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.