SPT cat back worth it?

[jagcars26]

Alot of this warranty crap depends on the dealership and your relationship with them.I've had heavily modded Subarus and never had any probs with warranty work at my dealership.

One of the good things about owning a Subaru is that they dont break that often and tend to run well fr many miles.

[gianspi]

I also have the SPT V2 catback and paid a little over $400 for it. The dealership was running a 20% discount on all parts and I used $500 in subaru bucks also. It looks awesome, sounds louder than I expected, especially with the Perrin catted downpipe I have.

 

Do you seriously consider ($400 cash + $500 subiebucks) = $400 exhaust?

[hutru01]

Alot of this warranty crap depends on the dealership and your relationship with them.I've had heavily modded Subarus and never had any probs with warranty work at my dealership.

One of the good things about owning a Subaru is that they dont break that often and tend to run well fr many miles.

 

Where is your dealership?

[kdmai]

Do you seriously consider ($400 cash + $500 subiebucks) = $400 exhaust?

 

No, I just said how much I personally paid for it. Which is pretty good for an catback that costs over 1k.

[Scooby2.5]

What size pipes are on the spt?

Also do they make wagon fitment for this?

[EidolonSix]

What size pipes are on the spt?

Also do they make wagon fitment for this?

 

 

No...this is the gentle reply I received from Subaru/SPT:

 

Thank you for visiting the Subaru Web site and for your message. Subaru of America does not offer the power pack performance parts for the 2007 Legacy 2.5GT Wagon. We have never installed these parts on a 2007 Legacy 2.5GT Wagon. As such, we would not recommend that a Subaru dealer install these components on a 2007 Legacy 2.5GT Wagon. However, we cannot prevent a dealer from installing these parts on your vehicle. That would be a decision for the dealer to make. Again though, we would not recommend that an owner or a Subaru dealer install these parts on a 2007 Legacy 2.5GT Wagon, as they were not designed nor tested on this vehicle.

I am sorry that I could not provide you with the response you were seeking.

Sincerely,

John J. Mergen

 

Jerks.

That being said...my understanding is that the SPT Cat-back fits the Legacy wagon fine....tips are just tucked under the bumper...but still look about stock length.

Subaru of America, Inc.

Customer/Dealer Services Department

-----------------------------------------------------------

YOUR ORIGINAL MAIL:

I have a 2007 Legacy GT wagon and would like to upgrade to the SPT powerpack including intake, heatshield and exhaust. Will my dealer be able to install these on the LGT wagon?

[godwhomismike]

thanks for the replies - but I don't want to get away from my original need for a relatively quiet exhaust. the money is not an issue - I would rather spend $1200 on an exhaust I can drive my kids around in without them wearing earplugs - than $400 on a scream machine. thanks

 

From what I have read from owners, the only time most people even hear the MR Exhaust is when a) they start their car or b) they are getting on their car and are above 3000rpms and heading towards redline. I have read that it is quiet when just putting around or cruising on the highway.

 

/

[godwhomismike]

read the magnuson-moss act. i'm sure it's stickied in the warranty forum.

 

unless your mods directly affect the part in question they cannot deny you warranty work on a part. in otherwords, if you have an exhaust and your windows aren't rolling down, they cannot deny warranty on the windows due to your a/m exhaust. if you have modified your car however, to a part that directly affects the part in question, you will be denied. it's not longer OEM or factory so therefore not a failure of the manufacturer.

 

clutches are normal wear and tear items. with your set up, if you're on a stock clutch, forget it. you need to upgrade it. stock clutch sucks.

 

As much as I always wished I had gotten an Exhaust on my car, I think I would've had a ballgame with Subaru and my dealership when I had all my engine issues recently. I don't think the magnuson-moss act would have done anything for me.

 

/

[AKLGT]

that is because your dealer sucked. most issues members have with warranty claims is due to the dealer being uneducated and (imo) ignorant when it comes to modified cars or modifications in general. they "assume" you are out racing around your car, doing burn outs and what not. some people just like having something different on their car or like the way something sounds. however, there are those whose fault it is and then try and hide their screw ups and blame the manufacturer. these are the people that make it difficult for those with legitimate claims and are not abusing their cars.

 

i have had many parts and issues taken care of by my dealer, even before my husband worked in the service department. We are very involved in our local NASIOC chapter (AKIC) where I am also a vendor. perhaps knowing the techs, service manager, and many of the employees helps, not to mention almost all modifications are done by an SOA trained employee. if something is wrong with the car or a part, it gets replaced. Hubby is anal about maintenance, so the car also gets oil changes with RP full synthetics every 3000 miles, tranny flush every 20K miles, etc. if/when my tranny goes out (and i fully expect that it will due to my driving style, drag racing, and autocrossing the car on a regular basis) I don't expect SOA to foot the bill. I will "man up" and pay for the damages caused by me. however, wheel bearings and hubs imo are faulty of the manufacturer, and seems to be known issues. people complain about the brakes and clutches, but mostly of them sucking, not going out prematurely. if that were the case, we'd hear a lot more about clutches going out, much like the fan relay issue that eventually became a recall.

 

of course, those are all just mho, so they carry not real weight with SOA.

 

*edit* going back to the OP, again, i love my SPT exhaust. however, i'd not pay $1000 for it. $400-$600 yes, but no more than that. also, i prefer quality over quantity, so imo, the SPT CBE is a QUALITY part and you do get what you pay for. i've purchased other "cheaper" brand parts and though they are decent, they are not superior. ok for daily driving and occasional spirited or autox events, but i would not recommend for heavy track use. if you want something nice that sounds great but not overly loud, the SPT does the trick.

[godwhomismike]

SOA asked me a few times if I had any mods on the vehicle or if I used a grade of gas under 91 octane at any time.

 

 

.

[AKLGT]

SOA asked me a few times if I had any mods on the vehicle or if I used a grade of gas under 91 octane at any time.

 

 

.

ya... see that's BS.

 

when they asked for pics for my rear bumper due to the paint bubbling up, they wanted pics of the entire car. the service manager told them no. there's not reason for the pic. they took pics of the rear bumper and the area that was bubbling. we had to wait til the SOA rep got into town. he went ahead and approved it, but not without checking the rest of the car. he did give me plenty of compliments on how nice the car looked and of course my usual subie garb (SWRT fleece rally jacket). most of the SOA reps i've met have been great to work with. he also didn't know why they wanted pics of the entire car when it was the bumper that needed to be replaced.

 

oh yes, he also complimented me on the SPT exhaust.

[CooCoo]

Is there a difference in performance with MR vs SPT? Is one better than the other?

[G.T.Subie]

ya... see that's BS.

 

when they asked for pics for my rear bumper due to the paint bubbling up, they wanted pics of the entire car. the service manager told them no. there's not reason for the pic. they took pics of the rear bumper and the area that was bubbling. we had to wait til the SOA rep got into town. he went ahead and approved it, but not without checking the rest of the car. he did give me plenty of compliments on how nice the car looked and of course my usual subie garb (SWRT fleece rally jacket). most of the SOA reps i've met have been great to work with. he also didn't know why they wanted pics of the entire car when it was the bumper that needed to be replaced.

 

oh yes, he also complimented me on the SPT exhaust.

I agree about the reps usually helping out.

 

I had both front and rear bumpers repainted for paint cracking/peeling. Once the Rep showed up he immediately said get a quote on the repaint.

 

Then last December I had some Trans failure that was fixed under warranty with Stg 2 hardware.( Up/dp) This was after the dealer said it wouldn't be covered.

 

I would save some $$ and get the same quality for less.

 

Warranty is no issue with CBE IMO.

[godwhomismike]

Is there a difference in performance with MR vs SPT? Is one better than the other?

 

The MR is cheaper and seems to have a very large following due to good sound and performance. The SPT, while a good unit - retails for almost twice the cost of the MR Exhaust.

[AKLGT]

Is there a difference in performance with MR vs SPT? Is one better than the other?

i don't really know. i can just tell you the quality is quite apparent when compared side by side. that is all. just spent $200 on an MR dp that will be going in the trash later this week and replaced with a custom set up. let's just say my techs were displeased with it even though it provided the function necessary, it wasn't meeting his standards of what long term beatings it will most likely go through. i think the MR products are fine, however they do lack the quality. if you just want some performance at a good price, it will get you there. i am in need of a little more robust units and set up than just the average spirited daily drive, thus the need to swap out. had we not put a 2" dent into the side of the DP, i'd have a practically new MR DP for sale. LOL. oh well...

[Boostjunkie]

In all fairness AKLGT, you did buy a DP intended for a 5MT, and knew so going in. Obviously it wasn't going to fit your 5EAT car without at least some modifications. I have not had any problems with my MR DP on my car that was making over 400whp. The quality is there. I'm pretty sure if you had the upcoming 5EAT DP you would not have had any issues with it. Also, if you have seen the MR CBE in person and compared it side to side with the SPT exhaust you would not find any substantive build quality differences.

[AKLGT]

no, i'm not saying that because we had to modify the DP it is somehow lacked quality. on the contrary, i found the MR DP to be fine. it is my tech that is frowning at the bellmouth and the flanges (again, i thought it was fine). in side by side comparison to the Cobb and Invidia DP's the thickness of the metal used is very apparent as well as the way the bellmouth is built.

 

like i said, i'm not knocking your products. I feel they have their purpose, however my tech builds 8 and 9 sec cars (non suby) and when he says it's got to go and he's building me a custom DP, then i go with what he says. he's gotten me thus far, hit my overall goal to 12s in a 5EAT WITH YOUR MODIFIED MR DP. that was the ONLY difference between the last 2 sets of runs. to me, that says the quality and performance is there. however, to him, he wants thicker metal, wider bellmouth, and different flanges (not sure how the flanges really make a difference). i'm not disputing the fitment issues i ran into because i knew that when i bought the DP from you. he just wants something different and prefers to make a custom SS 3" pipe. hell, he took the SPT CBE apart and welded that to make it fit perfectly on the car. it sits perfectly compared to the other 2 LGT's with the SPT exhaust... one side sits a little lower than the other (no modifications made). that's just the way he is and why he is also port matching everything in the car. he wants 12.7-12.8's as the temps get cooler. so do i.

[Boostjunkie]

No worries Hope. I'm just about as anal as your tech is and I'm very serious about my cars as well. If he wants to take your car in a different direction that is all good with me. I just wanted to clarify the whole "quality" issue. Obviously when you pay double for a competing product I would certainly hope that you get something for your money. I happen to like Cobb and Invidia products a lot as well. Heck, I bought an WRX Invidia DP for my car before there were any LGT specific DP's available with the intent for modifying it to fit my car. I was very impressed by its cosmetics. Functionally, though I would honestly contend that that no one will get any additional performance out of the higher priced products on the market.

[AKLGT]

i think the MR products are good. and for the price, imo, you just can't beat them! i'm fortunate enough that some great (overpriced imo) items get plopped into my lap and i take advantage of it. if not for the SPT exhaust being on of those items, no way i'd have paid that much money! hell, i'd not have paid $600 for ANY exhaust! but then again.... i wanted my 12s bad, so i probably would have bit the bullet anyhow.

[squishyface]

I installed the SPT V2 on my wagon, and I am very pleased. Install was easy, everything lined up just right. The tips are nice and tucked little more than stock. Sound is aggressive and performance is fantastic. However I do have a bit of a drone in the wagon. I got mine 6K miles used for a fantastic deal. Good luck.

[mark greenstein]

Newbit question here... Do you actually get any performance improvement with the CBE? Would I notice anything in terms of power?

[Boostjunkie]

Newbit question here... Do you actually get any performance improvement with the CBE? Would I notice anything in terms of power?

 

Here is a dyno graph of the gains from the Megan Racing CBE. No changes made to the car between runs other than the CBE.

 

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y207/Pisadong/boostjunkie1.jpg

[CooCoo]

Thanks for the info here. Very helpful and appreciated. Do you have a dyno performance chart for a SPT? I have an 06 LGT 5EAT with SPT intake. I don't mind spending the money for the SPT, but I don't want to if I can get the same from a CBE thats hundreds cheaper.

[qikslvr]

A CBE is a CBE and if price is a selling point for you; you may as well go with a lower priced one and spend the rest of the $400+ cash saved on other parts.

I personally like the size, look and fit of the SPT over all the others that I have seen and price wasn't even a factor in the decision making process so...

[AKLGT]

Thanks for the info here. Very helpful and appreciated. Do you have a dyno performance chart for a SPT? I have an 06 LGT 5EAT with SPT intake. I don't mind spending the money for the SPT, but I don't want to if I can get the same from a CBE thats hundreds cheaper.

well, in order to get a true and accurate idea of performance gains from just the cbe, you'd need to do a dyno pull on a stock LGT. that obviously was not stock. a CBE by itself isn't going to net you 20 whp. in addition to other mods and tune, then yes, but just bolt on and go, no way.

 

i would venture a guess that the SPT intake/exhaust set up will get you a good 20 whp if tuned for it. otherwise, not that much noticeable if you're simply bolting on parts. that's just me. i've test driven an 07 spec B with the SPT power pack vs a stock 07 LGT. just a slight gain and a nice sound is all. without ECM, it's not too impressive (and that goes for any bolt on CBE or part).