Help me spend my tax return
 

I am planning on using a good portion of my return to finally put some mods on my car. I want to do full exhaust including headers. Basing off of last year I hunk I can budget $1,500. I am pretty sure I want a UEL header, and I don't mind cat less so long as I don't get a CEL. I also don't want to burn out a catted header after a few years...rom what I understand there isnot a big difference in UEL vs EL for power.

I want reasonably loud with no drone. I am a salesman and take calls through the Bluetooth system and would still like to be able to use it.

I would love your suggestions.

Loud with no drone on a 4 cylinder is pretty hard to find. And you're definitely going to get drone if you go UEL and cat less. Your desired setup is pretty much impossible to get something that isn't going to drone AND be loud. I'd go with a Q300 because if you throw on a header and a front pipe, that'll make any exhaust much louder. The Q300 has no drone, so it might still be ok.

I just put on a Q300 with Invidia catted front pipe along with my catless JDL UEL and it is ultra quiet inside the car. All of the noise is outside and behind. Perfect system to let you do phone calls and hear your music while still sounding amazing. 0 drone, looks fantastic, and fitment is perfect.

^ not really.. depends on your catback too

Get some JDL UEL headers and an OFT tune. You shall be pleased.

Is there a big difference in the jdl header vs borla or anything else? I don't mind spending more, buti have heard that there is a really long wait time. I figured I would keep at least 1 cat and a resonated system.

Borla is definitely lower quality and JDLs is definitely higher but each side has their pros and cons.

For JDL their products do take some time to make but you definitely get the best performance gain for UEL headers, they are better than some EL offerings as well. Their quality is top notch though, although you may run into some fitment issues. Only a few people did but it is still something to concider.

Borla is lower quality but cheaper as well. There have been a few issue with these as well. Like the flex joints rattling or leaks and the flanges not being perfect. You will still get gains from these as well.

Both come with lifetime warranties and if anything does happen with JDL you can hit them up and ask for a new one. That is what I did when I noticed the headers touch the oil pan and they are willing to replace them.

Would EL make more power?

This is what I figured. This seems to be one of the best exhausts to put on stuff that would otherwise make other exhausts horrible. Seems to be a great buy.

Uel: open flash header or jdl
El: nameless
Get the 2.5 nameless front/overpipe combo with highflow cat.

When you have those get a tune then decide if you need/want an axleback or just tips or neither. You'll be out of tax return by or before this point.

I'm 99% sure the nameless el will produce the most power of any available header, but we won't know for sure till the end of the week when they publish Dyno figures.

It would but if you are staying NA it shouldn't be that much a difference. Find which you think sounds better and go and buy that exhaust. I personally enjoy the UEL sound. The rest is up to you.

[ame]http://youtu.be/phf07oHkiZs[/ame]

Help me spend my tax return

A legendary night out?

Other than that - cat back, header, tune, etc

Haha, that is always an option...

I've spent about as much on my car as you are looking to spend with your tax refund.

I'm about $1000 into both the Open Flash Tune and their UEL Header...
I'm about $400 into a muffler shop built resonated cat-back ...
I'm about $60 into a drop-in filter and stock intake mod...

I'm currently running the OFT Stage1 tune from Vishnu... will move to the stage2 once the UEL header is installed. Based on my calculations and reviews of similarly modded cars I expect to be around 185whp on 93oct and 200ish on E85.

Once the header is installed and my money is right again - planning on new wheels and tires... and then coil-over & brake upgrades.

I am very happy for the gains thus far and will upgrade to a supercharged solution when I've paid the car off... only 31 more payments! :D

i was planning on spending alot of my tax money on alot of upgrades, but ive decided to go the OFH+OFT route, and spend the rest on a license to run Fuji Speedway. i dont know if your into tracks, but thats another thing to think about. and krulux, im glad to know im not the only idiot spending money on mods that should be going towards paying the car off faster, lol!

You can always save for FI

I DD my car and need it to last. I have put about 14,xxx miles on my car since may...I intend to go FI eventually, but not without a built short block. I have heard that the tranny right not last forever with boost as well...

Dunno where yav heard this from but ok!
Good luck on your build.

Borla UEL header , Greddy intake , Perrin Crank Pulley . I think its a winner Combo . Its around 1k. :thumbsup:

IDK, i was reading around while searching and I had seen that in multiple threads in various places. So long as that is not true, i might consider a supercharger sooner.

Just gonna be mean and say this is terrible advice. It's a public service I'm providing you.

lol, not so good?

No aftermarket intake at this point has significantly surpassed the performance of a drop in air filter. The Borla header is known to be an ill fitting piece of garbage. A pully is going to be very insignificant compared to a quality header or a tune. If you want to stay under $1100 your best purchases are the oft, ofh, and an air filter. Shiv just published Dyno figures and the combo made 190hp 150lbft on 91 octane. That, my friend, is winning, and unless the nameless header (costs more than ofh + oft combined) blows it away I may well go this route as well. I don't think any other $1100 combo comes close.

I already preordered the nameless header. It's going to retail for $1200. It's available now for 1100. I already own the oft. If I don't get 200 I will wish I had gone ofh.

I agree with yo on the intake and the pulley aspect. I just wanted to hear your reasoning. I have heard that the first couple of runs of the borla UEL were not so good but that they have gotten better. i may look at the open flash header since it is not that much more.

It is a LOT more header for only a little more money. It is the best value of any header available so far. Not the top performer but it's as close as to make no difference. Has the second best torque valley recovery I've seen ever and the best in a released product. Not to mention that it's made by the guys releasing the off the shelf tunes so you bet it'll be well optimized without the added expense of dyno time. You also get a package discount if you get oft and ofh together. It really is amazing for the price. I may get 5-15 more hp down the road, but I will be paying a premium for it, and I may not even get those gains I'm counting on.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=273

Hard to deny the value there.

Oh my god. I forgot about spending tax return money on my car. Must resist...

I have resisted this long, saved money, paid all my bills, and taken care of my fiancé. I am justifying it to myself that I deserve ome thing for myself, lol.

Thanks for posting that.m I have seen so many charts lately, and the majority are e85 which in my opinion is bullshit...who is actually going to run e85 on a daily basis...

If your planning on boost long term id just save it, full blowns built bottom end is 3k and with 1500 your halfway.

I will not be adding FI until this car does not become my main DD or I have a backup. I am a sales rep, and I drive my car EVERYDAY not just to and from an office, but to and from multiple offices. I have put almost 14,500 since I bought the car in may...So, I can't really tear it apart now, that would be a long term thing.

I plan on keeping this car for 10+ years. That seems like a lot for some people, but to me to get the return on my "investment" that how long oi figure I need to have it.

I am in a similar predicament, I just got a $400 rebate check for a printer I bought about 6 months ago. I wouldn't mind spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 on something.

I am eyeballing some ST coilovers, but I can't decide if I want to save up for something better.

Some lightweight wheels like RPF1 or Ultraleggeras would be nice as well.

Lightweight flywheel? Catback exhaust? Headers? All idea's floating around in my head right now.

A big possibility for me is a laser interceptor to go along with the v1 i just got. :D

Just get a nice catback, something like M7 :D

I could not spend that much when I can weld up a muffler myself...

Dont spend it, and invest in LNG.

They have an open license to export to non free trade countries and are in the process of finishing a pipeline delivering billions of gallons of Liquid natural gas to the gulf coast for shipping per year.

I suspect them to become a 100$ stock before years end =D...unless someone bombs the pipeline. Investing is exciting because you start paying closer attention to the world. You read news and begin to ask yourself "how will this affect the business of the companies I am invested in"

I am sad I pulled out of Tesla, I bought 2k in shares at 91$ during a small down trend from 110$ when I read about new advances in lithium ion tech. and the volatility and uncertainty of the trend made me decide to break even. Id have around 3800$ now since its now at over 150$ a share.

If you do not have an emergency fund already, save it. Having about 3-6 months worth of bills at least in your savings account will make you feel even better about spending money because you will always have that cushion behind you. Get in the habit of paying yourself back, use your savings account like your OWN credit line. Take only what you will pay back, except you dont pay interest to anyone except yourself ;) why loose money.

Just my 2cents.

looks like I made too much last year. Turbo tax says i am only going to get $371 back...oh well...

I've got a header if ya need.

what kind?

Save up for an oft is my advice. You're like 3/4 there from your return :)

Yeah, I might just keep saving and get the oft+ofh in a few months. I forgot this year I won't qualify for the earned income tax credit and therefore a much smaller return.

Or you could invest in LNG, wait a year and then purchase an OFT+OFH and OFSC with all your profits :)

heheh... feel free to email sales@vishnutuning.com if you have any questions about any of our products. Good luck!

Shiv