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Old 03-07-2013, 12:30 AM   #1
Tahsey
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Member#: 349329
Join Date: Mar 2013
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: Washington
Vehicle:
2013 WRX
Satin White

Default 2013 Wrx Hatch

Just purchased my first Subaru last month and decided I would pick up a new hobby and turn it into a project. (I'm a girl with no experience in cars, bare with me.) Haven't decided much yet except that I will be tinting it, getting new suspension, and give it that "Subie Rumble." I eventually want new wheels, but that's out of the budget right now.

Not looking to spend a fortune, but just curious with the difference in types of suspension and performance/pros and cons with each type or brand.

As for the rumble, a friend suggested a downpipe and exhaust. I actually like the looks of my exhaust right now. Any suggestions?
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:39 AM   #2
bondo007man
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Member#: 247030
Join Date: May 2010
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Stop Looking At Me
Swan

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Just stick with a cat back no need for a down pipe on a brand new subie. Welcome !
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Old 03-07-2013, 01:15 AM   #3
Llama_
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Chapter/Region: MAIC
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2013 STi hatch
SWP

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Welcome! the best early mods are: cat back and an accessport.(Maybe intake as well AFTER accessport). Lots of subie owners buy rally armor polyurethane mudflats as well.


My 13 has 2900 miles and I have mudflap catback ap and intake. No complaints here!

Edit: I'm guessing you have the spt exhaust? If not then LOL. If you think your exhaust looks good right now.. Well, if you look up the invidia q300 burnt tip you might pee your pants. Which brings me to my next point, get the q300. The only rumble you need!
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Old 03-07-2013, 03:54 AM   #4
GrumpyPitbull
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Location: Twin Cities, MN
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahsey View Post
Just purchased my first Subaru last month and decided I would pick up a new hobby and turn it into a project. (I'm a girl with no experience in cars, bare with me.) Haven't decided much yet except that I will be tinting it, getting new suspension, and give it that "Subie Rumble." I eventually want new wheels, but that's out of the budget right now.

Not looking to spend a fortune, but just curious with the difference in types of suspension and performance/pros and cons with each type or brand.

As for the rumble, a friend suggested a downpipe and exhaust. I actually like the looks of my exhaust right now. Any suggestions?
Go ahead and get the windows tinted once it warms up a bit, but my suggestion is do nothing mechanical for now, and just educate yourself about the car .. especially if you have little to no experience with cars.

For suspension, start your research with upgraded sway bars and endlinks. They are fairly cheap (as far as mods go), and provide a very noticeable upgrade.

For exhaust, if you like the look and sound right now .. just leave it. The downpipe will require a tune, and this is the part of the car you will not want to mess around with until you educate yourself some. As far as the rest of the exhaust, do you have a hatchback or sedan? If you have a hatch, then avoid Invidia exhausts unless you like drone. Best thing to do with exhaust is go to a few local car meets and listen to other people with different systems ... find what you like the sound of.

Oh, and prepare yourself for the leg humpers who will be in this thread soon since they know your female.
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Old 03-07-2013, 04:42 AM   #5
ihaveagibsonsg
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: San Diego
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2013 WRX Hatchback
wr blue

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I suggest not adding an access port or downpipe.

If you're in the same boat as most average people who didn't win the lottery or have rich daddy buy their car; spending 30k on a car is a serious chunk of change. I'm assuming you'd like that warranty which protects any issues of your recent 30k investment, to be intact.

Adding an access port or downpipe or both, is the fastest way to absolutely void that 5 year 60,000 cover your ass(CYA) warranty that was included with your new WRX on the most expensive parts of your vehicle(engine/transmission). The easiest way to protect that warranty is to add the SPT performance parts, or purchase parts that are easy to replace quickly AND without signs of being tampered with. I got about 600 miles on my WRB WRX hatch and the only mod I'm doing is an axle back because the SPT exhaust just doesn't deliver the note of the song I want my outback choir to sing from my Subaru. I can remove the axle back, spray paint a silver coating on the original bolts to show no signs of wear, and reinstall the stock muffler in less than half an hour.

Yeah, I got this figured out.
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Old 03-07-2013, 05:57 AM   #6
Never Summer
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Catback exhaust will not void a warranty unless its 100% proven it effected and caused failure to your car! A cat back exhaust will not cause any failure. A turbo back can because you need a tune. If u being your car in for service/maintenance and you have a cat back exhaust on, they can not void your warranty. I personally called SOA. There's also a law stating warranty can't be void either Magnuson-Moss Act
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Old 03-07-2013, 06:17 AM   #7
nhmtns
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahsey View Post
Any suggestions?
The best first "mod" is to read up so you can make educated decisions. Many people want to skip this step and just rely on advice from others that will inevitably include everything under the sun, much of which will be based on "things they've heard" or random posts on NASIOC by who the hell knows.

suspension info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920405

exhaust info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447182

engine management (EM) info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=795608
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Old 03-07-2013, 06:35 AM   #8
CCSubaru
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nhmtns View Post
The best first "mod" is to read up so you can make educated decisions. Many people want to skip this step and just rely on advice from others that will inevitably include everything under the sun, much of which will be based on "things they've heard" or random posts on NASIOC by who the hell knows.

suspension info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920405

exhaust info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447182

engine management (EM) info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=795608
This. Drive the car how it is for awhile while you read up on everything you can do and gain valuable knowledge about your car. When you feel ready then start modding
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Old 03-07-2013, 07:27 AM   #9
Decipher
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Lake in the Hills, ILLnoise
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2011 WRX Hatch Limtd
Satin White Pearl

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ihaveagibsonsg View Post
I suggest not adding an access port or downpipe.

If you're in the same boat as most average people who didn't win the lottery or have rich daddy buy their car; spending 30k on a car is a serious chunk of change. I'm assuming you'd like that warranty which protects any issues of your recent 30k investment, to be intact.

Adding an access port or downpipe or both, is the fastest way to absolutely void that 5 year 60,000 cover your ass(CYA) warranty that was included with your new WRX on the most expensive parts of your vehicle(engine/transmission). The easiest way to protect that warranty is to add the SPT performance parts, or purchase parts that are easy to replace quickly AND without signs of being tampered with. I got about 600 miles on my WRB WRX hatch and the only mod I'm doing is an axle back because the SPT exhaust just doesn't deliver the note of the song I want my outback choir to sing from my Subaru. I can remove the axle back, spray paint a silver coating on the original bolts to show no signs of wear, and reinstall the stock muffler in less than half an hour.

Yeah, I got this figured out.
I love the scare tactics and misinformation.

Fact: Neither an accessport nor a downpipe will void your warranty. They can't legally void your warranty, but they CAN deny a claim. It doesn't mean that should, say, your AC compressor fail they won't fix it due to the presence of an accessport. Does it complicate potential warranty claims? Yes. Does it effectively kill your warranty? No.

You have to weigh out what matters most to you. Also consider how long you will keep your car. My intentions from day one were to keep the car long past the warranty period. Therefore, it was more important for me to run a safer map that lacked the known lean spots in the OEM map. The risk was worth the benefit. The power increase is a very nice bonus.

If you're looking for driver enjoyment, go with the suspension upgrades you mentioned and a short shifter, such as Kartboy. There's a lot of things you can do to make the car more enjoyable while still maintaining your warranty. Lastly, in the vast world of misinformation, a cat-back exhaust WILL NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY. PERIOD. Do some research. Different exhausts sound very different on hatch vs sedan. The Q300 adds notoriously drone in the hatch.
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Old 03-07-2013, 09:59 AM   #10
luan87us
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2013 Premium WRX 5dr
WRB

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I'd say OP should just stick to non-mechanical mods right now and go read the through the Unabomber's Manifesto, attend a few local meets, drive and get familiar with the car.

Congrats on the car. You'll love it. For the "rumble sound" I suggest the SPT Exhaust if you can get it for around $900 or less. I have it on my 13 WRX Hatch and I love it. I don't really hear any drone from it, quiet when idle, and makes enough rumble to turn heads when you accelerate away.
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Old 03-07-2013, 02:14 PM   #11
Hivoltj
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Billings, MT
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2013 Impreza WRX
Plasma Blue Pearl

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Quote:
Originally Posted by luan87us View Post
I'd say OP should just stick to non-mechanical mods right now and go read the through the Unabomber's Manifesto, attend a few local meets, drive and get familiar with the car.

Congrats on the car. You'll love it. For the "rumble sound" I suggest the SPT Exhaust if you can get it for around $900 or less. I have it on my 13 WRX Hatch and I love it. I don't really hear any drone from it, quiet when idle, and makes enough rumble to turn heads when you accelerate away.
+1, my car came new with the SPT exhaust and I f-in love it. Very nice tone while not too loud, and doesn't bug me on the highway.

I would not have paid the $1,000 plus they had on the window sticker for it though, that's insane for an axle-back!
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Old 03-07-2013, 02:28 PM   #12
rwfloberg
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Location: La Plata MD
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SWP

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahsey View Post
(I'm a girl with no experience in cars, bare with me.)
Any suggestions?


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Old 03-07-2013, 02:40 PM   #13
luan87us
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WRB

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hivoltj View Post
+1, my car came new with the SPT exhaust and I f-in love it. Very nice tone while not too loud, and doesn't bug me on the highway.

I would not have paid the $1,000 plus they had on the window sticker for it though, that's insane for an axle-back!
It's a Catback exhaust not axle-back. And yeah paying $1k+ for it is a rip off. I got it for $888 so I'm happy.
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Old 03-07-2013, 02:43 PM   #14
Heedlessone
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Call Turninconcepts and tell them what your goals are. They will help you.
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Old 03-07-2013, 02:46 PM   #15
greenplates
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WELCOME

and Congratulations on your new Subaru!


I am going to make 2 suggestions.

1) never ask for "advice" on what to get. People will rant to you about their dream cars and advise that you purchase brand new this, and upgrade that.

2) if you want a pretty cool car, you can find a "cat-back" exhaust AND suspension. will handle/look great and sound even better
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Old 03-07-2013, 06:31 PM   #16
metoto2sti
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2012 subaru Sti
Dark Gray Metallic

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Quote:
Originally Posted by greenplates View Post
WELCOME

and Congratulations on your new Subaru!


I am going to make 2 suggestions.

1) never ask for "advice" on what to get. People will rant to you about their dream cars and advise that you purchase brand new this, and upgrade that.

2) if you want a pretty cool car, you can find a "cat-back" exhaust AND suspension. will handle/look great and sound even better
1+++++
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Old 03-07-2013, 07:14 PM   #17
jhmr
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Member#: 313217
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2013 STi Sedan Stg 1
Plasma Blue Pearl

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Someone do the link to the Unabomber's Manifesto.
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Old 03-07-2013, 07:19 PM   #18
nhmtns
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Vehicle:
'19 Ascent

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahsey View Post
bare with me
Quote:
Originally Posted by rwfloberg View Post
I would have posted this , but that's just me.
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Old 03-07-2013, 11:19 PM   #19
Slurpyy08wrx
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Lol I'm stage 2+intake, and EWG protuned with almost 10k miles already.

Get a cat back and accessport drive that way for awhile till you want MOAR powa! Get a downpipe and protune.
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Old 03-08-2013, 12:26 AM   #20
MtnXfreeride
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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Location: Maine
Vehicle:
2019 WRX Limited
Crystal White Pearl

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#1 Cobb Accessport - for engine safety and performance/tuning with next mods.
#2 Torqued Performance Maps for the Accessport
#3 Cobb SF intake (with box if you live in a hot or really wet climate)
#4 Nameless performance Axleback - for the boxer rumble
#5 Kartboy or Cobb Short Throw shifter WITH bushings
#6 Stereo - Headunit is crap - stock speakers are fine - add a sub.
#7 LED footwell lighting / LED interior lighting (wicked cheap mod)
#8 Rally Armor Mud flaps
#9 Swaybars with endlinks
#10 Hella Supertones
#11 JPM coachworks shifter/ebrake/armrest leathers.

Only thing there likely to ever cause Subaru warranty problems that would actually be costly is the intake/access-port - both of which I can uninstall in 15 minutes before taking it in for service. This is basically what I have done or almost have done to mine but in a different order - this is how I plan to keep it until the warranty is up.. then Ill go stage 2. Its quite a lot of customization for the money and well balanced IMO covering the weaknesses of the car inside and out.
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