Electra

iTrader: (1)

Hello! Welcome to my long thread of boring-ness...


Okay, so I have wanted to start a build thread, but I have honestly been way to chicken about it. I know, I know, I'm a chicken. There are so many amazing rides, my car pales in comparison and even though I have been here for nearly two years I still feel like a dumb n00b. I have been hesitant to post up and end up be ridiculed for being a moron or an idiot. I dont want to become "that girl" ya know?
But now I am going to post up the build process and ask some advice, you ya'll know more than I do....
Here's an awesome pic by VRT_MBasile aka Matty to kick things off!!


So, I bought my 2007 WRB STI in July of 2008, becoming the second owner on the car.


I joined i-club shortly after and was instantly intimidated by the posters here. Some of the rides were drop dead gorgeous and everyone seemed to know WAY more than I did. Before I purchased the Subie I had spent my time building rock crawler, lifted trucks and restoring jeeps. My only foray into the import world being a 1988 RX-7 FC N/A that I drifted until the apex seals gave way. I was driving a 1987 Ford Mustang 5.0 GT, but I sold that to buy the Subaru. Okay, sorry to ramble.

So far it doesn't have very many under the hood mods;
Stage 2 Dyno-Comp Tuning, Cat-less Special Edition HKS Hi-Power Titanium/Carbon Fiber Exhaust 3", Cat-less Downpipe, APS Cold Air Intake, SPT Oil Filler Cap, SPT Battery Tie Down, High Pressure Radiator Resevior Cap, and a Hello Kitty Emblem...lol



A friend of mine was the lead salesman at Wireless World Audio in Morgan Hill so the car was handed over to him and he designed a sponsored/custom system for the car; Pioneer AVHP4000 6.1 inch in-dash touch screen, 2 10 inch Kicker Subwoofers in a custom box with pink neons, Inifinty 5 Channel amp, Dyna-mat and carpeted trunk lid and all new Pioneer door speakers...









After that I focused mainly on cosmetic mods;
Center console extension (since I am tall and the center console sucked), tinted windows, I was lucky enough to receive a CF ViS hood with the larger hood scoop for my birthday, and Hella Supertones for Christmas in 2008, which were promptly painted neon pink.





I added custom plates and Prodrive mudflaps as well soon after...



Then came trip #1 to LIC and I upgraded the braking system to Stoptech Slotted Rotors, AXXIS Pads, Goodridge SS Clear Coated Brake Lines;



Then came a 20mm rear sway bar (off of an 06 STI) and a SPT Front Upper Strut Brace.

After a brief mod-lull, I added a Sparco Harness bar and Takata Harnesses to the interior, partially satisfying my Mother's horror that I would die in the Subaru (I left the stock seat belts installed, just looped around the back of the seat and buckled)...



Then on trip #2 to LIC I added Defi Triple Gauge Pod with 3 Defi BF-R Gauges (and computer control) [Boost, Oil Pressure and EGT];



I also have a CF trunk and Kartboy short throw shifter that are yet to be installed. I am thinking the next Oil Change trip to LIC I will have the shifter and Sparco hood pins installed.

So I guess my main point/question is...where now?
I have been wanting to modify the suspension for some time now, but there are two things stopping me. 1) I live in a rural area and the streets here suck horribly for any car that is too low. My Mustang had an Eibach lowering kit (installed by previous owner) and no matter how slow I went I managed to scrape. It sucked, and I don't want to go that route again. And 2) I dont know very much about the suspension for these cars. By that I mean which direction I should go for stiffening everything up and increasing the handling? Without compromising the integrity of the car etc.
Like I said before, I have only built suspension for lifted trucks etc so I am not sure what the best route would be.

Contrary to popular belief, I dont spend my time mashing the hell out of my car on curvy roads. I admit there was a time when I did that constantly, but now I rarely do it, 1) because the roads locally suck and 2) because I dont want to become overconfident, wreck my car and injure someone else in the process; so I tend to just cruise and enjoy the roads. I plan on doing more track driving in the future, but I also want to keep the ride bearable for road use. Luckily this isn't my daily driver.

So in saying that, which is the best suspension course to take? I dont mind lowering the car a little bit, in fact I would like to. But I am not going to Hella Flush status or anything crazy, just enough to increase handling.

I do know I want to continue to mod the engine, but once again not sure where I should go next...advice? Suggestions? What not to do? I know more about V8s than I do the flat fours so I am just not sure...

Thanks for reading this long, unbearable, boring thread, and thanks in advance to any help. I appreciate you taking the time for me.

If you're going to just post to ridicule my car, then just walk away man. I catch enough **** for my car already from family, friends and complete stangers. I dont need much more. Constructive criticism is all good though.

edit: crap I meant to put this in "ongoing projects" but I spaced out! Mods if you read this move it please! Sorry I am an idiot!!!

tony1w

iTrader: (5)

LOOKING NICE Keep it up! i cant wait to see more! Next pic should be ur baby sliding thru the mud!!

LMK if you ever have any questions on ur build.

Electra

iTrader: (1)

I have it parked in a big puddle... but no mud yet....

Thanks Tony! I will definitely hit you up when I need help!

Gancherov

iTrader: (13)

Good looking Suby! I'm not a fan of unpainted carbon fiber but to each his own. Mind you, I'm new around here as well but it seems that the next steps are the obvious ones. Bigger turbo + supporting mods (fuel pump, injectors, maybe FMIC, etc?), adjustable coilovers would be nice and practical especially since it's not your DD, and I wouldn't overlook the "cheapo" suspension upgrades like fender braces, h-braces, strut bars, and maybe bigger sway bars (24mm??) and endlinks for the front and rear, or maybe something silly and frivolous like a rally-style roof vent?

Honestly, i would personally rather spend that kind of money on a nice drive-around vacation or a rally race. But you have to do whatever will make YOU enjoy your car most.

P.S. If you really got cash to blow after all that, roll cages are bad *** too! Plus, an extrabtut of peace of mind for you and family.

I'm so bored at work I typed all of that on an iPhone.. /sigh

tony1w

iTrader: (5)

lol, at least hes gettin his feet wet.

As far as suspension goes. A good set of swifts springs and AGX, K0ni, or tokicos shocks should be great for daily drivability and performance.

Electra

iTrader: (1)

Dont feel bad, I read all of that from an iPhone Thanks for the reply.
I would love to be able to upgrade the turbo and install all of the supporting mods, but thats a lot of money. Eventually I will get there for sure, but right now I am not so sure
Adjustable coil-overs would be really nice. Since it isnt the DD I can be a bit more crazy with it. But I dont know if they are more than I really need or not...of course, if you're gonna mod it might as well go ***** to the walls....
I will check into the "cheap-o" upgrades as well. I am for sure looking for a new rear sway, I know that.
Rally Style roof vent? I am not sure I am nearly brave enough for that!
But it would look sick.

Due to my job I am not able to get away on vacation very often, if ever, so I usually cash out vacation time and use that towards mods, doing as much as the work on it that I can. Basically am I am girl that works for her car and her expensive make-up habit.
Luckily I have a shop with a two-post lift on my property that I can use to work on it, and I save labor that way. But usually when the mod is beyond my spectrum of intelligence I take it to LIC.
A roll cage would be insanely awesome, but that is a lot of money
I know my family would appreciate that mod but its a huge investment.

Yeah, he was playing in the waters! I use the truck for mud usually, so I dont have pics of a muddy subie.

How much would a set-up like that lower the vehicle on average?

Thanks again guys for the replies.
I know my car isn't anything special like a huge engine swap or a lowered bad-*** hella-flush-mobile, but I do appreciate the kind words and the advice. It means a lot to me.

tony1w

iTrader: (5)

Hahaha... he't the baby of the bunch. I understand.

I would stay away from co's b/c they have to be rebuilt frequently. And unless you balance your corners and auto-X all the time, they are kinda pointless imo. Most set and forget setups are nice. Like the AGX's struts have a 4 way adjust on the dampening/rebound (for weekend warriors).

Cost.... about
Swifts = $400 about 1.2 front and .7 rear
If you drop it tooo low, you will hate it. Blown shocks, bad ride, blown shocks.. etc. I have s-techs on agx's and they are okay, but they ride harsh on some roads, but the AGX struts help a lot.

Struts = $500-600. The AGX 4 ways are about $125 each. I have these, they are pretty nice. They really handle the bumps and stuff really well. They have 4 settings 1-4 (softest-stiffest).
I also hear the GR2's are pretty good if you dont always weekend ur car.
Those are about $80 each corner.

And then tophats if you "need" them... but i think stock is fine.

Electra

iTrader: (1)

Sweet! Thanks for the info I will look into it!
You are an uber-wealth of information! Thanks!!!

tony1w

iTrader: (5)

http://www.kyb.com/videos/index.php

Useful vids if you are bored on the boards!

EndlessWaltz RS

iTrader: (4)

Stop talkin' down about your car, your build thread, etc. Everyone start's somewhere. You've got a clean STi with tasteful mods, and that's nothing to scoff at...and that's coming from a jackass with a JDM swapped RS

Based on what you've said, I agree with Tony on his suspension suggestions, as it sounds like for your purposes, at least for now, a spring and strut combo would be best. AGX's are a good cost effective route that will give you adjustability. Koni's would be my choice, but will run you $800+ just for the inserts that you then have to install in stock strut housings, but they're worth it and will give you a really, really nice ride.

Swift springs are also nice. I found two sets for 07 STi's(which are a different drop than the 04's) the regular ones that will give you a drop of 1.2" both front and rear, and have progressive sprint rates for comfort. Then there's the Spec R Swifts that will drop the car 1" both front and rear, but do not have progressive spring rates, and are stiffer than the regular ones, making for a more aggressive setup, but I would imagine when combined with a nice strut, would still be more "streetable" than full coilovers. Another thing you might want to look into to complete a good spring/strut setup would be the "saggy butt" spacers to help even out the fender gap between front and rear, since the rears sit slightly lower. To polish it off, you could swap the stock top hats out for Group N's while you've got all four corners off the car, and that would be a pretty rock solid suspension setup that wont make you lose fillings.

Swaybars are definitely a good mod to do. A common setup is about 22mm up front and 24mm out back, but there are tons of sizes to suit all kinds of driving styles. H-Braces and fender braces will also make a nice difference, strut bars too, but those you would really notice if you were still tearin' up the back roads on a regular basis. Endlinks and beefier sway bar mounts are a good idea too when upgrading to bigger bars.

Then there's always things like Whiteline steering wrack bushings which make a nice, noticeable difference, shifter bushings with a short throw levar(I suggest Kartboy for both and speak from experience, I love my setup of front and rear bushings with the Karboy levar on a 6 speed), Whiteline rear diff bushings, etc.

Since you've got a fair amount of carbon fiber already, there are some CF front lips out there, as well as rear diffusers, if you REALLY have a carbon fetish.

As far as engine mods go, realistically anything beyond your current setup will require a tune afterward, but you could upgrade your stock boost solenoid for a Prodrive/HOA or Grimmspeed and that'll help keep you boosting accurately while getting a little better response too. There are a couple different exhaust manifold options, equal length VS unequal length. EL exhaust manifolds add more power, especially up top, but kill that wonderful boxer rumble that we all love so much. UEL manifolds yield less power gains, but retain the signature Scoob sound, so it all depends on what you're going for with the car. Other than those, most anything else will be pretty involved, and honestly at that point you might want to just bite the bullet and upgrade the turbo, fuel pump/injectors, and intercooler because you'll get more results that way. Tumbe generator valve, or TGV deletes would be the only other thing I'll throw out there engine wise, but again kinda involved since you have to remove your intake manifold to swap em.

Hope some of this helps, and don't let the intraweb wrench heads intimidate you. Most everyone on I-Club will be happy to help you out when ever you need it

Electra

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. I just know that there are a lot of guys here that are of the thinking "go big or go home" and I havent really taken the STI to the extreme and I honestly never really know how they are going to react.

I definitely dont want a saggy butt on teh car, I hate the way that looks. I will look into the Swifts as well as the Spec Rs. I would very much like the end product to be "rock solid" as you say but I dont want to ride to beat the crap out of me. I cannot tell you how uncomfortable it is to drive a car with stiff suspension and have *****...its just downright painful after a while! Sorry if that is an overshare, but it is the truth.

Sway bars have been on my "to buy" list for a while. A friend of mine has a Cusco rear sway bar that is adjustable (i forget the numbers) and he highly reccomended it. Any thoughts on that? I have a strut bar in the front, but the sound system rather hinders the rear, but I have no qualms about changing speakers out.

I have a KartBoy short throw shifter that is sitting in my garage and yet to be installed. I really want to get that put in. I will research the bushings

I have looked into the black limited lip for the front end, but I am not sue I really want to throw that on the front. I love carbon fiber, i just dont want it to make the car look too cluttered or too mish-mash. I considered painting the CF hood to match, but I love the way that CF looks in the sun too much. Luckily I garage the car so hopefully the CF wont crack or yellow.
Of course, everytime I see a Voltex part I drool uncontrollably. In a perfect world I could throw on a CF roof, but this isnt a perfect world

I figured on that, with the engine mods, most everything further will need a re-tune, and even though I see reviews and stuff everyday on the forums, I am not sure who I would go to for that. I mean, I know the shops, it just a hell of a drive to get to any of them. I am unsure about changing out the headers etc. I dont want to lose the rumble for sure, but after they're changed the engine does or does not need to be re-tuned /stupid question.
I was also reccomened a boost controller but I am not sure about install/re-tune problems.
I am sure the day will come when I have to bite the bullet and upgrade everything with the turbo/accompanying mods, but right now I cannot financially take that bullet. Maybe in a couple of months but right now I am in the process of buying another company out, and I want to make sure it goes smoothly before I do anything major.

Thank you so SO much for your reply. I really appreciate it
I will look into everything you mentioned and do all the research.
I am so grateful for your help. Thank you.

I try not to let them intimidate me, but some of them are SOO much smarter than me its hard for them not to. I have met some amazing people here on i-club but I have also met a few massive jerks and they are the ones that always stick out in my mind when I post something about my car. Its hard to explain I guess.

05_WRex

iTrader: (4)

Looking good Rachel. Not sure if u remember me, I'm the guy that bought ur i-club decals a few months back.

The mods on your STi looks like a good start on your suby. Dp n tune is the route I would go with as well. As far as suspension I would go to is coilovers. Since u mentioned u wanted to do some track in the future. I'm not sure how much your budget is on suspension, but u could find a good deal on some used coilovers in the classifieds.

Overall u have a pretty good base on mods. Dp and tune. Are u going to get a bigger turbo? So far your suby is looking and sounding great.

One day i shall own a STi lol

Rob

Electra

iTrader: (1)

Of course I remember you, Rob, right? Long time no talk! What's up!? [oh you ninja edited in your name! lol]
Eventually I will be upgrading the turbo but right now I'd like to focus on suspension and smaller things first.
Thanks for the kind words. For a second I was like "sounding good? When did he hear my---oh, yeah" lol blonde moment!!
What's new with your ride?

Yes, One day you will own an STI

Oh 4 panda

iTrader: (1)

Hello lady how ya doin?! hollerrr!! can i get yo numba baby guhh?!haha jkjk <33

Your car looks so the sex Can our cars bang?! lol

But really though. I lovers your car! Hrmm you have 2 lifts eh? you lucky boogerhead! share the wealth!

But really, nice car. You got hella stuff in it already! i am so so the jealous! My car looks like a loser compared to yours i'm gonna go run & hide in my trunk; that way my car doesn't look like such a loser! haha

But anywho, good luck on your build!

JourdanWithaU

iTrader: (39)

Finally! Boy Blue has a thread!

In my endless research on handling mods (since that is pretty much all I can do because in my eyes my car's power is already maxed out) I have found that suspension-wise Coilovers are going to be the way to go. There is the common misconception that with Coilovers the car is going to be hella low and stiff. That's not necessarily true. Coilovers are adjustable and most people set them to the lowest and stiffest setting which isn't always the best for performance. You can raise the car and give it a moderate, controlled ride.

I would suggest looking into a set of KW Variant 3 Coilovers. I have been hearing good things about them and they have been recommended to to me by a few people who really know there stuff when it comes to suspension and handling.

Along with the Coilovers I also suggest getting some Sway bars. Whiteline has some good stuff and all of the sizes they make they also make adjustable. So you can adjust them to suit your driving style.

And of course some bracing. I have been hearing good things about rear strut bars but with your subs it might be a little tricky to get one in. But under carriage bracing isn't a bad idea either.

And I can't let this get by. Some wider wheels and tires along with a proper alignment. and you should be good to go. With just the wheels and tires alone you will see immediate results.


But then again this is just some jackass that has a stupid loud 2.5i.