First test drive. Feeling disappointed.

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by imprezive

That was my understanding. I'm optimistic that this will satisfy me....but you're right. It may just make me crave more power.

We have good 93 octane around here. I don't really want to mess with E85.



Since reliability is something you've obviously considered, curious why you lean more towards TC vs SC? Of all the FI kits, I was most interested in the Jackson SC. Figured I could even get a larger pulley to reduce the boost for longevity's sake.

The 10k "wish list" looks something like:

OF Header
Invida over, mid, Q300
Takeda intake
Custom 93 octane tune
18x8 wheels w/ Michelin SuperSports
JDM under-aero
RCE Yellows with Bilstein B6s

Personally I have a SC and it’s a blast. I went full blown NA spending way too much money and was never satisfied so went SC mostly because I didn’t want to get rid of my ace header. I did drop 1.2sec off 0-60 and 1.7sec off 1/4mile with my NA build. Adding the SC dropped another 1.2sec 0-60 and 1.5sec 1/4th. Traction is now a big issue can’t launch at all anymore. Although I think 40-100 or 60-120 are better comparisons since traction is less of an issue and those are way faster now.

But the less boost you can run to make the most power will generally be more reliable. As well as the price is about 700$-1K$ cheaper. SC has parasitic loss so you need to stress the engine more to make the same power as a turbo essentially. It’s basically the equivalent of one making 240whp/280crank and the other making 240whp/300crank bcs you need that 20hp to spin the blower. 7psi turbo on 93 should be about 240whp, less of a low end torque hit compared to a sc which is when your at a high risk of bending a rod. So for price/hp and reliability i feel like its better. But it does have “less fun” driving characteristics vs a SC and they do run a lot hotter. And you do have boost surge but on a small turbo risk is small. JRSC is probably cheaper if you plan on tracking the car bcs of heat management. Less of an issue for DD.

[imprezive]

Originally Posted by ermax

E85 in itself helps a ton with the dip. You say you don’t want to mess with it. Why not? If your availability is bad I get it. If you have good availability then all you need to do is flash a canned E85 tune and call it a day. A Tactrix cable to do the flash is only 170. If you have to switch between E85 and 93 due to bad availability then you will want a flex kit or just not run it at all. I’m lucky because one of the major gas stations in my city is putting E85 in all there locations and has already added E to all the locations I go to.

I was also let down by power delivery on this car but the seating position, steering feel, gear box, handling, RWD and LSD more than made up for the power band. E85 is all I’ve done to mine and its basically solved my power band disappointment. The more I drive my car the more in love I am.

Edit: I see you are in FL. Where in FL?

I live in New Smyrna Beach, but drive all over FL for work. I just find 93 more consistently across FL and I'm not crazy about the reduced MPG with E85. If I was racing down canyons everyday that would be one thing, but if I'm driving 100 miles south down I95, I'd like to still get 30MPG.

[imprezive]

Originally Posted by radroach

@imprezive Try the car with a stiffened transmission mount, whiteline insert (positive shift kit) or get the STi transmission mount. It will help deliver more of that "punch" you're looking for, as well as make the car more zippy and responsive in higher gears. Especially that on/off feel, you'll be able to roll out on power better. A highlight of the platform is engine responsiveness, but the stock OEM mount is squishy and the stock tires are limited. Upgrade these and wring 3rd gear up and down some mountain roads / twisties and it might change your mind on how the base platform delivers.

Though being aware Florida riders have more flat roads and are probably after that power to push for highway cruising, that makes sense. Turbo and supercharger kits seem to sell well down there.

That's a good idea that I hadn't thought about in that way. I changed out virtually every rubber mount in my 2.5RS and it did make everything feel more responsive/immediate/peppy.

Yeah, on/off ramps are the only real curves we get around here.

[EAGLE5]

Go buy a Camaro or a Mustang.

[Mr_Eyo]

If you're not going to go FI, you can get the punchy feel with these mods for less than $10k:
Header
Tune
E85
lightweight forged 17" wheels
Aluminum or carbon drive shaft
Shorter final drive gear (4.88+)
Lightweight brakes (i.e. Wilwood forged narrow superlites)
Trunk junk delete
Lightweight exhaust

The car will feel a lot peppier, like 0-60 in a little in 5 sec.

[guybo]

I loved mine when I test drove it. All the mods I have done just made me love it more. Do not get this car, if you have to mod it to like it, you'll never like it at all.

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Mr_Eyo

If you're not going to go FI, you can get the punchy feel with these mods for less than $10k:

Header

Tune

E85

lightweight forged 17" wheels

Aluminum or carbon drive shaft

Shorter final drive gear (4.88+)

Lightweight brakes (i.e. Wilwood forged narrow superlites)

Trunk junk delete

Lightweight exhaust



The car will feel a lot peppier, like 0-60 in a little in 5 sec.

For all that money you'd be much better off getting a PD supercharger with a flex fuel tune.

[imprezive]

Originally Posted by guybo

I loved mine when I test drove it. All the mods I have done just made me love it more. Do not get this car, if you have to mod it to like it, you'll never like it at all.

I like it, but might need to modify it to LOVE it. I don't think that's necessarily a problem.

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

For all that money you'd be much better off getting a PD supercharger with a flex fuel tune.

Everyone has their own preferences. I like the idea that with NA mods you're potentially increasing your MPG. While I believe you can go FI reliably on this platform, your definitely introducing more variables.

Back to the original question...how much of a difference can you "feel" with a header/tune?

[Lantanafrs2]

You will definitely feel a difference. Correcting the torque curve is the most noticeable benefit.

[bfrank1972]

Just my personal experience- I originally bought mine as a low cost train commute car that looked nice and was fun to drive. Instead of a Corolla, I thought why not this. So my expectations were low, and honestly I liked it but didn't love it from a performance perspective. It took me several months to really "get it", then I started loving the car. The overall combined experience for me is far beyond the sum of the parts as they say, but sometimes it takes time to realize it, so test drives never really so the car justice.

After that, started modding here and there. Billet shift knob, camber bolts, lowering springs, mudfler change, wheels/tires. The latter made a big difference, and graduated to better mods like headers and RCE T2 coils. A quality header and quality covers transform the car. Still not fast in a straight line, but not slow - maybe on par with an E36 M3 or close (power delivery is different). Not a huge investment, and not hugely fast, but quick enough and really fun/rewarding to drive compared to many other cars. It's the little things that set this car apart, when considering short/monitored test drives and magazine numbers, those little things are often missed. Personally I've never thought the car is too slow unless I'm trying to boot it at 80+ mph (which is rare). Majority is backroads, and has more than enough power to have fun (and get me in big trouble).

I think if you want one, you have to take a leap of faith in some regards.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Mr_Eyo]

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

For all that money you'd be much better off getting a PD supercharger with a flex fuel tune.

I did both except my exhaust is fully stock.

[RToyo86]

A header/tune will clean up the powerband and even out the motor in the mid range.

It won't pull hard where the dip is, but it does even out the character of the motor as it pulls through 3-5k RPM.
In stock form I notice the dip most pulling out of a low speed corner in second gear, especially if you are going up a incline. Post tune gets rid of the hesitation and feels like a shove that gets progressively more powerful with RPM.

[SuperTom]

Havent seen it mentioned but gearing makes a huge difference in these cars. So I don't know if you test drove a new or used car. 17'+ have better gearing which makes a big difference. If you are going older used I would put gearing in your budget.


And yes catless headers and tune are a must.


I wouldn't expect much more gains with air intakes, catback exhausts ect.


Some funds put towards to weight reduction are good for all sportscar categories. Just removing the spare/tools and a lightweight battery up front are good inexpensive easy mods.

[imprezive]

Originally Posted by SuperTom

Havent seen it mentioned but gearing makes a huge difference in these cars. So I don't know if you test drove a new or used car. 17'+ have better gearing which makes a big difference. If you are going older used I would put gearing in your budget.

I drove a 19' but this is actually a concern of mine. While gearing feels great in lower gears, I do a lot of my driving at odd hours on low traffic highways, so I spend a lot of time on cruise control between 80-85mph. I'd prefer not to be sitting at 3800 RPM for an hour straight.