... I wouldn't call it a waste right now with the SPD down pipers and turbo adapters I am noticing a big differnce...
A common misperception. In decades past, a few bolt-ons could make a measurable difference in power in a normally aspirated engine. That paradigm is wholly defunct in the Ford Ecoboost engine series. There is nowhere in the 3.5GTDI HO Ecoboost engine that is a power bottleneck.
The tune itself, ie Boost, Timing, Load, & Torque are the limit to ultimate power with the stock turbos. You’re not going to make more power than an aggressive tune can do unless you go bigger on the turbos.
Now, you can get a tuner, who sells you parts, to set it up so your dyno graph shows a higher peak for bragging, but the actual power (Torque/Airflow) is not higher due to the bolt-ons, unless you consider the turbos as bolt-ons.
The only truly effective bolt-on is a larger intercooler. It doesn’t make more power either, but it will allow the good power for longer.
There’s only one tuning organization that will lay the truth on you and that is Cobb. They need to make money to survive, so they also develop and sell parts too because so many of the tuning ignorant are stuck in the previous paradigm. Note that if a bolt-on part doesn’t require a “tune”, then it is pure bling.
If you can accept that fact, adding bling is not a bad idea. Just know why you’re doing it...
