2012 STi Hatch - A Black Dream...

[twister8008]

I have been waiting for 12+ years for a WRX STI. Since 2009 I went through a Genesis Coupe 2.0 Track, 2010 Civic SI, 2010 Honda CRZ, and a 2011 Limited WRX Sedan. I thought I was going to be happy with my WRX, but then I saw my car advertised... It was over from there! I purchased the car used with only 6K miles. I paid $33K for her. My journal will probably be uneventful, because I am married with 2 children. My plan is to focus on the beautification side first. I will then update my exhaust and suspension before going to stage 2. I am not the most mechanically sound, so I am going to hold my warranty for a bit. I have coverage for 7/yr 100K miles. I would appreciate any advice or ideas you can provide! I see a lot of stickies and dedicated threads for sedans, but not for hatches. Please let me know if you know of a thread for hatches. Let's see what happens with my dream car!

Car modifications

Purchased

Rally Armor mud flaps (included)

Snow tires (purchased) Blizzak LM-60; 235/45R17

Tint 35% around

Sti Seatbelt pads

Windshield top strip

Clear bra

Subaru Rubber Trunk Tray off-black

Shift knob Anarchy Motive Red (681 grams/1.47 lbs)

SPT Exhaust

SPT Turbo Heat Shield

SPT Short Throw Shifter

SPT Bushing kits (Lateral link, shifter, crossmember, trailing link)

STI Transmission mount

STI Engine Mount (RH and LH)

STI Pitch Stop

12" Boston Sub and Kicker 300.1 amplifier

Waiting to Purchase

Tail light smoke or outlined?

VG Shark Fin Antenna $69 VG Shark Fin Antenna - Home

Neat shift boot idea... Shift boot store - RedlineGoods leather shift boots

STI black /chrome trunk badge from STi Trunk Badge - Badges

Window rain guards Subaru OEM Rain Guards Subaru WRX/STI 2008-2013 / Impreza 2008-2011 at RallySportDirect.com $100

Fender plate change (black with red letters avoJDM Parts Online $50

Kart boy Short throw shifter and bushings $182 Kartboy Short Throw Shifter Subaru STI 2004-2013 at RallySportDirect.com

Powder coat rims $400

Turbo heat shield (SPT) $75 SPT Turbo Heat Shield Subaru WRX / STI 2008-2013 / Legacy GT 2005-2009 / Forester XT 2009-2011 at RallySportDirect.com

White line sways and end links Whiteline Performance Suspension – Activate More Grip '// RCE I need guidance/research about suspension $419 Racecomp Engineering : Home Page : 410-846-5407

Cobb Access Port $500 AccessPORT

Invidia catted downpipe cast iron bellmouth $500 Invidia Downpipe Catted Divorced Wastegate Subaru Models (inc. 2008-2013 WRX / STI) at RallySportDirect.com

Cobb intake $315 COBB Tuning - Subaru SF Intake and SF Airbox Kit

[EJ257]

Q300 tends to drone a bunch on the hatches, but not so much on the sedans.

[twister8008]

Q300 tends to drone a bunch on the hatches, but not so much on the sedans.

Thanks! Would you say the spt has a good sound on the hatch? I had it on my sedan and the drone was minimal. I might just go stage 2 with the OEM exhaust.

[EndlessSea]

I highly recommend the clear bra. I got one on my wrx and although it was expensive I feel it's worth every penny

[Stawgn10]

Looks good, have fun with your mods.

[twister8008]

I highly recommend the clear bra. I got one on my wrx and although it was expensive I feel it's worth every penny

What did you go with for a clear bra?

[11blackSTi]

She's a beaut!

[keff108]

I like black hatch's too. Beautiful car. Wish I could have got an Sti.

[twister8008]

Thanks!

[EndlessSea]

What did you go with for a clear bra?

3M clear bra? I'm not really sure what your asking.

But I got the 3M brand clear bra professionally installed, as I didn't want to mess with it myself. It covers the hood up to the scoop, the fenders in line with how far the hood bra goes back, front bumper, headlights and mirrors.

[twister8008]

You hit it on the second part of your answer. I was curious what coverage you had

[wrx650]

Looks great.

[twister8008]

Well, got my car checked and it is already at 35% tint all around so I am going to leave it. It saves me some cash for other things. . I am adding a top 5% strip this Saturday and leaving everything else.

I think I am going to go with a SPT exhaust and Short throw shifter. I like the piece of mind of having my warranty in tact. I may do a kart boy down the road, but I was plenty happy with my SS in my Wrx. Now to start whittling the wife down to make the purchase...

[Mikie13]

I personally don't think the OEM SPT short shifter is worth it. It retains the same height of the shifter which is relatively tall to begin with, and only shortens shifts about 10% by shortening the linkage. The Kartboy is about 20-30% shorter and shortens the lever, and is much cheaper. Plus...CBE and a short shifter won't really do anything to make you worry about a warranty.

[twister8008]

I have heard that, but I was happy with the SS in my wrx limited. I was told the STI version was slightly stiffer so I should be good. The height is good for me right now, and some knobs can lower the height by an inch.

I am thinking about getting the SPT boost gauge installed while I am down there. It is a 2-hour trip so I would like to knock it all out at once. Does anyone have any experience with them? Are they worthwhile? Can anyone give me a crash course in using the device?