Hi,
After having read the forum a lot, I am still confused about the performance mods. What if any gains people have seen in the dyno numbers and or dragtime performance gain.
1- For Exhaust
2- Intake
3- Miscellaneous.

Ash

 

#1 Exhaust
Not decided yet (HKS SSM or Greddy or JoeZ ??)


#2 Intake
I love to read stories about the IS F owners mod their cars but when it comes to do mod on my F I am very cautious. After a long research thru CL member discussions, I decided to install JoeZ intake ( and K&N filter insert ). And the sound (from both JoeZ and K&N filter) is so much better than the OEM intake and filter.

#3 Miscellaneous
Did try 100 octane just to find out what it feels/sounds like. Well, my pocket felt lighter but I felt my F was quicker and faster.

 

Exhaust, intake and header.... Nothing beat natural aspirated engine

 

Trying.....to.....re...sist

 

+1

 

hahahahaha... nice

only time i noticed anything to my car was after the header install. intake and exhaust seemed all sound, even though the dyno says different.

i'm running Joe Z intake and Exhaust, Afe filter, PPE headers)

 

+2

 

Come on I know there are more people with more mods...Opinions?....Anyone in the Bay Area with lots of mods...Lets do some apples to apples comparison...

 

there's a couple of us in the bay area on here, but everyone has already answered your questions. With intake and exhaust, you're mainly getting sound... and at the very most 5-10 whp gains. Headers produce the most power from our engines ranging 25-35+ whp.

 

Ive read a few threads that would answer your question, but its always best to have the pros answer from their experiences... I/H/E is the way to go ! N/A all the way !

 

I find KN intake and PPE combo with stock exhaust is great. Can accelerate in a taller gear.

Got 12.5 at 114.2 with those at Infineon with 25 mph crosswinds and Temp 78. Plus I am a bad launcher.

 

From what I've heard in person and read over the past 6 months of my ownership, here's my take:

Headers - Best bang for buck power mod no question. Do it if you have the money and want more power.

Intake - Negligible gains. They all sounds so much nicer but overall gains seem to average out to not. People claim a lot sometimes but with the same intake other people lose. So the ECU may adapt to them from what I gather. It's a sound mod IMO...but worth it since the F growl is rather enticing.

Exhaust - Decent gains. The stock exhaust to me was so quiet that I had to do something. My first mod on the car was the Borla axle-back (start small!) and it's better but not great. I'm looking into full cat-back's now and will sell my axle-back once I swap. Since a cat-back removes 2 cats the gains are pretty good...but it's all relative.

In a 400+hp crank car, adding even 10-20whp isn't really noticeable. So the sound gains from most mods make people think they're doing more. Besides headers I think intake/exhaust are more for sound than power. Once you're above 300whp, adding even 20whp isn't that noticeable.

 

Anxiouz,

Have you dyno'd your car? I'm wondering how much the Borla axle back give by getting rid of the squashed y section. I have the Borla cat back. I installed it myself for a day and took it off cause it was too loud for me. I am wondering if I should get hi flow cats welded into the initial section and put it back on versus selling it. The other option is to get the axle back. I'll bet headers and an axle back are synergistic and not much less than headers with cat back and welded in hiflow cats. Then you retain the secondary cats and have more sound from the headers and axle back.

How much louder is your axle back than stock?

 

Headers, exhaust and intake. In that order.

PPE or sikky headers

JoeZ or borla catback exhaust

Intake is personal pref. but is needed when doing headers and exhaust. JoeZ,Takeda,Injen
Pick one.



~Dv8

 

Not to discourage but I would recommend against the K&N filter the way they trap dirt is using oil. This oil over time coats the sensors on the MAF which could lead to degradation and performance drop off. In other cars, it has even caused the sensor to die and malfunction. The aFe Pro Dry filters flow better and filter more particulates out in an couple different independent studies. Just my $0.02 feel free to look into this yourself.