Ginsubie

My DGM 2011 WRX sedan is the first Subie I've ever owned. My first exposure to Subaru came almost a decade ago, when my brother-in-law bought a 2002 Bugeye WRX wagon. He loved that car, until he totaled it in a freak accident in the rain. I didn't understand then why he was so into his car, but I get it now.

I use this car as my daily driver with some spirited driving/canyon runs thrown in on the weekends. So, for now, my plans for the car are pretty modest. My goal is to get to Stage 2 in the next year or two. I don't plan to do any power mods until my factory warranty runs out. In the mean time, I'm focusing on appearance and handling mods.

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Here is my current mod list (updated 03/28/2012):

12/30/2010: OEM fog light kit
12/30/2010: OEM STi short throw shifter + Perrin bushings + Subaru MOMO shift ****
01/14/2011: Hella Supertones + Subiemods.com bracket and wiring harness
01/20/2011: GrimmSpeed master cylinder brace
01/20/2011: Cusco OS front strut tower brace
01/21/2011: Stoptech stainless steel brake lines (front/rear)
01/21/2011: Rally Armor UR mud flaps
01/21/2011: KICS Project SR35 black chrome 5x100 lug nuts
01/21/2011: SPT aluminum oil cap and battery tie-down
01/22/2011: Subtle Solutions brushed aluminum alternator cover and radiator shroud
02/21/2011: Debadged front grille and trunk lid
02/21/2011: Yakima roof rack system + 44" Yakima fairing
03/04/2011: Tinted Windows (20% visor/35% front/20% rear)
03/05/2011: BlackTop Aero carbon fiber rear chrome delete cover
02/24/2012: OEM STi front lip spoiler
02/28/2012: 04 STi front/08 STi rear Brembo conversion + DBA 4000 ClubSpec T3 rotors + Stoptech Street Performance brake pads
03/24/2012: 18x8.5 +e44 Hyper Black Rota Grids + 235/40ZR18 Continental ExtremeContact DW tires


My future plans/wish list for mods:

1) GTWorx Bilstein/RCE Yellow suspension
2) Front/rear sway bars + endlinks
3) Bushings swap
4) Cobb or Invidia CBE
5) Down pipe and pro tune (Stage 2)

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Thanks for checking out my journal and stay tuned for more updates!

Ginsubie

Here are some pics of my car the week I got it:





The very first mod I did was to install a STi short throw shifter with Perrin bushings and a Subaru MOMO shift ****:



This is one of my favorite mods because it made me feel like I was driving a new car. The mushy stock shifter gave way to a new one with a shorter throw that "clicks" into gear without being too notchy. I loved it the moment I drove with it.

Then, about a week later, I almost got into an accident when a car in the next lane came into my lane during a left turn, cutting me off. More than angry, I was exasperated by the fact that the driver did not even notice when I honked my stock horn.

That got me working on my second mod, a set of Hella Supertones with the bracket and wiring harness from Subiemods.com:



The first time I installed it, I mounted the relay and organized the wires like this:



Then, someone on NASIOC thought that putting the relay so close to the front of the engine bay, up by the radiator block, would expose it to moisture and cause the horns to fail. So, I wrapped the entire relay in bubble-wrap:



Then, another yahoo on NASIOC thought that the whole thing looked ugly and not OEM enough. Well, I wasn't about to take that challenge lying down. So, I took the whole thing off and redid it, this time fastening the relay and harness wires behind the center pillar of the front grille:



Finally, I swapped out the clear plastic zip ties for some black ones for the truly OEM look:



I'm quite happy with the way it all turned out.

Ginsubie

From the moment I test drove my 2011 WRX, I knew two things: (1) I loved this car and (2) I hated the mushiness of the brake pedal. So I decided to do something about it.

First, I bought a GrimmSpeed master cylinder brace. It was packaged very nicely, and had a solid build quality:





However, installing it was an absolute pain in the rear! There's just not a lot of room in there, and with my short, stubby fingers, I had a tough time threading the bolts through the necessary holes.

Furthermore, there is a fitment problem with the 2011 WRX (even though GrimmSpeed says that it fits). To be fair, the brace itself does fit as it should. But the problem is that the thin, stiff tube that comes out of the top of the master cylinder snakes downward, blocking all three holes through which the short bolts are supposed to go. With much blood, sweat, and tears, I was able to thread a bolt through the top-most hole. Along with the other two longer bolts which hold the brace and the fuel line bracket in place, it provides three fastening points on the strut tower, allowing the entire assembly to attach securely.

I then proceeded to put the fuel lines back into the plastic clip and re-attach the clip onto the metal bracket, only to find that there was absolutely no room to accomplish the task. So, I had to UNDO the bolts I had just so painfully screwed in, pop the plastic clip onto the metal bracket, rethread the bolts (same problems as before... took me FOREVER to get them back in!!!), and tighten them again (wishing I was Mr. Fantastic so I could snake my ratchet in there better).

The instruction video on rallysportdirect.com tells you to bolt down the metal brace first and then pop the plastic clip back in. IMO, it needs to be the other way.

After all that, this is what it looks like installed:





I test drove the car after installing the master cylinder brace, and it did firm up the brake pedal feel, especially at the bottom of the pedal depression. Maybe it's just me, but it gave me more confidence in my brakes.

The next day, I took the car down to AQ Motorsports in Torrance, CA, to get Stoptech stainless steel brake lines installed. I also had the OEM brake fluid flushed and replaced with some Motul RBF 600.

In conjunction with the master cylinder brace, the stainless steel lines made a noticeable difference in brake pedal feel. I understand that much of the mushiness comes from the floating design of the stock calipers. But short of replacing them with a set of Brembos, GrimmSpeed + Stoptech provide significant relief from pedal mush.

kbeetz

iTrader: (3)

I love that DGM color. Lookin good so far.

Ginsubie

Some appearance mods:

1) KICS Project SR35 black chrome lug nuts



The stock lug nuts reminded me of rivets used to weld Liberty ships together during WWII, so just wanted to dress them up a bit. The KICS Project lug nuts were very reasonable in price and look good both in the packaging and on my car.

2) Cusco front strut tower brace

From what I've read around, the WRX doesn't really need a strut tower brace because the strut towers are so close to the firewall. But I figured every little bit helps, and I really do like the look of the Cusco bar:





3) Subtle Solutions brushed aluminum alternator cover and radiator shroud

I just loved how these looked when I saw them on their website. They came very well packaged with a polymer film on the business side of the aluminum to keep them protected:



With the film peeled off and logo applied:



Both installed on my car:





4) SPT aluminum oil cap and battery tie-down

You can just make them out on the first picture above.

Ginsubie

At the beginning of this year, a Chevy pickup backed into my front bumper and crunched it! Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. It happened while I was pumping gas:





At least the driver accepted full responsibility, and I was able to get the bumper replaced through his insurance. It's nice to have a shiny new bumper:



The Santa Monica Ford Collision Center where I got the work done (Santa Monica Subaru is owned by Santa Monica Ford) did a decent job, but their color-matching was a tad off. You can't tell at first glance, but it becomes noticeable in direct sunlight. But they were nice enough to mix some touch-up paint for me for free.

Ginsubie

I intended to upgrade my suspension as my next mod, but that plan changed when I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick these up:



The stripped calipers are front Brembos off an 04 STi. The other two are practically new rear Brembos off an 08 STi. Both will bolt straight onto my 2011 WRX. As you can see, the guy who sold me the stripped calipers also included a Brembo rebuild kit (with new dust seals and O-rings).

I then removed the pistons from my 2004 STi front calipers and had them powder-coated by Pyramid Powder Coating. It was a quick turn-around and they did a great job:

Ginsubie

My new OEM STi front lip spoiler arrived:



My car with the lip installed:

Ginsubie

With my front and rear calipers prepped and ready to go, my Brembo conversion project was in full gear. The Brembos were paired with DBA 4000 ClubSpec T3 rotors and Stoptech Street Performance brake pads:



The guys at KNS Brakes were very helpful in getting all the necessary parts together. For my 2011 WRX, I needed:

1) 2004 STi front rotors
2) 2008+ STi rear rotors re-drilled for 5x100 bolt pattern (fortunately, all DBA rotors now come dual-drilled)
3) New bolts and washers for Brembo calipers

Ginsubie

I finally got all the components installed for my Brembo conversion. The wonderful guys at Yimi Sport Tuning helped me put it all together:

Front:


Rear:


The front rotors and calipers went on without a hitch. But the rears proved a little more work. They had to cut the lips off the rear dust shields to make the rear rotors seat properly.

Another problem the guys at Yimi helped me solve was that the rear caliper bolts I purchased from KNS Brakes were too short. They had to find me replacements.

Once the calipers and rotors were installed, flushing and replacing the brake fluid was next. I decided to go with Motul RBF 600.

Once the brake lines were bled, we were ready to put the stock rims back on. For anyone else thinking of doing this conversion, the stock 2011 WRX rims will NOT fit over the front Brembo calipers without scraping. A pair of 3mm spacers took care of that problem. The rear rims had no problem clearing the rear calipers.

All in all, I was very happy with the results:







I almost made myself sick bedding in my brake pads after a huge In-N-Out meal, but after multiple 60-10 mph hard stops, the new brakes work amazingly well.

Ginsubie

My 18x8.5 Hyper Black Rota Grids finally arrived! I wrapped them in 235/40ZR18 Continental ExtremeContact DW tires and had them installed at the local Tire Pros. At +e44 offset, these rims fill the wheel wells much better than stock and give a more aggressive look, which I really like.

Some pics:





The larger rims tend to show off my big brake upgrade better, too.

Ginsubie

Reserved for future updates.

Ginsubie

Reserved for future updates (2).

Ginsubie

Reserved for future updates (3).

andrewxxcarlson

So nice man! was gonna pick up one but got an 06 instead. Love your taste!