Rodman wrote:

Recently I installed a cobb intake, also that day, a perrin turbo inlet and a jdm v7 sti top mount intercooler. I noticed a dramatic smoothnes on acceleration and a stronger mid range. My least favorate part is the sound from the intake. My 4 1/2 year old son loves the sound. I'm 46 years old, as cool as my 41 year old japanese girlfriend is with all the performance stuff, she thinks it makes my car sound juvenile.

I was looking for one with good sound. The good thing is I'm still a juvenille 

Mrmulletmania wrote:

iamchris wrote:

Mrmulletmania wrote:

So you just hear the bypass valve more then? why not just get a BOV then if thats what you want

Because an intake isn't detrimental to performance.

Proof?

You can recirc a bov and make it somewhat helped but if left open it's not exactly benefitial in regards to power. An intake isn't going to help but it's not going to hurt.

Rodman wrote:

Recently I installed a cobb intake, also that day, a perrin turbo inlet and a jdm v7 sti top mount intercooler. I noticed a dramatic smoothnes on acceleration and a stronger mid range. My least favorate part is the sound from the intake. My 4 1/2 year old son loves the sound. I'm 46 years old, as cool as my 41 year old japanese girlfriend is with all the performance stuff, she thinks it makes my car sound juvenile.

Is your car a 4EAT?

thebillsman wrote:

smadasam wrote:

My experience is the SPT stuff is junk.  With that being said, I agree with a lot of the other posters, you should probably put your money elsewhere.

Really? I rarely hear people talk poorly of SPT.. bad experience?

Yes.

I had a SPT catback that was crap.  It still cost like $500+, it was super heavy, and turned out to generate a lot of back pressure.  The SPT part out to be a "must replace" after my stroker engine build because of the ridiculous back pressure on the hot side of my turbo which was making it impossible to break 300+ WHP.  I swapped it out for a GPmoto turbo back and got 30+ whp on the next tune. 

Admittedly whoever is the ODM for the SPT intake is not the ODM for the SPT catback (Bossal in my case); however, I stick by my assertion that SPT stuff is certainly overpriced and most likely junk.  Subaru doesn't make the SPT stuff.  Their goal is to sell it with a high margin, and not effect the reliability of the car.  Compared to stock it, you may see some improvement, but I would guess it is more of a placebo effect than actual significant HP gains.  The SPT part will give you more intake and turbo sound, so psychologically you fell that it is making more power, but I would guess not much more power.

If you do your reading on this topic, the stock air box works just fine south of 300 whp; I would recommend spending your money on something else.  Focus on getting to the bigger turbo if you want real power gains.  On the cheap you can pick up used VF* sti turbos.

BTW, I also have had the K&N short ram which is also junk lest you feel tempted. 

In my personal stupid over eagerness, the K&N short ram and the SPT cat back were my first mods, and also my worst purchases.  They have since been replaced.

Yes, the SPT catback for our cars is garbage.
I bought one used for $200 for my WRX in 07 and when I got that car pro-tuned the tuner told me (after the tune  ) that the exhaust had cost me at least 10 WHP. I swapped it out with a used APS (which is now on the STI) and gained it back, after a "Tune Update" for $150. I was able to sell the SPT for $250 on NAZICOCK about 12 hours after I listed it. So yea, fuck SPT stuff.

So the intake came today after much delay with the snow up and down the east coast. It was a pretty simple install and all went as planned. Overall, it seems like a quality piece even if its function and performance gains are suspect. I haven't noticed any actual gains from the intake, with the exception that it may be a bit smoother as posted above but I would like to see how it does in the warm weather before I make a fair assumption. The noise is definately there, louder than the snorkus delete by a long shot. I'm happy with my purchase, even if it may be a power-placebo with more psychological benefits than actual.

iamchris wrote:

Did you end up getting a heat shield for it?

Yeah, got them both pretty much brand new (less than 1000mi) for $140 together.. the price is the only reason I got it.

thebillsman wrote:

iamchris wrote:

Did you end up getting a heat shield for it?

Yeah, got them both pretty much brand new (less than 1000mi) for $140 together.. the price is the only reason I got it.

dam gangsta u b rapin dey bank akkouns

I got the SPT a while back for I'll admit....the sound.  I also like that its a cast piece, a very solid intake and it looks good too.  I'd never buy one new tho, save some bucks and get a used one, cause like I said its cast and the chances of it being damaged are pretty slim to none

straytowel wrote:

the K&N short ram intake was proven to make 10hp/11tq on an STi. i'd hardly call that useless. i already argued that before in this thread.

Okay, I read the thread and you are right, it is probably not useless.  Unfortunately original blog post was gone, but it did seem there was some general love for the AEM and K&N short ram.  10hp is a nice little gain for a STI; I didn't catch if they had any other mods.  It would probably be something less than 10hp for the ej205, but maybe you could pick up a used one cheap it to make it worth it.

For me personally, the K&N intake became a limitation because of the small internal bore, but it seems like the same size as the stock turbo inlet.  If you are closer to stock, then it wouldn't matter that it has a smaller bore. 

It would probably be best to talk to an experienced and reputable Subaru tuner for advice.  Those guys have tuned hundreds if not thousands of cars and know how your car might respond to certain mod combos since they probably have seen it before.  It is probably best to determine what kind of budget you have for your car, and what kind of goals you would like to achieve.  He can then help you figure out how best to get there without too many missteps.

Last edited by smadasam (2011-02-18 01:43:55)