skeeler

hey whats up i got a 2005 WRX sedan. Looking to get a TBE and a UP. Any recommendations? I would like to have a deep sound, good power, maybe a cat on the DP, and want to keep warranty and also pass smog in CA. I dont want to spend too much but i want to choose the right one. Can you guys help me out?

Boost Addict

Let me start off by telling you this. SOA (Subaru of America) is very stingy when it comes to warranty repairs. They recognize the target market that purchases WRX's and realize these people drive in fashions that can cause excessive strain on the vehicle. That being said, if you drive into the dealer with a UP/DP, and exhaust, they are going to assume the damages are b/c of abuse and therefore will deny coverage. But its case by case basis, if they can somehow prove that the parts you added contributed to the following failure, they will deny coverage. But simply bolting on exhaust components wont immediately void your warranty.

As far as your options are concerned, there are several people who support several different setups. My advise to you is, do a little research on the quality of a product before actually purchasing it, usually this can lead to costly errors (damaging the car, etc.) So do your homework before you slap on a $200 part that can cause damage to a $8,000. Here is a cool link that you can try for sounds of exhausts if youre interested... http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showthread.php?t=58111

I for one am a firm believer in keeping a cars equilibrium. Especially with todays technology, we are no longer in the 1992 civic with intake, header, and exhaust days. Meaning any component you add will somehow change the characteristics of your car. Too much air, too much fuel, etc... Causing you to run lean or rich... Etc... So here are my personal suggestions to you, as I myself am a Southern California resident and am concerned about the same things you are... I dont feel like sleeping either so I'll go ahead and break these down for you... Hopefully it'll help

RECOMMENDED MODS (you dont have to have these, but I feel they are an important addition):

Perrin Silicon Intercooler Hose Kit (~$130.00) A 3 piece kit that replaces the intercooler Y-Pipe, Throttle Body Hose, and BOV Crossover. They will replace the factory plastic restrictive design and you will feel a difference in spool... Turbo will spool up about 500rpm earlier.

Perrin Silicon Turbo Inlet Hose (~$200) This will replace the factory turbo inlet hose and free up maybe a horse. This mod isnt as dramatic as the above, but its cheap insurance... why not allow for better airflow right?

Perrin Lightened Crank Pulley (~$120) THIS PULLEY IS NOT UNDERDRIVEN... Certain underdriven pulleys will toy with the characteristics of your cars charging system and its not pretty. So I like to play it safe with this product. This pulley is about 4 lbs lighter than stock which is equivilant to shedding somewhere around 100lbs from your car. You may notice quicker spool up, but ehh... thats subjective.

AND NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF:

Cobb Tuning AccessPort (~$600) A safe and reliable increase of HP/TQ by remapping your ecu. This is very simple to do and is completely reversable if you ever need to take your car in for maintenance. Read up about this product as it is a great one for those who like to set it and forget it! Also, you can always update it based on the certain things you add to your car... I can go on forever about this, but ill let you research it... As far as gains go, you WILL feel it, boost will no longer drop off as early and the car itself will feel generally stronger... Gains are somewhere around 25 hp and 28 tq to the wheels... Thing is Cobb does it conservatively to keep it reliable as stock... And thats just a stage 1 meant for a bone stock WRX... NEXT...

Helix Uppipe (~$175) This will eliminate the first cat and help your turbo spool quicker. The reason I like Helix is the quality, price, and the fact that its a flex joint, which allows for better fitments and hardly any cases of leaks unless you install it upside down or something.

Helix CATTED Downpipe (~$400) This costs a pretty penny but well worth it... All the benefits of a quality downpipe with a high flow cat. And this cat is TESTED to pass CA Smog, so there you go, one problem solved! The difference between this and a noncatted powerwise is miniscule, if any. Again Great product for the money, well built and no fitment issues from what I've heard.

Borla Hush Catback Exhaust System (~$550) Yummmmyy!!!... Now I know you want that deep boxer rumble, and I also know you don't want to be hassled by the boys in beige (color depending on your county)... This is a quiet system, given that you're already getting UP/DP, your car WILL sound much beefier... Now slap on another type of exhaust and you'll have to be light on the gas pedal in cop areas... Do you REALLLLY want to drive your car snaillish just so that your exhaust doesnt scream when youre driving home at 3 am from a party? Heck no, you want to enjoy your car at all times, po-po or no-po. This catback will let you do that.. Its got that rumble that definitely means business, but it doesnt scream like most catbacks out there, and if you want a full TBE and UP setup, trust me, you dont want it loud. This setup will be mean enough to demand respect and at the same time its mellow enough to go unnoticed by a cop in most cases. Also has stealthy looks, so forget about being pulled out of traffic as the one with the big exhaust. Oh and youll need a 3 inch flange adaptor if you want to mate this to an aftermarket DP.

With this setup you can download the Stage 2 map from Cobb and run it on your car... Expect a solid 55hp/50tq gain over a stock car. Again these figures are to the wheels.

With this setup above, you will have a very potent WRX, and without abusing her you will see consistent mid-13s. Low 13s arent out of reach either. You will also maintain stock driveability (well, with more snap :-D)... and a reliable car. Have fun and spend the rest of your money on suspension... Perrin sways are something to look at along with endlinks and some Perrin Tunersport Springs. Gorgeous drop, and the above mentioned will really make your car feel like its on rails. Think it corners well now? Hah! The reason I like Perrin products so much is really that they are built well, last, and are BLACK (some parts are available in other colors, but for the most part they are black), so they dont really catch the eye of the po-po man, etc... Oh and get some 17s while youre at it.. Rotas are a suggestion, shop around, have fun and if youre serious about the mods I mentioned earlier... I know of good deals because ive shopped around for those products, PM me and i can fill you in if you decide to go that same route!

Also, another helpful tool. Use the reviews section of the forum to locate parts that interest you and the experiences people have had with them. This can come in VERY handy when selecting parts.

Enjoy your WRX

Vimik

9Vapors

Damn, nice reply! I second everything that was said.

meilers

These are good suggestions. Although this is a bit superstitous, I would also follow Boost's strategy of keeping to sets of products from the same manufacturer, rather than mix-n-match whatever is on sale. If you are doing hoses, do all Perrin or Samco; if you are doing exhaust, do all one manufacturer if possible. The reasoning behind this is somewhat simple: when these components were tested by the maker, they tested them all together, not mixed with other components; all their refinements and research were most likely on only their own components. By sticking with a single manufacturer you eliminate those "x-factors" that cause fittment, performance and maintenence problems.

I do have to mention that, if it is possible for your budget and location, an on-the-dyno shop tune (ECUTek, Cobb Tuner, etc.) is a much more reliable and powerful solution than the Accessport. Cobb's AP is a remarkable piece of technology, but I have seen enough tuned WRXs to know that each one is unique out of the factory and needs to be treated as such.

The Borla Hush is a great suggestion; anything twin tip will be stealthier-looking and quieter, obviously. If you really want to be quiet, leave the up-pipe alone and do not add an intake of any kind. I'm getting a full APS turboback in the near future. I've got a friend who has one; at idle it is no louder than a 911 Carrera or similar performance car (quieter than a G35 Coupe) and at full throttle it is still quieter than a factory Mustang Cobra or older-series Corvette.

If you change out the up-pipe you WILL fail to pass an under-the-hood visual inspection. You can try to bluff your way past this by cutting the stock turbo heat shield and mounting it back on the turbo, and perhaps using heat wrap to cover everything (apply this correctly!) but California "po-po" and emissions testers are extremely well trained in spotting aftermarket mods.

Not to thread-jack, but how do you like those Perrin springs, Boost? Have you taken them on an uneven surface or off-road at all? Do you smack a lot of curbs and angled driveways with your front lip?

Boost Addict

^^^ Good follow-through to my post... Meilers is absolutely right about staying with one manufacturer. Along with the parts working together, another thing in that advantage is fitment issues.. they are designed to work together AND fit together...

My Accesport suggestion is evidently not the BEST tuning option available IF you have access to a good tuner with an AWD dyno. But if you don't have access to one nearby, COBB is the best option. And heres my opinion why... Cobb gives you maps that are reliable and are tuned with stock driveability in mind... So its up to you, if you like more aggressive tunes, then thats your preference. But note the more aggressive the tune, the more aggressively your engine is running... Aggressive maps may constitute problems in the future, but maybe thats just being paranoid... Personally I like Cobbs reputation and I've met many happy owners of their product. But yes, if in the future you come across someone you can trust to dyno tune your car PROPERLY, then evidently thats the BEST possible tune, but the switchability of Cobb wont be there either.. Just some things to consider.

Melier - Nice choice on the APS TBE, it is a bit loud for my taste, its something you cant control when you do all the exhaust work, you know? But I've always been impressed with APS's high quality products... The development and R&D shines through each product... Everything they sell appears carefully thought out, thoroughly tested, and proves to do its job VERY WELL...

I myself have been a WRX enthusiast for 4 years... Since the bugeyes were introduced here.. I myself have not been able to purchase a new car as I'm in college and have been working on the side... I get by, and I save on the side, So yeah it sucks to not have much money... But In these 4 years I've done my research on this car and have been very passionate about it... I've blueprinted all my plans for the car keeping my priorities in mind... In order of importance: Reliability, Power, and Style. I'll be ready to buy in Fall of 2006, and will pick up a black WRX (Almost bought one this month, a heavily discounted 05, but the 06 gets 2.5L and I love the new front end, and I want the leather option) So I decided to hold out for a year, as at that time the 06 prices will drop and ill be able to pick one up close to invoice!

So to answer your ? on the Perrin springs... I PLAN on getting them, but I don't have them... But I came to the conclusion of those springs due to experience with them and others. I've driven eibach WRXs, a Tein WRX (S Tech), Progress, and Prodrive, and Have ridden in MANY others... A friend of mine has Perrins on the stock shocks and I've driven that car several times... Heres my synopsis... It's low... But not too much, You need to take it easy on speed bumps, as long as you drive it SLOWLY over them (I'm talking 3-5 mph) my friend claims it'll clear them, but since its not my car, I angled it slightly just incase... No scrapes on driveways, unless you reverse out of one at a high speed, again... going slow and angling out will not scrape...

As far as the performance... It takes road imperfections pretty solid, as thats when you feel its stiffness... It's not really BOUNCY though like most other springs... I THINK they are progressive rate thats why... I liked the look of the car on these springs, it sits grounded... like it hugging the earth.. very solid appearance.. Never took it offroad, so i couldnt say how that is.. but turning is WOW over stock... He didnt get sways until a few months ago, but when he FIRST got the springs the change was huge... The car sort of SITS into the turn...its like when youre driving straight on fwy and etc, its fairly soft and comfortable (Think STi, on a flat road), but when you put it in a corner it just tightens up and gives you a very reassuring feeling that you will take that curve with confidence... After he added sway bars, forget about it... The vehicles response was improved greatly, and turns, wow, youre planted... more oversteer than i expected, but thats a good thing to me ... I cant really imagine much more improvement over this... It's THAT good

Wingless Wonder

iTrader: (7)

Catless uppipes and even downpipes with a high-flow cat are not street legal on an '05 WRX in California. While the WRX has been known to pass the sniffer test with a single factory cat, you stand a good chance of being failed on the visual inspection and being sent to a referee station where your car may undergo much more scrutiny (as in 'screwtiny' ).

While the average neighborhood smog tech may not know the difference between a factory downpipe and an aftermarket piece, a car with big rims and tires, colored intercooler hoses, and louder than stock exhaust may cause the tech to look a little more carefully. They get fined big time for passing violators.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

skeeler

tight. I was acutally thinking about getting the borla hush before you recommended it and i was also going to get the helix up/dp cause the price is right. i do have acess to a good tuning shop its call s-squared i live about 15 minutes away from it. so pretty much if i add any mods it will void the warranty? also, i want to get a BOV and i know it will probably make my car run lean, but if i get it tuned will that be able to correct my fuel mixture? or will it make my car run like junk. Anyone know where people from sacramento with WRX's hang out? my friend also has one and we are looking to meet some people with WRX's that want to cruise and can give advice.

Wingless Wonder

iTrader: (7)

Nate at S-Squared can give you pretty good advice on mods for a WRX or an STi.

See the Weekly Saturday Meet thread in the SRIC (Sacramento-Reno Regional i-Club) Meets and Events forum. Lots of knowledgeable guys and gals attend those meets. You might even want to introduce yourself in the SRIC forum and let them know you'd like to hook up with them at the Meet. This way they can let you know if the Meet location for any given week is the regular spot because once in a while they will meet somewhere else to go to dinner.

You might also consider filling out the Location field in your Member Profile (accessible from your User Control Panel). Just a general location is fine (Sacramento or northern CA, etc.).

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

Boost Addict

Just to clarify, Adding the components WILL NOT void the warranty. However, if Subaru suspects that those specific modifications are the CAUSE of the problem, then YES they will deny that specific claim, but that doesnt void your warranty... Say they deny you once b/c a mod you did MAY have caused the failure... Next time you go in with a cracked Windshield Fluid tank... your warranty will be valid, unless they make up some shet about your uppipe causing you to drive faster, making particles of water hit your windshield at a heavy rate, which then causes you to use your windshield wipers and fluid, and the aggressive use caused the crack (Who knows, some techs can be a major wise a$$)

About the BOV, I myself love the sound as well... But not excessively.. Again... Done my homework with these things and have come to the Worx Dual Stage, it's highly tunable, 50/50 and various other options... Basically recirculates to prevent excessively running rich at low boost conditions... but under higher boost, the internal piston will travel to reveal the second opening which vents externally... You get a mean KSSSHHHHH sound with this valve... I'm a fan of the HKS sound the most, but yeah, unless properly adjusted it will cause you to run rich between shifts... Now some feel its a BIG DEAL... personally, I dont think so... the car WILL NOT run like garbage(its been exaggerated)... If anything, out of the box(with the hks) you will encounter some inconsistent idling, and rich A/F mixtures between shifts, which is what, half a second at most? Unless you like to put it in nuetral and give it a good 8k rpm rev before entering second gear... (idiocy) So basically, under normal conditions the wear on your engine wont be extreme, but hey it can eventually add up.. enough to make me care? not really... But since there are better options out there, why not go with those and be safe? Another 50/50 adjustable is the GFB, but I've read a lot on those and a good amount of users encounter leaks... So my opinion remains with the WORX Dual Stage.

Oh, and when I said tuning the BOV, I didnt mean your dyno tuning... Some BOVs offer washers, and other methods of tuning the product specifically to your needs... For example, the HKS comes out of box tuned for the JDM WRX, so many people have issues with it, unless they tune it accordingly. A dyno tune will have no effect on the characteristics of your BOV...

Enjoy... Gr-Gr-Gr-Gr-Gr-(Wee)Grrrrrrr(eeeeee)RRRRRRRR(eeeeeee)RRRR(EEEEEEE E) KSHHHHHHHHHT!!!!!!!

Vimik

Boost Addict

And for that reason I'll keep the car looking stock and go with BLACK I/C hoses I am lucky enough to have "friends" in the Test Only, and Smog businesses... But the average tech wont really be able to tell if its a stock DP, he will see a cat, and be fine with it... and probably wont even know there is supposed to be one on the up pipe... still not sure why Subaru would put a cat on the up pipe... makes no sense to me... besides creating a potential hazard, all it does is hinder performance... If you are paranoid about them looking for the uppipe... just gut it, CLEANLY, and use protection, it will LOOK catted, and thats all you need.. and with the Helix DP, you WILL pass the sniffer... you shouldnt have a problem with visual either, but the post that i QUOTED is correct in saying that it wont pass... thats if the one testing knows his ****, which isnt common... Go to a lower class area in your city, or a nearby city... somewhere that doesnt see too many NEW cars, or even turbo cars, and youll be fine...

skeeler

cool so maybe i wont get the BOV i guess i dont really need it anyways and it might be a little to flashy anyways. i work at a for the maita organization, they own like 5 car dealerships. i got a lot of friends that are techs, but i work at toyota. our store is connected to the subaru store but i dont really know any of them. i can get a discount on STi parts (cost + 10%) are they any good? and if i get the DP will a cop be able to visually see it from a glance under the hood? i cant find anything on my car all i do to it is changes its oil i dont really know much. and BTW what kind of oil and filter u guys use and how often do you change it, i use the subaru filter and castrol synthetic and change every 2750 miles u guys recommend any oil? i also flush it like 3 times cuz i can get all the oil i need at work.

laoba

iTrader: (4)

i second the i/c hoses. i have gp moto hoses, cost 100 bucks. the y-pipe makes the biggest difference. also went black to retain a factory look.

i had a helix catted downpipe, it's nice, shiny and much cheaper compared to other catted downpipes. i wouldn't recommend it though. i switched to a stromung shorty downpipe. much happier with this, while still retaining the 3rd (main) cat. you can just purchase a midpipe to replace the cat for track days and such.

uppipe to retain factory look once again, you can look through classifieds to get a sti uppipe which is catless. there's a resistor fix to bypass the CEL. since it's OEM, unless they REALLY know what to look for you should be able to pass visual inspections.

as for the exhaust, i would recommend looking at the stromung or prodrive exhausts. these are fairly quiet, look stock, and put out a great sound.

GFB makes a BOV called the Stealth FX which you can adjust from full plumb-back to 100% atmospheric. i never had any problems with stalling, etc. most aftermarket BOV's seem to have a problems with partial throttle lift which would sometimes cause compressor surge. hope this helps.

Boost Addict

Why wouldnt you recommend the Helix? I'm curious... Do you just feel more of a gain from the Stromung??? Or was the Helix actually giving you a problem?

The catbacks you mentioned are also good suggestions, but the Borla Hush is quieter than the 2, if hes really conscious about the attention, I know the stromung can get semi-loud at higher rpm (still nothing compared to most other choices out there which scream so loud, it almost makes you ashamed for being on the throttle)... Prodrive is relatively quiet all the way...

A question to you Laoba... How has your GFB unit been? Any leaks at all? Are YOU personally experiencing the partial throttle issue, or were you implying that "other" manufacturers usually tend to have that issue?

Please let me know!

Vimik

laoba

iTrader: (4)

I think it's the design of the dp's. stromung is divorced, helix is bellmouth. the helix made my car sound like a lawnmower under full boost, wastegate flutter. with the stromung it's just loud turbo spool. i think the cat isn't too great on the helix, my whole car vibrated when under WOT. the power was there, just very raw, stromung is much smoother, just less kick.

yeah i had the GFB, even under full plumb-back i heard a tiny bit of compressor surge under partial throttle lift, no matter how i adjusted the spring. another guy i knew with the GFB stealth had the same problem and that's why he also took his off. there was a lengthy discussion on another forum with the HKS bov having the same problem.

skeeler

i am probably going to get the helix catless UP and the DP with the cat. then to finish it off i might have to get the borla hush catback the only thing i am worrying about is fitment issues. will mixing and matching cause fitment problems? i am probably going to install at work with a tech but if there is fitent issues i will probably go to a shop to get it done what do you guys think? also should i get the y-pipe i read about that and i know its for the intercooler but what does it do?