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Subaru Crew - Modifications II

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Comments

  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    what???

    No up-pipe???
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    OH MAN! That's it! I'm craving one now!

    To make a WRX faster, depress the throttle pedal all the way down and steer to avoid obstacles! That thing is seriously quick already!

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Until you are real good with what you go and are wringing ever ounce of performance out of it through skill there is no need for an up-pipe, down pipe, sidewayz pipe, chip, etc.

    -mike
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    sure there is.....what's it's not like you still have 2 cats after the turbo anyway.
    (looks like with a statement like that...even though it's true, you probably won't fit in at clubwrx.net)
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Are they all wanna-be racers over there? Sheesh. Skills are great cause they are transferrable no matter what you drive. :)

    -mike
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    Yeah basically.

    And they wonder why their clutch and synchros wear out so fast.

    I'm usually trying to warn them that a shop can refuse work and/or warranty due to owner abuse. Just try to keep them rational.

    Though the clutch shudder, I have to wonder if anyone pulled the clutch to see its condition, for if it's even installed properly from the factory (or they were pulling full throttle accleration while breaking-in the engine, and the clutch)
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I've heard of people with rexs blowing synchros and 1st gear, of course they are like "you mean I wasn't supposed to shift to 1st @ 30mph?"

    -mike
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    They should make WRX with 2 gears for them -
    Forward and Reverse. :D

    -Dave
  • 8u6hfd8u6hfd Member Posts: 1,391
    And they are claiming it's a faulty synchro design. THe same thing happens with the Celica GTS.

    What they don't realize, it's not a faulty synchro, it did its job like it's supposed to.

    A lot of people don't realize this simple concept:

    Beat on the car, the car will break down faster.

    But then again, some people have the mentality of: hey I got a warranty, I can beat this car up and get free replacement parts.

    Likewise, maintain the car, it's going to last longer.
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    lakepop - I just purchased a pair of Aiwa noise cancelling headphones and will test them on a plane tomorrow. Whaaat??? 8~)
  • mrk610mrk610 Member Posts: 378
    Yea very simple to do . On my outback the black plastic peice on the door by the mirror pops off . The tweeters just plug in to the connector already in the door .Then you pop the tweeter back in then push the grill back on . Took me about 10 mins . I can tell a difference with them in ,and I think the original speakers are quite good . Not bad for a factory system .

    mike k
    Just hit 92 today in south jersey summer is here .
  • gened1gened1 Member Posts: 256
    Thanks jfl and mrk610 for the info . I guess I'll order them from Liberty Subaru as they will save me some moola!
    again, much thanks,
    Gene
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Cool, I posted "want to buy" on iClub and got 2 responses, for that 6CD. I'm negotiating now and it should ship out soon.

    Sandy is gonna be spoiled!

    -juice
  • ponmponm Member Posts: 139
    I'm with you when it comes to modifications. Some of my friends are asking me when am I going to make my wrx faster. I said I did, I added 17inch wheels, new sway bars, what more do you want from me. I believe on the wrx, the engine is the last thing that needs to be touched. Anyone can go fast in a straight line, lets see how they do in the corners!
    -scott
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    If anyone is interested.
    There's this nice chap in NJ I'd bought my '00 RS wheels from wants to sell his.
    e-mail: jragasa@optonline.net
    His name is Jeff.

    -Dave
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Thanks Dave, he contacted me, but I had bought one (shipped already). Should arrive Friday. $155 delivered.

    Jim - go for it?

    -juice
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    I think the OBS setup is the same as the Forester.
    If they are, then it's less stuff to remove.
    Center console panels and the trim surrounding the stereo.
    Hope my memory is still fresh:
    There's a tab (catch) on each of the upper side of the trim.
    2 on the upper and lower horizontal.
    Start from the bottom. The ashtray and power socket will come with it (no need to remove any of them).
    Then work on the sides with a blade.
    The top horizontal tabs are a little pesky (the hazard & defrost button and cup holder limits access). The tabs has metal fastener attached to it. You will need a narrow blade, and from the underside of the trim push the tongue of the fastener upward to release. The fasteners should remain attached to the tabs (better that way when reinstalling - otherwise you may have to go fishing).
    Once you got that remove, move it aside.
    The rest will be the same as with the last install. Oh, you may not need the 8" screwdriver t remove stereo. No screw, just a nub.
    Note: There are 3 wires, the third is the ground wire attached to the mounting bracket.
    I found that on the OBS, there was alot more wire slag to work with. That spared me the hassle of removing the vent module and what nots to stick hand behind.

    -Dave
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I love this place. Thanks.

    Anyone figured out the 100 mpg carburetor yet? ;-)

    -juice
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    Not quite yet, Juice. I have found a guy who put one in a 1990 Legacy, and he claims (and I'm still trying to confirm) that there's a company that has two harnesses that make it plug and play (with the exception of the dimming switch) into my car = no wire cutting = has some appeal. I may be buying one within a week or two.

    Jim

    P.S. Thanks for thinking of me!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I have two e-mail addresses of people that are still selling. E-mail me if you want those.

    If you want 'em at a later date, just remind me that the offers came in on 6/25 and 6/26.

    -juice
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    Wanted to ask but keep slipping my mind.
    When doing the install on both the OB and OBS, I noticed another set of plug (can I assume it's single din?) that don't to be in use or seem to fit the units. Anyone knows what that plug might be for?

    TIA

    -Dave
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    here's a link to my website, where I recently added pictures of my car. Take a look at the last picture and the associated text and let me know what, if anything, I should do. There are three options, one of which is to do nothing. Feel free to look at the rest of the website too. I need constructive criticisms of it also.


    http://www.thepearsonhome.com/subaru_legacy.htm


    Thanks!


    Jim

  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Love the pics of my future baby! hee hee.

    I like the shot with the Trooper in the background, swap out the TX plates and that could be my driveway in a few years :)

    -mike
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    how about the advice part?

    Jim
  • bsvollerbsvoller Member Posts: 528
    be careful what you ask for ! LOL

    Hey, it's hard to comment on these personal preference issues, but if you despise the chrome, paint it ! Why not ?

    As to window tinting, that's more $$, of course. Is it hot in the summer ?

    We thought about it for our '01 Forester, but we just open the moonroof instead. It's actually quite tolerable in sunny Colorado, but we have close to 0% humidity most of the time.
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    We moved to Houston 2 1/2 years ago from Summit County, Colorado. I was just there two weeks ago for a golf tournament in Silverthorne that we always play in. It was so beautiful, although a bit hazy from the fires. I miss it terribly. But 10,000 feet is not good for a child with Cystic Fibrosis in the long run, hence the move. Yes, it's &^%(* hot here! The tint I will probably do, the paint is what I can't decide on. The options are 1. Do nothing 2. A DIY job by me and a can of black spray paint, or 3. Have a shop paint both the chrome and the black to match the rest of the car.

    Jim
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    The black is rubber, correct? If you really wanted to get crazy, remove the chrome strip from the rubber if possible and paint it body color. That rubber's not just there for cosmetic purposes - it absorbs potential door dings. If you painted it the paint would take the hits.

    Now then, you may consider upgrading the exhaust system to something a little more free-breathing...;-)

    Ed
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Will paint stick to that fake chrome strip? You may have to remove it.

    I've seen a buddy just use a vinyl sticker (in stripe form) to cover it up. That may be easier than painting. It could be black, or body color.

    The tint would look good and serve a function in sunny Texas.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I like monotone personally. And tinted windows would also be cool. If you can find a way to paint the black that would rock, if not then at least take the chrome strip off! :) Hmm does it sound like I have a vested interest in this car?

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Good news - got the 6CD changer today. That means it's going in Sandy this weekend.

    I swear I could see her smiling just a minute ago. :-)

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    ...and she still is smiling. Works like a charm, much better sound that the tapes on the old one. I'm hardly an audiophile, but it's more than good enough for me.

    Install was quick and much, much easier than in our Legacy. I did have experience, but it was still a LOT easier. Took out the center console, then the shifter surround. Then the ash tray - you don't even have to remove the ash tray chassis.

    The trim popped out much more easily than in the Legacy, too. Top it off, the brackets that hold the unit in place are modular, so they come out easily. You don't need the long screw driver, nor do you need the short one.

    So it was a cake walk. A trained monkey could do it. Or me. ;-)

    Funny side note, though. When I was done, she kind of flipped out on me for a while. The hazards and interior lights were blinking on and off, intermittently. They'd blink for a while, then stop, then repeat.

    Bizarre. I finally thought to hit the keyless, lock and unlock, and that did the trick. I do not have an alarm, so I have no idea why that happened.

    I think Sandy was saying "Thank you Thank you" and then kept repeating it until I finally said "you're welcome". ;-)

    If you are considering this mod, and were afraid, do not even hesitate if you have a Forester or Impreza, it is so, so easy. The Legacy isn't too bad, but do it only if you're mechanically inclined.

    -juice

    PS Elmo still sounds painful, though!
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    When you installed the 6CD changer into the Legacy, did you lose both the covered and open space below the former radio/cassette?
    (I'm assuming the your 2002 console and my 2000 console are the same. Which may not be true.)

    Thx,
    Jim
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    That's odd the lock and unlock worked for you. I've had that twice after a battery disconnect and couldn't get it to stop till I remembered this little button under the dash which we never knew what it was for. Pressed it and the lights stopped blinking.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    Good deal! You're slowly creeping up to becoming a car audiophile.

    Was the CD changer the unit that fits under the passenger seat or an in-dash unit?

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    They are the same, I think, and I only lost the covered console. The open one is still there. In other words, there were two spaces below the radio, now there is one.

    On the Forester, there was one space, now there are none.

    I pressed that button under the dash, too, but it did nothing. Really weird.

    Ken: both were 6CD in-dash, take-offs from WRXs.

    -juice
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    Thanks for the response!

    Jim
  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    Finally got the MBC (manual boost controller) that came w/the Vishnu Stage 0 pkg installed. It wasn't that it was a difficult piece to install but rather that I didn't have my genuine Subaru boost gauge at the time of the Stage 0 install. I didn't want to have the MBC installed w/o being able to monitor the boost. I have it set at 15.5-psi which is the max desired boost pressure. The stock max is 14-psi. The stock 17-psi fuel cut is still functional so I won't be in danger of blowing my WRX up. The stock setup drops boost to 7 or 8-psi by redline. With the MBC 12+psi is held by redline.

    All I can say is...WOW! It seems as though the turbo kicks in a bit early. When I give it full throttle, the turbo really kicks in and your head markedly is pressed into the seat. It's amusing to watch the boost gauge do its thing too. Overall, it seems like a different car...one that's definitely eaten its Wheaties!! Other than the definite thrust change, the WRX idles and tracts just like stock.

    Another Vishnu Believer in Seattle,
    Stephen
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    you didn't by any chance run a timed 1/4 mile in stock form did you? I'd really like to see the difference in hard numbers from a regular joe.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    I need to get a hold of someone @ i-club w/a "good" timer again. :-) Seat o'pants meter tells me it's noticeably quicker though! My butt-meter is calibrated pretty well since I've lost a few pounds! LOL!

    Stephen
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Stephen,

    Sweet. So you're ready to move on to Stage 1. ;-)

    I know the Vishnu package is one of the best bang-for-the-buck mods out there, but what made you choose that one versus, say Cobb-APS? I was reading some of the posts over at i-club and it seems the two have slightly different approaches to tuning the WRX.

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Wheaties, LOL! :D

    -juice
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    Per my plan, I posted a "want to buy" message on the local iClub board, and, wouldn't you know it, one of the WRX owners had just removed his 6 disc in-dash unit a week prior, so now I need to become an electrical wiring guru. Here's the sweetest part, guess what the price was.....give up?.......$30.00!!!! And he was only 5 miles away. Almost low enough to trash if I can't get it to work, but I will.

    Jim
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    HUH? Was he nuts? He had no idea the market value, I've seen them sell for $200 on eBay.

    -juice
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    "HUH? Was he nuts? He had no idea the market value, I've seen them sell for $200 on eBay."

    Believe me I wondered too. I made the deal verbally on Monday I think, and because of schedule conflicts I couldn't get together with him until today. I wasn't about to post here until I had it in my hands. Maybe good things tend to be reciprocative, if you know what I mean, Juice! :) Now, I have the diagram for the pins on the back of the WRX radio, I just either need to determine what my existing harness diagram is, or use a process of elimination. It'd be nice if it were plug and play when I pulled it all apart, but I've heard it's not from enough sources that I'm expecting the worst. I'll keep you updated.

    Jim
  • jimmyp1jimmyp1 Member Posts: 640
    I think the reason he didn't want much was that he worked in one of the nicest car electronics stores I've ever seen. It was in an industrial area here in Houston, and they had the nicest cars in their, oh, four or five bays, getting the absolute most incredible stereos I've ever seen. There was an M3 convertible getting the most custom stuff done in the trunk (and associated venting of the bass into the passenger compartment) I've ever seen. He said they don't advertise, it's all word of mouth. They do a number of NBA player cars, as an example. He said the most expensive system he ever did was into a Ford F-350. He said the truck cost something like 43k, and the system was 35k. 5 TV's, one of which was a custom 16" wide screen HD TV, which he said was never supposed to go in a car, but they did it. My point to all this being that, you see these kinds of systems all day, and the WRX 6 disc player doesn't have a very high resale value. I can only imagine what he replaced it with.

    Jim
  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    Hope everyone had a safe, sane, yet fun 4th of July! Here's some pics I took yesterday.

    Manual boost control valve is the gold piece to the left of the intercooler.

    image

    OEM boost gauge. The installer put it in a little more to the side of the steering wheel box than I would've liked but it's not too bad. The gauge is lit when the dash lights are on.

    image

    Here's a shot of my WRX straight on. It really shows the difference the various STi parts make and the clear headlamps. That's my neighbor's 98'OB Ltd in the background. The neighbor to the right of my house has a 99'black Forester L. There are 4 other Soobies on the block in addition.

    image

    Stephen :-)
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    I like your tags too! ;)

    Bob
  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    As someone pointed out to me, the tags have another potential meaning (probably closer to the truth lately, LOL): "$1000 a week wagon".

    Stephen :-)
  • hammersleyhammersley Member Posts: 684
    I can hear Stephen now... the new mantra:

    "Vishnu, Vishnu, Hari Vishnu"...

    Cheers!
    Paul
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