$2,000-$2,500 Modification Budget
 

Below is an upgrade list to get some added Wheel Horsepower to my FRS.

I would appreciate any suggestions.
If you think I should use another product, please let me know why and what adavantages there are while still maintaining my budget.

I am aware that the EcuTek's Stage 1 tune will get me at least +10whp if I leave everything stock, while EcuTek's Stage 2 tune will give me at least +20whp with the appropriate mods (exhaust + cai). Is Unichip's tune just as good as EcuTek's in the gains department? I would like to hear some community feedback on that one since pricing is very different.

All in all, will I be able to get another +20whp with the upgrades listed below? Of course, I want this upgrade to be worth it, even though my budget is arguably low...

Tune
Unichip - $445

Exhaust
Borla Stainless Steel Cat-Back - $830
or
T1R 70R Catback Exhaust - $995
or
T1R Sparrow Exhaust System - $1,100

Cold Air Intake
Perrin CAI - $280

Thank you. <3

Your drop-in + silicone inlet tube is already giving you comparable power gains to the cold air intake. I wouldn't bother with that at this point.

The tune should meet similar results to the ECUTek.

Header/Overpipe/Frontpipe will give you more gains than the catback.

Headers have been key to a a lot of power in our cars

It will also add noise and drone, which will get old quick if it's a DD.

Borla, Front pipe, and over pipe. Match it with a tune and you should see a significant gain.

Save yourself some money.

I have a protune BRZedit tune... LOVE IT. Also love my nameless exhaust. Getting my RevWorks header sometime next week. Id suggest RevWorks header (Even makes bomb power with no tune or full exhaust.... 15hp gains with stock exhaust and no tune) and Nameless downpipe for a couple reason: AMERICAN MADE, American steel, 302stainless, and awesome customer support.
Power priority for our cars.

#1 Header (kills torque dip) RevWorks $699

#2 Tune (12-20HP increase depending on mods) Depends where you live. BRZedit Protune is $600 here in Portland.

#3 Drop in filter (more top end) Almost every one is the same. I went with Perrin. $50

#4 overpipe downpipe (Brings more power out of header) $500
http://shop.namelessperformance.com/...aces-overpipe/

#5 catback (Brings more power out of header) Any cat back works. Ranges in price. Cheapest is Nameless axle back and makes the same power. $500
http://shop.namelessperformance.com/...eback-exhaust/

Also you can save some money with nameless and get the axelback + downpipe together. Give them a call for a better quote. $975
http://shop.namelessperformance.com/...es-overpipe-1/

Thats $2325 bucks. Enjoy your 25(+) HP

Since your local to the Bay Area, lets talk and i can help you achieve your goals.

We have exhaust, local dyno and tune

Headers UEL Borla off Jegs.com $588 shipped.
Over pipe
Front pipe
$600+

Catback $900+

Intake $300+

Tune $800+

As you can see, it adds up quick! (Not what I have or have paid but just generalizing)

Good luck on your car

AFE Intake Kit 285$ : http://www.advancespeedshop.com/take...b-p-18129.html
Borla UEL Header 600$
Greddy SP Elite Axleback 550$
FA20CLUB Stage 2 Ecutek Kit ( Cable + License + Tune ) 850$
Invidia or HKS resonated Front pipe ( 250$ to 310$ )
About +25WHP

Total : 2 550$ to 2 600$

When you are all set , you could always want to resell your ecutek cable for 200$ to bring down your modifications cost to 2350$ - 2400$.

OP didn't provide any parameters on noise, but I'm going to assume he actually wants some noise since he's considering a cold air intake and the catbacks he's listed aren't the quietest ones on the market either.

Jegs.com sells borla UEL @ $588 shipped. Cheaper than any other vendor I have seen.
My afe was $349, $380 shipped/taxes. No longer will I buy from third party lol.

Actually you brought up something I did not specify, you're right.

I would prefer to have more of a deep/low/throaty exhaust sound rather than a boisterous/obnoxious one that sounds like a lawn mower on crack.

Humm

Rofl yeah, just like that

I am having my headers shipped to works, should be in Wednesday. also going finish my exhaust and get me a tune!!!

I agree with most everyone, get a header first to get rid of the torque dip, that will really wake up your mid range power. Then work your way back the exhaust system with whatever exhaust parts are in your budget. I have a borla UEL header and I love the sound of it, but you will get more power up top out of long tube EL headers.

The stock air box is superb, I wouldn't change it out. You already have an aftermarket filter in, a good drop in filter is a fraction of the cost of a new air box. If i had to pick from the intakes though I think you got the right one, that perrin piece is a true cold air intake and replaces the snorkel.

I use Ecutek and I am unfamiliar with any other solution. It is good and gives you access to some of the best tuners out there, but pricey. Others have said that the Unichip is good and I have no reason to doubt it, so take your pick.

Good luck to you, let us know what you go with!

Good to know, thank you! I tried looking Works up and found a Works in Sonoma, CA 95476. Would that be it?

^What this guy said. Let us know!

Yup we are located inside the sonoma racetrack

PM me if you have any other questions

For starters, check out our exhaust system --> http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24472

save all that money, buy Vortech or Avo. HP/$ ratio is better this way. And you probably won't blow your motor with those 2 if installed correctly. Unless you are going N/A all the way.

I should follow my own advice too haha. Too late.

For 2.5k:

- Drop in filter ($100)
- Inlet tube ($50?)
- Frontpipe/overpipe (~$500)
- Header (~$700)
- Unichip/Brzedit (~$500)
- Lightweight pulley (~$150)
- Lightweight flywheel (~$300)

=============

$2300


Just my .02

EDIT: I'd highly recommend e85 if you can afford the minor inconvenience & costlier tuning (or wait until unichip gets it, if your patient). That's going to be my first mod :). Don't bother with catback IMO (for performance/dollar).

For $2500 you are better off saving up an extra $2k for the $4500 Vortec/tune package which is a great price.

$900 for an ECUtek tune required for about any real gains huge chunk of change and pushes you toward just going FI since the license/cable/tune is included in the price.

But for NA today:

Borla UEL Jegs $599
Berk Technology High Flow Cat Scion FR-S $220
Drop-in Filter $50
Tune - ECUTek $900

That's $1750, half of it going to the proprietary tune, anything else short of FI is not going to give noticeable power gains, spend the rest on tires.

Or wait for BRZedit to become popular.

I do believe that a catless header not only helps level out the torque but also should extend engine life, its the best NA mod going, a pity it requires a $900 tune. For NA might be smart to wait. In a year there may be quality long length EL headers and BRZedit tunes for a lot less money. I doubt quality FI options will be less expensive in a year.

What is this BRZedit you mention?

Also, why supercharger from Vortec over the AVO turbo? FI sounds nice but I want to make sure that my car's life will last a decently long life, which is why I was thinking that perhaps NA all the way. But if you can let me know something I don't that would be great

How would I decide between a supercharger or a turbo? I want my car to last me a while at least lol

If your looking at going forced induction and reliability I'd look at warranty and the companies track record in the past for reliability. Vortech products have a good reputation for reliability and ptuning I've also heard great things about from the tc communities. Avo also looks very stock like and professional.

Honestly without more in depth data with forced induction on this car its kind of a toss up. But from what we've seen so far these motors are proving to be pretty sturdy so far.

Just keep in mind 10k vs 250k miles is a huge difference and we just don't have enough data to know for sure at this stage. But so far these engines are taking 500 to 600 whp high boost without blowing up so that leads me to believe a moderate boosted setup should be fine on this engine.

Also something to keep in mind is only the Vortech kit is going for carb legality right now. So if you care about being legal that also might be something to consider ;-)

You make a strong point

My car's a DD, and I have all 3 and there's no drone, and not that much noise (sounds like a really quiet aftermarket exhaust).. as long as you get a cat on the header & a resonator on the front pipe. You'll still gain ~20 whp too if you get it tuned.

Good to hear! I'm looking at this combo eventually. What brand exhaust and header do you have?

Anyone?

I got all 3 from FA20club.. along with their CAI. Cat-back is still stock.

is there a specific catback you're looking at or waiting for? i was planning to go with the fa20club set up too. pretty much exactly what you've done. how much have you spent in total for everything?

I have a BRZedit tune.... It's basically like open source for our cars. @epifan makes it.... I love it. It's also like a cobb protune. No license require. No special cable required. You can try to find a local dealer..... PREracing in portland is where I go for my tunes. I paid $300 bucks for my tune when they have the intro 50% off going.... Now its $600. Basically they put the car on the dyno. Put a BRZedit map on the car. Then tweak it for the mods on the car on the dyno till everything looks good.

It is a great alternative, but right now there are very few local tuners who have it, but there are also very few local tuners willing to deal with Ecuteks cost so I think it will spread like wildfire.

Its much less expensive for both the tuner and the customer, hopefully eventually we will have the option to share opensource basemap tunes for things like headers/exhaust so our money goes to the skilled welders instead of european software developers.

The cost of the tune is holding back a lot of smaller innovative companies from entering the competetion.

I'm waiting out on all mods till all this is settled, these aren't Porche's and shouldn't require $900 worth of licensing, cables, for a basemap, just to bolt on a header, the market just won't bear it long term.

As far as reliability of turbo vs supercharger, the biggest issue folks are facing is heat. A FM intercooler and boost takes its toll on the stock cooling system. I think its too early to tell which is most reliable, a cenrifugial super charger takes more boost than a turbo for the same Hp, but of course a turbo can heat up the oil faster.

Even with this you'll need the tune. Plus it'll still be quiet with the vortech and stock exhaust. I'd go with the header, nameless over/front pipe and a proven exhaust.

Catback and intake won't do much at all for hp. I know as I'm at just about the same hp as stock vs with headerback and intake swap. Stick to headers and a tune and use leftover for overpipe and exhaust, then intake last if you have money left.

Is drone common on all headers? or just the UEL headers?

The headers will only amplify any existing problems within your current exhaust setup. If your exhaust is properly resonated then you will get no drone regardless of who's headers you put on.