goredcar

Just wanted to post an update and give you guys a heads up. The Stillen advice to leave stock cats on for max power is total BS. I sadly took this advice and after a short while the cats were completely burned out and I had sold my ART pipes. When we took the cats off all the material inside was loose and rattling around.

After the ART pipes were installed, not only did it sound better, but it has way better low end TQ. This made no difference to my AFRs and they are still in the green except when decelerating. So my plan is to not retune.

Also, if you are running the Stillen supplied Bosch BPV you should throw that in the bush as soon as possible. It is a cheap plastic POS and my was leaking and robbing me of boost. Many thanks to one of the members here who put me onto the TorboSmart BPV which is such a nice piece compared to the Bosch. With the Bosch I was only getting 6 PSI. Now I get the full 8 PSI. When I had complained to Stillen about low boost they told me it was because of my altitude (2300'). Thanks Stillen!

jpowersjr2

iTrader: (1)

Go full Motordyne for the best sound (IMO). ART pipes coupled with other manufacturer's catbacks never sounded as good to me and had a lot more rasp.

Did you ever post a build thread? Would love to see what all you did.

goredcar

Thanks for your interest... I didn't really start a build thread as I never though I would get this far. Appreciate your advice on the Motordyne Exhaust... I have heard it and it is great. I have no complaints with the Invidia and I have no rasp or drone... the two things I really hate.

I have owned the car since 2008. Bought it with 3K miles on it so it was pretty much new. US car from Arizona. The first mods were the Stillen G3 intake, ART pipes and the Invidia exhaust. Got an Uprev tune and a pretty disappointing number of 280HP. Yep... I know that dynos vary a lot. It was still fun to drive and I had a blast. A few years later I was tempted by the new Q series, but instead opted to go FI on car. I thought it would be faster and cooler. I had no idea how much in the way of a headache it would be.

I opted for the Stillen kit vs a turbo. My mechanic was impressed with the kit, but there were a few deficiencies, Which I think a have addressed over the last 2 years.

Here are the highlights of Mods:

Power
Stillen V3 SC
FB Intercooler Upgrade
Removed air filter block plate and replaced with AEM socks
Uprev custom tune (a few times LOL)
Invidia exhaust
ART pipes
Southbend Stage 3 clutch
Aluminum driveshaft (one piece)
SPL differential bushings

Suspension
Hotchkiss sways
SPL end links
Strut Tower Brace

Other
Custom 3M wrap - Lemon Sting
Custom gauge pod - Innovate Boost and AFR
Custom mount Escort Max 360
Laser defense system (ALP)
Alpine type R sub in custom side pocket enclosure
Stealth mount 600W amp (near spare)
Digital Designs Audio processor
OEM 19 wheels refinished to gunmetal (285's in back, 255 front - Pilot SS)
Carbon lip and accents
Hawk Brake pads
Nav system hack to enable menu and search while in motion

At last dyno (prior to the aluminum driveshaft and BPV) I pulled 163HP over my NA number on the same dyno, same tuner. So, I'm happy now, but it has taken a while and a lot more $ than I thought it would.

ANMVQ

iTrader: (13)

Not sure what this is "FB Intercooler Upgrade" true air tot air? I hope it moves the MAF's to the correct location, and didn't see anything about a tune. Although I'm guessing you have one if you made 163 WHP over your stock numbers, cause I only made 24 WHP!!! LOL

goredcar

Ha Ha... the Frozen Boost Upgrade was your great suggestion ANMVQ. I'm on an Uprev custom tune (listed). Had to go back twice for adjustments as I had a low end bog (too much fuel). And no I did not move the MAFs.

shawnberry45

iTrader: (5)

This is great to hear! I always wondered. I currently have Stillen Supercharger with stock cats and invidia gemini exhaust... Pretty safe to go from cats to arts without revised tune?

ANMVQ

iTrader: (13)

I wasn't sure but great to hear! I'm going back this way bext year after our business is stable. I going to get the whole kit from (Aaron) Topgunz

goredcar

I monitor my AFRs and I saw no change so in my setup it appears to be fine. I called my tuner and and he said that my cats would be presenting no back pressure being totally burned out so he didn't really see the difference. The old cats were loud and would frequently rap off (backfire) on deceleration. The ART pipes are not any louder, but they are deeper and sound much better on WOT.

The only thing that I was wondering about was the increase in boost pressure due to the upgrade to the Turbosmart BPV. More boost = more air and should be leaner. My tuner leans towards a rich mixture so it looks like I am OK at the moment. I can't tell you what is safe for your car, but if you have had the stock cats on for a season I would be pretty sure that they are burned out. The only reason that Stillen insists on them is to be CARB legal which is such a joke as I am not in Calif.

I may be leaving a bit of HP on the table by not re-tuning, but the car is running great and I would rather deploy that money elsewhere.

goredcar

I totally agree... If I was starting from scratch I would definitely go with the Topgunz kit. To call it just an A2A is a bit misleading as it is so much more. It is not just the difference between water and air cooling.

shawnberry45

iTrader: (5)

Thats great to hear - Im also using the Turbosmart BPV with Blue Spring. Mines also tuned more on the rich side (constantly cleaning my tips)

I do have a AF/Boost Gauge... whats a target number to stay around so I could compare?

goredcar

Sorry about all the typos in my post... it had been a long day! OK so my cruising AFR is 14.5 at 60mph. On hard throttle it goes to 10, on deceleration it is 20. I have the Innovate gauge so it has a handy color coded band... green at the rich end, orange in normal, and red in lean.

shawnberry45

iTrader: (5)

Arts are on and running great. AFR barely changed. zero rasp at all with invidia.
The one thing I did notice....harder starts...so may need cold start remap

goredcar