[webguyIS]

Being that my car is up for sale (for a totally separate reason than this thread btw) I am looking at my other car options.

The thought fluttered through my mind that a turbo IS3 would be excellent fun. I'm curious about cost here... if I ride out my current 330i lease til next July, I can probably score an '02 5spd w/ say 25-30k miles on it for about $20k. So let's say I wanted to go with the SRT Stage II kit...

[code:1:2353c0dac3]
$20,000 - car
5,795 - stage ii kit
950 - installation (I'd take the car out to SRT)
-------
$26,745 - overall cost not inc. tax etc.
[/code:1:2353c0dac3]

Now that seems like a damn good deal to me. A fine-driving 340rwhp Lexus that I can even drive in the winter? Gimme now.

So I have a few questions for those who may know...

1) I presume the racing downpipe isn't really necessary since you get a "standard" pipe; what kind of extra gains/benefits would it give you? Any dynos between the two?

2) What other exhaust options do you have with this kit? For me I'd rather be as stock looking as possible, which isn't TOO hard given the stock 3" tailpipe... is the SRT exhaust stock looking/of good quality/worth it?

3) Any reports on reliability/etc. with this kit?

4) How difficult/possible is it to hook up a turbo timer and boost controller to this setup? I only ask because the GReddy and HalTech management systems don't seem to be ready yet... that may just be because they're an all-in-one deal I suppose.

5) Any reports of issues with the IS3 5spd tranny handling this much power?

Thanks for your help. I have some (but limited) knowledge of turbo kits, so don't be shy about getting technical. If these questions have been answered before, just lemme know and I'll dig them up.

 

[ITP]

Being that my car is up for sale (for a totally separate reason than this thread btw) I am looking at my other car options.

The thought fluttered through my mind that a turbo IS3 would be excellent fun. I'm curious about cost here... if I ride out my current 330i lease til next July, I can probably score an '02 5spd w/ say 25-30k miles on it for about $20k. So let's say I wanted to go with the SRT Stage II kit...

[code:1:bb31304c1c]
$20,000 - car
5,795 - stage ii kit
950 - installation (I'd take the car out to SRT)
-------
$26,745 - overall cost not inc. tax etc.
[/code:1:bb31304c1c]

Now that seems like a damn good deal to me. A fine-driving 340rwhp Lexus that I can even drive in the winter? Gimme now.

So I have a few questions for those who may know...

1) I presume the racing downpipe isn't really necessary since you get a "standard" pipe; what kind of extra gains/benefits would it give you? Any dynos between the two?

2) What other exhaust options do you have with this kit? For me I'd rather be as stock looking as possible, which isn't TOO hard given the stock 3" tailpipe... is the SRT exhaust stock looking/of good quality/worth it?

3) Any reports on reliability/etc. with this kit?

4) How difficult/possible is it to hook up a turbo timer and boost controller to this setup? I only ask because the GReddy and HalTech management systems don't seem to be ready yet... that may just be because they're an all-in-one deal I suppose.

5) Any reports of issues with the IS3 5spd tranny handling this much power?

Thanks for your help. I have some (but limited) knowledge of turbo kits, so don't be shy about getting technical. If these questions have been answered before, just lemme know and I'll dig them up.

First off, good choice..lol

I would go with an AUTO over the 5-Speed. People have been killed the 5-speeds left and right. Some on stock power too.

1) I would just stay with a nice quiet exhaust.
2) I have not seen it yet, although a Greddy EVO would be just fine.
3) So far all of them are doing great. The new versions are pumping out good power without any problems so far.
4) I would just let them tune it (them as in SRT if you buy from them) and leave it at that. There would be no reason to change the boost unless you were going to go with a race gas or drag it. Even then I hate messing with the tuning of the car.
5) Yes, they dont hold well. Although Marc (WXMAN) has over 500RWHP on the stock tranny with clutch and its holding. Others have blown it on stock power. Depends on your driving, and the tranny you get. Some are good, some arent. I wouldnt take the change. You can always do a tranny swap from 3-6K though.

I hope this helps.

 

[webguyIS]

Ah see that's no good, I have to have a manual tranny.

The only reason I'd want a boost controller would be to turn it down, specifically during the winter or if something should start to go wrong. The turbo timer would just be preventative maintenance.

I suppose some simple 3" mandrel custom piping would be a good route to go, with some sort of high-flow muffler (weld on the stock tip ).

Hey Wino_II, are you a 5spd? How is your car doing? Did you do any extra tuning at SRT or did you use their standard ECU? If I didn't need the tuning (which it appears to be is optional) I wouldn't mind getting the kit shipped here and doing the install w/ some of my friends.

Also does the SRT come with any sort of parts warranty or anything? Is there an install guarantee if they do the work?

 

[Wino_II]

Hey Wino_II, are you a 5spd? How is your car doing? Did you do any extra tuning at SRT or did you use their standard ECU? If I didn't need the tuning (which it appears to be is optional) I wouldn't mind getting the kit shipped here and doing the install w/ some of my friends.

Also does the SRT come with any sort of parts warranty or anything? Is there an install guarantee if they do the work?

Hey man. Yes i have 5 spd and its working fine...I don't think anyone has been having problems with the 5spd unless there pushing sick hp or driving like a retard on pcp. doublins and i both have 5spd and for now have zero problems....but if we want to upgrade to more power...yes, we are looking into other options.

The SRT kit comes with a 6 month warranty...you should call them for any details beyond that. If you can, have SRT install the kit...they do amazing work and you can trust it will be done RIGHT the first time. Mattssi did the install himself and things got fugged up...and SRT had to fix it.

Tuning is weird...Mark's stage 1 required none...it hit 300 right off the bat with a perfect 12:1 ratio...it was amazing. Mine required a little but not a lot...its kind of weird...my dyno and doublins are almost identical...which is really good...because he has put some miles on his kit ...so that shows me its still running the same as the day his was completed.

 

[webguyIS]

Hey Wino_II, are you a 5spd? How is your car doing? Did you do any extra tuning at SRT or did you use their standard ECU? If I didn't need the tuning (which it appears to be is optional) I wouldn't mind getting the kit shipped here and doing the install w/ some of my friends.

Also does the SRT come with any sort of parts warranty or anything? Is there an install guarantee if they do the work?

Hey man. Yes i have 5 spd and its working fine...I don't think anyone has been having problems with the 5spd unless there pushing sick hp or driving like a retard on pcp. doublins and i both have 5spd and for now have zero problems....but if we want to upgrade to more power...yes, we are looking into other options.

The SRT kit comes with a 6 month warranty...you should call them for any details beyond that. If you can, have SRT install the kit...they do amazing work and you can trust it will be done RIGHT the first time. Mattssi did the install himself and things got fugged up...and SRT had to fix it.

Tuning is weird...Mark's stage 1 required none...it hit 300 right off the bat with a perfect 12:1 ratio...it was amazing. Mine required a little but not a lot...its kind of weird...my dyno and doublins are almost identical...which is really good...because he has put some miles on his kit ...so that shows me its still running the same as the day his was completed.

Word up son.

Glad to hear it's not as common as an issue (re: tranny) as I thought. I see ISJeff blew his, and some others who were 400+ hp. If I went with the Stage II I'd likely keep it around that power level (350hp) simply for overall reliability.

I wouldn't mind taking it to SRT except it's 3000 miles away. But hey it might be worth it just for the dyno session and 1st hand experience with the tuning and the install guys. What is the typical install time anyhow? A day or two?

Also disregard my questions about the turbo timers and such, I found my answers on the forum.

 

[oneeyejack]

Hey Wino_II, are you a 5spd? How is your car doing? Did you do any extra tuning at SRT or did you use their standard ECU? If I didn't need the tuning (which it appears to be is optional) I wouldn't mind getting the kit shipped here and doing the install w/ some of my friends.

Also does the SRT come with any sort of parts warranty or anything? Is there an install guarantee if they do the work?

Hey man. Yes i have 5 spd and its working fine...I don't think anyone has been having problems with the 5spd unless there pushing sick hp or driving like a retard on pcp. doublins and i both have 5spd and for now have zero problems....but if we want to upgrade to more power...yes, we are looking into other options.

The SRT kit comes with a 6 month warranty...you should call them for any details beyond that. If you can, have SRT install the kit...they do amazing work and you can trust it will be done RIGHT the first time. Mattssi did the install himself and things got fugged up...and SRT had to fix it.

Tuning is weird...Mark's stage 1 required none...it hit 300 right off the bat with a perfect 12:1 ratio...it was amazing. Mine required a little but not a lot...its kind of weird...my dyno and doublins are almost identical...which is really good...because he has put some miles on his kit ...so that shows me its still running the same as the day his was completed.

Word up son.

Glad to hear it's not as common as an issue (re: tranny) as I thought. I see ISJeff blew his, and some others who were 400+ hp. If I went with the Stage II I'd likely keep it around that power level (350hp) simply for overall reliability.

I wouldn't mind taking it to SRT except it's 3000 miles away. But hey it might be worth it just for the dyno session and 1st hand experience with the tuning and the install guys. What is the typical install time anyhow? A day or two?

Also disregard my questions about the turbo timers and such, I found my answers on the forum.

a typical stage 2 install will take 2-3 days.