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Improvements/Mods for My car

z1ggy

z1ggy

Lifer
Going along with the sticky post:

- Year
2007
- Make
Subaru
- Model
Impreza

I don't think the rest really matters. I am looking to make my car look more stylish looking and sounding. Id like to add a better exhaust, body kit, tires, etc that will really catch people's attention. I have no real budget, but I would like to keep it relatively inexpensive (under $5,000). I don't know much about cars, so any help is welcome. I have some research, but I'm not really sure what I need and what I don't need. Thank you in advance!
 
Whitewalls? 😛

Yeah, a better exhaust might help, but don't go overboard. Nobody likes fart can mufflers. An '07 Impreza is a pretty nice looking car. You are better off probably saving your money and keeping it clean/detailed for a while.
 
Sell it an buy a WRX that's styled more aggressively and has a turbo? You could do that for $5000 or less. Don't put a body kit on your car.
 
Thanks for the replies. I don't think selling my car and getting a new one is really a great idea for me unless I can get basically everything back for it. I'm in college and I would be using my summer job money to pay for a few things on it. So Im not considering that right now..Please if you can give me actual products or just general things I can do to achieve what I want.
 
Originally posted by: angry hampster
Sell it an buy a WRX that's styled more aggressively and has a turbo? You could do that for $5000 or less. Don't put a body kit on your car.
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Agreed. Modding an Impreza is not a good idea.

And for ideas, perhaps you should join a Subarau forum :thumbsup:


 
unfortunately, he is kinda right. Room for improvement on an Impreza is slim. Realistically, it shouldn't be too difficult to sell it and buy a 2004 WRX. Looking at Perrin and Cobb, about the only things i see that would improve performance of an Imp is a lightened crank pulley, and on an NA engine i'm not sure that would do any good. It would improve throttle response, a little. A quick search on AutoTrader tells me that, depending on mileage, your car is worth 14-17k. A 2004 WRX with 50-70k miles would set you back 12-14k.

Sticking with your car, you might be able to fit a Universal exhaust from HKS or Greddy on there, but on an NA engine, your looking at 5-10 hp tops. granted, any flat 4 sounds absolutely sick with a more open exhaust, but you won't gain much other than that.
 
Does the car have a turbo? If so, you can typically upgrade those for huge gains, and paired with an exhaust it should give you a very nice boost.

Can you add a turbo to the non-turbo imprezas?
 
Originally posted by: z1ggy
Thanks for the replies. I don't think selling my car and getting a new one is really a great idea for me unless I can get basically everything back for it. I'm in college and I would be using my summer job money to pay for a few things on it. So Im not considering that right now..Please if you can give me actual products or just general things I can do to achieve what I want.
Click to expand...

Get a job on top of classes. It's not that hard. 😉

Frankly though, I was being honest. The N/A boxer 4 is a solid, reliable engine, but there's not a whole lot you can do for extra power unless you dump a ton of money into it. The WRX is worlds ahead of the standard impreza in performance and sound. It's got better wheels, too, since you seem to be interested in that sorta thing.
 
Great advice/tips guys. I am most likely going to take the advice and sell my current car in a year or two once I grad for an 04/05 sti because I will be able to afford it. But for now, is there anything you can think of that will tickle my fancy that won't effect the resell price too much ( in terms of others NOT wanting to buy it)? Im assuming not many people unless they are like me would buy my car with a roaring exhaust on it.. 😛
 
Alright so that is settled then. I already have a system in it ( pioneer deck, mono amp and sub) that is pretty good. So looking ahead in the future when I trade this for a nice sti, what improvements could I add to that car? Because once I do this, I am looking to keep this sti for atleast 5-10 years. Same things as before apply.. nicer tires..new suspension..better turbo? I don't know how much better the sti's can get lol. Thanks again guys
 
Originally posted by: z1ggy
Alright so that is settled then. I already have a system in it ( pioneer deck, mono amp and sub) that is pretty good. So looking ahead in the future when I trade this for a nice sti, what improvements could I add to that car? Because once I do this, I am looking to keep this sti for atleast 5-10 years. Same things as before apply.. nicer tires..new suspension..better turbo? I don't know how much better the sti's can get lol. Thanks again guys
Click to expand...

What you should do is get a V-limited front spoiler, that will improve the look dramatically. If you would like to modify, there is no point in going for power. Look into driveline mods. Lightweight pulley, shortshifter, I highly recommend shifter bushings if you can get them.

If you autocross your car or anything like that let me know and I can recommend some more mods. But really you dont need to be doing anything. Do not do a body kit, please... if you want more flash, find someone with an STI and trade trunks. I know its the case here that lots of STi people want subtle spoilers and lots of NA people want huge wings.

Get rid of those crap chrome euro style tail lights too. Pick up some off an 04/05. Makes the car look much better from the ass.

Your car does not have the typical boxer rumble, if you want that you could look for a set of Borla headers.

Nothing is simple on these cars, we cannot just add performance parts and be done with it. You need to get it tuned nearly every time you change something. And there is no such thing as a simple turbo swap if you get into a turbo car. The cheapest turbo swap you will be doing will exceed $5,000 I guarantee it.
 
Terrible idea, as already mentioned. Sell it and buy a car that's better from the get go. I cannot believe you'd actually work over the summer to mod a car that will still be slower than a decent minivan at the lights, come on. Don't do it. Sell it and get a WRX if you want something more stylish.

Glad to see by the end of the thread you're on board with not throwing much money at it.
 
Thanks for more replies. Doing more researching I have found an 04 sti for 18 grand that has about 40k miles on it. I read though on the subaru forum I am part of that the 05 is worth the extra cash. Better interior and some improvements make it worth about 5k more on the used market. Is this true?
 
Look here -----> NASIOC

That being said, I had a lightly modded NA Impreza, though it was a 99 RS and I bought it before the WRX hit the US so I didn't have the option just to get the WRX from the get go.

A few things I installed, all performance minded, were:
Borla headers
Cat back exhaust
lightweight drive pully
COBB CAI
Kartboy Short Shift Kit
Whiteline Rear sway bar with solid end links
Rear strut tower bar
Front/rear slotted roters with upgraded pads
17" rotas with summer performance tires

Looks like you realized that you may be better off just getting something different in a few years. Honestly not sure what region you are in but you could get some custom wheels and performance tires and possibly some suspension bits that could be easily uninstalled when you sell it for reasonably priced, these should make the car more fun to drive. Like stated above, I wouldn't do a ton to the car that isn't easily set back to stock if you plan on selling soon because modded cars lose value rather than gain in most situations.
 
So, when the time comes to get my sti, are there any improvements I could make to it that are non power upgrades. I figure it will already have enough HP so.. basically I would just want it to look/sound nicer.. maybe get the ladies attention 😉.
 
I personally wouldn't mod an impreza. It seems to have little potential, and people won't give you that much resp for modding a watered down wrx. The most I would do is get wheels.
 
Originally posted by: z1ggy
So, when the time comes to get my sti, are there any improvements I could make to it that are non power upgrades. I figure it will already have enough HP so.. basically I would just want it to look/sound nicer.. maybe get the ladies attention 😉.
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STi's have gold wheels and a ridiculous wing on the trunk lid. How much more attention do you want?


You could always mount a gigantic shark wing on the roof.
 
Haha, well I meant something like the widebody kit..tints..front spoiler.. etc. The newer Sti's don't have that huge wing on the back anymore now so I'd have to get an 05 or earlier I think.
 
Originally posted by: z1ggy
Haha, well I meant something like the widebody kit..tints..front spoiler.. etc. The newer Sti's don't have that huge wing on the back anymore now so I'd have to get an 05 or earlier I think.
Click to expand...


If you like the blob eye style, get the 05. DO NOT get an 04. They have the same hubs as an impreza/wrx, and do not have an immobilizer. The 05's upgraded to stronger 5x114.3 hubs and include the aformentioned security. Im partion to the hawk eyes - infact I have an '07 STI that I have highly modified. I hate flash though so I got rid of the spoiler and badging and chrome - and had all the stuff in my enginebay powdercoated black instead of their stock polished steel and red.

Widebody kit, not a good idea, front spoiler looks killer (I have one), dont have tints, because I happen to hate black cars with dark tint, I love the all black stealth look, but you need to break it up somehow.

I added a carbon fiber trunk, probably saved about 25 lbs, I painted it to match the car, might add a CF hood too, and have it painted except for one virgin CF stripe up the middle.... Im thinking about that one.

They're great cars! If you want to modify it and add a bigger turbo, your best bet is going to be buying one with a blown engine. Engines in these cars are damn cheap, so get a shell and drop in a fully built engine for the same price as a well maintained old car.
 
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