Please help me pick out an intake and a turbo-back exhaust. I have a 2010 MR and so far my only mod is an AccessPort. I have done a tremendous amount of research on the forums and I have even contacted the manufacturers directly, but I still can’t decide. These are what I have narrowed it down to. Please give me your thoughts but please don’t just respond with “AMS ftw” or “ETS ftw”. For the intake, I am looking for more power as well as the sounds that an intake will provide. For the exhaust, I want louder than stock, but still legal for autocross (<92db from 50’). It has to pass a Nevada smog check (no visual inspection, just a hookup to the computer) and I don’t want it to rattle or drone. I also would like to have it not throw a CEL even without the AccessPort. It also has to be twin-tip.

• Intake
  • AEM
    • Pros
      • CARB legal (although this isn’t that much of a big deal for me since I live in NV).
      • Seems to measure the coldest air temperatures.
      • A lot of people have it and seem to like it.
      • Besides the Edmunds modded Evo, I have read about at least 2 others switching from AMS or ARC to AEM for more power.
      • Filter doesn’t need oiling.
      • Cheapest
    • Cons
      • Cheap plastic that tends to crack over time.
      • Quiet.
  • ETS
    • Pros
      • Many people in the forums claim that this one gives the most power due to 5” inlet.
      • Stock MAF (although I’m not sure if this is a big deal since I have the AccessPort).
    • Cons
      • No AccessPort support which makes me question ETS.
  • AMS (Performance Intake, not CAI)
    • Pros
      • Comes in black
    • Cons
      • Not many people seem to have it.
      • Edmunds switched from the AMS to the AEM for more power.
  • Injen
    • Pros
      • Comes with an upper IC pipe (although I’m not sure if this has any functional benefit other than bling).
    • Cons
      • Not many people seem to have it.
      • Most expensive by far.
• Exhaust
  • ETS
    • Pros
      • Supposedly the most tucked if I ever lower the car.
      • Has a built-in fix for the CEL.
    • Cons
      • People say that it rattles against the heatshield.
      • People also say that it drones.
      • Possibly too loud for autocross.
  • AMS
    • Pros
      • A lot of people seem to have it (including the Edmunds modded Evo).
      • Has the ability to change the sound (although I don’t know if this is important to me at all).
      • A lot of people seem to think that the AMS downpipe is much better than all the competitors.
    • Cons
      • Doesn’t have a built-in CEL fix (but they do offer spacers).
      • Most expensive.
  • Cobb
    • Pros
      • Only one I’ve seen written up in a magazine with proven power.
    • Cons
      • Quiet
      • They didn’t respond to my emails.
  • Perrin
    • Pros
      • Comes in black.
      • Many people who have heard multiple exhausts in person say that this one sounds the best.
      • Downpipe is combined with cat.
      • Lifetime warranty on the exhaust.
      • Cheapest.
    • Cons
      • People say that it rattles against the heatshield.
      • Downpipe doesn’t replace the O2 connection like the rest.
      • Doesn’t have a built-in CEL fix.

 

I think youre putting too much thought into this. Just go AMS because they've proven themselves time and again. You'll pay a bit more but you know their parts are proven.

 

I have the Turbo XS TBE and it has been excellent thus far. It's almost factory quiet, the piping is all nicely done and I paid 600.00 for the whole thing... it beats paying 1000.00 or more for a name. An intake? You are doing yourself no favors unless you plan on going up to or around 400 whp, there just isn't much point. Go with a GOOD drop in like Works, ( I use a Green Performance filter) K&N (though I think their filtration sucks) or HKS drop in. With the extra money you can buy yourself an UICP, get a good tune and be around 320 or so whp (depending on your octane)... sounds a lot better than just saying "hey, look at me, I have AMS stuff" lol.

 

I have the Perrin turbo-back exhaust and absolutely love it. I just saw a guy post on the "other" forums, and it looks like quality has gotten even better since I bought mine, and I had/have no complaints with mine whatsoever.
It definitely goes for sound "quality" over "quantity".. It doesn't make the most noise out of any unit out there but the sounds that you do hear are all oh-so-wonderful, and there is never any drone or "ricey" type noise.
As far as intakes, I'd go with something that the Accessport supports. That way you can do your exhaust and intake and go online to download a semi-custom map for your car.
Cobb's exhaust is also extremely nice, they are in the process of relocating their main facility across state lines, so don't be surprised if they are out of touch for a bit. Call Cobb Plano, I think they have some in stock.

 

I definitely want something louder than stock. You are the first person I've heard say good stuff about the Turbo XS turbo-back. Not that I've heard bad stuff about it, just a lot of indifference, other than price. According to the website, the full turbo back is 1145 which is a little cheaper than the Perrin, but I'm not sure where 600 came from since the cat-back alone is 700.

 

I just went with drop in filter with agp hard pipe intake I made same power as my friend with his aem, and its a sleeper specially when the highway patrol ask you to open your hood, for turbo back I went with T1R 76s cat back exhaust a little pricy but I got mine black friday so I got it for a very good deal, its louder than stock, but not too loud that you get attention, quality is not bad,really nice throaty sound at WOT, no drooning sound inside chek out you tube, ams widemouth and RRE rallye test pipe with CEL fix from pep boys(this is a resonated test pipe with a cat heatshield welded to it so it looks like a stock cat if you look at it) I have a mr also and yes you want to pick the right exhaust bcause of the SST if you pick a loud one it will get a lot of attention, far as the intake goes the stock set up is pretty effiecient already all you need is a high flow AF and replace the rubber intake with a hard pipe if you like to keep it low key
so good luck

 

I have the greddy Ti-C turboback and I am a lot happier than i thought i would be with it. the price is unbeatable, I paid 700 shipped. I thought i would miss the twin tip, but the weight savings far outweighs the look of the twin tip. greddy does offer a twin tip in the form of the spectrum elite. although at a glance i see it in the 1000$ plus range.

if you wanna hear the sound pm me and we can meet up this weekend somewhere since you are in vegas.

 

I have the ETS on my car, it was easy to install, looks and sounds great. I didnt get the aem because it was the cheapest and i didnt want to take out one box to put another box in. I didnt get AMS or Injen because i was a student at the time and wanted to save some money. With the exhuast i say go to you tube and listen to the videos, when u change the down pipe and cat/test pipe the car will get loud. But depending on how resonated the the end of the exhaust and mufflers are will tell u how much sound you will get. And each car is different some will throw and light and some wont, just depends on your car and the tune if you get one. Good luck with what ever you choose.

 

Now, THIS is how members should post a "help me decide" thread. You've told us what you want, what's important and laid out the pros/cons (in your opinion) of the products you are considering. If only other members could follow your path

Onto your questions.

For the intake, they'll all perform nearly the same...to be honest. Especially since you're pairing them with the Cobb AP. They are all good products, so you really can't go wrong. Price should be a consideration in this case. Also making sure there is an AP map for the intake is important. Finally, the UICP in the Injen kit is nice to have since the UICP is the "hot" pipe on the Evo X and it will make a nice impact in throttle response and possibly a small bump in hp/tq. That would be my choice. Or, buy one of the other intakes and get an UICP on the side (many members like the Nisei one piece). The UICP is a good mod to get.

BUT, unless you have much bigger plans for mods in the future, you don't need an intake. A drop-in filter will give you the same performance bump for the simple mods you have listed. If you want the turbo "sound" then you'll need the intake, but just know that it won't help on the performance side unless you plan to do more with the car.

For exhaust, again it's a toss-up and all of them are good products. The ETS exhaust is loud, so that might not work for you. I would choose between the Perrin and AMS exhausts, and would probably go with the Perrin TBE because it's less expensive than the full AMS exhaust. Both of them sound good. The advantage of the AMS downpipe is really only noticeable if you plan to upgrade your turbo. On the stock turbo, you'll see little to no gains.

 

ets intake
ams or cobb exhaust

 

agree

 

If you're using a Cobb AP for tuning I think the Cobb intake would be your best bet since they've done most of their testing/tuning with it. From what I've seen the AMS intake seems to screw with your idle more than some of the other intakes so honestly I'd say avoid it, especially if you're not getting a custom dyno tune.

 

I didn't get it from their website.. and it's louder than stock, but closer to it, louder is simply a cop magnet and if that's what you want, help yourself. Golden has the same exhaust as well... he knows his stuff, so ask him about it. I purchased my exhaust from Spun-autosports by the way.

I am telling you for a fact that a full intake is not necessary until you are at high horsepower numbers already, so you are throwing your money away.

 

Taking the stock Turbo Adapter aka "O2 Housing" off will be by far the hardest part of the labor for a full TBE. If you want an O2/DP that is guaranteed not to crack, go with the cast AMS one. You can pick another vendor for the rest of the exhaust, the Cobb one looks nice. There is no dyno proof that an intake or drop in makes a difference in power.

 

Customer Videos of ETS V2

ETS V2 Exhaust start up outside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20AFQfAw2_E

ETS V2 Exhaust start up inside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYWoHtSmH38

V2 Exhaust normal driving

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh_WJV4r690

ETS V2 Exhaust WOT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km6trf97Ct0