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Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 7:00 am
by TBSTI-Wagon
I'm at a stage where I'd like to explore some very basic tuning options for the car.

Intention is to look at a dump/mid pipe (running through the stock STI mufflers), and a decent tune to suit.

Trouble is, I've had quotes at ~$3000 for that which, reading people's comments on the cost of decent dump/mid-pipes etc. "seems" a little excessive.

So, I could use some advice on the best way to "screw this together". By that I mean, what would be a reasonable dump/mid-pipe combo (which would bolt up to the standard mufflers), and someone reasonable (and reasonably close) who could tune the car with these fitted...? And what's a reasonable ball-park figure as to what that should all cost? (If $3K is the answer, that's fine...just want to make sure that I understand what "fair value" for these mods is...).

Thanks in advance.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 2:19 pm
by tom_kauf
Was that for the Parts and tuning?

Because that's excessive. A dump pipe is $600-$1000, and about $500 for a road tune. I'm not sure who you have local, but the dyno tuners who charge $1000+ for a tune for such basic mods are not providing any value over a good road tuner.

That doesn't include labour to fit the dump pipe, but it's not a difficult job.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:38 pm
by Surge
I agree with everything above.

I'd probably look at installing the downpipe and midpipe DIY as it would be a fun afternoon job.

Some good details on that here:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=25017

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:58 am
by TBSTI-Wagon
Thanks for the responses.

Firstly, yes that quote was for dump and mid-pipe (~$1900) and tune (~$1100).

I figured it was a bit over the top, as I've seen people quote prices for piping at the sorts of money mentioned in the first response...Trouble is, most of those quote those prices from their "local exhaust shop". Not sure I'd trust any of the exhaust shops here to either (A) Charge a fair price or (B) to do a decent job of it. (Happy for someone local in Canberra who has had dump/mid-pipes made up for a Liberty to chime in with a recommendation if they wish).

Alternatively, if there are off-the-shelf, guaranteed to fit items I can purchase, please point me in their direction...

As for tuning, I read coments about Kido Tuning (Matt???). Is he around anymore? Does he ever travel to Canberra? If not him...who could do a decent tune in Canberra for fair $?

Open to suggestions...

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:23 am
by tom_kauf
Ah ok. Best Mufflers sell XForce Dump Pipes and Mid Pipes online. They were ~$600-$700 for the Dump Pipe a few years ago. Or you can source eg an NVidia one (which is slightly higher quality but a bit more expensive).
I agree that you wouldn't get a custom made one 'from a local exhaust shop'. There are enough off-the-shelf brands. They're discussed on this forum.

Matt (KiDo) hasn't been in good health lately, but he did travel all over Aus incl Canberra. See if you can get a hold of him on this forum (you'll find his name and posts in a lot of places). I'm not sure who is local to you, sorry.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 12:09 pm
by sheppo9
I'd go to either Fyshwick Exhausts (Notoras Motorsport) or Powatone Exhaust if you're not confident with bolt-on stuff, have used both, both are decent.
Notaras will recommend ESP in Qbn for a tune, I'd stay away from them, heard too many stories about them.
Could try Last Minute Racing in Sutton, heard good things about him.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 7:38 am
by boettr
Hey mate,

I'm in Canberra too. I've just reached out to Matt after hearing some good feedback and like you getting sticker shock from calling around some of the locals for a tune.

Perhaps with both of us interested he may have a little more incentive to head out this way.

Let me know how you go with the dump pipe and local shops because I might be heading down that route soon too.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:32 am
by TBSTI-Wagon
boettr wrote:Hey mate,

I'm in Canberra too. I've just reached out to Matt after hearing some good feedback and like you getting sticker shock from calling around some of the locals for a tune.

Perhaps with both of us interested he may have a little more incentive to head out this way.

Let me know how you go with the dump pipe and local shops because I might be heading down that route soon too.


TBH, it's not the $ which bother me per se...It's just the principle of Canberra businesses over-charging customers "because they can". (Not restricted to Tuners either, BTW).

And when I read people's comments on here saying "You paid $1000 for a dump and mid-pipe...? You got RIPPED", I figure there has to be a way to get decent quality of stuff, at reasonable cost...even if that means a bit of leg work. And leg work is definitely something I'm prepared to do.

I'll keep searching around for pipes etc. If Matt gets back to you, maybe we can get him down here at some stage.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:43 am
by tom_kauf
I mostly think the tuners that charge $1000+ for basic mods like yours are a rip-off (unless you get a lot of Dyno time as part of the tune). A high quality Ceramic coated dump pipe with a good Cat, that fits perfectly is worth $1000 imo. I paid about that for a PhatGT one (ex forum member who makes them, and sells them through Garage 88 where he works in Sydney). MRT also charge $1000+ for their dump pipe, and Invidia are $800-$1000. But of course you shouldn't pay for a local company putting a big markup on something.
If you're on a budget, or get eg an X-Force Dump Pipe (which is worth $600 at best) then $1000 is a rip. Especially since the X-Force required cutting when I had it, and isn't a great fit.

At a tuner that isn't experienced with Subarus, you're paying for the time they need to learn how to tune our cars, instead of someone who's done Subarus a lot and can just get straight to it.

Torqued Performance in America, who is extremely reputable over there, has Stage 1 off-the-shelf tunes for US$125. I'd only recommend an OTS Tune for basic mods, and I think it's only for WRXs unfortunately, but I heard that custom tunes were about US$200 last year (may have slightly gone up). You just need to borrow something like a Tactrix to connect to your ECU to do logging, and you're set. You do some road driving, incl wide-open-throttle runs in 3rd gear, and you send the logs off and receive an updated tune no later than next day.
It's similar to what Matt does, except Matt visits all the towns and does it locally. But with anything except serious mods, sending off logs is just as effective.

I can highly recommend Eric (Torqued Performance)!
I just didn't suggest him before, because you need the OBDII Cable to the ECU. But I'm sure someone in your area would have one to borrow.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:42 am
by boettr
I got in contact with Kido Tuning (Matt) on Facebook and they are planning a Canberra run this month (weren't specific on dates). They don't do any of the hardware installs but they did recommend Techworkz in Tuggeranong for a dump pipe install. I won't quote price since that seems to be frowned on but I was happy with what I was quoted. They offer free retunes if you mod further in the future.

I head the AVO dump pipe is a direct fit and is just under $700 from carmodsaustralia

Didn't have much luck with contact through PMs so give Facebook a go.

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 8:48 am
by TBSTI-Wagon
boettr wrote:I got in contact with Kido Tuning (Matt) on Facebook and they are planning a Canberra run this month (weren't specific on dates). They don't do any of the hardware installs but they did recommend Techworkz in Tuggeranong for a dump pipe install. I won't quote price since that seems to be frowned on but I was happy with what I was quoted. They offer free retunes if you mod further in the future.

I head the AVO dump pipe is a direct fit and is just under $700 from carmodsaustralia

Didn't have much luck with contact through PMs so give Facebook a go.


Thanks mate, appreciate the feedback. I'll check out the carmods site and see what they have, but it seems like I'll need to:

1) Source the appropriate bolt-on parts,

2) Have someone like Techworkz fit them up (assuming I won;t be able to do it in my garage with limited tools etc. ? and,

3) Get the whoie shooting match tuned by Matt if I can get hold of him and get the stuff installed by the time he gets here...

(All this while debating the merits of getting some serious coilovers for the thing...)

All $, right?

Re: Tuning etc. in or near Canberra...?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 8:54 am
by boettr
I'm debating coil overs too... It's primarily a street car but the stock ride is very bouncy.

I'll be waiting a few months before replacing any hardware though and taking advantage of the free re-tunes. Let me know what you end up putting on and how you got at Techworkz