BAMF_STi 05 OBP STi - Trying to STU

I've always come to IWSTI for research and to pass the time, but never really posted except for some pictures in other's threads. Well, I figured it was about time I posted a journal. There's not a lot to tell so far (except for the fact I'm long winded), but there should be more in the near future.

I grew up being into cars, but there wasn't much going on in my small home town. There were some car shows, but I never really got into that. I always read magazines about racing and modifying wishing I could do that. I finally got a chance to do that in 2007 in college when the local region of the SCCA had an autocross on campus. I signed up in my 2005 Chevy Cobalt wearing a set of snow tires, had a blast, and I've been hooked ever since. That fall I picked up a 1995 240sx and made the long difficult trek down the road of anti-drifting the car. I autocrossed it until 2010, when I picked up my STi.

I picked up my 2005 OBP STi in May of 2010. It had 78,600 miles and was stock. The previous owner must have driven the car thinking it was a Buick, because it was not well taken care of cosmetically. There was a ring of salt residue around the floor mat, numerous scratches (some I have no idea how he got), there was a rust spot on the roof, and the trunk was rotting out from under the spoiler. But cosmetics doesn't make the car go, and the owner had a catalog of all the maintenance done, it ran strong, and the price was right.



I had bought the car to be my daily driver, replacing my 2004 SRR WRX. Not racing it lasted all of about 2 weeks. I started autocrossing it in B-Stock on the original RE070 street tires. I had a bunch of fun, and the change up helped elevate my driving. By the end of the season, the tires were gone, and I decided it was time to go back to the Nissan. So the STi stayed on DD duty until spring of 2013.

I've modified the Nissan to the point it is no longer reliable, and needs to be trailered to events (which I don't have). I bummed rides for most of 2012, and didn't want to do that again this year. So I figured, as a Band-Aid, I would race the STi again for the season. Thanks to a friend parting out his STi, the car now had an intake and AccessPort. I could remove those and go back to stock, but that is silly talk. Besides, I've been wanting to compete on a national level and the STi can't hang in B-Stock. It can in STU though, so that's where I set my sights.

#1 priority was suspension. I started shopping for something like BC's, but ended up finding a used set of RCE T2's that already had the 600lb f/500lb r springs I wanted and valved to match.



Next was wheels. STU limits you to a 245 street tire, but leaves the wheel unrestricted. I had the stock BBS's I could use, but the top level STU cars are running much wider wheels like a 9.5". What would be ideal is the 17x9.5 +38mm RPF1. Oh hey, I had just bought a set of those for the Nissan. That was really convenient!



And that's where I ran out of money for modifications. So, I bought a set of RS-3's, and started racing. Due to some poor decisions, like not getting an alignment, I chewed up my front RS-3's with less than 2000 miles, 1 autocross, and 30 minutes on track. I'm not proud, but it happened.



Now, it sounds like it is a simple fix. I just needed 2 front tires. Well, RS-3's were back ordered until mid July, and I couldn't wait. So I decided to get a set of BFG Rivals to finish out the season.

Here's how the car sits as of 8/1/13:


Fuel & Tuning:

• Cobb AccessPort

Exhaust / Intake:

• Stock downpipe
• Stock exhaust with muffler removed
• Prodrive intake

Drivetrain:

• Stock

Suspension:

• RCE Tarmac 2 - 600lb front/500lb rear springs
• Kartboy endlinks - front and rear

Brakes:

• Hawk HP+ pads - Front only, rears soon to go in.
• StopTech Rotors

Wheels & Tires:

• Enkei PRF1 (silver) in 17x9.5 +38 offset
• 245/40/17 BFG Rivals

Interior:

• Stock

Exterior:

• Stock

Aerodynamics:

• None

Weight reduction & transfer:

• None

So, a big thanks to all the members and all the great info. If you're at an autocross in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, or Erie area, stop and say hello. I'll also be at the Wilmington Tour event this weekend. I'll keep an eye out for Yazel's and any other STi's out there.