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stock to stage 2! Opinions needed


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So I was plotting and planning for stage 3. But I wasnt expecting the car I got yesterday to be THAT fast. Which makes me believe all I really need is stage 2. What are most of your impressions from going from stock to stage 2? I think I will focus on suspension and braking first before I kill myself. I love this F'n car. Far exceeded my expectations. My only complaint are how shitty the braking is, how do they make a car that quick and nimble and give it such shitty braking. I hope its the pads. First mods, rotors, ceramic pads, ss brake lines and sway bars, and whatever random bushings I can change.

 

slotted, cross drilled , or cross drilled and slotted, which is ftw!

 

Are Ceramic pads any good?

 

Would a Stage 2 tune w/ uppipe, downpipe, cbe, cai, fmic and probably evo3 turbo give me 300+ hp/trq at wheels?

 

Would I have issues with afr being to lean with no upgraded fuel injectors and pump?

 

Anyone have similar setup?

 

Another satisfied subbie owner!:lol:

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Brakes are a weak spot on these cars, mostly due to mushiness. Take a look here for possible improvement options:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/sti-master-brake-cylinder-swap-qs-132077.html

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/grimmspeed-master-brake-cylinder-brace-review-164130.html

 

You'll get 300+ wtq at stage 2, but not 300hp. Stock turbo dies after around 260 whp. With that said, seems like you just need a stage 2. That can be had for UP, DP, top mount and a tune.

 

Cheers and welcome.

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You should talk with Mike at AZPinstalls.com they are close to you and can take care of your needs. You can tell him I sent you.

 

Don't go with cross drilled rotors, you only need slotted for the street. Go with something like Hawk HPS pads.

 

Stage 2 is fine for what your looking for. IMO stage 3 is more for the serious, not a DD car.

 

These cars come with a pretty good cai.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Just adding sway bars to the stock suspension is amazing. PM m sprank for a deal (I got Whiteline 22mm adjustable front, 20mm adjustable rear and Kartboy endlinks).

 

Stage 2 is fast. 260 is a "small number" but these things will seriously move with AWD and an awesome torque curve.

 

I'd go top mount, stock turbo, CNT catted downpipe, uppipe, stock intake, and your choice of tuning system (open source or Cobb AP with an e-tune).

 

Extra goodies that aren't major power boosters on stock turbo, but cool: cat back exhaust and intake.

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Really? top mount over front? See I'm saying this now, but I get bored quickly :lol:

 

There is so much heat under hood. I dont like it, felt the ic in front would be much better for everything and it looks cooler :cool:

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You will get used to the power and will want more. The first time I test drove the car with

muffler delete and a SPT intake, I was surprised at the speed. I have since upped to Stage

II with the stock airbox and already starting to feel slow. Slowly collecting parts for Stage

III.

 

A lot of people usually skip the brakes stage when upping power. Don't skip this step.

Work on the suspension and brakes first.

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Im not sure where to start with suspension... struts and springs are good.

sway bars and endlinks? Anything else? I feel some body roll when I'm darting around, I think the sway bars will fix that. Damn I love speed but power you cant control is useless and dangerous.... :mad: I wanna go fast. God damn safety first nonsense :lol:

 

Just adding sway bars to the stock suspension is amazing. PM m sprank for a deal (I got Whiteline 22mm adjustable front, 20mm adjustable rear and Kartboy endlinks).

 

Stage 2 is fast. 260 is a "small number" but these things will seriously move with AWD and an awesome torque curve.

 

I'd go top mount, stock turbo, CNT catted downpipe, uppipe, stock intake, and your choice of tuning system (open source or Cobb AP with an e-tune).

 

Extra goodies that aren't major power boosters on stock turbo, but cool: cat back exhaust and intake.

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Sway bars and end links for the body roll.

 

I have SS brake lines and whatever pads the PO has on it. I hear good things about Hawk HPS

 

You can check your lower control arm bushings and inner control arm bushings as well.

 

What is your budget? Stuff adds up quickly.

 

Sway bars allow me to take a roundabout ~10mph faster with much less body roll sensation.

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Hmm the more I think about it. I'm already returning some parts!!! I think your right , up, down, and cbe and stage 2. I think the cat under car is shot, I hear things pinging around in exhaust, and has some rust on pipes. How many Cats are there??? I think I'm counting 3 ???? REALLY!
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Budget is whatever its more a project than all at once! I have up, down and cbe already! I'm a big fan of bushings. Ive always went poly on my cars. But the more I do bushings, the more i hate them. Can these bushings be installed easy, or am i going to have to press them out? I'm saving like 300 a week until everything is done. So budget is nothing more than time.
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2 in downpipe, 1 in uppipe.

 

Bushings need to be pressed in from what I read. I don't know how hard it is. I'll be using a shop vise first, then moving to a shop press if that fails.

 

Also, group N mounts are great (just get L/R engine, and trans - don't worry about the crossmember bushings).

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Nope that's the resonator/muffler in CBE. I'd go catted, personally. No smell and the HP loss is so negligible. But if you already have a catless dp, just use the tune to cancel the codes and you won't get a CEL. If your state does OBD scans, no sniffer, and no visual, you'll be fine.
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I'm finally happy I have something to play with! Coming from american v8s, work space is sooo tight, bloody knuckles ftw.

 

another muffler, they all need to go. I have a catted.

 

Its strange serveral years back they used that thing they put on then end of exhaust , i guess sniffer. But I just brought my benz ml350 to get inspected and they just looked at it and plugged into obd.

 

so i'm not sure what they do in my state. Or is it determined by the shops?

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It goes by shop. Some are a little looser then others.

 

 

You can remove the intake silencer under the air filter box, then you'll hear the blow of valve.

 

I have removed the mufflers on my SpecB and took the muffler deletes from the wagon had then shorten and have them on the Spec now. It's oem DP, resonator and not mufflers. I think you'd like it. The wagon at stage 2 catless was to loud.

 

Just pull your mufflers and start the car, drive it, if you don't like it put them back on.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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