Anyone modded MY07 or MY08 Lib STi?

[AdamW]

Arith
And unless you're planning to track the car every weekend,
Or if you're real serious you'll want to go the route of FMIC and larger turbo. Unfortunately that introduces a bit of lag to the equation

I am in the same boat this is my first turbo car.. I have a quote to get the “MRT Front Dump Pipe and Centre Section Only” (Retains Standard Rear Mufflers for quietness).. Do you know anything about this exhaust?.. I don’t mine paying extra for an exhaust that will give me more performance while still retaining some quietness.. I definitely wont be planning to track the car every weekend as I spend nearly 10 months of the year out of the country for work, so I probably won’t get too heavily into the mods just yet, I am not too keen on too much lag as it will be mostly a every day drive car while I am home, so I definitely want a faster road based car.. I just had a look at the forum “K2 Gear Exhaust” and they look like they could be what I am chasing although I have been told that the “MRT Front Dump Pipe and Centre Section Only” will also give me performance & quietness.. Is the CAI legal? Re: the exposed pod filter?

[chriskan]

Adam, I've been looking into this too.

I recently had my car dyno'd at a wrx club dyno day @ AVO and netted 156kw atw, stock, and running rich (not sure why - only "mod" I've done is the HKS Panel and resorectamy). AVO said I could get a few more kw's just reflashing to fix up the AFR's as is, and of course improved driveability.

The net gains just from mufflers alone would be neglible from what people have found, as the liberty system flows well, and as Jim said it's the dump and centre pipe that is the restriction. I'm sticking with my sti mufflers, but if I ever change the turbo, then the mufflers will be changed too. Of course I'll also prob go FMIC at this point. I'm just waiting for the v2 tactrix cables to be released (ETA is next month and then start moving forward with the mods. I'm not after huge numbers, just a bit more power mid range, and free up the turbo.

I had a pod on there and it drove me nuts (noise - apexi power intake). The car also runs like crap without a retune - the 07's anyway, can't speak for the older ones. The stock airbox, with hks filter, airguide and home made CAI (in the works) flows quite wheel from the pants dyno.. so I'll stick with that

@Boxer: as mentioned, I netted 156 atwkw. Be interesting to see what a standard GT-B nets at the wheels. I only went along on the day out of curiosity, and it was cheap

[Arith]

Not sure about QLD, but the CAI is definitely not legal in NSW. How did they quote you for the MRT system? And did you catch the specs like the pipe diameter for the centre pipe?

Keep in mind changing the the dump pipe already introduces new noise levels already. But it's not too bad when paired up with the STi mufflers. The exhaust note will be deeper and there will be a bit more rumble in the cabin, but overall still liveable. XRC15T has this setup in place and libsti is about to get the parts for the same setup.

The K2 Gear system has the benefit of twin centre pipes, which when combined together is actually larger than most 3" systems. The reason why it's pretty quiet and provides good performance gains is that it uses a decent free flowing muffler in the centre. Like the Fujitsubo's, it also has the best of both worlds with a quiet cabin and performance gains (though not as much as the Fujitsubo's for the quad tips). So it's just a matter of whether your preference is the quad tip look or the large single tip look.

[chriskan]

Keep in mind changing the the dump pipe already introduces new noise levels already. But it's not too bad when paired up with the STi mufflers. The exhaust note will be deeper and there will be a bit more rumble in the cabin, but overall still liveable. XRC15T has this setup in place and libsti is about to get the parts for the same setup.

Jim, does Franky's setup sound any louder from the outside - deeper/rumble?

[Boxer]

@Boxer: as mentioned, I netted 156 atwkw. Be interesting to see what a standard GT-B nets at the wheels. I only went along on the day out of curiosity, and it was cheap

Chriskan - would be interesting to put a stock GTB on that dyno as it seems high.

The results I've seen stock GTB do 132kw and STi GTB's do 142-144kw on same dyno.

The graphs do vary car to car - some were rich and others were spot on (the higher kw figures were more ideal fueling) And some were smother than others

[Arith]

Jim, does Franky's setup sound any louder from the outside - deeper/rumble?

I honestly can't say, as I've never been a passenger inside his car. That's just from what I heard. Hopefully he'll see this thread and post feedback from his own account.

However with my own experience and feedback from others, the DP mod automatically increases noise due to its nature. But it's a deeper rumble rather than just louder.

[MY07GT]

Guys Franky's car (or Norms) are a 2.0lt Will not be producing similar sounds to you guys as he has even length headers. Louder outside yes, burble no.

Stock GTB's dyno figures sit around 130-133kw. Im guessing t/b sti version should be at most 10kw more.

Phil.

[Arith]

Opps. Sorry, Phil. By "rumble" I meant the growl of the exhaust, not the burble. The 2.0t will get a deeper growl, but still no burble.

[AdamW]

AirthHow did they quote you for the MRT system? And did you catch the specs like the pipe diameter for the centre pipe?
Like the Fujitsubo's, it also has the best of both worlds with a quiet cabin and performance gains (though not as much as the Fujitsubo's for the quad tips). So it's just a matter of whether your preference is the quad tip look or the large single tip look.

Doesn’t the K2 Gear have he quad tips and the Fujitsubo's the large single tips?

MRT Full 3" Turbo Back Exhaust - $ 2,610
or
MRT Front Dump Pipe and Centre Section Only - $ 1,698 (Retains Standard Rear Mufflers).. How does this compare?

I will email them for some more detailed specs..

I wish I could hear a few exhaust set ups 'in person' before I make my final decision, but I am only back for a week and a half, so it wouldn’t leave enough time to listen to exhausts, and if I like one, order it in to get the work done before I have to take off again.. Were I a few years younger I would be more than happy to get the loudest exhaust out there (as I have in the past) but I think the liberty is too nice a car to spoil it with an overly loud exhaust. I definitely prefer the quad tips. I think they give the car a bit more class compared to the large single tip.. Its more of a refined power look..

So no one has a had a retune on a stock Lib STi?

[AdamW]

AirthHow did they quote you for the MRT system? And did you catch the specs like the pipe diameter for the centre pipe?
Like the Fujitsubo's, it also has the best of both worlds with a quiet cabin and performance gains (though not as much as the Fujitsubo's for the quad tips). So it's just a matter of whether your preference is the quad tip look or the large single tip look.

Doesn’t the K2 Gear have he quad tips and the Fujitsubo's the large single tips?

MRT Full 3" Turbo Back Exhaust - $ 2,610
or
MRT Front Dump Pipe and Centre Section Only - $ 1,698 (Retains Standard Rear Mufflers).. How does this compare?

I will email them for some more detailed specs..

I wish I could hear a few exhaust set ups 'in person' before I make my final decision, but I am only back for a week and a half, so it wouldn’t leave enough time to listen to exhausts, and if I like one, order it in to get the work done before I have to take off again.. Were I a few years younger I would be more than happy to get the loudest exhaust out there (as I have in the past) but I think the liberty is too nice a car to spoil it with an overly loud exhaust. I definitely prefer the quad tips. I think they give the car a bit more class compared to the large single tip.. Its more of a refined power look..

So no one has a had a retune on a stock Lib STi?

[Arith]

Doesn’t the K2 Gear have he quad tips and the Fujitsubo's the large single tips?

Yes, K2's also have a twin pipe with a large centre muffler design while Fujitsubo's have a single pipe and resonator design.

MRT Full 3" Turbo Back Exhaust - $ 2,610 or MRT Front Dump Pipe and Centre Section Only - $ 1,698. How does this compare?

Hmm, about comparible to the HiTech setup (~$2600 for the turbo back for them). But cheaper than the K2's for sure. Anyone want to chime in on how much the Fujitsubo's are? But viriix has the MRT dump pipe with the Fujitsubo's and so far he's happy with them.

The reason I advise you to email MRT for further specs is because the HiTech setup is only running a mere 2.5". For a 2.0t WRX they have a 3" setup, but for a 2.5t Liberty they run 2.5"? Just want to make sure you don't get anything less than 3".

I wish I could hear a few exhaust set ups 'in person' before I make my final decision

You've probably already been through the exhaust clips on YouTube already, but in case you haven't: http://forum.liberty.asn.au/viewtopic.php?t=2382

But yeah, nothing beats listening to them in person, because it's hard as heck to capture the experience inside the cabin with a video camera.

Were I a few years younger I would be more than happy to get the loudest exhaust out there (as I have in the past) but I think the liberty is too nice a car to spoil it with an overly loud exhaust.

Haha. Join the club. 10 years back I would have went all out. The hell with the noise. But now it's a bit more refinement and comfort, but still have that 'kick ass' on tap.

So no one has a had a retune on a stock Lib STi?

With it's already revised ECU from the factory, I really don't think it's worth tuning a stock STi unless you throw on a few worth while mods. Especially if you pay quite a bit of money for something that won't get you all your money's worth in gains because you're still being held up by the dump pipe, exhausts, TMIC, etc.

[adam]

c'mon mate... flights to sydney are cheap as chips for you to make it to a meet. I'm sure with a "special interstate guest" it'd be a good turnout. and then you'd get to hear all your exhaust options.

[MY08GT-B]

I replied on one of your other threads, I have the full MRT system on a gt-b & picked up 40 odd kw. The STI makes more power because of the ECU having a flash netting about 10 kw.

When you then go and tune with ecutek it will even things out to be similar to a gt-b ECU with the ecutek tune, as the power difference is mainly due to the ECU with 1 or 2 kw released by the STI mufflers.

The MRT system is 3" from turbo to the y-pipe & then 2.5" after the split.

[Arith]

Ahh, thanks for that Dave. Always good to get first hand accounts of mods.

When you got the full turbo back from MRT, was the 40kw gain just from the setup or was that including the tune as well?

[MY08GT-B]

That increase was from the exhaust, ecutek tune & high flow panel filter. There were probably another 5-10 kw left on the table, but I wanted a "safe" tune as I live about 1,000 k's from the tuner I use (S&J in Adelaide) so popping back in is not very easy

PS. Considered going to MRT for the work, but had used Sean in the past with WRXs & trust his work, & appreciate his service & attitude.