Re: Kyle's 05 STi - PDR, HKS Super Turbo, Rear Diffuser and life after WBM17
And finally, the WBM17 update.
Friday:
How my morning started:
I left around 4:45am (couldn't sleep) to meet up with my two good friends Matt ad Mike so we could all roll out together. It was clear when I left despite the forecast of rain. We met up at a predetermined gas station near the OH/PA boarder at 6, fueled up and got on our way. We were looking forward to the drive as we have 3 clean, black GD's - Matt's 04, my 05 and Mike's 06. It rained most of the way through PA but cleared up as we got closer to NY.
The car was, for the most part, great. Two back-to-back scary moments had me on edge for a while.
#1: About halfway through PA and while it was still raining, we exited the highway to get gas. When I pulled away from the stop sign at the off-ramp and tried to accelerate a bit harder (~40% throttle) the whole car started shaking violently and wouldn't pick up speed. After talking to my friends at the gas station we determined the clutch disc and flywheel were cold (highway cruising) and wet, and the clutch was "slipping." This turned out to be true.
#2: I filled up and moved the car away from the pump to run inside to use the restroom. It idled kinda low and almost as if it wasn't running on all cylinders upon startup but came around after 5-10 seconds and was fine. When I came back out, the car wouldn't start. It was turning over fine, but just wouldn't fire up. It eventually started and hasn't given me a single issue since.
Overall we made excellent time and were at the hotel in CT by 2:30pm (Matt not pictured):
This was my first drive with the HKS exhaust, and I absolutely love it. No drone, very tame. I also used bluetooth for the first time (prepping for the Y2K changeover now!) and it was nice to have the option of car sounds or Pandora.
Friday night we met up with some of Matt's friends from CT (he used to live out there) and went to dinner. We went for a short night cruise as well, but all 3 of us were pretty exhausted so we called it a night.
Saturday:
We spent Saturday morning and afternoon cleaning the cars up as the weather had cleared. I ran into an issue with mine - it was about 12:30pm by the time I started washing, the paint was hot and the sun was high. The water was drying on the paint almost immediately and I ended up moving to a shaded area to finish the cleanup. Unfortunately it was too late, the paint was severely etched by hard water. I finished the wash and after some research decided to do a vinegar wipedown to break down the deposits, which worked, but also stripped the wax and sealants I had applied not even 72 hours earlier. The clearcoat was still etched, but the deposits were gone so I slapped some Collinite 815 IW on it and called it good enough. Another unfortunate note is that "burning" on the tip of the HKS is discolored/uneven after cleaning it using detail spray and other non-abrasive methods. I'm not very happy about that as I now need to pull it back off the car and "reapply" the burn. Anyhow, we went karting saturday night which was a great time - the karts were fairly quick (helmets and helmet supports required) and the experience was close enough to being on-track to bring that bug back - more on that later.
Sunday - WBM17:
We woke up around 5am and left for WBM around 6am (we stayed south of Stafford Springs). We were among the first to arrive which was nice as we were able to get loaded in to the car show parking soon after the gates opened. We spent all the time we had before the judges came around (we were in the first group) detailing the cars, then closed them up and walked the show.
Ohio crew holding it down:
Left to right: Matt's 04, my 05, Mike's 06:
Serious Black:
Dan's car over at the IAG booth:
Overall we had a great time. I've been trying to get back to WBM since going in 2013 and the car fought me each year, but it finally worked out. Mike took Best 06/07 and Matt took 2nd Best Paint (2015/2016 Best 04/05 winner as well). It was great to see that there are so many people in the Subaru community and how much it's grown and continues to grow. I don't see myself making the trip again anytime soon, but things can change. I'd like to check out some of the other Subaru-focused shows and also turn more focus to motorsport events.
My cousin and her boyfriend from MA came to WBM so we went to dinner and then headed back to the hotel to recover from the madness of the last few days.
Monday:
We left around 7am - just too tired for a 5am departure. After getting out of CT the traffic was clear, and the weather was clear the whole way. The car made it home without issue. I stopped to get gas once I got back into Ohio and ended up stuck behind a semi truck that had just gone through a wash on the on-ramp. It spit a bunch of carbon onto the car, so I decided to wash the car when I got home even though it had been a long day (I also mowed the lawn since I didn't have a chance to in the time crunch before WBM):
Being absolutely exhausted I crashed as early as I could Monday night and prepared to re-enter reality.
This trip made me realize just how much I like my car. There's something about driving 1200+ miles in a car that (aside from the engine itself) was assembled in my garage with friends and family that makes you stand back and appreciate what it really is. It didn't burn any oil of coolant, it was comfortable enough, it was fun, and it didn't give me any real issues. All of the late nights, and the cliche "blood, sweat and tears," the time and effort, the setbacks (and associated stress) and everything else is somehow worth it. Even though it seems like a large portion of the car scene is trending toward putting fender where tire belongs (in my opinion), I know there's still a lot of people who would rather spend time on a road course.
There are still a few items on the list that I want to take care of and some maintenance items that may be coming up that will lead to further changes, but overall I am very happy with my car. It's at a point where I can more or less just enjoy it, and that's been the goal from the start. WBM17 was a milestone as it was a goal that kept getting pushed back, and now that it has passed I feel like a whole new set of opportunities is opening up. I am going to weigh some options but am excited to see what the future holds for Serious Black
