Finally, I start to consider tuning power on my EVO X. It has stayed on Cobb stage 1 since day one. I autocross a lot, so low end torque is important for me.
Here is my planned list:
1. FMIC
2. UPIC
3. Tomei Test pipe (weight saving)
4. Tomei Cat Back (weight saving)
5. Downpipe ??
6. Aftermarket air intake or stock intake + K&N filter
7. 3ports
let me know if I miss anything else.

My questions are
1. Is aftermarket intake better than stock intake + K&N filter?
2. Is downpipe necessary for reaching ~350 whp? I have read somewhere people mentioning stock downpipe is good enough.
Certainly, I need good low end torque. I just done want to waste money on something that's not necessary. Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Most of my exp is with 3000GT's but I am about to run full turbo back and tune on my EVO. From my reading and experience you want to address the exhaust first. No turbocharged car should have a catalytic converter so a full tbe is going to be the first thing you want to do. Since you already have the cobb I would follow their recommended power stages and try a panel filter first before an intake. An evo with intake/ TBE and tune should put down over 300 awhp. I would skip the FMIC and piping. Unless your heatsoaking the stock one why waste your money? Use that money for the FMIC on a proper tune as that is the most important thing for your car

 

^agreed

answers as best I know
1. the stock intake with drop in filter is pretty decent for normal HP ranges around 350 hp... over 400 hp you'll need a different intake.
2. IMHO you might as well go for the full stage 3 set up and scratch the FMIC and hard pipes

 

So a few of things here;
- A 3 port is only required if you want to run a stage 3 OTS map.
- you have a question mark next to downpipe; given that you are running the car in Autocross events where you will spend a lot of time pushing the car and having lots of WOT events, then replacing the OEM downpipe is a good idea. Cobb suggest the replacement when running anything above a stage 1 tune because they believe that the downpipe retains additional heat which then leads to additional knock under their tunes.
- Again given that you Autocross the car, the UICP is a must, the OEM pipe, has an amazing amount of flex, after you replace this, with a set of hard pipes you will notice a difference in The cars throttle response; in fact you can even do this under the stage 1 tune without having to retune the vehicle, so you might want to add that on now
- FMIC is fairly subjective, and there are many topics on this forum that discuss them, I think the general consensus is that 3.5 inch is a good upgrade, 4 inch is really only needed when you plan to run a bigger turbo, so again do your research, it you have then you already know this.
- Intake: don't skimp here, this is a major limitation to your cars ability to produce power. While the standard air box with a K&N filter will produce more power, it is not as efficient as other setups. There are a lot of discussions on the site that discuss this and they are worth a look, however, if you are going to choose to use the Cobb AP I would suggest that you look at the calibration guide and see what aftermarket intakes are supported, what the differences are between them and then purchase the one that gives you the best gains that you can afford or that are allowed in either your state or Autocross event.

This is my 2cents worth anyway...

 

Just want to add, if your running the cobb OTS maps for anything more than a short period of time I would stick with cobb parts. Some people will probably argue that you can run w/e exhaust or intake you want, and you could but you probably wont get as good of results as you would by following their staged power upgrades completely. Anything you do or change will also change your tune. A cobb TBE will not perform the same as another brand. Most issues I read about with the OTS maps are when people mismatch all kinds of parts or expect the maps to work well with additional modifications to their car.


Also hard piping your intercooler system will change your cars volumetric efficiency. You may be able to get away with it w/o a retune but my experience with other vehicles has been significant changes in how the car ran. Just something to keep in mind especially with how sensitive the cars are on the intake side of things.

 

Sorry for bringing back an old thread, but i have a ETS test pipe, V2 etreme, and ETS intake right now. i'm running stage 2 MAP right now, i'm wondering if i can reflash to stage 2+ MAP? is there any difference in power gains between stage 2 and stage 2+?
I will also be adding AMS downpipe and a boost solenoid once i have the time to install that.
And i will be getting a protune once it's all complete.

 

The + maps are for open air filters (stock air box removed). So yes you can run the map.

 

Some very good points being made here, the first step I would do in trying to achieve that goal (aside from what is already done) is to swap out that downpipe for a catless one, will free up the exhaust might even free up some extra boost.

if you need help ordering any of these let me know.