Smitty's 2011 DGM STI Sedan - The Perpetual Build

Re: Smitty's 2011 DGM STI Sedan - Track Build Underway

06/14/12 - Build 2 Day 35

Sorry in advance for the wall of text but there is a lot going on in the grand scheme of things and I wanted to update those following with what is going on. As for tonight's update, I didn't get too much done I didn't have much time today to work on anything but I did get a little done.

For starters I got the radiator and the breaker for the battery wiring in today. The radiator packaging was great and it arrived undamaged. The welds look great, just as good as the Koyo that everyone seems to love. The Mishimoto X-Line is over a half inch thicker than the Koyo as well which is very nice. Thanks to Greg at TiC for the great pricing on this as usual.







The fuel lines are complete, the first step was to get the in tank pump in the car:







Once the pump was in I could make the lines that run to the surge tank. These are -6 lines and obviously feed the surge tank and return overflow from the surge tank to the main tank. The lines follow the routing where the stock lines used to be then go up into the trunk to the surge tank. So far the Fragola lines and fittings have been great, they are very easy to assemble.











Next up were the feed and return lines to the firewall, these are -8 and -6 respectively. I will need to get pictures in the daylight of the line routing since the pictures are too dark to see. Basically they run up the frame rail through where the bulkhead will be, then across the front of the rear seat area and then up the tunnel to the bulkhead fittings that I posted last time at the firewall.



That's it for the work I did tonight, tomorrow I will work on the fuel pump wiring and battery wiring once the wiring is done the interior or what is left of it can start to go back in.

In other news, If anyone wants a VERY lightly used AP I will have one for sale sometime in the next few weeks. Unfortunately I did not um-marry it before taking everything apart and it is not possible to do so with the entire wiring harness unplugged so I will need to wait to do that otherwise it would be for sale right now. IF you want it PM me for details.

On the same note, I will be using an AEM V2 EMS this time around. This will provide me with a lot of tuning flexibility and it pretty much solved the problem I was having with trying to find gauges that meet all my requirements. It was previously mentioned that one of my sponsors would be providing tuning services using ATR, however, due the the epically poor customer service that resulted in an 8 week wait for my turbo and a general lack of communication despite repeated attempts on my part I have dropped them from my list of sponsors. The car will now be tuned locally by someone that is very experienced with cars like mine. I am extremely excited to be working with him as well as the other company that is providing the AEM EMS. More details to come later on that.

Everything is here for the engine and it is ready to go together. As soon as I get the go ahead from Tony @ TiC we can start getting it together. I hope maybe this week or next so that I can get the engine on the stand and be able to finish up things like the Intake manifold and fueling component mounting.

I am told that Nameless is working on the parts for my car. They are starting mock up on the test stand engine and should have the test car in next week I think to do final fitment on the components. As soon as I get more information or if I can get any production pictures from them I will be sure to post what I am allowed to. Also keep an eye on their Facebook page since they like to post pictures there as well.

As far as what I am waiting on still, I am being pretty indecisive on seats. I have it narrowed down I just need to pull the trigger on one of them. I am still waiting on my clutch that has been back ordered for quite some time. I am hoping that it will be here when I am ready to drop the engine in since I obviously need it to be able to do that. The last things besides the seats that will need to be ordered are the oil cooler core and sandwich plate as well as some tires and some other small components. In general I am pretty close to having everything with here or on order to finish up the build.

It seems like a lot of stuff but once it is all here and in my hands it will move very quickly. Until then, Ill continue to work on little things to prep the car for the parts that I dont yet have.

I also wanted to post a review of the the TiC/3MI Racing TGV deletes that was done by another reviewer who has had the time to beat the shit out of them already. The results look very promising and I am excited to get to run these. Check it out and grab yourself a set once they are released!

TIC's New TGV's. They Really Do Work. - NASIOC

That is it for tonight, more to come later.

Re: Smitty's 2011 DGM STI Sedan - Track Build Underway

Where the heck did you get those sexy fittings for the hangar from? I want meow.

Don't forget to do either/both one of the following:
1. Get aftermarket fans, push or pull and mount a little further down than you would expect
2. Trim the shit out of both ends of your upper coolant hose

I've seen this trend in a few cars now. If you don't trim the upper radiator hose, the stock fan assembly will cut open that hose. Not fun stuff. It takes about 3/4-1" off of both ends to get it to make the across pass horizontal with the front frame rail. This keeps it from hitting both the fans and the power steering pump if done correctly. Better to do it when you're putting it all together and before you burp the coolant system than have to pull it back off with everything hot. It's not fun getting hot coolant all over yourself...

Interested to see how the AEM V2 works out for you. My buddy George (Holycrapitsfast) is familiar with tuning the AEM V2, and he says the stock ECU (especially with some of the newer SD stuff) is a better tool in his opinion. There are some parts of the AEM like 4D tables that I do like very much, especially for fueling and timing which will be essential to a time attack car.

Re: Smitty's 2011 DGM STI Sedan - Track Build Underway

Ill keep an eye on the hose, I imagine it will require a good amount of trimming base on the additional thickness.

Ducting will be key for both the heat exchanger and radiator as well as a good seal to make sure that air has to go through them both.

The fun part about the AEM is it is not a Subaru model at all, most people would be surprised to hear what it was originally intended for lol. Both companies working on it are pretty excited it seems since everyone except Cosworth has dropped the ball here so far. Actually Cosworth did too when whoever sets pricing there started smoking the best week in the world.

The price on this AEM unit is unbelievable I almost instantly sent the payment today when I saw it, it has been used by a couple other teams with real good success. The tuner's resume is impressive as is the owner's of the company that provides the ECM and harness. I am very excited about it. If it works well as it should I hope to spread the word because it seems like it has been used by a few race teams that it has been kept in that small community. The public need it until someone has a real standalone that they dont have to sell body parts for comes out.

The decision is based on several things including ease of tuning both geographically and financially. The availability of the select few who I trust. The desire to do something that people aren't doing. Most importantly, future growth that the stock ECU doesn't allow for.

Re: Smitty's 2011 DGM STI Sedan - Track Build Underway

06/19/12 - Build 2 Day 36

Just a quickie today. I spent a little time working tonight and got the heat reflective film on the firewall. I do not think that Subaru could have tried harder to make the firewall less flat for seemingly no reason at all. As a result this shit was a pain in the ass to do. I didn't expect it to be perfect and it isn't. That said it came out much better than I have seen before and most of this wont be visible anyway.

You can see the block off plates for the AC and heater and where the fuel lines come through the firewall.

Moved all the crap out of the way:



Picture of the AC block off plate, the Heater one was posted already:



Passenger side done:



Both sides done:



Fuel line bulkhead / old heater line entrance:



Here is a quick picture of the fuel lines again. I still need to grab some pics of the routing I will do that soon:



I did start the wiring but I wanted to make a couple changes so I stopped. I have a couple things I am waiting on ordered so If I get them tomorrow I will finish the wiring. Some of this may change but here are some pics for now.

Breaker for the positive battery cable:



Breaker mounted in the box:



Positive cable up to the breaker:



Breakers and relays for the fuel pumps:





That's it for tonight, I wanted to instal the MC brace but forgot it at my apartment so it will have to happen tomorrow and if I get lucky my parts will be here and I will get the wiring done.

In other news, check out post 3 in the link below for Ball Racing's final review of the TiC/3MI Racing Composite TGV deletes. These will be up for sale soon and I will be testing a set as well. I know what the price point on these will be and after this review and others that will follow, If you are looking for TGV deletes and go with a metal set then there is no helping you lol.

B.R.E.D: Review of TICs new TGV Deletes - NASIOC