Picked up my car yesterday. Now has new intake, exhaust, springs, swaybar and PULLEY! Makes a world of difference and sounds so sweet. Reminds me of an Indy car, but not so high pitched. If you're thinking about it, do it. JR

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John Ryland | '03 Indi Blue S | Richmond, VA

 

Jayar,
Do the Evotech ECU, and you will have about 190hp/160 torque at the wheels.(212-223bhp) I have and I have the same mods plus the chip.
Bluesmaster

 

Bluesmaster - did you just get the EVotech chip flash? Where? Did you get the new version designed for the pulley? Did you drive it with the pulley before the ECU? IF so, can you notice a huge difference??? Tell us about it!

Sorry about all the questions but inquiring minds want to know!!!

 

Greatgro,
I first purchsed the Madness Stage 3 kit -- Quicksilver, intake, and Evotech back in early February. Never dynoed the car stock. Sent the ECU to Renntech, they flashed, and sent it back. That's how Madness handles ECU upgrades. I spoke to Jeff at Renntech who did the upgrade and got a full explanation of the process and had all my questions answered. Got Yoko AVS 100 ES tires, H&R springs, and Madness swaybar. Then I did the pulley. 3 weeks ago I had the car dynoed on a 70 degree day (Dynojet dyno). 3 runs, very consistent, best 189hp/159 torque.(At the wheels) Then I installed the Mania header. Very loud!!! Dynoed again on a 70 degree day. 3 runs, all lower on torque than before, 2 lower in hp. Best run was 194hp/158 torque. I have all six of these runs saved in a Dynojet format. If you have a PC you can go to Dynojet.com and download the free Runviewer software. Then you can open, color, overlay, and print your runs yourself. I am not interested in scanning and posting, but PM me if you want them and I can e-mail the files to you. I then saw Randy BMC's new results with the pulley and Evotech ECU. His results and graph are very similar to mine except I have no dip at high revs. I called him and discussed the Evotech. He said that there are some new tweaks in the software for the pulley but not enough to justify the expense of doing mine again based on my results. One difference is my redline is now 7500rpm, the new software is lower based on his tests. I have since removed the Mania header. Randy BMC got similar results with his testing, and said with his Magnaflow the Mania header was incredibly loud. I have since ordered the throttle body from Randy, which should ship soon, I hope. The London Stainless header and Supersprint header/pipe appear to have much stronger HP/torque based on what Randy BMC, and other posts have indicated. They are serious bucks, however. I have installed an Alta intake, new brake pads/fluid and rear control arms this week. Adjustable lower control arms make the back end of your car feel like a vault, no mushy feeling anymore. It does stiffen the ride a bit. A must for a lowered car, IMHO. I don't feel that my car is anything special -- anyone with an S can do the same and get the same or better results. It's cheaper than JCW. I won't know if it's better until I drive an S with the kit. Several local MCO members have driven my car and no one has been disappointed. However, I'm not finished or satisfied yet. By the way, I have made many mistakes and wrong moves with parts which has cost me. Getting what works for you may not be what others rave about on-line. Try to find someone with the mod you are interested in and check it out first. I haven't been able to do that enough. As they say, your mileage may very, and so will the numbers on different dynos, under different conditions, on different cars. It only matters that the same dyno helps you gauge the results of upgrades on your car. But then, what do I know? I'm just a 50 year old guy having fun.
Bluesmaster

 

Greatgro,
I guess I didn't answer your question. I got the ECU before the pulley, and I felt it was a worthwhile upgrade. It made the car much more responsive. Along with the intake and exhaust, I was pretty happy with the car. Then, I got "pulley fever". The buildup from reading posts led me to expect an enormous gain. I'll admit, when I first drove the car with the pulley I was diappointed. I guess I expected (irrationally) a bigger torque gain. After driving the car for a week, the ECU must have adjusted because the car got stronger. Unfortunately, I don't have anything (numbers) to base that on but I had other MCS owners that drove the car say the same thing. My feeling is that the performance mods I have done have given the car more of what it started with -- a lot more intense but the same basic character. A good thing IMHO.
Bluesmaster

 

Blues: glad you mentioned the Mania header. I was considering one too, but don't want the car to be obnoxiously loud. Also, thanks for the info about the ECU upgrade. I've been monitoring the talk about pulley-specific software upgrades. Not sure when I'll make my move. JR

 

Bluesmaster,

How would you have rated the modifications you made before the pulley?

I'll be getting the same set-up only with a Borla exhaust vs the quicksilver, and I'm curious to hear what you thought about that set-up vs the stock.

Thanks

Tom

 

teldon,
If I had to rate things I'd suggest:
1. Intake -- helps first gear stumble, smooths performance. I've tried 3- BMP, Madness, Alta. All are good, the Madness makes more power than BMP, Both are easy to install. 2 hours for the Alta, The Alta might make a hair more power than the Madness but it looks and sounds cooler.
2. Exhaust -- Evens up the breathing, gives you more oomph above 5k, car doesn't fall on it's nose at 6k. Again I've tried 3-Magnaflow, Quicksilver, and Borla. Magnaflow and QS make similar power, it's what you want to hear and tips and cost. My ears love them all around town. I face the dreaded drone on the highway, it may not bother you. Borla is barely louder than stock, so you don't feel as though it makes as much power. It doesn't, but the difference isn't that much. Once you do the pulley, the difference in the exhaust doesn't matter as much for power. I like the Borla best, it's stealthy and stock looking. QS is a bit louder and drones slightly, but I like it a lot. Magnaflow doesn't work for me, too loud. Great attention getter. If you are ever going to install a header, be careful what you choose -- the car will be louder and raspier.
3. Wheels and Tires -- I started with stock 17's and runflats. I got some 16" X spokes and 205/50/16 Yokos. Huge difference all the way around. Ride, quickness, 1st gear windup, weight. Do some kind of lighter 16's and regular tires. There are many good choices and threads on this.
4. Rear Sway Bar -- Car is now balanced and more fun to drive, no more understeer. Madness is cheap and works great, not a bad install if you can get under the car easily.
5. Stopping point. You now have a much better and fun car. This ain't a bad place to be, warranty is intact. If you want to go on, decide whether handling or power is a priority, and warranty.
I would do the ECU at the same time as the pulley, if I had it to do over. The springs are about looks and handling, and don't hurt the ride quality. Tire wear becomes an issue with springs, as well as rubbing. Keep that in mind when you get your wheel/tire combo, especially wheel offset. I think the springs are a great upgrade, and I would do them before the ECU. That said, I was fortunate the Evotech works so well with the pulley, and the ECU gives you more rpm and high end power even with no pulley. These are just my opinions, try to find a car with the mods you want to check
out if possible before buying -- it's cheaper and I should know.
Bluesmaster

 

I have been testing upgrades as I made them to my car using a GTech/Pro Comp.
The Rogue CAI (similar to the Madness intake) added 7hp
The magnaflow added 10hp more
I replaced the Magnaflow with a Borla because of the drone and got 5hp less.
So now I have 12 whp more than stock with the Rogue and Borla. The pully goes on in a week :smile:

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MCS with Borla exhaust and Rogue intake

 

FLKeith,
As I'm sure you know, as the mods add up each one becomes a lesser percentage of the total. By themselves the mods are more impressive, as far as gains go. The Borla will not hurt you as much hp wise after the pulley. The drone is a killer to those of us that hear it. The Borla makes my car stealthy, and that is a good thing for unsuspecting challengers and my neighbors. After you do the pulley, the Borla will make the increased sweet whine of the supercharger easier to enjoy. That sound is all good for me.
Bluesmaster

 

Yes - can't wait

I've decided not to do the ECU. I want power for regular driving and most of the power boost from the ECU seems to come from the top end - partly because the rev limit is increased. Randy's numbers show an impressive increase in torque from the pully (i.e. mid-range power) which is what I want.

 

Just finished the pully installation. Wouldn't have been that big of a deal if my homemade puller hadn't failed miserably. Oh well, live you learn. If you're planning on doing it yourself, rent, buy or borrow a real puller. Had I had one, I could have been done in less than a hour. I'd say next time but I only have one S.

The whine is louder (but while I had it apart I went gonzo on my original air box mod :smile: ) and it seems to have more torque. I'll give it a week or so to self adjust and see what happens.