So i'm getting a nice new 2003 wrx wagon (for cheap ) and i want to know what routes to look into for the first few mods.

I'm mostly looking for info on which or what exhaust parts to change first, and what good companies are out there for them.

I'm thinking uppipe and downpipe mostly. The one thing i don't want is a loud aftermarket exhaust, and i realize that doing the up and down pipes together is good to save on labor costs.

Also, how many cats are on the car, and how many or which ones can i safely bypass, or at least bypass without setting off CEL.

I realize that i "shouldn't" be removing any cats, and that this question probably gets asked all the time, so any and all help comments is appriciated.

 

DOHCCammin has it part right...

There are 3 cats:
- Uppipe
- Downpipe
- Midpipe



If your on a budget like I am you should take a look at this low cost turbo-back solution. and just gut your uppipe (it's free and has the same HP gain).

 

I was looking at the uppipe and downpipe first, and together.

I was looking at solid uppipes w/o a cat, and a downpipe. What can be done regarding the downpipes that don't have cats?? A lot of them say "with cel fix" what does that usually mean?

Also, the only reason i don't want to change the exhaust is that i don't want the car to be loud at all. Is a downpipe back exhaust going to gain a good bit of power, or is most of it gained in the uppipe/downpipe?

What is out there for quite sounding, but better free flowing exhaust?

 

Well, if you live in California, I will definately suggest you not to remove the cat. The fine for that will be up to $10,000.00. I think it's not very worth it. Loud is relative term, so I don't know how loud is loud for you, most aftermarket exhaust for wrx that I hear before are pretty loud. I think the Greddy one is the best choice if you care about both hp gain and sound level. If you want most horsepower from the cat back exhaust, HKS Hiper and APex'i GT Spec makes most HP. (According to Turbo Magazine) HKS acutally makes 1 hp more than Apex'i, however, Apex'i is alot lighter plus it came with a silencer. Rest of exhaust out there is not worth buying it, and their build quality can't even compare with the above exhaust system (except Blitz, but it make less hp than Apexi, HKS, and Greddy). I don't know why there are so much hype regarding, TurboXS, MRT or Vishu. If you insist remove the cat, I will suggest XS-enigneering front and mid-pipe, because it is dyno proven (adds around 10 hp and 20+ lb ft torque).

by the way, if you planned to put body kit on your wagon, HKS will cause some trouble regarding fitment.

www.rg-s.com. Contact them for above products.

 

I must be getting old, I just want to make sure of something...

When you say sick, are you meaning Cool/Awesome sick or Overpriced sick?

 

No my kids are 7 and 4.

So... what does sick mean this year?