Starting in AT

[taddyboy33]

HEy guys,
for my 17th bd my rents got me a 2003 2.5 RS, but since it serves as a family car now and then they decied to get it auto. The start in the car is really slow, there is like a second or two until the car really begins to pick up. Does anybody know a way to make the accelerication in the car a bit quicker, or am just crap outta luck! thanks

[buymeabmwm3]

Buy a K&N drop in air filter. $30 for 5hp is a good investment. And the best thing is, it can be your little secret.

[ssjwizard]

im not exactly sure how much increase youll get with just the new air filter and the dtock system. the best part about new air intakes is not nessicarily the power increase but the throttle response time gets alot faster which is extremly good on hard acceleration. anyways you need to drive your car and get used to it. one thing you can do to generate a more powerfull launch is to hold your break down all the way and prerev yoru engine about 1,000-2,000rpm over idle. dont do this the entire time your stoped just watch your lights once the crossing direction turns yellow start. also if your slaming your pedel to the floor this might actualy hurt your acceleration slightly with a completly stock system. id recomend that you start at 1/3 throttle and after a split second push it just past half, and another moment or two later punch it.

[buymeabmwm3]

Brake torquing when launching isn't really a good idea to do a lot. You can do it sometimes, but by no means all the time. WHats heppening when you rev the engine with your foot on the brake, is that the torque convertor has to work really hard to sustain the difference in engine speed (2000rpm) and driveline speed (0). This generates lots and lots of heat, and heat is the number one killer of transmission components.

[buymeabmwm3]

Wizard has a point on the intake. A drop-in filter in the stock setup will give you a power increase, but it would be better to get a full cold air intake, or at least take out the baffles or resonator horns inside your stock airbox. The only advantage of the drop-in is that, since you said its the family car, your parents would never be the wiser to your 'performance' mod.

[mutatedfrog]

if you put in a k&n filter, be careful, I put one in on my infiniti, and the dealer refused warranty work because of it. I'm not sure how subaru would react to it, but I've learned my lesson. CHANGE THE AIR FILTER BEFORE SERVICING

[LjasonL]

You're outta luck if you just want to stick to basic mods. The auto is a better transmission for drag racing, it's stronger and the AWD system is better in auto's than manuals. A good torque converter should be what you're looking for.

[taddyboy33]

My rents dont care what i do to the car as long as i pay for it, and it will be myne in a month or two anyway. In that case, are there any things that you guys can reccomend?

[ssjwizard]

well if your not looking into turbo id recomend a cold air intake and a new exaust system. xenon headlamps, new wheels with ultra low profile tires. also you may want to look into having your ecu re tuned for your spacific area you probably wont gain a whole lot of power but it should increase your gas mileage. dont buy a power chip or racing ecu as they are basicly for the most part identical to the maps that you have allready. its just a remapping job that would need to be done.