I got a 02 RS as well

put on a Borla Headder

Randon Tech Cat high flow

Greddy EVO Cat-Back

All 3 are stainless. It gets rid of all the cat-precat-rezinator junk. It made a huge difference in my cars Hp and gas mileage. The sound is great and RPMs are down across the board. I just got inspected in April and pased with out a problem. But I do have the Cell from Hell at the moment cuz my comp cant quite understand why im getting all this flow now.

I also have a AME short ram with a custom isolation box ( so its just about like a cold air intake )

Anyway it was a very easy install like 2 hours max to rip out the old and put up the new. the cost is more that U are lookin for at the moment ......Borla $309 ......Random $350ish......Greddy $500 free shipping, but a headder and a high flow cat will get U in the rite direction. Get a shop to pipe out the rest to the muffler till U get some more $$ and Ur set.

or go with handeling....... rear swaybar 22-26 adjustable with new bushings, frount anti lift kit, and a frount strut tower bar ( get a WRX bar so U got room for any intake stuff in the future ) and a spring kit of 1 to 1.5 inch drop

That would put U in about the $750-$850 range

what ever U do, its Ur ride so make it all about U and Ur luv of driving it

 

It's louder than stock, but quieter than the Borla/Stromung combo. Again, it makes more power than any other NA combo.

 

Borlas, a cat and a catback don't help all that much. Maybe 15 hp. I suppose they can improve mileage, but I wouldn't expect it myself. It is a good setup though, and except for paying $300 too much for your exhaust, is pretty damn good. If your box has a good seal, then the intae is probably ok. 22-26 mm adjustable bar is too much though. Stick to an FHI 20mm or at the most a Whiteline 18-22 adjustable. Anti-lift kit is a good mod, unless you autocross, b/c it puts you in Street Mod with guys who spend way too much on their cars. Strut braces are worthless on an Impreza, since they are so stiff already. Sway bar endlinks are probably the best bang-for-the-buck after the RSB. You could do KYBs, RSB, endlinks, and an alignment for far less than $750, but it's pointless if you're on stock tires.

 

hey, i drive an 02rs aswell,
what you are calling the third cat in the midpipe is actually not a cat. It is a pre-resonator chamber. 02rs's only have 2 cats. I had a hard time when i was getting my exhaust installed, everyone was saying "no i cant touch it, you have a cat in the midpipe" and i would say that i didnt think it was a cat. I spoke with cobb tuning, and they said that it wasnt a cat and to just tell the guy to take it down and look inside. Sure enough when i brought it back to the shop i had the guy take it down, after he argued again with me... telling me that he is going to have to charge me to take it down and tell me its a cat"

so im like dude just take it down.
needless to say he bit his tongue. because it is infact not a cat. it just looks like one from the outside.

the best bang for my buck mod i have done so far, would have to be my cusco adjustable rear swaybar... performance wise i also have, eibach pro-kit springs, cusco front and rear strut tower bars, gfb pulley kit, custom 2.25 inch midpipe (unresonated), scoobysport axleback, cobb cold air intake, and spg mod. with all that my car is totoally different than it was stock, it handles much better, much much less body roll, accellerates quicker and smoother, i can feel it pulling harder. overall the car is just much more fun. let me know if you have any questions
Pat

 

Langston Subaru or direct from MRT