MightyP's '08 STi Build

[MightyP]

I'm starting this thread now even though my car is all but bone stock. I had a decent build with my last car, an '11 Scion tC, and I want to track my progress with this one. I also learn so much and get tons of great ideas reading through other build threads, I hope my build is useful to some of you as well. I'm not the mechanical genius some on here are and this is my first Subie, so I have lots to learn. However, I am pretty handy with a wrench and thoroughly enjoy tinkering, so most of the upgrades on my car will be done by me. I welcome your input and suggestions. All I ask is you keep your comments respectful.

Below is my car the way I brought her home. She has a few factory installed options, but is pretty basic.

Installed Options She Came with:
- Red Foot-well lighting
- SPT Short Shifter
- CA legal tint (70% front/15% rear)
- Homelink Rearview Mirror
- Clear Bra

Upgrades:
- TWM M1 Abrams Shift Knob
- Kartboy Short Shifter
- Pioneer AVH-P3400BH Head Unit w/ XM & Bluetooth
- Cobb Access Port (Stage 1 ACN91 OTS Tune)

Needs to be installed:
- Kartboy front & rear bushings

Just need to order it:
- Red taillight overlays
- 15% window tint all around

Other Planned Upgrades:
- Down Pipe
- Cat-back Exhaust
- Stubby Antenna
- Track wheels/tires
- Fuel Pump
- Injectors
- CAI
- Upgraded Horn
- Sub-woofer
- Full suspension upgrade (springs or coils, front/rear strut bars, front/rear sways, lower chassis brace, etc)
- Red Carbon Kevlar interior trim overlay
- Shift & E-brake boot upgrade
- Whatever else I come up with!!!

[STiZzle2010]

Welcome and congrats! I too had a tC previous to my STi but in no way was able to satisfy me. Nice start to the mod list!

[zax]

Those stock wheels HAVE to go. IIRC, those wheels weight ~26lbs per wheel. Yikes.

[MightyP]

Thanks guys. Stock wheels will be my daily drivers for a while. My first set of new wheels/tires will be for the track. Probably something like Enkei PF01s wrapped in Hankook RS3s

[MightyP]

Grr... First setback. My Kartboy Short Shifter arrived today and being the incredibly patient person I am, I decided to put it in real quick tonight.Unfortunately, when it came time to remove the retaining ring holding the shifter in place, I realized I can't find my snap ring pliers. Worse yet, the needle nose pliers I have wouldn't work, Ended up spending probably 2 1/2 hours messing with the short shifter and bushings and at the end of it all, none of the new pieces are installed.

Oh well, guess it'll have to be a weekend job.

[96accord]

First of many setbacks.. Just gotta move past them and continue on.

[MightyP]

Definitely not the end of the world. Just irritating. Really thought I had the pliers.

[lokey]

Just need some info so I can order it:
- Cup holder divider (part number?)
- Red taillight overlays (just need to find a shop)
- 15% window tint all around (again, just need to find a shop)

Coming Soon:
- Cobb Access Port
- Stubby Antenna
- Turbo-back Exhaust

- Cup holder divider (part number?) - http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=1273 (...or do need the actual console? If so, go to the dealer.)
- Red taillight overlays (just need to find a shop) - Though lamin-X and bluebat are popular choices, I would not recommend overlays. Have them painted (x parts red/black to x parts clear coat).
- 15% window tint all around (again, just need to find a shop) - Should be very easy in AZ.

[lokey]

- Cobb Access Port
- Stubby Antenna (Perrin, among others, sells one. It works.)
- Turbo-back Exhaust

Okay, so....If you're going stage 2, you may want to reconsider the Cobb route. I, and others, got some significant knock on their Stage 2 map. I would personally recommend that you find a reputable tuner and get a protune. Others may recommend - Torqued Performance

[MightyP]

Few updates from this weekend...

1. Kartboy STS is installed. Went in like a champ once I invested in a new set of clamp ring pliers. Didn't have a chance to install the bushings.
2. Found the cup holder insert I was looking for! Dealer had it for $7. Picture below.
3. Talked to a couple local tuner shops who specialize in STIs and both said 310-320 whp is very doable here, even with crappy summer gas and the heat. Both also said a fuel pump is a must because of the heat. Obviously they had differing ideas on the best way to safely get the 300+ whp, but one said they use the SI-Drive to save different power maps. Thought it seemed like a pretty cool idea.

[T0rque]

Welcome

[teflon_jones]

Welcome and congrats on the new car! I've added some comments on your mods below...

Coming Soon:
- Cobb Access Port
- Turbo-back Exhaust

You'll find some people knocking the Cobb maps because they're OTS and not a real pro-tune, but myself and a lot of other people think their maps are pretty darn good!

What TBE are you looking at? The Cobb unit is pretty much the best quality one out there, but of course it's also the most pricey. Make sure you get a heat shield with whatever one you end up going with as well to keep the heat in the turbo and it operating as efficiently as possible. Use a catted one to help ensure against boost creep and also get one with a cast iron bellmouth as well (again like a heat shield it helps keep heat in the exhaust system for higher EGTs, better flow, and more power. Invidia offers one (which gets good reviews) and there are a few other companies that do as well (like CNT though I have no experience with them). Any of the cheap ones are going to use just a piece of thin wall stainless just like the rest of the exhaust piping so you want to avoid those.

Companies that do NOT: Perrin, TurboXS, any of the cheapo ebay ones like D5 Concepts, more. While looking for examples I came across a new record for the cheapest, crappiest one EVER!!!!! Here:
02-07 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI T-304 BELLMOUTH DOWNPIPE | eBay

Other Planned Upgrades:
- CAI

I'd recommend AEM for the intake for several reasons:
1) AME is the OEM supplier for some SPT parts, so if Subaru considers them good enough to manufacture to OEM stuff then they're good enough for me!
2) It's a true cold air intake with a perfect mounting location for getting cold air out of the fender well and comes with a heat shield to isolate it.
3) Cobb offers an OTS map for it. (The only other intake they offer an OTS map for is their own, which is only a true CAI if you buy the airbox too and the total cost is then $315 versus $230 (or less) for the AEM on ebay.
4) It uses a dry filter medium so no MAF issues.

I'm the biggest anti-intake guy out there and generally regard them as just noisemakers, but tests on the '08+ WRX/STI have actually shown a bit of an increase (still not much though). Personally I also enjoy the increased sound of turbo spool and the wastegate!

Other Planned Upgrades:
- Full suspension upgrade (springs or coils, front/rear strut bars, front/rear sways, lower chassis brace, etc)

What's your budget on all of this stuff? Any idea what order you'll want to go with? Personally I'd do the sways, then springs and matching struts, then move on to braces.

I left off the strut tower bars because I think you can get the cheapo ones off ebay for your model and year for <$100 so you could do them any time for not much $$$. Spending any more on the fancy ones is just a waste of money IMHO since they all function pretty much exactly the same.

The cheapest coils you'd want are going to be $2000+. A good set of springs and struts would be the way I'd go unless you really want to be able to change the ride height or drop the car any more than the springs allow. If you go any lower than the 1.5" standard drop on most springs I think you'd end up with too little suspension travel and you'd start to have issues with bottoming out.

For sways there's a bunch of good brands out there. You definitely want the adjustable ones. Whiteline is really king in this space (plus lots of other suspension bits) but Eibach and some other companies make solid ones too.

My first set of new wheels/tires will be for the track. Probably something like Enkei PF01s wrapped in Hankook RS3s

Why the RS3's? Are you going to use 17" wheels for the track or 18"? I'd go with the 17" since the tires are about half the price of 18" tires, and you'll get very similar performance. If you're going with 18" I'd use the Toyo Proxes R888 instead. They're the same price as the RS-3 in that size and from what I've heard and read they're a much better tire.

Okay, so....If you're going stage 2, you may want to reconsider the Cobb route. I, and others, got some significant knock on their Stage 2 map. I would personally recommend that you find a reputable tuner and get a protune. Others may recommend - Torqued Performance

And 99.999% of people that run Cobb maps have zero issues. Of course the people that do have issues are the ones you hear the most from so you can't look at the number of threads or posts you find about knock (which will still be very, very few!).

3. Talked to a couple local tuner shops who specialize in STIs and both said 310-320 whp is very doable here, even with crappy summer gas and the heat. Both also said a fuel pump is a must because of the heat. Obviously they had differing ideas on the best way to safely get the 300+ whp, but one said they use the SI-Drive to save different power maps. Thought it seemed like a pretty cool idea.

I don't understand why you need a fuel pump at that power level, due to the heat, or even a combination of the two. Your injectors can't handle much more fuel anyway and will max out before your fuel pump does IMHO. Your tuner's estimates are pretty optimistic too. You're more likely looking at 270-280 whp/wtq max even given a great tuner, and more likely about 260.

[MightyP]

Thanks for the info teflon. I know I said I'm getting a TBE, but as I continue to learn about my options, my plans evolve. (That or I'm just indecisive, but let's not go there...) The more I look into it, the more I'm leaning toward getting a catted downpipe (probably Cobb or Invidia) and then picking up a cat-back exhaust later since that part is really more for the sound anyway. All 3 tuner shops I've talked to look at me like I'm an idiot for wanting a catted header, but I may eventually live in a state that requires one, so...

We are totally in agreement on the intake. I've been a fan of AEM products for years.

I don't have a specific budget in mind for the suspension. I'm leaning toward an Eibach kit (springs and sways) with Koni struts, but I know I have to do more research before making any decisions.

Wheels/tires are THE most important decision for the track, which is the main reason I'm probably going to go with the RS-3s this year. And I'm 99% sure I'll be getting 17"s for the track.

I would be talking out of my butt if I tried to explain why all the tune shops say a fuel pump (2 of 3 said upgraded injectors as well) is necessary. Goodspeed specifically said the upgrades are really only necessary at WOT above 4th gear, but that there's really no warning between hauling a** and blowing up your engine.

Couple other updates. Bought a Cobb AP and the interior LEDs this weekend. Both should be in the middle of the week. The lure of 25hp/50tq along with a tune (even if OTS) for the crappy gas we get here in AZ was too much. Now I really have to be good, save my pennies for a few months, and get my track wheels/tires before AutoX season starts up again this Fall.

[MightyP]

AccessPORT arrived on Monday, but had some installation issues. Got it figured out today. My OBD2 port has some loose connections. The contacts are good enough to read data, but squirting the ECU requires me to have the connection just right.

Ah well, I'll fix that before I get my pro-tune. For now though, I'm happy running a basic OTS tune. Car definitely pulls harder and the data logging is a nice feature.

I do have another question. How is the the virtual dyno calculated with the AP? Is it just a simple weight/acceleration calculation? Anyone measured how far off it is off from an actual dyno? Just curious.