Subaru Crew - Modifications II

outback165 · December 2002

Hey all! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This is the first Thursday evening I've been home in 6 months, so all day I've been thinking, "I hope the Subaru chat is still on Thursday evenings!" I'm planning on signing on later! Hope some of these familiar names will be there! Hope everyone survived this latest snow storm OK!

Looking forward to chatting with everyone later!

OB165
aka Pete

paisan · December 2002

Well this afternoon I get back the SVX with the latest mods on it completed:

VDO Vision Guages in place of the lower DIN in the stereo compartment.

Oil Temp
Oil Pressure
ATF Temp

I think it looks great cause they match the stock guages 100% and since they are behind the panel where the lower DIN was, when the door is closed over the radio you can't see em.

-mike

subearu · December 2002

paisan · December 2002

They should be up this evening. Been having server problems lately.

-mike

lucien2 · December 2002

so..........

whatya gonna do with those OEM brakes? If they're the same size as the WRX, then they're bigger than mine. If you are thinking of parting with them, let me know.....

hondafriek · December 2002

Since the OEM GT rotors are the same size as the WRX I am sticking with them for now. I may at a later date go for the 12.5 rotors but that means selling the GT rims as the 12.5 rotor will not work with 16x6.5 Gt rims.

Ideally a swap with somebody who has RS rims they want to get rid of would do.

Mark at Luchute Subaru said he would keep an eye for somebody who either wants to buy my GT rims or Make a swap with some cash for RS rims, I will investigate this option later as I have my winter tires mounted on The GT rims.

Cheers Pat.

strider98 · January 2003

swapping sedan fenders on to a wagon body. I just think this might be a cool swap.

paisan · January 2003

You need to bring over the whole front end (bumper, fenders, etc)

I think it would be cool.

-mike

paisan · January 2003

Ok folks, I'm looking at summer tires/track tires. I know you all have great opinions on this stuff so here it is. I'm looking for a tire that I can run on the street June->Sept and will see 1-4 track days a month. Here is what I'm looking at currently:

Size is 245-45-16
Toyo Proxie RA1
Toyo T1s
Bridgestone S03
Yokohama A032R

Thanks for the input.

-mike

locke2c · January 2003

it would look unbelievably stupid. in my humble opinion. ;-)

you can't bring over the rear to match because of the obvious structural differences between sedan and wagon. (look at the piece of sheet metal that is the rear quarter panel... big.)

but ultimately my opinion is that the LACK of ugly blistered fenders on the wagon is, cosmetically speaking, a good thing!

-Colin

locke2c · January 2003

A032R, Mike.

Just be prepared for road noise like a 33" mudder.

-Colin

paisan · January 2003

The SVX is like a coffin, I'd like some road noise!!!

Do you think they have enough tread to be streetable?

I knew colin would jump in on this, he's a wealth of knowledge!

-mike

locke2c · January 2003

they have plenty of tread to be streetable. most of the time you wear out the rubber compound, making it the hardness of a hockey puck and loosing a lot of grip, before you cord an A032R...

two years ago a good friend put 12,000 miles and probably 60-75 autocross runs on a set.

-Colin

paisan · January 2003

They are at the top of my list now, you are the 2nd person I know who has given them the nod!

-mike

locke2c · January 2003

the RA1 is also very durable for a DOT "r" compound tire but won't last more than a few thousand street miles. 5,000 tops I'd guestimate.

-Colin

strider98 · January 2003

There's really not that much flare to the rear fenders. I've been comparing them, and I think you could get away with it. I just think the front end looks rather bland without the flared fenders. But yeah, you'd have to fabricate the fenders AND switch doors out b/c the sedan doors have the flare starting at the bottom as well.

Just brainstorming, but it's turning out to be just a stiff breeze :+)

ateixeira · January 2003

Kate: a 225/70R16 tire would rub badly. It would rub the rear spring base AND the front mud flap and fender.

Stock is 215/60R16, and I've actually seen one guy put 225/60R16 Michelins on stock rims with no rubbing. So that is the practical limit - it was almost touching.

Taller springs don't change the position of the rear spring base, so that still doesn't allow more space for tires. Now if we got the multilink suspension from the Outback that would be a different story.

But since we still have rear struts, you would then have to get different rims and/or spacers. But then you risk upsetting the bearings and CV joints.

I did that - got rims that put the whole wheel a little farther out, and then got 225/60R16 tires, and no rubbing.

So, on a shoe-string budget, you could get the springs for $360 and maybe 225/60R16 tires, but that's about as much as I'd do.

-juice

jimmyp1 · January 2003

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=6a82dd8e6af6e833- fe43f94a4dc4c8dc&threadid=306188

Jim

ateixeira · January 2003

Don't you love how all these experts have never owned a car with an aftermarket moonroof? So they have zero experience with them, yet they know it all!

-juice

p0926 · January 2003

Sheesh! Talk about a paranoid party. Juice hit the nail on the head with his observation that none of those self-proclaimed experts had even had an after-market install done (and many probably not even a factory). I think my favorite was the poster who wanted to convince you that a loose steel beam from the roof was going to impale you in a side impact! Yeah right. Where do these people drive? Daytona?

-Frank P.

paisan · February 2003

I'm a big fan of factory roofs (i've had both)

Also on the WRX that center beam is very important for the structural rigidity.

-mike

hypov · February 2003

will look good

and functional

on a Silver WRX wagon?
I'm leaning towards those on the B4s.

-Dave

lark6 · February 2003

I'd recommend going out to i-club - oops, I mean NASIOC - and looking in the "Members Car Gallery" and "Suspension, Brakes, Wheels and Tires" fora. There are a lot of pictures there; there are specific threads for silver cars and for wagons.

Price and reputation for durability will no doubt be factors in your purchase. A lot of people like the Rota wheels - Attack, Tarmac and Subzero - they are very affordable but have well-publicized quality issues. The Prodrive-branded wheels - P1, made by OZ and P7, made by Speedline - look very appropriate to the car IMO, are a little more expensive, and have been reported to occasionally fail (I think every brand has had reported failures). Going higher in price you have OZ Superleggeras (which I'm now biased towards as I've had them on my car), SSR Competitions and the very expensive Prodrive-branded forged wheels (forget model names) and the wheels from Volk/Rays Engineering.

There's always the B4 style wheels now available from the dealer, as well as the 17" wheels available as standard on cars in Europe (often referred to as "UK-spec") which look only subtly different from the 16" OEM wheels here in the US.

Good luck choosing!

Ed

paisan · February 2003

I like the UK ones personally

-mike

hypov · February 2003

Seems like the '04 WRX will be wearing them when they make it here on our shores.
I might wait for them to be unloaded but doubt those 17x7 +53mm wheels would be dime-a-dozen.

-Dave

bluesubie · February 2003

will still be 16's.

-Dennis

lucien2 · February 2003

'04 STi.....?

lucien2 · February 2003

There was a suspension for sale over on nasioc I couldn't resist for the price- should be here tomorrow.

4 WRX STi ver. 5 inverted struts
4 H&R Legacy sport springs

the whole thing was only a year old, $400. I like my AGXa but I do have a couple issues:

1) initial jounciness. Not like a "cut spring" bounciness, very minor niggly really. But there it is.

2) Adjustibility kind of moot. The difference between halfway (where I have it set for street) and full fat (autox) is not massive.

3) The spring perch on the fronts is slightly higher than a legacy strut. So the front is actually slightly higher than a stock GT, which is an obvious no no for handling.

The Sti v5 strut is shorter anyway, so the height issue becomes marginalized, especially when combined with the H&Rs. The car will look dropped, but not much. Tasteful looking, IMHO. The v5 has a noticeably beefier strut, so I think longevity and quality are higher. I also am hoping it will provide better quality damping as a result. The difference in weight between an impreza and a Legacy isn't huge, and my hope is the Legacy-spec springs will be more important to that difference than the damping (which is stiffer than either a stock RS or a GT to begin with). So basically, a nice "fast road" setup using geniune STi parts is the goal. We'll see.

ateixeira · February 2003

Seems like a good price for what you're getting.

Who puts this stuff on for you? I could help if you DIY, but I don't have experience with suspensions.

We doin' the 17th or what?

-juice

lucien2 · February 2003

Last go-'round Jake put it on. It goes so fast when the car is on a lift. Plus the springs are not on the struts, so we'd need a spring compressor.

The 17th- I don't technically have the day off, unfortunately. Plus I think it will still be pretty brisk, eh? Then again I think I could probably wrap my day up early and head your way around 1-2pm. IF you're willing to brave the cold, I am game.

ateixeira · February 2003

Let's see if the weather cooperates. If it's above, say, 40 or so, let's do it. We'll check the forecasts ahead of time.

I gotta do the plood trim on our Legacy too, but that'll take minutes now that I've done it before.

-juice

hypov · February 2003

Here's what I've found at the JDM site.
My Mac couldn't translate what it say... I don't know Japanese anyway but I'm pretty sure it says "NEW" for the WRX.
http://www.subaru.co.jp/impreza/sportswagon/06/06_03.html
These are definitely 17"s
http://www.subaru.co.jp/impreza/simulation/wwrx.html

-Dave

paisan · February 2003

If you want to do it friday night it shouldn't be a problem! Let me know and I'll bring some tools

-mike

ateixeira · February 2003

Right there in the Balt. Auto Show parking lot, LOL.

-juice

paisan · February 2003

I'd do it in the parking garage for him

Actually not sure if the legacy needs to have the brake lines cut out of the OEM shocks or not though. On the WRX they bolt off, on the GC8s you need to dremel the holders of the brake lines.

-mike

bluesubie · February 2003

Ah, that's the problem. You're looking at the Nippon website. :-)

Check http://www.impreza.subaru.com
"16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with 205/55 R16 all-season radials"

-Dennis

lucien2 · February 2003

well that's a great offer, but I have a gig that evening so I have to get going. The brake line brackets on these v5s has already been cut
(as are the ones on the AGxs) so that isn't a problem. It's going to be pretty cold that day it looks like. How do you do this without a spring compressor????

ateixeira · February 2003

Wish I lived closer. My car port is at least an hour south and by then it'll be dark and cold.

-juice

paisan · February 2003

Your new springs are likely lowering springs, in which case you don't need to have a spring compressor. We usually do WRX springs in about 1-1.5hrs start to finish. Now that I remember you do need an impact wrench to get the nut off. As for a spring compressor you can "borrow" one from a local pep boys

It's not that hard though to do springs. Considering how much they charge ~$400 for installation around here.

-mike

lucien2 · February 2003

I do not have.....so it's kind of moot anyway. Good to know though.

ateixeira · February 2003

Can't you do it with a long-shaft torque wrench and some WD40?

-juice

paisan · February 2003

You need the impact wrench (I have one from sears electric powered) to basically jump the nut off the piston rod of the shock. If you try to do it with a wrench I think the rod spins around.

-mike

hondafriek · February 2003

After what seemed like forever everything is here for the brake swap to four pots, Wilwood calipers SS lines front and rear, the rear lines were the holdup, Wilwood polymatrix street pads in front KVR. carbon fibre pads in the rear, MRT master clinder bracket and Motul DOT5 brake fluid.

I will not be doing this until spring now it is too bloody cold, but I cannot wait to see what the difference in braking will be.

Loosh that was a good buy hope you will be happy, you can always sell your stuff If you do it right you should break even.

Cheers Pat.

lucien2 · February 2003

I am being patient and methodical with this, because I want things at a good price, and I also want things that are proven and therefore re-sellable.

paisan · February 2003

Be careful of your seals. I've heard that DOT5 will breakdown your seals on the brake components. Not sure how much truth there is to that.

-mike

lucien2 · February 2003

is what I'm running.

ateixeira · February 2003

Cool Pat. I'm waiting for better weather to do a couple of things too.

-juice

hondafriek · February 2003

Thanks for the heads up, it is dot5.1 I am using not Dot5 as I mistakenly wrote,dot5 is silicone and yes you are correct there have been instances of seals being damaged.

Cheers Pat.

locke2c · February 2003

5.1 is synthetic non-silcone based.

it's awesome.

-Colin

paisan · February 2003

I was using Castrol I think that was Synthetic, but I don't think it's DOT5, would that be the 5.1 you speak of? Is that available @ the usual pep boys etc?

-mike

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