WORKS or Buschur?
I was looking for the same information some time ago for my IX. Some of my thoughts and opinions based on my research and personal experience:
1.) WORKS is definitely more expensive. I'm sure if they chime in, they wouldn't dispute this.
2.) The quality and workmanship of WORKS parts is exceptional. Example-- with their 76mm Downpipe, they would not even sell me one (IX with ACD) without the ceramic coating. If you see how close a 3" DP comes to the oil pan (and how much heat shielding is on the stock DP), it's obvious Mitsu thought there was a reason for keeping the heat away from things. It still boggles my mind how many people on the forum have no problem taking the OEM safeguards and throwing them in the garbage.
3.) As an engineer myself, I really like their 'OEM or better' mentality when it comes to their products. Everything has a trade-off, and I think WORKS does a good job of getting their customers good power, with reliability for years to come.
4.) I think a 30 minute dynotune that everybody on the forum brags about is highly overrated. Find a company such as WORKS, that has done their testing, and not trying to get you a big number on one particular day. Do you want a big HP number to brag about, or do you want a great-running car with reliability in mind? Often the biggest HP number comes at a price.
5.) Do you really think Vishnu (or others) are getting 50 more HP than WORKS with basically the same components (TBE + modified boost hoses + flash)? There's alot of inaccurate internet bragging out there, folks. And let's face it.........it helps to sell parts.
6.) WORKS has closer ties with Mitsubishi than probably every other vendor out there.
7.) WORKS doesn't get in internet p!ss!ng matches. They probably have better things to do. WORKS employs real engineers, and their facility is actually at a racetrack. Tell me that isn't a great test bed for their parts.
8.) Have you ever seen Buschur's cat-back? I won't argue their claims that it is the lightest and best flowing system out there, but go on their website and take a look at it. It's just an off-the-shelf muffler with a piece of pipe and tip welded to it. Does it perform well? I'm sure it does. Is at as high a quality piece as the part it replaced? Probably not. Personally, I think any 3" exhaust flows as good as any other within a few hp. I'd rather give up 5 hp on my $30K car if it meant having a quality part on there.
9.) WORKS doesn't recommend open element air intakes. I'd run away from any tuner that tried to talk me into one. I'm sure it might make a couple HP on the dyno with the hood open and a big fan blowing on it, but the REAL WORLD is not on a dyno. Take a long look at the stock airbox, with it's scoop, and relief in the hood that seals around it and tell me Mitsu did not put alot of effort into it's design. But I'm sure other tuners make a ton of money on them, though.
10.) So, to summarize, if you want to keep the car for a long time, and don't want to screw around with boost controllers, and would rather let the ECU control the boost with OEM safeguards with long-term reliability in mind, choose WORKS. If you'd rather save a few bucks, and push your engine a little further (perhaps even go a hair faster), then I would recommend another vendor.
At the end of the day, it's your car, so do whatever makes you the most comfortable. But I would at least go over to WORKS website, and spend some time in their FAQ section, and perhaps give Oliver (or anyone else there) a call. Remember, engineering costs money that perhaps you can't see at first glance. You get what you pay for!
Cheers!
1.) WORKS is definitely more expensive. I'm sure if they chime in, they wouldn't dispute this.
2.) The quality and workmanship of WORKS parts is exceptional. Example-- with their 76mm Downpipe, they would not even sell me one (IX with ACD) without the ceramic coating. If you see how close a 3" DP comes to the oil pan (and how much heat shielding is on the stock DP), it's obvious Mitsu thought there was a reason for keeping the heat away from things. It still boggles my mind how many people on the forum have no problem taking the OEM safeguards and throwing them in the garbage.
3.) As an engineer myself, I really like their 'OEM or better' mentality when it comes to their products. Everything has a trade-off, and I think WORKS does a good job of getting their customers good power, with reliability for years to come.
4.) I think a 30 minute dynotune that everybody on the forum brags about is highly overrated. Find a company such as WORKS, that has done their testing, and not trying to get you a big number on one particular day. Do you want a big HP number to brag about, or do you want a great-running car with reliability in mind? Often the biggest HP number comes at a price.
5.) Do you really think Vishnu (or others) are getting 50 more HP than WORKS with basically the same components (TBE + modified boost hoses + flash)? There's alot of inaccurate internet bragging out there, folks. And let's face it.........it helps to sell parts.
6.) WORKS has closer ties with Mitsubishi than probably every other vendor out there.
7.) WORKS doesn't get in internet p!ss!ng matches. They probably have better things to do. WORKS employs real engineers, and their facility is actually at a racetrack. Tell me that isn't a great test bed for their parts.
8.) Have you ever seen Buschur's cat-back? I won't argue their claims that it is the lightest and best flowing system out there, but go on their website and take a look at it. It's just an off-the-shelf muffler with a piece of pipe and tip welded to it. Does it perform well? I'm sure it does. Is at as high a quality piece as the part it replaced? Probably not. Personally, I think any 3" exhaust flows as good as any other within a few hp. I'd rather give up 5 hp on my $30K car if it meant having a quality part on there.
9.) WORKS doesn't recommend open element air intakes. I'd run away from any tuner that tried to talk me into one. I'm sure it might make a couple HP on the dyno with the hood open and a big fan blowing on it, but the REAL WORLD is not on a dyno. Take a long look at the stock airbox, with it's scoop, and relief in the hood that seals around it and tell me Mitsu did not put alot of effort into it's design. But I'm sure other tuners make a ton of money on them, though.
10.) So, to summarize, if you want to keep the car for a long time, and don't want to screw around with boost controllers, and would rather let the ECU control the boost with OEM safeguards with long-term reliability in mind, choose WORKS. If you'd rather save a few bucks, and push your engine a little further (perhaps even go a hair faster), then I would recommend another vendor.
At the end of the day, it's your car, so do whatever makes you the most comfortable. But I would at least go over to WORKS website, and spend some time in their FAQ section, and perhaps give Oliver (or anyone else there) a call. Remember, engineering costs money that perhaps you can't see at first glance. You get what you pay for!
Cheers!
You aptly stated every reason I decided to choose WORKS products above. I'm currently in research & development, and have done mechanical & electrical engineering as both a designer and a test engineer. Here's my feedback in laymans terms.
1. Car is very streetable, other than more power the only difference is a slighty rougher idle. Car doesn't die at the stop light and accessories function normally. This is simply the price you pay for hotter cams. If you look at my dyno plots, you'll notice tq/hp curves are about the same shape as stock, there's just more.
2. Oil temp runs exactly same as stock. Water temps run exactly same as stock. It gets hot in Texas and despite this I don't feel I need a bigger intercooler. Not any noticable difference in power on a 100° and a 75° day.
3. Fuel economy (if you can keep your foot out of it) is about the same as stock. It's tons worse if you romp on it. You can't make more power with just more air, it take more fuel too.
4. Engine bay looks totally stock except for + bat. terminal cover keeps getting knocked off by stock hoses swelling under a quicker spool up. Boost is at stock psi. I asked WORKS before I bought the kit what would be the next mod and WORKS said Samco hose kit. BAM! On the nose Oliver.
5. I've had to do no tweaking or adjustment since the install. Plug & play.
6. This kit should not void the factory warranty, quality of parts is equal to or better than stock and most operational parameters are kept as close to stock as possible for reliabilty. Mitsu could offer this TR 340 kit as an option.
7. WORKS support was equally good before purchase, during install and afterwards. What you pay extra for are the OEM quality parts, customer support, and solid research and development.
Now on to my WORKS wishlist;I'd still like to see that top end climb all the way up to 350 if it can be done safely (or at least flatten out @ 325 hp. I don't go above 7 grand very often, but... nice to have a little more up top. I think there's more to be had all the way across the band with some tweaking of the flash.
It would be nice to have a toggle switch to select from pump gas or either two grades of racing gas for track days, i.e. change flashes & add boost for each stage. This would be a popular mod if it could be done without costing a fortune. This could be offered two ways, with all three stages using exhale ABM or pump gas w/ABM and two race gas stages with ABE.
Tune exhaust to be a bit quieter at highway speeds. We avg. 70-80 on freeways and Exhale gets a bit loud here. I cruised at California speed
(60mph) and it's noticably quieter. A RTP that would make the exhaust quieter than with the HFC and still have the same gains as your current RTP I'd ****** up in a minute. Programable ACU controller at 1/2 the current price.
Dsycks,
So which is it? It's both. Tuning for peak output/drag racing scenarios isn't our focus, but we can and do allow for it as some of our customers enjoy it. (I myself come from a DSM background with several hundred drag passes and many visits to the yearly shootout when I lived in Ohio--both with my DSMs and even the EVO.) While the original author did, I made no mention of any other tuner. I stand by all my previous statements as they are not mutually exclusive. Feel free to email me or call me at the shop if you would like to discuss/clarify the situation. Thanks
My thoughts exactly...
So which is it? It's both. Tuning for peak output/drag racing scenarios isn't our focus, but we can and do allow for it as some of our customers enjoy it. (I myself come from a DSM background with several hundred drag passes and many visits to the yearly shootout when I lived in Ohio--both with my DSMs and even the EVO.) While the original author did, I made no mention of any other tuner. I stand by all my previous statements as they are not mutually exclusive. Feel free to email me or call me at the shop if you would like to discuss/clarify the situation. Thanks
My thoughts exactly...
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