Stage 2 Finally

With things finally running straight and everything flowing again, I finally made the jump to Stage 2 with a Cobb AP V3, Invidia Catless J-Pipe, and Invidia N1 Single Exit Race Catback. It gave the car that sound and response that is always lacking when it comes to factory tune/setup. If I were to describe the sound, it starts off as a low rumble and gets nice and raspy at 3krpm+ due to the lack of resonator in the race version (street N1 is resonated). A bit obnoxious, especially for cold starts, but it's just about what I'm looking for with turbo spool satisfaction and BPV cycles being much more pronounced. IMO, I would like to have it much louder, but the occasional backfires I get when downshifting will suffice for now. Lots of companies have taken apart and examined the stock EL headers on the new FA20DITs, and they found that there isn't really much room for improvement as this header is worlds ahead of the stock EJ UEL header. My turbo system also doesn't utilize an up-pipe, as my turbo is low and front mounted, and thus doesn't have a pre-cat. As far as I'm concerned, the exhaust system is almost a complete straight-pipe with a single exit muffler. The header will be swapped out when/if the turbo gets swapped. So only time will tell what's in store for her.

I'm always tweaking the little things here and there so that's constantly changing. After a few weeks with the new exhaust, I actually ended up melting a bit of the black diffuser that is on the bottom of the bumper. I purchased 3 Kartboy extended exhaust hangers and dropped the catback about .75" lower to address that. My plan is to actually switch up the diffuser style in the near future, so I still have the stock hangers ready to go back on and raise the exhaust once the time comes. For anyone wondering, I am running the SubiSpeed F1 Brake Light in the lower JDM housing, but that's going to be up for sale pretty soon to allow for other plans. I also changed the oil, replacing the stock drain plug with a magnetic one from GReddy, and more viscous Rotella T6 5W-40 since it's a warm environment here year-round. I also replace the filter and crush washer with OEM parts only, but that's just me. IMO, there are a few parts on these cars that should only be replaced with OEM vice simpler aftermarket means. I follow certain procedures and part numbers religiously, so recommend picking up a copy of the FSM if you haven't already. Everything gets torqued down specifically.