[kts262]

Mods

Suspension

- AST 4100 coilovers
- Vorshlag front camber plates
- Hyperco springs (currently 450 all around, going to play with 500 in the rear as well.)
- Whiteline 24mm front sway bar (set to full stiff)
- Whiteline 20mm adjustable rear bar (set to medium)
- Kartboy front endlinks
- RalliTek rear endlinks
- Whiteline rear camber bushings
- Whiteline front strut bar
- Whiteline ALK
- Whiteline front control arm bushings

Engine

- K&N drop in air filter
- MadDad catback

Driveline

- Kartboy rear subframe bushings
- Kartboy pitch stop mount
- Whiteline rear diff bushing inserts

Brakes
- DBA 5000 front rotors
- Fedoro DS2500 pads

Exterior
- Rear tail light overlays
- 40% tint

Wheels

- Stock BBS w/ 245/40R18 Dunlop Z1 Star Specs (daily setup)
- 5Zigen FN01R-C Hot Version Matte Black (17x8) w/ 225/50R17 Hankook Icebear W300s (winter setup)
- TRM MT-1 18x9.5s w/ 245/40R18 Bridgestone RE-01Rs (autox setup)
- OEM 5 spokes w/ 275/35R18 Hoosier A6s (fun autox setup)

Waiting to be installed

- Kartboy front + rear shifter bushings
- TiC transmission crossmember bushings
- STi sport grille
- Mach V Stainless steel brake lines
- MadDad shorty downpipe
- Injen intake
- Whiteline steering rack bushings
- GrimmSpeed coated uppipe

Future mods...

- MORE SEAT TIME!

Removed/Sold Parts
- Prodrive PFF-7 (18x8) w/ 225/40R18 Hankook RS2 Z212s (from my old 05)
- Stock 05 Gold BBS (17x8) w/ 245/40R17 Bridgestone RE-01Rs (from my old 05)
- Whiteline rear endlinks (never installed, going to sell)
- Whiteline front endlinks (removed, going to sell)

The story so far...

After owning and loving my 05 OBP w/ Gold for 3.5 years it was time to retire it. It was burning oil and I didn't want to mess with it anymore.

I started looking at new cars and quickly found myself wanting a new Evo X. I liked the look but in the end realized the Miata sized trunk would never work for me and all the Mitsu dealers I talked to, well sucked.

I finally saw an 08 STi in person and it wasn't as bad as first thought the new STi looked from the photos I had seen. In fact the more I saw it the more it grew on me. As I started to take my 05 back to stock I had to make a few trips to the local Subie dealer for parts. On the way to the parts counter I stopped to check out the 08 STi they had on the showroom. "Wow this interior is really nice" and "wow this hatch can fit a lot of stuff." OK I was hooked. I loved that my 05 was practical with AWD, 4 doors, and a trunk, but this took it to the next level. (And in the time I've had this car the hatch has become SO useful.)

So it was time to start the search for my car. I talked to a number of dealers in my area and in the end I went with Farrish Subaru in VA since they gave me the best deal and didn't jerk me around. AK Maloney is who I worked with and it's been the best car buying experience yet for me. AK is a vendor on here and NASIOC and he's great, don't hesitate to give him a call if you're in the DC area and looking for a new Subaru, he won't let you down.

I decided to get an 08 just after the stop sale so my options were limited, and no one in the area had a DGM w/ BBS + Navi, so I ended up having to order it in mid-May with an expected delivery date of mid/late July. Somehow my car ended up showing up at the end of June which was awesome since it helped get my mind off of a rough few weeks.

It was a long break in period but once I hit 1k miles and finally got to switch over to S# I was pleasantly surprised. This 08 stock, felt the same powerwise as my old 05 when I had it at stage 2. Is the new STi that much more powerful or was my old 05's engine just that tired? I think it's a bit of both.

I'm happy I went with the built-in Navigation. Some people don't like it and prefer after market units but this one has done everything I want and has come in extremely useful when I'm driving all over the place to take photos of abandoned buildings (see the link in my signature for more information on that...) I also like the built in MPG info.

My plans for this car are to turn it into a competitive STU autocross car while also remaining an enjoyable daily driver and eventually taking it out onto the track. I'm going to focus mostly on suspension mods and plan to keep the drivetrain stock for now. I did purchase a Cobb AP but I have yet to use it, most people say I'm crazy for just having it sit there, but I did get a hell of a deal on it, after warranty issues with my 05 I'm a bit paranoid to do any powertrain mods on the 08. (I did get the recall ECU reflash which I'm going to stick with for now.)

Here are some pics from when it was delivered to the dealership:







I ended up selling my old 05 to carmax, so for 2 days I owned 2 STis.

Here the the first, and last, time that they were together.





I ended up trading the 05 in with my old winter setup and kept the gold BBS w/ fresh RE01Rs... whoops.

[kts262]

A few shots from when I picked her up

the first, and last, time the engine bay will ever be this clean


cooling off in the shade


i <3 the new interior!


stopped off at my mom's to show off the new car and also get a free meal


of course, as happened when i bought my 05, about an hour after i buy it the storm of the century comes and gets my shiny new car all dirty.

[RdRacer301]

Grats on the 08. Looks real nice. No more worries about that magically disappearing oil problem.

[kts262]

one of the reasons i love this car so much: the hatch

i moved into my current house just over a year ago and i was so happy to finally have a garage where i could work on the car. only 1 problem, i needed a place down there to store beer for when i'm working on the car. i held off getting a mini-fridge since there was just no way that i was getting one, even unblocked into my 05.

problem solved:




stocking her up


i went a bit overkill with this thing, it's about 5 cubic feet and can hold 30 bottles of beer, a 12 pack of soda, and a few other things. it also has a work top on top that has come in handy a few times already.

[kts262]

Originally Posted by RdRacer301

Grats on the 08. Looks real nice. No more worries about that magically disappearing oil problem.

thanks!

you have NO idea how happy i am every time i fill up and check the oil on this thing, the oil is always at the same level and is still very clean. my 05 i would be adding oil every time i filled up with gas and the oil turned black instantly.

SOOO happy i no longer have to worry about oil consumption. maybe that's why the price of oil has dropped so much in the last few months, i'm not going through a quart of it every week anymore.

[kts262]

last post of the night...

this box sits in my garage and teases me every day. i really should just say "F it" and install stage 1 (or Perrin's stage 1 map that came with this) but warranty issues have me a bit nervous..





I'm still working on the photos I took of the front and rear Whiteline bars, going to do a quick install writeups for them (even though some have already been done I took photos every step of the way) but the Whiteline bars made a HUGE difference in how the car handled. The whiteline endlinks have been a PITA to install, I finally got the fronts to stop clunking, I'm going to tackle the rear ones again soon.

I installed the rear one first and overall I think it made a much bigger difference in the car, it really helped tighten up the rear of the car and helped make it rotate SO much better.

[RdRacer301]

Look like Yeunglings (sp?). Good choice!

[96accord]

Congrats!!

Representing Maryland!

[SRH_STi]

So you're getting the FN01R-Cs soon? I've been waiting to see black wheels on an '08 DGM!

...and for an inexpensive beer, Yuengling FTW!

[spazegun2213]

nice journal I still hate you for owning an 08