Tidying Things Up

I spent a few hours at the shop today doing some little things here and there. I'm a few hundred miles past 6000 on the odometer right now, so I did a tire rotation/inspection about a week ago as per FSM. Today I dropped my J-pipe and wrapped it in PTP Lava Wrap and secured it with some worm gear clamps. I had been meaning to do this for quite a while now, but am just now getting around to it since I wasn't looking forward to dropping the exhaust again. All went pretty smoothly and I replaced the turbo exhaust gasket with one from GrimmSpeed which is about 7x thicker than OEM and employs a fire ring design to prevent it from leaking in the long run. I also installed Perrin's brake master cylinder brace, which was a huge PITA to install. So many bolts to torque down with almost no room to work. Did not really notice any brake feel difference on the way home. Maybe I'll do more extensive testing on the brace in the future. Got rid of the F1 4th brake light. Getting ready to sell that since the rear end won't be needing it once it gets chopped up. Saw my heat wrap getting smokey at red lights on the way home, as expected. Hopefully it stays tight and does its job! I also got the charge pipe gasket from ETS in the mail today. It's just a thick paper gasket. Kinda curious to see if this will really hold my boost better than the RTV Copper will and hoping that once I put this in, my boost leak is solved. Not really looking forward to tearing apart the front end just to get to the charge pipe, but it is what it is. Might make some more bumper tweaks while it's off.... Stay tuned.

Dyno Day With Drunkmann Tuning

Seolhyun got her first Dyno ProTune on Sunday, December 20th, 2015. I was aiming for a torque range of 350-380ftlb but fell short due to some technical difficulties. In the end, she made 340hp, 340tq on stock longblock, stock turbo, with a slipping clutch and and a small boost leak. I have read many accounts of people having issues with the stock clutch slipping once it starts pushing additional power so I was ready to accept that as one of the technical difficulties. The boost leak however, was something I definitely did not expect to see, especially after putting so much crunch time and effort into the final preps before the tune. The boost curve was pretty smooth, other than few occasional dips below 20psi, but there was a huge power drop after about 5800rpm most likely linked to the leak. After getting protuned, most FA20DITs have a solid power curve all the way to the 6700rpm redline. https://youtu.be/eGDmOg4IIl0

I gave ETS a call today to see if they had any help to offer on tracking down the boost leak. Originally their FMIC kit didn't come with a charge pipe gasket (uses a 2-bolt flange) so their instructions were to form my own gasket using RTV Copper between the charge pipe and turbo. After talking with them today, they told me that they had finally got their first production batch of pre-made gaskets in and they would send me one free of charge since my kit had not originally came with one. What a relief! Although I'm not looking forward to taking apart the whole front end again to go in and rework the charge-pipe-to-turbo mating, I'm hopeful that this will solve my problem. From there I can test, datalog, and get my map back up to full power courtesy of Drunkmann Tuning.

Front End Tweaks

The FMIC ended up changing a lot of things that I did not foresee. There are no instructions for the kit, so you're kinda left to figure it out unless you rely on phone tech support during the work week. I had to get rid of my Hella Horn setup, so the car is currently without horns. I had to go back in and make my own RTV Copper gasket for the chargepipe to turbo mating.

The front crash beam is gone, a driver's side support brace is gone, the stock windshield washer reservoir is replaced with a Killer B Dual Reservoir, and I opted to take a custom approach to the front end in order to enable lots of airflow to still get to the FMIC. I took the bumper to GX Auto in Waipahu for some custom work, and it was still a pretty tight fit to get the bumper back on. In the near future I am looking to cut out the fog light housings as it is against my hot and cold side piping, preventing the bumper from seating all the way. I'm just happy it's done and ready for now before the dyno tune. I've gotten a lot of crazy stares and compliments on how the setup is currently sitting, but it's still miles away from where I want it to be.

Dyno Tune Preps

I got word in October of 2015 that a well-renowned tuner from the Mainland was going to be coming back out to Hawaii for dyno tunes again in December of 2015 after having so much success from the first run. Fellow Subaru enthusiasts in our community had nothing but good things to say about him, so I figured I'd make preps for my first ProTune from non other than Anthony Berry aka Drunkmann Tuning. I figured there was no better time than now to finish the engine mods I had been waiting to do, so I got to work. Parts: ETS 3.5" FMIC, Nameless Performance BPV (100% Recirc), IAG EGR Delete, IAG AOS Comp Series (Atmospheric)

Surprisingly enough, I was actually able to run all these mods with the same map from BrenTuning pretty smoothly, but I obviously knew that I wasn't extracting their full potential for power gains. I emailed BT to get my tune tweaked only to delete the EGR codes, and the rest was clockwork. All in all, it was probably a total of 12 hours of accumulative work to get it all together but there's nothing like the satisfaction of doing something yourself and getting it done right. The FMIC is custom gold anodized and the piping is powder coated wrinkle black.

TGV Deletes, Intake & EBCS

After being satisfied with the exhaust for a month or two, I figured it was time to expand the horizons a bit to get closer to getting max power out of the stock longblock and turbo. I got my TGV deletes from TiC, Intake from ETS, and 3-port EBCS from GrimmSpeed. Shipping car parts to Hawaii is no joke sometimes but luckily there are companies and people out there willing to help you get the best possible deals when it comes to parts. Please note that you need to consult with a tuner to be able to run mods like these at this point, and there are no OTS maps that I'm aware of when it comes to TGV deletes and EBCS. Unfortunately, there aren't many tuners on Oahu, we have only one full-service AWD dyno, and well-known tuners from the Mainland only get flown out here every once in awhile. Due to this, I reached out to BrenTuning for an eTune, and I'm still very satisfied with the results to this day. I was able to upload a smooth-running map with no CELs, datalog, and coordinate with them to get finetuning as needed. The car stayed with this performance setup for a few months before I tweaked it some more. Splitters are from AeroFlow Dynamics. Don't really have too many install pictures since it's all pretty straightforward.

Forgot to mention the BBS Golds. They are off of an '08 STI and I picked em up for a good price. I mounted the stock tires on those and that's my current temporary setup. They really aren't much for specs, but they will do for now until I drop dollars on a permanent set. I'm sure we all hate looking at weak ass stock wheels. ^_~

Stage 2 Finally

With things finally running straight and everything flowing again, I finally made the jump to Stage 2 with a Cobb AP V3, Invidia Catless J-Pipe, and Invidia N1 Single Exit Race Catback. It gave the car that sound and response that is always lacking when it comes to factory tune/setup. If I were to describe the sound, it starts off as a low rumble and gets nice and raspy at 3krpm+ due to the lack of resonator in the race version (street N1 is resonated). A bit obnoxious, especially for cold starts, but it's just about what I'm looking for with turbo spool satisfaction and BPV cycles being much more pronounced. IMO, I would like to have it much louder, but the occasional backfires I get when downshifting will suffice for now. Lots of companies have taken apart and examined the stock EL headers on the new FA20DITs, and they found that there isn't really much room for improvement as this header is worlds ahead of the stock EJ UEL header. My turbo system also doesn't utilize an up-pipe, as my turbo is low and front mounted, and thus doesn't have a pre-cat. As far as I'm concerned, the exhaust system is almost a complete straight-pipe with a single exit muffler. The header will be swapped out when/if the turbo gets swapped. So only time will tell what's in store for her.

I'm always tweaking the little things here and there so that's constantly changing. After a few weeks with the new exhaust, I actually ended up melting a bit of the black diffuser that is on the bottom of the bumper. I purchased 3 Kartboy extended exhaust hangers and dropped the catback about .75" lower to address that. My plan is to actually switch up the diffuser style in the near future, so I still have the stock hangers ready to go back on and raise the exhaust once the time comes. For anyone wondering, I am running the SubiSpeed F1 Brake Light in the lower JDM housing, but that's going to be up for sale pretty soon to allow for other plans. I also changed the oil, replacing the stock drain plug with a magnetic one from GReddy, and more viscous Rotella T6 5W-40 since it's a warm environment here year-round. I also replace the filter and crush washer with OEM parts only, but that's just me. IMO, there are a few parts on these cars that should only be replaced with OEM vice simpler aftermarket means. I follow certain procedures and part numbers religiously, so recommend picking up a copy of the FSM if you haven't already. Everything gets torqued down specifically.

First Things First

Allow me to introduce you to my Lightning Red 2015 WRX. Known for her renowned and unmistakable beauty, I gave her the name Seolhyun. She became mine brand new on April 13th, 2015 for just shy of $30k, and we've already been through quite a journey thus far. She lives with my wife and I in sunny Oahu, HI and hopefully lasts for a lifetime. I started this blog in order to keep track of our personal journey, as well as for other car enthusiasts to enjoy. Thanks for visiting!

Due to there only being one Subaru dealership on Island, certain bartering tactics can't really be utilized and selection is pretty limited. I went with the Base model because I am not much for creature comforts and I save loads of money that I would much rather spend on aftermarket goodies and unique touches here and there. After all, I would love if she stayed in my life forever. Mandatory photos of her arriving at her new home.

It didn't take long for me to break it in and every mile was flawless and enjoyable. At this point, I had a few rough ideas on the direction I wanted to take the car in, and what better feeling to have than a brand new drawing board to work on!

At this point, I had purchased a few goodies here and there. An AEM Intake, Cobb Delete Plate, GrimmSpeed License Plate Relocator, Perrin Radiator Shroud, etc. Funny thing is, I am actually not running any of these on my current setup. HAR HAR. ^_~

I had definitely taken this car on some spirited runs, and we have a few mountain paths here, so I can't deny that I used to enjoy breaking her open on occasional hairpins. It was all fun and games until the unthinkable happened. Towards the end of May, I got into an accident on my way back down on Tantalus mountain path, slipping on a wet path of road covered in leaves, and striking a tree right between my two passenger doors. With the body and doors bent, side skirt destroyed, and heart bruised badly, I limped home fearing the worst and to take the next course of action.

I was recommended by fellow Subaru enthusiasts to take my car to Oka's Auto Body in Waipahu because the owner (Brandon) is also a fellow Subaru enthusiast and assured me that he and his shop would take good care of my car. I still drove the car for a few weeks while waiting for the appointment to come around, and managed to blow my motor up at ~1300miles, requiring an entirely new longblock and overhaul before I could even have it taken to the body shop. But that's a story for another day. Brandon and his crew at Oka's did a great job on my car after the new longblock was put in, and after 2 long months of agony and patience, I finally got Seolhyun back!

With the car back, I proceeded to break the engine in for another 1000miles and drove with new found caution and respect for the limits of her. Then came preps for Stage 2 catless turboback, all starting again from square one and a new longblock to work with. Custom plates and side window deflectors. Teehee. ^_^