owning a body shop, my dad see's alot of crushed WRX's because the brand new driver decided to tune the ECU :rolleyes:

needless to say, hes a little cautious (not that i can blame him) of any kind of big modification. I split the cost of the car with him too.

Im looking to do a little work on my FXT, but nothing too major.
Heres what im thinking of:
-Cobb Catback
-Lightened Crankpulley
-Possibly new up-pipes

Basically im just trying to free up a few HP and eventually reduce the turbo lag by whatever i can.

If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated

owning a body shop, my dad see's alot of crushed WRX's because the brand new driver decided to tune the ECU :rolleyes:

tuned ECU's don't cause crushed WRX's. asshat drivers do.

tuned ECU's don't cause crushed WRX's. asshat drivers do.

i know, thats why i said new drivers with tuned ECU's do ;)

(a generalization, but its true)

not to say some asshat drivers dont crash cars monthly of course (one client of my father has brought his jaguar in for body work a dozen times within a 3 month period)

I'd say TBE, up pipe and Cobb AP. If you get the AP first you can go stage 1 to immediately free up some ponies. Once you get the exhaust on, go stage 2. That's pretty basic and common, not to mention gets you a pretty good power gain for the money.

Sounds good. Except I wouldnt bother with the pulley. Based on my experience with lightweight crank pulleys and forced induction cars, its not the worth the 3 or 4 hp gain to upset the harmonic balance of the motor. But, to each his own.

awsome, thanks for the quick responses

I'd say TBE, up pipe and Cobb AP. If you get the AP first you can go stage 1 to immediately free up some ponies. Once you get the exhaust on, go stage 2. That's pretty basic and common, not to mention gets you a pretty good power gain for the money.

+1 on that, basemaps are a great place to start if you just want some power gain.

Basically im just trying to free up a few HP and eventually reduce the turbo lag by whatever i can.


Is that possible? The TD04 is about as small as they get. The TBE and uppipe will free up a lot of H.P. and E.M. can increase torque and will help shift the powerband a bit lower.

Don't the FXTs have catless up pipes? If they do, skip that mod, get a downpipe and some EM and call it a day....any maybe some lowering springs to make it less truck-like if that's your thing.

^exactly what he said

If you are really, seriously limited to non-ecu mods, the TBE is a good start. It will provide the foundation for other performance mods in the future, so it will be money well spent. If the up-pipe has a cat in it, by all means replace it. Cobb makes all of the parts you will need, and they are well-engineered. You can always cobble together parts from different vendors and manufacturers, and perhaps save a little cash, but the Cobb system is a solid system. I highly recommend the Cobb up-pipe. It is a quality piece.

Don't go lightened pullies, not worth the price or hassle.

Engine management is typically the next step to performance gains. The above Cobb exhaust would leave you perfectly aligned for the Cobb AccessPort. That would give you tremendous "bang-for-the-buck". I suggest driving very responsibly with the exhaust and hoping that you can demonstrate to your father that you are responsible and mature enough to step up to the EM. That generally means no bone-headed capers behind the wheel.

In the mean time, I suggest some other mods that will help performance, and may fall under the radar of your father, since they don't include engine management. First, a quality, high performance set of tires, and a lightweight set of wheels will help tremendously. If you can lose a few pounds per corner, and up your grip level, you will make a noticeable improvement to performance.

Next, suspension. I am not familiar with tried and trued FXT suspension options, but I suspect that a careful choice of springs will help lower your car and improve cornering tremendously. This won't help you much in straight-line performance, but it WILL make it far more fun to drive. Just remember, no boneheaded capers. ;)

Finally, I assume you have a manual transmission. When the clutch gets a bit worn, you can always replace the clutch and flywheel with a heavy-duty street clutch and lightweight flywheel. I am not sure how the FXT responds to the lightweight flywheel, but my STi loves it. This will improve your around town driving performance noticeably, albeit at the expense of dragstrip-style launches (although my STI does quite well with it).

Remember, the mods above address OVERALL driving satisfaction. The exhaust will help all around, and the other mods will help acceleration, handling, looks, or a combination of the above. A big part of the equation is what will make YOU smile when you walk out and see your vehicle, and thast is a personal thing.

PS: If you autocross at all, I HIGHLY recommend Evolution Schools. They are perhaps THE best bang-for-the-buck performance enhancer. Plus, your father is likely to see this as a mature decision: "driving school, hmm...." You can always ask him to join you for an Evo School. Once he sees the sport of AX, and the maturity level of the folks involved in it (especially the Evo Schools), he will probably be far more receptive to further performance mods. Heck, he will probably want to co-drive your FXT, and may even go in halves for performance mods. :D

Im looking to do a little work on my FXT, but nothing too major.
Heres what im thinking of:
-Cobb Catback
-Lightened Crankpulley
-Possibly new up-pipes

Basically im just trying to free up a few HP and eventually reduce the turbo lag by whatever i can.


Catback will free up some power, but will definitely help your scooby make the happy sounds while thrashing it. I'm not a fan of lightened crank pullies - you'll pick up some trq and engine response, but I don't think it's worth it. Differing opinions out there though. (lightweight flywheels are fun tho) As stated, pretty sure FXT uppipe is already catless, so probably not worth the $ to change it for something else.

In terms of freeing up a few Hp and reducing turbo lag -- P&P exhaust manifolds seem to make many people happier with reduced spool time and increased boost availability. If you're planning on keeping the TD04 long-term, a P&P turbine housing should also help the down-low trq and boost response. Gutting the downpipe cat will help reduce spool time and is pretty cheap if you're patient and your conscience will let you, but not sure how the FXT ECU respnds to this without EM (keep the underfloor cat and lose the DP cat). Might be possible to get a tune that keeps boost levels stock, but deals with the catless DP. This would give better boost response without being a "crazy power" re-tune. Maybe not worth the $ tho. Silicone intercooler Y-pipe will also help spool and boost slightly. Look used to save $.

Like bcblues states, suspension stuff is another avenue. Alignment (get some camber up front) and a slightly stiffer rear sway bar will make your ride more tossable, but make sure you understand what drop-throttle oversteer is and don't push it on the street (or you could end up shiny-side-down). Driver training is a good time and well worth it (sometimes you can even get an insurance break)

you know... try and find someone with stock wrx wagon springs likeme, it will lower a little and be stiffer rates i believe. also since therefor wagon the back won't sag as much if they were sedan springs

(or STi sells forestor pinks..)