new subaru owner

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Just bought a 2008 impreza wrx. Loving the car already. Now its time to start modding. First will be the exhaust. Any suggestions?

[mycologist]

Welcome to the club.

First Modifications - what to do and not to do

The catback is strictly personal preference - whatever you think sounds best (it adds no power).

The downpipe is where all the power is, but has little effect on sound. You have to have one with a cat or your car will potentially boost creep badly. To run a DP the car needs a new "map", which is basically the information or "tune" that the ECU uses. This will keep your car safe, make it run properly, and is required to get the power increase form the DP (it is actually the higher boost targets that make the big difference). MadDad, Invidia, Cobb are good ones.

Kronos has stage II packages with the Cobb AP as the tuning interface which includes the stage II map.

You don't need an intake - if you do get one make sure it is specified in the map notes - always follow the map notes or instructions exactly.

CHECK OUT Kronos's Accessport Stage Packages!
COBB Tuning . Subaru WRX AccessPORT . Map Listing

The cheaper alternative to the access port (AP) is opensource tuning. It is in some ways better than an AP but is less convenient.

OPENSOURCE TUNING: Your questions answered here!!! RomRaider + Tactrix

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Alright. Sorry for the short post. I was in a hurry.
Anyway, its a sedan with dark/smoke gray paint. I had my search narrowed down to either a bmw 335xi or the subaru wrx. I need awd because i drive 60 miles round trip for work. The snow can build up a bit during the winter here in iowa.
I'm only going to lightly mod the car as I still need it to be reliable and remain close to the current mpg. I'm going to start with the exhaust. I found this one from cobb CobbTuning.com - SS 3" Turbo-back Exhaust Has anyone seen/heard this one in person? It looks like it uses the stock cat.
Should I get a high flow cat or use stock?
Do I need anything else so the car runs correctly?
How loud is it?
Any suggestions for an exhaust that would still rumble but not be too loud on my commute to work?
I may put in a sts. Any other mods I should check out?

Thanks for any suggestions and help