I just got a WRX and have spent a few weeks researching before beginning to upgrade my car. I plan on doing a turbo back exhaust and catless up pipe, with an Accessport tune. I have been recommended to do an intake and tmic upgrade with these. After research I have found mixed opinions if these upgrades. I plan on going stage 2 but no further, at least for awhile. I have read that the factory intake is good up to 325hp and the factory turbo and star 2 tune, the intake and intercooler would be unnoticeable and a waste. Can anyone give me any advice on whether or not to upgrade the intake or intercooler, and why? Also, will the Accessport have preset maps set up to support all the upgrades listed above? I don't want to make any unsafe mods whatsoever! Lastly, will I still need to have a tuner tune my car in addition to the Accessport flash? Thanks
What year is your car? Is it an 02? The older generations don't really need an intake until you get past the stage 2 levels, but the newer generations can benefit at as low as stage 2. Some people like to get them just for the sound they make. But if that is the case and you do have an 02, you can do a silencer delete and get the same sound (whoosh) effect. The intercooler is not necessary at a simple stage 2, but that would be one of the next items you would want to replace if you decide to go further than stage 2 with your build. When pushing the car hard, the stock intercooler will heat soak quickly and take a long time to cool down. This causes the performance of the motor to decline and power to suffer. A bar and plate intercooler will flow more air while reducing the amount of pressure that is lost over the surface of the intercooler. Again, this is not a necessary upgrade until after you are above stage 2 power levels. The stock intercooler (especially the WRX stock intercooler) will certainly not handle anywhere near 400 whp as indicated above (no offense intended for that comment). Also, to be "noticeable," you would have to tune for any modification. An 02 can take more parts just bolted on and run safer untuned, but you won't see the full benefit of the modifications without a proper tune. That goes for pretty much any engine modification.
I've been running a Stock intake because I've heard from other threads its been able to hold out 400hp max. But don't quote me on that. My car came with the STI TMIC so I didn't notice the difference at all.
I wouldn't bother with an intake or intercooler at that point. The stock intake on that car is just fine, and you're not going to gain much from an upgraded intercooler without getting a custom tune for it.
Both very helpful replys! Here's my concern- I have been in fast cars before (Cobalt SS turbo, 300whp, 390tq, 26lbs boost). My entire reasoning for getting this car was to make it fast and fun like the cars I have been in before. I am worried that Stage 2 won't feel fast enough and I will be disappointed. Am I wrong in thinking this? Will stage 2 be comparible with the other cars I have been in or will it be a disappointment given my goals? Also I really like the idea of my tuner making a custom map for my car and putting it on my Accessport and tuning the car. If I were to go all out, turbo swap, injectors, pump, etc. 1) would this satisfy my goal of close to 300awhp and 2)would a map that surpasses stage 2 be able to work with the COBB Accessport? Thanks
Actually.. you can make 500whp with no intercooler at all. It's not so much that the stock intercooler is not capable of 400whp, but that's well beyond the point where you would benefit greatly from an upgrade.
My two choices at my tuner are the COBB Accessport or an open source tune. I would like to get close to 300awhp if safely possible. I also do not want to big bucks right off the bat. Unless someone tells me otherwise, I have a feeling stage 2 will disappoint me. I do however like the idea of the Accessport, but I am not limiting myself to that only if the open source would be a better option. The way I see it, I can either 1) use COBB Accessport and go stage 2 tune. 2)find out if it's possible to get a custom map made for my car with upgrades above stage 2, have the map put on Accessport, tune. 3) go with open source which I know very little about and upgrade above stage 2 and tune to my heart's (and wallet's) desire.
Say I were to do a turboback exhaust, turbo timer, gauges, ems, injectors, fuel pump, intake, intercooler, and turbo. How much could I estimate this would all cost? Would I need a clutch and flywheel upgrade to be able to handle all this? Would this for sure hit my goals? Would I be able to use Accessport or would I need to go open source? And are there any other supporting mods for the turbo swap etc. I would need to safely run these upgrades? Answer all questions please and thanks!
My two choices at my tuner are the COBB Accessport or an open source tune. I would like to get close to 300awhp if safely possible. I also do not want to big bucks right off the bat. Unless someone tells me otherwise, I have a feeling stage 2 will disappoint me.
The turbo timer is useless -- this isn't fast and the furious. All other mods listed will total around $3000 to $5000 depending on how you source the parts.
Exactly what car do you have? And how many miles are on it? How healthy is the engine at this point (compression/leakdown)? What kind of fuel will you be using in the car? What dyno would you like to make 300whp on? You will need to answer those questions first. For now I will assume you have a 2002 WRX, with a perfect engine, 60,000 miles or less, at least 91 octane ACN fuel, on a Mustang or similar "heartbreaker" dyno..
The Access Port and factory ECU can handle custom tunes for cars beyond 600whp, so that's not really an issue. However, if you have a 2002 WRX you could shear the teeth off the gears in your transmission with 250whp, maybe less depending on how you drive. Of course if you drive like a grandma and never launch it could possible handle 300-350whp.
The engine, if it's in good condition, well taken care of, with low miles could be okay up to around 330whp, or more.. depending on the tune, and how hard you drive it.
Wanting more power, and not wanting to spend money to get there aren't going to work out for you. You have to pay to play. And if you're going to upgrade the turbo, I highly suggest that you have a second car to drive when (not if) your WRX breaks down. You should also have the money available to replace the engine and transmission if you would like to keep the car after it breaks.
And yes, at this point you will probably need a clutch with greater clamping force. I have used this one in the past ACT Heavy Duty Performance Street Disc Clutch Kit Subaru Models (inc. 2002-2005 WRX) SB9-HDSS at RallySportDirect.com, but remember, the stronger your clutch, the more likely you will be to break your transmission.. so you should definitely be looking into transmission upgrades. If you drive it really easily, you may get away without having to replace the transmission for a while though.
Here comes the point where you have to decide if this car is going to be transportation, or a toy. It doesn't make ANY financial sense to spend more money than the car is already worth in performance upgrades.. upgrades that will severely reduce the reliability of the car. BUT, it will be fun to drive!
I should also mention that to keep the car safe on the road, you are going to need to put a decent amount of money into the brakes and suspension to support that amount of power.
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