Newbie/General ForumBeginner/basic questions and general EVO discussion. Specific questions should be asked in a focused forum below. This area is for the newbies.
Not much reason to do only the exhaust and do the whole exhaust. That's not the best bang for your buck, but a turboback exhaust definitely is a good mod for power. You do not have to get tuned to run an aftermarket exhaust and make power, but you are going to make much more HP/$ with a tune than you will with an exhaust, and the tune will be invisible, silent, and have far more features.
With a flash, you can get 20-30whp/wtq for $199. With an exhaust (turboback, not header), you can get 30whp/wtq for $600-800. The header should be much later in your mod path. It's not even connected to the exhaust like on N/A engines, so it's a completely separate mod.
So should I start with an ECU tune? Will I have to tune again later if/when I go with exhaust mods? Suggestions on flashes? Whats the diff between flash and piggyback?
As I said above, you don't have to get tuned for an exhaust. There is much more to life on an Evo than the exhaust. yes, it is a fundamental building block, but there are many other areas to mod that make you faster, and many of those other mods DO require a retune. You don't normally get a flash first, because you don't want to have to reflash multiple times if you can avoid it, although with Dynoflash, mail-in reflashes are only $100 - not a big deal.
A flash reprograms your ECU and is able to directly control every ECU parameter, such as rev limiter, high/low octane fuel trims, high/low octane timing, launch control, fuel cut, idle, etc etc. The flash reprograms the code directly and can be reflashed at anytime to anything you want.
A piggyback intercepts the signals going to the ECU, then modifies them. For instance, in the case of AFRs, a piggyback will intercept the MAF signal (air flow), change the value, and thus cause the ECU to think there is more OR less air crossing the MAF, which in turn changes the AFRs however you want. With a crude piggyback, such as the SAFC, doing changes in fuel like that indirectly cause changes to the timing based on the ECU's preset timing tables. More sophisticated piggybacks, such as ECU+ and Xede, are able to more directly affect timing, but not as directly as a flash. Piggybacks cost much more, but they do allow you to tune yourself granted you have the proper monitoring devices and know-how. The worst is when people spend $1000 on a piggyback then pay someone else to tune it - that's just a shame.
With the flash, unlike in the past, you can now maintain multiple maps (race, street, drag, valet, stock, etc) and flash them in yourself whenever you want if you get the new flashing cable and free software. That used to be the flashes only deterrent - one map that couldn't be changed. Now, that is a thing of the past, so flashes are really the ultimate tuning method.
Why only 30-40whp? A dragster would have an additional 500-600whp, so no need to set your sights so low unless you really just don't want to gain much power. It's so easy to add power on the Evo for little money, though. You can get that 30-40whp with just a custom tune and an MBC. You can get 50-60whp with the basic stg 1 mods that I always suggest:
- mbc
- bov
- fuel pump
- tbe
- flash
This is all sold as one package at Buschur Racing (buschurracing.com) for $1575, including shipping. Other vendors also have similar packages, but not the exact same mod combo and not the same brands.
You can gain 100whp and use it as a daily driver. I daily drive mine with 26psi on all those mods plus header, o2 housing, cams, and alky. Straight to work and back everyday, with drag racing, autocrossing, and road racing EVERY month.
ryno11,
Do what you like. It's your car.
There are good gains to be had from just exhaust work; cat back, high flow cat or test pipe...
Switching out the downpipe for me was where it really took the cork out.
There's nothing wrong with starting out slow and doing one thing at a time.
TurboLarry.....
I noticed you are also in SoCal. Do you know of any mechanics in the area that specialize in our cars? And thanks for the advice...I have been thinking about the Bushur Kits since I got my Evo but you can never be too informed
Warrtalon....you said I can get 30-40 hp with a flash for $199 or I can get 50-60 hp with a Buschur kit for $1500?! It would seem to me that the flash alone is much more bang for the buck!! I went to the Buschur site and I did not see your kit.......I don't mean to bug but my money doesn't grow on trees and I wanna make sure I am spending my right.
Warrtalon....you said I can get 30-40 hp with a flash for $199 or I can get 50-60 hp with a Buschur kit for $1500?! It would seem to me that the flash alone is much more bang for the buck!! I went to the Buschur site and I did not see your kit.......I don't mean to bug but my money doesn't grow on trees and I wanna make sure I am spending my right.
I said 30-40whp with a flash and MBC. You would probably need the custom flash for $399 (in person road tune or dyno tune) to get to 40, but on the mail-in flash ($199) with MBC set to 21psi, 30whp is about right.
The Warrtalon package is not listed on the site - you have to ask for it by name. It is advertised on other sites. The total cost is including the full TBE, mbc, bov, flash, gauge+pod, and fuel pump. It has everything you need to safely make that extra power with no restrictions, no extraneous mods, and no affect on drivability. Just doing a flash+mbc works, but it leaves holes, such as a stronger BOV to hold the extra boost, a fuel pump to ensure that you don't get starved of fuel, and an exhaust to release backpressure so that you have much better throttle response, quicker spool, and less knock.
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