[Black90tsiawd]

A few people have asked so here's my build. This is my first foray into the Subaru world though not my first trip into the turbo 4 cyl awd world as my name might hint at. I've built a few dsm's, a z32 tt 300zx, svt cobra and s13 in the past. I always liked wrx's but knew myself well enough to know anything short of a STI wouldn't keep me happy for long. I picked up my current car off ebay right before covid shut everything down. 107k miles, intake, cat back, AP3 installed, supposedly low compression in 1 cylinder, $8k plus shipping from the west coast. The car showed up maybe a week before the initial covid shut downs took place. First start had smoke billowing out of the exhaust and what sounded like popcorn popping under the hood. I'm not completely inept when it comes to cars but i knew doing the motor was going to be more than i was prepared to tackle. Stopped at a few places while waiting for the car to arrive and was shocked at the costs i was being given to prep something to break 400 whp after a turbo upgrade down the road.

I ended up settling on a local place called Area1320 in Nazareth PA to do the work. They're the closest Subaru specialty shop and they're an IAG certified installer. I started collecting parts as i found deals on them as my date to go in for the build was still several months off. Unfortunately due to all the shut downs shipping delays and places just plain being out of stock meant what was supposed to be a 2-3 month long build turned into a 2 year build. Over this time as i kept doing research and finding deals on more parts the build just kept growing. It was always intend to be a full street car. Something responsive that is a joy to take on my favorite back roads and to the autocross when they come to town.

When they finally cracked into my motor it was pretty clear that there were more problems besides 1 cylinder with low compression. 1 piston had a cracked ring land. Another has the edge of the piston crown literally explode upward into the cylinder. Metal chunks damaged 1 head beyond repair, turbo was smoked and tons of oil in the tmic. I'll get a picture of the piston next time i visit my builder. They keep it on their front desk as it's the worst they've ever seen before.

There isn't an area of the car that hasn't been touched at this point. To the best of my knowledge this list of parts below is accurate.

Turbo/Intake/Exhaust

• Boost Lab 54XR+ 66 lb/min turbo, 3” T51 inlet, .83 v-band ex. housing.
• 3” v-band downpipe w/ gesi cat
• Torque Solutions downpipe thermal blanket
• Custom air intake
• DEI turbo blanket
• Tomei ELH, SwainTech coated & gaskets
• Custom rotated up-pipe for v-band w/ 38mm external gate
• Up pipe blanket
• Tial MV-SBK 38mm external wastegate w/1 bar spring, routed into downpipe
• Full Race Tial heat blanket
• Custom resonated mid pipe
• ARK GRiP cat back exhaust
• ETS 4” FMIC w/ custom piping
• IAG 74mm throttle body
• Tial Q bov, black, 10 psi spring, burnt titanium hardware
• Radium dual injector TGV’s w/ 8mm phenolic lower gasket & hardware
• NA intake manifold port matched to tgv’s, wrinkle black
• Grimmspeed intake manifold to TGV gasket
• Torque Solutions 12mm exhaust mount kit
• Reflect-A-Gold high temp reflective tape
• Area1320 3 port EBCS

Sensors/Gauges

• Aem 5 bar map sensor w/ torque solutions bolt on adapter
• Plug-n-Play IAT sensor/speed density kit
• AEM WBO2/Boost gauge combo w/ drivers side vent mount
• Innovate Motorsports 3913 MTX-D oil pressure/temp gauge kit
• Innovate Motorsports 3851 MTX-D boost/shift light gauge kit
• Cobb flex fuel kit
• Cobb fuel pressure sensor
• Cobb AP V3

Fuel

• IAG v3 fuel rails
• IAG braided fuel lines
• Injector Dynamics ID1700x injectors w/ plugs
• Radium Engineering dual pump fuel hanger w/ aem 50-1200 fuel pumps
• Radium Engineering fuel hanger dual pump plumbing kit
• iWire plug n play dual pump wiring harness
• Radium Engineering high flow fuel filter w/ 10 micron filter & 1pc heat exchange clamp
• Fragola 602008 -8 PTFE feed fuel line
• Fragola 602006 -6 PTFE return fuel line
• Fragola/Aeromotive AN fittings, ethanol safe
• AEM AFPR

Engine

• IAG Stage 2.5 short block w/ ½” head studs
• Headgames Motorworks pocket ported/assembled heads
• New OEM 11039AC070 right cylinder head casting
• New OEM 11063AB480 left cylinder head casting
• Brian Crower BC0600S valve springs & steel retainers
• GSC 2012-8 36mm in. valves
• GSC 2011-8 32mm ex. valves
• GSC OEM replacement valve seat set
• GSC 6mm valve guides
• Brian Crower BC2960 valve guide single groove stem keepers
• Brian Crower BC0623 cams
• Viton valve stem seals
• ATI 917991 super harmonic damper
• Torque Solutions secondary air pump block offs
• Company 23 EJ257 timing belt guide kit
• Perrin air oil separator
• IAG Stage 2 oil pump
• Aisin TKF-004 engine timing belt kit w/ new water pump
• ARP ½” head stud kit
• Group N motor/trans mounts
• Pitch mount
• Mishimoto X-line radiator
• Perrin wrinkle black overflow tank
• Aluminati black expansion tank
• Mishimoto black silicone radiator hoses
• Mishimoto thermostat
• Mishimoto black battery tie down
• SuperStik black dipstick
• Dress Up Bolts titanium engine bay kit, black
• WC Lathe Werks burnt titanium oil fill cap
• WC Lathe Werks burnt titanium alternator cover
• WC Lathe Werks titanium radiator stays
• RK Titanium burnt titanium upper radiator pipe
• JD Customs windshield washer, brake reservoir & clutch reservoir burnt titanium caps

Drivetrain

• ACT T1S-S05-Mod-Twin 225 twin disc clutch kit w/ lightweight flywheel
• Driveshaft Shop SUSH9-C carbon fiber driveshaft w/ 10mm bolts
• 34110VA121 2015-2017 STI 13:1 quick ratio steering rack
• Torque Solutions transmission member bushings
• Torque Solutions positive shift kit
• Torque Solutions shifter linkage bushings
• Torque Solutions solid shifter linkage U-joint
• Torque Solutions clutch master cylinder brace
• Torque Solutions TS-SU-427BK billet rear differential brace
• Torque Solutions TS-SU-603 rear differential lockdown system
• Goodridge SS clutch line
• Goodridge SS brake lines
• Hawk HPS+ brake pads
• EBC slotted rotors
• Perrin PSP-BRK-401BK brake master cylinder brace
• ITS transmission pedal support bracket
• Arp 100-7727 wheel stud kits
• Mishimoto black aluminum wheel lugs w/ locks
• SSTI burnt titanium wheel lugs
• DarkMatterX DM-1 Shifter assembly
• 18 x 9.5 Enkei RPF1’s, 38mm offset
• 255/40 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4’s
• 8mm wheel spacers

Suspension

• Tein VSSB02-D1SS4 Flex A coilovers
• Tein EDK04-Q0349 edfc active pro controller
• Tein EDK05-12140 edfc motor kit
• Tein EDK06-K4474 strut kit
• Tein EDK07-P8022 edfc active gps kit
• Swift 7k front & rear springs
• Eibach front & rear sway bars w/ poly bushings
• Whiteline rear sway bar bracing
• Torque Solution front & rear end links
• Torque Solutions steering rack brace
• Whiteline KSR207 rack & pinion poly bushings
• Whiteline KCA425 control arm lower inner rear bushings
• Whiteline KCA334 control arm anti lift kit/lower inner rear bushings
• Whiteline W0506 front control arm bushings
• Whiteline KDT902 cross member bushings
• Whiteline W63394 control arm bushing
• Whiteline WEC081 rear essentials vehicle kit
  • KCA326 rear camber adjustment bushings
  • KDT905 rear differential power positive front kit
  • KDT906 rear differential positive power kit
  • KDT907 rear subframe positive traction kit
  • W0568 rear trailing arm front bushings
• Whiteline KDT903 rear differential mount bushings
• Whiteline KBR14 front control arm brace
• Whiteline KBR15 rear sway bar brace
• Whiteline KBR16 rear sway bar brace, link support
• Whiteline W0568 rear trailing arm bushings
• Whiteline W63225 rear control arm bushing
• Whiteline W0508 front control arm lower inner bushings
• Whiteline W53353 front control arm lower inner rear bushings
• Whiteline W63412 rear control arm upper outer bushings
• Whiteline KCA313 roll center/bump steer correction kit
• Whiteline KTA147B rear toe arm
• Whiteline KTA216A rear lower control arms
• Megan Racing front lower 'H' brace
• Cusco 692-492-FM front member brace
• Cusco 687-492-RS floor rear side braces
• Cusco 692-49-RM rear member brace
• Cusco 692-492-R rear floor brace
• Cusco 692-492-M front cross member
• Ultra Racing UR-SD8-1337 8 pt side lower brace
• Ultra Racing UR-ML4-1336p 4 pt mid lower brace
• Kein KSUB026 fender reinforcement braces
• SPT SOA8431130 front strut tower bar
• Megan MR-SB-SI08RU1P rear strut tower bar

Exterior

• CF front lip
• Seibon CF hood
• CF Varis hood struts for JDM aluminum hood
• RPG CF bumper vents
• CF side skirt extensions
• CF wing extension
• GoGoCarbon rear tailgate garnish
• CF b/c pillars
• Seibon cf front fenders
• Valenti red/clear jeweled tail lights
• Torque solutions billet tpms valve stem kit, black
• WC Lathe Works burnt titanium fender badges

Interior

• WC Lathe Werks burnt titanium shift knob
• WC Lathe Werks burnt titanium SI drive cover
• SSCO wrinkle black aluminum reverse lockout
• SSCO burnt titanium e-brake button
• SSCO perforated black leather shift boot w/ red stitching
• SSCO perforated black leather e-brake boot w/ red stitching
• SSCO black leather armrest cover w/ red stitching
• OEM pop up arm rest
• GoGoCarbon D shaped steering wheel
• SMY dual gauge pod cluster surround
• Intertek Fabrications CF dash/vent/door handle trim, shifter surround & window switch panels
• JDMuscle CF center console cover
• Alpine Type R 6.5” speakers
• Idoing android head unit

The car is an absolute beast on the street. 543 hp/503 tq @ 27 psi on e65 on a local mustang dyno that's known to be a bit of a heartbreaker. On pump gas is makes about 470 hp/420 tq. Even at wastegate pressure on e65 it breaks 400 whp. There are definitely a few things i still want to do. Mostly cosmetic stuff. I have a thing for carbon fiber and burnt titanium. I'm currently waiting for ACT to get me a new sprung hub for my clutch as 1 of the springs managed to pop out after only 4000 miles or so. Once that's fixed i'll be looking forward to when the dragstrip opens again in the spring. I really just want an easy low 11 second street car. No messing with anything other than the dampening on the coil overs. From how it feels i don't think that should be an issue.

 

[Karlot]

I’d love to see a log on the street of how fast that setup spools in both 3rd and 4th lol.
Car is absolutely gorgeous. I love everything about it. Especially that burnt titanium. Lol.

 

[Jay11STI]

Absolutely awesome! Im surprised you didnt go for the IAG long block however Headgames in NJ is pretty legit. Its nice to see someone doing a build a bit differently now a days. And yes its disgusting what it takes to make these cars fast compared to others. And thats just the engine, suspension upgrade cost is a whole other dimension 😄. Back in the day, a 6 bolt 4G63 could make 350-400whp with just an ebay turbo kit and some primitive DSM link tuning and actually last. Well, kinda 😂

Boostlab turbos are gaining popularity in my area along with Area1320. I know they're the go to spot in PA. For those of us here in NJ that want some different tuning options its either in CT or PA.

Incredible build, cant wait to see whats next!

 

[user1029]

Very nice

 

[Black90tsiawd]

I’d love to see a log on the street of how fast that setup spools in both 3rd and 4th lol.
Car is absolutely gorgeous. I love everything about it. Especially that burnt titanium. Lol.

I have a problem when it comes to buying carbon and titanium. I've got a few more exterior/interior carbon pieces waiting to get installed. On the street in 4th it hits 30 psi right around 3900-4000 rpms.

 

[Black90tsiawd]

Absolutely awesome! Im surprised you didnt go for the IAG long block however Headgames in NJ is pretty legit. Its nice to see someone doing a build a bit differently now a days. And yes its disgusting what it takes to make these cars fast compared to others. And thats just the engine, suspension upgrade cost is a whole other dimension 😄. Back in the day, a 6 bolt 4G63 could make 350-400whp with just an ebay turbo kit and some primitive DSM link tuning and actually last. Well, kinda 😂

Boostlab turbos are gaining popularity in my area along with Area1320. I know they're the go to spot in PA. For those of us here in NJ that want some different tuning options its either in CT or PA.

Incredible build, cant wait to see whats next!

I actually had a couple dsm's in the 350+ awhp range that i tuned on link. In the late 00's early 10's having a 12 second street car was actually considered fast. If i had known when i ordered the short block that the heads were going to be screwed i would have ordered a long block. My builder loves IAG but it was something like a 12 week lead time to get a set of heads from them by the time we found out mine were shot and Headgames said they could get them done in 4 weeks and managed to do so in no more than 3 weeks.

The owner of 1320 is friends with the owner of The Boost Lab so it's what they happen to stock. I was the first person to actually run this particular turbo. I know of one other guy with a LGT 1320 built that's also over 500 whp on ethanol. The guys at 1320 are great. But because of that they have way more work than they can easily get through. There was talk a while back about closing the books until spring time. When i was searching around for a builder it was between them and Fast of West Chester. Fast is over twice as far from me but i'd seen a few of their builds at the Philly Auto Show. I'm sure either would put out an amazing build. I'm pretty sure Fast is the place that built that GR hatch w/ a Varis widebody and a GTR drivetrain swap.

As for next, i've kinda got the itch for more power. I've pretty much pulled out all the power this turbo is capable of. I really want to know what over 600+ whp feels like now. Some where down the road i'll have 1320 do another custom rotated set up for me and go with something like a g30 or g35-900. Or maybe a mid 70's-80's lb/min Xona Rotor turbo. God knows i've got everything else in place for a bit more power.

 

[Black90tsiawd]

Realized I uploaded an older dyno sheet accidentally. This is what she makes currently.

 

[Black90tsiawd]

I came across a couple pictures of the "low compression" piston i had saved. It's no wonder the motor sounded like a popcorn maker when i started it the first time. My tuner keeps this piston at their front desk as it's the worst one they've ever seen.

 

[Karlot]

I see yours and raise mine lol. Yours is all around. Mine is mainly one side. Still bad though.

 

[Black90tsiawd]

I see yours and raise mine lol. Yours is all around. Mine is mainly one side. Still bad though.

They both couldve been worse. They could have windowed the block.

 

[GrayMetallic12]

reminds me of that song "lean on me" by billy withers

 

[Black90tsiawd]

A few more pics i found from the build process.

 

[NoncarbonatedClack]

A few more pics i found from the build process.

View attachment 68357

That ARK exhaust is interesting, haven't seen something quite like that. Sounds good on youtube lol.

Any cabin drone at cruising speeds?

 

[Black90tsiawd]

That ARK exhaust is interesting, haven't seen something quite like that. Sounds good on youtube lol.

Any cabin drone at cruising speeds?

None at all. I'm sure it's a little louder than stock. But you can have a conversation in the car cruising around without having to raise your voice. It doesn't get loud at all until you get on it.

 

[Jay11STI]

That ARK exhaust is interesting, haven't seen something quite like that. Sounds good on youtube lol.

Any cabin drone at cruising speeds?

Yup ARK exhaust were a big deal back in the GR/GV days. Probably the best looking exhaust for the GR hatch honestly. Makes the rear of the car look so mean. They're pricey but sound pretty good. I like that they use a helmholtz style resonator/chamber.

 

[Black90tsiawd]

Yup ARK exhaust were a big deal back in the GR/GV days. Probably the best looking exhaust for the GR hatch honestly. Makes the rear of the car look so mean. They're pricey but sound pretty good. I like that they use a helmholtz style resonator/chamber.

It was $1700-1800 including shipping right from Ark. I think you can get Cobbs full titanium exhaust for that. In an attempt to make my neighbors not hate me since I leave for work at 5:30 am usually I went out of my way to make the car as quiet as I could. Custom resonated mid pipe, the ark cat back and added a gesi cat to the custom downpipe.

It's definitely one of the better looking exhausts for these cars though.

 

[NoncarbonatedClack]

None at all. I'm sure it's a little louder than stock. But you can have a conversation in the car cruising around without having to raise your voice. It doesn't get loud at all until you get on it.

Seems like it's comparable to something like the invidia q300 then, in volume.

Yup ARK exhaust were a big deal back in the GR/GV days. Probably the best looking exhaust for the GR hatch honestly. Makes the rear of the car look so mean. They're pricey but sound pretty good. I like that they use a helmholtz style resonator/chamber.

I always liked the look of the nissan *Z exhausts with the angled mufflers, so mean looking.
The helmholtz bit is pretty cool, I assume that's how they manage drone.

Youtube makes these exhausts sound soooo deep and bassy, love it.
Then again, youtube makes the stock exhaust of my Street Triple 675R sound like complete garbage. In person, the factory triumph exhaust actually sounds pretty amazing, for a factory exhaust.

It was $1700-1800 including shipping right from Ark. I think you can get Cobbs full titanium exhaust for that. In an attempt to make my neighbors not hate me since I leave for work at 5:30 am usually I went out of my way to make the car as quiet as I could. Custom resonated mid pipe, the ark cat back and added a gesi cat to the custom downpipe.

It's definitely one of the better looking exhausts for these cars though.

niiiice. personally, I don't care for the rasp and drone that you get from full titanium. especially for the price. Love the weight reduction but still..

Whole car looks good though, by the way. awesome setup.


Unrelated to exhaust, why the NA intake? I know the runners are a slightly different length, and something else was different...
Custom resonated midpipe eh? Nice! how much did that run you, if you don't mind my asking? I've heard that custom fabricating stuff isn't actually as expensive as it sounds.

 

[Black90tsiawd]

Unrelated to exhaust, why the NA intake? I know the runners are a slightly different length, and something else was different...
Custom resonated midpipe eh? Nice! how much did that run you, if you don't mind my asking? I've heard that custom fabricating stuff isn't actually as expensive as it sounds.

The NA intake manifold has a much larger plenum than the stock one does. They didn't really have room for a decent sized plenum while retaining the factory tmic. Larger plenums generally flow better at higher rpms. I went with the short runner version which bolts up to stock/aftermarket tgv's so i'm not sure how much of a difference in runner length they are.

I don't recall the exact pricing off hand. It was in the neighborhood of $300-400 i think. We went with the largest resonator they could get.

 

[NoncarbonatedClack]

The NA intake manifold has a much larger plenum than the stock one does. They didn't really have room for a decent sized plenum while retaining the factory tmic. Larger plenums generally flow better at higher rpms. I went with the short runner version which bolts up to stock/aftermarket tgv's so i'm not sure how much of a difference in runner length they are.

I don't recall the exact pricing off hand. It was in the neighborhood of $300-400 i think. We went with the largest resonator they could get.

Nice! yeah, plenum was the word I couldn't think of.
Is there a tradeoff on lower rpm perf then, with the NA mani?


Edit: would also love to see any videos of the car, if you have them. Curious to see how it sounds/pulls!

 

[Black90tsiawd]

Nice! yeah, plenum was the word I couldn't think of.
Is there a tradeoff on lower rpm perf then, with the NA mani?


Edit: would also love to see any videos of the car, if you have them. Curious to see how it sounds/pulls!

I'm actually supposed to go out with a friend in the next couple weeks to do a few pulls with his dragy. I should be able to get him to share the videos with me. I don't know how well the sound will transfer to the recording as the car really isn't very loud at all.

I wasn't really able to tell any difference when driving the car with the larger manifold down low. You can see on the logs it takes an extra 100 rpms to hit full boost though. But the car makes almost 50 HP and 30 lb/ft compared to the old set up. I'll take the trade off as it's much faster now.