2007 Subaru STi Limited

[RufusAZ]

Figure it's about time I posted up my ride.

Name: Alex

Vehicle: 2007 Subaru STi Limited

Mods:
AccessPORT 2.0
DynoComp Tuned Stage II
Helix Catted Down Pipe
Buschur Racing Catback
APS 65mm Cold Air Intake
APS 50/50 BOV
RCE Tarmac II Coilovers
Vorschlag Front and Rear Camber Plates
Whiteline 24mm Adjustable Front Sway Bar
Whiteline 24mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar
Whiteline Subframe Lockout Bolts
Whiteline Endlinks
Whiteline ALK
RPM Subframe
TechnaFit Stainless Brake Lines
Kartboy Shifter and Tranny Mount Bushings
5Zigen FN01R-C 17x9 w/ 255/40-17 (track)

Useless Bling
STi Type RA-R Shift Knob

Pics

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0076.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0079.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0083.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0628.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/back.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0167.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0087.jpg

[wgnths]

about time! i remember that car being new and void of mods...

hows the leather holding up? man, my fxt leather is starting to show some good wear spots with 30k on it.

[J0oftheworld]

Love the lower spoiler!
See you at West in another week?

[RufusAZ]

Leather is holding up so far. I try to keep it nice and moist with leather cleaner. Not sure if that even works.

Yeah, I'll be at West in a week for sure. Now that I know what you drive, I'll swing by and say hi.

[sdkim7]

Boy those steel brake lines look nice...to bad you can't effin see them. Those were fun to install ;)

Car looks awesome!

[RufusAZ]

Erin dropped off these gems the other night. Going to hold off installing them until I find out if Erin's gunna sell me his old ALK or I just order one. This is going to be one of those marathon install days.

RPM subframe (note the dog and pooper scooper)
I'm going to try fabricating an undertray to replace my stocker that won't fit with this frame. My father in law has a sheet of aluminum lying around that I will use. I can use the existing rear mounting holes on the jack plate but the front is where there's a problem. I don't want to tap the frame for holes. Maybe some sort of pipe fitting that clamps to it that I can mount things to?

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/subframe.jpg

RCE camber plates

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/Plates.jpg

[wgnths]

my alk is off and it's all yours! the whiteline won't work with my beatrush so i have stock sti's on there now. gonna get either grp n or some other stiffer one.

i still think you should paint the subframe flat black. alberto can tell you what to get to do it.

[RufusAZ]

Sweet! I gotz no problem painting it. However, who's gunna see it unless I flip or do a sweet rally jump? ;)

[sdkim7]

Sweet! I gotz no problem painting it. However, who's gunna see it unless I flip or do a sweet rally jump? ;)

I'll see it...cause I'll be holding the damn thing while you install it ;)

[RufusAZ]

Another used Erin part. ALK going on this weekend with the subframe and camber plates.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/ALK.jpg

[wgnths]

nice, they look good? first time i've looked at them since they were put on.

[J0oftheworld]

Alex, you figure out where your tire pressures should be yet?
Seems like your car has enough goodies on/going on to make it very capable but also complex. Once you lock the pressures down for an entire event the only differences will be YOU and possibly the track.. then the real progress begins.
Sucks they went REAL high on you the other day cause I know how frustrating it is to have your car feel WORSE. haha
Another thing I do is use the 4th session to just run UBER smooth.
No use driver "hard" since you're tired.. you'll be surprised how fast you feel.

What's the alignment going to be w. the new camber plates??
Ask Erin how to get that thing oversteering a bit!! :D

[RufusAZ]

The only variable that I changed between track days was the tires and I know that was a big change. I had been using my stock Potenza RE070's for all track days up till then and had never really had an issue with understeer. In addition to more seat time, I need to be better about monitoring my pressures. I was driving like a silly bitch in the last session, though.

As far as alignment goes, I'm still researching. Unfortunatly, I have to balance track with daily driving. I won't be able to dial in a lot of neg camber since I'm still on stock struts. Joe at Goodspeed is going to mark the camber plates with track and daily driver settings, then show me how to adjust toe.

[sdkim7]

This should be a fun install....should only take us 10 hours ;)

[wgnths]

As far as alignment goes, I'm still researching. Unfortunatly, I have to balance track with daily driving. I won't be able to dial in a lot of neg camber since I'm still on stock struts. Joe at Goodspeed is going to mark the camber plates with track and daily driver settings, then show me how to adjust toe.

that's all you need to do. the alk will give some caster and you won't need to run a huge amount of camber anyways. that's part of the reason my car is oversteering. lots of camber up front now, and about 2 degrees less in the rear.

[RufusAZ]

Yeah, that's the tough part. Most of the guys that post alignment settings on IWSTI or Nasioc are autocrossers. They want a ton of neg camber and 30mm front sway bars. I'd like to find more info on alignment specs for Subies on road courses. I was just going to trust in Joe and adjust later if needed.

[wgnths]

joe has plenty of experience in alignments, so he'll do right. -2.5 is more than enough for a daily/weekender. most seem to run in the -2 to -2.5 range on track. rear, you want a degree or less difference. so, 2.5 frt, 1.5 rear is a good setup.

[J0oftheworld]

Rotation here you come!! :D

+/-1deg Front/rear is pretty common and 2.5/1.5 won't demolish your tires as long as you get to the track monthly! :)

[RufusAZ]

Got the camber plates, ALK and subframe installed today (thanks Songgi). Ran into one thing unexpected with the subframe that I hadn't read about before. There are these aero pieces that run under the car on each side under the doors that interfered with the back 6 inches of the subframe. The old subframe just slid into them. Anyway, I had to cut about 10"x6" piece off each side of the aero piece in order for it to fit right. I think they added more aero stuff on the 06+ STi's

Can't wait to get my alignment on Wednesday.

[wgnths]

got your message, sorry i've been layed up sick. yes, the 06+ has the aero pieces underneath that need trimming.

[RufusAZ]

Weight savings!

[RufusAZ]

I painted my Buschur catback today. It was getting pretty yellow (cheap metal?) and it was driving me crazy. I took the easy way out and used about 3 coats of 1200 degree BBQ/Engine paint. I'll probably have to touch it up a million times due to all the rocks at Firebird. Let me know what you think.

Before with the yellow nastiness
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/back_old.jpg

New
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/back.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0167.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0165.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0166.jpg

[wgnths]

as i predicted...looks awesome! actually looks 100% better than before.

[RufusAZ]

Thanks. I cut the midpipe about a half an inch so it doesn't stick out as much. Looks way stealth now. If I start to notice bumper discolorization, i'll move it out a bit like it was before.

[Max Power]

Looks great... did you use any etching primer or go right to the paint?

[RufusAZ]

I couldn't find a high temp etching primer. I scuffed it up pretty well all over with a 180 grit.

[RufusAZ]

New under tray I am fabbing up to replace my stocker that wouldn't work with the RPM subframe. I think I'm almost done after one more trip to Ace/Home Depot tomorrow. Cutting all those louvers was a bitch. May have been overkill. I'll probably paint it "Erin" black once it's all done.

Father-in-law's Lister in the background. Car is nice. I'm too tall to drive it. I think he did that on purpose.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/undertray1.jpg

[Max Power]

How much does it weigh? Oh and if it were Erin's favorite color it would be yellow - hehehe, I'm so bad.

[RufusAZ]

I'll weigh when it's all done and get back to you. It's some sort of aluminum alloy my father-in-law let me have. It's really light but still soft enough for me to bend the louvers without breaking.

[wgnths]

wow that looks nice. nice job cutting the louvers.

[RufusAZ]

Here it is after a test fit. I was too lazy to jack it up again after the test drive so the pics aren't the best. I will get around to painting it at the next oil change. I'll probably bend in the louvers a bit too. They look a little extreme.

For the rear, I used the two rear mounts that the factory splashguard mounted to. In the middle I used these pipe clamps attached to the subframe with a female end pointing down. The front snaps in at 4 points on the bumper cover using those snap clip things that were on the stock splashguard.

I hope the angle it's at doesn’t impact downforce in a negative manner. That would defeat the whole purpose. The RPM subframe angles down dramatically at its midpoint.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0186.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0185.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0184.jpg

[sdkim7]

Looks awesome! Good job!

Now build me some coilovers ;)

[wgnths]

looks like a roadkill device.

[RufusAZ]

Agreed. I'd like to see what that baby could do to one of those giant wheels of parmesan cheese.

[sdkim7]

Wow, so you built an all in one under guard and food processor...you should patent that shizz...

[wgnths]

patent it and slap george foremans name on it.

[gosu]

wow that under plate is awesome

[RufusAZ]

Epic fail on the painted exhaust! Alberto will surely laugh at my plight. The paint started flaking off after it cooled down after my first seesion at FIR Main. .It held up great for 3 weeks of daily driving. I guess a road race course was too much.

So, what to do? Do they make high temp etching primer? Get it professionaly done? Polish it back to stainless?

[moxie]

You will most likely need to get it ceramic coated, like the exhaust manifold coating.

Running at full road race pace gets the whole exhaust ridiculously hot.

[RufusAZ]

Were in the valley do you suggest I get this done? I'm just going to do the muffler. Thanks

[moxie]

Hmm, thats a good question. Haha.


Locally there is Jet Hot (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS206US212&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=jet+hot&near=Phoenix,+AZ&fb=1&view=text&latlng=33355118,-111967324,720590376255830855#)

And HPC (http://www.hpcoatings.com/am/default.aspx)
HPC Arizona
1840 W. Drake Dr. STE 102
Tempe, AZ 85283
Phone: 480-897-9115
Fax: 480-753-1329

[Max Power]

Yeah, either of those should do. I know HPC does black coating (it's what's on my manifold/downpipe/dumptubes) that is high temp. The local Jet Hot does not do the highest temperature coating but that's probably not a huge concern so far downstream in the exhaust.

[joebud]

HPC and Jet Hot are now one and the same. Jet Hot's parent company bought out HPC. I've used them both and it appears the HPC coating was superior to the Jet Hot. Not only was the heat protection better but the HPC coating didn't discolor.

The local Jet Hot facility is doing both processes, unfortunately not the extreme 2000. . I have a couple of systems out with them right now. The lead time is long, about 8 biz days for the basic 1700 deg coating.

[wgnths]

i've heard the same on the hpc, being better than jet hot. i had my headers and exhaust on my nova jet hot'd and there were spots that began to flake.

[CAPTIN INFERNO]

nice ride !

[RufusAZ]

Finally got track wheels.

I bought a set of 17x9 5Zigen FN01R-C's off a guy on iWSTi. Got a killer deal that I couldn't pass up. They are used with some scratches on the outer rim due to crappy tire installs. No curb rash. They come with 245/40-17 Hoosier R6's but they are pretty worn down to the point where the guy said he would only run them for a few auto-x's, not the track. So, they are usless to me.

The only thing bad is the color. It's the black with the polished lip (Bling!). I wanted flat black but oh well, they are track wheels only and I can get them painted someday.

I will need to roll my rear fenders a bit since I'm still on stock struts. Gunna swing by Goodspeed to get a quote. Or are there any specialty places that I should take it to?

I'll post up some pics when I get them.

[J0oftheworld]

Nice.. I heard brady is good at removing paint from the fender lips on white cars.. not too sure on gold cars! :D

[RufusAZ]

Uhh, yeah....

Goodspeed refered me to Wheel Specialists who refered me to a body shop which is $$. SRD once quoted me $100 for both rears. I just don't want a total hack job.

[sdkim7]

Who did they refer you too?

[kev]

What exactly are you looking to do and how much clearance do you need? Are you looking at just rolling the inner fender lip or do you also need to pull the fenders out?

If it's just the lip, then another option would be to just cut the sum bitch off.

[RufusAZ]

From what I understand, with my springs and struts, I don't need a pull but a roll is needed. I want to play it safe. I was going to test out the 245/40's it came with to see if/where I hit first. Ideally, I would like to run a 255/40 since the cheaper NT01's and R888's dont come in 245/40. That and the fatness :)

Rich at DC said they just grind them down but I'm unsure how the effects the liner attachment.

[RufusAZ]

Who did they refer you too?

I don't remember the name. It was about $150 a side he said.

[Max Power]

150 a side is pricey but worth it IF they are very good.

I think you'll be fine with a 245/40 - it's a short tire.

[RufusAZ]

Here are the pics with the 17x9 FN01R-C's on. I'm not a big fan of the black with polished lip look but they were cheap and i think my color car is one of the few that can pull it off without lookin like a playa. Just track wheels anyway.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0628.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/doco20/IMG_0629.jpg

I put some blue painters tape on the fender lip and they did rub in the back. The place Wheel Specialists refered me to for fender work was called Hunter's. I guess they do a lot of BMW fenders. They want to charge $355 for the rear axle but that includes any issues that could come up such as paint, etc. It's way pricey but it could be worth it for the piece of mind. Still shopping around.

[Max Power]

Looks good. Don't worry about the fenders... the more effed up they get the easier it will be to justify a widebody. That's where I'm at :)

[wgnths]

i like.

[RufusAZ]

Took my car to Justin on Saturday to get the rear fenders trimmed. He said my fenders looked pre-trimmed from the factory and he hadn't seen anything like it on any other 05+ STi. Strange. I still rub even with -1.5 in the rear.

So, it looks like I may have to take it the expensive place. That, or I finally get some coilovers with stiffer springs and not have such a slammed ride height.

[pickinicholas]

You know... you "could" do it yourself and save $300+ dollars... I know someone that owns a fender roller ;) (that would be me)

[RufusAZ]

Ya know. I might just have to take you up on that depending on if I grow the balls to just cut them the right way.

[RufusAZ]

Quick update. I ground down my fenders to just short of the spot weld and gave them a slight pull. I did a spray filler/primer over the bare metal to prevent rust. I should be good to fit the 255 NT-01 on my 17x9 wheels now.

And Julio, if you ever do your own tranny fluid, you'll need a massive T-70 torx bit for the drain plug. Found that out the hard way this weekend. You'll prolly have to order that bitch cause I couldn't find anything local larger than T-60.

[wgnths]

Quick update. I ground down my fenders to just short of the spot weld and gave them a slight pull. I did a spray filler/primer over the bare metal to prevent rust. I should be good to fit the 255 NT-01 on my 17x9 wheels now.

And Julio, if you ever do your own tranny fluid, you'll need a massive T-70 torx bit for the drain plug. Found that out the hard way this weekend. You'll prolly have to order that bitch cause I couldn't find anything local larger than T-60.

nice! and yeah t-70's are hard to find. someone is bound to have one that had to order it for that reason.

[crzyjulius]

ya grimmspeed has them for $10 i think. Imma order one just to have it on hand!

[RufusAZ]

Got the 17x9's to fit with 255/40 Nitto NT-01's. I had to do a decent amount of grinding, pulling and reprimering to get it to work. 05+ STi's thankfully have that plastic flair in the rear.

I ran West last weekend and shaved a little over 4 seconds off my lap times (using my ghetto camcorder technique). This was my first time with R-comps and coilovers. It was a different ballgame, that's for sure.

[J0oftheworld]

Ohhh yeah..