I finally received and installed my Vishnu Stage Zero setup. The results were WOW, the methods of getting there were OW.
Let me explain: I spent a great deal of time researching these parts and their effect on the car. Shiv and Brett of Vishnu both worked hard to answer any questions I had (and I had a ton). I was initially deciding between a Sub-Zero kit (remapped ECU only) and a Zero (remapped ECU, Vishnu up-pipe with new gaskets, smaller and lighter main power pulley and new belts for it). The Sub zero promised 260 hp and the Zero was supposed to deliver 280-290 horses at the crank, depending on which of their pages you looked at. I added the Vishnu silicon intercooler hoses (which reportedly added another 5-7hp, but I was going for the "cooler means less damage" rather than the "cooler means more power") and colder NGK sparks to the order.
I ordered the parts and was expecting a delivery of about 3 weeks (according to them). The delivery ended up being a bit longer. I received a call about 4 weeks later to confirm my credit card number because the ECU was ready (the only part that demands the wait), but the card wasn't working. That solved, the first box arrived a week later; it contained everything except the new ECU, the piece that tied everything together to give me my
285-297 horses.When I called to ask where my ECU was the question was met with confusion. After they realized I had everything else they told me they just had to wait until an ECU was available to reprogram (they reprogram stock ECU's and give you a "valet" setting that returns the car to stock power output for dealerships and the like). When I explained that I was already told it was ready it confused him even more and I was asked if they could call me back or send in my own ECU. No, I needed the car to actually run while I waited. After 2 or 3 days with no answer, I called them again. I explained my situation again and was told that they had to wait for one. When I reiterated the fact that one was supposed to be ready almost 2 weeks ago now he shuffled around for a minute before saying "Oh! It's sitting here on my desk. Yeah, we just missed the guy that picks up our shipments, but I'll get it on its way tomorrow." I don't know how long it was on his desk, but I'm guessing since the original call.
Within another week I had the core. I scheduled some time with a friend of mine who knows his way around cars (and most importantly had the garage space!). We began around eleven in the morning.
Let me note here that I don't remember any point in time in the research or purchasing phases where they say that you need a boost gauge in order to ensure that the upgrades are all performing correctly. Once you get the instructions, it says so. Luckily, I already had one installed, otherwise that would have been one more purchase and install that would be added to the list.
Using Shiv's instructions, which were detailed in some aspects, but not-so-detailed in others we began with the pulley. The instructions say to have the car on the jackstands, put it in 4th or 5th gear and pull the brake in order to give yourself something to torque against. This was reportedly one of the hardest parts because the pulley (torqued to 96 ft-lbs, I think) simply turned when you did, giving you nothing to pull against, even in these circumstances. Knowing others who had this difficulty, we just left the car on the ground, pulled the break and the nut popped right off. I'd suggest the same method if anyone else were to try it. There's no real reason the car should be up yet. After loosening the nut, we loosened the belts and the pulley came right off.
The new pulley was significantly smaller, but promised no noticeable power loss for radio, headlights, gauges, etc. (and they were right!). It weighed less than half the weight and was very noticeably smaller. Somewhere I have the pictures to compare on disk. I can send them to those that want 'em. I was really amazed at the difference in both size and weight.
My pulley must have been dropped.one of the rows had a dent in it that was sharp enough to make me worry about damage to the belts. We used a small (large dremel-sized) grinder and made it quite smooth. The new belts are just a bit snug (the next size up is too large), but really posed no problem in getting them on. Once we put everything back where it belonged we were concerned that the belts may have been too tight, but after asking "Hey, does that feel too tight?" to everyone that came to witness the event, we decided it was fine.
Next I took the intercooler out of the car to replace the hoses. This was pretty easy. You simply needed to loosen on end of the hoses and pull. The new hoses were a lot smoother inside (the stock have ridges built into them at the corners and are a hard plastic) and larger as well. They didn't seem to be quite the right length and in some cases, angles. There were also knobs on the intercooler ports that held the original in place, but when the new hoses went over them, it caused a gap for air to escape. You can either clamp them nice and tight, or cut a spot in the hoses for the knobs. When we put the intercooler back on later (last step) it was a problem getting the hoses to line up initially, but we were also tired and ready to be through with the event. They fit, and while I'm now sure we got them leak-free, I could have been more confident had they fit on without crooked connections and questionable seals. Again, I have comparison pics between the originals and the new hoses.
Next we began the most difficult part; the up-pipe. I have to say that I wasn't impressed with the push-tabs that were used for a lot of the heat-shields and the like. They're difficult (in not impossible) to remove without damaging or out-right breaking them off. Luckily we had spares already on hand and used them when the time to reattach was at hand.
We followed all instructions and succeeded in originally targeting the DOWN-pipe for removal. Oops. We realized where we were heading ("Why are you taking the down-pipe off if you're just replacing the up-pipe?" "You told me to!") and re-read the instructions. I think the biggest problem was while each paragraph of the instructions were fairly detailed, some paragraphs would have done well to come before another, rather than after. We originally read through the instructions completely before starting but until the tools were in our hands, failed to realize that fact. So we continued. It was not a fun task at all (we re-attached the down-pipe first!). There were a few times that we questioned the possibility of the next step in the instructions, but pushed through regardless (often taking our own path). Getting to the O2 sensor in order to remove it from the stock pipe was a challenge as well. The new Vishnu up-pipe does not have a sensor in it. To combat CELs they give you a restrictor to plug into place up above where the sensor originally attached to the computer. (I've had 0 CELs to date.)
Once we got the old pipe remove I compared them. The new pipe had no bulky heat-shield (which, if you want to keep the pipe a secret from casual glances, can be removed from the stock unit and placed on the new one). It has no cat inside, and has a slightly larger internal diameter. Putting the new gaskets in place (which according to a set of instructions weren't originally included in the Zero package but are now, so don't order extras!) we attached the new pipe.
From here it was all clean-up, replacing what we needed to replace, etc. (only a few hours worth). We opted to wait on the install of the plugs since it was already eleven at night! It had taken all day, once the down-pipe problem was factored in. I had yet to install the ECU because Vishnu asks that you test drive the car without it to see if you notice any exhaust leaks. There were none. I went home.
On the trip home I noticed a bit of extra get up and go, but nothing that really blew me away. With the new pipe, pulley and hoses I was supposed to be getting (using the oh-so-reliable "add the advertised powers together" method) about 20-25 hp more than stock. I must note that for the most part I drove normally on the trip home. I was tired from the day's events and it was dark and wet outside. I wanted to survive the trip home to really enjoy the power later. In addition I don't live that far away and the car wouldn' t have been warmed up anyway. I was also due at work in about 4 hours.
The next day I installed the ECU. A comparatively painless and quick process. 5-10 minutes, and be careful when you pull out the wires (they say so, anyway; I had no problems).
The ECU is set to valet mode right from the start. In order to change it to full power (now called "regular boost mode") you need to fully depress the accelerator and press the defrost button while the keys are on (but obviously not the engine). Once you let up on the pedal you can use the defrost as normal.
I hopped in the driver's seat and went for a ride. I let the car warm up, as much as I hated the 2 minutes it took, before testing. Vishnu tells you to find an open road, get into 3rd gear and then slowly run it to red-line (which has been boosted to 7200-7300 RPM to adjust for the new power band). Carefully keep an eye on the boost and make sure there are no spikes or drops, or that the pressure does not ever exceed 1.2 bar (mine was steady, never passing 1.1). They also tell you that while it is extremely unlikely, listen for detonation.catching it early is definitely in your best interest! There was none.
Now it was time to play. The boost kicks in a bit earlier, a bit above
2500rpm. Gone was the pleasant little whine from the stock system spooling up. Instead a healthy WHOOSH pressed me into the back of my seat. There is almost no lag existent if shifting under quick-driving conditions (not the same as the folks that tell you that the stock system has no lag if you shift above 5000rpm...now we're talking 3000). It presses me to the seat in all gears.5th is now a passing gear, though I prefer 4th! As long as the tack is above 2.5 grand, you get instant power. The pre-boost power is up too, the car doesn't feel nearly as sickly pre-boost as it did. It rockets you through the speedometer. On the test drive I came up behind a car going 65 and went to 3rd to pass him. By the time I was past him, still in the oncoming lane, I was pushing 100mph. There is no wait for power while shifting, even in 4th or 5th gears. Stand still acceleration is amazing, but I still go out to find cars just so I can pass them. I feel like Michael Knight pressing the "Turbo Boost" button on my own person KIT while downshifting. I absolutely loved the car stock. It gave me a grin every time I drove it, even if I was just going to the convenience store down the road. But now my grin has grown into a madman's giggle.I haven't clocked the car, or had it dynod. The advertised speeds (customer results, according to Vishnu) are 4.5 for the 0-60 and a 13.2 ¼ mile at
100+mph. I'll take their word for it.The upgrade will keep your gas mileage about the same in the city, but has actually improved mine on the highway. I confirmed this through Vishnu who says that is to be expected and perfectly normal. I was happy.
The drivability hasn't suffered at all. In fact with the extra torque at pre-boost levels, I'd say it was improved somewhat. There's no noticable change in the attitude or sound of the car (not counting the WHOOSH while accelerating hard). Idle doesn't change at all.
There's nothing that disappoints me about the purchase, except the email I got saying if I don't return my original ECU I'll get charged 600 bucks. That pissed me off considering I specifically asked about that and was given the run-around until now. That aside, the upgrade itself, once completed, is wonderful.
Incidentally, for future upgrades you may need to remap your ECU again. If the new pieces are purchased from Vishnu the remapping is free. If not, last I heard it cost 150 bucks. They do, however, now have their new XCEDE chips for the WRX that are 100 percent programmable by the user (with a laptop) and they have pre-made downloads for maps including the stage sub-zero and zero. So if you're savvy in that area you won't need to pay again for a remap.
Well, I hope that this was informative, entertaining, or at least helped to waste a few minutes of your time, if that was your goal. Feel free to email me if you'd like to see pics, or have questions about anything I left out (or explained in a confusing way, as I'm prone to do). The camera was lost for a good portion of the upgrade so I'm limited on pictures.I have the pulleys, the up-pipes and the hoses side-by-side for comparisons, but not a whole lot of in the engine bay shots. Please put WRX in the subject so I can spot it and read it!
Thanks for the time!
Andrew