Ideas please

13swp

New member
Hello guys! I have a 2013 STI 5doors swp and I'm looking for an idea on what's the first mod I should do to it? I know where I want to be a few years from now, but don't want to go crazy modding till then... Thanx !
 

IGOTASTi

System Operator
Staff member
Platinum membership. ;)
 

IVIrSTi

New member
Accessport! (V3 is what id do) but the normal ones are still cool and awesome. also become a member for some HP :)P kidding)
 

Spamby

Meat Product Toy
A stage 1 tune whether via accessport or protune/open source. If your serious about the warranty, some dealers are mod friendly and will support Cobb tunes or others. Check into that otherwise you roll the dice.

Swaybars and end links.
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
You're going to want to have an accessport down the road regardless as it's super useful in many aspects. However, if you're not a power hungry type of guy, Spamby just gave you a really great suggestion! :tup:
 

Grinder34

Track Monkey
Lots of ideas, but let's break it down into three categories:

1) Power
2) Handling
3) Cosmetic

Power
The problem with doing power is that you end up spending lots of money if you do things incrementally. For example, getting a new downpipe now, but then down the road you decide to go rotated, you have to get yet another downpipe. Plus pretty much each time you mod for power, you need to get a tune done, which can cost a few hundred. The benefit is Power = Fun! Oh yeah, and warranty issues on a new car. Some dealers are cool with it (especially if they sell you the parts...usually at full MSRP)

Handling
Handling is lots of fun. The only real "problem" here is that sometime you make the car harsher over normal roads as a sacrifice for more grip. Not everything you do will have that effect (eg Swaybars) but lots of things will/can (bushings, springs, etc...). The benefit is that, for the most part, you can do it piece by piece year after year to get you exactly where you want to be. There's none of that pesky tuning business like for power, so you dont feel compelled to stockpile parts and install them all at once. In fact, with suspension bits, its often fun to do them one at a time, so you can see the benefits that each part makes.

Cosmetic
This one is the first thing some people do, and the last that others do. No real gains other than potentially liking your car more. That being said, it really can make a difference. I did a few subtle things that I think really make my car look better and were relatively cheap. Dont discount cosmetic just because you wont be able to "feel" a difference.


Ok, all that being said--whats your long term plan for the car? You said you had a vision, you should start a journal and post it up. That'll really help us make suggestions.


Also check out this thread...lots of good links:
http://www.igotasti.com/vBforum/showthread.php?4702-Engine-Threads-of-Interest
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
^Perfect. Greatly described brief explanations! :tup:
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Damn....I had a bunch of suggestions, but everyone beat me to it. LOL

This is a great community. You will learn A TON from this group. The best thing is,
most of us have already made all the stupid modding mistakes and can steer you clear
before you go down the same road. I sure wish I could turn back time and do it all over
again.

(I suppose if I win the Powerball tonight....I WILL be doing it all over again.)
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Damn....I had a bunch of suggestions, but everyone beat me to it. LOL

This is a great community. You will learn A TON from this group. The best thing is,
most of us have already made all the stupid modding mistakes and can steer you clear
before you go down the same road. I sure wish I could turn back time and do it all over
again.

(I suppose if I win the Powerball tonight....I WILL be doing it all over again.)

When you win the powerball, you better share! :lol:

38714d1237062361-family-guy-gifs-pics-youshare.gif
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
IF/WHEN I win...lol...I'll make a sizable donation to IGOTASTi, and maybe I'll buy you guys something nice.

Okay, I don't want to hijack this thread, so let's get back on topic.
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
IF/WHEN I win...lol...I'll make a sizable donation to IGOTASTi, and maybe I'll buy you guys something nice.

Okay, I don't want to hijack this thread, so let's get back on topic.

You're definitely not hijacking! It's simply an idea for 13swp for if/when he wins the lottery! :lol: ;) But that's very generous of you! I would hope that if/when any member on this forum wins the lottery, they make a sizable donation to IGOTA!

-Buying something nice for the members is just a bonus! :lol:
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Hey 13swp, where do you live? If you're somewhere that regularly sees snow during the winter months, you are going to want
a good set of snow tires. Just because our cars are AWD does not mean that an all-season tire is going to be okay in the snow.
In fact, it can be pretty scary.

Otherwise, my next suggestion was if you are looking for better performance without doing much to the car (due to the
warranty), a good set of tires goes a lonnnng way. Every so often, I see someone with a modded suspension and shitty tires
on the car....I just smh.

In a lot of cases, IMO a stock STi being one of them, a vehicle's handling characteristics can outperform the tires on said vehicle.
 
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13swp

New member
Great ideas guys ! I thank all of u very much for taking ur time and help me to kinda make up my mind !!!
 

hubaru

New member
My suggestion would be trans mount, cross member bushings, front and rear shifter bushings.
This was the first mod I did because I could not stand the vague/sloppy shifting of the stock shifter. You will definitely feel the difference after doing this and who couldn't use a little bit more gear whine in the cabin?
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
The trans mount is a good mod. When I installed mine, I also changed out the engine pitch stop. (I used Group N mounts)
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
The trans mount is a good mod. When I installed mine, I also changed out the engine pitch stop. (I used Group N mounts)

Did it make a noticeable difference?
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
I miss less gear shifts at high rpm. When I'd miss 3rd for example, which happened more often than I'd like to recall,
it seemed like the engine was torquing the whole tranny axially. I don't get that feeling now with the new mount and pitch stop.
There was a little bit of NVH introduced into the cabin, but it not that noticeable. I imagine if I had installed something even
stiffer, the NVH would be considerably worse. Group N parts are stiff, but still retain somewhat of a stock feel...if that makes sense.
 

hubaru

New member
What ^^^ said 100%.

I think you'll get more NVH out of the kartboy shifter bushings then you will from the group-n trans mount. I actually wish I had gone with the Torque Solutions trans mount but if you are concerned about NVH then the group-n is the better option.
You should do the shifter bushings and cross member bushings while you are down there since you have to take apart the cross member to access the trans mount.
Just disconnect the battery, remove the rear O2 sensor, and pull off the rear heat shield to have an easier time reaching the rear shifter bushing. Always thread bolts by hand first to avoid cross threading and you should be done with everything in about 2 hours. Super easy!
 
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