Scion xB Upgrades

When I actually drove the Scion xB, it was cheap and great, but it had a couple of pretty big drawbacks. Fortunately, the thing is so customizable, that a quick visit to various enthusiast sites got me to the fixes for in order:
# Low Power. It is only 108 hp so it is sloooowww getting up to speed.
# Noisy. Wow, it is back to the old days particularly at highway speeds.
# Gadgets. Heck, what would a modern car be without a DVD and a navigation system.
# Leather. I know, who wants leather seats in a cheap car. Well, have some kids and then come back and comment.
# Rack. They have a clip on rack, but it would be nice to get nice rails.
# Sunroof. I know I shouldn’t need one, but I’ve gotten used to it.
Now, it turns out that Scion dealerships have many fixes for these that turn a $14K car into a $20K one. I know, I priced it at Michael’s Toyota. Let’s see if the web can’t help me do it cheaper. And hopefully help me find a local accessory place to do the work. The cool thing about such a cheap simple car is that I feel like you can just modify it easily.
* !Scion Life :: View topic – xB/xA Intake Buyer’s Guide *updated 4/28 Weapon-R*. The easiest way to get more power is first of all to get a cold air intake. That’s about 10% more power. The “Injen”:http://injen.com IS2100 at $137 street is way cheaper than the factory intake and seems to work better. Main issue is that it has an additional air filter that you’ll have to change. Actual “dyno”:http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4168 testing shows that 92.7HP and 95.8 lb/ft at the wheels fro the stock intake, while the Injen added +4 HP and +4.77 lb/ft. Not bad.
* “TRD Muffler”:http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=59143. You can get a $299 muffler that is bigger. Supposed to add 2 hp and a little better fuel economy. The big concern is of course how loud the thing gets. Other choices include “Strups”:http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=58868
* “Read Sway Bar”:http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21922. Counter intuitive, but the best way to improve cornering is to leave the stock anti-sway bar in the front and add one in the rear to get balanced handling and prevent massive oversteer. Progress from “partshippers.com”:http://www.partshippers.com/ makes a nice rear bar that’s pretty easy to “install”:http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=59159. For newbies, the front bar prevents the car from tipping over (hence the term anti-sway), but makes the car fight you in the turn.
* “Sound deadening”. To bring down other road noise in the cabin, I sound deadened the wheel wells, cargo floor, and rear doors according to Karl Hunges on scionlife.com.

I’m Rich & Co.

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