2013 wrx tune question

tennis_pr0 · 10-12-2012, 10:08 PM

So I have decided I am going to buy a 2013 wrx. My question is what kind of tunes can you do for an affordable price without voiding the warranty? I do not know anything about tuning, I am just getting into driving performance cars and recently drove the wrx and fell in love with it. Basically, what can i do when I get the car for an affordable price that will give me a noticeable gain in hp but wont void the factory warranty. I have seen things such as stage one and stage two but am a little confused as so what all that is. Does Subaru themselves offer anything like this? Thanks in advance.

dirtydeeds02 · 10-14-2012, 05:34 PM

Im in the same position as u just ordered a wrx. Stage 1and 2 refer to the different stages of modification. I'm still trying to find out what will not void the warranty, from what I gather every dealer is diffrent so u shld ask them. I'm prob just going to do an intake for now.

brfatal · 10-14-2012, 06:29 PM

Any form of tuning can potentially invalidate the powertrain part of your warranty. There is nothing that will make a noticeable change in power that won't. You have to be willing to pay to play....

dirtydeeds02 · 10-16-2012, 08:15 AM

Very true. However an intake is very easy to revert back to stock if it needs to be brought to the dealer for work. This forum seems to be very adamant on tuning all mods, not sure how necessary that is for an intake. I've heard strong arguments from both sides and am not sure who is correct. It may be a dumb question but why is resetting the ecu not good enough.

pzr2874 · 10-16-2012, 10:16 AM

In a nutshell :You need to change/alter the parameters permanently. The ECU will not adjust for everything.

mosc · 10-16-2012, 10:19 AM

Dealers just say "abuse" and refuse to cover stuff. Warranties on sports cars are all bad. It doesn't matter how much it's modified. You can play the "it's stock, because I just put the stock stuff back on" game with them, it works sometimes. Generally, they'll decide if it's abuse or not independent of the exhaust mods on the car.

Everyone always says "void the warranty" like it's some kind of clause. It's not. They have to show that abuse or modification you have done has broken the part they would normally cover that they are denying. They are not going to deny service on your stereo or air conditioner because you have an exhaust on your car. They are not going to deny coverage of the window motors if you replace the turbo. You can't void shit.

dirtydeeds02 · 10-16-2012, 12:40 PM

Thanks, not sure what I'm going to do yet but I have time... 2 to 3 months on a factory order. I've modified cars before but I'm obviously new to the wrx scene. It just seems like if someone farts in the passenger seat you have to tune the car. It wanted it mostly for the sound might just do the snorkel delete.

turmic · 10-16-2012, 01:05 PM

The 3rd gen WRXs don't have a snorkel. Easiest mod you ever did...

dirtydeeds02 · 10-16-2012, 01:09 PM

Haha told u I was wrx rookie. Looks like I'm out of options to increase the sound of the turbo.

synolimit · 10-17-2012, 09:56 PM

everything on these cars need tuned for. even the factory tune! the stock tune is very lean under WOT till about 4000 rpm and then it drops extremely rich and bounces all over to redline. it is a very stupid and unsafe tune. take if from a guy that tuned his car and has seen the stock tune first hand!

nothing will void a warranty but warranty work can be denied if the dealer or SOA decides a part you added made whatever break. as mosc said, you blowing up your motor with that intake and no tune will not get your radio denied if it breaks.

only 100% way to do anything on these cars and be covered is buy a new ECU and flash that one. a dealer cant read a tune but they can read the check sum value with a max of 10 checks i believe. a stock car will have zero checks or 1 since it was originally flashed in japan on the stock tune. if you have more checks than only you messed with the ECU since a service record will show a flash at some point above the zero or 1. Cobb states (or people have stated reading that, i haven’t seen it) their AP will even get rid of the check sums but i dont believe that. buy an extra ECU and cover yourself. O and dont post here because SOA can find out its you and really screw you if somethings happens.

dirtydeeds02 · 10-18-2012, 07:45 AM

Thanks for the advice I would have never thought pg that. I'm not going to rush into anything, its more important to me to have a car that lasts and is covered under the warranty I'm paying for than sounding cool. If anyone has done a factory order on a 13 I would love to know how long it took to get the car. Dealer said 2 to 3 months but not to be surprised if it took 4. Ill go crazy if I have to wait that long.

brfatal · 10-18-2012, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosc

hey have to show that abuse or modification you have done has broken the part they would normally cover that they are denying.

They don't have to show it, they just have to be able to show a potential link.

Understand also that not all mechanics are dummies. There are some tell tail signs that a car has been recently reverted to stock.

WrxCruising · 10-18-2012, 01:31 PM

Enjoy the car while its stock. So when you can financially afford to play around and "void" it, you can really notice the difference and appreciate it more.

gs.clifton · 10-21-2012, 02:09 AM

The Magnuson-Moss warranty act is a federal law enacted in 1975 that makes it illegal for auto manufacturers (or any manufacturer of consumer products, for that matter) to void a warranty simply because the owner of the vehicle adds an after-market product to a vehicle. The law states that manufacturers have to repair a vehicle problem UNLESS they can prove the problem was caused by an after-market part.

brfatal · 10-21-2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gs.clifton

The Magnuson-Moss warranty act is a federal law enacted in 1975 that makes it illegal for auto manufacturers (or any manufacturer of consumer products, for that matter) to void a warranty simply because the owner of the vehicle adds an after-market product to a vehicle. The law states that manufacturers have to repair a vehicle problem UNLESS they can prove the problem was caused by an after-market part.

That's false. And the MMWA was not written to give car modifiers a free pass. It was done because at the time dealerships were VOIDING warranties if you did your own oil changes or if you went to a mom-and-pop shop to gets your brakes serviced. They don't have to prove anything, they only have to show that there could be a link between the part and the failure or that the car was operated beyond its intended capacity (abuse).

I wouldn't worry about anything breaking, but if the warranty is that big of a concern, there are certain things you shouldn't touch.