Hey all. My name is Lee and I figure it is about time that I start a journal, considering the money have I spent so far and what I anticipate spending (more slowly) in the future. I bought this car from Subaru of Kennesaw back in November of 2009. This isn't my first WRX... Back in 2004 I had a MY03 Blaze Yellow (the good yellow, not the bright-ass banana yellow). I sold the WRX in early 2008 for a BMW X3. I needed something with cargo room for my work, and this accomplished this. After about 2 years with the BMW, it became less used to transport things and compounded on that, rather boring to drive. I originally started investigating the new STI around September of 2009. My original thought was to go with a 2010 OBP. I have never owned a black vehicle, so it would have been something new. After searching within a 150 mile radius for 2 weeks for a OBP 2010, I figured I would at least test drive a 2010 just for the hell of it. I went to SoG, but the sales guy seemed like an ass, so I didn't even test drive there. Instead, I went to SoK. They had a white pearl on the showroom floor (the only STI they had in stock) that I test drove. For a stock STI, it felt great. The interior was nice, a little too nice actually for what this car is. If I had a choice, they could have kept the plastic silver trim and 6-disc MP3 CD player and given me a decent downpipe in return! They can take that passenger seat airbar light and smash it too while they are at it. Overall the power/torque was impressive, but couldn't really get too deep into the boost due to break in recommendations. The suspension was by default much tighter and stiffer than previous model years that I had driven. I really wanted to have to peer over a big hood scoop, but it simply wasn't there! I'm ok with the GR body style, but give me my damn hood scoop! I opted for the factory default 18's simply because cleaning a set of 9,000 spoke BBS's will make you scream. My only questionable thought was, Dunlop? The sticker on it was $36,600. The test drive was on a Friday... I left without showing any emotion and came back the next day and flat-out made an offer of $35,000. The sales guy talked to his sales manager for an entire 3 minutes and told me it was mine. I signed the financing paperwork and that was that. 2 hours later after they washed it and removed all of the plastic and cardboard from the interior, I was on my way. During my first week of ownership, I watched the Cobb Tuning website religiously awaiting the release or at least an announcement for the 2010 STI AccessPort. Come December, it arrives. Truth be known, it's the standard version 3 AccessPort with updated firmware. I could have bought the '08+ V3 AccessPort anytime before the "firmware release" and been A-OK. Damnit... At the same time of ordering my AP, I ordered a Perrin strut tower brace and the SPT boost gauge. I know, the STB doesn't do that much, but it came in crincle red, and I'll buy anything almost that is crincle red. (Sort of similar to an Apple junky, except this is crincle red instead of glossy white). I need at least a boost gauge immediately for tuning. Nicad and I installed the SPT boost gauge at his house in sub-freezing temperatures... that sucked, but I paid him a little so all is well. I think he bled a bit behind the dash also. The next day I installed the strut tower brace and as it arrived a day later, the AP with stage 1 93 Octane map. God what a difference over the stock tune. The torque range is so much smoother and useable, not to mention mid and top-end. It appears that the stage 1 map also gives me quite a bit more boost (about 17 psi) through 5,000 RPM, which the stock tune fell short at 13-14 psi. Good job WGDC adjustments! I found some neat looking seatbelt pads embroidered in STI red with the STI logo stiched into them on eBay for $8 a piece. I bought 4 of them shipped from Hong Kong. I also bought some red pin stripping material from AutoZone for the front grill. It didn't turn out bad, even given that I did it at 55 degrees F. I ordered and install some random dress-up parts as well. SPT oil fill cap, SPT battery tie-down, STI valve stem caps, STI "Subaru Technica International" license plate. Ahh, stickers. Oil change time. I've decided to go with Amsoil 5w30. I'm not sure if I will run 5w30 year round or not... It seems like a good oil and has great reviews. I'll run it and have Blackstone take a look at it... I might start running Motul if Blackstone sends me back crap data from the Amsoil run. After about 2000 miles on the car, I started to not like the way the synchros on 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear felt. I know the Subaru Super-S is supposed to be good fluid, but perhaps the weather has something to do with it as well since it has been sub 30 degrees F since I bought the car. I figured it was worth a try and bought some Motul Gear 300. (Without the LSD additive... 08+ uses a clutch-less Torsen differential so straight gear oil is fine). Made a positive difference, but still a little notchy. The synchros in this car seem to be massive, as moving from gear to gear you can really feel them. I know there are 3x carbon fiber cone synchros on 1st and 2nd, and I think 2x on 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th gear, plus 1x on reverse. I'm not 100 percent, but I believe that is the arrangement. Subaru gearboxes have always been somewhat notchy though... especially that 1st to 2nd shift. FYI, metal shavings on the tranny plug look good. Very few so far. While changing the tranny/front diff. fluid, I noticed that my rear diff. was wet! I couldn't tell exactly where from, but it was damp with gear oil coming from the top. Really there are only four things that this could be. The pinion side seal, one of the axel seals, a drain/fill plug (which would be obvious if it was the culprit) or the vent tube on the top of the diff. I bet the one way ball valve on the vent is locked and letting out slung fluid. Taking the car to the dealership (hell, it's under warranty at this point) proved that is was indeed the vent tube. It was replaced and this problem noted in the SOA KB for a possible issue with other MY2010's. Amazingly, this part is different than the other GR's and had to be ordered, then installed. I've spent the past few days investigating exhaust options for my car. The stock exhaust just makes me want to make loud grumbling noises with my mouth to replace what the 2.5 boxer engine should be emitting. My 2003 WRX ran a Cobb pipe which I was rather happy with. I think they make great bolt on parts in general, except for their suspension parts of course. Anyhow, I ordered a Cobb 3" SS CBE today. For $1,250, this exhaust better be damn good. It looks nice and the video clips I have watched of it sounded excellent. I wanted something throaty and deep. Oh yeah, those two words in the same sentence will make you wonder won't they! Nicad and I installed the CB and fired it up. Sounds good, but still too damn quiet!!! Just doesn't have the tone that this engine should have. Is it possible that a frigging Mustang can sound better that this car... not in my book. The videos didn't state that the sound was produced utilizing a catless DP... oh well. I bet you can guess what is coming next for power/sound gains! It's February and this car as too much damn body roll. Yes, stiffer suspension, but horrible body roll. I order Whiteline front and rear 24mm adjustable sway bars with Kartboy endlinks. Installed at 07Ltd#767's house on the stiffest settings for both front and rear. The front crossmember support is a PITA to remove by the way. Body roll is cut down by what has to be at least 300 percent. A set of Tarmac coilovers will take care of the rest! ($$$$) It is March now, and with 4,300 miles on the car, I've decided to make the jump to stage 2. I know this will void most all of the engine warranty, but there is simply no way I am going to wait until 36,000 miles to truly enjoy this car... at least while the stock block is still in one peice. This stock DP with 2 cats in it needs to go the hell away. I really don't want to pay $600 for a metal pipe that connects the turbo the CBE, so I look at eBay. There really isn't anything special about a new versus used downpipe... It's a pipe. Sure, the initial engineering matters, but it's a bellmouth. New versus used isn't going to change that unless it is crushed. So I look around and there are no used catted Cobb pipes. I sort of want a catted downpipe for obvious reasons California has screwed us into, but I'm definitely ok with catless. Turns out, there is a catless jet-coated Cobb 3" downpipe for the GR on eBay for $400. Jet coating isn't expensive, but it isn't cheap either. He probably had about $750 or so in the pipe, so I thought of it as a deal. I bought it and 3 days later it arrived exactly as described. Everyone at Chip's install day knows how the DP install went... It is a good idea to get the car on ramps before you remove the IC. Nope, slanted driveway so no jackstands. Anyway, the DP gets installed. Stage 2 93 octane map gets flashed and all is well... well almost. This catless setup with pretty much zero exhaust restriction is causing me to overboost like crazy... way out of the range of my 20 psi max SPT boost gauge. Ok, this sounds bad, but I come prepared with the stage 2 LWG map. After the re-flash, all is well at 19.5 psi versus who knows what above my gauge. It looked like 22 or 23 based on the needle position!
I've come across a little money recently from a job that I did a while back. I've once again decided to throw this at the car, but at least these are parts that will be put to good use and should prove worthy of their installation time. I ordered these today and am looking forward to installing most of it on 3/20 (next Saturday). This is text copy of the invoice. Defi Advance CR Control Unit Defi Advance CR 52mm Oil Pressure Gauge Black Defi Advance CR 52mm Boost Whiteline Subaru WRX STi Steering Rack Bushings 2008-2010 Whiteline Subaru WRX / STi Rear Differential Positive Power Kit Front 08+ Whiteline Subaru WRX / STi Positive Power Kit Rear 08+ Kartboy Subaru Engine Pitch Stop Kartboy Subaru STI Shifter Bushings 6-Speed Kartboy Subaru Rear Shifter stop bushing STI Group N Transmission Mount 6MT STI Group N Engine Mounts Stoptech Subaru STI Front Stainless Steel Brake Lines 2008+ Stoptech Subaru STI Rear Stainless Steel Brake Lines 2008+ As for now, that is where my car sits waiting for that next dollar! Updates to follow in the future. Who knows what is next... I should really check these Powerball numbers.
Well, where's the install day happening? I'd like to be there to keep anyone from convincing you to rip off your front bumper.
blaze yellow, was WAAAYYY better. i mean limited edition porsche color, come on. anyways, post some pics of that new hotness!
LOL! It's lift time this round. Installing pretty much every major bushing on the car would suck on the ground. Breel is helping out with this (since he has a lift), but I'm sure anyone that wanted to come down would be ok. That would of course be up to him though. 3/20 should be the install day
Blaze Yellow came out for MY02 and was 'post it note yellow' as some put it. There were only 400 produced and only in sedan. It's the Porsche color. Sonic Yellow was a MY03 color, that looked more like mustard seed than anything. It came in sedan and wagon trim. MANY more Sonic yellows were produced than Blaze Yellow. Sonic Yellow: Blaze yellow: Personally, I prefer the blaze yellow over the sonic.
Yeah there was a fine line better those two colors and I always got them mixed up. It was the darker tint yellow though... I know that much!
09 GR's are very pearl. I mean they have the luster and coloration of an actual pearl. I think they kept the color for '10.
Yeah, mine is the obsidian white pearl and when it's clean (which it hasn't been in a while) you can see a lot of pearl in it. Good thick clear coat too. It was sort of nice to see Subaru actually somewhat give a crap about paint for a change!
PS Endlink repair Something in the front hasn't felt right the past week, so I decided to take a peek. Turns out I had to repair the front passengers side endlink today. The bolt where the endlink connects to the sway bar had smashed into the polyurethane bushing pretty badly, mushrooming it out. Amazingly (and this shows the quality of the KB endlink materials) after the bolt was removed and the entire endlink inspected it barely had a scratch on it... including the bushing itself. It also went back to it's normal shape and with the help of some lithium grease, the bushing re-inserted into the endlink. The pin that runs through the two bushings was sitting loosely through the endlink itself. The control arm bushings look fine, and all other endlinks and bars look ok and have barely shifted since installed. Either one of two things went wrong here. It was either over-torqued when installed, or the washer behind the head of the bolt was never installed. I couldn't tell because the washer was behind the poly bushing when I removed it. Most likely, we didn't put the washer behind the head of the bolt during the install
Yeah, it had just pulled through to the point where the head of the bolt was mushrooming the bushing out, leaving only the smaller diameter metal pin through the endlink. Wish I had taken a few pictures, but it was sort of raining while I was checking torque on all of them.
could have been a hard hit pulling the head of the bolt through the washer. if that's the case then change all the washers to a grade 8
Nice story, Lee. At least I'm safe with the sway bar, I did the rear :wiggle: glad you have a lift for those bushings...as soon as I saw motor / tranny mount I immediately began to make excuses in my head, lol. I'm guessing Ben will be helping out Breel this weekend - both of those guys are really clean and they'll make those gauges look very nice. Have fun with, keep us updated.
Thanks! I think we will end up just doing the bushings and such (anything that would be a ton easier on a lift) versus on the ground. The gauges will most likely get done the next day or the weekend after that. I think the bushing installations will take most of the day up. Yeah, you did the rears and those are perfect. Either Justin or I did the fronts... bleh, shit happens.
I noticed the washers in the wrong spot on the fronts and thought I swapped them around. guess I missed one. time to commit seppuku with a greased up frisbee
I'll let everyone know after they go in. I'm very interested to see if it takes that tiny dead zone out at the center steering position... they advertise that it will, so time will tell if that is true...
Very true indeed. Just for the record as well, this Stage 2 OTS LWG map can suck a D. Doug will be getting this car in his hands very shortly...
Oh yes. Already swimming through it. I've been retardedly aggressive with this car versus my '03 bugeye. By like 100 times! I'm at the point of diminishing return now, so it's time to save for the big stuff... slowly.
Satin!? It's funny you say that (as earlier) because the actual paint is Obsidian White Pearl (as the sticker says) but Subaru doesn't have a paint code for it. I went to buy a touch-up canister and SoG and SoK told me that the Satin White Pearl is the touch-up paint for it. Even they realized that the paint is indeed different for the 2010. They either don't have a match for it yet, have part numbers confused, or the OWP can't be touched up at all due to the flake in it. I have no clue... I DO know that the Satin White Pearl they gave me DOES NOT match on any of the test locations that I applied it. Even after some rubbing and polishing compound to smooth it out. Bleh... we all know that Subaru and paint are not two entities that are analogous...
Thanks! Yeah, I'll be out at G2G next week. I totally understand. Really my main concern with the "factory warranty" is not so much the ability to repair any problems that might arise for free or with OEM parts. I just like to know that I originally paid for something that is mechanically ok. I feel that 4k miles is plenty enough to determine if I bought a (new) lemon or not. Ringland problems on '08 and '09 STIs plauged a lot of people due to horribly lean factory tunes (thanks again California) but were *suposedly* resolved in the '10. No epidemic failures reported as of yet for MY2010 anyhow. I've driven the hell out of it and it has survived so far! Oil levels have leveled out after the break-in, still smooth and no ticking, so I feel comfortable with stock internals for now given my config. Injectors, forging and GT30 probably not too far off. There is some impressive mechanical talent in the area, specializing in Subaru and other makes. I think some owners should utilize this talent more and stop thinking that the stealership is the only place to have their cars professionally assessed ; ) You've definitely made the right choice. As far as suspension, I don't currently have coilovers, but plan to soon. BC or RCE... haven't decided or compared specs yet. Surprisingly, the newly adopted Legacy platform and stock STI suspension is rather stiff. Body roll was hideous, but some 26/24mm F/R Whiteline sways and (insert favorite endlinks here) fix that problem. Doug @ TopSpeed is a godly tuner and I'm sure he will rip every mm of power out of that car. (Visiting him soon myself, my opinion comes from many positive results from others). I believe that turbo was used on some earlier Evo's stock. (?) Haven't read specs, but it must be good if it out performs the stock VF-52. Get yourself a catch-can soon! Definitely though, welcome to the community and be sure to come out on 3/23!
Hmm... Do the dealerships get to type the window sticker themselves? It could just be someone being confused or just a general mistype! God... I even asked them! I don't plan on talking to any dealership around here anymore unless absolutely necessary. Sigh... Steve.
Bushings, bushings and more bushings.. plus mounts! First off, I'd like to thank Breel for helping me (or pretty much handling rather) the installs. He has a nice shop that is excessively equipped, a lift, which in itself is a massive help, plus the know-how which is some areas I'm not so inclined. Given the accomplishments this weekend, if anything, we have both learned intimately the details of the steering assembly/electronics with modern Subarus. Whiteline steering rack bushings - A massive improvement over stock bushings. It's not tight, responsive and you can feel the road again. No more center dead-steer either. I'm glad that is gone. A quick note: mark the living shit out of your steering input shaft before you begin if you own a '06+ STI. Trust me... steering angle sensor = FML. Group N engine mounts - God why do these not come stock!? F the 6 disc changer... give me THESE. Amazing difference in not only post-shift tourque delivery but also 1st gear starting. Haven't tried yet, but I can only imagine that launching would be 200+ percent more effective with these. A pop-rev doesn't feel like the front of the car is trying to jump and now I have a nice engine vibration in the entire car. Smaller scale of course, but it is similar to the guy in traffic on the Harley that is getting a free vibratory massage on his Softail Deuce. The fingernail test on the stock versus the Group N mounts was depressive. Depressing to know that the stock hard marshmellow thing they call a motor mount even existed. Group N transmission mount - Same rave review as above. Torque shifting appears to be crisper with less crunchiness. A noticed a substantial decrease in the shifter movement in the cabin under acceleration. That alone tells me that it's doing it's job... That and the fact that I can audibly count the teeth on each gear from inside the cabin. Very loud and loving it! Whiteline 6MT shifter bushings and shifter stop - When I made the analogy about the marshmellow above, I wasn't kidding. The stock bushing looked and felt like a marshmellow. Horrible... The Whiteline bushing is hard polyurethane. Out of all the bushing installs, I would recommend this one for anyone looking to quickly make their stock shifter feel "real" again. It's now stiff, very precise with pretty much zero wiggle. When you shift with these in, there is no question as to if your target gear is engaged. You just know it. That was very annoying with the stock bushing. You would always question gear engagement due to the sponginess. That's pretty much all that got installed this weekend. Next weekend most likely read differential front and back bushings and stainless brake line install. Hopefully get around to the Defi install too perhaps.
I'm disappointed.....all these mods on a nice car and not the first pic other than the boxed parts themselves.
Honestly, I am too. It is hideously dirty right now and has been ever since I bought it. This is because its either been raining, sub 40 degrees or I've had to work. As soon as I clean it up so the paint color is actually true, I'll post actual pictures of the car and not the parts boxes : )