ok, want to buy some mods for my partially stock 03 wrx. right now all i have is a catless uppipe. im comming into some money soon, and was planning on buying some headers, and/or a catless downpipe. i like the "quietness" of my catback, so i wont be replacing that right now. need to know whether replacing the headers, and the downpipe WITHOUT adding any engine management is good or not for power gain. i cant afford the engine management right now, or probably in the near future and i dont want the car to drive sluggish or anything after installing the headers and downpipe. want to make sure that im buying the right stuff. any help would make my day! thanks a lot!

 

Get a DP and save for an AP. Running the pipes won't hurt your motor without engine management but with EM you'd definitely gain more power with the mods. Do you have the stock catback?

 

yea, i have a stock catback. i like the thought of a stealth back system, so im not looking to swap it out or anything. and i know the EM would give me better gains, but would the car run sluggish if the headers and DP were swapped out? ive heard that less backpressure is better for the turbo, but is there a limit? also, how much would the AP cost? im in the fairfield area....

 

$400-$450 for a used Cobb AP Vers1

$600 for a brand new Vers2

 

dude, the more back preassure u can rid urself of is better. if u have enuff for headers u have enuff for EM, for 650$ you can get ur ecu tuned at vishnu and get much better power gains than headers, have u priced headers yet? cheapest i found were 1100. and as far as silence i got the borla hush cat back system and it sounds and looks great. real low tone and decent power for about 540$. and nothing u do to the exhaust will cause it to bog the car.

 

also most aftermarket DP will only bolt to aftermarket CBE unless you have an adapter.cobb is the only one off hand that is made for the stock CBE.

on a side note since your in vacaville and ever need a hand/tools or garage give me a ring.i have multiple floor jacks,stands and 10 of every tool.plus im off on work comp and could use the company

 

Wow, you brought this one up from the dead....lol.....

I went ahead and got a full TBE, purchased the tactrix cable, and did an opensource stage 2 flash. Never got the headers.....but love the way the car rides now. Next on the agenda are some springs, and some other useless goodies.....but that wont be for some time now, since I just got some new rims.

I've been in V-town for a while now, and haven't happened to see you on the roads......kinda weird. Hope all is well....