xdeathwishx's bugeye swap
07-23-2013, 07:38 AM
#1
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Location: San Francisco
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Car Info: 2002 Black Subaru WRX Sedan Stage 2
xdeathwishx's bugeye swap
It was nice seeing everyone again in SF on my recent visit. Back in NY now, I'm nearly done gathering parts for my project so I figured I'd put this up here as a place to document.
A little background on my car thus far. I have a black 2002 bugeye wrx sedan which I picked up for $6,000 3 years ago from some girl in Marin. You would know if you ever saw it because when I got it, it had the most flamboyant ricer altezza tail lights the world has ever seen, earning me the nick name Altezza Sean (ironically I actually sold a stick shift IS300 to get the bugeye). The car came with perrin divorced catless downpipe, some ****ty magnaflow muffler, front and rear tower bars, rear sway bar, KYB AGX's, an open source tune, ricey carbon fiber looking interior. The magnaflow was ****ing race car loud, so I replaced it with a fujitsubo rm01a when I moved to NY for Cornell. The rm01a is 3" but tapers in the front to meet the stock downpipe, so I had the cat back modified to remove the taper and fit with the 3" downpipe. I eventually also finally got stock tail lights and have subsequently noticed Heedz making way fewer passes at me so I think it worked.
Now that I'm finally done with my Masters program, I'm starting a PhD which means I'm gonna be here for like 4-5 more years, and I have more time because I don't need to take classes anymore. The car needs a lot of stuff, clutch, brakes, etc. It also doesn't exactly have impressive leakdown numbers. I was briefly thinking of just getting a new car, but I really, really love my bugeye, and I also love building cars. Realizing that, and the fact that I'd never take a new car to the track if I had one, I decided to just rebuild my WRX. I've done and helped out with a couple of swaps on Nissans when I lived in Japan.
The primary goals for this project are as follows:
Learn how to build an engine
Build something different
Have fun playing with electronics
Spend less than or equal to a new car
Go fast at the Glen
Here's what I have amassed in my storage so far:
04 sti EJ257 long block
04 sti 6 speed drive train, out to the hubs, including DCCD stuff
04 sti ECU
04 sti wiring harnesses, headlights to tail lights
04 sti DBW pedal assembly
Bracket for the pedal assembly
Most of the electronics from the interior of an 04 sti (center console, blinker switches, power window switches, fuel tank pickup, etc.)
stock location GT35R
Gates timing belt kit with water pump
11mm oil pump
ARP head studs and main bolts
ID1000 top feed injectors with ID fuel rails
DW300 fuel pump
Competition stage 3.5 clutch
OEM sti flywheel
NGK 1 step colder plugs
Master gasket kit
Perrin Engine mounts
Perrin transmission mount
I got the engine from a wrecked STi and I'm going to be rebuilding it. This is not a cost saving measure, just something I've always wanted to try and learn how to do. I have family that can help guide me so hopefully it won't be a total disaster, but if it is, I also have money for another one. Here's what I was thinking for the engine, but I'll make the final decision when the machine shop is done with it and I figure out what size I'm going to need.
Mahle 4032 pistons (because they're quiet and won't wear out the rings as fast)
ACL race bearings
some rods??
Stock STi crank
For the heads, I'm not quite sure what I'll do. I'm looking at getting new cams, valves and stiffer springs. The gt35r makes a lot of top end power so I'd really like to be able to rev this thing to 8k, but the research on if that's doable and what to get is still ongoing. So far all I have determined is that GSC S2 cams seem to be the norm for guys running this size turbo.
Here's how I will go about getting it all together:
1. Tear apart the block
2. Inspect the internals, measure everything.
3. Take the block and heads to machine shop and have them hot tank everything and determine what bore size I need. I'll have them deck the block and heads, hone cylinders with a torque plate on, align hone the mains, and do a valve job.
3a. While the engine is being machined, I'm going to go ahead and swap out the drivetrain. I really need a new clutch like yesterday and there's no sense in getting a 5 speed clutch if I'm not keeping the 5 speed, so I'm just going for it now.
4. Based on what they found, bring them internals that will fit so that they can be balanced.
5. Reassemble the block and heads. Check clearances on everything like 200 times.
6. Install the engine and turbo with an STi top mount temporarily.
6a. Avoid temptation to jump into the gorge while wiring it up.
7. As for the intercooler, I'm really not a fan of cutting the front bumper beam or swapping it with anything else. I've heard good things about the Spearco and ProcessWest for TMICs, but I like trying different things, this car is basically a science project. I'm going to build an air/water intercooler system and front mount the largest heat exchanger that will fit under the bumper beam. The total cost of building one of those is about the same as a new Spearco, but way more fun and different. It should also produce a more stable IAT environment, but I plan on adding sensors and logging various configurations, which is part of the fun. I'm a computer scientist and I like playing with wires and sensors and microcontrollers so this car is pretty much going to be fitted with a lot of that.
I have a parts list taken from this thread, modified slightly.
8. Later I'd like to experiment with e85. I think the DW300 and the ID1000's will probably run out with a gt35r on e85, but if that's the case I want to look into upping the voltage on the pump and then increasing the fuel pressure without changing them. I haven't seen many threads of people doing it, so I figured I'd give it a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, I want to then try going with the ID2000, with 18V to the DW300 and stock fuel pressure, which should be able to feed the 2000's up to 1700cc before the pump runs out. Finally if it all doesn't work out, I was thinking of putting a spare tire fuel cell in for the e85 and just running an Aeromotive 1000 and using the main tank for 93 octane with a valve in between the two.
9. Either sell all my leftover WRX **** and the VF30 on my bench, or find a GC and put it all in there.
OK That's all I got for now. Gotta go make money for track days
. I'll try to post pics of this as it goes down.
A little background on my car thus far. I have a black 2002 bugeye wrx sedan which I picked up for $6,000 3 years ago from some girl in Marin. You would know if you ever saw it because when I got it, it had the most flamboyant ricer altezza tail lights the world has ever seen, earning me the nick name Altezza Sean (ironically I actually sold a stick shift IS300 to get the bugeye). The car came with perrin divorced catless downpipe, some ****ty magnaflow muffler, front and rear tower bars, rear sway bar, KYB AGX's, an open source tune, ricey carbon fiber looking interior. The magnaflow was ****ing race car loud, so I replaced it with a fujitsubo rm01a when I moved to NY for Cornell. The rm01a is 3" but tapers in the front to meet the stock downpipe, so I had the cat back modified to remove the taper and fit with the 3" downpipe. I eventually also finally got stock tail lights and have subsequently noticed Heedz making way fewer passes at me so I think it worked.
Now that I'm finally done with my Masters program, I'm starting a PhD which means I'm gonna be here for like 4-5 more years, and I have more time because I don't need to take classes anymore. The car needs a lot of stuff, clutch, brakes, etc. It also doesn't exactly have impressive leakdown numbers. I was briefly thinking of just getting a new car, but I really, really love my bugeye, and I also love building cars. Realizing that, and the fact that I'd never take a new car to the track if I had one, I decided to just rebuild my WRX. I've done and helped out with a couple of swaps on Nissans when I lived in Japan.
The primary goals for this project are as follows:
Learn how to build an engine
Build something different
Have fun playing with electronics
Spend less than or equal to a new car
Go fast at the Glen
Here's what I have amassed in my storage so far:
04 sti EJ257 long block
04 sti 6 speed drive train, out to the hubs, including DCCD stuff
04 sti ECU
04 sti wiring harnesses, headlights to tail lights
04 sti DBW pedal assembly
Bracket for the pedal assembly
Most of the electronics from the interior of an 04 sti (center console, blinker switches, power window switches, fuel tank pickup, etc.)
stock location GT35R
Gates timing belt kit with water pump
11mm oil pump
ARP head studs and main bolts
ID1000 top feed injectors with ID fuel rails
DW300 fuel pump
Competition stage 3.5 clutch
OEM sti flywheel
NGK 1 step colder plugs
Master gasket kit
Perrin Engine mounts
Perrin transmission mount
I got the engine from a wrecked STi and I'm going to be rebuilding it. This is not a cost saving measure, just something I've always wanted to try and learn how to do. I have family that can help guide me so hopefully it won't be a total disaster, but if it is, I also have money for another one. Here's what I was thinking for the engine, but I'll make the final decision when the machine shop is done with it and I figure out what size I'm going to need.
Mahle 4032 pistons (because they're quiet and won't wear out the rings as fast)
ACL race bearings
some rods??
Stock STi crank
For the heads, I'm not quite sure what I'll do. I'm looking at getting new cams, valves and stiffer springs. The gt35r makes a lot of top end power so I'd really like to be able to rev this thing to 8k, but the research on if that's doable and what to get is still ongoing. So far all I have determined is that GSC S2 cams seem to be the norm for guys running this size turbo.
Here's how I will go about getting it all together:
1. Tear apart the block
2. Inspect the internals, measure everything.
3. Take the block and heads to machine shop and have them hot tank everything and determine what bore size I need. I'll have them deck the block and heads, hone cylinders with a torque plate on, align hone the mains, and do a valve job.
3a. While the engine is being machined, I'm going to go ahead and swap out the drivetrain. I really need a new clutch like yesterday and there's no sense in getting a 5 speed clutch if I'm not keeping the 5 speed, so I'm just going for it now.
4. Based on what they found, bring them internals that will fit so that they can be balanced.
5. Reassemble the block and heads. Check clearances on everything like 200 times.
6. Install the engine and turbo with an STi top mount temporarily.
6a. Avoid temptation to jump into the gorge while wiring it up.
7. As for the intercooler, I'm really not a fan of cutting the front bumper beam or swapping it with anything else. I've heard good things about the Spearco and ProcessWest for TMICs, but I like trying different things, this car is basically a science project. I'm going to build an air/water intercooler system and front mount the largest heat exchanger that will fit under the bumper beam. The total cost of building one of those is about the same as a new Spearco, but way more fun and different. It should also produce a more stable IAT environment, but I plan on adding sensors and logging various configurations, which is part of the fun. I'm a computer scientist and I like playing with wires and sensors and microcontrollers so this car is pretty much going to be fitted with a lot of that.
I have a parts list taken from this thread, modified slightly.
8. Later I'd like to experiment with e85. I think the DW300 and the ID1000's will probably run out with a gt35r on e85, but if that's the case I want to look into upping the voltage on the pump and then increasing the fuel pressure without changing them. I haven't seen many threads of people doing it, so I figured I'd give it a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, I want to then try going with the ID2000, with 18V to the DW300 and stock fuel pressure, which should be able to feed the 2000's up to 1700cc before the pump runs out. Finally if it all doesn't work out, I was thinking of putting a spare tire fuel cell in for the e85 and just running an Aeromotive 1000 and using the main tank for 93 octane with a valve in between the two.
9. Either sell all my leftover WRX **** and the VF30 on my bench, or find a GC and put it all in there.
OK That's all I got for now. Gotta go make money for track days
. I'll try to post pics of this as it goes down.
Last edited by xdeathwishx; 07-23-2013 at 07:44 AM.
07-24-2013, 04:31 PM
#3
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iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 649
Car Info: 2002 Black Subaru WRX Sedan Stage 2
Some pics
The transmission came on a tractor trailer which couldn't get down to where I was storing everything. I wanted to rent a pickup truck and just shuttle it down there from the top of the hill, but I left my license in SF so I had to improvise. Turns out the 6 speed fits in my trunk. If it fits, it ships!
Everyone was busy at work so I had to haul a cherry picker up to the top of the hill and lower it in there. It wasn't too bad, except that the driver was early and I hadn't had a chance to eat, so I was hungry as ****. I'm driving around with an entire drivetrain in my trunk until my clutch arrives next week. No big deal except that it kinda smells like gear oil in there right now.
I drove down to VA with my cousin to get the engine a couple weeks ago. Here's a picture of it at 1 a.m. when we got back.
Everyone was busy at work so I had to haul a cherry picker up to the top of the hill and lower it in there. It wasn't too bad, except that the driver was early and I hadn't had a chance to eat, so I was hungry as ****. I'm driving around with an entire drivetrain in my trunk until my clutch arrives next week. No big deal except that it kinda smells like gear oil in there right now.
I drove down to VA with my cousin to get the engine a couple weeks ago. Here's a picture of it at 1 a.m. when we got back.
07-25-2013, 10:24 AM
#4
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iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 649
Car Info: 2002 Black Subaru WRX Sedan Stage 2
equal length headers
I was toying with the idea of Perrin equal length headers and it was late. I meant to check the shipping cost but accidentally ordered them. In retrospect, I was probably going to end up getting them anyway so I'm not going to cancel the order. Hopefully they will at least quiet it down a bit.
07-30-2013, 07:06 AM
#6
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Location: San Francisco
Posts: 649
Car Info: 2002 Black Subaru WRX Sedan Stage 2
Haha almost correct. I forgot the brembos, so now I got brembos, new rotors pads and stainless lines. Got some black RPF1's to fit over them. Not going to win any awards for originality on those but they're light as **** and cheap.
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