Hi guys, thought I’d throw this up here since I couldn’t find any feedback before I purchased.
So I initially installed a mufflerless catback system on my Red Sport paired with the AMS lower downpipes. It was a big mistake for me. Thought I wanted loud, turns out I didn’t at all. I made it four miles down the road before I turned around and had the oem muffler reinstalled with the AMS downpipes still. As effective as they were, I didn’t really care for the amplified turbo sound coming in cabin so I took a shot on the HKS.
Initial response was couldn’t be happier. If you want more power without sacrificing luxury, these are the way to go. They aren’t any louder in the slightest bit at cruise or wide open throttle. Sounds stock.
As far as build quality and fitment, I’d give them 5 stars. My installer rated the ease of install at 9 out of 10.
And lastly for performance, this was difficult for me to judge at first. I had them installed at the same time I was supposed to get an Ecutek tune. Unfortunately there was an issue on not having the right flash for my specific early year model, so I had downpipes installed but was down JB4 when I left. That was removed because I had it sold the next day. So needless to say I couldn’t compare it to before I brought it in so I am comparing to stock. It has definitely picked a lot in the low end. I’m getting wheel spin where I haven’t previously on stock boost levels. And most impressively to me is that partial throttle acceleration, like as used for lane changes. The car just floats effortlessly as the turbo spools quicker at lower rpms.
I’m a fan of the 2.5” over the competitors 3” variants. I’ll sacrifice a little horsepower for torque since the vast majority of my driving is not spent at wide open throttle. And IMO, 3” is overkill on these tiny turbos and my tuner agreed with that.
Again, couldn’t be happier with them. I should be getting the tune in the next week or two so I’ll be sure to update and post the dyno graph for all who are interested.
So I initially installed a mufflerless catback system on my Red Sport paired with the AMS lower downpipes. It was a big mistake for me. Thought I wanted loud, turns out I didn’t at all. I made it four miles down the road before I turned around and had the oem muffler reinstalled with the AMS downpipes still. As effective as they were, I didn’t really care for the amplified turbo sound coming in cabin so I took a shot on the HKS.
Initial response was couldn’t be happier. If you want more power without sacrificing luxury, these are the way to go. They aren’t any louder in the slightest bit at cruise or wide open throttle. Sounds stock.
As far as build quality and fitment, I’d give them 5 stars. My installer rated the ease of install at 9 out of 10.
And lastly for performance, this was difficult for me to judge at first. I had them installed at the same time I was supposed to get an Ecutek tune. Unfortunately there was an issue on not having the right flash for my specific early year model, so I had downpipes installed but was down JB4 when I left. That was removed because I had it sold the next day. So needless to say I couldn’t compare it to before I brought it in so I am comparing to stock. It has definitely picked a lot in the low end. I’m getting wheel spin where I haven’t previously on stock boost levels. And most impressively to me is that partial throttle acceleration, like as used for lane changes. The car just floats effortlessly as the turbo spools quicker at lower rpms.
I’m a fan of the 2.5” over the competitors 3” variants. I’ll sacrifice a little horsepower for torque since the vast majority of my driving is not spent at wide open throttle. And IMO, 3” is overkill on these tiny turbos and my tuner agreed with that.
Again, couldn’t be happier with them. I should be getting the tune in the next week or two so I’ll be sure to update and post the dyno graph for all who are interested.