2006 WRX Wagon, SPT Exhaust, Intake, warrantee now over, next steps for more fun?

futuretrash · 11-20-2009, 09:02 AM

I have a general tuning question. I have a 2006 WRX wagon with the SPT add ons, exhaust, intake, heat shield, boost gauge, short shifter. I love LOVE this car. My other car's a 2007 Legact GT that my wife drives.

The '06 wagon warrantee just ended, and so I'm considering non-subaru improved mods/tuning on the car. I'm not a wrencher, but love to drive, just a personal choice, the time I have I'd like to spend driving and with my daughters and wife.

Knowing I have the SPT stuff all in, without dropping a huge load of cash, and without putting the engine at risk from aggressive driving, what would you recommend I do to max out my power/performance/fun factor without creating a high maintenance machine that requires constant attention or unnecessary wear and tear on the engine?

I'm assuming Accessport will come up? I'm actually considering this for my Legacy GT, could I use the same Accessport for both cars with different maps?

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

I'll say this, with my car fairly stock, last time I was in Vegas I rented a 911 and took it out into the desert past the dam, and even at speeds exceeding 130+ I was suprised how my WRX was so close in feel and grab tot he 911. I expected the 911 to blow my mind, it actually just made me love my little T-wrex more

Don't see a lot of these in NYC but for me it's the perfect NYC urban assault vehicle.

man show · 11-20-2009, 09:35 AM

Unfortunately, you won't be able to use one Cobb AccessPORT unit for both vehicles since it "marries" itself to only one vehicle at a time. You've made it pretty clear that you want some extra power, while keeping the car reliable and without spending a lot of cash. My advice: get an aftermarket bellmouth style downpipe and an AccessPORT and use a Stage 2 map (~24% hp gain, ~45% tq gain over stock). A brand new AP should cost you $695 almost anywhere you buy it, however, if you search around for a used unit, you might be able to save yourself up to several hundred dollars and as long as it was properly unmarried from the previous car it was used on, it should perform exactly like a brand new one would. As far as the downpipe, even though you want to try to save money, I would strongly urge you to stay away from cheap-o eBay brands because of poor quality and fitment issues. Invidia makes a relatively inexpensive, yet pretty decent quality bellmouth downpipe. Personally, I have Cobb's catted downpipe, but that is one of the more expensive ones, but also one with the highest quality. There are many different brands of downpipes on the market, so do yourself a little research and see which one(s) you like as far as price and quality and if you still have questions/concerns, feel free to ask. Also, it's very highly recommended that you use a brand new turbo-to-downpipe gasket and downpipe-to-cat back gasket when you install the downpipe to help prevent exhaust leaks.

...and I just noticed that was your first post, so welcome! And here's another useful website for you to check out: Unabomber's Manifesto - NASIOC

futuretrash · 11-20-2009, 11:33 AM

That's great advice, thank you. What do you think the downpipe will run me? I'm assuming that the SPT exhaust I had installed doesn't include a down-pipe (this shows how technically deficient I am).

And if I see your numbers correctly, I can expect a 25% HP gain!?!? Or am I reading that wrong?

airplnmdls · 11-20-2009, 11:46 AM

Well a Cobb catted DP (downpipe) will run you about $600.00... CobbTuning.com - SS 3" Downpipe SPT's exhaust is only a catback system, they do not make a downpipe. While it is really expensive it is very good quality. As for someone like me, I am considering it because I need a cat still for the e-check. There are others though that would be good too, but it all depends, but yeah probably no ebay one....

As for the Accessport ( CobbTuning.com - 06-07 AccessPORT) its really good and yes it's 24% gain (for stage 2)! And if anything, get that to begin with because you can flash to stage 1 without buying anything else. Then when you have money for a downpipe, you can buy and install it, and then flash to stage 2! I got mine off of ebay (of course unmarried) for $386! Usually used they are around $400-$450...

futuretrash · 11-20-2009, 11:53 AM

Wow that's an amazing power gain. I'm almost happy my warrantee is up

So none of this will effect my car's "street legal-ness" correct? The downpipe won't effect emissions, etc? Also, a small note, I'm noticing a boost cut occasionally in 4th gear at high rpms on the highway. Is there a way to find out what downpipe won't increase the likelihood of this boost cut" It sucks and I get a CEL every time.

airplnmdls · 11-20-2009, 11:54 AM

Oh also you could consider front and rear shifter bushings for your short shifter....I hear they make bigger difference than the short shifter. I just got a kartboy shortshifter and bushings a few weeks ago. I installed the SS but the bushings will probably happen when I go home for thanksgiving break...

futuretrash · 11-20-2009, 11:54 AM

PS. I have the same car (but 06) in white

futuretrash · 11-20-2009, 11:55 AM

Bushings are relatively cheap plastic parts right?

airplnmdls · 11-20-2009, 11:56 AM

The Accessport only changes the ecu's program and does not effect street legal-ness at all...
If you buy a catted downpipe then you should be perfectly fine as far as emissions go, they are just a little more expensive (roughly 100ish dollars more) than the downpipes without them. Also too the Acessport has the ability to read and erase CELs, but with stage 1/2 running you hsouldnt get a CEL anyways!

airplnmdls · 11-20-2009, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by futuretrash

Bushings are relatively cheap plastic parts right?

Haha Nice! (about your car) and Well new bushings are made of polyeurethane plastic and there are a bunch you can replace, but these are the two that make the biggest difference... Kartboy dot com :: Subaru WRX :: 2002-2007 WRX :: Kartboy 5-Speed Shifter Bushing Combo

futuretrash · 11-20-2009, 11:59 AM

Awesome, I'm excited. This might be a Christmas thing. Or maybe a "wow honey that repair work was more expensive than I thought" kind of deal.

airplnmdls · 11-20-2009, 12:03 PM

Haha yeah...good luck!

newtothegame · 11-20-2009, 05:44 PM

You failed to mention that HP gain (number wise, not percent) is at the wheels. Stage 2 maybe around 220. If you are having boost cut issues the catted DP is the only way to go, and the AP will help with that, but you still might have the same issue. It would help us more if you got the code read, just to be sure what it is. Of course the AP can read and then clear those codes also.

man show · 11-20-2009, 09:16 PM

Ha.. I was waiting for somebody to chime in about that. I just thought I'd throw the bigger more impressive number out there. The difference between stock and Stage 2 is extremely noticeable though. And like it was mentioned before, you can buy the AP any time and flash to a Stage 1 map and wait and save up for the dp you really want. Once you get to Stage 2, it's tough to make a similar power jump without some pretty serious upgrades and spending a bunch of money (turbo & supporting mods).