you're going to get alot of people telling you to use the search feature, etc. intake and bypass valve are two easy and relatively inexpensive modifications. a set of gauges to monitor boost, oil pressure and water temperature or EGT is also a good basic place to start. short shifter and bushings make a nice drivability difference and are easy to install and easy on the pocketbook.
there are more expensive modifications to be had of course but these are a few good, cheap and easy places to start.
first thing, intake....then get a gauge if u like watching the meter go up and down, then get a motor mount upgrade. Best performance for about 400, and u can gut ur second cat urself and get a free 5-10whp mod
I hate to say it but the best mod for most Americans is lay off fast food. On top of losing weight yourself, making your car quicker, all that money you saved from overeating turns into part money!
Im only 140-150 wet so I cant lose much more weight :/
It really depends on what you want. For me, since its new and under warranty and almost perfect the way it is; all i really plan on doing is what you see in my signature. However, you can go much, MUCH, further.
Honestly, not to sound like an ass but searching on THIS site, compared to others I've been to, can get you VERY good results. Being that this car is still "new" to the auto world, to almost everyone here as well as the vendors, questions you might be thinking about asking might have already been answered.
If you have the time, just lurking around the forums and seeing what people have to say is a great option. Heck, I know my post count is small but that doesn't mean I don't read most of the threads in the forum. Sometimes taking the initiative to read up a bit on your own can give outstanding results.
seriously, the mount is great, as long as you don't have the ETS top mount intercooler, which I have, and the corksport intercooler comes with a ram air intake. I mean it's the best of all possible worlds.
My advice would be to develop a plan as to where you want to take the car, THEN build a parts package to support that. Worst thing you can do is Lego-build the motor.
seriously, the mount is great, as long as you don't have the ETS top mount intercooler, which I have, and the corksport intercooler comes with a ram air intake. I mean it's the best of all possible worlds.
Is that because of rubbing issues due to increased vibration from the mount?
I put some motor mounts on my GTI and they worked well without giving too much vibration. If your ETS wasnt the 3.5 I would consider buying it off of you, that way you could get the corksport. But I dont think I will get an IC till warranty ends and when I can read up up on all the possible effects.
I wouldn't have a problem selling this intercooler. both of the ones I have bought, I have only ended up with because I have reacted to fs threads in less than a minute. I am sure I wouldn't have a horrible time selling my intake either, but... wait, why am I not doing this already!? hm I might just have to.
I haven't done any mods YET, but I'm planning on both Cobb SF SRI and AccessPORT when the AP is released. Easy to install, and best bang for the buck from what I've researched. Estimating price at less than $1000 ($200 & $800 respectively) with free shipping from **********. I'm not sure I plan to go much further due to concerns with emissions.
If I was to go further, I might consider the engine mount and short shifter. I'm not planning on racing the car, just want some stuff to enhance driveability. Upgrading the springs and sway bars (Cobb Stage 2) is another consideration for me.
It seems that the CBE's don't give you much performance, but the TBE's do (but deleting cats or using hi-flowing cats could be a problem for emissions). Yes, you can put the car back to stock, but I don't want to deal with what I perceive are hassles.
Plus, if your dealer isn't cool, the more stuff you put on could be an issue if a problem arises. FYI, I put together all pricing and performance metrics in another link, so I hope that helps too.
