New to the Sti crowd!
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TBE and Ecutek would be my first mods..
then you need to think about turbos ... i wouldnt waste your money on an intake .. nor a FMIC at this time.. even the stock TMIC will be fine for an upgraded turbo ... initially.. depending on what you do with the turbo you could then put in the FMIC .. or put it in now if you like pressure drop.. lag and want to look cool.
i have yet to see anyone gain 65hp from purely a FMIC swap on a stock STi ..if they did.. that'd be everyones first mod... mostly you get the HP from being able to run higher boost with better cooling efficiency.. but you generally offset that with a bit more pressure drop and more lag ..
putting a FMIC on a stock car could result in a small loss in power as the pressure drop means yer getting less psi into the turbo .. ie it might drop from 13 to 12.5 psi .. (just an example) .. i'd love to see some dyno gaphs of a car with just a FMIC added to prove me wrong..i am far from being an expert in this field.
then you need to think about turbos ... i wouldnt waste your money on an intake .. nor a FMIC at this time.. even the stock TMIC will be fine for an upgraded turbo ... initially.. depending on what you do with the turbo you could then put in the FMIC .. or put it in now if you like pressure drop.. lag and want to look cool.
i have yet to see anyone gain 65hp from purely a FMIC swap on a stock STi ..if they did.. that'd be everyones first mod... mostly you get the HP from being able to run higher boost with better cooling efficiency.. but you generally offset that with a bit more pressure drop and more lag ..
putting a FMIC on a stock car could result in a small loss in power as the pressure drop means yer getting less psi into the turbo .. ie it might drop from 13 to 12.5 psi .. (just an example) .. i'd love to see some dyno gaphs of a car with just a FMIC added to prove me wrong..i am far from being an expert in this field.
noodles
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 897
Likes: 0
My opinion...
In Florida for sure, a properly sized FMIC setup is what you want. It will buy you consistency and better cooling, often without any additional pressure drop, but a more soggy throttle response when not under boost (of course). Top-mount ICs (and yes, I still have one) heatsoak badly (on the passenger side the most). Then again, you do have a fancypants water spray system and they are effective.
The problem is, there aren't any properly sized FMICs for a VF39-class turbo attached to a 2.5L car. They're all GINORMOUS FMICs rated for 500-700HP power. Bigger is very often not better, and is true in this case.
Example -- the Evolution 8 comes with a properly sized FMIC for the stock turbo.
If you're going to shoot for more than ~310WHP, you're going to need a different turbo, and you're likely going to want to get rid of the stock TMIC at that point if you haven't already.
I'm not even touching the pulley debate except to say that I know of people who have had zero problems for many tens of thousands of miles, yet still hear the constant rumbling from others that they may cause problems.
My advice would be to get a TBE and EcuTek reflash, and enjoy driving your car.
In Florida for sure, a properly sized FMIC setup is what you want. It will buy you consistency and better cooling, often without any additional pressure drop, but a more soggy throttle response when not under boost (of course). Top-mount ICs (and yes, I still have one) heatsoak badly (on the passenger side the most). Then again, you do have a fancypants water spray system and they are effective.
The problem is, there aren't any properly sized FMICs for a VF39-class turbo attached to a 2.5L car. They're all GINORMOUS FMICs rated for 500-700HP power. Bigger is very often not better, and is true in this case.
Example -- the Evolution 8 comes with a properly sized FMIC for the stock turbo.
If you're going to shoot for more than ~310WHP, you're going to need a different turbo, and you're likely going to want to get rid of the stock TMIC at that point if you haven't already.
I'm not even touching the pulley debate except to say that I know of people who have had zero problems for many tens of thousands of miles, yet still hear the constant rumbling from others that they may cause problems.
My advice would be to get a TBE and EcuTek reflash, and enjoy driving your car.
TR Shop Mod
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,404
Likes: 0
I will gladly help offset any change to a FMIC by taking the puny STi TMIC off your hands. 
(actually that goes for any of you STi owners
)
(actually that goes for any of you STi owners
)
