The Most Desired Tax Return Mods

As car enthusiasts, we understand that modifying cars is undoubtedly one of the most expensive hobbies known to mankind. The only other hobby that matches is buying yachts, private islands, or real estate in Monaco. Many normal and responsible human beings will think that we are crazy for spending $4k on a set of forged wheels when that money could have been used to invest in an IRA. Point being, car enthusiasts invest in their happiness in this crazy world, and people just have different ways of doing so. But many enthusiasts look forward to tax season because for those of us who get returns, many of us will use those funds to get something special for our cars. Now some of us may only get a few dollars back while others may get back a few thousand. And like many of us, tax returns may be the only time where we can get something awesome for our cars. Because of these reasons, we’d like to highlight some of the most desired tax return purchases.

 

OBVIOUSLY, CAT-BACK EXHAUST SYSTEMS

This is where many of you will opt to finally get the cat-back you’ve always wanted or replace the crusty pre-existing unit already on your car. With SubiSpeed, we only carry cat-back exhaust systems only brought to you by the most established brands such as Tomei as pictured above, as well as Invidia, COBB, Borla, Apexi, among several other great choices. All of which are model-specific to be direct drop-in units. The majority of examples will be made with the finest of stainless-steel construction. And for you ballers out there, we have full titanium units for those of you who want the extra weight savings. Why are cat-back systems favored among the masses? It’s the louder exhaust note, as well as more horsepower and torque.

 

 

 

ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO UPGRADE YOUR INTERIOR AND DRIVING EXPERIENCE IS WITH A FRESH STEERING WHEEL UPGRADE

The latest exotic cars, hyper cars, and luxury brand manufactures integrate a lot of carbon fiber and suede inside the cabin. We carry steering wheel upgrades that have carbon fiber, suede, and smooth perforated leather grips that are thicker, and improve your overall driving experience whether on the way to the grocery store or on the track much better. You can go with a complete aftermarket replacement, but the masses love the upgraded units where you can switch over your factory airbag and switches to really enhance the look and feel of your interior.

 

 

MANY OF YOU WANT MORE POWER THROUGH A BRAND-NEW TURBOCHARGER

Many of us are pushing 100k+ miles in older WRX or STI models, and then there are others who simply crave more power. Yet with age, turbochargers like any other wear and tear engine component will need replacing at some point. The bearings could wear, seals could leak oil, or the blades may have caught some sort of debris that could cause an imbalance. All of which will affect your performance as you will not make peak power with a worn or damaged turbine wheel. You also must consider the fact that the OEM turbocharger design is 20+ if not more, years old. Newer turbocharger technology has advanced with redesigned bearings, billet blades along with different blade designs. All of which allow the turbocharger to spool quicker while making more power. Just be mindful because many examples that we carry can produce a good amount of horsepower. And if you have a stock engine in a 05’ STI for example, you’re not going to want to exceed 375-400 HP unless you like paying for engine rebuilds. We have many awesome drop-in examples that you can run at lower boost levels that will produce more power when compared to the OEM unit.

 

 

 

SOME OF YOU WILL TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR DREAM WHEELS

We get it, Volks are the baller benchmark but it’s more than just the name. It’s the lightweight forged construction that sets these wheels apart from the rest. Volks aside, popular Enkei RPF1’s or the NT03’s are an awesome choice for a reason and that is because of the price point and the fitments. We have several quality options to make that tax return check disappear rather quickly. From Work wheels, Advan’s or Apex wheels, we have many options available in the appropriate sizes for your Subaru. Wheels are the most common exterior mod because they really enhance the personality of your vehicle, and they allow for a more aggressive tire size. But with Subarus, you can overdo it by getting an offset too aggressive with a tire too aggressive. This will just ruin your overall driving experience. Make sure that you research and get the right set of wheels that have proper fitment on your Subaru.

 

 

 

FINALLY, YOU CAN GET THAT INTERCOOLER UPGRADE

We’ve always discussed, and it is a well-known fact that the OEM intercoolers on any generation Subaru WRX, STI, or other turbocharged models experience heat soak with the OEM top mount intercooler. Because the turbocharger sits right below the top mount, the heat radiating off the exhaust housing will get the intercooler pretty hot. The intercooler can only rely on the air coming in from the hood scoop to try to cool those intake charge temperatures. But heat soak is when the intercooler fails to cool those charge temps going into the intake manifold, which will limit your power and potential. Heat soak only gets worse if you have mods that increase horsepower as the turbo will naturally want to make more boost.

The solution is a thicker top mount core, or a front mount intercooler setup. This is a must-have for those of you who experience really hot summers and need to make sure that those intake charge temperatures are cool enough so that your engine’s performance can run at peak efficiency. An upgraded top mount is typically good or up to 400 HP, while a front mount intercooler will be your best option for those of you who participate in track days or have a larger turbocharger that pushes more air.

 

 

 

DID YOU BBQ YOUR CLUTCH? REPEATED AWD LAUNCHES WILL DO THAT

Clutches can wear out quickly especially if you are making more power that surpasses the limits of your existing clutch. For example, the OEM clutch in a 2015 STI is rated for OEM power levels. The pad material on the disc, and the strength of the OEM pressure plate is only good enough to support 250ish ft lbs. of torque. As soon as you start making upgrades such as an intake, cat-back exhaust, and a tune from a COBB Accessport, you just increased your power by around 50 HP depending on what route you took. Problem is, is that now you are making more power, but especially more torque. Your OEM clutch will work harder to push that disc against the flywheel to hold during gear changes, and naturally you will generate more heat. The increased torque will overpower the friction pads on your OEM disc. Like brake pads, the friction pads on your clutch disc will either glaze on the flywheel, or they will quickly wear themselves down to where your clutch is no longer operable. Aftermarket clutch kits will feature friction pads on the disc that are made from different materials that are ceramic, organic, basically anything that can sustain more heat.

But to be fair once you start doing said basic upgrades, you will have to replace your clutch anyways. The key is to get a clutch that isn’t too aggressive, and that is manageable to support your power levels, while being comfortable to live with in day to day driving activities. The South Bend Stage 2 Daily is a great choice to handle the mods and the daily driving needs.

 

 

 

YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESSPORT. BUT IF YOU DON’T YOU BETTER BROTHER

The single most important upgrade to any turbocharged Subaru. As we have discussed many times, you cannot just add a cold air intake, but especially a downpipe without getting a tune. The reason being is that the OEM intake and the OEM downpipe (j-pipe on newer WRX models) is highly restrictive. The issue is that the ECU is programmed to control a certain level of boost, and it is programmed with specific fuel trim levels. If you make more boost then naturally, the ECU will tell your injectors and fuel pressure to increase the duty cycle so that your engine doesn’t lean out. When you upgrade to a cold air intake it allows the turbocharger to inhale a larger volume of air. This means that turbo will react faster and will be able to spool easier. When you upgrade your downpipe, you get the same results. An aftermarket downpipe will have smoother bends and larger piping diameter. This means there is no turbulence for those exhaust gases to escape, allowing the turbo to react faster because there are less restrictions to fight.

The problem is that naturally, the boost will increase, and you will see substantial gains in horsepower. You will make more boost than what your ECU is programmed to recognize, and your fuel trims can only compensate up to a certain level. The Accessport will come with downloadable maps that will smooth out your tune, so that you can safely run a cold air intake, and a turbo-back exhaust without the risk of boost or fuel cut which would otherwise damage your motor by creating a lean condition. Furthermore, the Accessport has several maps that you can download to work with higher staged modifications.

 

 

To conclude this article, these are the most popular purchases during tax season for those of you who are expecting a tax return. But our catalog is huge, and we are always happy to provide fellow customers and enthusiasts anywhere that we can, and always appreciate the business.