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Performance Mods (Not talking about turbo or speed performance.....unless....)

3051 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  peaty
Loving my '22 Sport sedan. Just got it lowered on BC Racing coilovers with some new wheels and it looks SLEEK.

Next I wanna add some better performance mods to the car, so what have y'all done? I've looked into adding a front strut tower brace, and maybe replacing the rear sway bar but I heard the stock one on the sports are pretty nice?

Other than those, I'm not sure what I can do to push a little more performance out of my car. I don't want to do a turbo or anything CRAZY since the support doesn't seem to be out there yet for it, and I don't want to decrease reliability.

Trying to think of these things before I instead add a front lip/side skirts/rear under spoiler.....because those will definitely give me more power ;) /s

Thanks for the help! Happy modding!
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Also, has anyone changed out the midpipe? I'm wondering if I should do that too, to get a deeper sound out of my car.
I've heard of some people adding a CVT cooler to bypass the cooler/warmer that is oem, but it may have an adverse effect on performance should it not enable the trans to get up to temperature in winter.

I think, if I remember correctly @evoheyax has a midpipe and headers upgraded on his Impreza.

I'm looking at utilizing my $500 voucher from ordering my Impreza on the STI rear spoiler and front lip from Subaru's accessory catalogue.

Recommended if you're willing to potentially void your engine warranty, (or just remove when taken to the dealer) add an oil catch can or oil/air separator.
Adding a strut tower brace is pretty simple and it seems that most others have benefited from the installation. If you feel that steering isn't responsive or feels loose, try adding the Perrin block.
@peaty has a lot of good photos and writeups associated with his install and you should definitely take a look just to see if any of what he's done may be of interest to you.

I believe there is a turbo kit for our cars (and someone on the 2013?-17 Crosstrek forums added a supercharger to their FB engine, but it is a full custom install)
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I'm all about sticking with suspension (coilovers, strut bars), better-than-OE upgrades (better fluids, filter, catch can), and aesthetic upgrades (exhaust, speakers, or visuals) on these cars.

Nothing against doing a turbo, airbox mods, tunes, etc., but in this world of crazy gas prices and part shortages galore, I've grown very apprehensive over any mod that may potentially shorten lifespan or warranty support for my vehicle, from where I was say 9 months ago.

I need this car to commute, do small family trips, etc. But that may just be me being a middle aged dad that wants to keep both family cars running, especially the smaller one that can do better MPG.
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I've heard of some people adding a CVT cooler to bypass the cooler/warmer that is oem, but it may have an adverse effect on performance should it not enable the trans to get up to temperature in winter.

I think, if I remember correctly @evoheyax has a midpipe and headers upgraded on his Impreza.

I'm looking at utilizing my $500 voucher from ordering my Impreza on the STI rear spoiler and front lip from Subaru's accessory catalogue.

Recommended if you're willing to potentially void your engine warranty, (or just remove when taken to the dealer) add an oil catch can or oil/air separator.
Adding a strut tower brace is pretty simple and it seems that most others have benefited from the installation. If you feel that steering isn't responsive or feels loose, try adding the Perrin block.
@peaty has a lot of good photos and writeups associated with his install and you should definitely take a look just to see if any of what he's done may be of interest to you.

I believe there is a turbo kit for our cars (and someone on the 2013?-17 Crosstrek forums added a supercharger to their FB engine, but it is a full custom install)
The CVT cooler and catch cans have definitely been on my mind, but I may wait a bit to do it since I only have 2k miles on the car. I'll probably wait until the 10k mark for that just in case something little happens and I can have them fix it and not be warranty voided from those. I'll look into that midpipe too, sounds interesting. I was actually just looking at Peaty's list and will be stealing a few ideas lol.

I'm all about sticking with suspension, better-than-OE upgrades (better fluids, filter, catch can), and aesthetic upgrades (exhaust, speakers, or visuals) on these cars.

Nothing against doing a turbo, airbox mods, tunes, etc., but in this world if crazy gas prices and part shortages galore, I've grown very apprehensive over any mod that may potentially shorten lifespan or warranty support for my vehicle, from where I was say 9 months ago.

I need this car to commute, do small family trips, etc. But that may just be me being a middle aged dad that wants to keep both family cars running, especially the smaller one that can do better MPG.
I have the same mental state as you, I wanna keep the reliability even if it means not going fast, but a little improvement here or there won't be too bad like the suspension we both agree on. Time to put a Slobaru banner on my car and make it looks like it has 200hp lol
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It's hard not to like the STI performance parts available for the GT/GK Impreza:

They're not inexpensive, but I want them all. I installed the flexible strut tower brace shortly after buying the car, and I intend to install the flexible rear draw stiffener soon.
Honestly, I'd do a Catch Can ASAP to keep as much carbon buildup as possible off of the valves. Not really a performance mod but a PM one to me.
I think, if I remember correctly @evoheyax has a midpipe and headers upgraded on his Impreza.
Trying to fight the exhuast leaks away. I have an issue with the nameless midpipe using a really small ring to connect to the donut gasket. It's fine for the stock cat pipe, but the Avo Turboworld is much bigger, so it's leaking under heavy acceleration there, and also in one other spot on the front pipe (since the avo turbo world is 3 pieces instead of 1). Once I get rid of these, it's going to the dyno to get tuned. I can tell the torque band is much lower, around 2.25k rpms instead of 3k rpms. And topping out a lot quicker as well. It makes it worse on the freeway when I need a hard acceleration, but with the CVT, it's actually better most of the time as the CVT tried to keep rpms low. So I'm finiding I'm reving the engine a lot less to get he same acceleration. It also feels snappier. Well see what the dyno says.
When I do exhaust work I usually put a little of this on the gaskets. Besides holding the gasket in place while working, it minimizes the risk of leaks. Maybe this can help with your leaks?

Might work, let it dry overnight before driving the car.

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/speciality-gasket-makers/permatex-ultra-blue-rtv-3-5oz/
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