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Jim's Journal - They were wrong; The world is flat

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12K views 54 replies 10 participants last post by  BlobEyeGuy 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi :wave:

My name's Jim, and I love my STi.

This journal is going to probably be forgotten about; but if not, it'll be used to keep track of all the highs and lows with this amazing vehicle. After about a year (approximately 9000Mi) of ownership, its been mostly highs, but at stage 2 with almost 60k on the stock bottom end I'm prepping myself for that low. You probably know the one I'm talking about...
But until then, I'm going to fully enjoy ripping through the gears terrorizing on ramps.... And once in a blue moon, making a riced out Honda owner cry.

I don’t plan on tracking the car at all but want a build that wouldn't do half bad if there was ever a spur of the moment change of heart. I’m really quite new to this whole modding game, and I've already learned more than I ever could have thought from reading various threads here, but having next to zero actual wrenching experience, tips, tricks, or any other knowledge you can offer up will be more than appreciated.










Okay, enough babble. Onto what you really came for….

MY05 Aspen White STi


MOD LIST:

A conservative DD tune netted me 301WHP & 319WTQ on Granite State Dyno’s DynoJet (Thanks Alex!)



Engine/Transmission:

APS DR525 FMIC

SPT SRI

Invidia catted DP

P&L Straight pipe (swapped out the Fujitsubo RM01A for a few more decibels :D)



Suspension:

...Is stock, and squeeky and clunky and....:tdown:



Interior:

Status Ring drivers seat (Blue)

Schroth Rallye 4 harness (Red) w/ pads (Red)

Planted seat base

OMP seat sliders

Cobb AP V2

JVC R840BT

Valentine 1

Prodrive shift knob

Defi Boost & Oil Pressure

SMY Cluster

JDM Hazard button

Satin black center console

OEM All Weather mats



Exterior:

RallyArmor Mud Flaps (Red)

Primitive Racing Skid & Rear Diff Plates

JDM Tails

V-Limited Style lip

Kartboy 15MM Exhaust Hangers

JDM Ego "Hella Bored Of Stance" plate frame



Future Plans:
Supporting mods to make the dyno sheet numbers start with a 4..

UPDATE 1/16/14:

Saw this My 900+ HP Toyota Supra TURBO - YouTube, its a pretty good story but @ 7:41 it dawned on me... I'm no different than he is, just a few steps behind. That's a good thing in this case.

I've since decided to heir on the side of caution, and stay at a mild stage 2 setup. The 4xxWHP goal is a possible money pit I don't really want, nor can afford, to dive into right now or in the foreseeable future. To boot, I don't use all of the power I have now, do I really need almost 100WHP/TQ more?

I'm impatient. I don't want to wait for more, just give me what I have now so I can be on my way!

My new goal is to make the car feel as planted, direct, and responsive as possible. I figure if the car isn't so squishy the power I put down now will feel like quite a bit more. Once I eliminate most of the slop and squish, I'll add some KillerB ELH with the EWG of course, and a possible E85 conversion. Both geared more towards a safety aspect than an added power aspect.

Any input is appreciated, especially from the suspension junkies!
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Reserved for pictures...If I ever buy a camera

iPhone pics:tdown:







Have you seen how large my set of... Drums, are?
It's been the love of my life for the past 10 years, and its only getting better.
For the drummers in the group....




Drums:
Ludwig Epic Series Shell pack
Bass: 22"
Snare:14"
Rack Toms: 10" & 12"
Floor Toms: 14" & 16"

Pearl Q-Popper Timbale Snare (Secondary)
DW RotoToms (6", 8", 10")

Cymbals:
Sabian Paragon 13" hi hat
Sabian Paragon 14" hi hat
Sabian Paragon 16" Crash
Sabian Paragon 18" crash
Sabian Paragon 20" China
Sabian Paragon 22" Ride
Sabian Paragon 8" Spash
Sabian Paragon 10" Spash
Zildjian Avedis 10"Splash

Gear:
Trick Pro1V Bigfoot Double Pedal
Pacific hi hat
DW9000 Remote hi hat
PDP hardware
Pork Pie Memory Foam ass holder:tup:
 
#3 ·
A journal without pictures is like pasta without wine and cheese mi mama used to say! :lol: Nice title and decal though! :tup:

So... it's Jim, 'eh ? I like 3 letter names, especially starting with a "J"! ;)

IMHO, DIY is the way to go if you truly want to enjoy what makes a Subaru a Subaru... damn ad, leave me alone! :mad:

I can't help you much with tips for a DD build, but I know you've got some place to go if you need weird and cheap ideas for a budget racer! ;)

:beer:
 
#5 ·
Because pasta requires wine and cheese, here are some iPhone photos:lol:

I meant to upload them when I got home from work yesterday but in my attempts, I think I killed my computer... Thankfully there's work computers, which can only mean less work and more iwsti:D





And Jay, you cant go wrong with those three letter J names.:tup: I also agree with you on DIY. I figure I have two options.

1. Pay someone and not learn a damn thing, or;
2. Attempt it and either learn and succeed, or fail and end up paying someone.

Option 2 please! And with all the guys that actually know what they're doing on iwsti, I feel a little more comfortable tackling things. And dont speak too soon good sir, you've already helped me with my build, you just dont know it yet. I plan on stealing your front wiper mod idea in the near future!



Laaaaaaaaaaave the intro Jim ! :lol:


Quote ". And once in a blue moon, making a riced out Honda owner cry."


Grats on starting your Journal :tup:


Oh, and don't listen to Jay ... He'll be putting ideas in your head like cutting your car in half just to weld it back together :rolleyes: ;)
Thanks! And, its funny you mention it.... I've been back and forth with the idea of installing a Spec C roof vent for a few weeks now. If I can get my hands on a vent I'll be getting friendly with the Dremel :tup:
 
#10 ·
Thanks! And, its funny you mention it.... I've been back and forth with the idea of installing a Spec C roof vent for a few weeks now. If I can get my hands on a vent I'll be getting friendly with the Dremel :tup:


Check out my Journal for the main shop I use ;)

They'll hook you up no problem.. Still had some in stock a few weeks ago... I'm positive nothing has changed
 
#6 ·
If you like ripping through the gears and terrorizing ramps, you should definately try some form of performance driving. Autocross is a Blast, Most regions have local clubs doing it. But, there is no substitute for a day at a road course. The thrill of ripping up an on ramp or finding a couple of curves on a country road, compared to a day on a road course is equivilent to the difference in winning a $2 scratch off lottery ticket and winning the Mega millions. I didn't get to track this year due to my health and the Health of my STi, but Both should be ready to go for Spring.

It looks like with some suspension upgrades, You'd be ready to go!

Enjoy your car!
 
#7 ·
Those damn $2 tickets are the only ones I ever win on, so your arguments pretty convincing. I don't live too far from where Team O'Neil does there shenanigans so maybe I'll hit their winter course in the next few months. I also plan on doing all sorts of suspension mods so I don't feel like I'm in a boat anymore... AutoX would give me the perfect excuse to see how well it all works.

Wow bossdog, you are one hell of a salesman! You had me at "If":lol:

Glad to hear you and the car are on the way back to health!
 
#8 ·
Whereabouts are you in mass? Devens airfield in Ayer is where the autocross happens in the area. Lots of different clubs run there. One is this coming Sunday with SCCA :)

I went up to team O'Neil this past winter for a test and tune rallyx type thing. It was tons of fun, though I'm not sure I'd bring my sti again :lol: It was rough.
 
#9 ·
I'm in Amesbury, about 500' to the left of NH haha. I'm scheduled to work this weekend:tdown: But, I just checked out the schedule and should be able to make it the 29th. I'd hope work can find someone to cover me given 2 weeks notice...

Were you beating the hell out of the motor, or more so the suspension at that team O'Neil thing? Or was it just rough all around? Curious because I plan on replacing the suspension soon anyway, but not so much on the bottom end.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Ordered a JVC 840BT last night, cant wait to be able to stream Pandora instead of putting my phone in the cup holder speaker side down to get a little more sound out of it:lol:

Will update when I'm frustrated because I'm too dumb to figure out how to wire it:tup:

Update: Head unit is installed, and it surprisingly actually works. It was my first time attempting any sort of electrical in a car so I was very apprehensive. There were a lot of those, "really, I had a hard time figuring that out..." It sounds a lot better than my stocker, and has bluetooth!:tup:
 
#15 ·
Ordered more stuff! Ordered a forester single din pocket so I can have something that looks a little more finished. I plan on painting all the silver on the center console with some satin black while its all apart. Also ordered a Prodrive shift knob to spice up the interior a little more.

I'd also like to purchase a spare dash in the near future so I can attempt to flock it and still have a dash when I fail miserably. After that, a seat I don't flop around in all the time and the interior should be complete.

Should be....
 
#16 · (Edited)
I'd also like to purchase a spare dash in the near future so I can attempt to flock it and still have a dash when I fail miserably.
Mine is collecting dust in my garage. However, I did paint it flat black a few years ago. Looks decent with minimal glare, but not as sexy as flocking though. Call in advance so I don't shoot you for trespassing.
 
#20 ·
Dont know how I forgot to mention this but, the STi is no longer my DD:tdown: I now enjoy a roughly 2 hour ride in a thrilling Olds Alero; Where passing gear doesnt rev above 3K RPM...:crying:

On the upside, I can now do all sorts of unnecessary things to the STi. Unnecessarily stiff suspension, unnecessarily hard mounts, unnecessarily loud, unnecessary amounts of power...

I want to make the switch to E85 where there's a station less than 2 miles from my work. I figure I'll enjoy my ride once a week and fill up a couple of 5 gallon canisters for the weekend.

I'm hoping to have some injectors, a fuel pump, an EWG, and maybe a catless downpipe in favor of my current catted DP (per my tuners recommendation - any experts have opinions on this?) installed in the next couple of months. Maybe even a seat I fit in if the budget allows.
 
#21 ·
Well, I put the 350Z in storage for the winter:tdown:
Even though I only put 45 miles on it this year, bringing the odometer to whopping 24,960, I'm still bummed its put away.

ZPICAAAAAH!!!!!!!!! Oh and dont make fun of my garage, dick! Its embarrassing, but it gets the job done.. Kind of. I dont really wanna fork over the $700 to get another half decent one, and where its only under that POS while the Z isn't in storage, its good enough for now.


It doesnt have a whole lot done to it, its an even slower project than the STi:lol:

Literally and figuratively. Its slow as fuuuuck. And I haven't done a thing to her in at least a year. Now go ahead and read that last sentence again, except this time in the most disappointed, defeated, and depressed voice you can muster.

Z Mods:

Top Secret 2008 style CF hood
Blitz half carbon rear spoiler
Personal Neo Grinta 330MM Suede wheel
Works Bell hub & QR
Tommy Kaira Hebi Bebi shift knob
3M "carbon" wrapped arm rests
Greddy Ti-C True Dual
JWT pop charger
Rays G-Games 99B 19x9.5F 19x10.5R
BC BR Coilovers
Rear wiper delete

Still need to install the Motordyne ART pipes I have sitting under the bed, and get the Nismo V3 fixed/painted and installed.

In STi news, I ordered some blue leds for a little interior project, and some rain guards so I can have the window down to hear the exhaust a little better when its raining:)

Go fast parts will be on order as soon as I can remember to call the tuner and set up an appointment...

Thats all folks. See you when I finish my interior project;)
 
#23 ·
ZPICAAAAAH!!!!!!!!! Oh and dont make fun of my garage, dick! Its embarrassing, but it gets the job done.. Kind of. I dont really wanna fork over the $700 to get another half decent one, and where its only under that POS while the Z isn't in storage, its good enough for now.
Image Link
*Looks around in the picture for said garage*

... you mean that "temporary car shelter" ? (it's how we call those here) :lol:

So.... you can't make fun of what doesn't exist! ;)

BTW, I'm sure you've already taken care of it, but make sure that the thing is anchored to the ground enough to survive a hurricane. I have one to store my Scirocco in the winter and let's just say that 4 helical anchors + 6 cinder blocks were barely enough to make it stay on the ground with the 60 MPH winds we had recently. The shelter can go to hell, but you want to protect what's inside more! :)

To make the anchor install as easy as can be, I welded large nuts on top of each one, and I use my air impact gun to screw them in the ground! Makes for a quick uninstall too when spring comes! (we have to remove them by law) :tup:
 
#24 ·
Thanks! Every time I see them together, I have to slap myself to make sure I'm not dreaming:lol: But the Z isn't quite a daily. In the almost 6 years I've owned it, I've put on ~16K miles:p


*Looks around in the picture for said garage*

... you mean that "temporary car shelter" ? (it's how we call those here) :lol:

So.... you can't make fun of what doesn't exist! ;)

BTW, I'm sure you've already taken care of it, but make sure that the thing is anchored to the ground enough to survive a hurricane. I have one to store my Scirocco in the winter and let's just say that 4 helical anchors + 6 cinder blocks were barely enough to make it stay on the ground with the 60 MPH winds we had recently. The shelter can go to hell, but you want to protect what's inside more! :)

To make the anchor install as easy as can be, I welded large nuts on top of each one, and I use my air impact gun to screw them in the ground! Makes for a quick uninstall too when spring comes! (we have to remove them by law) :tup:
Hahaha yeah that abomination of a car shelter is unfortunately what I'm stuck with to use as a garage.
Who the hell buys a house without a garage!?!?:mad::mad:
I envy you guys with paved driveways, and garages that arent made out of tarps:lol:

And it was supposed to be only temporary until I cough up the money for another quality shelter, so it actually isnt anchored:eek: I take it down in the winter, and just hightail it to safer ground (there's a concrete parking garage down the road) when the weather gets bad in the spring and summer months. I'll get around to buying another quality shelter in the spring time; you know, after the STi has a good round of parts added to it:D

And thats kind of odd you have to take them down in the spring. Unless its also a law that houses in Canada must come with garages. Then I'd understand... and move to Canada.
 
#27 ·
Ok, so I broke a rain guard before install, and my interior project has taken a detour. I really need to calm myself before buying stuff to do these exciting new mods... I end up finding out there's a shit load more involved after I've bought what turns out to be only half of the materials needed. Deep breaths, and more research from now on.... I was a little bummed, but not going to give up on it yet.

I decided to cheer myself up and order something I've wanted for a looooong time. Since a few months after buying the Z actually... We'll call it 5 and a half years of wanting. Taking a page out of Jay's book, until it arrives, and I get it working, you're going to have to wait and guess;)

.....

That way you wont know it took me 3 months to figure out which way was up... on the directions... that are written in english, and in my defense probably spanish and french too so I'll have to figure out which one I need DONT JUDGE ME

:eek2:
Must be medicine time again
 
#28 ·
Went to see the Z over the weekend and took a couple more horrible iphone shots. What is a camera?




I know, that hood is missing a ton of paint. I couldn't bring myself to paint over that sexy ass carbon when I first bought it; and after a 9 month wait from Top Secret, damn right I wanted to show it off. Saner heads have prevailed though, and paint will come soon to clean it all up.



In other news, I got a status update from the vendor and my xxxx should be here a few days after the thanksgiving holiday:tup:
 
#30 · (Edited)
Ok, pics of the seat installed will come tomorrow. I finished the install and took a quick spin before everyone came over for Christmas dinner. I took it through some familiar curves where I'd flop around everywhere, and holy hold me tight and make me feel like the only girl in the world! Er.. Yeah... I no longer flop around is what I meant. Its also just as comfortable, if not more, than the stocker. WIN! Added bonus, the side bolsters are high enough to rest my arm on comfortably when I'm sitting at a light.

If you've been thinking about getting an aftermarket seat, DO IT! I knew I was unhappy with the stock seat, but I didn't realize how crappy it really was (for me) until now.

More updates to come soon. Hope everyone had a great and safe holiday!



Edit: Pics come late, been feeling like a bag of used assholes these past couple days:tdown:
I know they suck, but its the best I was willing to do with a fever in the cold. If anyone wants any better shots of anything specific don't hesitate to ask. I'll do the best I can with my crappy iphone once I don't feel so blah.

And I only plan to use the harness when I'm having fun in the twisties, I know what you were thinking...


 
#31 ·
Holy busiest I have ever been batman! I'm going to do my best to not work this weekend and install a few new toys. Oil temp, gauge pod and pitch stop. Motor and trans mounts will get done in the not so cold and wet weather.
 
#32 ·
Don't call it a comeback…Er… Yeah. I'm not dead yet.

Life decided to throw a bit of a curveball, hence the hiatus.

Anyway, warmer weathers starting to arrive so I'll be tackling the motor and trans mounts, some shifter bushings, and some crossmember bushings soon. I have to swap some gaskets after finally installing test pipes in the z, but once thats all squared away its the sti's turn to sit on stands for a while.
 
#38 ·
Thanks man, much appreciated. It's 500hp 383ft/lbs, but regardless, its enough to make me almost shit my pants on a regular basis. And I can't begin to explain how glorious that v10 sounds at wot. The only downside I've found so far is I can basically only drive to different gas stations:lol:
 
#39 ·
Whoa. 3 years later....


I went through an E60 M5. A modded diesel truck. An OEM diesel. An OEM Evo. A 540whp Evo....


Aaaaand I'm back! Picking up a 2014 wrx hatch on Sunday! It's got quite a few mods already done to it, but I'm looking forward to adding a few personal touches to make it my own. I'm really looking forward to being back! Nothing else felt quite right. I'll add pics once I pick it up:D Its going to be a loooong few days.


Long story short, don't friggin sell your Subaru. You'll regret it. And you will be back.
 
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