were flogged on the track like rented mules, often being used by more than one driver, so sometimes not getting the typical 90-minutes of rest between sessions.
 
#30 ·
If you have reservations, just wait. This ECU is a bit different from last year's and, given the car has only been out 8 months, there might be more of a learning curve compared to previous models. I'm not having any problem with mine, using AP, but I'm not "driving the snot" out of it until we have a clearer picture of what is going on with some of the ring land failures.
 
#31 ·
Its reading threads like these that really make me sad. I really wanted to buy this car, but these constant cells and horror stories (at least on this forum) scare me too much. It didn't help that my 04 STI blew up after I got the motor built. You think the guys with the EJ207 in Japan have all these problems?
 
#32 ·
All makes and models have their problems. You just only get to read about the few that have problems and not the many of us that don't.
 
owns 2019 Subaru WRX STI Base FP Green Flex Fuel
#34 ·
Supposedly, there are no changes to the 09's.
 
owns 2019 Subaru WRX STI Base FP Green Flex Fuel
#36 ·
I'm actually okay with some folks not buying the car. My PERSONAL OPINION:

Yes a few have had terrible experiences. They are certainly entitled to rant. But there are many more on this forum who are just choosing to focus on the negative and complain, some of whom haven't even driven the car yet, let alone own it... You know what, I'd rather not have those folks as "fellow owners."

I am an enthusiast. This car brings me a lot of joy and takes a lot of my money. But I also know the harder I drive it, the more likely it is that whatever imperfections exist will eventually cause some kind of failure. It's a hell of a lot closer to the razor's edge than my mom's Accord, so I simply don't expect it to have the same level of reliability.

I tend to think positively and I like to be in company of folks who do the same. Knock on wood, mine is bone stock and had been perfect for 9K miles now.

So, now that I'm on my high horse with my pants down, you are all free to knock me down a couple pegs. :)
 
#37 ·
I couldn't agree with you more!;)
 
owns 2019 Subaru WRX STI Base FP Green Flex Fuel