Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Well, last week before Dom was born I wrapped and spray sealed the up-pipe and downpipe with some extra stuff I had laying around. Found out from a friend that wrap is approximately 109 times easier to work with when you get it wet, wrap it then let it dry. Who'd a thunk it?

Anyways, on to some pics. I didn't have quite enough for the entire downpipe, but I really didn't care as the unwrapped part is underneath the car anyways and would probably just come unravelled and turn to shit in a hurry.


Up-pipe wrapped:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00289.jpg

Up-pipe wrapped and sealed:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00293.jpg


Downpipe:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00290.jpg

Downpipe sealed:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00296.jpg


Now I just have to find some time to get these things installed and get this puppy tuned with the little chitlin runnin around.



You might also notice that I didn't use the "header wrap ties", which are kind of like steel zipties for those who don't know. I chose not to use them not only because they are waaay overpriced, but also because they like to get razor sharp and cut the crap out of your hands especially once you trim them. So I said screw it and used some sweet hose clamps instead.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Looks really nice! Nice idea on wrapping those parts.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Nice idea, we should have done that on Janelle's car!

What's with the sealant? Never heard of that. I like the wrap wet then let dry idea, I should have done that (used a lot of this stuff on my old 1G....wait, on YOUR 1G! :) ).

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Cool stuff, supposedly keeps the wrap from holding moisture and rotting the pipes.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Yup, I know Halon used it on his manifold when he wrapped it, thats kinda where I got the idea. I had this stuff left over from when I wrappedf the header on the ol' racecar Avenger lol

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Finally got my new grille on.

Before:
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...ill_delete.JPG



After:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0057.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0059.jpg





Still waiting to get Emily's Trailblazer back so I can do the exhaust on it now. I really don't want to be making our only mode of transportation inoperable, just in case I have trouble with rusty exhaust studs and what not.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Love the grille!

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Looks nice!

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Some fucking asswipe hit me in the parking ramp at school. Fucker didn't even have the decency to leave a note. The scratch on the door took the paint right off also, it will need new paint.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0090.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0091.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0092.jpg

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Shitty :(

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

How many people keep getting hit and ran on? Damn.. People these days drive me nuts!

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

That really sucks

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

That blows dude!

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

So this last week my car started making funny noises, sounded like the A/C was going out. One day it just stopped, didn't make the noise at all, I thought "sweet, must have just been the cold weather" Then on Friday, it started making this horrible screaching sound like a belt would make, and it smelled like burning rubber, I parked the car as soon as I got home, took a look and couldn't see much so I closed the hood and went inside. Long story short, My fiancee really wanted to get to her parents house, we took her car and were gone till Sunday just before the game.

So, after the Vikes dominated on Sunday (eat it hughes!! :D) I took it for a quick spin around the block to see if the noise came back and it didn't.... I had no school today, so I brought the car in and used my $19 oil change coupon at the Subaru dealership and told them about the noise.

This is what they found along with the remains of my A/C belt:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/...d7158f630a.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/...062419f1bc.jpg

Apparently, Subaru thought it would be a great idea to use a plastic pulley. Not just any plastic pulley either....A 50 fucking dollar peice of plastic!!!


Anyways, that is all, and no I still haven't been able to get the new exhaust pieces on.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

And people laugh at Mitsubishi build quality? Hah...

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Subaru uses plastic cam gears also. Kinda scary.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Jeez. Plastic? Even I know that isn't safe. lol

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Got my Perrin Electronic Boost Control Solenoid today. Picked it up for only $50 last week from a guy on MNSubaru, they usually go for $90-100 depending on who you go though.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0211.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/CIMG0212.jpg

So, I have to install:

Catless Up-pipe
Catless downpipe
Perrin EBCS

Then I can get a tune for all of this, hopefully at about 17-18 psi.


Also, a guy I know from around here with an STi wants to swap fuel systems (injectors, rails, TGV's) so he can go with a top-mount setup. You can only get about 850cc injectors in top-mount style and he has an FP Red he is itching to put on. I will also be picking up a few of his other leftovers.

Once we do that I should have:

STi topmount intercooler ~maybe
STi VF39 turbo
STi fuel rails
STi injectors (560cc? Shane?)

Then I will probably get a Walbro 255 and try out E-85 for the summer months, have it setup with two tunes so I can switch to pump for the winter so I don't experience the cold starting problems like many E-85 Subaru's do.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Got new tires the other day, I ended up getting some Sumitomo HTRZ-III's in 225/40-18. They ride better and are MUCH quieter than the BFGoodrich g-force KDW n/t's that I had previously. They don't grip quite as well. I tested that out on a local Cloverleaf. (I could go about 70-75ish before, about 65ish before I could hear them screaching :D. But overall I think it is a better tire when you factor in the noise factor vs. Grip.

I also picked up another EBCS yesterday, This one is a Grimmspeed. I have heard good things about both, so I'm not sure which one I should use at this point, the price was right, and I will just sell the one I don't use.

I still have yet to put my exhaust on, I will need that on before the cruise though.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Nice choice on the tires!

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Well a friend and I finally got my downpipe on. Let me tell you getting the old one off was a biaaaaatch! The heatshield and turbo bolts came out like a dream, it was actually the two bolts that connect the catback to the downpipe that really sucked. I ended up breaking both of them just to get them out.

Heatsheild off:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00476.jpg


Stupid bolt that didn't want to break:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00477.jpg


Comparison of stock vs. new piece:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00480.jpg



Turbo, it looked damn good and had ZERO shaft play, not bad for a turbo with 94,000 miles on it now.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00483.jpg



All done!
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/IMG00484.jpg






I will be reinstalling the stock heat shield at a later date and also ordered this http://www.fredbeansparts.com/servle...WRX-%26/Detail to bolt on over it.



I get tuned tomorrow and will be installing the Grimmspeed Electronic Boost Control Solenoid right before hand.

The car is a little bit louder now, but the best part is that I can hear the turbo spool right through the muffler now. :)

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Looks good, I remember doing that on a sti and it was a PITA.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

LOL the pics you took look nearly identical to the ones we took when doing Janelle's downpipe. The stock downpipe turbo flange is retarded, the bellmouth opening on the aftermarket downpipes are a huge improvement, let along being 3" instead of 2.25" or whatever!

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Got this sucka tuned last night. Made 19psi Woot!! That is mostly because of the GS EBCS in my opinion. The Rom Raider road dyno was being funky again with the auto transmission, so the numbers were way off. Nate was gonna play with it some more and send me some results along with some logs. I will post more info when I get it.

So far, this thing is waaay more responsive in the mid range, which is really nice, along with a little more top end as well. The lower rpm's still kind of suck, but that is mostly due to the transmission. I would say from the butt dyno, it picked up a good 20-25 whp and 25-30 wtq.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Are you going to run it at the Mitsustyle dyno day?

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Why aren't you getting it dyno-tuned? On the dyno Janelle was peaking at 16psi (2.5L remember) and tapering to 9psi by redline with the stock BCS @ 100% WGDC. On the street she peaks over 20.

http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/554/IMGP1314.JPG

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Even talking to Shane, he said if I brought it to him, I would still need to bring it on the street for fine tuning because of the EBCS. So I figured I would just get a road tune to begin with. I may still bring it to Shane to have him look it over quick.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

His car is an auto and the street tuner he uses is good.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Oh right, forgot his has an AT. Is this the same street tuner that everyone on over MNSubi uses?

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Yup, everyone uses Nate aka Bullwinkle.



Edit: I should also mention boost was tapering to about 12psi by red line, limited by the injectors.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Cool, I think Emily used him too.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

My car is ghey, I'm pretty sure the TMIC heat soaked pretty badly sitting there warming up before it got on the dyno at the dyno day. Also doesn't help that it's an automatic and when it's run on the dyno in 3rd gear, it has to be above 60mph to not downshift into 2nd. When we tuned the car, we had to taper boost to like 12psi by redline because there wasn't enough injector left. (stock WRX injectors are weak shit) So, with the car being at like 3800rpm at the start of the pull, being in 3rd gear, and injector limited, I seen 18 psi (max is 19psi on the street) for just a split second before the boost tapered to like 12 psi for the rest of the run.


That being said, I seen a gain of 3 WHP and 21 WTQ from $200 worth of mods (Ebay downpipe, used Grimmspeed EBCS) with the most recent dyno runs being about 30* warmer than the baseline runs. So apparently my butt dyno only reads torque :lol:


http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...PSI146-160.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...AFR146-160.jpg

It did gain power every run, and leaned out each run also, it makes me think it was running kind of hot to begin with. I was using the water sprayer on the TMIC after the first run netted a whopping 129 AWHP. The very next pull it got 141 AWHP.

Shootout Mode:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ootoutMode.jpg



Since this thing isn't getting much if any interest the last couple weeks, I am going to swap fuel systems with a friend that has an STi soon. (He wants top feeds for his FP Red setup, and I need more fuel, so this should work out pretty good.) And bite the bullet and finally install this f-ing up-pipe that I have laying around once I get some new gaskets for it. I'll see where that lands me before even thinking of buying any parts for this thing since I am just selling it anyways. The up-pipe should give me a bit quicker spool, and the fuel system, once tuned, should give me more top end.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

I don't think u have a butt dyno.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Well, last night a friend and I were going to do some work on our Subies. The plan was to swap fuel systems (He has an STI which uses a side feed injector setup, nobody makes a big injector for, biggest is like 860's and he is putting an FP Red on his car which is a 65 lb/min turbo for Subaru's. So we swap, he gets top feeds, I get more fuel for free, he even bought gaskets for my car), install an up-pipe on my car, and trade axle-back exhausts for a few weeks just for shits. Well, the night didn't go quite as planned lol.

We started by taking the exhaust off to do the axle back and up-pipe, we figured this way, if things got late, we could still put the car back together easy enough and get it drivable. First off, the axleback was beyond stuck, even after using a TON of PB Blaster, torch, etc to try to get it off, we ended up having to drop the entire exhaust and cut the bolts holding the two together. Then the up-pipe was a whole other ordeal. If you have never seen the bottom of one of these cars, there is about 15 heatsheilds covering the manifold/up-pipe/whole effing exhaust. after soaking all of the heat sheild bolts in PB Blaster, using heat, etc, we still ended up breaking half of them. To get the up-pipe out we had to unbolt one of the engine mounts and jack up the engine, but that wasn't enough, we also had to take off the whole exhaust manifold just to get clearance to get the up-pipe out. We finally got the old catted up-pipe out, and the new cat-less STi up-pipe in.


Putting everything back together was not quite as easy after breaking half of the rusty ass bolts, we had to run to the store and buy new bolts, nuts, washers, etc, of about 3 different sizes. Not to mention they don't make anything on these cars easy to work on what so ever, so after all of this it was about midnight and we certainly didn't have time to dig into the fuel system anymore, and then Charlie didn't even want to swap axlebacks anymore. So, all of this for just a catless up-pipe, and a new exhaust leak that I have to figure out now. Yay, someone buy this car already.

I hate working on Subaru's.

That is all.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

That's a lot of effort for a car you're trying to sell.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

I know right?

Thought it was an easy enough swap, I guess I learned the hard way that on Subaru's you can't just take off a part without having to take off 17 other parts to get to it.

More than once last night I said, "God I just want a fucking Evo!!"

He replied with, "Why, they are just as crowded under the hood and probably just as hard to work on..." :rollinglaugh: :rollinglaugh: :rollinglaugh: :rollinglaugh:

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

My friend said a HG in those cars isnt all that bad.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

Which one? ;)

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

'02 wrx i think, don't know really they are tractor sounding things to me.

You know you guys could make GH's life a lot easier and adopt the wrx as the new cool kids car then he wouldn't have to sell this thing to be in.

I like evo's either way.

Re: New daily driver: 2004 WRX
 

I meant which head (they have two). I already have adopted the WRX...have one sitting in my garage :D Great chick car.