I just purchased my first wrx, I am not new to subaru's by any means but this is my first with a turbo. What are some inexpensive ways to add some power and still pass CA smog? Not looking for huge power just increasing it a little more for the time being.

 

Cobb ap

 

Thats what I was thinking, as far as an exhaust. What is a smog legal option? catted down pipe? and sti up pipe?

 

aftermarket catted downpipe won't pass visual

 

Would an sti downpipe have any benefit?

 

no it wont.

 

Inexpensive and passing smog.....Im going to give you my honest thought out opinion without saying do some research.

Catless DP and UP pipe. (KEEP STOCKER) and do the switcheroo on smog day......

get an exhaust whichever one you like.


TUNE!!!!!!!

Looks like you are south of san jose so I would say GST Motorsports would be the shop closest to you, and they are awesome.

I would not get an intake unless you plan on making more than 300hp......

 

STI turbo, STI tmic, STI up pipe, top feed injectors from a 07+ STI or 06+ WRX and a tune. A 2.5l hybrid is also a good choice, and will get you a lot more torque. All of that can be done on a stock down pipe and get you more power.

 

+1. Turbo swap with old sti goodies and an opensource tune would be best bang for your buck HP wise. Like stated above just keep your stock DP to swap out on smog day. A smog tech wont be able to tell that anythings not original except maybe (mayyyybe) your intercooler, which is legal to swap/relocate anyway. Nobody has said otherwise, but just to clarify, you do not need to be back on stock tune to pass smog. When they plug into the OBD all they are looking for are codes.

 

Would a stage 2 OTS map tune pass smog with stock DP Exhaust? Just curious as smog will be due for me in a few months..

 

Yes. Smog is done during close loop fueling so the engine is running off of the sensors and making changes to make sure there is the proper amount of fuel being used.

 

I don't think you're allowed to swap locations of intercoolers. It says you are allowed to change the core, and keep the original location though.

But if you're on a stock downpipe, why not go back to the base map?

It'll definitely pass depending on the condition of your cats in the downpipe, it run's a bit richer than factory so I would suggested a gallon of e85 just in case.

 

I have checked this with my smog place (CA) and they said change/relocate were both ok. You can also add an intercooler to cars that are not intercooled from the factory.

There's no reason to flash back to stock. Save yourself 5 mins and just run stage 2 as normal but stay low on boost.. Smog place can't tell either way.

 

This should help.

Page G-7 references intercoolers for gasoline engines. I noticed "Oil Separators and Filters" on there too... I wonder if that is referring to catch cans...

 

Yes. Stage 2 will pass with a stock downpipe. The test is run in closed loop, so really its done with the engine running off the sensors.