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BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - The "Sleeper" - Car Sold and Gone

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83K views 459 replies 52 participants last post by  bboytaktix 
#1 · (Edited)
This is my journal that I finally decided to start to not only show and tell people about my STi but also to help get feedback and pointers from all the experience that is here as well as help keep myself organized! Thanks for reading. Let's begin!

Brief Background

My name is Mark and I'm a mechanical engineer from the best place in the world - The Lone Star State - Texas. My job, though not my ideal one or my true passion, and life have taken me all over the world the last couple of years but it's finally starting to slow down a bit and become a bit more normal (for me anyway). Well not to go into it too much, I like most of everyone on here, have always loved the STi and knew it was what I wanted. So when life presented me with the opportunity to finally be able to afford one of my two dream cars (yes the other is a GTR) I hopped at the chance. I placed my order and took delivery of my brand new 2013 Dark Grey Metalic Subaru WRX STi 5-Door back in March of 2013.

Project Goals and Car Usage - PHASE I

The car is my daily driver and the build will be geared for an amazing DD that is an Ultimate Street Car Setup with turbo lag kept to a minimum and torque and power across the entire power band. After getting the news that one of the rod bearings went :crying: - I said to hell with it and was going to do it right. The suspension will be upgraded as time goes on and I get a better feel for the direction I want to take it.

The vast majority of the project including the motor build and tune has been done by Turn In Concepts. I would like to give a big shout out to Tony and the guys over at TiC for helping to guide and taking on this project. I cannot say enough good things about them. Their attention to detail, knowledge & expertise, guidance, and willingness to work with me and keep me updated throughout the build while I was out of the country have been superb. This project would not be anywhere near what it is without them.

Project Goals and Car Usage - PHASE II

Well as I had stated before - the car lost almost all compression and with the results back from the leak down test - 90% leakage was going through the valves. Without taking it apart yet we have narrowed it down to the cylinder heads and most likely either a burnt or bent valve/s. While all of this being very shitty news - I have taken it as an opportunity to turn the car into my project build. The goal of this phase of the car will be "The Sleeper - Power Build". I still am shooting for the car to look rather stock-ish and honestly the exterior of the car wont change with the exception of perhaps a new exhaust and now the stealth FMIC core will be visible. Outside of that - I want it to still get the same comments that I have always gotten - "Oh whats this a stage 2 build?" :devil: Now it will be even worse than before...

My goals for the car are to push the envelope of what is the line between a "Street" and a "Race" car. The car is no longer my daily driver and will be primarily driven when ever I want to - with most likely more so on the weekends. With the power band that I am wanting - we are trying to save a bit on the bottom end while leaving the top end to go to the moon. Much harder to do but now I am willing to sacrifice the low end to get where I want to go. With the set up I am building - I have seen one other car manage it (Who happens to be a friend of mine on his 05' STi) and his, with the multiple boost settings - was very bearable on the street - but then had the kill mode of death! The projected goal right now is in the low 700 whp range. Stay tuned for more as this build slowly comes to fruitation over the next year.



MODS LIST ON POST #2



Built and Tuned By




MOST RECENT PHOTOS
















 

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#86 · (Edited)
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

Hahahaha ya it's going to be awesome but now I am just having to very meticulously plan out my suspension, handling, and brake modding. Although it was pricey to do the entire motor and power build at once it's super nice to get it all done in one go - where as now I have to do the other parts slowly and budget for them. It's taking an incredible amount of self control to not just start buying a lot of chassis braces and suspensions components!

But in time they will come - I plan on doing chassis braces as I can afford them as they won't need an alignment or anything. Then two groups - my shocks struts group then my bushings group. Each will need an alignment so I will just accumulate them until I get a complete group - install - align - enjoy :)

Once I get the windshield replaced and a few nicks on my wheels fixed - photo time!
 
#90 · (Edited)
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

Sick Cali is very much a meca for BJJ now. But that being said - arguably the best guy in the world is in NYC - lots of killers up in NY you should be training! Once you start and experience the lifestyle there's no going back!

My job is being a mechanical engineer - my hobby is my STi - my LIFE is jiu-jitsu ;)
 
#93 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

So got word that I will be picking the car up on Saturday. However due to logistics and a few other minor issues the tune is scheduled for Monday. Not a huge deal for two reasons:

1) I'll be able to use the Saturday afternoon and Sunday for my friend and I to install my parts that I have sitting at home: Sways, Endlinks, a few braces, RAs, Hellas, boots, bear lock, etc.

&

2) I'll get to go check out the tune happen and be there to see the numbers first hand. I'm pretty excited about it

So - 4 days to getting the car and 6 days to having it's power unlocked!
 
#94 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

It's going to feel like you're in a completely different car, especially after you get the suspension stuff in. Coming from a stage 1 or even stage 2 stock suspension STI to this... you have no idea what you're in for man.

On the sway bars, are they adjustable and what mm are they? I couldn't find in your journal which one's you went with.
 
#95 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

They are adjustable. I have 22/22 SuperPros as after looking into it extensively I believe these to be the best ones for our cars. I'll be running the stiff setting in the front (23) and the mid setting in the back (22) as a first go. (*first on my list under suspension:tup:)

And ya - the thing is going to be insane and completely different from what I left there - but I can't wait to get reacquainted with it
 
#96 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

They are adjustable. I have 22/22 SuperPros as after looking into it extensively I believe these to be the best ones for our cars. I'll be running the stiff setting in the front (23) and the mid setting in the back (22) as a first go. (*first on my list under suspension:tup:)

And ya - the thing is going to be insane and completely different from what I left there - but I can't wait to get reacquainted with it


As far as GR platform... My findings and advisement are the same :tup:
 
#97 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

Oh good I'm glad I got it right! After speaking with countless people and get a lot of feedback I think these are perfect for what I want. I know some do the 24 in the front which basically only gives you the slightly stiffer setting (the softer setting is 23 still) and love it but also plenty of feedback that says it's a bit harsh for daily driving and seeing as that's my primary usage it's why I went with the 22 front. But that's not to say a 24 couldn't possibly be in store for the future to have in the garage for an occasional track visit.
 
#98 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

I was told 22/22 with a decent Coilover that possess a good range of adjustability

To underline his point... The suspension expert that was illustrating examples for me even stated that in some rally scenarios, certain teams delete all together their sways and rely solely on the quality and range of adjustment of their coilovers


but for the record.. He also stated that sways/coilovers ( suspension settings) are a very personal thing when having acquired enough experience on different set-ups for one to base himself off of
 
#99 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

Ya I have been told that as well. It's interesting but makes some sense that they would focus on just a stout set of coil overs.

I don't plan on doing a full coil over any time soon as I just think as long as the car is a DD they would be a bit too harsh.

I am planning on running with the GTWORX/Bilstein setup with RCE yellows and WL Com C mounts. I think these will offer the best of both worlds. Coupling these with the new AMAZING looking WL rear LCAs so I can better adjust camber in the back and I think I'll be set. But I won't be going this far tell probably Christmas time. Also considering if I want to stick with the stock rear top mounts or go with a different set... But there aren't a lot of rear mounts out there.

However if and when I plan on making this more of a track car - the T2s are awfully nice and would probably be the route I would go.... Unless of course we can get a hover conversion between now and then... Then all bets are off.
 
#100 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

That's good you went with adjustable. My advise would be to not just stick with the first setting configuration you choose. What I like to do is try every possible permutation, make note of how the car handled on each then go back to my favorite. Point is, you'll probably be happy with the first setting, but there could be a setting you may like more and you will learn how the car reacts on each setting, which will be useful information if you ever take her to the track.

I have whiteline adjustable 22 front and rear, so similar to yours. Initially I did as you planned, full stiff in front and medium in rear. I tried all the settings and ended up with full stiff in both front and rear. I prefer this for daily driving as I like a tad of flip in the rear on the street, makes the day more fun.

I also came from an 07 with a shit ton of GTSpec bracing bits and an X brace on the rear strut tower, the thing was ridged as hell. Bit harsh on the back though. :) Boy do I miss that car. The GR needs bracing for me to be fully content with it. The GD was just so damn predictable and stable, it handled like a damn slot car and never once was I let down.
 
#101 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

I always loved and wanted a GD - to be honest though the thing that I always came back to as a deal breaker was the horrid blue interior.

I may try the stiff setting in the back too because I also tend to enjoy the back being a bit more moveable. And I agree - I'll probably try a few set ups. Just see what happens. And I have a few braces in the works matter of fact waiting to go as well :)
 
#102 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

I can't wait to see the final product! Great build, thank you for sharing.
 
#103 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

After all this suspension talk I'm tempted to get the superpro sways, wonder how well they'll work with the stock suspension.

Did you install the sways yourself? If so did you have trouble getting the back OEM sway off using only jackstands? I hear they're torqued on pretty tightly.
 
#104 ·
BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

I don't think he's installed them yet. He's only picking up his car tomorrow.

I installed mine last Friday with ramps. There was plenty of room and I didn't have to pull out the jack and stands. I replaced my endlinks at the same time. I'm really glad I did as they were totally shot. If you're not replacing the endlinks, you only need an open ended ratchet wrench and a 5mm allen key to detach them from the endlink. It's really easy. You don't need the ratcheting key, but they make it that much easier. I also used some anti-seize spray on all bolts/nuts first thing after it was on ramps. I let the anti-seize work while I was getting everything else ready.

My biggest issue was that I was trying to detach the endlink without the allen key.... lol. I found this video, and as soon as he said allen key, I knew what was going on. :p





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#106 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

Sitting in the San Francisco airport waiting to et back to Houston - I been traveling for 20 hours now with a 3.5 hour leg still to go. Them waking up at 4:30 tomorrow morning for a 6:30 am flight up to Ohio to pick the car up. Will be doing sways tomorrow evening or Sunday and I'll be able to comment more but everything Noximus has said is what I planned to do.

I'll be having a hell of a lot of updates this weekend and Monday after the final tune! Numbers are coming! As well as a full photo record. Stay tuned a day n some change left!
 
#107 ·
Re: BJJMark95's 2013 DGM STi - Up & Running!

Well - I am going to wait and give all the updates at once - but all I can say is wow....

So here's the start of the afternoon -



and here's where we ended for the day. Tomorrow the rest will go on and then Monday the tune - stay tuned for more!

 
#108 ·
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