Hi,

I just got a 2003 WRX Wagon and was told that an intake is a MUST for performance and fuel economy. On the con side, aside from a louder engine, I hear that the intake will not really help fuel consumption. Also, will there be a lot of maintenance involved after I install an intake?

Any thoughts?

 

Whoever told you that an intake is a MUST does not know what they're talking about. If you're coming from the Honda world, then yes. . it does improve performance. But on the WRX, the stock intake is sufficient enough. . .even up to 350HP IIRC. Also, not all intakes work correctly on the WRX and will, in most cases, cause a lean condition due to the MAF sensor misreadings. If you are committed to getting an intake, I would stick with either a TurboXS short ram or Perrin short ram as those have been proven to not cause any issues.

Calvin