Stage 2 Reviews??

36389 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by wrxnh, Aug 22, 2016

mjmwrx

Discussion Starter · Aug 5, 2016

So I'm a month into owning my 2017 wrx...Its a very cool car but I'm very disappointed in the power, as stated in my previous thread. I'm trying to decide if I want to bail on the car or try to make it better which brings me to the question at hand. Just how much improvement did you realize from going stage 2? Ive heard you can add somewhere in the 50 hp range but I'm more interested in the butt dyno and your overall impression of the car? What was your impression before and after the upgrade especially in the acceleration department?

Also, if I did go stage 2 and still decided to sell what kind of effect would it have on my resale? Should I expect to get more, less, or regular book value for a stage 2 with extremely low miles?

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

MainFrame

· #2 · Aug 5, 2016

When I flashed a stage two tune to my 02 WRX it felt like a completely different car. Before, it felt like a turbo 4 cylinder sedan.. after, it felt like a faster turbo 4 cylinder sedan, with smoother acceleration. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Resale all depends on if the buyer wants those mods or not.. in general, modifications do not increase the value of a car.

WRX-maniac

· #3 · Aug 5, 2016

When I went stage 2 in my 11 wrx, it was a huge difference compared to stock

Scottay

· #4 · Aug 5, 2016

I have a stage 2+ with catless DP and the car screams "i wanna go fast" and with a nice press on the throttle its a rocket. HUGE difference than stock, I test drove a new '16 WRX and it felt like my chevy Cruze even though it has more stock HP than my '12. Night and day difference, actually made it harder for me to upgrade because going into a new WRX feel's like quite the downgrade compared to where I am at now.

Arctavis

· #5 · Aug 5, 2016

I am as close to stage 2 as you can get without actually having the J-pipe for it, its night and day difference from stock just having the ap and a pro tune, add in a few other power mods and go stage 2 and the car is a beast.

mjmwrx

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 5, 2016

If anyone doesn't mind disclosing what you paid to get where you are at Id be interested. Most likely I wouldn't do the work myself so Id have to consider labor also. Also, when you say its night and day, how do you mean? Did you find the car to be doggish at first and now it feels like a beast? Is the power concentrated at a certain rpm range or dispersed equally?

mjmwrx

Discussion Starter · #7 · Aug 5, 2016

And did anyone dyno their car and get the actual hp gains?

Arctavis

· #8 · Aug 5, 2016

mjmwrx said:
And did anyone dyno their car and get the actual hp gains?

So I will list out the mods I have installed and the power gains I got from them.

Cobb Accessport
TGV Deletes
EGR block off kit
Cobb BIG SF intake
SPT factory exhaust.

Stock my car makes about 200whp and 220 wtq, after those mods and the tune my car is at 250whp and 254wtq with a very solid power curve, prior to the tune my car would be at peak boost at 2k rpms and was a sharp curve then drop off suddenly after 4500 rpms, butt dyno made it feel fast but it was actually very unbalanced. Now I get a very strong pull all the way to redline. I am attaching my dyno sheet.

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MainFrame

· #9 · Aug 5, 2016

mjmwrx said:
If anyone doesn't mind disclosing what you paid to get where you are at Id be interested. Most likely I wouldn't do the work myself so Id have to consider labor also. Also, when you say its night and day, how do you mean? Did you find the car to be doggish at first and now it feels like a beast? Is the power concentrated at a certain rpm range or dispersed equally?

For stage two I paid something like $300 for my downpipe, and another $400 for an Access ECU flash.. I gutted the uppipe and installed the downpipe myself. What I paid to get where I am now easily exceeds $20k.. but that's a whole different story.

I never thought the car felt doggish.. I thought it felt like a peppy grocery getter. After the exhaust and tune it just felt more aggressive and healthier in its acceleration. I wouldn't ever consider stage two in these cars to feel "like a beast".. when I had a built engine and a 20g it really pulled a lot harder in the top end, but it still wasn't "like a beast".. just quick. With the setup I'm working on now it might feel a little beastly at first, but I would imagine I'll get used to it after a little while and keep wanting more.

mjmwrx

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 5, 2016

Arctavis said:
So I will list out the mods I have installed and the power gains I got from them.

Cobb Accessport
TGV Deletes
EGR block off kit
Cobb BIG SF intake
SPT factory exhaust.

Stock my car makes about 200whp and 220 wtq, after those mods and the tune my car is at 250whp and 254wtq with a very solid power curve, prior to the tune my car would be at peak boost at 2k rpms and was a sharp curve then drop off suddenly after 4500 rpms, butt dyno made it feel fast but it was actually very unbalanced. Now I get a very strong pull all the way to redline. I am attaching my dyno sheet.

View attachment 267482

Thanks for the reply. What year is your wrx? Sounds like you made some pretty solid gains. Mind me asking what you paid? I have seen kits from cobb and other companies but I thought I heard on here that they are a ripoff. I was also considering buying gently used parts and having a mechanic put them on for much less than a shop. I assume the tune would have to be professionally done though.

mjmwrx

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 5, 2016

MainFrame said:
For stage two I paid something like $300 for my downpipe, and another $400 for an Access ECU flash.. I gutted the uppipe and installed the downpipe myself. What I paid to get where I am now easily exceeds $20k.. but that's a whole different story.

I never thought the car felt doggish.. I thought it felt like a peppy grocery getter. After the exhaust and tune it just felt more aggressive and healthier in its acceleration. I wouldn't ever consider stage two in these cars to feel "like a beast".. when I had a built engine and a 20g it really pulled a lot harder in the top end, but it still wasn't "like a beast".. just quick. With the setup I'm working on now it might feel a little beastly at first, but I would imagine I'll get used to it after a little while and keep wanting more.

Yeh I think I just expected too much from this car. The typical reaction when you mention bring up the car is "whoa, that thing is a rocket right??"...I think I bough into the reputation and the 0-60 time.
Now that I own one I would consider it the same...."peppy". I was hoping for something that would put me in my seat. I guess my question is, at stage 2 will the car put me in my seat at all and feel somewhat fast? Or just a slightly peppier grocery getter? BTW how much power are you putting out after all that work?

tmcmenam

· #12 · Aug 6, 2016

If I could go back, I would do TGV deletes and a protune only. People have done only this and are making almost as much power as my 16' wrx with a jpipe and protune.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

XJman

· #13 · Aug 6, 2016

Day to day driving it makes little difference. It felt no different that a stock wrx, or as a sti as far as power goes. The only place I really noticed anything was with pulling up a hill on the highway or a back road. The engine built boost a little faster when the added load was encountered.

However when I flat foot it you feet it, it has a much healthier pull and you can feel the fatter powerband than in the stock vehicle.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

MainFrame

· #14 · Aug 6, 2016

mjmwrx said:
BTW how much power are you putting out after all that work?

Should be around 540whp when I get it all back together and running.. if I ever do. It's been one problem after another. The car is on its 7th engine now.. 5th built engine since 2009.

wrxnh

· #15 · Aug 20, 2016

Just to add, Stage 1 with stock parts alone made a noticeable difference with turbo spool with mine. When I could feel the car pull in 2nd gear around 40mph with stock ECU, on a cool day it now pulls around 30mph with stage 1. Same with 3rd pulling around 50mph instead of 60mph. It's not a slam your body to the seat feel but it's definitely more aggressive. The top end seem to gone up a hair. I'll be going stage 2 shortly so I'm sure I'll see some good numbers then

irickchad

· #16 · Aug 21, 2016

S2 makes a world of difference.

wrxnh

· #17 · Aug 22, 2016

I'm sure it will. I know aside from a catted DP, I'm going to pick up a Varex muffler with 3" inlet and have the local muffler shop make me a custom pipe to tie into the DP & muffler.

Just been reading bits and pieces on whether or not a better fuel pump is needed (some say it's better as a precaution).

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