Hey guys, I am fairly new at this but i have had my WRX for quite a bit of time. So far i have a Cobb catback Perrin u.p and d.p, also have the front and rear sway bars for some added handling. I thought these would be some pretty basic first mods to have but im stuck on what to do next...any ideas on some mods that arent to rough on the wallet but yet make a difference..?? ...srry about the broad question but ive been thinking and cant seem to come up with anything.

 

do you have a stage 2 map/tune already? if not, i suggest as the next mod.

 

That would mean buying an accessport right?? I was looking into cobb's accessports...but a bit pricy though...

 

if you cant afford the acessport get springs, struts, rims, top or front mount IC, intake, turbo inlet pipe, or headers =)

 

I see...yea ive been looking into intake and headers, thats something that i definitely want. ...i havent looked into top or front mount IC's though...

 

i would recommend you to get some type of engine management. open source, cobb, ecutek.... especially since you own a 04 wrx...
everything else should wait untill you get some em

 

I agree ^^ beast bang for your buck with engine management.....

 

Yea i agree im looking into Cobb its definitely good quality for what you pay for. But that price is pretty high...So much to do and little money!

 

u should've gotten EM as soon as u went up/dp.

 

i dont know what the smog regulations are like in georgia but you could upgrade to a turbo back at which point you would have to tune, i am looking into this option as well and have been advised that the cobb accessport is really the way to go, also in regards to the smog regulations you can just swap your stock or catback on when you get tested, that is my plan

 

I see, yea i will be upgrading to a tbe this weekend actually. I was thinking about when to have it tuned i just didnt know the right time. Ive heard many different things, like tuning it before you get aftermarket parts or after...but is it best right after getting a tbe or...??? just a lot of different options...

 

from what people have told me you can really mess up your engine if you dont have it tuned soon after putting the tbe on

 

i see, i didnt know that. Ive just heard that its best to do it after installing mods. So i guess i should just wait on that cobb ap and get it tuned up then?

Oh and also...how is it bad for the engine???

 

I think you need to do a lot of research.
YOU NEED TO GET SOME TYPE OF EM ASAP.
I think you have several things confused.
buying some type of engine management will allow you to flash a map on your car. this will make your car run a lot better and safer. Its not perfect. off the shelf maps generally are rich and are not optimal. however it would be a lot safer than what you are doing right now.

tune up is generally when you change spark plugs etc...

a pro tune is when you take it to a professional tuner and they custom make a map for your car, tailored to your mods for optimal efficiency. most tuners require you to have some type of purchased em. like cobb, ecutek, etc. but some tuners do open source.

 

Get a Cobb AP and take it to an engine tuner and have them make you a pro-tuned map. NOW.

You are most likely running very lean and pinging like crazy, this can cause a lot of harm to your engine if left untuned.

As soon as you do anything more than a cat-back (and even this is arguable) you need some sort of engine management. You will gain a significant amount of power and increase the life of both your turbo and your engine. On the extreme side, you will prevent your motor from popping.