Hmmmm, So it has a top speed limiter? What's the factory setting?

 

118mph

 

Your post is very helpful. I have a 2017 OB 3.6R Touring that I have done some exterior mods to ...body color JDM mesh grill, new badges, BBS wheels, etc. The car looks great. But as a former BMW X5 driver, I miss it’s throaty growl. (but not the insane maintenance costs of the X5). So my question is did you do the mods yourself or did a shop in the Chicago area help you? I live in Arlington Hts and work in Harwood Hts, and would need help with the install of the headers and cat back system you described. Ditto for the shocks. Also if you have a shop and do the work yourself, let me know that as well. In any event, thanks for a great post! Jon G

 

I did them myself.
I'm a Sheet Metal Worker, (Ductwork), and have access and experience with a MIG welder.
I bought the Yonaka Cats and piping components on ebay. The hardest part was that I live in a townhouse, (No garage, only a parking spot!), and had to do all the test fitting/tack welding on my back with the car on stands. (You should have seen the looks from the neighbors!)

I would say, if you are looking to move nearer to sound qualities of your beemer you would not necessarily follow my lead as I would not call what I achieved as necessarily throaty. Some might say it is more raspy.

You should probably consult the threads here or on the Legacy forum dealing with aftermarket silencer systems for 3.6Rs.
My main goal was to get rid of the stock soda straw piping and Cats that I had first grafted the Raptor Headers to, without ending up inside a kettle drum. I achieved that, but the verdict is still out on whether it was at all worth it performance wise. It may remain debatable as I was not interested enough to spend the money on before and now after dyno testing.

I may decide to fab and weld up the rest of the system based on the components suggested by XRT, next spring, (just to try out), because it would not be that expensive for me. However, I will be sure to hang onto the stock pieces in case the results are to obnoxious for a daily driver/road trip car.

 

Wish you were close to Omaha. It would be fun to drag race you! :laugh:

 

Reading your Mod list. sounds like you'd win, hands down:smile2:.
I'm just happy to unplug it a little and punch it up.
Cheers,
Joel H.

 

Thanks. Appreciate your insights.

 

Yes, according to things I have read elsewhere, it definitely has plenty left past the limiter setpoint.
I have been refraining from a full test until I upgrade my tires to a V rating.
However, I have manage to verify that that the limiter has, in fact, been eliminated.

 

How can it have plenty left when it didn't have plenty to begin with? >

 

Would you guys mind posting the ballpark cost of your power mods? Just curious.

How do you guys feel about the stock OB seats with all that extra power? I'm still getting used to the seats in my '16. They definitely don't have that locked-in feeling that my RS had. The side bolsters are pretty much non-existent and I sometimes feel like i'm going to slide out of the seat in tight corners.

 

XRT Tune ($800) <-- after a few re-tunes for mods
Magnaflow resonator and mufflers ($180 with install)
AFE (Takeda) cold air intake <-- $150 (used off classifieds forum)

Well worth ye coin considering how much more responsive the car drives, harder shifts, and more power. Very satisfied.

Having Z-rated rubber, I'd be curious to see what my car tops off at. :grin2:

 

Do the old street racer trick:
Slide your seat all the way back, tilt it back more than you would drive it at, fasten the seat belt tight and give it a snap to lock it, while holding it locked, slide the seat forward till the belt is held in tension with your body then tilt the seat back up until your in your normal position and your chest is locked in.
Voila 3-point harness.
Takes some practice to get it right.

 

With Headers, Cats, Pipe, gaskets and fittings. 600.00 +-. Plus XRT's fee.


Prob. closer to 800.00

 

Any video with sound clips of the exhaust?

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk

 

So tuning is done. Here are the results.
Haven't had time to search XRT to see how it compares to a 3.6R tuned w/stock exhaust, or a 3.6R w/headers and full custom exhaust.
Maybe someone here who's seen a lot of 3.6 graphs can comment.

 

That's pretty good. You are making better power than my good buddy with a 3.6R XRT tuned / Raptor header and full exhaust. I don't know your altitude in Chicago. The weather is cooling off, that helps. His car suffers from mile high wheezing. My cars do as well. You are making better power than Cherry than is. She's pretty much stock except for the tune.

I'd love to see some of your logs, even the log from this dyno chart. I would love to see manifold pressures a and whatnot.

Ed is the best, I figured he's been busy. I haven't check in with him in a while. He hasn't check into the chat in a while either.

 

So, I just want to say here, (because I don't have a FB account so I can't add it to XRT's FB page), that Edward has done an amazing job with my ride. He was patient enough to lead my 60yr old, computer challenged, butt through the whole process . Now I have a car that is a whole different beast and I couldn't be more happy.
If anyone is on the fence about using his service, don't be, it is well worth the price.
Thanks again Ed!

Cheers,
Joel H.

 

Nice results. Ed is beyond the best.

 

So jealous - this sounds awesome.

 

Great write ups. I don’t know the longevity of these motors. I have 132k of easy miles on the clock, do y’all this is too many to start modding it with simple air in and air our mods with a tune?

 

Why? I like your signature line, "fast doesn't happen by accident". If you waste enough money you can certainly make it faster than it is now but you won't make it "fast" by any stretch of the imagination. Just not a good starting point.

 

I modded mine at 178k miles. The longevity of the boxer is still unknown. Some members of this forum have done their first timing chain guides/tensioners at over 300k miles and the chain didn't show signs of stretching and the water pumps still looked new. Its all in the maintenance performed through the life of the car that determines how much you get from it.

 

Agreed. I've performed all maintenance that is recommended in the book, so I think I'll be fine. Thanks!

I'm going to check out XRT.

 

I'm not ever going to try and make an Outback fast, but I think a little more pep would be nice. I think a tune is all it needs. I save my speed addiction for the water.

 

LOL, figured I'd ask since there can't be too many VW buses with V8s in them. My son and I started watching Gotham Garage on Netflix and this was one of their builds.

 

LOL! That looks like it belongs in the movie Mad Max!

PS the one my friend tangled with was a true street sleeper!

 

Mod update:
Godspeed adj. rear Control Arms. Done.
Godspeed adj. rear Toe Arms. Done.
Easy!

 

140+mph top speed finally confirmed(It was still pulling but I was running out of straight) . Closed course, of course.

 

I had a closed course for speed once. It was called "Tollway Under Construction" with long concrete straightaways.

 

Do you have video of how the exhaust sounds? From a dead stop, rolling, down shifting, wot?

 

No.
The exhaust note in any of those modes is not what anyone would call sonorous.
But I'll take it.

 

Can't add to my signature without rearranging the whole thing, (under new forum format), apparently,
So I'll add it here:
I have installed a auxiliary Tru-Cool 4451 trans cooler.
Yokohama 235/50 R17 96V
Added a SS foil and mineral wool heat blankets to the Yonaka "Race Cats"