Hey Scionites,

I'm ready to pull the trigger on some performance mods.
After plenty of searching through the forums. I've decided to pass on exterior cosmetics and put what I can into getting some zip outta my lawnmower of an engine.

Keep in mind that I'm poor so these mods fit my budget. Although if something is really bad I will consider spending more. Let me know if any of these mods are going to make my car sound like a tank tho...can't have it too loud...I like road trips and hearing myself think.

I just moved up to Norcal so I'm looking to go to one of these garages to get all this done once it arrives. 'cause I don't have tuner skillz like that.

Let me know your opinion on what's Cali legal if you know about that sort of stuff too....enuff of the blazayblah here's the stuff.

Okay. Here's what I got:

Megan Racing Scion xB 2004-Up Megan Racing Header
Agency Power Pulley - Crank Pulley
Tsudo xB N1 Axleback
Option Racing cold air intake

Here are the two garages I'm considering:

Griffin Motorwerke
http://g-werke.com/products.cfm

Performance Options
http://www.performanceoptions.net/Contact.html

Thanks for any and all advice. I'm ready to go....fast.

Tunergrrl:nails:

The header will make your car illegal for emissions, and the pulley will eventually eat your crankshaft.

Intake's illegal too.

Of the things you listed, the header is the only thing that's really going to give you a bump of more than a couple HP. And again, the header is illegal in Cali... now, since the header is mounted on the back of the engine, it will probably be overlooked by all but the most observant law enforcement personnel.

yeah you really dont want to buy the pulley it willeat your crankshaft whole.

yeah you really dont want to buy the pulley it willeat your crankshaft whole.

Thx for the feedback fellas. Why do ppl even use the pulley if it's so detrimental.

So as it stands. NO header. NO Pulley.
This certainly will expand the exhaust budget.
I have a lot of hilly landscapes to traverse.
Any recommendations on CALI legal mods for Hps? Or should I just move.

Tunergrrl :pray:

ps. what's a crank shaft?

Why do ppl even use the pulley if it's so detrimental.
People will do anything to improve their butt dyno numbers.

The pulley frees up a minute amount of horsepower and improves throttle response at the expense of unbalancing the crankshaft. Over time, this will destroy your crank bearings, and eventually your entire crankshaft.

P.S. I'm so against them because I'm paying $2100 right now for my ignorance about how they work.

ps. what's a crank shaft?
It's what drives your pistons up and down. You wreck your crankshaft, your piston rods are next to go, and eventually you'll have a hole through your engine block.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crankshaft

Replacing the engine block sounds expensive. I'll pass on this mod then. It's the family car so I can't destroy it with bad tuner choices.
:( Thank you.

Okay so now that I have an extra ($300 bucks - minus the intake, the header, and the pulley) what kind of exhaust do you recommend. Hell, now I can get the rims.

Oh Nevermind on the exhaust question I see a mountain of posts!
Time to start reading....
*drags feet*

i know lots of people with the crank pulleys on the tc's runing with them for a few yrs without any issues dont know about the xb though...according to what i read people dont have it on long enough to cause any real problems....im sure you can but theres the under drive puley and crank pulley....underdrive pulley is more dangerous then the crank pulley...i think any CAI for the scions are illegal just liike a modified exhasut and everything else we put on our cars..some states are stricter then others..

I've had my Agency pulley on my tC for years now with no problems -knocks on wood- But yea, could be different for xBs. If I had an xB though, I'd just get an axleback and spend the rest of the money on the exterior. A slammed xB with negative offset wheels is freakin sexxxy:icon_mrgreen:

I am glad I do not live in Cali

Any one have a pulley in their ride that hasn't destroyed the crankshaft. Remember I'm not drifting, not racing, just trying to get up hills on campus...over. and over. and over.

I've had a light weight pulley on my car for probably over 40,000 miles. I haven't had any problems? I forget the manufacturer.

Also, for the parts you are talking about, I'm sure if you get in good with a car club up there the people will help you install them. That'll save you soem more money and you get a chance to do some hands on work and learn.

You can get an AEM CAI, and it is legal in cali for the xB.:relief:
Installing the CAI isn't bad at all.

Header and exaust is a garage job unless you got the tools and a lil know how. Both can be legal mods.

Check out some of the club meets and you will find help.

PM me for more info, Best of luck with the mods.

Tunergrrl, welcome to CALI.
Now, for an intake K&N Typhoon , it is CA legal
for a header , DC Sports is legal
for exhaust , anything goes for axel back , as long as it meets db requirement.

I live in Cali , in Officer Rosetti's town , have been pulled over by him :pray: for tail lite tint :frown:. Have these on my box and he never said a thing bout them ( he really knows what is legal right off the top of his head:roll:)

So don't worry, there are a few mods that are legal in CALI.

Any one have a pulley in their ride that hasn't destroyed the crankshaft. Remember I'm not drifting, not racing, just trying to get up hills on campus...over. and over. and over.


I have the perrin pully for well over 4 years now and just replaced the belt because it got old and crusty have had not a single problem and I am well over 75,000 miles.

Note: I did not notice any real gains from this mod save your $ for air ride :icon_biggrin:

i have the Agency power pulley ......same size as the OEM but lighter..it doesnt add power ..frees up power nothing major....i personally felt a difference in the accelration..had no problems with it....if you do have problems with it then its the drivers fault or and install problem or just might not be for you...im a tc owner so XB's can respeond difference smaller engine

if you do have problems with it then its the drivers fault or and install problem or just might not be for you...
Driver's fault? Really? You want to expand on how it could be the "driver's fault"?

Granted, I exacerbated the inherent problem in them with a full season of division-level autocrossing and HPDE's, but the problem with them still exists nonetheless.

Essentially the issue with the lightweight Crank pulley is that the motor was designed to have a pulley with a harmonic dampener on it to keep the vibration down and prevent the crankshaft from going out of balance. The Crankshaft is essentially the central part of the motor. The connecting rods are attached to it, and the pistons on the other side of the rods. And they all spin/oscillate like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Cshaft.gif

As I've always said, it costs Scion more to create a vulcanized steel harmonic balancer, than a billet aluminum unit. Don't ya suppose that if it wasn't needed, they'd increase their profits? A nice Fidanza aluminum flywheel (though far more labor intensive to change) is a far better way to reduce recip. wt.

My 2c :icon_razz:

Pulley = no. i have also read that the pulley can snap or wreck a shaft.
Intake, i would suggest a black powder coated Injen short ram intake. Black blends well with the engine bay, and the filter sits behind the bumper cover.
Header, i would suggest the Strup header. Nice, clean and quality. I have had 2 different shops comment on the quality and fitment of the Strup header.
Muffler, i would suggest getting a Borla. Its not loud, or ricey. I went with this set up and i really like it.

Hey Scionites,

I'm ready to pull the trigger on some performance mods.
After plenty of searching through the forums. I've decided to pass on exterior cosmetics and put what I can into getting some zip outta my lawnmower of an engine.

Keep in mind that I'm poor so these mods fit my budget. Although if something is really bad I will consider spending more. Let me know if any of these mods are going to make my car sound like a tank tho...can't have it too loud...I like road trips and hearing myself think.

I just moved up to Norcal so I'm looking to go to one of these garages to get all this done once it arrives. 'cause I don't have tuner skillz like that.

Let me know your opinion on what's Cali legal if you know about that sort of stuff too....enuff of the blazayblah here's the stuff.

Okay. Here's what I got:

Megan Racing Scion xB 2004-Up Megan Racing Header
Agency Power Pulley - Crank Pulley
Tsudo xB N1 Axleback
Option Racing cold air intake

Here are the two garages I'm considering:

Griffin Motorwerke
http://g-werke.com/products.cfm

Performance Options
http://www.performanceoptions.net/Contact.html

Thanks for any and all advice. I'm ready to go....fast.

Tunergrrl:nails:

I spent less than $400 modding my car with a fujita sri/obx ceramic 4-2-1/injen axleback (bought used for $50+my stock exhaust) combo.

boost if you want real power gains

I have had the Agency Power pulley on the car for probably 25,000 miles now, seems to be fine so far. I do think the pulley helps with hills, and just a little with acceleration.

Funny, I've had the Perrin crank pulley for over 3 years now and I've had a Tom's 8Lbs flywheel for about 2 years, I roadrace, and used to canyon race a lot. Never had any problems with my crankshaft as it is still in one piece happily in my engine, and at 130,000 miles the motor still runs as strong as the day I bought it.

I have noticed that the motor revs smoother and is a tad bit quicker in the mid range once I installed the pulley. After I installed the flywheel I lost a little amount of low end torque but the trade off is that the motor loves to rev!