My visit to Buschur
My visit to Buschur
After driving to Ohio from Texas and getting two tickets on the way, I was definitely down on spirits this week. Of course, the distract myself from my recent misfortune, I start doing more research on tuners and the products available for my Evo. If my stock car is already too fast, there's no point in holding back, I say.
Last Thursday morning, I was on a conference call and my mind was wandering, so I browsed the buschurracing website, in the forums I find a post from David looking for an EVO8 volunteer to develop an axle-back exhaust. I look at the phone number and it's a 440 area code, which is coincidentally the same area code that my car is. I'm a believer in fate and good fortune, so I give david a call. I'm going to be everywhere this coming week, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, and so is he, so we pick Saturday morning as the day to show up at the shop, he promises to be done in four hours. He says I can stick around if I stay out of his way.
I called my brother, who is in medical school in Cleveland, and asked him if he wanted to come along. He was a little skeptical but then I told him it was David Buschur and he was pretty excited as he said that he had seen David on ESPN and needed a break from studying anyway. So we pack into the car and drive the 40 miles to Buschur. We showed up to the shop 20 minutes late, but David greeted us heartily and got the car up on a lift immediately. Then he showed us around.
There were three other guys working there on various projects, which was impressive to see on a Saturday morning. In a bay next door was a monster Dodge Conquest with the license plate 'JUSTA 4'. Under the hood was the venerable 4G63 making upwards of 650 hp. Also in the bay was a Gen 1 DSM with its engine mounted the wrong way. Being in the garage with these cars was kind of like walking into Target and seeing two movie stars, they looked perfect and gleaming and ready to go. Streaks of rubber on the rear fenders of the Conquest proved that these were no show cars. Perhaps most interesting was the Evo 8 in the corner. I don't want to give away anything, but I think that we're going to see some interesting things from Buschur in the next few months, nothing that we've ever really seen before from a US tuner. David took his time to walk us around, talk a bit about his tuning philosophy, and teach us some Practical Turbocharging 101.
Back in the bay, the stock muffler is off and David is back and forth trying a variety of configurations of mufflers and stainless pipe. Eventually he finds a conguration that works and brings out the welder. As he worked on figuring out the axle-back, Tym, the resident mad scientist, is walking into and out of the other bay holding bits of aluminum for the new Evo "project." An hour later, after some cutting and welding and tossing ideas around with Tym, the prototype is done and we fire up the car. The difference in sound is remarkable, as is the difference in weight between stock and prototype. You can really hear the engine, the sound seems to have dropped a register or two, and the off-throttle popping only evokes memories of Tommi Makinen taking a fast turn in Monte Carlo. David is a practical guy, he can tune an AFCII like any SoCal shop, but in the end, you have to get in the car and drive around to really see how things work.
The customer doesn't have a dyno at home to chart his changes, but the first thing he'll do when he puts the new part on is drive around to see how it feels. I was really excited by the axle-back. Of course the sound added to the sensation of speed but it really felt like there was more power in the middle, even on 92 octane which was all I could find in Ohio at the time. The new tip actually looks pretty good, and actually less like a cheap aftermarket bolt on than the stock part.
I am sure that the axle-back is going to be well worth whatever David is planning to charge for it, but he offered me a deal on the catback for helping him out, and I could drive away with my new part, instead of waiting for the production axle-back. Of course, when you're in a race shop and you see the 3" catback exhausts, you won't just want the axle-back. Having been bitten by the bug, I decided to go with the 3" SCCA catback that bolts to the stock cat. Before someone says that David tried to put the hard sell to get me to pay for a catback instead of having him give me an axle-back for free, let me first say that David made it clear that the combination of an axle-back (which would be free to me) and an off-road pipe (which would be much less than the catback) would be the best bang for my buck. Since I'm a tree hugger, I decided to stick with the cat, and I was more than happy to spend the money. David put the thing on himself in about 15 minutes. He could have probably done it in 5 if he wasn't spending so much time filling us in on his personal tuning philosphy and explaining the various improvements his exhaust would have over stock.
First impressions of the cat back are twofold. First, it's definitely louder than stock. Without the resonators and the pneumatic flap stock muffler, you can really hear what's going on. Definitely louder than the axle-back, so if you're sensitive to that, the a-b is probably the way to go for you. I will say that the sound is very nice, it's a deep rumble (well, for a 2 liter anyway) and not like a coffee can muffler at all. Also, once you really step on it, the difference in power is amazing. I don't really know how much horsepower, if any is added to the top end, but the power seems to come on stronger and more smoothly than stock. I haven't felt this way since I first test drove an Evo after stepping out of a stock WRX. More interestingly, my girlfriend, whom I taught how to drive stick only 2 weeks ago, says that the car is much easier to drive with the new exhaust. Maybe the added sound is a strong aural cue for hearing how the engine is doing, and maybe the low end grunt is that much better, who knows. But it was a win-win situation. I loved how the car drove and sounded, and my girlfriend loved that the car was much easier for her to drive.
To call Buschur Racing a tuner shop is doing both the man and the shop a disservice. This is not a person who just showed up on the scene yesterday. This man has over ten years of practical experience tuning and racing the 4G63. He's surrounded by a good team of bright people who not only come to work for a paycheck, but also to learn the tips and tricks of the trade, and David is a good teacher. He's a guy who clearly has been there and done that and blown up a few engines so that he knows exactly what they can and cannot do. He's also a guy who would rather sell you a $75 MBC rather than a $400 EVC because they both suit the application equally well. I'll definitely be keeping track of the BR website with great interest in the near future...
Last Thursday morning, I was on a conference call and my mind was wandering, so I browsed the buschurracing website, in the forums I find a post from David looking for an EVO8 volunteer to develop an axle-back exhaust. I look at the phone number and it's a 440 area code, which is coincidentally the same area code that my car is. I'm a believer in fate and good fortune, so I give david a call. I'm going to be everywhere this coming week, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, and so is he, so we pick Saturday morning as the day to show up at the shop, he promises to be done in four hours. He says I can stick around if I stay out of his way.
I called my brother, who is in medical school in Cleveland, and asked him if he wanted to come along. He was a little skeptical but then I told him it was David Buschur and he was pretty excited as he said that he had seen David on ESPN and needed a break from studying anyway. So we pack into the car and drive the 40 miles to Buschur. We showed up to the shop 20 minutes late, but David greeted us heartily and got the car up on a lift immediately. Then he showed us around.
There were three other guys working there on various projects, which was impressive to see on a Saturday morning. In a bay next door was a monster Dodge Conquest with the license plate 'JUSTA 4'. Under the hood was the venerable 4G63 making upwards of 650 hp. Also in the bay was a Gen 1 DSM with its engine mounted the wrong way. Being in the garage with these cars was kind of like walking into Target and seeing two movie stars, they looked perfect and gleaming and ready to go. Streaks of rubber on the rear fenders of the Conquest proved that these were no show cars. Perhaps most interesting was the Evo 8 in the corner. I don't want to give away anything, but I think that we're going to see some interesting things from Buschur in the next few months, nothing that we've ever really seen before from a US tuner. David took his time to walk us around, talk a bit about his tuning philosophy, and teach us some Practical Turbocharging 101.
Back in the bay, the stock muffler is off and David is back and forth trying a variety of configurations of mufflers and stainless pipe. Eventually he finds a conguration that works and brings out the welder. As he worked on figuring out the axle-back, Tym, the resident mad scientist, is walking into and out of the other bay holding bits of aluminum for the new Evo "project." An hour later, after some cutting and welding and tossing ideas around with Tym, the prototype is done and we fire up the car. The difference in sound is remarkable, as is the difference in weight between stock and prototype. You can really hear the engine, the sound seems to have dropped a register or two, and the off-throttle popping only evokes memories of Tommi Makinen taking a fast turn in Monte Carlo. David is a practical guy, he can tune an AFCII like any SoCal shop, but in the end, you have to get in the car and drive around to really see how things work.
The customer doesn't have a dyno at home to chart his changes, but the first thing he'll do when he puts the new part on is drive around to see how it feels. I was really excited by the axle-back. Of course the sound added to the sensation of speed but it really felt like there was more power in the middle, even on 92 octane which was all I could find in Ohio at the time. The new tip actually looks pretty good, and actually less like a cheap aftermarket bolt on than the stock part.
I am sure that the axle-back is going to be well worth whatever David is planning to charge for it, but he offered me a deal on the catback for helping him out, and I could drive away with my new part, instead of waiting for the production axle-back. Of course, when you're in a race shop and you see the 3" catback exhausts, you won't just want the axle-back. Having been bitten by the bug, I decided to go with the 3" SCCA catback that bolts to the stock cat. Before someone says that David tried to put the hard sell to get me to pay for a catback instead of having him give me an axle-back for free, let me first say that David made it clear that the combination of an axle-back (which would be free to me) and an off-road pipe (which would be much less than the catback) would be the best bang for my buck. Since I'm a tree hugger, I decided to stick with the cat, and I was more than happy to spend the money. David put the thing on himself in about 15 minutes. He could have probably done it in 5 if he wasn't spending so much time filling us in on his personal tuning philosphy and explaining the various improvements his exhaust would have over stock.
First impressions of the cat back are twofold. First, it's definitely louder than stock. Without the resonators and the pneumatic flap stock muffler, you can really hear what's going on. Definitely louder than the axle-back, so if you're sensitive to that, the a-b is probably the way to go for you. I will say that the sound is very nice, it's a deep rumble (well, for a 2 liter anyway) and not like a coffee can muffler at all. Also, once you really step on it, the difference in power is amazing. I don't really know how much horsepower, if any is added to the top end, but the power seems to come on stronger and more smoothly than stock. I haven't felt this way since I first test drove an Evo after stepping out of a stock WRX. More interestingly, my girlfriend, whom I taught how to drive stick only 2 weeks ago, says that the car is much easier to drive with the new exhaust. Maybe the added sound is a strong aural cue for hearing how the engine is doing, and maybe the low end grunt is that much better, who knows. But it was a win-win situation. I loved how the car drove and sounded, and my girlfriend loved that the car was much easier for her to drive.
To call Buschur Racing a tuner shop is doing both the man and the shop a disservice. This is not a person who just showed up on the scene yesterday. This man has over ten years of practical experience tuning and racing the 4G63. He's surrounded by a good team of bright people who not only come to work for a paycheck, but also to learn the tips and tricks of the trade, and David is a good teacher. He's a guy who clearly has been there and done that and blown up a few engines so that he knows exactly what they can and cannot do. He's also a guy who would rather sell you a $75 MBC rather than a $400 EVC because they both suit the application equally well. I'll definitely be keeping track of the BR website with great interest in the near future...
It was nice talking to you on Saturday I was the guy under the '90 Red Talon to the right of your evo. My name is Jarrod by the way. I'm glad you liked your visit here at the shop. Like I told you saturday David and Tym are the 2 smartest guys I have ever met and the 2 smartest that you will probably meet. I have been here for just a little over a month and have learned 200% more about DSM's than I knew when I started. Coming to work here everyday is a blast and I love it here. I hope you like your exhaust. And remember when you need more parts for it come back!
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1
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From: Wakeman, OH
Very nice write up. It was very nice meeting the both of you. *I'm Chris BTW, I was tearing apart the white 93'AWD Talon* The car sounds awesome, and it was a pleasure dealing with you. Like Jarrod said, you know where to come when your ready to go faster :-D Enjoy your EVO.
Not very often you find people who go out of their way to explain and help someone out, especially when it comes to dealing w/ cars. That makes me feel much better about purchasing from Buschur.
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I've gone wtih Buschur for most of my mods. Great service and kickass parts.
BTW - when is the MAF pipe going to be ready? Any chance of selling the Mini Batery, Upper I/C Pipe, and MAF Pipe as a kit for less price then it would if you bought all seperately? I'm getting it either way.
BTW - when is the MAF pipe going to be ready? Any chance of selling the Mini Batery, Upper I/C Pipe, and MAF Pipe as a kit for less price then it would if you bought all seperately? I'm getting it either way.
The MAS air pipe kit is available. It sells for $200 but if you get the filter at the same time we sell it for $275. I'm not sure about selling it all as a kit. Everything together the MAS pipe, UIC pipe ( polished) ,and mini battery would be $755 plus shipping.So when you need us just call the shop or you can place an order online. Thanks and we are looking forward to hearing from you
i went to buschur all the way from louisiana and those guys were like family they took my car as son as they got there (i got there the nite before at 9pm) and started on it i left the next day with all the mods and a bigoll smile on my face. the trip was worth it as well as time you spend lerning.
We can do a package price on that stuff for you. I don't want to give it away but we can probably do that kit for $725. Some savings is better than none, right...RIGHT!? haha
Take care guys and thanks alot for the kind words, we try our best.
David Buschur
www.buschurracing.com
Take care guys and thanks alot for the kind words, we try our best.
David Buschur
www.buschurracing.com
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 21
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after looking around and doing some research into the various shops working on the evo, i must say that buscher will be where me and my money goes in november. ive been nothing but impressed, and i dont even own an evo, yet.
Originally posted by davidbuschur
We can do a package price on that stuff for you. I don't want to give it away but we can probably do that kit for $725. Some savings is better than none, right...RIGHT!? haha
Take care guys and thanks alot for the kind words, we try our best.
David Buschur
www.buschurracing.com
We can do a package price on that stuff for you. I don't want to give it away but we can probably do that kit for $725. Some savings is better than none, right...RIGHT!? haha
Take care guys and thanks alot for the kind words, we try our best.
David Buschur
www.buschurracing.com
