[wdb]

wdb's journal chapter 4.2

Not really mods, just some pretty stuff; Mastro mats in black berber and an Autospeed deadpedal. Both are well made, quality items. I bought them both from Mastro Subaru via their performance parts website: http://www.mastrowrx.com/

The only advice I'd give is in removal of the old deadpedal. You want to lift the entire pedal, not just the pins that hold it down. Slide a wide, flat, fairly stiff tool such as a paint scraper or trowel under the pedal and gently pry up. The pins and pedal will lift out nice as you please without leaving visible marks. Use the same pins to install the Autospeed deadpedal.

 

[rasetsu]

The Autospeed dead pedal is next on my list of things to get. I was waiting to see if Subaru would put one on the 2006 car so I can get a genuine piece, but from the pics I've seen, they aren't.

 

[NoItchSTI]

Let me get some of those seed's you have for the "Money Tree"

God damn.... you're dropping some $$$ on that!

Look's good. I would like it better if you put a REX wing on it, but.... to each his own! :tup:

 

[wdb]

wdb's journal chapter 5

The trunklid is 'cleared' no longer. The Mines replica has landed.

I actually had this piece sitting around for a while. I mounted it temporarily to see if I'd like it, then I took it off and lived with a bare nekkid trunklid for a while. Finally I decided that it was too stark with nothing at all, and I had given up hope of finding something I liked better than this, so yesterday the Mines replica CF spoiler went on to stay.

I want to add the STi badge to the trunk, then I'm finished back there. That is, unless someone comes up with something attractive in a combination diffuser/rear wing/maybe whole bumper affair that looks all of a piece...

 

[nandanrp]

The trunklid is 'cleared' no longer. The Mines replica has landed.

I actually had this piece sitting around for a while. I mounted it temporarily to see if I'd like it, then I took it off and lived with a bare nekkid trunklid for a while. Finally I decided that it was too stark with nothing at all, and I had given up hope of finding something I liked better than this, so yesterday the Mines replica CF spoiler went on to stay.

I want to add the STi badge to the trunk, then I'm finished back there. That is, unless someone comes up with something attractive in a combination diffuser/rear wing/maybe whole bumper affair that looks all of a piece...

Nice...I've seen something similar to this piece before, but it's body colored (note the shaved trunk lock, as well):

 

[wdb]

^^^^^ That's a clean look. I put feelers out for a second Mines that I could paint, and I might end up painting this one and blending the edges too. Time will tell.

 

[boosted2000si]

Man your car is looking good. Usually I dont like the wingless look, but you made it work.

 

[wdb]

wdb's journal chapter 5.0001

This hardly deserves a "chapter" rating, more of an "admission" rating.

Despite my intenional disdain for the thread about the topic, I actually do have a name for my car. Loud Fast.

When my wife and I are going to go somewhere, we have a choice of vehicles, hers or mine. I ask her: do you want to take your car, or should we take Loud Fast?

Yes. Well. There it is. I've been outed.

 

[Wazazell]

haha, nerd!!!

nice ride!

I got my Defi Imperials on order, they'll be my first mod too, but I have some Goodridge brake lines on my bedroom floor waiting to go in too, once I get some Motul 600 fluid. I'd like to get the '06 V-limited sometime, but winter wheels and all weather tires are probably going to be my next priority.

Hopefully I'll keep track of everything in a nice journal like this too.

 

[wdb]

wdb's journal chapter six

Seasons are changing and it is time to change the car over to its winter livery. Here's what I did. The vendors I dealt with were all extremely helpful, courteous, and responsive. Thumbs up to all of them:

• Bought winter rims; used Rota Boosts in bronze, private sale
• Bought winter tires; 235/45R17 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22's, H rated, from Tire Rack :tup:
• Had tires mounted on rims at Phoenix Auto Center of Palm :tup:
• Bought McGard lugs from Oakos Automotive :tup:
• Bought RallyArmor mudflaps, "metal" finish, from JnJ Associates :tup:
• Installed all of the above
• Removed V-Limited front lip

I took the lip off because it looks too much like a snowplow and it costs too much for me to experiment with to find out if it will hold up under spirited winter driving conditions.

The Rotas are good looking wheels with a decent reputation for durability. Steel gray would have been my first color choice but the bronze looks good and the price was right. Plenty of clearance for the Brembos and whatever gunk piles up on the wheels when the snow flies.

After seeing how far down a stock lugnut sank into the wheel I decided to spring for McGard lugs. They're not exactly cheap but they work fine with the rims and look to be stoutly constructed. I'll probably use them when I switch back to the BBS rims in the spring.

The Blizzaks are a nice, aggressive looking winter tire. I got 235's because Tire Rack had them on sale. (We picked up a set of LM-25's for the Legacy too, and they are equally aggressive looking and would do fine on an STi.)

I'll post a more thorough review of the wheels and tires and how they change the car's character over in the Technical -> Wheels and Tires forum.

The RallyArmor mudflaps are certainly big, and they'll certainly help keep this winter's road crud off the sides and underpinnings of the car. But the installation hardware for the front flaps is very disappointing and really needs to be brought up a few notches -- especially considering the price tag.

The wheels really darken the whole look of the car. I was expecting it but I was still surpised. I like the overall look but I realize it may not be everyone's cup of tea. I think it will grow on me even more as the hours of daylight dwindle, and especially as the roads grow their yearly layer of salt, grit, potholes and general yuck.

[Edit 11-26: changed image selection to appease the "gap" crowd]

 

[bdjac]

The car looks great. Nice choice on the bronze Rotas. Sucks that you had to take the lip, but it's a good move in protecting your investment. Keep up the good work.

 

[wdb]

wdb's journal chapter seven - Prodrive springs installed

I installed Prodrive springs and Group N tops on my car yesterday with the help of the "we are the suspension kings" crew. See this thread for more about the "the kings" and some shots of the car under siege. See this thread for the long-playing version of my observations and opinions. Short-play version goes something like this:

Prodrive springs installed
No more bobble head! All roads
now bow down in submission.​

The car is truly transformed and I am thrilled with the result.

[EDIT] I've added some pics to this post and the post just above for the purposes of comparison of the look of the car before and after Prodrives. For ride height measurements, please see nhluhr's very useful and continually updated list. The numbers he has for Prodrives look to me to be right on the money.

 

[Chris05STi]

Very nice, congrats on the suspension too!

 

[wdb]

I added some 'before' images to Post #30 and some 'after' images to Post #32 of this thread to appease folks who have wanted to see the difference in ride height Prodrive springs and Group N tops make on an '05 STi with otherwise stock suspension.

 

[wdb]

wdb's journal chapter 7.25 - lighting

No pictures of my car, just a few links and pics from elsewhere.

I replaced the 9005 high beams with a couple of these 9011-HIR1 bulbs:

The extra light they put out is astounding. I also put a set in our 2000 Legacy GT and they completely blew away the previous bulbs I had in that car, even though the prevous bulbs were 100 watters. I cannot recommend the HIRs highly enough for anyone who is interested in improving their night driving capabilities. I got them from Susquehanna Motorsports, a.k.a. rallylights.com and they are super folks to deal with.

Next lighting mod will be to upgrade the stock projector fog lights. (I decided that changing the USDM bumper beam is too high a price to pay for JDM/Euro-style fog lights.) I will either change out the bulbs to something more exotic, or I may go with a set of Hella Micro DE Foglights:

I saw a set of these operating while I was visiting the great folks at rallylights.com, and they throw some serious light. Cutoff was incredible too. There may be fitment issues, so I am probably going to wait until the weather warms up a bit so I can tinker in comfort.

If I do the Hella fogs I'll do a full writeup and pics. More as it happens.

 

[Nachos Libres]

^^ I heard that those fogs were really nice.

 

[nandanrp]

[EDIT] I initially had an issue with hum in the radio when tuned to very weak FM stations. Noise was definitely coming from the Defi install. Removed all connections to the radio wiring harness and hooked them up elsewhere, and the problem is greatly reduced.

Hey wdb, I was wondering where you ended up wiring your Control unit (instead of the radio harness), as I was planning to wire it to the harness until I saw this. Help?

Thanks!

 

[wdb]

I connected them to the clock pod, with the excpeption of "ignition" which I tapped elsewhere. See this thread for more details:

Defi BF boost gauge install​

 

[LosGatosSTI]

Any update on the Fog light Install? I do not have fogs currently on my '05 Sti but I want them. Any suggestions?

Great thread by the way.....

 

[LightWerkz]

nice work