Recommended First Mods to new WRX
 

I have an 03 WRX sedan and want it to be faster. What are the best mods for under $1000. I have been lurking around the forums for about 2 hours and i have taken away that exhaust mods are the way to go for initial stuff. Up pipe and down pipe is what i am thinking, or possibly exhaust system. What do YOU think. All opinions are greatly welcome. Plus, i was thinking of a blow off valve for the sick sound.

P.S. I sould probably note that my car has just over 10,000 miles on it and i drive on average 100 miles per day at 75-85 mph (3000-3500rpm). I dont want any mods that will shorten the life of my car considering that before the year is up i will put on another 15,000 to 20,000 miles on it.

i have the blitz fmic,,,,,its realllly cool but you have to cut alot of stuff like the fogg lights

everything you mentioned sounds good....uppipe, downpipe...good first mods imho. if you do go with a bov, i would suggest a 50/50 recirculating one.

this is what i have done so far to my MY02 silver rex. I have done a modified version of the silencer mod. Instead of removing the silencer i took a hack saw to it. I still retain the stock ram air piece under the hood and the large baffle on the silencer is removed so i take in air from grill and fender wall. I havent heard what it sounds like removed but i like the rush sound of the air now. I also added a drop in k&n air filter. Just bought a turbo xs axle back will be installing this weekend and painted my calipers blue with G2 brushable caliper paint. I plan on also doing up pipe and downpipe along with some other handling mods and brakes. I hope this helps a little

chris

depends what you're interested in most...power or handling.

i would suggest working on airflow first; uppipe!!! when you get rid of that preturbo cat, your turbo will wake right up, boost will come on earlier, and will have a better overall flow. a good mechanic or someone that's familiar with doing uppipes can have it done in < 3 hours.

So I have a silver 03 WRX with ~1800 miles am in the same boat... You say you want it to be faster... do you mean top speed, quickness, or more torque? Is your $$$ just for the engine? Do you see yourself bugeting any $$$ for handling?

You might want get a ECU reflash (i.e. Vishnu Stage Sub-Zero) it 3+ times the cost of an uppipe but you get 3+ more HP as well. Your chances of voiding any warramty are minimal and I hear it is way faster and alot smoother as well...

My $.02

Thanks for the info guys. I am really interested in second and third gear acceleration. More torque i guess.

if you read [URL=https://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12944]this[/URL] section of the forum, I pretty much get the idea that cold air intakes are detrimental to the life of your engine without proper tuning. CIA's can lean out the mixture and f-up ur engine in the long run. Will an Uppipe do the same?

Nope, an uppipe wont lean out your engine and mess it up. Its all good! :D

How 'bout a good wheel/tire package? That's a pretty big upgrade right there.

all the exhaust mods are after your a/f mix, so you can't really lean it out, so they should all be relatively safe.

I only have about 450 miles so far on my car (in 3 days, and i already moved someone to a new place :-P) but my first mods will be along the lines of this:

uppipe and downpipe
rear sway bar (probably 20mm or 22mm)

then i'll probably start looking into ecu reflashes and a "quiet" aftermarket exhaust :) and suspension/wheels/tires.

I have about 700 miles on my 03 rex. so far i have installed a Greddy evo cat, invidia up and down pipe and a CAI, front strut bar and a wheel/tire package and I get my a drivers license in May.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by HDDuece [/i]
[B]I have about 700 miles on my 03 rex. so far i have installed a Greddy evo cat, invidia up and down pipe and a CAI, front strut bar and a wheel/tire package. in the future i plan on getting a MBC, a ecu reflash and a drivers license in May. [/B][/QUOTE]

LOL :)

well thats one way to jump ahead of the curve? have you even driven the car?

I have my permit so I can drive with my Dad. He has a G35 Coupe but I like the WRX better. I think he does too. He is talking about trading the G35 for a STI.

sounds like your family doesn't mess around when it comes to cars. That's pretty cool good luck with your car.

Ken