Customer Reviews

High-Performance Subaru Builder's Guide: Includes the Impreza, Legacy, Forester, Outback, WRX and STI (S-A Design)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The book's title and editorial review is very misleading. I was expecting a book that will teach me how to do my own modifications on my sub, such as intake, exhaust..etc.. Instead, all this book touches on is what you can or should buy. It describes all the diff type of air intake kit, diff type of turbos, diff type of exhaust and diff type of ecu etc... All the info you can easily get off the internet for free.. Haiz, very dissappointed in this book. The book title should be, buyers guide to aftermarket subaru parts, not builders guide!

When I read through the book, I wasn't overly impressed. It kinda reads like a product catalogue with lots of parts identified but lacking depth. But, now that I've had the book for a while, it's kinda grown on me. When I go looking for the next area to improve (coilovers, brakes, etc.), I tend to go reaching for this book. That's worth something...

I really welcome this type of book but it was a little light in providing actual information. It primarily lists what you can buy for your Subie but doesn't get into much detail about install, what to look for, potential issues etc. It kinda reminds me of those shows on Speed Network where "its all great" everything works as advertised, no one product is ever better than another, etc."

This is a very nice book if you don't know much about cars. If, like me, you were hoping for a more in-depth type of content from that offered in Subiesport magazine, don't bother. I learned absolutely nothing that I didn't know before. For me it's pretty much useless, but I do want to emphasize that the author has good intentions and that it is a well crafted book. I used to love this kind of book when I was 12.

I was looking for a book with good information specific to my Impreza WRX. This is an excellent source of information. It shares some specific upgrade information, which is OK, but also goes into specific differences between various engine/chassis specifications and their positives & negatives, which is an invaluable.

This book is a high-level overview of different directions you can go in when it comes to modifying your subaru and an overview of available parts & manufacturers. Do not buy if you are expecting a step-by-step guide on how to do anything yourself. As far as what the book IS: It is (I guess) a pretty good product overview. However, you can get all that online, in much more detail and with individual people's comments about each part of type of modification. I have been a WRX owner for only 4 months now, and didn't find any new information in this book (new from research I already did online). In my opinion, this is just not worth buying.

For a newbie like me, this book is an excellent start. I own a 2005 WRX and want to start upgrading it, and would like to do the mods myself when possible. This book doesn't show you how to do things, it's more like what you can do, what you can buy, etc. And sometimes it says what you shouldn't try to do yourself (like ECU tunning) and what is a bolt-on modification you could likely do yourself.
Of course you can find all this information on the internet for free, but it's nice to have a book with everything in one place to start with.
Anyone willing to upgrade a Subaru is likely going to spend a few thousand dollars in parts and service, so $18.21 for a book is somewhat inexpensive for an extra amount of information. I'm a newbie but I have learned so far that RESEARCH is very important for any kind of mod you want to do, so this book provides you with an extra source of information and opinion from the experienced author.

If you are trying to decide what to do with your Subaru, this is the book. The book is a great reference source that puts in one place all the different mods that you can do to your ride. While it is easy to find this on the Internet, having all the information together makes it easy to compare and decide. If you have a Subaru, and want to make upgrades, I suggest you buy this book first, see what's available, and then check out the mods through the message boards and supplier sites to find the right fit for your budget and your skills.

This book was gifted to me. I am a subaru enthusiast, owning a 2002 wrx and having swapped engines, transmissions, upgraded turbochargers, and even converted a stock 99 legacy to turbo, as well as tuned/remapped about 6 subarus, most with factory ecu reflashes, and one with a standalone ECU. For me, this book has absolutely no value. It really only shows what you can or should buy as aftermarket performance parts upgrades. It explains the parts in a very basic sense that would be great for a new subaru owner who has little to no experience with performance modifications. However, if you even have some basic experience with these cars or performance modifications in general, look elsewhere.

This is a great book for learning the basics on Subaru tuning. Tuning a Subaru is somewhat of a moving target with all of the options available. This book does a good job of explaining the systems that can be upgraded (engine, suspension, brakes, etc) and how altering one component can and does affect the others.