IW STi Forum banner

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

GD: 
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!
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#42 · (Edited)
Hoooooooly ffffffffffffffffffff this car is great! I forgot how good it feels to be in a Subaru.


After my Evo was totaled I went back and forth for a long time about getting back into a Subaru. I always want to experience something new, but I've been really fortunate in my life and have had a lot of the fun cars I've always wanted. So, with really 1 car left on the list (A MKIV Supra) and not being in the right position to properly care for it, I decided to get back into a Subaru. My Evo was incredibly fun with the big turbo, but with almost 500HP I knew I wasn't going to be happy with a stock or even FBO Evo and spending the money to get another to those power levels was out of the budget. And the transmission in the Evo was just not to my liking. Another win for the Subaru...



So with memories of a now totaled, brutally fast Evo, I began hunting for another Subaru. This time a hatch. I love the look, I have a good size dog and need room to haul stuff, so it just makes sense. I thought heavily about holding out for an STi hatch but ultimately decided never having messed with my DCCD in the 05 and never tracking the car.... holding out and paying a premium for severely underused brembos and a DCCD that would likely stay in auto was just silly. On my hunt for what was supposed to be a white wrx hatch, I stumbled upon this...


Its a 2014 ISM WRX Hatch. Clean title and 1 owner... who added a few upgrades:

*Go Fast*
IAG stage 1+ shortblock
Blouch dominator 3.0 xtr 10^2cm housing
Sti 11mm oil pump
Killer B oil pickup
Injector Dynamics 1000cc injectors
DeatschWerks 65c fuel pump
TIAL f38 external wastegate
Ultimate Racing EWG up pipe
Cobb highflow catted down pipe
Invidia N1 dual exit 3 inch exhaust
Cobb 3 port ebcs
Mishimoto turbo inlet
KSTech 73mm big maf intake
KSTech sai and tgv delete
Perrin 4 bar map sensor
Perrin FMIC core with kandy purple painted charge pipes
ACT HDSS clutch
Perrin short throw shifter with kartboy bushings

*Exterior and Suspension*
ISC N1 coilovers
Perrin 24mm rear sway bar
Varis style hatchback rally wing painted kandy purple
Enkei kojin 18x9.5 +45 powder coated illusion pruple
Headlights and reflectors painted
35% tint all around
Red taillight overlays

*Interior*
Pioneer AVH-4500BT, wired for sub
MTX digital oil temp/pressure gauge
SMY dual cluster bezel
AEM wideband gauge
Prosport boost gauge
Anarchy motive mammoth shiftknob in illusion purple


Needless to say, I don't need to do much to it to have all the fun I want. It makes close to the same power as the Evo did, so I'll probably add the obligatory mud flaps and hella horns but otherwise enjoy it as is for quite some time. It feels so good to be back :)

Not super keen on the purple so I may dip the wheels to something more bronze. But they do look better in person so who knows, it may grow on me.











 
#47 ·
Thanks, it definitely is! I wasn't ready for it when the PO did a pull... I think he knew it was sold after that:lol:



I'm still on the fence with the purple but it's definitely starting to grow on me. I catch it in certain lights and think it looks great, then others its a little less. But I also thought the same about Plasma Blue Pearl when I first saw that and now its one of my favorite colors, so we'll see!



that does look pretty good

however, that poor 5 speed. better save up for a 6 speed.

And thank you as well! I was a little apprehensive about the 5 speed and this power and would definitely love the peace of mind the 6 speed brings. I've thought about seeing what it takes to swap a 6 speed in but it seems like it would be a pricey endeavor for what probably will only ever be a luxury as opposed to necessity with how I drive. Between the DCCD, the diff, hubs, etc, it seems like it may just be easier to resist launching and banging gears... I think....



The newer 5 speeds are supposed to be pretty good. Should last awhile if he isn't launching it.
Thats good to hear! My spirited driving consists of getting the wastegate to open up and proceeding to giggle like a school girl. Good news for my transmission... I'd probably poop myself if I launched this thing, and don't want to chance it to find out the hard way.
 
#48 ·
Well it didn't take long. I started looking into what was needed for a 6 speed swap and began pricing it out. First it was sheer curiosity. Then I saw it was simpler (read:cheaper) than I initially thought. Then I said screw it why not, contacted a local shop and will be getting the process started in the coming weeks.


The strength the 6 speed offers is really all I'm after for the time being so I'm considering opting out of the DCCD option for now and just doing a bare bones swap. The JDM V7 trans seems like it might be the best choice for my application.... Just not blowing it up during an "aggressive merge" onto an empty highway:lol:


I'll update when I've squared away the details and made progress.
 
#50 ·
I know! I pretty much blame you for this:lol: First it was, "nah he's wrong, it should last a while with how I drive". Then hours later it turned into, "well, in the event it does happen, what am I looking at getting into?". Shortly after that it was "well, might as well do it preemptively so I don't find myself stranded somewhere"... Yeah sure, so I'm not stranded on the side of the road somewhere. Thats why I'm doing this:rolleyes:



I have to admit I do enjoy the ratio the 5 speed has, but I find I'm having to remind myself not to look for 6th cruising at highway speeds. I'm excited for that peace of mind. The extra shifts are welcomed with open arms lol
 
#52 ·
Yep! It's not enough that audibly it sounds like it's time to shift, but subconsciously I know there should be one more coming too.



I imagine that reverse lockout has come in handy a number of times in the Cobalt after coming from the STi. I haven't driven something with 6 gears in a few years and I'm still looking for it. Forget it if I switched on something like a weekly basis, I'd need a small surplus of transmissions for sure haha.



After driving the 5 speed I often wonder if they stuffed a 6 into the newer wrx so people like me would finally stop searching for that phantom 6th.
 
#53 ·
Spoke with the shop and the project should begin just after the new year. Decided to get a DCCD capable trans, in case I wanted the future addition.



What I'm really excited about is the DSS carbon driveshaft! I've heard nothing but good and wanted one since hearing about it for the GD.


With the motor and trans squared away the last thing to take care of are aesthetics. I've tossed around the idea of getting seriously wide wheels and the MntRider flares for the hatch. If/when I go that route I'll probably just save to finish everything up properly all at once, including the rest of the DCCD, R180, hubs and drool worthy big brake kit. I love the gold Brembos, but at the same time there's something delicious about Wilwoods..


This was supposed to be a DD, but quickly turning into another freaking toy. Wtf is self control?
 
#54 ·
Car went kablooey. Gave up on it and got into a stock 19 sti. Oddly enough I'm really enjoying it stock. I'm going to add a cat back and some trans goodies to enjoy the shift feel a little more, but otherwise its going to be all show and no go. These weren't meant to be fast. Dialed in with fun usable power? Sure. Fast? No.


The plan is to put it on air, fit the 19x10.5 Work Meister S1 3P's that were meant for the Evo X, add a little duckbill and a Chargespeed Bottomline kit and call it a day. I want this one to be way more low key than the hatch was.



Hope anyone reading this is doing well!
 
#55 · (Edited)
JFC I tried installing Torque Solutions Shifter bushings today. Rear doesn't line up. Front's seemed ok but now I can't get the car in reverse to take it off the ramps...LOL...


Anyone run into this before?


EDIT: Dang. I was clearly way too frustrated yesterday. I loosened the knob a couple turns and bingo. Haven't seen if it goes into 6th yet but at least it's off the stupid ramps for now.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top