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Willub's 04 SCCA Street Mod STi: APR GT3 CF Mirrors

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214K views 1K replies 46 participants last post by  willub 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello people. This is my PSM MY04 STi. I daily drive it and autocross occasionally on the weekends. This coming season I'm planning on attending every SCCA event and actually competing for points in my class, street modified. The fast SM car runs in the "pro" class so I have a decent chance at doing well. Thanks for dropping by!


Power/engine mods:
IAG Stage 2 Tuff short block
Manley valve springs
Blouch 1.5 XT-R 8cm
AMR top mount
Deatschwerks 850cc injectors
Walbro 255lph fuel pump
CNT catless downpipe and Gimmick cat-back
Tomei EL header and up pipe
KSTech 73mm CAI
Gimmick turbo inlet

Suspension:
JRZ RS Pro Dampers with 13k/11k swift springs
Ground Control camber plates
Whiteline 24mm front and rear adjustable sways and whiteline endlinks

Drivetrain:
Beatrush trans mount kartboy shifter bushings
Perrin lock out bolts and diff/outrigger bushings
Driveshaft Shop carbon fiber drive shaft
ACT streetlite flywheel
Exedy HD pressure plate
Competition Clutch 6 puck clutch disc

Exterior:
Karlton Fender Flares
APR GT3 Mirrors
Dirt
Rust

Major maintenance performed:
Timing belt @ 107k
Clutch @ ~109K
Clutch again @ ~135k
New IAG Short block @ 143k


Race wheel/tire setup
Black 18x10.5 +15 RPF1's
285/30/18 BFG R1S

Street wheel tire/setup
18x10.5 +15 Silver RPF1's
275/35/18 Dunlop ZII


Land vehicle Vehicle Car Racing Rallycross
 
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#1,033 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: First autocross of the season down!

I need aero.
 
#1,037 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: First autocross of the season down!

We all need aero!
Lip+splitter, Diffuser, Spoiler, Canards NEED NEED NEED. lol.

Shouldn't be too tough.

SM can do carbon trunk. Nearly anything is better than the stock spoiler/trunk when you consider how much it weighs.
 
#1,047 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: First autocross of the season down!

which tires?
 
#1,049 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

First event of the weekend, complete. First time on the BFG R1-s made me :eek: I believe I was giggling the entire first run because of how loose the ass end was. I didn't think they would feel much different than my Z2's, but I was wrong. The car turns in way faster on the BFG's and grips like a mofo. I was constantly dropping rear tire pressure and softening up the rebound in the rear to fight unwanted oversteer. The rear stepped out on me every run when I wasn't expecting it at all. They're tougher to read than street tires, but I'll get used to it :) I really like how they feel though. Much better than Hoosiers that have been through hell and back :lol:

This was my third morning run and my fastest clean time, 1:09.XXX. I never improved much on it in raw time due to the rear end stepping out so much and slowing me down on every run. More tuning and learning to be done tomorrow at the NER SCCA event. :tup:

 
#1,050 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

Didn't watch the video but in my experience: more time on throttle (even a little) = more grip. Trust the car and the AWD. Work on feathering the throttle and less on/off. That's what I've been working on at least. But you are absolutely right, they feel great but give you a lot less feedback. Makes it tough but damn is it fun!
 
#1,051 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

Here's my fastest run from Sunday's SCCA NER event. You know you've had a rough day of racing when you're fastest time has a +1 after it :lol: That first cone in the last wallom before the finish at 54 seconds... damn you for being in my way.



I had the class lead by a full second in RAW, but blew it by hitting that cone, and continuing to hit cones. I got slower in the afternoon, which I don't think I have ever done. I ended up in 3rd place in class instead of 1st. Oh well, plenty more racing to be done.

So what am I doing wrong that I know of? Turning in too early (dem cones), lifting off the gas when I don't need to, not getting on the gas early enough, and not trusting the car to stick when I stay on the gas. The car is a totally different animal on these tires. I am absolutely getting an alignment before the next race as well. Eyeballing is no longer satisfactory for me :lol:

The car also did something it has never done before on my last run. I started getting some bad pogo bouncy action just before the finish (where I hit the cone in the posted video) and didn't lift off the gas, like I sometimes do if it gets really bad. I kept the car floored, but started slowing down. I thought I had finally destroyed the engine. I lifted off the gas, got back on it and off I went. It felt like the rev limiter temporarily got moved to 6k RPM or something. It was strange. On the way home I found that I could still hit 7400, so I'm not sure what happened. Some sort of DBW glitch. On another note, I really want to rev this thing out to 8K. It felt like I was on the limiter the entire back stretch of this course, but it didn't really warrant third gear. Maybe I should try raising the limiter a bit more. This engine needs to meet it's maker some day :lol:
 
#1,054 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

On another note, I really want to rev this thing out to 8K. It felt like I was on the limiter the entire back stretch of this course, but it didn't really warrant third gear. Maybe I should try raising the limiter a bit more. This engine needs to meet it's maker some day :lol:

Wait, this is still the stock Block isn't it?!

How many miles are on this thing now?
 
#1,052 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

I definitely see some areas that could have been faster. I know my brakes are a little better but you let up too early before that sharp left before the tower. Should have been flat out from the first gate after the start all the way to the first curved wall. Second place was coming off the taxiway. Looks like you got drawn in to the first slalom cone that didn't even matter. Could have made more of a sweeping turn and carried more speed. Also in that same slalom you need to stay on the gas a little. Makes for more speed and more stability.

Also, wait till the end of the season to grenade the motor! Gives you the winter to rebuild and not miss any racing. (Worked out well for me)
 
#1,053 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

I definitely see some areas that could have been faster. I know my brakes are a little better but you let up too early before that sharp left before the tower.
Yep, and turned in too early because I wasn't going fast enough!

Should have been flat out from the first gate after the start all the way to the first curved wall.
Oh I was, I'm just hitting the limiter before my braking point. Essentially all my limiter does is lift off the gas, so it will sound like I'm lifting when I'm often just hitting the limiter. It's lame, and awful if you hit it while turning. I want a "BRAAAAPAPAPAPA" limiter. At least one like that would maintain my current speed once I hit it.

Looks like you got drawn in to the first slalom cone that didn't even matter. Could have made more of a sweeping turn and carried more speed. Also in that same slalom you need to stay on the gas a little. Makes for more speed and more stability.
I don't think I ever looked at that cone, but yes I should have been carrying more speed around there. Like you have said before, I'm probably not pushing the tires to their limits in a lot of places.
 
#1,056 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

And also keep in mind that if you drive this short block into the ground you very well may damage some costly parts in the heads (like I did). A new casing ain't cheap and it doesn't take much to score it up pretty bad, same with the camshafts. I don't think most places will fix that (I know a place), they'll just replace it. Unless you are planning to build the heads as well (or dropping all sorts on a pre built long block), but still, being able to save the casings will save a lot.
 
#1,058 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

Had another double header of racing this past weekend! Saturday was the second Renegade Miata Club event and Sunday was the third NER SCCA points event. It was a chilly one on Saturday, with morning temps in the 50's and afternoon highs in the mid 60's. On course, I did NOT like it. I spun twice in the morning (first time I've spun) and the car was all over the place, probably mostly because of me pussy footing it after the two spins. Saturday was a bad day of racing for me, but I didn't kill anyone or my car so it wasn't too bad.

Things went much better on Sunday. Temps were higher and the car felt much more stable. I went slow and smooth on my first run to warm things up and re-gain confidence. There was some healthy competition in SM for the day. Seven cars total, one being the national champ "Panda" being driven by the owners sister, and an M3 I've never seen before on some sort of race tire. It was a close battle all morning, and after 3 runs I was sitting in 3rd, 7 thousandths of a second behind the 240 and .6ish seconds behind the M3. I knew I could do much better, I just needed to trust the car and push it harder in the afternoon.

My first run in the afternoon was more than a second faster than my quickest morning run. I took off another tenth for the 5th run. This would end up being my fastest clean time, a 58.013.



For my final run I took mickle for a joy ride, and I almost took off another full second to get down to a 57.155! I did hit a cone, but was excited to be improving as much as I was and I knew I could go faster. Now I just need to remember to push the car that hard from the start, and improve from there. Here is the 57.155 +1



I ended up taking first in SM :)

I was on break while mickle was racing and took the opportunity to ride with him for his evening runs. Some things I learned; go faster! :lol:

The next NER SCCA event is the Devens Match Tour. Plans before that include a lightweight battery, and a new accessport. Over the weekend, I found out that my V2 is dead. I emailed cobb asking what they do with dead ones and if I can get some trade-in value. A V3 would be cool, even though I rarely use my AP :lol:
 
#1,059 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

you're catching up to Mickle!!
 
#1,060 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

you're catching up to Mickle!!
I was thinking I may finally out RAW him on Sunday, but then he has to go and shatter my dreams right before my eyes. :lol: I learned a lot riding along with him, so I'll put that knowledge to use at the tour.

No word from Cobb on the dead AP situation. I may just buy a V3 and work with them afterwards. That's how the trade-in deal works anyway. Also debating a carbon trunk lid. I'm sick of looking at my rotting steel one. I just picture the wing falling off one of these days while on course :lol: I'd probably drop 25+ pounds if I were to do that. That plus the 4 pound battery that's on the way would get me down to ~3040 with half a tank of gas.
 
#1,061 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

Glad you were able to take something away from riding with me! Riding with you gave me the push I needed to trust the car more.

Don't look at it as crushing your dreams. Think of it as gentle encouragement to go faster!
 
#1,062 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

New 4lb. battery installed! :) I went with the Autocraft LFP-8. 500 CCA is pretty awesome for how tiny this thing is. I didn't have to do much to get it to work either. It lacks normal post style terminals, but I didn't have to buy anything or extend any of the stock wiring to get it to work. I simply modified the stock terminals and screwed them on. I think the car turns over faster now than it did with the stock Subaru battery :lol: I was also able to use the stock hold down as well without modifying it.



 
#1,064 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

Surprised you didn't run or of thread on the stock tie down rods. The battery must have some decent height compared to the odyssey 680 (on it's side). That makes it easy!
Yeah it does. Those pictures have the spacers that come with it installed on the bottom of it. I found that it may not pass tech if they really yanked on the battery so I opted for a home made spacer, AKA wood. :lol: I just stuck some half inch plywood under it for some stability and enough height so I didn't have to mess with the rods.
 
#1,067 ·
Re: Willub's 04ish 1.5XTR SM STi: Autocross things

You should just get this instead.

https://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/-p...kwZoXpdEQVZAeD1Xo8dwyCn3IuxF1Y_dp4aAiCA8P8HAQ


In all seriousness would this affect the possibility of going back to SP? Though, 2nd would fall under update/backdate and sixth should be irrelevant since it obviously wouldn't be used..
Yeah, I believe so. The only way to keep it strictly SP legal would be to swap for an entire 07 tranny, and an 07 rear diff. I'd have to read the rules again to be sure. Used 07 trannys are basically impossible to find, and new ones are 4,200 bucks... then I still need a rear diff AND front axles due to the different styles. ~$5,000 vs ~$1,400 lol

Maybe you should just come to SM :devil:
 
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