Review: Buschur/Warrtalon package

[Geese1]

I just wanted to write up a quick review of the Buschur/Warrtalon package which I installed back in April, and the resulting dyno tune I received from Al/Dynoflash last month.

I decided to go with this setup, as it seemed to give me a great starting base to build off of, with parts that were well thought out as well as being ones that wouldn’t need to be replaced as I continued to mod the car in the future. During this time as well, I also decided to upgrade to a custom dyno tune done by Al rather than the standard mail in flash, as I figured this would get the most out of the car.

So in March of this year I placed a call to Nick at Buschur and ordered the package. Part of the exhaust was on backorder, but since I wasn’t in any particular hurry, I didn’t mind. My only concern was getting them on before the time came for the car to be tuned (they still hadn’t finalized a date with Al). The parts arrived within a couple of weeks however, and except for the exhaust piping being dirty and oily from the machine that they use to make it (it cleaned up easily with a little orange degreaser and water), everything arrived without a hitch.

I installed the boost gauge first, and it was a piece of cake considering I just tapped into the MR’s stock boost gauge vacuum tubing behind the dash. I ended up teeing the line so that I could use the stock gauge to check the accuracy of the Autometer. This was probably a good idea in retrospect, as I’m not certain how accurate the Autometer gauge really is. (it appears to be off by a couple of psi.), and I’ll probably end up going with something different at some point down the road.

Originally, my father-in-law was to help me install the remaining components, but then the weather was uncooperative the weekend we had planned to do it, and his schedule prevented him from having any other free time for months. So instead, I talked to the manager of the body shop where I work (I work at a dealership chain doing general IT work for their computers), and got the okay come in over the weekend to work on the car in their garage. This was a relief, as it gave me full access to all their shop tools, and most importantly, a lift.

So in April, I took a weekend and headed in to get the remainder of the parts put on my car. In addition to the rest of the Buschur/Warrtalon package, I was also installing a stainless steel clutch line, stainless steel brake lines, and a lower intercooler piping. Most of the installations were straightforward, although because I had never worked on a car before it probably took me 4 times as long to do as someone with more experience. I did have some help from one of the guys at the shop in installing the Forge MBC, as even with the car lifted in the air I had trouble reaching the lines on the turbo. Luckily, he has smaller hands than I do and was able to get in there to connect everything up. I also had the body shop manager modify one of the brackets that came with the Forge piece so that I could install in behind the driver’s side headlight (mounted to where the front part of the stock air box would bolt down).

After doing the clutch line and brake lines, I tackled the exhaust. Once again, this wasn’t too difficult all things considered. Removing some of the rubber hangers without tearing them was a bit tricky, but overall nothing too bad. I wasn’t crazy about the directions Buschur included for mounting the exhaust, as I felt it left out some details that, for someone who has never done an exhaust before, would have been nice to know. I even ended up buying some extra bolts and nuts because it looked like I was going to run out. They turned out not to be needed in the end, because some of the stock bolts ended up being reused (this is what I mean by their instructions not being detailed enough for my liking). Thankfully, I was able to find a couple of guides online which helped quite a bit with the install. Once the exhaust was on though, and I started it up for the first time, I was immediately impressed with the results. I had gone with the Bullet muffler and test pipe combination, and as others have reported it is loud, but not obnoxiously so (at least to me), and unless you’re getting on it I don’t think it should give your neighbors any reason to complain. I find it has a nice, aggressive tone that was missing before, and even my wife said she much prefers the exhaust note now to the one when it was stock. I’m also really looking forward to getting some cams in the future to see how this changes the sound.

By this time, I was too tired to do anything more, so the LICP was put off for the following weekend (I also installed t-bolt clamps on all the piping at the same time). I drove it like this for another month before I added the Walboro fuel pump and Buschur air intake, and then parked it for two weeks until it came time to get it tuned.

I got to Buschur's about 15 minutes early for my appointment, but ended up not getting on the dyno for another hour or so. I didn’t mind however, as they were taking the time to get another car dialed in, and this is the same type of attention I would want them to give my car should there be any problems (by the way, this car went on to top off at 450 awhp!). There wasn’t however, and it was actually kind of anti-climatic, as the dyno went off without a hitch. The ending results were 302 awhp/280 ft/lbs. (you can see the dyno sheet by clicking on the link under my name). I took the car for a quick spin afterwards and could immediately tell the difference from stock. Being Memorial Day weekend, I didn’t dare get too frisky with it as there were cops all over the place, but the next day I took it on some quiet back-roads where I live and got a chance to open her up a bit more and really get to experience the change in the car’s attitude. Throttle response is much better, and the turbo seems to spool noticeably quicker than before. The car pulls hard in any gear, and keeps on pulling throughout the entire rev range. As others have said, it really is a whole new animal now.

So overall, I’m extremely happy with my experience with both Buschur and Al. The parts work as promised, and the customer service was fantastic. I’ll definitely be bringing the car back to them next spring when it comes time for the 2nd round of mods to go on.