Just bought a pearl white 2011 WRX hatchback about a month ago and am loving it, traded in my 2006 Civic SI and I couldn't be happier with the upgrade. Glad to find a healthy Subaru community close to home. I am going to try to make it so some upcoming meets and am looking forward to learning more about this beauty in the driveway...Nice to meet you all. Now what to do first, I mean it can't stay stock forever
Welcome! You are correct, it can't stay stock forever, and it shouldn't! Welcome to the addiction that is MNSubaru.com
A good jumping off point to answer your question is what do you want to do with your car. Common Answers: Daily Drive Road/Track AutoX RallyX Stage Rally Bro
I'll be sure to get some pics up later, I expect that for the most part this will be a daily driver but I would definately like to expand my horizons and look at getting into auto x and spending some time at the track in the distant future. As of now I bought the car with the SPT catback exhaust already on it which in my opinon sounds really nice, beyond that this thing is stock. I have been reading a lot about the cobb ap so I am immediatly wondering what the overall opinion on that is as from what I gather this car came with fairly conservative tune on it and that seems like a reasonable (also fairly conservative) first step. Every car I have owned up to this point has been lowered so I'm sure I won't stop with this one, the coilover vs springs&struts debate has been raging in my head for years, but I just didn't have good luck w/ adjustables and MN winters so I might go with springs this time around. Any thoughts on suspension is appreciated. I probably won't do much to the engine/tune until the factory warranty is up to be honest. Just enjoying the car at this point not planning on going crazy right off the bat. Looking forward to getting to know some of you and this will the most I ever write at one time. I promise.
If you are going to tune we have a great community here. There are some local tuners that have a great reputation, great customer service and great prices. If you would rather go to a shop there are a few options there as well, but your pocket book will be a bit lighter. I would personally save the money on the AccessPort and get a tune from our local community. It will fit your car better than an "off the shelf" tune that comes with the access port. A simple flash of your ECU is a great place to start. The map is safer for your engine than the OEM map and it will open up some of the monster that hides under your hood. No bolt on mods are required for this. If you really want to step into it then there are a few simple bolt on mods that can be added and tuned for. It is best to talk to your tuner about where you want to go with your car. My tuner - tuning group of choice - NF Performance. I fully understand wanting to stay in warranty. I said the same thing about my car... for about 12K. Lots of AutoX guys here to steer you in the right directions for AutoX stuff.
Perfect Thanks for that, I will check out NF for sure I am assuming that is maybe who you went to as well? I was actually trying find a tuning shop around here and wasn't having much luck and to be honest I feel better about a tune specific to my car than an OTS reflash . The car has about 19K on it, I didn't bother with the extended warranty because I knew I would void it long before the 78K mark. Gonna do my best to keep the engine stock until the 3osomethingK warranty is up but you're right I might not be able to wait. I'm sure I will go with a downpipe at some point hopefully I don't need to go full turboback and the catback SPT can handle what I throw at it but I will cross that bridge when I get to it I guess. I can't wait to unleash this thing.
Most popular shops for our community. NF Performance RS Motors MAP (Modern Automotive Performance) There are a few NF Project cars that have threads on this forum. They are a good read and should give you and idea of potential places your car could go. As for the SPT, there is nothing wrong with it. Xluben is a perfect example. He has a fully built 2011 WRX, it's a monster. He has run all types of exhust - Q300 (my personal favorite), SPT Quad Tip, Stock... and maybe one or two more. He is currently running a stock exhaust on an aftermarket downpipe. This has less flow than your SPT, and he is well over double your HP. Your exhaust is fine, it just comes down to what you feel is important.
