Turbo XS Cold Air Intake

Eric Meinheart at torquedperformance.com has maps for two different brands of Cold Air Intake, he has one for Turbo XS and one for K&N. I asked Eric if there was a difference in performance gained by going with one manufacturer over another and he told me no. I also plan on doing a front mount intercooler in the future and Turbo XS makes the FMIC that I am going to get. The Turbo XS CAI is a requirement for their FMIC kit so the choice was easy. The install was really easy and it looks nice when you are all done. I forgot to mention that the Turbo XS comes with a K&N filter. Beyond the better throttle response and the overall performance gains you get with this mod, you will really hear the turbo spool as well as the blow-off valve purging pressure....it sounds nasty.

I'll add a picture soon.

Exhaust System(s)

I ran Stage II for a while with the stock exhaust but I felt like it was restricting the potential of the map I am running, so I decided to get an aftermarket exhaust. I had followed many forum threads on 3GWRX.com and listened to many poor quality sound clips on youtube. Now I really have a problem overpaying for things because there is a high demand for them. I know it is a simple economic principal but what the hell, it's a piece bent pipe and and muffler! When I had exhausted (pun intended) my resources I decided to pull the trigger on the TSUDO N1. The sound clips sound mean! and it was inexpensive.


I knew it was going to be loud as N1's are, but it was cheap........ right?
Needless to say my popularity slipped in the polls with my wife and she refused to ride in my car, let alone drive it[insert female driver joke here]. So, off to buy another exhaust I go. Not so cheap anymore. I chose another inexpensive exhaust from ERZ Performance, it's quieter and still uses 3" pipe. I will get a good one later :(

Kartboy Short Shifter

I installed a Kartboy short shifter and bushings. This was quite an easy mod and not that expensive. I think it might have been $150 shipped with the bushings. There are many how-to's out there I really just needed it to know how to properly remove the trim around the shifter. The one tricky bit about the shifter install is the snap ring holding it in place. If you do this install, buy yourself the pliers...they will make your life easier. I like this mod, it reduces the shifter throw by 40% and allows for quicker shifts.

Installing the bushings was the real bitch. Some people loosen or remove the tranny mount but I just took my time and worked it in there. Check out this how-to.

Romraider

Well I have been really busy but I have still been voiding the warranty on my car. I cannot believe it has been 5 months since I updated last. I have done many more mods so I will just update when I can. As I posted earlier, I got the tactrix cable so that I can flash my ECU with custom maps that increase performance. There are a set of tools you need to flash the rom but you also will want to log the data stream to monitor the feedback from your cars computer thus making sure it is running properly. One of the main things you are looking for is a lean Air Fuel Ratio (AFR) and also knock, which is detonation inside the engine. So, Romraider is a program that allows you to edit you factory map with custom values, it is also the program the allows you to log your data. As mentioned in a previous post the tactrix cable plugs into the OBDII port and the other end plugs into your laptop via USB. These programs then send and receive data over USB. I bought my map from a tuner in colorado for $50. This guy is a really great guy and he stands behind his maps and is also a major contributer on one of the WRX forums I belong to, 3gwrx.com The guys name is Erik Meinhart and his website torquedperformance.com The map was $5o and I think he has pushed out 3 if not 4 updates since....So he is always improving his maps and you get free updates. Anyway, I can't say enough about Erik's maps. Back to the programs needed change your maps, you will also need ECUflash, this is the program that actually does the flashing...It's always a trip when you flash the ECU and you wonder if you are going to brick your $30K car. My heart pounds every time.