Kyle's 2005 OBP WRX STi

[Kyle_05_STi]

The noise probably has a lot to do with the strange cupping on the inside tread of the rear summer tires. but yeah, the STi has no sound deadening compared to my Cobalt SS and GTP. I'm used to hearing dashes rattle, not road noise :P

[shaneinhisroom]

Ah. I've never sat in a Cobalt nor a GTP. So you're probably right.

[Kyle_05_STi]

Ah. I've never sat in a Cobalt nor a GTP. So you're probably right.

You're not missing anything, haha.

[Kyle_05_STi]

Well a lot has changed in the past few months. I took the front lip off for winter and hate the way the car looks like it's hovering off the ground but soon that won't be a problem anymore. I'm no longer going to need the stock STi struts that have been revalved by Feal because I bought RCE Tarmac 0 coilovers. I never really saw myself running on coils because I don't want a slammed car and I don't want to have to adjust them all the time. These coils seem perfect for me in that case.



I still need to pick up some Group-N tophats, Kartboy front endlinks and Whiteline 24mm F/R sway bars, but I'm thinking I'll be very happy with the way the car handles when I'm done messing with the suspension.

I bought the coils before Christmas and still haven't decided what to do about them. On one hand I've been wanting to wait until spring to put them on, but on the other, I'd like to get an alignment done and I only want to do that once, so I've been thinking about putting them on.

Either way I have been trying to drive the car less, I'm sitting at 75,300 something miles as of today (put about 13,500 miles on the car in 10 months, albeit 500 are from getting it home and at least 2000 are from other road trips that the car won't be making again soon). Staying at school between my 11:30 and 5:30 classes twice a week makes a huge difference instead driving to school and back home twice in a day. Changed my work schedule up some as well, still getting 40-50 hours total, but in 5 days instead of 6. If I could eliminate the car wash and get full time at Advance Auto that would work out nicely since I'd make more and be closer to home. No full time positions are open currently though. I need a daily driver.

I've also started tho think about changing the calipers, intake manifold, horns and other pieces to candy blue from the current red/gold setup. Either candy blue or candy green. The Blue/green flake in the paint might come out a little more that way. Green on black is too Ken Block/Monster-ish though, so I'm not sure.

Something like this:

Acura TL-S calipers but close enough, Brembo logo would be Obsidian Black Pearl to match the body color of the car or Cherry Blossom Red to match the badging though.


I'm also back and forth on if I want to buy another bike or dump some more money into the STi this summer and shoot for 350+ AWHP. Leaning towards the bike because of gas prices and it would keep miles off the car.

If I were to mod the STi more it would go something like this (I think):
-stock location TD06 20g/DOM3 XTR/Some other "DD-able" turbo
-Big TMIC
-At least 850cc Injectors
-Walbro 255
-TGV deletes
-Obviously tuned
-Enough money left over to buy parts to rebuild the bottom end and/or clutch if they let go
-Whatever else is a good idea to do


Again, a motorcycle would be cheaper, save me miles and gas for the STi, and probably be more fun. Don't know what to do.

[shaneinhisroom]

Those coilovers are boss. Get a cheap little DD or a moped

[Kyle_05_STi]

So a lot has happened in the past month or so. Plans change, money gets spent, life goes on. This is the story of how my "Oh I'm going to fix my rear strut clunk" has turned into a $2500+ suspension build (that's usually how these things go, right?).

I started with Feal revalved struts. Was planning on tossing them on with some RCE yellows and calling it a day. I bought the revalves and was looking for some used Yellows. That's where it all went terribly wrong.


I let the struts sit for a while, I wasn't going to install them until this spring so I figured I'd have plenty of time to find a deal on the springs. The car is a daily driver so I wasn't looking for anything too crazy. In my perusing of the classified sections of a few forums I came across a gently used set of RaceCompEngineering Tarmac 0 coilovers. Based on what I read, they seemed to be a pretty good coilover for a DD who doesn't want to go too low. I think you all can see where this is going.

Anyhow, after snowballing out of control for a few months and blowing multiple "new and final" budget figures, I've come up with what I think is my final suspension setup for the moment. This is in addition to the bushings/braces/mounts/everything else already done to the car. I plan on hitting a few autocrosses and track days this year so I might as well do it right. I'm not concerned about classing because the car is still a DD, I'm just interesting in doing it for fun.

What I have:
- RCE Tarmac 0 coilovers (Still look new, gently used however)
- GTWorx GD style front camber plates (new)
- GroupN rear tophats (new)
- Kartboy solid endlinks, front (with spacers) and rear (newish, 800 miles on fronts, rears used)
- Whiteline BSF36XZ 24mm adjustable front sway bar (new)
- Whiteline BSR37XZ 24mm adjustable rear sway bar (new)
- Whiteline KCA359 Sport Anti-Lift kit (new)
- TurnInConceprts Fender braces (new)
- Doing the "free castor mod"

Again, these are in addition to the bushings/braces that are already on the car

For the alignment/coils I'm planning on running:
- -2.2* of camber in the front
- -1.5* of camber in the rear
- 6-7* of caster
- 0* toe all around
- Coilovers set to 14" from center of hub to fender in the front, 13.5" in the rear (RCE recommended settings for best performance while maintaining a DD-able ride quality).

I'm hoping that the expression "it handles like it's on rails" will be an understatement when this is all said and done. If I'm not impressed I'll probably sell the car and restrict myself to a camel as a mode of transportation.

As far as wheels and tires go I don't know what I'm going to do yet. I currently have Enkei GTC-01's in 17x8" +48 offset as my "summer" wheels which weigh in at about 18 pounds per wheel. I'm planning on running Conti DW's in 235/45/17 because they will last me a little while longer than RE-11's and at ~21 pounds per tire are 6 pounds lighter per tire than RE-11's (which I had and loved, but they're too expensive for how much I drive). I'm thinking about selling the GTC01's and picking up a set of RPF1's or PF01's in 17x8", Ultraleggeras have also crossed my mind. I want to be under 40 pounds per wheel/tire, which my current wheels with DW's would put me right about there.

A big thank you goes out to Clint at TurnInConcepts as he helped me sort out a lot of thoughts and made some helpful suggestions to get to the point I'm at now. Thank you to everyone else who has provided input and direction for me as well. This is the first car I've had that I've cared about how fast it goes around corners instead of straight lines, so this is all a learning experience to me.

I'll post some pictures of the parts once I have everything, not that you all haven't seen them before and will also post pictures of the installation process. I'll be installing them myself, getting the alignment close and then taking it to whatever shop the autocross guys I know suggest for the proper alignment.

[Kyle_05_STi]

It's all here!

This all got dropped off this morning:


The Subaru boxes are the new sideskirts and front splitters, pre painted. They all look good even though the boxes were kinda beat up.

Here's the loot:

Whiteline ALK:


Camber plates:


All of it:

[TSi+WRX]

Best of luck on the install!

[92xScott]

That's looking really good man. Gives me some ideas for my Saabaru

[Kyle_05_STi]

Thanks guys! I'm excited to finally get this stuff done. I'd be installing my Defi gauges too, after 8 months, except I still can't find a fitting to git the EGT probe into the manifold.