Flatt Racing

[00legacy]

I'm in love with this intake, I think I'm either going to bite the bullet and purchase it through my friend, or fab up one of my own...though I doubt my engineering skills are really up to par and I'd utterly fail :lol: Its only $702 shipped from Japan, that's cheap right ? Hahahahaha

http://www.flatt-racing.com/pages.html/ ... ntake.html (http://www.flatt-racing.com/pages.html/legacy-intake.html)

Their exhaust and headers are pretty nice as well. I've read discussions on their products on several forums. Some discuss the merits of the different engineering aspects of their parts, others complain that Borla headers are better, or you should fab your own stuff cuz its mo' betta or something. I honestly think that even though they may be overpriced, the parts are highly specialized, which is definitely something to take note of. I also noticed another intake that follows the same principles as the engineering in the Flatt Racing intake:

http://www.kakimotoracing.co.jp/22-00_intake(web)/22-01_chamber.html (I know, weird link, you'll have to copy and paste)

Its for the newer BP/BL Legacy's, but could easily be made to work with older Legacy's. If you're wondering what this thread is about, I'm just curious of peoples thoughts on these parts vs. DIY vs. cheaper parts. For me, I'm looking past the chrome shininess and the JDM'ness of the parts and more of the performance aspect. What do you think?

[rougeben83]

I'm in love with this intake, I think I'm either going to bite the bullet and purchase it through my friend, or fab up one of my own...though I doubt my engineering skills are really up to par and I'd utterly fail :lol: Its only $702 shipped from Japan, that's cheap right ? Hahahahaha

http://www.flatt-racing.com/pages.html/ ... ntake.html (http://www.flatt-racing.com/pages.html/legacy-intake.html)

Their exhaust and headers are pretty nice as well. I've read discussions on their products on several forums. Some discuss the merits of the different engineering aspects of their parts, others complain that Borla headers are better, or you should fab your own stuff cuz its mo' betta or something. I honestly think that even though they may be overpriced, the parts are highly specialized, which is definitely something to take note of. I also noticed another intake that follows the same principles as the engineering in the Flatt Racing intake:

http://www.kakimotoracing.co.jp/22-00_intake(web)/22-01_chamber.html (I know, weird link, you'll have to copy and paste)

Its for the newer BP/BL Legacy's, but could easily be made to work with older Legacy's. If you're wondering what this thread is about, I'm just curious of peoples thoughts on these parts vs. DIY vs. cheaper parts. For me, I'm looking past the chrome shininess and the JDM'ness of the parts and more of the performance aspect. What do you think?

Youre paying another $600 extra exactly for the jdm exclusivity.

[Huffer]

If you're wondering what this thread is about, I'm just curious of peoples thoughts on these parts vs. DIY vs. cheaper parts. For me, I'm looking past the chrome shininess and the JDM'ness of the parts and more of the performance aspect. What do you think?

*sigh*

I wish you'd put this at the beginning of your post and used an actual meaningful thread title.

You can use the EDIT button...I would, but it's not my call to do so.

[00legacy]

You're paying another $600 extra exactly for the jdm exclusivity.


*sigh*

I wish you'd put this at the beginning of your post and used an actual meaningful thread title.

You can use the EDIT button...I would, but it's not my call to do so.

I guess you're both asking why the hell I posted the thread in the first place. Well, sorry for the useless thread, was curious if other people were curious is all. :oops:

[rougeben83]

You're paying another $600 extra exactly for the jdm exclusivity.


*sigh*

I wish you'd put this at the beginning of your post and used an actual meaningful thread title.

You can use the EDIT button...I would, but it's not my call to do so.

I guess you're both asking why the hell I posted the thread in the first place. Well, sorry for the useless thread, was curious if other people were curious is all. :oops:

no, you asked what I thought of Flatt racing's stuff. It's shiny JDM bling. On this forum that's more than enough reason to pay a premium on such parts.

[00legacy]

I'm curious as to why no one in the U.S. has engineered anything like it. The only thing I saw similar to it is an intake for the Honda Fit, but more often than not you tend see intake chambers similar to it in aftermarket truck intake applications.

I understand its just a substitute for the Subaru box, what's odd though is that the Kakimoto website provides data graphs and an actual explanation of the engineering showing that it has real world application to it, and I can't find a thing on the Flatt Racing intake, except (no offense) everyone calling it JDM Bling. Guess Kakimoto has more of a sales pitch :lol:

[Huffer]

I'm curious as to why no one in the U.S. has engineered anything like it.

Cost, and lack of demand.

[rougeben83]

I'm curious as to why no one in the U.S. has engineered anything like it. The only thing I saw similar to it is an intake for the Honda Fit, but more often than not you tend see intake chambers similar to it in aftermarket truck intake applications.

I understand its just a substitute for the Subaru box, what's odd though is that the Kakimoto website provides data graphs and an actual explanation of the engineering showing that it has real world application to it, and I can't find a thing on the Flatt Racing intake, except (no offense) everyone calling it JDM Bling. Guess Kakimoto has more of a sales pitch :lol:

Its a rate of diminishing returns. CAI's on an N/A subaru, or for most 4 cylinder engine for that matter, will not net anymore than 5bhp-10bhp, and that's being very generous. It's not a make or break bolt-on, but something you put on to support even more aggressive modifications (cams and any work to increase flow into the engine in particular). There comes a point on the price scale where you have to ask yourself whether its better to spend that extra money on something that will net more power, and thus be a better value.

FWIW, $700 is the cost of a brand new 16g evoIII turbo :wink:

[00legacy]

FWIW, $700 is the cost of a brand new 16g evoIII turbo :wink:

That right there says it all :grin: it all comes down to what type of tuner you are, or how you want to build your car out. I agree that intakes are more of a supporting mod. And really, when it comes down to it, when I had my WRX with catless uppipe, catless downpipe, 3" exhaust, JDM STI top mount, VF34, STI Pinks, Cobb AP and the countless other things I threw in there, I never once modded the intake...because it would always out perform aftermarket intakes. Until you get into the upper range of tuning a turbo car with big turbos, front mounts, etc., nothing does better than stock up until that point.

As it ends up, and slightly hypocritical given my statements above, I can get the intake shipped from Japan for $350 from my friend so I'll probably pick it up. I'd really like to see what this intake does, even though I know the Subaru intake isn't that inferior. I look at the this intake as sort of an investment in my cars performance, it may not pay off right now, but maybe in the future after cams and throttle body porting, headers, and a few other trinkets, it'll really pay off. I appreciate how Flatt at least tries to retain some semblance of a torque box. Where if you look at AEM or Injen or Weapon R, they make the same intake, with different bends in the pipe, for every car.