...idea of buying a Cusco 4-2-1 Exhaust Manifold for my STi

Talk me out of it.

The Cusco 4-2-1 Exhaust manifold reconfigures the extraction of exhaust gases from the engine in order to minimize exhaust pulse interference for maximum power and throttle response. The 4-2-1 collector design emphasizes low and midrange response over top-end output.

 

Now why on Earth would I want to do that?

 

Because there has to be some negatives.

 

I don't think the GP Moto or the Invidia header is as well designed or tested as a part from Cusco. Remember, you get what you pay for.

- J
Japanese parts for Japanese cars

 

I just wish the The Cusco 4-2-1 Exhaust manifold had an flex up-pipe on it.

 

I'm sorry, but when did I remark where something was made was actually a point to be dwelled on? Just because something is made in Japan doesn't make it special. I said specifically that Cusco has better engineered parts then either of the other companies.

And Invidia is not made in Japan either. Helix is rebadged Invidia and they are made in Taiwan. And I have done my research. Why not try readng a Japanese Impreza Guide for the GC8 -> GDB, ask guys like Imprezer who actually sells the parts I see being installed, and play with it yourself without just listening to what people say online?

Don't hate, I just gave him my personal opinion from what I actually see.

- J

 

I apologize. By the context of your speech, I thought you had stated that Cusco has their headers made in Taiwan like Invidia.

In terms of your position as a lead technician, without disclosing where I work and who I work with for privacy reasons, the number of cars we see are in the thousands. With that in mind, we have seen 99% of the different parts and mods out there people have fitted on their cars. With the amount of complaints from noises to much more serious issues (blown engines), we have seen the quality and control issues from fabricated parts without the proper R&D by both tuning and fitment issues.

When I state that the best parts are from Japan by companies like HKS, Cusco, Blitz, Greddy, etc they truly are the best. The number of complaints or problems we see on those parts (both imported if not available and bought domestically if available) are very close to 0. Without naming other brands for the sake of not being flamed, I feel that most companies here do not have the proper experience of fabricating their own parts and unless they have been working on the Impreza turbo since it's introduction in the early 90's, you run a risk of the problems mentioned above. If you haven't run into any problems by not buying JDM, consider yourself lucky.

Modding is an expensive game. It is usually much more expensive then people anticipate, and because of that, many people take shortcuts, having a totally different mentality then our Japanese friends. All you need to do is open an Impreza magazine and see the parts on their cars. In most cases, youwill see them having parts with names totally familiar, compared to what we have here available because of the lack of 100% support.

I don't sell parts. When I tell people what I recommend, it is only a recommendation. But that recommendation is from experience by seeing what other people have encountered as problems, and that experience is from seeing MANY MANY MANY different Imprezas. It is up to people whether to listen to or not.