wrx50's 2011 wrx sedan build

[wrx50]

Consider another brand..

Why do you say that? I've heard really good reviews on them?

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[T0rque]

Harsh ride, not for handling or bettering your suspension, mainly built for stance purposes. They will claim the world to sell a product but in reality they arent for anything but getting the ride height you would wish.

[teflon_jones]

Why do you call it a stage 3? That would be with a turbo swap. I don't understand why you did the FMIC either. Your mod path is very strange. The FMIC isn't really doing anything for you with a stock turbo other than robbing you of power.

In massachusetts we cant have any exhausts. I think it is lame too man. I love the sound.

Since when? I used to live in MA until 4 years ago and they were allowed. You're just not allowed to remove any cats, which is common everywhere in the country.

Harsh ride, not for handling or bettering your suspension, mainly built for stance purposes. They will claim the world to sell a product but in reality they arent for anything but getting the ride height you would wish.

+64 ^^^ what he said. Go with a good set of struts and some shorter springs instead. Coilovers are total overkill for street driving and the vast majority of track driving too (i.e. weekend track warrior). They just sound sexy to people and the vast majority 99.99999% of people that buy them have absolutely no need to be using them over a good set of springs and struts.

You should start considering braking upgrades to match your additional power before you do anything else. Just doing fluid and pads would be enough, though stainless lines are relatively cheap as long as you do them yourself and you're doing the brake fluid flush anyway.

[wrx50]

Why do you call it a stage 3? That would be with a turbo swap. I don't understand why you did the FMIC either. Your mod path is very strange. The FMIC isn't really doing anything for you with a stock turbo other than robbing you of power.

Since when? I used to live in MA until 4 years ago and they were allowed. You're just not allowed to remove any cats, which is common everywhere in the country.

+64 ^^^ what he said. Go with a good set of struts and some shorter springs instead. Coilovers are total overkill for street driving and the vast majority of track driving too (i.e. weekend track warrior). They just sound sexy to people and the vast majority 99.99999% of people that buy them have absolutely no need to be using them over a good set of springs and struts.

You should start considering braking upgrades to match your additional power before you do anything else. Just doing fluid and pads would be enough, though stainless lines are relatively cheap as long as you do them yourself and you're doing the brake fluid flush anyway.

How is my mod path strange? It's textbook for setting up for future upgrades. Stage 3 is what the tuner called it with the upgrades. It is not necessarily a turbo upgrade because it is listed as that. In fact my build with the stock turbo does not get any more solid than what it is.

As far as the exhaust we are not allowed to modify it in any way since like forever ago. You must have misinterpreted the law when you were living here.

And additionally I do not want to lower the height of the vehicle any more since I live I. New England. I have a hard enough time getting out of my driveway.

The front mount intercooler is not robbing me of power. I literally laughed when I read this. My intake temperature is 10* higher than ambient on most occasions which is lower than you will get with any top mount. I do log it frequently. It is in no way hurting the power I can assure you of that. The fact that I hit full boost of 20 psi at 3100 rpm is proof enough and I can post logs to prove that.

Did you read this thread and think to yourself how can I put down every aspect of it before you posted ?

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[teflon_jones]

How is my mod path strange? It's textbook for setting up for future upgrades. Stage 3 is what the tuner called it with the upgrades. It is not necessarily a turbo upgrade because it is listed as that. In fact my build with the stock turbo does not get any more solid than what it is.

According to your post below, you have no plans to do future power upgrades (at least any time soon), which therefore makes it a strange mod to do the FMIC without any plans to do a turbo.

Im sure a built short block is on the way as the car is on borrowed time at 20 psi !! Any questions or input would be great. I am well versed in the mechanical aspect of working on these cars. I planned this mild build over a period of about six months after researching many aspects of the wrx platform. I will be starting on suspension mods next now that the power part is out of the way.

You also upgraded a number of things in the fuel system like the fuel pump when you don't have mods necessitating the delivery of more fuel than the stock system can handle. And if for some reason you did need additional fuel, you didn't upgrade your injectors, which again is a strange mod path.

As far as the exhaust we are not allowed to modify it in any way since like forever ago. You must have misinterpreted the law when you were living here.

The laws haven't changed in quite some years. They specifically state:
No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any way which motor vehicle is equipped (1) with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other original internal parts have been removed and not replaced; or (2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.
Therefore replacing your stock exhaust with an aftermarket unit was perfectly legal and they weren't ticketed because by putting a manufactured aftermarket exhaust on your vehicle without changing the baffles, screens or other parts wasn't illegal. At the same time, an aftermarket exhaust system that was louder was legal because it wasn't modified from the original manufacturer product.

What did change is the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and LEOs were given the directive to more actively enforce a new interpretation of the laws due to resident complaints about loud exhausts. I have many friends in law enforcement in MA who this information comes from.

And additionally I do not want to lower the height of the vehicle any more since I live I. New England. I have a hard enough time getting out of my driveway.

I assume you mean due to ground clearance in dry weather? I haven't lowered my Porsche because of this same exact concern. I already have enough trouble driving it at the stock height and clearing entrances to gas stations, parking lots, and many other things, so I totally understand that!

The front mount intercooler is not robbing me of power. I literally laughed when I read this. My intake temperature is 10* higher than ambient on most occasions which is lower than you will get with any top mount. I do log it frequently. It is in no way hurting the power I can assure you of that. The fact that I hit full boost of 20 psi at 3100 rpm is proof enough and I can post logs to prove that.

What info did you use to compare your intake charge temps with those of a car with the same exact mods and tune except a good quality TMIC like the Process West? I'm trying to understand what you used for comparison.

I should qualify what I mean by loss of power. The greatly increased length of piping introduces lag into the system which takes away from the driveability of the car. The peak power will not be affected, but that doesn't apply to daily driving conditions and power available on demand. The Process West TMIC is an excellent product that delivers low intake charge temps similar to your setup without the lag. A FMIC of the same size as a TMIC will always produce lower temps on the exit side of the IC due to its better location in terms of accessibility to more and cooler air at the front of the car as well as its fin orientation being better because it's perpendicular to the airflow versus the slanted TMIC that's partially obscured by the hood.

The longer tubing also introduces several areas for intake charge temps to go up and overall airflow to go down versus the TMIC:
1) The longer piping and subsequent bends and overall length introduce significantly more turbulence which makes them flow less efficiently hence less overall air volume.
Note: This along with much more importantly the necessity of the turbo to pressurize a larger system is what combines to give you additional lag over a TMIC.
2) It raises temps through additional air friction generated by the turbulence along with the larger compressive chamber producing more opportunity for friction due to compression.
3) The tubing flows through hot engine compartment areas where it has a chance for much more heat soak introduced by its proximity to hot engine compartment components and hot air versus the short tubing of a TMIC.

Did you read this thread and think to yourself how can I put down every aspect of it before you posted ?

I'm not putting down anyone or anything. I'm merely trying to understand why you did things the way you did and possibly provide you with information you weren't previously aware of. One important thing is that in order to do the FMIC you've had to remove the front crossmember which is an integral part of your crash protection, so your vehicle is significantly compromised in safety in a front-end impact versus stock.

[wrx50]

I understand all of your concerns and questions.

The fuel system was upgraded in the manner that i did because I was setting myself up for future mods. Sure I didn't need the fuel pump fine. DW made that awesome kit with the fuel pump and I bought it. You don't need to tune for a fuel pump so in it went. Now when I either A) bomb the motor or B) go with a bigger turbo all I will need is injectors.

As far as the exhaust goes I'm not going to argue with you about that. The law states it will not be modified to increase noise and every one of them does that. The stock exhaust is loud enough.

Now for the FMIC, idk why every one thinks a FMIC increases turbo lag. It is not as punchy when the turbo comes in as it was with the TMIC. However, after beating on it repeatedly the intake temp/charge is much cooler. Both FMIC/TMIC have their pros and cons and I don't need to do my own testing to prove it. It has been done countless times on countless forums on countless vehicles and the info is there. Quite honestly, I'm too busy for that. you are 100% correct about the factory crash beam. There is an aftermarket one that came with the kit but I am sure it will have a negative effect on a front end collision.

I'm going off of how the car feels compared to how it felt stock. I don't mean power wise I mean the way it is delivered. You sound like you know what you're doing and might be a pretty knowledgeable guy. Maybe PM for my number for future questions so this thread doesn't go the way of a technical thread.

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[drkhead]

Nice! Welcome to the site.

Double RAINBOW FTW!

No kidding. Gave me a pretty good chuckle there!

[wrx50]

I put my grimmspeed license plate relocation kit that I have been sitting on for like three months on today. I actually like it. It gives it a cool almost European look with it off to the side like that. And then I got it inspected. It passed. Just keeping you guys updated.

I am in the process of doing brakes on the car. I have the rear Subaru 2 pots and I am piecing the fronts and rotors together. Pics will come up when I am done


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[wrx50]

Started the 2 pot rebuild tonight. Ordered the rest of the brakes today. Should be here by next Friday and then another headache begins. Out for bead blasting tomorrow, then color matched to the new ones when they arrive.


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[wrx50]

Brake have been disassembled and the seals have been pulled. I dropped them off at a buddies house who has a glass bead cabinet.

Once the fronts come in, I will attempt to match the paint as closely as possible. If I can't get it to my liking im going to spray both the fronts and the rears.

Does anyone know if the stock 2011 wrx wheels will clear the Subaru 4 pot in the front. I have no doubt the rears will clear but I cant find a definitive answer on the fronts. The brembos require a 3 mm spacer to clear and that makes me wonder


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[maus]

Are you doing the rear calipers too? I've read that its a nightmare...

[wrx50]

Are you doing the rear calipers too? I've read that its a nightmare...

Yeah. I got the bracket from kns brakes. It shouldn't be that hard. Just kinda pricey. This is a full 4 pot / 2 pot swap


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[maus]

Isn't that bracket for the Brembo's and not the Subaru calipers?

[wrx50]

Isn't that bracket for the Brembo's and not the Subaru calipers?

They share the same mounting point and bolt pattern as the brembos. I spent hours total on the phone with ken at KNS. he designed the bracket. It requires swapping the rear rotor to a 2010+ legacy gt rotor. I will post pics and details as I go along


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[maus]

They share the same mounting point and bolt pattern as the brembos. I spent hours total on the phone with ken at KNS. he designed the bracket. It requires swapping the rear rotor to a 2010+ legacy gt rotor. I will post pics and details as I go along


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Please do, interested to see this swap.