Judging from your Einstein pic, I'd say "mental". :icon17:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/...25d551fd_o.jpg

I know for me that by adding the FI exhaust has atleast masked some of that harshness and I only hear to roar of the exhaust when Im stepping on it. It all sounds good now. And all I can say is when I got to 150 it got there real quick.

I will add, coming from a turbo the feel is different but I feel the car is faster, you just dont get that initial slammed into the seat feel like you do when the turbo kicks in.

Its not buttery smooth but I do feel like it helps the feel out a bit. Could be all in my head, though.

Well for me, I felt the same way when I first owned the car. If you do a couple searches of old threads, you'll see I left quite a few posts of how crappy the car sounded over 5k. Hell, I even made a video. I also felt the car was "slow" because I was never into the "self destruct" range 5k+ very often....


Fast forward one year later: I live in the "self destruct" zone. I've gotten use to the sound/feel and no longer hesitate revving into high rpms.

The car no longer feels slow.

The "feels slow for 332 hp" probably comes more from having less torque than most plus 300 hp engines (typically V8's) many are used to. Less torque mean you really have to wind it up in the rev range to "feel" it as much.

Im about to change the feel of the car to even faster, I think Im goign to go the route of an LSD and final gear upgrade as I wont be able to afford the SC. Im just trying to decide which gear ratio to do.

So based on what I understand, we have three typical upgrades:

The intakes:

STILLEN : STILLEN Generation 3 Ultra Long Tube Dual Intake Kit

The HFCs:

STILLEN : STILLEN Hi-Flow Catalytic Converters

And Exhausts:

STILLEN : STILLEN 370Z Dual Exhaust System

Are these the upgrades people keep talking about?! I feel like I am lost in all this terminology!

Stillen have great products and are very popular.

If you take a look in the Intake/Exhaust section, as well as the Sponsored Intake/Exhaust section, you'll also see the other vendors as well. Injen, Berk, Fast Intentions, Invidia, and ERZ come to mind.

I have had my car for 21000 miles and have installed stillen underdrive pully, gen3 intake, headers, berk highflow cats, FI exhaust, Tecnosquare reflash. I also have the 7spd auto, have driven it to the limits many times and have these observations. I believe the auto tranfers less vibration than the manual in stock or modified form. I LOVE the sound of my car at ALL rpms, its at its best from 5k to 7.5k! I burn no dectable oil, and broke it in hard early (i believe this is best, I think the rings seat earlier and better) 1st oilchange at 500 miles

needs more character?
 

This thread expresses some of my concerns. I traded in a modded 2006 STI with 300 wheel horsepower and feel like I have lost some of the grab you by the gut and wrench your soul experience. I have 750 miles on a NISMO and haven't really felt the love yet. I guess once you get used to a big turbo hit and rush of speed it does feel a lot tamer. I expected 350 hp to be in the 275whp range and not lose much compared to the Subaru, yet, the 370 feels a lot less aggressive. I have revved it out a few times and it felt better, but not great. I'm considering trading for a Cayman vs putting on all the bolt ons we've read about. Your thoughts?

I think you're taking turbo lag and turning it into an impression of power. I dont think you'll ever be pleased with N/A performance then if you cant get past the initial rush of boost. I'll take 300 N/A WHP with no boost rush versus 300 turbo WHP any day...even if you dont get the nice feeling of being pulled hard all of a sudden.

I can only tell you, from my own Nismo-upgrading experience, that adding a few bolt-ons and putting another couple thousand miles on it will certainly change your mind.

I'm sure it was a combination of things, but HFCs, CBE and getting well-past break-in all have nearly transformed my driving experience. As I've said before, in the first 1000 miles, if I floored it, the car would barely respond. Now, WOT puts me back in my own seat.

The car is more responsive. The engine got smoother. The sound of the car transformed. I'm telling you, night and day.

I've never driven an STI, so I can't directly compare what I feel now, to what you left behind in your previous car, but I implore you....give it some time, and maybe a couple mods. I think you'll see a difference.

The car doesn't wake up until you hit around 3000 miles.

I agree, the engine sound up top makes you cringe when you get there for the first time. I have a little over 5k now and I don't know if I've just gotten used to it, but it feels smoother and stronger than when I first got it. I just got my HFC's and K&N drop ins and I hope to get them on this weekend. I hope these will help improve the sound and smoothness.

I can only wonder if Nissan skipped on the exahaust to save some money and keep the cost lower. The CAI and exahust seem to completely transform this car into a 'Cayman beater' we hoped it would be.