I didn't have time to update before the event, but I was able to get the injectors in and send some datalogs off to Jr before Sunday. I still feel like the new plugs and clean injectors didn't eliminate the faint stutter/miss at idle. I think it may be coil pack related, but not sure. It doesn't act up any time other than idle, so I'm not all to concerned at this point. Saturday morning, loaded up and ready for a long drive: We found some friends at the hotel (several more not pictured): My best pass of the day was my 3rd and final qualifying pass. 11.07 @ 129mph. My goal for the weekend was to hit a 10.9x and 130+ trap so I just barely missed the mark. I qualified 4th in the Stock Location Turbo class and drew a bye in the first round of elims. The second round of elims, I missed 2nd badly and just couldn't reel the guy back in. He ran a 12.18 @ 121 and made the cut into the money. I was bummed, but still had a blast. Here's a (not super great quality) video of my best pass of the day: After elim rounds were done they opened the track up for test and tune/fun runs. I was determined to try one last time to dip into that 10 second territory. I felt something let loose in the burnout, backed up, pulled forward...seemed ok. As soon as I launched the car it felt like the clutch was slipping, dumped second, still the same feeling so let out and coasted on the side of the track to the first turn off. As soon as I slowed down enough I could here an awful clunking sound.... Hard to see and I'll take better pictures as I tear it apart, but I broke the front right axle. I thought I might end up breaking an axle this weekend, but certainly didn't think it would be a front one. However, before that pass I was playing with the DCCD and turned up the front wheel bias a bit. All day long my burn out, launch, and 1-2 shifts were wheel hopping pretty badly so I was trying things to remedy it. It was even more violent in that very last burn out that broke that axle. I really need to work on being smoother with the launch as well. Radials sure would help too. The 1.74 60' was my best of the day on the street tires. After I get some more seat time and used to this power level, I feel 10's should be easily achievable. Even though The White Bullet didn't get a clean pass all weekend, that was still a highlight of the trip seeing that car in person and watching it run. It was a hell of weekend!
At the event I put all of my raffle tickets in the Off The Line Performance jar. I ended up winning! Got these bad boys...OTL Street Series Ignition coils. I'm hoping these will resolve my intermittent idle stumble/hiccup issues. Idle seemed normal after installation, but the real test will be once I get a chance to drive around and get some heat in the engine. And a couple more event photos that were posted on the book of faces:
@joebush44 nice score on the coil packs, I can't think of a Subaru enthusiast more deserving of the prize.
Because who doesn't like carnage pics... Currently debating my options for new front axles. Used OEM, part store cheap-o, Insane Shafts, or pony up for DSS. I wasn't expecting to have to replace the stock front axles, but here I am lol. Really leaning toward either the IS or DSS axles. I honestly had never heard of IS before finding them on eBay and doing some research. I found only one thread on NASIOC about them with decent reviews, so there's not a whole lot of info in regards to their performance on Subarus. They seem to be held in a pretty high regard in the Honda community though, for what that's worth.
If they work for Hondas!? The DSS would be an investment, depends on how committed you are. And it appears to be that commitment is not something that you’re lacking with this one!
I come from the school of "buy nice, or buy twice" with the majority of my purchases. I just can't bring myself to throw a parts store reman in there, but maybe a used OEM for the time being? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I did the same thing, broke front right axle on launch. Panicked thinking it was the front diff, but was pretty happy when I found out it was just an axle. Didn't want to bend over for the DSS axles, I ended up just putting in a set of OEM remans. I've never heard of the IS axles, looks to be a good middle of the road option though if they are quality.
Not sure if this video will embed properly on the forum (let me know if it doesn't)...but if it does here is a Facebook video of the semi-finals and finals. At about 8:00 I came up for a test and tune pass (between semis and finals) and this is where the axle broke on the burnout. lol. I'm just glad it was a broken axle and I didn't oil down the track right before finals! FB Live video credit: Mike McGinnis, Cobb Tuning - LOL at "nicely pedaled" https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1926475200792623 This weekend I pulled the CV's off the broken axle bar. I helped a buddy a while back change out a front axle in his '06 STi with bad CV so he let me take that bad axle. I pulled it apart and swapped the good axle bar onto my good CV's. I refilled the boots with grease and installed new clamps...good as new-ish!
I got the replacement axle in and hung the broken one on the wall o' broken parts. I've driven the car enough now to confirm that the OTL coil packs have cured my idle stumble issue I was having as well. If the weather is decent this weekend I'm going to hit Cedar Falls and see if I can scrape a 10 sec pass without breaking something
I spoke too soon here...but now I have it definitely fixed (I think)! The other night the car started breaking up really bad under high load conditions. After talking to Justin at OTL, he advised me to move my engine ground off the intake manifold to bolt it directly the block or cylinder head. These OTL packs draw a lot more current so a good ground is critical. My car has 8mm phenolic spacers under the intake manifold so that would act as a pretty good insulator - never thought about it before, but it makes sense that they would cause a weaker ground. Even if you don't have phenolic spacers and still have the stock coil packs, I would still recommend to move your grounding point(s) so that they bolt directly to the block or head if at all possible! I moved it to one of the open AC compressor bracket holes (AC deleted). Since my car has an '07 STi swap there is only one ground on the manifold - if it were 04-06, there are likely two (cannot confirm on 08+). After moving the ground the car has never idled or revved so smoothly since it's been together! (Oil dipstick in photo for reference) I spoke too soon about this too. Test and Tune day isn't until 10/27 ...I'm hopeful the warm weather sticks around long enough so it isn't cancelled. In other news, I *think* I have my wheel hop issue somewhat sorted. I was playing with DCCD and found that if I switch it from AUTO to manual - full rear bias, it hooks pretty damn good without violently shaking the tires on the launch and going 1-2 FFS. Looking forward to testing that theory at the track. Random photo taken by Subaru Sense of the car at Nats a couple weekends ago. Window tint is on the docket for spring for sure. I also have a brand new legit SA2015 Racequip helmet now so I can retire the snowmobile helmet as well lol.
Thats a great point Joe, I should make sure none of my grounds are going to the intake as I also have phenolic spacers. Also I've fought a lot with grounding strategy on my car, which I think is finally sorted, glad to hear your car is running well again.
Took a little trip to Mexico with a buddy last night to work on preloading the car and flat foot shifting. Up until now, I'd never used the FFS setting on the AP, just used the rev limiter. I'd been struggling with getting locked out of 3rd about 50% of the time I try to FFS 2-3 and I think I figured out why. Using the FFS setting allows the RPMs to drop a few hundred RPM between shifts instead of revving higher/bouncing off the rev limiter. I set FFS setting to 400 RPM below redline which allows just enough time to upshift as RPMs drop - no more getting locked out. Preload and launch still need some work ha. I'm a bit trigger shy since breaking that axle, but the wheel hop issue that killed it is pretty much gone now.
I'm in the process of making a "race pipe" for track days. I've always wanted to see what the car would sound like straight piped so I pulled the Q300 axle back off just to get a feel for how loud it might be...it nearly makes my ears bleed lol. It's loud. Last year I bought a 3" axleback for cheap that the muffler was cut off of with plans of making a straight pipe for the car. I ended up cutting the flange off of it so it was orientated correctly for the midpipe that is on my car then joined the flange section to the S section. My welds are fugly, but they are solid. I ended up getting a Dynomax Race Bullet "muffler" (not much of a muffler) for cheap ($25) on Amazon so I'll use that before the tip...hopefully it takes a little bit of the bite out of the exhaust note, although I'm not expecting much. I tacked the tip to the muffler for now (tape is protect the shiny tip while welding)... And here is where I'm at so far. Check out that blast pipe! It's already way more tolerable inside the car since the exhaust is out past the end of the car so I think with the added muffler, it should be ok in the end. Tonight I'm going to cut the "blast pipe" to length, tack the muffler/tip on, take the axleback off, weld it all up and paint it with some high temp black. Then, to the track tomorrow morning!
If for some reason you feel like that tip you got just isn't cutting it, I've got a couple pieces of 8" left over...
No muffler needed... I loved the sound of the straight pipe but I had to put the Bosal back on 2 days after BIR as I leave for work @ 6am and usually running late, so I'm sure my neighbors appreciate the return to a semi quiet tone. The wife told me the second morning she could hear the blast pipe as I was going thru the roundabout which is 2+ miles from the house
I got the straight pipe finished up Friday night and it turned out pretty decent especially for never welding stainless before. Welds are ugly, but she's sturdy. The last part I welded was the tip and by then I had the technique down fairly well. These are the prettier welds out of the whole axleback haha. I shot it with some VHT high temp black (not pictured) before bolting it up.
Test and tune at Cedar Falls on Saturday was a success...I ended up running a new personal best ET and MPH 10.90 @ 133mph! My 60' times were terrible all day. I think with some tires and a better clutch I can get my 60' down and get the car deep into the 10's. I was happy to get one under my belt though to tide me over for winter. Here's a video of the 10.90 pass This video wasn't my best pass, but I just like the view from behind the car. The straight pipe doesn't sound half bad either! Sounds kinda like a swarm of pissed off bees No immediate plans for any major changes to the car over the winter at this point...
Hibernation mode. (Garage still too small, but at least I can park the daily in there now) 3 "Subies" in one pic I recently upgraded from a Hero3 to a Hero5 Black and found a good home for a rear facing camera under the spoiler. This version GoPro is leaps and bounds better than the Hero3 I had prior - looking forward to getting some footage next year. This will likely be my only "mod" this winter! lol
Negative. I did look into Draggy recently, but didn't pull the trigger on it. I'm not familiar with the two that you listed - I assume you can overlay MPH, G's, track layout, etc over the video? I probably won't see much for road course racing though, fwiw.
Yeah for your use I'd think tach, speedo, G's, and time overlay would be a nice addition to your footage... and obligatory picture in picture crotch cam...
LOL of course! I'll have to look into one of those contraptions though - Would be neat to have the overlays on some footage of passes.
I was going to leave the car in one piece this winter for a change, buuuut it's been a long winter and I'm getting the itch to mess with the car. I picked up a short runner NA manifold and began modifying it. Process West is too much money and the AMS isn't quite as expensive, but is very tall...which is an issue in a swapped GC (I'll go into more detail shortly). The NA manifold has proven to make good power up top without too big of a sacrifice down low. At under $100 it's a good compromise. I would really like to run a reversed manifold and some shorter IC piping and possibly a better IC core. There are a few slightly different iterations of the NA manifold, but two main ones - Long runner and Short runner... The long runner replaces the TGVs so the manifold is entirely one piece with no TGV flange. Several companies make adapters to adapt WRX/STi fuel rails to the long runner mainfold. The problem with the long runner is that you have to use 19mm phenolic spacers under it so the fuel rails are high enough that they clear the AVCS solenoids. This is a problem (even more so when running the manifold reversed) because of lack of hood clearance in the GC chassis. The short runner has essentially the same benefits as the long runner (larger plenum, smooth transition to runners), but is only the top half of the manifold and still uses TVG housings. The manifold bolt holes can be slotted so that it can be bolted up to WRX/STi TGV housings. The advantage here is that I can use the WRX/STI TGV housings and not need to run 19mm spacers to clear AVCS solenoids. Even still, the hood is about and inch from latching fully with the hood shut. I do still have 3mm phenolic spacers under the TGVs currently. Test fit before any modification: Options to fix clearance issues: 1. Cut hood bracing out. 2. Cut flanges off of top of TGV housings and bottom of manifold and weld them together. This would reduce height by approx 1", but fitting a 3' inlet under it might be difficult going this route. 3. Subframe spacers to drop the motor down lower lol. I'm not sure, but I imagine this would throw off some suspension/drivetrain geometry 4. Hack up a perfectly good intake manifold So naturally, I jumped to the most extreme solution and started cutting... I'm going to shape/port the plenum runners anyway so I was going to cut it open regardless. This is a very rough mockup, but similar to what I'm thinking. I will probably take a bit off the top as well, just enough as to not disturb the flow of the runners or anything. Plan is to get some 1/8" 5052 and fabricoble a new plenum. I might still cut down the flanges and weld the manifold to the TGVs. Even if I don't shorten it any, I want to remove the flange for cleanliness and also allowing more room for the inlet to the turbo instead of being squished by that TGV flange. I've never TIG welded in my life, but recently sold my trusty MIG welder so I can make the upgrade to TIG. Will probably order a welder later this week...then I'll need to practice and see how it goes! To be continued.
Made a little more progress last week/weekend on the reverse manifold setup... While I had everything out of they way, I re-wrapped the engine harness. I took most of the bulky plastic looming off of it so it would route where I want it much easier. I used high temp Tesa tape - it's kind like a synthetic felt-like fabric. Every turbo Subaru I've owned, I've wanted to route the harness under the coolant crossover pipe - so I did just that. This just makes for a cleaner bay and gets the harness out of the way of the turbo inlet. I routed the harness out of the way and along the crossover pipe, but had to extend a couple of the DBW connector wires to lengthen it. I briefly looked into a DBW harness extension that iWire offers, but it's $80, so I passed on that. I should have plenty of harness now to reach the throttle body and MAP sensor on a reversed manifold setup. The rest of the harness on the driver's side laid right where it needed to be. Cut a chunk of my hood bracing out to make room for the plenum #weightreduction I'll be cleaning this up later. I previously had my FPR bolted to my alt/ac bracket, but relocated that to the driver side strut tower. Just had to drill a couple of holes and use a couple nutserts. I purchased an Astro nutsert tool which made the job much easier than crimping the nutserts with my previously used homemade tool. I had to reroute my fuel lines on the return side that go from #2 cyl to the FPR and the one that goes from the FPR to the ethanol content sensor, but that was a pretty easy change with reuasable AN fittings. The only challenge I might have is that the vac port is on the wrong side of the FPR. I have a 1/16NPT to 1/8 NPT adapter, then will use a 90* fitting to turn it downward. The intake manifold is basically entirely shaved now. I have a few small holes to fill up yet (and one very large one). I still need to port the runners a little...then figure out how I'm going to make the plenum. I had to elongate some of the mounting holes to get the manifold bolted to the TGVs, but nothing too crazy All 4 IM runners need to be ported to match the TGVs Not the greatest representation, but the goal is to shave the flanges off both the IM and the TGVs, then weld them together. Essentially making it a "long runner" manifold, but with the correct TGVs on it. By shaving the flange, it will make it look cleaner, but more importantly, it will create a little more wiggle room near the turbo for the inlet. My original plan was to cut the flanges off of both the IM and TGV to lower the overall height of the manifold, but I don't want to limit the amount of room under the manifold that I have for the turbo inlet and intercooler piping A little test fit with 2" piping routing under the manifold with the inlet in place. The turbo needs a 90* coupler on it and I should be able to make it work. (no PS pump in this pic) Lastly, I modified the PS pump bracket and cut the alternator tension adjuster off of it. This, in theory, would allow more room for the manifold plenum and 2" intercooler piping (compressor outlet-to-IC). BUT, there is so much more room without a PS pump. I did some research on deleting PS and found a few topics on converting to an electric-hydraulic pump. Lots of people use the pumps out of 00-05 MR2 due to ease of wiring and the reservoir is built into the unit as well. I should have room in the engine bay for one, but need to research further. My biggest concern with an electric pump would be the amperage draw - although they say only ~10A at idle/going straight and up to 60A at full lock...still very tempting to try it out. Brown santa will be bringing my TIG welder this week so next weekend I'm hoping to make some decent progress with welding practice!
A little better visual as to where I'm headed with this. This will either turn out amazing or be a complete cluster
Lots of room. Do you have a cage? I ordered the AHP sunday and when it arrives will be fitting the wagon with 1 3/4" DOM.
Nice! No cage...that's pretty much inevitable at this point though. It's still a street car for now I ordered mine last Thursday and should be here Friday
This entire manifold setup hinges on my ability to pick up aluminum tig welding...so we'll see how it turns out lol. Worst case, I need new TGVs and the old manifold has to go back on. Sorry for the boring, semi-redundant updates, but made a little more progress last night. I decided to shave down the flange on cyl 3 where the turbo inlet has a hard time making it around the corner. There should be plenty of clearance there now even with a weld profile in that area. As for the other runners, I'll likely leave them as I have them currently. Also got some porting done so the transition to the TGVs is smooth. The thinnest part of the TGV is now cyl 3 where I shaved it down, but it's still 3/16" at it's thinnest part. The rest of it is 1/4" and the manifold is roughly 1/4" thick as well. I need to find a cheap/free stock manifold to practice welding on so I can get a feel for welding cast. More to come...
Welding cast aluminum sux ballz. AHP AlphaTig 201xd arrived on Friday! This is one of my better "beads" that I managed on some dirty aluminum pipe. I know, it's still terrible, but that's all I had to practice on. A practice weld on some mild steel without any filler...DC tig seems much easier than AC/DC (aluminum) in my limited experience... Messing with trying to weld a couple of razor blades together. I tried welding the actual blades together, but kept blowing through immediately. I was able to kinda weld the backs together (no filler) Alternator relocation kit from Outfront installed...still less room than I was imagining, but will have to work with it. Worked up the courage to try my hand at filling a hole (brake booster port) on my manifold after some practice. This one filled surprisingly easily Smoove. Moved my way to another pair of holes that were from a vacuum port I shaved... Got the bottom one filled, but now having some issues with the top one. Lots of contaminants, dirty, dirty. Popping and spitting. Will get there eventually...maybe. Hopefully. I went through 40lbs of Argon over the weekend lol so I need to get a refill. Also, 12+ inches of snow and blowing snow on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Yikes! Took a while to dig myself out Sunday...thank you to the inventor of the two stage snowblower! I also forgot to mention earlier, that when I was wrapping the engine harness, I got rid of the injector adapters and hard wired new plugs on. I think the injector adapters may have attributed to some of my random cyl roughness issues I was seeing at the end of the year last year...to be confirmed.
For welding the dirty cast, what filler rod are you using? Did you try doing just a cleaning pass with no filler? This will bring the contaminants to the surface so they can be removed. 4047 rod has a higher silicon content and may help with porosity.
