soccer05

APS Intercooler is installed and all lines have been successfully hooked up. Still need to adjust the intercooler support bracket, as I did not get the APS bracket with the intercooler, and the oem one makes the APS unit sit slightly high on the passenger side. I will be tweaking this bracket to fit properly in the next few days. Mainly included this post to show how I routed the intercooler lines, as the APS unit is so large, the oem line coming off the passenger side cylinder head does not come close to reaching. A really simple fix, just purchase some more pcv line, and splice it to the oem line. Just a little hickup, but will save someone a trip to the auto parts store in the future.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

New 3 inch, 3 bolt exhaust gaskets for my APS exhaust arrived and installed. Now able to bolt up my exhaust in its entirety, and complete another job on the to do list, and get the car a step closer to running. I had a high end milltek racing catalytic converter welded into my downpipe in near the stock catalytic converter location, which should simplify tuning as well as clean up the emissions without a large loss in power. GST Motorsports did an excellent job welding in the catalytic converter, and the downpipe sections fit together perfectly. I just wish I had been aware of the v-band exhaust option, as I would have much rathered to have my catalytic able to drop out with two bolts, but the APS exhaust won't be too hard, its just six bolts and I have acat delete pipe ready for my track days.

Here is a picture of the cat:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And the downpipe installed


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

So a very random noob question, but I want to make sure I am not going crazy with lack of sleep from my job. I ordered Rota DPT 18x9.5 e35 for my project. I knew this was going to be an aggressive fitment, but wanted to get the maximum amount of rubber on the road. I got this set from a vendor, and they are marked 18x9.5 but when I put my tape measure up to the rim, I am measuring 18x10.5. At first I thought I just had one that was marked wrong, but all five of my rims have the 18x9.5 marking but measure 18x10.5. Am I going crazy, or did I just get some wider rims. I don't mind that I got wider rims, as I was kicking myself in the butt for not going up to 18x10's so I could run a correctly sized 275 or 285 series tire, but this has got my head spinning. Either way, I will most likely be ordering a set of LIC Carbon Fiber fender flares, but just wanted to make sure I am not going crazy with such a simple measurement. it just seems weird that all 5 rims would be mismarked. I guess I am breaking out the tape measure, because I need to make sure the offset will ensure the correct suspension geometry and not create torque steer problems. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Never mind I was measuring the width incorrectly, to measure the width, you measure the inside of the lip, not outside to outside. Remeasured the rims the correct way and of course they came out to exactly 9.5 inches. Now I'm kind of bummed that I don't have 10.5 inch rims. I was out in the garage measuring to cut for flares. I love it when it's a simple solution, although I hate it when I am the one being a retard.

soccer05

I've allready budgeted in major fender work to the rear. The front won't be too bad, but the rear is going to take some major pulling and rolling. That's what it's going to take to put some wide sticky rubber on the ground, and that's what's giving the traction, so instead of putting money into engine work I put the money into the suspension. The +35 offset was necessary after consulting with Robert fuller at robispec and Noah at lic motorsports, as this was the closest I could get to the proper offset to maintain proper steering characteristics and reduce torque steer. It definitely does widen the track a bit, I have a picture I will have to find showing how far it sticks past the stock rear fenders. Definitely not a bolt on solution, but hopefully a very effective and functional solution.

soccer05

Picture of APS turbo back exhaust completely hung and torqued to spec. The exhaust has oem quality of fitment. If you can't tell, I am very impressed with the quality of the exhaust. Only slight modification was the rerouting of the 02 sensor wiring, as the APS exhaust moves the 02 sensor toward the front of the downpipe, instead of behind both 02 sensors like the oem unit. Looking forward to getting this car on the road, but the car is starting to come together. Today I am setting the car up on a level surface and setting its initial allignment.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Here are the new rollers for my wrx. 18x9.5 e35 Rota DPT!!! I am very excited about this wheel, and the increase in steering response and cornering abilities that will come with the wider, shorter sidewall high performance rubber I will be using on these. I got my hopes up since I didn't know how to measure my rims, but even in just 9.5 inches wide these rims are huge on my car. Part of me wishes I had stepped up to an 18x10, but I was trying to avoid cutting up the bodywork to install fender flares. I will be performing a very aggressive roll/pull of the rear fenders to fit these rims and tires under. I haven't totally decided what size tire I will run, definitely at least a 255, but I think I can squeeze a 265 series tire, and maybe, just maybe a 275 series tire. I will need to get under the car and measure the clearance to my strut, and then make my decision. I love how these wheels are drilled for both the 5x100 and 5x114.3 bolt pattern, makes it very easy to upgrade to the beefier 05+ sti hubs, beefier 6 speed, and rear brembos, and not have to purchase new rims and tires as well. I love black rims, and I think these will look amazing on my wrb bug eye. I love the reduced maintenance of the black, making it harder for brake dust to ruin the look of your rims.

HUGE thank you to a couple of vendors for all the help in ensuring I purchase the correct size and offset rims the first time for my project. Once again thank you to Robert Fuller at Robispec and Noah Levy from LIC motorsports for ensuring I got the best offset for the increase in rim width. I was more concerned with the performance aspects of my rim choice and less about stance, and both of these shops took time out of their busy day to help me purchase the correct rim, even though they don't sell rims and knew I would be purchasing elsewhere. Also, huge thank you to Wheeldude.com for the fantastic wheels, customer service, and helping supply and support so many of the race teams/shops that are building high performance street and race cars. Us enthusiast are benefiting from what these teams learn on the track, so huge thank you for helping support those shops/teams.

Anyways, here is my new set of rims. Judging by the size difference, I can not wait to see a picture of all 4 of my new rims with tires stacked next to my oem rims with 225 series tire on them. Huge, Huge increase in rubber on the road.

soccer05

Stoptech calipers mounted inside the Rota DPT's to check for fitment issues. The Stoptech's fill out the Rota's very well, but definitely have room to step up to their 355mm bbk. So far very pleased how everything is looking. These rims and meaty tires should really improve the lateral grip that this car will be able to produce, and make me really glad I replaced the wheel bearings. We will see how long they will last with all the extra stress this set up will produce. Obviously, with both the power and cornering abilities this car will have, a 6 speed drivetrain setup is high on the priority list. So far though, very happy with how this build is coming together...


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Here is a picture of the Rota DPT's bolted to the front to check for fitment. Fortunately, my offset calculations were correct, and while it comes close to, it does not contact my strut. Still, these things are huge, and you can definitely see we will need some body work on the fenders to allow full suspension range of motion without contact. I'm loving this part, as I feel a large number of hard driven subaru's settle for not using large enough rubber which can hamper their grip. Hopefully, that won't be an issue for me, preparing for the bodywork to start...


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Image of the rear rims being test fitted to verify clearance and fitment, as well as measure so I can determine how wide of tires can be safely run. Some might feel I am going a bit overkill on the wheel pictures, but I spent an insane amount of time doing research, measuring, and consulting with top chassis shops to get to this point of the project. Everything you do to a car comes down to these four little contact patches of rubber. There are so many nuances to the art of suspension and chassis fabrication, I know a good deal but this project has clearly illustrated to me how I have merely scratched the surface, and have so much more to learn to become a chassis guru.

I can't stress it enough to new people to the scene. It is easy to make big power, but you will shave more off your lap times with suspension and chassis tuning, and it makes for such an enjoyable car to push to it's and your limits around a track.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Definitely, you can go too wide where it slows you down, but I don't plan on running 335 series tires, I am hoping to squeeze a 275 series tire under my fenders, as that is the maximum size tire that will properly fit my 9.5 inch rim, and the tread width is even more optimum for a 265 or 255 series tire, but a 275 will work without sacrificing turn in response. Ideally I would like either a 10 or 10.5 inch rim, as that would let me go larger than a 275 without upgrading my rims if I felt it was necessary. And yes I have made some concessions, ideally I would be running a set of lightweight forged racing wheels (i.e. Volk RE30 18x10) with my custom uprights. I don't think that size tire will put me into the realm of reduced performance for my wrx. What I meant by my undertired comment was the fact that most cars are running between a 225 and 245 series tire (often for autocross classes), but for ultimate handling that is a tiny tire for a heavy car. If I were to do the project over again, yes I would probably ditch the stock location turbo, but I still feel twin scroll or a low mount turbo is the way to go on a subaru, and I did not have the funds to purchase a full race twin scroll kit at the time. Hopefully in the future though. In defense of the ATP, check out some of yimisports work and posts on the subject, they have had considerable success with these turbos on various customer projects. It might not be for everyone, but I am hoping this turbo will fit my needs of power, spool, boost threshold, and throttle response. Only time will tell on that...

Here is an excellent post by yimisport about a customer car using the atp gt3071 stock location turbo. Goals similar to mine (although he did have the 2.5 liters of exhaust energy to spool the turbo) and ended about 50 whp over a vf39 with similar throttle response, just what my meager 2.0 is looking for. Of course I did more research, and until it is installed this is just guestimation, but still an interesting read for stock location turbos.

05 STi ATP3071 Tuned by Tim Bailey - NASIOC

soccer05

Here is a picture illustrating my main body work area, the rear fenders. Substantial pulling and rolling will be necessary to make these fit with no rubbing. That is one of the advantages of the Evo's, it is much easier to put bigger rubber on those cars, much less bodywork (and I am scared of bodywork). Huge, Huge thanks to Drew at t3hclap and extremeyolks on iwsti, for input and guidance on pulling these fenders. I am a newbie at bodywork, but with these articles and guidance I think I can pull it off. I will be using the write up on t3hclaps site extensively for this phase of the project. The devil is in the details, but we are slowly knocking off the things left on the to do list.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Picture illustrating the massive increase in brake rotor size even with the smaller 328mm Stoptech BBK. Can't even fit the brake package under a 17 inch rim, as the caliper sticks out too far. As you can see, the rotor fills up almost all of the rim. Very, very excited to see what this product does for braking performance, both in outright stopping distance with my sticky tires, as well as brake feel through stiffer caliper construction, better pads, fade resistance due to the increase in both diameter and thickness, etc. I can't believe how many people don't do brake upgrades on their cars, especially coming from the 240sx market. I was amazed at the outright braking performance of the oem sti Brembo's the first time I drove my dads. It is an expensive step to take in the build, but absolutely essential to performance driving to have confidence and predictability to your brake pedal.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Car is back on wheels, albeit the oem stockers. Set at approximate ride height and on perfectly level ground. It took some creative work to get the rear camber curve where I wanted it, but with my part selection, I finally am able to have the car exactly where I want it. I will be double checking the specs today, as I can't remember my final settings, but I have exactly 0 toe all the way around, and slightly narrowed the rear track to make the car more nuetral. Glad this task is nearing completion, a quality allignment is often overlooked, and never fun to do, but can absolutely transform the feel and performance of the car.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

soccer05

Sorry for the delay in updating this thread, work is crazy busy and what I have been doing doesn't really make for exciting pictures. I decided to redo my rear allignment to get the settings exactly where I wanted them. I ended up using h&r camber bolts set to full positive to increase my tire to strut clearance so I can measure and order my tires, and then used my adjustable lateral links to adjust my camber and track width. Deciding between running nitto nt05, kumho xsta xs, Yokohama advan neova, or hankook rs3. Need to look at treadware ratings and available sizing, as I do have a long commute and it is a daily driver. My rear suspension settings is exactly -1.5 degrees camber and exactly 0 toe. Ride height is currently 13 and 1/8 of an inch from center of hub to top of rear fender. I feel these are good baseline settings to begin with. I can not tell you how frustrating and time consuming doing an allignment by yourself is with all the adjustable components, there were times I was chasing my tail and definitely needed a third hand. But other than tweaking the dent suspension, initial allignment should be complete