[Gami004pilot]

Hi iwsti friends. I just thought of a cool topic that might interest those who are looking to upgrade their Subies but don't want to worry about ecu tuning once they purchase their new mod.

So for those of you who are super knowledgeable in this department please lets start making a list of the mods that don't need Ecu tuning. We know that Every mod pretty much can benefit with ECU tuning even staying at stock.

We know that Wheels and tires, brakes and suspension help to some extent but what are other mods that can improve the Subies horse power.

Here's mine.

FLUIDS:
Engine oil
Better quality radiator fluid.
Tranny & Diff fluids.

COOLING
Radiator shroud
Zerosports Intercooler splitter

[amg destroyer]

P&P IC and TB
Boost ref. IC spray
...those are all I can think of off the top of my head, if you really want to call them "power mods"

Also a CBE doesn't do much other than make noise.

[ytsohptwhere]

Light weight fly wheel?

[II-Savy]

Originally Posted by amg destroyer

Also a CBE doesn't do much other than make noise.

I kinda disagree here. after I added the 2nd cat delete pipe and a cat back, the difference was night and day right away. My pop and I went for a ride and he felt it also. Right away!

[KiTsuNe]

cf drive shaft
weight reduction in general (lighter wheels even)
JDM gears if you have an 04-06 (doesnt increase power but helps with top end)
Im not sure but i believe a TMIC can be done without ECU (you'll for sure get more like you said wit a tune)
Phenolic spacers
Turbo blanket wont effect power but it will make underhood temps better and your car will run better overall.

Coat your pipes

I'd have to say thats all i can think of.

[KiTsuNe]

Originally Posted by II-Savy

I kinda disagree here. after I added the 2nd cat delete pipe and a cat back, the difference was night and day right away. My pop and I went for a ride and he felt it also. Right away!

because butt dyno proves everything Im sure it does add a little, maybe 5hp?

[Gami004pilot]

Originally Posted by amg destroyer

P&P IC and TB
Boost ref. IC spray
...those are all I can think of off the top of my head, if you really want to call them "power mods"

Also a CBE doesn't do much other than make noise.

Whats a P&P IC and a TB Boost ref ?

[Gami004pilot]

Originally Posted by KiTsuNe

cf drive shaft
weight reduction in general (lighter wheels even)
JDM gears if you have an 04-06 (doesnt increase power but helps with top end)
Im not sure but i believe a TMIC can be done without ECU (you'll for sure get more like you said wit a tune)
Phenolic spacers
Turbo blanket wont effect power but it will make underhood temps better and your car will run better overall.

Coat your pipes

I'd have to say thats all i can think of.

I Wolud like to know if a larger intercooler would need ECU tuning.

What about a grounding kit and is there any benifit?

[amg destroyer]

Originally Posted by II-Savy

I kinda disagree here. after I added the 2nd cat delete pipe and a cat back, the difference was night and day right away. My pop and I went for a ride and he felt it also. Right away!

I only said the CBE (cat back exhaust), nothing about a cat delete... And butt dynos aren't always correct btw. Typically the louder the exhaust is, the faster it "feels."

Originally Posted by Gami004pilot

Whats a P&P IC and a TB Boost ref ?

Port and Polish the Intercooler y-pipe and throttle body (both can be found in the how to section catalog). And the boost referenced intercooler spray mod is basically your stock intercooler spray system, set to spray at a certain psi (can also be found in the how-to catalog).

[BillFromTR]

Originally Posted by Gami004pilot

Whats a P&P IC and a TB Boost ref ?

ported and polished intercooler and throttle body
And boost referrenced intercooler sprayer, (ie. dont hit the button, wire it to spray at preset boost levels.

AMG beat me too it.

[torquemada]

ghetto intake
replacement air filter (like K&N) and keep it clean
grounding kit
aerodynamic parts (smaller mirrors f.e., diy undertrays, rear diffusor)
weight loosing (remove spare tire f.e., lighter wheels)
don´t use air con or any other electric gremlins
keep the windows closed
defend heat soak (coating, wrapping exhaust manifold and downpipe, use turbo blanket and turbo bag)
gas with 94 octane
pully kit

and I´ve read that some people get cel´s by using lightweight flywheels

[srtFOURplay]

Originally Posted by torquemada

ghetto intake
replacement air filter (like K&N) and keep it clean
grounding kit
aerodynamic parts (smaller mirrors f.e., diy undertrays, rear diffusor)
weight loosing (remove spare tire f.e., lighter wheels)
don´t use air con or any other electric gremlins
keep the windows closed
defend heat soak (coating, wrapping exhaust manifold and downpipe, use turbo blanket and turbo bag)
gas with 94 octane
pully kit

and I´ve read that some people get cel´s by using lightweight flywheels

I had an exedy twin disk clutch with light weight flywheel on my Evo 8 and i got multiple cylinder miss fire codes very often even with a tune. its very annoying for daily driving especially on the highway, its great if ur really looking to race the car tho. thats just what i experienced with my evo.

as far as mods that don't affect the ecu i would have to say look to increase EFFICIENCY! with out affecting the factory design of the engine.
1.K&N drop in filters, i've found are a very efficient way to improve the air intake system. short ram intakes, or as i call them "custom Hot Air intakes" often cause air turbulence for the MAF sensor and bring in a lot of hot air from the engine bay.
2. A more EFFICIENT top mount intercooler is also a great way to improve the efficiency of the turbo system. and by more efficient i DON'T mean bigger. an after market intercooler in the top mount position with a close to factory core size but with more cooling fins or a larger surface area will drop intake temps before air enters the engine. no reason to put a larger inter cooler with a factory turbo and factory boost levels.
3. Also as stated before Boost referenced water spayers
4. And my personal favorite while highly disputed is the NOS INtercooler chiller kit. ive used it on all of my cars including SRT-4 Evo and STi. with the design of the top mount intercooler and ram air style hood scoop with a rubber seal around the intercooler to force air in, the Spray will douse the inter cooler in Nitrous super cooling the fins allowing them to pull more heat out of the incoming air without actually ingesting any of the NOS into the engine. The design of the top mount intercooler is helpful when doing this mod because unlike front mount systems the Nos can not escape and go around the intercooler rather than through it. hence heavily increasing the efficiency of the inter cooler.

Those are just some of my thoughts on the issue and some of my experiences. alot of other great ideas have already been listed as well!!!

[brookslarry]

I have said it before. Leave the wife, girlfriend, etc. at home

[Iguana]

Loose some weight. Take out unnecessary junk from trunk, loose some of your own weight by going on a diet, and finally - drive naked.

[Flycaster]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I have to disagree with the concept of this thread. Frankly, depending on year ('07-'08 for sure), the very first thing you should do is get tuned. These motors frigging die on the stock tune.