New to both Subaru and MN. Have a 2012 WRX, living in South Minneapolis. Looking forward to participating in the forum and attending some meets and auto-x events. Eventually I'd like to start modding, so it'd be good to get some ideas and see what other people have done to their 2010-12's. Also trying to post a pic, but the only one I have online is from my box account, and it won't embed, hopefully this link will work: https://www.box.net/shared/3sn5madgmquu0b0f9vyy
Welcome to the site. There are a few very nice 2012's on here. Some are crazy fast (xluben) some are getting there (subies finest) and some are still close to stock. They should all be able to shed some light on things that you might want to look at doing.
thanks for the welcomes. the car is fast enough for me right now, especially on the highway, eventually when the warranty's out i'd like to start adding some parts and a tune, but honestly don't see myself going beyond stage 2+. what i'd like to address in the mean time would be some sort of a more agressive suspension. would want to see a drop, since i plan on staying with 17s for reduced weight, but would also like to have the car feel a little more flat on turns. This is a DD and a random auto-x here and there so i guess i could use some better pads before i started that. also, could anyone suggest a good shop somewhere around south minneapolis? for anything from an oil change to getting pads/suspension work for reasonable prices. I bought my own oil and went to a local firestone place and had them do the labor (they quoted me 18.99$ originally and somehow came out to be 29$ in the end), so i'd like to find someone a little better and less gaugy. or if someone's got a garage and would like to help me, i got pizza and beer $$
http://mnsubaru.com/directory/ I'm also a huge fan of http://firstgeargarage.com. There are a few members that can be very generous with their garages and time too, just have to ask.
Welcome. if you need any tips on modding let me know. I have 2011 sedan too and have been through a few parts myself. Exhaust is a good start and then stage 1.
see, and this might be shunned upon, but i'm actually considering keeping the stock exhaust and just getting a downpipe + intake + tune. i love the look of the stock exhaust and the stock growl. as i said, this is a dd, so i wouldn't want an agressively loud exhaust. i've been reading around, and saw a post on cobb that their stage 2 would work well with just a DP and a stock exhaust system + an intake. how much is gains is stage 1 on a stock '11/12? i really don't want to drop 600$ on the carport for smaller gains. rather add that $ to my suspension setup and eventually look for mor hp.
you're not going to drop $600 on a stage 1 flash, it makes your car drive like it's suppose to from factory tune and possible gain? i'm not sure? my car felt more torquer? but being said it's just probably me.
I agree. I think I got tune before exhaust too. Stage 1 at 500 miles on the odometer. However, I like my rumbles to be loud.
Welcome to the forum! For you i would strongly recommend that you save the $600 that you would spend on an accessport and have Nuke or Ronnie@RS Motors tune your car. It's cheaper than the AP and you wouldn't really need the AP unless you wanted it to monitor what your car is doing. A simple stage 1 flash will wake the car up and you could do it now as the warranty won't really be affected by it. They usually don't know that you have tampered with the ECU/car unless you have it slammed with a big exhaust and BOV on it. You'll be suprised by the stage 1 flash as it will more than likely increase the power slightly AND improve your gas mileage. It is completely fine to run the stock exhaust with just a downpipe! It won't be as nice as opening the whole exhaust system up so it can breathe better, but it will flow better than the stock DP will. There are also alot of aftermarket 2.5" and 3" exhaust systems that really aren't that loud unless you're under full throttle. The Invidia Q300, Maddad Whisper, and SPT to name a few. Skip the intake altogether tho as it's really not going to do anything for you or the power of your car and is really just going to dig into your suspension setup fundage. There are a ton of suspension setups! Being that it's more dd and less auto-x'er, look into a good set of struts and springs. You should be able to obtain a good strut/spring setup for around $800-$1000 if you buy new and possibly cheaper if you shop around and find some slightly used stuff. Buy used springs, but try to buy new struts as you don't really know what you're getting with used ones and plus you've already saved a ton by not buying the AP and CAI. Look into RCE blacks and/or yellows...i've heard alot of good things about the RCE blacks. I'm currently running a set of 4 way adjustable AGX struts and am really happy with the feel of them, and i paid less than $500 for the set brand new. So, $5-700 for the struts, and $2-300 for springs and you're pretty much set!
There are some stock looking aftermarket exhaust systems out there. I have the Invidia Q300 and it looks stock and accents the subie rumble nicely without being too loud. Whatever you decide to do I'm sure you will enjoy the car. Welcome to the site and enjoy your stay!
Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. I'll have to look into the stage 1 flash from nuke. My concern is that in 2002 I had an Audi a4 and the stage 1 flash fro APR would literally make the turbo glow red after some spirited driving and you had to leave your car running before a shutdown for a cool down sometimes. That's too much pain in the ass for me now. I guess I could talk to nuke folks about all the pros and cons. Also, something I'm noticing recently -and I hope it's due to the ****ty MN winter gas because I don't recall this happening when I was out east, at around 4k rpm either in 2nd or 3rd gear at full acceleration there's about a second lag or drop off in power that happens, it's like there is a loss of boost or something, then it keeps going again. You guys notice this? As I said, I don't recall this happening back home east but then again the car was being broken in and I really didn't take it above 4k rpm that often. I really hope it's due to the ****ty winter gas and 91 octane, since BP is the only place I can find 93 octane and even then it's pretty random.
The Germans don't know sh*t about turbo's. You won't have that problem with your car as the turbo is cooled.
This it the truth! I have to agree with what people have said. Josh makes a good point. Go stage 1, save your money for a TBE setup. I would even recommend that you go with the same brand for the best fitment. If and when i upgrade from my TurboXS to STP CBE setup I am going Invidia Q300 TBE. BroCo and everyone else who's exhaust I have heard with that setup sounds great. I am personally not a fan of SPT products, mine came with the car. In the 08 and 09 exhaust systems they have had tons of issues with bad welds. When my car is on the lift it is easy to see the quality difference between my SPT and TurboXS parts. Mine is still holding up, but I wouldn't be unhappy with an upgrade. Talk to NF Performance about your plans. I am sure they can help you figure out the right direction to go.
