Ok, so I got my Vortech installed and of course changed oil and oil filter. Aside from that the car is just like it was. Plugs are about 20,000 miles old. Should I upgrade plugs? If so, to what? Anything else I should do? I've put about 500 miles on the car since SC install. Is there anything else I can do to get cooler air forced in? I know some people spray their turbo car's intercooler with nitrous, do I have any tricks like that I can do?

 

You should change your plugs to something like NGK copper racing plugs 7173 and gap them to 0.032" to 0.034". A F.I. engine needs a smaller gap or you could get a high rpm miss. The copper plugs will only last a few thousands miles, at which time you need to pull them out and check them to see if they can go a bit longer.

I'm not sure where you heard about the bit on spraying nitrous on the intercooler. You spray nitrous INTO an engine for a boost of power (dangerous if not done right). If conditions warrant it, people spray water (or alcohol) onto the fins of the intercooler to help with heat exchange. The Vortech intercooler system does a pretty good job at cooling the intake charge. Any further messing with it is unnecessary unless you've got time and money kicking around to something that would gain very little.

 

The nitrous/intercooler thing is pretty common. I'm well aware of the standard function of nitrous, but STI owners have seen up to 20+hp gains simply from spraying the intercooler with nitrous, or sometimes c02.

 

If you say so. But correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't the STI an air to air intercooler? The Vortech is an air/water - water/air system. Not quite the same.

 

That's why I said this.

 

So with the supercharger I'll have to change plugs every couple of thousand miles? Any alternative to this?

 

Well, not quite. They should be good without any attention for about 3000 to 5000 miles. You're the best judge on this based on how the car feels.
An alternative would be to get new OEM plugs and gap them narrow as I stated above. Platinum plugs will wear well for a lot longer without too much difficulty. It's just that the 7173 plugs are one heat range colder than stock and a F.I. works better with this or even 2 heat ranges colder if you climate will allow. And copper give a better spark but nothing wrong with platinum for daily use and longevity.
Don't get the Denso Iridium plugs IK-24. Many people, including myself, were using these and a few of us discovered that after a few months, they developed a high rpm miss. Most have abandoned these now.

 

Oh, did you go with synthetic oil like Vortech recommended? And it's about time you re-tightened the belt - done it yet? They say to do it again once you've got about 400 miles on it.
I didn't like the tiny size of the air filter that came with it, so I adapted a full size filter like the one on the stock airbox and made a rain shield for it. Besides upgrading the pulley for more boost and then having to get a stand alone ECU and tuning it with new injectors, etc, the stock Vortech works pretty good as is.