Ok so i recently got off the phone with Chuck over at Stillen. I have been trying to get them to drop their price on their Stage 4 upgrade kit. normally it costs 900$ incl shipping. Right now, for me that is a lot of money. So i talked to them and they have a special going on now for thanksgiving, and they are selling their kit for 788$ including shipping. This is a deal i dont think ill get again, so im tempted to take advantage of it.


However, my main concern after the kit purchase is finding a reputable shop, with both experience with the VQ AND experience with the Stillen kit. Now i have read around a lot on these forums and the popular vote goes to Japtrix. Ive seen their project cars and they are phenomenal. However, most of you odnt know this, but i used to own an 08 Lancer before my G. I was in the SOFLancer crew down here, and attended many of their meets before and after i lost my car. I recently went to a barbecue meet with the old crew to meet the newer members and to see old friends, and i mentioned to them my concern for going Stage4 and going to Japtrix. Right there, they immediately hit my brakes and told me No way. They explained to me that a good friend of theirs with an STI (aparantly they all knew him) went to Japtrix for some mods, and some how, replaced his HUD dash kit with one of a regular WRX and of hte previous year, and they had to end up buying a whole new one for him. Long story short, they told me not to go there.


So my predicament is this: ive known these guys for a long time and i trust their judgement, however, you guys here are the VQ enthusiasts, and im just starting off. What do you guys recommend me do? Any info for me would be amazing. Thanks again guys

 

You could also go to Billet

 

I dont recommend Billet, I know too many people who have had there cars just sit there for weeks while nothing got done.

 

Diamond, do you recommend any good shops?

 

lol, sorry to say, but it sounds like a home project....

or ship to somewhere responsible enough to do it right

 

The pulley install and the injectors and quite possibly the fuel pump i can do at home. However, my problem is that the ECU itself isnt plug and play. I have to do about 4 hrs worth of wiring, and i am not skilled enough for that. And im not shipping my car anywhere, especially since it is my daily driver. Even if its some place in broward or something, that could work. I just dont want it to be a long drive for many reasons.

 

No I've never done any major upgrades to my car's though I did get my JWT intake installed at Japtrix. I just remember several of my friend's taking there G's to Billet and that guy (can't remember the owner's name) was never there and the other guy I think Jeremy (that black guy) never seemed to know what was going on unless you went there and talked to him then it was a different story. I could be wrong but I'd expect your car to be down longer than normal if it went there.

I'm sure there have been many others who have had great work done there and would highly recommend Billet Design but I can't help but think of all the bs I got from them when I tried to get work done and my friends' cars sitting there for MONTHS.

 

if you want 100% peace of mind, make to drive to forged performance, its in ATL

 

I don't trust any shop, so if you can do it yourself, do it. Wiring isn't that tough . But if you really have to, I think its just hit-or-miss with shops around here. If they're too busy, you might get screwed with a long *** wait, if they're not busy enough they might try to rape you or say they need to add this or that, basically milk you for something. Or you might just happen to get that lazy tech....

I'd say just try out Billet only because they are local and I haven't heard too many bad things about them.

 

TBH, im embarassed to say it, but its the truth, i dont have a decent enough knowledge of all this to do it myself. And i dont wanna test my knowledge on a car like this, especially it being my DD. Had it been a project car, then thats different.