Hey guys I need power, and I know what you are thinking...TURBO!, But I don't have the money for that PLUS I don't wanna **** up my warranty since i've had the car only for a month (2.5RS). I need the most power I can get for $500. I already have a custom 2.5" Pipe with Borla XR-1 Sportsman muffler and eliminated 2 cats, and replaced the first one with a highflow magnaflow one. I notice the difference in acceleration and low end power, but i lost high end power and it's because i went to a 2.5" pipe, shoulda went with a 2.25", anyway, so what should I get to get more HP??

you are never going to get any kind of real power increase without a turbo, or MASSIVE engine work (that would cost more and take more effort than turboing the car anyway)

Especially for 500 bucks. The ONLY way you are going to get a real increase for 500 bucks is a N2o kit. Exh and intakes do almost nothing on these na scoobys.

BTW, you dont lose high end with too big pipes. You lose bottom end. Torque is lost with pipes that are too large, and top end is increased. That statement alone tells me that most likely if you put it on a dyno you gained almost nothing, and that its mostly your butt dyno lieing to you (very common). (you are only looking at 7-12whp from those exh mods anyway)

My advice? spend the $500 on brake and suspension upgrades. Make it handle and you can take the turns faster, which sends you into the straight at a higher speed, effectively making you faster overall :)

Make it handle and you can take the turns faster, which sends you into the straight at a higher speed, effectively making you faster overall :)

wow...I never actually looked at it this way. huh....what is the most you could with 500 in suspension mods anyways? curious...

-- why couldnt he just get an intake (CAI) or header?

500 dollars in suspension will egt you springs a sway bar and end links. If played out right it may also get you strut tops or hardened engine mounts.

+1 for what Davenow said

He could search for a used suspension set up....maybe some STi take offs or if he's really lucky some coilovers.

Hey guys I need power, and I know what you are thinking...TURBO!, But I don't have the money for that PLUS I don't wanna **** up my warranty since i've had the car only for a month (2.5RS). I need the most power I can get for $500. I already have a custom 2.5" Pipe with Borla XR-1 Sportsman muffler and eliminated 2 cats, and replaced the first one with a highflow magnaflow one. I notice the difference in acceleration and low end power, but i lost high end power and it's because i went to a 2.5" pipe, shoulda went with a 2.25", anyway, so what should I get to get more HP??

Headers. I recommend Cobb or TWE for an equal-length setup, although you may have to get rid of one of your catless pipes for either to fit-- I can't remember if either of them connect at the stock cat location. If you're on a budget, Borla headers are a decent choice and sound great. I have a set on my 02 and LOVE the sound. Performance gains are modest, probably 3-5 HP/TQ with full intake/exhaust.

For $500, you can also get (not all at once):
-CAI: Not sure who makes them for 05, since you're back to MAF (blehhh). I think Injen may manufacture them.
-Lightened crankshaft pulley.
-Rallitek's PerfectPower ECU.

Good luck.

I agree with dave. Suspension is the way to go. If you're on stock suspension on the 05 rs i know as a fact it suffers SEVERELY from body roll haha. Suspension will make it feel much better.

I remember reading somethin about launching times are improved when you get a stiffer suspension is this true too?

I ordered a sti pink 21mm rear sway, plan on either injen or cobb intake, so far i had been lookin at cobb header but havn't heard of twe i'll check em out, then i was plannin on either gettin one of those exhausts but I dont like the mufflers, probably mite get a midpipe and then get a wrx axle back either for the "fart can" muffler or maybe a nice twin tip semi stock lookin one, the ones i've seen look too small and i dunno, havn't swept me, I would have intake, header, exhaust, and then see how that feels, after that maybe i'd go full system all the way thru, intake, throttle body, intake manifold, port and polish the head, header, high flow cat (stay legal), cat back, then flash the ecu and that should feel like it frees up a bunch of power. but that'd cost a bunch of money, havn't heard anythin bout throttle body's or intake manifolds for the 05 rs, im sure someone would do custom and then sell em, but intake, header, exhaust for start, oh yeah i mean header and high flow cat, ok it's late and I'm ramblin, but jus thouht i'd throw in my two cents on what i'd plan on doin to my car when I have some money, now that I think about it I saw an aem intake too, ok enouh talkin peace

For CAI, go for cobb - they are the best. TWE headers are good cuz stainless steel is better than the mild steel cobb uses. Theres a thread that talks about how even the coated cobb header caused rust on it. For cats, go for random tech cats, thats what I heard most people use. If you dont like the the muffler for the catback, just buy the parts seperately and weld it together. If your going NA, dont go more than 2.5", as you will your daily drivability (low end power). Cobb offers short blocks for sale, so maybe you could give them a shout and see what they can offer.

if you're on a budget, dont bother with cobb intakes...get a ganzflow or PDM...basically the same hp increase for a helluva lot cheaper...people that run cobbs like to say they are better to help validate the extra cost...

take the rest and get some combination of springs, swaybar, steering rack bushings, short shifter, lightened pulley...

To the original poster: be careful with all this intake advice - you have an 05 which is a slightly different air intake design (MAF) then previous years. You need to get an intake designed for your system. Off the top of my head I know Injen makes one, and several members here have it.

you are never going to get any kind of real power increase without a turbo, or MASSIVE engine work (that would cost more and take more effort than turboing the car anyway)

Especially for 500 bucks. The ONLY way you are going to get a real increase for 500 bucks is a N2o kit. Exh and intakes do almost nothing on these na scoobys.

BTW, you dont lose high end with too big pipes. You lose bottom end. Torque is lost with pipes that are too large, and top end is increased. That statement alone tells me that most likely if you put it on a dyno you gained almost nothing, and that its mostly your butt dyno lieing to you (very common). (you are only looking at 7-12whp from those exh mods anyway)

My advice? spend the $500 on brake and suspension upgrades. Make it handle and you can take the turns faster, which sends you into the straight at a higher speed, effectively making you faster overall :)

Well this is what I noticed with the bigger piping, I can get to 0-90mph a lot quicker than before, but then after that it dies down and i have to be flooring it for a WHILE for it to reach 120, before on stock set-up i could get to 120 faster. What do you think that is?
Oh and did i mention that i'm building an automatic...
Also who makes headers for my 05 ??

Well this is what I noticed with the bigger piping, I can get to 0-90mph a lot quicker than before, but then after that it dies down and i have to be flooring it for a WHILE for it to reach 120, before on stock set-up i could get to 120 faster. What do you think that is?
Oh and did i mention that i'm building an automatic...
Also who makes headers for my 05 ??

did you reset your ECU after your mods?? Maybe your ecu isnt really communicating with your mods that well...

I have Borla headers for a 99-01 RS on my 05RS and it fit perfectly. You should Get the intake system, the exhaust system complete and the do the ECU reset. After you do the Reset take it out for a spin n make sure you cover all the RPM band and then by the next day or next time you drive the car it'll pretty much feel better and smoother.

From my understanding the ECU reset basically speeds up the ECU's learning process of learning the mods and making the car adapt to them.

I have Borla headers for a 99-01 RS on my 05RS and it fit perfectly. You should Get the intake system, the exhaust system complete and the do the ECU reset. After you do the Reset take it out for a spin n make sure you cover all the RPM band and then by the next day or next time you drive the car it'll pretty much feel better and smoother.

From my understanding the ECU reset basically speeds up the ECU's learning process of learning the mods and making the car adapt to them.

Yes, but if your not getting all the bits and pieces you want all at once, you can install intake (for example), reset... maybe you got the money for an exhaust later on. install it, and reset. But ya, reset it helps the ecu learn about your mods so you can run the car more efficiently

For $500 he should get cams to be the biggest increase he can get at that price range... but... I'm not sure how much his current mods affect warranty... I don't know how they would like an outrageous street cam... LOL

For $500 he should get cams to be the biggest increase he can get at that price range... but... I'm not sure how much his current mods affect warranty... I don't know how they would like an outrageous street cam... LOL

He should probably wait on cams until he gets full I/H/E in order to fully take advantage of the increased airflow.

Weapon-R also now makes the Secret Weapon style short ram intake for the 05's.
http://www.eautoworks.com/html/ORD-1-1-1-24509.cfm
http://store.racinglab.com/su00im22wese.html
http://www.sromagazine.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/91
http://www.rallitek.com/products.asp?ID=616&PP=Y&HB=&ACC=&SP=

here is some sites for Boral Headers
http://www.rallitek.com/products.asp?ID=564&PP=Y&HB=&ACC=&SP=
http://store.mauromotorsports.com/bohewr.html
http://store.mauromotorsports.com/pelosp.html

also for Perrin Springs
http://www.rallitek.com/products.asp?ID=605&PP=Y&HB=&ACC=&SP=
http://www.namotorsports.net/listing.cfm?method=category&cat=17&subcat=19

I would call my order in and not buy online, so there is no mistake of the company not knowing you have a 05 2.5RS. I like the idea on your budget of getting springs and either tires or brakes. I think you will enjoy you car more with those mods then the I/E mod. Maybe when you get serious on modding your RS then go for the full intake/exhaust setup w/cams and pulley as well. GOod luck!

I'm still gonna put this out there. I dont suggest buying Perrin springs without buying upgraded shocks to go along with them. Yes, they'll run fine for awhile, but they will dramatically kill the life of the stock shock. I'd suggest either Koni yellow inserts (not complete assembly, just the shock. Gotta cut em yourself) or the KYB AGX shocks.

If you don't want to upgrade your shocks, or don't have the money to, I'd suggest Prodrive springs. They work perfectly with stock shocks and still offer a great drop.

I may also mention that Perrin drops the front 1.9 inches, and even shock companies such as KYB will NOT even warranty THEIR shocks with a drop over 1.5 inches (which is what the Prodrive's drop.)

I feel both of those aspects are important to keep in mind for your suspension down the road. I've known a few people who've dropped their subaru and then have blown shocks down the road.

bump for suspension mods! you just aren't going to get THAT fast with $500 toward NA power, suspension though can make driving alot more fun and keep you on the road when you're using the power you have!

z.

I'll probably will go with suspension mods, what do you think about Prodrive VS Tein ?

I want my exhaust to be DEEPER, I saw this WRX last night, he told me he had Blitz NUR-Spec, but I was told that the Borla XR-1(the one that I have) should be deeper than the Blitz, but his was DEEP, but he had downpipe, headers, I mean is the Blitz really that much deeper/louder than the borla, or is it because of his headers and downpipe?
What can I do to make mine deeper?

Your RS won't sound like a WRX. With the borla header it'll sound evil, but it won't sound like a WRX.

I agree with the suggestions for suspension instead of power. It's not going to be noticeably faster for $500. I have a diy Ganzflow-type intake, borla header and stromung cat-back on my RS and it's only a few tenths quicker to 60 than when it was stock. I have the stuff on there because I race it. If it wasn't a race car, the power stuff would be stock. Suspension makes a much bigger difference in fun factor than power on an RS. My WRX has the pink wagon springs and 22mm front & rear anti-roll bars. The springs work fine with stock struts, which is what I'm using. springs = $230, bars = $300. There's your budget. You could also go with the STi takeoffs, but you may have to deal with clunking and/or bounciness.

Your RS won't sound like a WRX. With the borla header it'll sound evil, but it won't sound like a WRX.

I agree with the suggestions for suspension instead of power. It's not going to be noticeably faster for $500. I have a diy Ganzflow-type intake, borla header and stromung cat-back on my RS and it's only a few tenths quicker to 60 than when it was stock. I have the stuff on there because I race it. If it wasn't a race car, the power stuff would be stock. Suspension makes a much bigger difference in fun factor than power on an RS. My WRX has the pink wagon springs and 22mm front & rear anti-roll bars. The springs work fine with stock struts, which is what I'm using. springs = $230, bars = $300. There's your budget. You could also go with the STi takeoffs, but you may have to deal with clunking and/or bounciness.


What kind of Borla header can I get to fit my 2005??
Also I have eliminated 2 cats on my car, will adding headers to my car void my warranty or is it already voided,
Also I heard of someone having headers and their check engine light came on, is this going to happen? what problems can I run into by putting headers ?

Go ahead, get the header. You will gain MAYBE 7-10whp, if even that. You will hear a lot of change, and your butt will almost certainly lie to you about power gains, but rest assured, a trip to the dragstrip will reveal that your times are exactly as they were before.

Suspension and brake upgrades are where its at for the NA subbies.

Go ahead, get the header. You will gain MAYBE 7-10whp, if even that. You will hear a lot of change, and your butt will almost certainly lie to you about power gains, but rest assured, a trip to the dragstrip will reveal that your times are exactly as they were before.

Suspension and brake upgrades are where its at for the NA subbies.

Yeah but what header will fit my RS????
I can't find any for the 2005

here is what i suggest from a fellow 05 rs owner...power is hard to come by like people have said, and suspension is always a good route to go, but if you are determined to get more power, this is what i suggest: 1. headers will give you some decent gains, borlas will keep the boxer sound, and are cheaper, but the EL will give you some better gains. Headers are expensive though.
2. intake, the injen intake has gotten good reviews and people are paying under 300 for it i think, it will also give you some good sound and gains.

3. management (my recommendation by far) go down to rallitek in portland, and talk to sean, i was a guinea pig for the perfect power on the 05's, when we tuned it on stock, i definitely gained some hp, never dynoed, but when i would pull to redline, i would find myself bouncing off of it because i could get up there faster than i was used to...and i loved it. with any mods, it is always a good idea to get some EM to go with it. it is just under 400 bucks and well worth it if power is what you are looking for.

4. if you dont want to get management for some reason, reset your ecu, to do this, disconnect the negative side of your battery, then drain the rest of the charge through the brake lights and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. once you do this, reconnect the battery, start it up and let it idle for 10 minutes or so...then go and beat the **** out of your car, go drive it like you stole it and pull all the way through the band in a few gears, your ecu should learn your mods a little bit. oh ya, if you do this, dont get caught by police, and dont crash, hah

and even though its not what you want to hear, get some sti springs and a rear swaybar with some end links... you will definitely be able to have some more fun in the twisties when you are beating the **** out of your car because you are reseting your ecu or because you got a perfect power and cant help but take it out because your car has never felt better.

these are my suggestions, hope i could be of some help

i agree with the suspensioin. i have a 92 legacy sedan and was obssesed with putting more power into it. i put a GPmoto intake on and a crank pulley. My butt dyno was happy, and it definitely made the car a little more fun, but not nearly as much as the suspenion did. I just recently bought front and rear sway bars with rear endlinks from IPD and it is AMAZING. I got it all for $314.83. The understeer is almots completely gone and the car feels like it has 5 times the amount of traction on my crapy tires. Turns that i couldnt take at 40, I'm taking at 55 easily with plenty of grip. the car is worlds more fun to rive than it already was. Although, i would not go without my intake. the car is n/a and I have no exhaust mods, so its pretty quiet, but at wide open throttle with the intake, it sounds mean as hell. My friends can hear me two blocks away from inside their house. But when I see a cop, I dont attract attentioin because I'm not at wide open throttle. i love the intake, but pund for pound, I think the suspension upgrade was the best investment Ive made. I'm not going to go fast if I cannot control it.

I'll probably will go with suspension mods, what do you think about Prodrive VS Tein ?

I want my exhaust to be DEEPER, I saw this WRX last night, he told me he had Blitz NUR-Spec, but I was told that the Borla XR-1(the one that I have) should be deeper than the Blitz, but his was DEEP, but he had downpipe, headers, I mean is the Blitz really that much deeper/louder than the borla, or is it because of his headers and downpipe?
What can I do to make mine deeper?

You see, there is this ultimate deepness that comes with any forced induction car. It's a deepness that is so bassy, you can more readily feel it than hear it. People that think a 5.6L V8 has a "deep" exhaust have no idea. Get next to a 2.3L turbo Volvo, and you'll get a deep sound no V8 will ever match. Or a 1.6L turbo Mazda. Sure, with an exhaust it still sounds like a small displacement four, but underneath it, you'll notice the bass. It's kind of rediculous, actually. So yeah, never really will sound as deep as you're looking for.