Another Swap, project Starbuck (aka Kara)

For some reason I'm digging the two-tone look of the silver fog covers and grille against the darker body!!

 

Damn, yeah Ronnie planted the seed that the stock tune might be ok, luckily I didn't beat on it too much, mostly just daily driving and making sure everything works. I was googling this last night and I guess Japan has 98/100 octane fuel so that would explain it. I didn't get much time to work on it today, but there wasn't much left to do on it. It's pretty much 100% bug free at this point. I got the power steering working, front speakers installed, my old RS interior swapped and worked on rattling issues.

I'm also wondering wtf is going on with my center diff, I can spin BOTH front wheels at the same time and I don't even see it trying to spin the rears, but I feel like I would be breaking the front wheels loose when I get on it more than I am. Maybe I'm just used to LSD centers or something? Seems odd. I put the car on a jack (before I continue don't try this at home, it's extremely dangerous ) and put it in 1st and slowly let out the clutch... the car spun the front wheels at idle... nothing in the rear. I didn't get it to budge until I put it in 3rd and slowly let out the clutch... then it started moving a little.

 

the rears shouldn't spin when you spin the front wheels, by hand, in neutral, or in gear engine off In gear, engine running, clutch out all four should spin though. Dccd not working properly, wiring, controller could be the problem. Also Japan uses RON for fuel rating, which I haven't been able to find a reliable conversion for, because MON seems like a made up number( I don't know how they get it). (RON+MON)/2 is how octane is calculated. It's probably ok unless you're beating on the car, sounds like you're not. I would add a wideband to the mix to be safe though. If the jdm dccd is like the U.S. version, I could send you some wiring info...let me know and good luck!

 

No DCCD on this tranny, it's just like a normal WRX with viscous rear and center and open front...

 

A few things quick, then I have to go to meetings. I got word back from the original owner... it's a 160 RS 2.5 rear diff, so that explains the 4.11 FD and also solidifies the possibility of having a glorious explosion if I ever launch it.

Yeah you're 100% right about the fuel stuff, I always forget about stuff like that when I'm in panic mode. I looked at learning view and there's 0% knock correction across the board with a 16 IAM after about 200 miles so I think me not beating on it is working out ok. I also have an appointment Thursday morning at RS to get a tune, if I can get off of work. I also acquired some EDM (not electronic dance music) headlight washers just because!

America.

 

Did you get the pump & valve to go w/ it? (And switch?)

 

I did not, I have a few dual spray reservoirs and some switches on the GD dash I'm not using. I'm not sure what the pump's head needs to be to push those nozzles but I'm assuming it's not much worse than a normal sprayer nozzle. It comes with the nozzles, hose and the t-fittings.

 

That's amazing that you got in touch with the OO

Did they say if it was from an 00-01 RS? If so it's a VLSD, if not it's open, I believe.

 

I have the stock 4.11FD R160 out of my 06 FXT.
I also have a spare. Both should have the VLSD you need.
Will sell cheap

 

I confirmed I'm on crack, put it in gear and everything is good. I might buy your R160 though Belalegosi. PM me your price, I may buy one just to have an extra.

Eric you're right, the guy is pretty plugged in and interested in the project. He said basically he has no clue what year the rear diff is from. The only thing I can say is I'm expecting it to explode eventually. I'm going to make a 6 speed on top of my priority list for spring.

 

Going to bed, but found this oldy of my last project the day I finished it... I miss(ed) that car.

 

Awesome!! You had me scared there for a bit so why are the front wheels spinning when you gun it - or is maybe just the front open diff letting one front wheel spin?

BTW when I was looking through the OO's posts on NASIOC to see about the diff situation, it seems that your tranny had an 'interesting' history... I was curious why it had wrx 3/4 gears because when you plot out the rpm/speed graph for the tranny with its current ratios it looks a little odd, turns out he busted that original gear pair and someone installed a used WRX pair for free it also had a loose bolt found inside... Wacky!

 

Dude that's crazy, I looked into a lot of his threads but didn't find that. Thanks for looking into that! The gearing is pretty terrible, I go from 4th to 5th and it drops like 500 RPMs, LOL. I think I'm pretty much set on a 6 speed swap sooner than later, but I think I want to make it through Winter.

I'm gonna find a nice set of RPF1s and 5x114 knuckles and go all the way, but for now I need to get the car painted, it looks like a giant turd sandwich.

 

That's exactly what I noticed on the plots, yay for math

 

Is your strut bar the same one in this build?
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2185659

 

Drive that thing over this weekend if you need to get some miles on it, ill be poking around my car trying to wrap up interior painting this weekend - hit me up! Just don't leave it alone because I will steal the hood off it!

 

Sweet build thread, amazing read! (so far)
Am I sensing a B.S.G. theme to title Starbuck (aka Kara)? As in Kara (Starbuck) Thrace, iirc....

 

Hey Se7enrex, I was at Austin City Limits this last weekend so my apologies for not replying/coming over! It sucks I was supposed to get tuned this morning at RS but then my flight was canceled last night so I missed my tuning appointment. Hoping to schedule one soon, but I'll be around this weekend if you are, I could totally come over!

jas3087, you're correct It was my favorite sci fi series and followed my theme of naming my GC8's. My first was Sarah, Then Tara and now Kara. I didn't however think through that she was the "habinger of death" before building an overpowered lightweight car without ABS, airbags or the USDM crash beams. Oh well, just minor details.

 

So I was going to swap my STi tank in to fix my fuel level problem. But with it almost winter and me not wanting to race the car, I don't care about the baffles enough to do all of that. But to confirm it was just the sending unit. The GC8 ranges in ohms much different than the GD's. So my tank was always sending the wrong ohm range. Now that that's fixed the car is pretty much 100% until next spring when I decide to install an entire new driveline/suspension.

Tomorrow it gets tuned, I'll be posting the #'s up shortly after. I'm hoping/guessing 250-270 @ BP 93 on RS' dyno, but we'll see. I also have to wire in my GM 3 port BCS while I'm there.

 

Car got tuned today, Ronnie helped me finish my GM BCS install (was having issues with my ****ty hose) and we were on the dyno. Overall it was a problem free morning and full of pleasant surprises. My injector duty cycles were pretty high, but we were still able to make decent power. As I stated above my goal power was 250-27 on RS' dyno. We ended the morning with 275AWHP, which IMO for a stock engine + turbo back + STP intake + GM BCS, that's pretty damn good for a subaru on pump gas.

Here's the dyno chart, the powerband is pretty baller.

 

Nice. Is that really your license plate?
So how's it feel to drive now?

 

Hanging out with your FMIC out.

 

It feels pretty damn awesome, you can tell it's light and the engine pulls pretty damn hard to 7500 RPMs. I'm very happy with it.

Hah yeah Eric, it was going to be a surprise, but it isn't here yet. I have it on the way, expecting it any day now. It's a throwback to the old owner in the early 2000's, this is a pic he posted in 2006 and it matches my personality.

 

I briefly thought about getting "JDM JA" for the Saabaru, but figured it was a little too oblique.

 

Do it!
http://www.rs25.com/forums/f196/t213308-octobers-subaru-cotm-contest-booty-shot.html

 

SDM JA...

 

Haha Sjogun, you're right I should I guess my title came today but STILL NO PLATES... I'm going mad, it's been like 6 weeks and they said it could take up to 60 days.

Eric you should, then we can have an awesome photoshoot with our plates

 

This week is all about lighting!

I'm pretty much out of control at this point. Last night I did some research, since I'm running a mini battery (in the winter) I want to replace every light I can with LED's. So I spent more money than I should on LED lights to replace all external lights. At first I thought it was a bit ricey, but I wanted something that looked better with all of the JDM clear lenses as far as it glowing orange. The verdict is still out but this is a pic I found of someone who did the mod to their GC8 a year or so back.



As you can see it's a much cleaner/solid color.

I also picked up these (brand new with the paperwork)


I'm also still looking for a paint shop D: But it gets snow tires this week and an alignment next week.

 

I have all LED lights on the exterior of my car, and love them. If you're doing blinkers, you need a resistor. Superbrightleds.com is where I got all my stuff. The resistor replaced the factory flasher under the left side of the dash.

 

That's hilarious man, that's the exact same place I got mine! I've actually ordered RGB LED strips for my media room from them and remembered they did car stuff, super high quality LED's. Are you happy with how they turned out? I wasn't sure how intense I should go with the brightness so I went with 5 LED's for most of mine.

I got the new flasher relay like this guy https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor.../fl3-red-led-bulb-electronic-flasher/780/834/ because I figured since it works like a 555 timer with a capacitor discharge it would flash quickly. Hopefully that works, sounds like you got the same part.

BTW I still owe you a ride.

 

Got a new plate candidate for your next build: "FF0099"

 

And another one, this time a double-entendre inspired by @tehfuzz :

 

**** that's dope. I wanted an EVoPWNR plate too for a while then I realized I would have to spend another $20k to make it faster than an evo. I got these motha crackas today though! I feel like I'm seeing a celebrity I've looked at pictures of them online for years and tried to find them.

 

Nice! Also, Miller High life is the champagne of beers and the breakfast of champions.

 

Can't wait to see them installed!

 

I've only had 20 minutes of driving the beast with snow tires on in the snow... but it's incredible. I've driven quite a few cars with snow tires, including my 2014 Evo X, my old IX and my 04 STi and this car seems to benefit the most. I think it has to do with it weighing absolutely nothing.

Also the license plate came in! It took 70 days for the plate to come and 15 days for the tires to come. It goes into paint on the 24th too!

 

Nice butt

 

I love this thread. I'm so happy it went to a good home

 

Thanks man, I actually was at my friends late Sunday night drove by your place to see if lights were on to show you the car but it was too late for me to pester you. If I'm in town again at a decent hour I'll stop by, figured I would wait until it was finished anyway.

The car is going wingless today, Kyle (Sjogun) you should come claim your spoiler sometime. Car will now be Black, Steel Blue Mica, Silver and Green, LOL. But! wait there's more! It goes into paint Monday. RS doors will have the side molding peeled off, then the holes welded/shaved, rear minor rust spot will be fixed, side skirts will be installed/painted, rear JDM window installed and then the car will be repainted Steel Blue Mica but this time with a high quality clear coat.

I'm also working on a homemade/DIY telematics system. Lets just say if you try to steal my car you're probably gonna have a broken nose and you're not going to get very far I'll be able to disable the car anywhere and set off the primary airbag if need be and get it's location. Yes I'm crazy, but this car has too much time/money invested in it. I'll also have features like remote start and lock/unlock, but that will just be a bonus. I'll post one last picture tomorrow with it's ugliness and wingless trunk.

 

I can come by next week sometime. I'll bring that splitter for you...and I'll dig up an auto dim mirror for you as well!

 

Not many updates, just being patient while it's at the paint shop. But here's some sneak previews of the next interior mod. A full 05 STi interior swap. Will be wrapping all of the brushed metal panels with matte black 3M vinyl. I also bought an RSTi badget then I realized it was A.) not very JDM of me and B.) it's not an RS 2.5 D: I'm going to try to install this newer rear view mirror that has a compass built in as well, but need my car back to see how I can make it work.

I'm also working on finding an 2012 STi steering wheel, but that's a different story.

 

WE NEED PAINTED PICS

 

Hah... I can't express to you how anxious I am to see pics myself I called them today and they said it's all on track. They're going to paint more than expect (but somehow the price isn't going up) and since they're doing the door sills I can choose whatever color I want. So then I started thinking... which is a bad thing but I'm going to stick with the original color idea. The only other color I would settle on is White.

With that said I found my next mod/wish list. BTW: The list is out of control at this point.

Apparently the 2015 WRX STI has a hydraulic steering rack still, even though the WRX has an electric. It also happens to be a 13:0:1 ratio, meaning this will get me one step closer to emulating my beloved Evo IX. The Evo IX had the exact same ratio and I can't explain to you how amazing it is. Before this, the only option was buying the Group N steering rack (same ratio) for $4000, the 2015 STI is MSRP'd at about $500.

I'm still trying to find a new steering wheel, I cannot find a 2008-2011 STi steering wheel... it's driving me bonkers.

I'll post pics of the paint job soon!

 

Dude I looked into the same thing with the rack - few guys have done it but you need a subframe from a GD if possible or cut yours all up. There is a thread on nasioc and RS25 (i am sure you read them) outlining this on the GD chassis. You also have to cut the rods a pit short on either side and get thinner nuts IIRC. It does work though! http://www.flatironstuning.com/p-2633-2015-sti-steering-rack.aspx

Those guys have it figured out - I just decided on a 2004 STi rack and cleaning it all up with new pieces - easier swap for me and not too much customization needed.

 

Yeah I didn't realize the GD subframe was needed. Which means if I go to that I have to "shim" my JDM front lower control arms I plan(ned) on buying from a friend, which I would really don't want to do. Or going to GD lower control arms which have a little wider track.

Which makes me think about something quick. The reason you would need to cut off part of the shaft where the tie rod ends go is because of the wider track of the 2015. Which means a GC8 would require MORE cutting and possibly cause an issue. Meaning if I were to do this, I would need the lower control arms from a GD and the front subframe.... ugh. If I got with the wider track, that means I need GD axles which are 10mm longer than the GC8's meaning then I need to start thinking about a 6 speed swap instead of the 4.44 I was intending. However I think there's some wiggle room and things that can be done, if you look at this thread (the one I was reading when I posted my thoughts) you can see there may be more material to cut off without causing issues. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2681059&highlight=steering

I got the 3M flat black wrap, this was a quick and dirty wrap to test how it would adhere and look but so far it's pretty incredible looking (only on the door in the pic).