Yesterday I got to tune a friends evo 2010 that he got about a month ago.

He added an exhaust ( I believe it was a Tomei ) + AMS intake , and I guess a bigger intercooler + UICP

Anyhow , I did a very quick and essentially just normalized his car to keep a steady AFR and essentially leave it on the stock timing + boost until one of the local tunners can get it on a dyno and do their thing.

I realized 3 things right off the bat.

1) Its definitely a lot quicker even leaving everything pretty much on a stock form ECU wise.
2) It doesn't feel like the car is being restrained when accelerating.. Its a hard feeling to describe , but its almost like my car is hesitating compared to his.
3) Even with the stock tune ( other than fuel settings) the car picked up some economy ( Even though I didn't buy this car for the fuel economy lol) But from just looking at the inaccurate fuel consumption gauge it seemed to have climbed to the mid 20's @ hwy vs low 20's before.

So after seing that I am kinda bitten by the small mod bite lol.

My dilemma is I am willing to mod but not to the extremes I went to in the past , and also I gotten older and wiser and I am easily annoyed now by loud exhausts that drone in the cabin , and the sound of a BOV recirculating.
This question has been asked thousands of times , but I have to get the honest opinion here once and for all from folks that have gone the more stealth / quiet route.

What is a good combination of gains with the aftermarket exhausts out there + intakes.

I keep hearing that AMS CAI intake + ETS V2 Quiet Exhaust is relatively good quiet combo. I've seen a video of one or the other but not both.
Anyone with a quiet combo share a audio/vid link of theirs.

Man I have such mixed feelings.. Why did I get in his car? lol

 

Just do ETS intake, upper and lower ICP, and CBE. Heck if you talk to Michael he might hook you up with some sort of package discount. All great quality and will still keep you relatively stock

 

is the lower ICP really needed?

I hope he does layaway since this would break the bank this month if I did all at the same time lol

I appreciate the response.

 

I am running Magnaflow and I flip between a stock intake/ K&N and an Apexi intake. Even with my down pipe and HFC it's not loud at all. I feel you on your position about not wanting to go too far with mods. Those who have been down that road before can appreciate a low maintenance stock appearing set up.

 

believe me I was at the point of taking out my laptop in the mornings to start my car due to stupid entries I made to my map the prior day , and why was I fiddiling with it.. always trying to get that last HP to impress the other guys. .. Loved the sound of a BOV and a loud exhaust with the nice turbo wine of a GT35R

Loved in my early 20's now that I am my 30's I don't dislike it but i can't stand it for long periods of time.

Especially a droning sound inside the car.. man it makes me nuts..

Man getting old sucks lol

 

Too much noise is not a fun driving experience. I did a dyno street tune at Machines Gone Wild in Miami and added a manual boost control. End result 297WHP and 23 mpg at 70 with cruise control. Plenty of extra power over a stock car. Go easy on the mods and be aware of the extra noise with a full exhaust change over.

 

Look up Race Race Engineering. They're a reputable company out in Southern California known for their quiet, good flowing exhaust systems. I own a gutted OEM muffler from them. I also hate loud exhausts so I chose this route. Sure I'm sacrificing some power, but I don't mind. My setup is: AMS Belllmouth DP / 3 inch TP / 3inch Mid-Pipe / RRE Gutted OEM Muffler. Although it is somewhat restrictive, I was able to make decent power without all the noise.

Izzy

 

Well in my case I am doing to the double edge sword.

Increasing power / and Economy ( by opening her up , and via tune)
but yet not totally sacrifice the benefits of the mods.

I don't mind a tad bit louder than stock , but the part I hate the most is the drone of an exhaust. It just kills me. If it wasn't my daily driver I wouldn't care how loud it was


I think in the end depending on prices
I'll do the V2 ETS + intake ( AMS or ETS depends on the auction I am in right now)

and eventually do a LICP / UICP + a nice intercooler upgrade
and call it quits until I get another daily down the road.

 

I say get a drop in higher flowing air filter and a test pipe. Keep ur stock air box and exhaust. It should sound stock and is a cheaper route to go but at the same time getting some gains

 

About half the LICP is flexible rubber hose like the section of the upper. LICP is definitely not needed, but it is a really simple mod to do that no one will ever see, to keep yourself near stock.

Yeah, I still totally stand my previous, intake, cbe as the major power mods and upper and lower IC pipes because it felt like it improved throttle response in the heat.

lightweight tune to go with them. Easily be a hair over 300whp and the car can still be quite docile

 

I felt the same way as you tc. I decided when I bought my car that I wouldn't do a single thing to it. Then I heard of the ETS V2 quiet and listened to clips of it and instantly wanted it. I have it installed and it makes me want to drive even more. Not loud at all, has a really deep growl and nice scream at high rpms. Best of all, zero highway drone. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

I bit.

Got the ETS V2 Quiet
And I got a AMS CAI.

Although I do see hardpipes and a new IC for my christmas present now too lol

 

Congrats!! both of those mods I think will keep you right where you want to be with appearing quite stock, yet getting enough of a gain to make a person really happy.

If you go ETS for your Christmas stuff, I can tell you install was easy, and fitment was perfect.

 

yeah can't wait.

the only reason I didn't get the ETS CAI.. because I bid on a AMS CAI for pretty cheap..

If not I would've done the full ETS package

I guess my LICP/UICP + Intercooler will be ETS , it will seem kinda wierd with all of this ETS stuff having an AMS intake lol.

 

EDIT: OH AMS intake...get a tune, they *sometimes* require it.