For any car enthusiasts out there, I decided to write a little bit about my car and experiences over the last couple years. It all started back in November of 2004… actually before that, probably the year before. At some point in 03 I graduated from College and decided to treat myself in the form of a car. I was driving a 91 Acura Integra at the time which was nice but I was ready for something new. What I really wanted was a Subaru WRX STi but I couldn’t afford it so I settled on an Acura RSX-S. The car was really fun and comfortable to drive around but around a year later, I received a promotion at work and it was time to get the car I really wanted, the WRX STi.
I bought the car from ‘Herman Jones’ at ‘Classic Cadillac and Subaru‘ after a few hours of negotiations. I was very happy with the purchase and I would recommend anyone interested in buying a Subaru to go talk to Herman. The car was everything I was expecting it to be if not more. 4 cylinder boxer engine, turbo, 300hp/300tq, all wheel drive, sport seats – so much performance I didn’t know what to do with. So of course, my first thought was… more HP!
After a proper one thousand mile break-in that weekend (or was it two?) I contacted ‘Knowledge Performance’ and asked them to upgrade me to stage 2. Stage 2 usually consists of an intake, exhaust, and engine management. Since this car is full of electronics, it benefits greatly from EM and tuning. If you have an STi, make sure to get it tuned when you add modifications to it. The mods were TurboXS intake, turbo back exhaust, and UTEC EM.
I didn’t get a dyno while stock (around 250whp maybe?), so I’m not sure how much power I was making before the mods but after they were done I was around 290whp. I don’t remember how much wtq but it was around there as well. My first impressions when I drove off were wow… this thing moves quick! Unfortunately, there was a nasty side effect from either the tune or running UTEC which was hesitation. It’s hard to explain but the car hesitated at various times while driving which made my driving experience less enjoyable. I was not very happy with my car. I went back to the shop and asked them to fix it but after a few visits and more money nothing changed and I never went back.
Shortly after I started to lose interested in my car (or gained interested in World of Warcraft) and just drove my car around for a year without making any more changes to it. Then the mod bug hit me again and I wanted more power.
To be continued…