[NOS2Go4Me]

Aka,May 22 2008, 04:26 PM Wrote:I found myself running upwards of 140 km/h on the highway before I even felt like I was moving, where the RS felt like it was doing 100 km/h at 100 km/h, it made it easy to judge speed.[right][snapback]264903[/snapback][/right]

That's what the RX-8 is all about. Effortless speed at speed. 140+ feels like 30 less or better than what you're doing. Cruise control is your friend in a car that keeps pulling like that.

That's one upside to the Escape for sure - less chance of speeding tickets! :lol:

[Aka]

I got 7 points just after buying this car. I was still driving the RS, thought to myself, yes! I just bought a car and this one is sold, I can thrash it a bit! Got onto the highway, accelerated up to ~140 km/h as quickly as the RS could, followed an SUV doing the same for about 300 feet before they slammed their brakes on, I swerved into the middle lane in avoidance, they then swerved in front of me, I swerved over one more lane to the far right lane and bang, there was a cop right there.

It's my assumption they were changing lanes because they saw the cop, and then proceeded to not care about the safety of others. Now I realize how hypocritical it is of me to say that when I'm going so fast, but even still, I had time enough to check my blind spots, mirrors and change lanes as safely as possible without hitting them or anyone else. Mind you, I didn't have time enough to do all that AND see the cop sitting on the side of the road till I was all done with the lane changing and safe. So I guess I just have different priorities than the person in the SUV.

So anyway I got nailed for 146 km/h in a 100 (4 points), and unsafe lane change (3 points). Cop said to me "You almost lost it there!" I kind of wanted to laugh, because I knew I'd come no where near losing anything, let alone "it" but oh well... Fighting the tickets, but damn, I'd only been going that fast for about as long as it took to get there, and I definitely wasn't going to drive that fast all the way home. I was just so excited it got the best of me. So another lesson learned, calm down. I get nervous, anxious, angry, sad, happy pretty quickly and easily. So it's actually quite hard to stay calm at times, this is where cruise control helps me out. And now that I have it I should be a bit better off. Stick it on cruise, breath, calm down.

If anyone remembers way back when I bought the RS, you'd know my luck with buying a car. Recall when I bought the RS, I had a ticket for drinking and driving, yes, G2 license, 1 Coors light, 3 hours later, RIDE program. Zero tolerance. $6800/yr insurance, liability only, $150 reinstatement fee, $110 fine, $200 tow, 30 day suspension.

At least this time I've already confirmed, at least I think I have, that my insurance will only rise $30/mo if I were to be convicted of all 7 points. One good reason to get older I guess. Too bad I still look like I'm 17.

Edit: I should note, with the "mood swings" and staying calm.. I don't mean I panic or anything... just to clarify, re-reading it seemed like perhaps I was coming off like I panic a lot.

[naz]

Aka,May 22 2008, 08:26 PM Wrote:I think it's boring because there's no drama.
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i still think you made the right choice to go with the soundproofed version of the car. do you have mountains nearby in ontario? no right.. so i guess you have no choice but to take it to the track so you can experience hard corner exits at the traction limit

IMHO, that's the real reason you get a WRX.. to wring it out on a technical road.. not to do highway pulls :lol:

[Aka]

naz,May 22 2008, 05:54 PM Wrote:IMHO, that's the real reason you get a WRX.. to wring it out on a technical road.. not to do highway pulls  :lol:
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Exactly. Which means I need to strip out all that soundproofing ;) All that weight!

There's a few fun roads in Ontario, but they're all so short, or feel so short. And they're all a drive to get to, there's nothing 'round KW...

[naz]

Aka,May 22 2008, 10:17 PM Wrote:

naz,May 22 2008, 05:54 PM Wrote:IMHO, that's the real reason you get a WRX.. to wring it out on a technical road.. not to do highway pulls  :lol:
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Exactly. Which means I need to strip out all that soundproofing ;) All that weight!
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nah keep it as is with the soundproofing.. there will come a time when you have to take parents/clients/coworkers/other non car people in your car and the soundproofing and smooth ride will be much appreciated

plus taking long trips in an unsoundproofed wrx not that much fun after while

you on stock tires right now? swap to kumho MX, azenis, RE-01R see how much road noise those generate before you make any choices about the soundproofing

if i had a 92x aero with soundproofing, comfy damping and balla euro features like hids, leather, auto climate control i would not have changed cars :)

[Aka]

The car has RE011s on it, summer tyres. They're alright. They're a big step up though over my Dean Quasar Plus all seasons lol I heard there were some problems with the RE011s though, but I think I'll keep them for the summer, and try and find a set of rims for the winter and purchase winter tyres. Then next summer I'll get RE-01Rs or similar. That was my plan anyway. Any flaws in it by all means point them out.

I don't have leather, and I'm glad, I tried a 92X with leather, and I kept slipping out of the seat, much too slippery. The Auto climate control is quite nice. I'm not sure about the HIDs, they just seem like normal headlights, though I do find they work very well. Are they supposed to have any special colour to them? they seem yellowish like any normal headlight, not that blueish you get with some.

I took a 10 hour drive in the RS, and I thought it was fine. It was a bit loud I suppose, but I think this Saab would put me to sleep on the same drive. I'd probably have to stop a few more times just to get out and walk around. The RS was loud enough to keep me awake.

In other news, I used the fold down seats today. A friend of mine went to the hospital midway through work yesterday and left his bicycle at work. We work at the same building (different schedules though), so I picked up his bike for him. Fit in well with the front tyre removed, not sure I had to do that, but I'm a small guy and can't really hold his bike in a good enough position to get it in without doing so. But god his bike was dirty... my clean interior is clean no more! (It's not too bad, most of the dirt is on my hands, they were black just picking the thing up).

If I had the RS I'd have had to of left his bike there and he would need to take the bus instead. Another point for the Saabaru!

[Flofocus]

I think your a good candidate to get rid of the silencer then :P

Honestly, its not loud at all, it did get louder when I removed it, but nothing crazy at all. Nothing compared to my focus, thats for sure.

Put it this way, the wife comes home after work, and shes says 'I love the sound of my new car!' :o

Turns me on too. :lol:

[NOS2Go4Me]

^^ LOL!!! :lol: :lol:

Don't let Nate get in your car!!! :D

[naz]

Aka,May 23 2008, 11:57 AM Wrote:Then next summer I'll get RE-01Rs or similar. 

Are they supposed to have any special colour to them? they seem yellowish like any normal headlight, not that blueish you get with some.

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RE01R is a good choice for a summer tire.. i vote for 225/50/16 size (those fit on the stock wheels too!)

pretty sure your car doesn't have HIDs if they are yellowish.. if you don't have the headlight height adjuster on the left side of the dash that's another clue to don't have HIDs. Saabaru HIDs are white/bluish like all of the other OEMs

yea dude.. yank the silencer, get a catless 3" turbo back exhaust. you're prob the type of guy who will love it :D

[Aka]

Rims are 17, can't get 225/50/16. So perhaps I can't get RE-01Rs, I can't remember, I found a few tyres on Tirerack I was interested in.

Didn't think I had HIDs.

I'm definitely not going catless. I'm going to get a single highflow cat. I've already got an uppipe to remove the first cat.

One thing though, I will never ever ever buy one of those mufflers that have a tip big enough to fit my head. Please never recommend one. (Not sure if you have or not, just sayin')

[naz]

Aka,May 23 2008, 09:08 PM Wrote:Rims are 17, can't get 225/50/16. So perhaps I can't get RE-01Rs, I can't remember, I found a few tyres on Tirerack I was interested in.

Didn't think I had HIDs.

I'm definitely not going catless. I'm going to get a single highflow cat. I've already got an uppipe to remove the first cat.

One thing though, I will never ever ever buy one of those mufflers that have a tip big enough to fit my head. Please never recommend one. (Not sure if you have or not, just sayin')
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if you don't lower the car i'm pretty sure 225/45/17 tires will fit fine without issues.. if the car is lowered you should look around just in case

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317270

check out that thread if you are lowered

also, you really should check out the prodrive muffler i recommended. the tip itself is fairly large but its one of the quietest exhausts.. when i was looking considering modifying my WRX i was going to get a full prodrive TBE.. the downpipe is catted and comes wrapped in a heatshield.. the midpipe is catless and the muffler sounds awesome. a bit more $$ than the others but very high quality setup. scoobysport stuff is great too. i find that stuff from the UK is very high quality.. and JDM stuff requires custom work if you mix and match

EDIT: check out azenis RT615... and since you have 17s look for a set of RE070 stock tires from an STI

[Aka]

That's too bad the Pro drive has a massive tip. Those are just so ugly...

My RS had some Canadian Tire brand tip, it was probably crap, I didn't buy it, but I loved it. It had like a twin tip that bend down then up, car sounded great through it, and it didn't look out of place, looked normal. I'd like to find something like that again, something that looks normal.

I was thinking of trying to find like stock STI stuff, that should be good enough for stage 2, and should be available cheaply, and I think it'll mount fine?

Car isn't lowered and I don't really plan to. I'd like to get some better suspension down the road, and know that lowering the car lowers the center of gravity, but I'd prefer not lowering... I like driving through deep snow.

Thanks for all the info btw!

[naz]

Aka,May 24 2008, 12:02 PM Wrote:That's too bad the Pro drive has a massive tip. Those are just so ugly...

My RS had some Canadian Tire brand tip, it was probably crap, I didn't buy it, but I loved it. It had like a twin tip that bend down then up, car sounded great through it, and it didn't look out of place, looked normal. I'd like to find something like that again, something that looks normal.

I was thinking of trying to find like stock STI stuff, that should be good enough for stage 2, and should be available cheaply, and I think it'll mount fine?

Car isn't lowered and I don't really plan to. I'd like to get some better suspension down the road, and know that lowering the car lowers the center of gravity, but I'd prefer not lowering... I like driving through deep snow.

Thanks for all the info btw!
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re the prodrive: you should see it and hear it in person first before you judge. prodrive stuff is top notch.. check out this thread

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sho...p?t=831092

stock STi stuff doesn't flow as well as the prodrive stuff so the gains won't be as good.. there's a flow test on nasioc somewhere. also have you heard a stock STi, there isn't much 'drama' there

[Aka]

My point is... if it looks like a big coffee can I wont buy it regardless of anything.

I'd rather no sound than a big coffee can as my exhaust.

I just find big coffee can exhausts are so so soooooo ugly, that it could be the best exhaust in the world and give me everything, and I wouldn't buy it.

I just figured the stock STI exhaust would get me to stage 2 without getting every cop on me within a city wide radius.

Edit: if that's the prodrive it doesn't look that large, though it says it's an oval and the picture is on an angle. I thought you meant that it was like a 4 inch circle or larger... like the cans that are on all my friends cars.

Edit: This is what I kept picturing http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/pa...th/DSC_0649.jpg

[naz]

i' *think* the actual tip itself of the prodrive is pretty big but it looks a lot more subtle than the cannister you posted.. because the whole thing actually mounts properly under the car and looks OE

check out this youtube of a WRX with a prodrive exhaust.. btw prodrive has both round tip and oval tip. the flow is the same tho



the stock STi muffler isn't that much of an upgrade. one of my friends replaced his saabaru muffler with a STi muffler (rest of the exhaust stock) and it sounds pretty much the same as my '02 wrx.. not worth it IMHO.. not much of an upgrade.. you have to it pretty much for free to make it worth it

[Aka]

Well it's not the sound I was worried about with the STI exhaust. It was the ability to go Stage 2.

Sound is secondary to Stage 2. I'll look into the pro drive, but that video does make it look large. It would be nice to have a twin tipped exhaust or something instead of a really big cylinder, or better yet, dual exhaust. Though the car doesn't have that molding on the right side.

[naz]

Aka,May 25 2008, 11:40 AM Wrote:Well it's not the sound I was worried about with the STI exhaust. It was the ability to go Stage 2.

Sound is secondary to Stage 2. I'll look into the pro drive, but that video does make it look large. It would be nice to have a twin tipped exhaust or something instead of a really big cylinder, or better yet, dual exhaust. Though the car doesn't have that molding on the right side.
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i can't find any flow test #s to back it up, but i think the prodrive mufflers flow more than the OE STi mufflers (based on the fact STi owners swap to the prodrive piece)

borla hush, bosal and mad dad whisper exhaust all have twin tips are are fairly quiet as well if you can't get over the prodrive tip.

[Aka]

http://www.fastwrx.com/bohucaex.html

I would need this plus the adapter right, as I probably want a 3" downpipe?

Edit: Just to be certain. A turboback consists of a downpipe followed by a catback correct? And the downpipe has the cat.

So I would buy for example, the Cobb downpipe w/ cat, and that borla hush with adapter. And that would be a full turboback?

[naz]

aka.. short answer.. it depends on your downpipe

long answer.. take a look at the pic below



there are little grey lines that show you what each aftermarket part replaces

do you see the gap between 'cat back' and turboback those 2 pieces (labeled downpipe and midpipe) are typically replaced by an aftermarket downpipe (some DPs like prodrive and bosal are 2 pieces, just like OEM.. but the idea is the same)

the complication comes in that flange that joins the piece labeled 'midpipe (the one with the 2nd car) and the one called 'rear exhaust pipe' (with the resonator)

the flange between the two is oval on the OE downpipe, and on prodrive DP and bosal DP and a few others.. but in some like helix (i think) the flange is flat... so obviously if you try to make up the helix with a flat flange with a catback like borla or prodrive or stock that is expecting an oval flange it will be a bad seal....

does that make sense?

so that's why the borla has that adapter piece.. so you can still use a flat flange downpipe like the helix with the borla. you might not need the adapter depending on the downpipe you purchase

and lastly.. if you see a downpipe that seems stupid cheap it could be because that's a 2 piece downpipe (just like stock) rather than a 1 piece downpipe (like most aftermarket)

personally, i like the 2 piece because it makes servicing the transmission easier (the 2nd cat pipe has to come off to take the tranny out.. such as during a clutch change)

i also like aftermarket DP that keep the OE heatshield flange so you can look stealth and hide that aftermarket DP from visual inspection when someone pops the hood

again.. my pick would be prodrive because it is wrapped, 2piece and has OE heatshield flanges

gosh.. you're so lucky. i'm laying it out for you in such detail. i had to search and read all of this on my own over 2 yrs :)

[Aka]

Thanks so much naz! (that looks like I typed nazi ....)

That's crazy helpful and makes total sense.

I believe the Cobb downpipe I mentioned as an example is a 1 piece then. Not sure about the flanges on it and just assumed I'd need the adapter.

I never thought abuot the heatshield stuff, I'll have to look into that more. I do like the idea of looking stock. Which is why I want a normal looking exhaust, and a normal sounding one, and to only do the accessport thing and perhaps suspension. Don't really want to go beyond that and start drawing attention.

Again, thanks naz!