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RHD5280's 1995 L coupe - 2006 STI Swap, widebody, GTX3076R, NOW WITH dry sump!!!

133K views 513 replies 68 participants last post by  cookdaddy 
#1 · (Edited)
Introduction

My name is Jeff and I live in Thornton, CO. This is my first member journal ever, so bear with me as I add to this over time. I started this journal so that I can document, in very good detail, the conversion that my 1998 1995 Impreza L coupe will go under very soon. I am not new to the Subaru community, I have a 2005 blue/gold STi in the garage that I adore very much, but I was ready to ditch my Focus RS conversion and take on something with AWD.

UPDATES:

Post #13: Car changes
Post #26-27: EJ18 gets ripped out
Post #30-31: Interior gets Roto-rooted
Post #32: First hit on a potential donor car in Japan
Post #50: Plans change, going USDM STI
Post #56: 2006 Donor STi ARRIVES!!!
Post #57: Color Schemes Pondered...
Post #61: Compression Test, Blitz FMIC, JDM AL hood, shopping list
Post #62: Body Prep Pics
Post #65: Shopping - E85 conversion parts, Hydra EMS, 97-01 dash
Post #71: Shopping - Zeal coilovers, up-pipe, APS inlet
Post #72: Dash Conversion How To!
Post #73: BBS LM F1 Championship SCORE!!!
Post #76: New (Old) Roof is in! +++ Vent
Post #89: Aerosim widebody kit progress
Post #94: Driver's Side DONE!!!
Post #96: Paint Part DEUX!!!
Post #105: Car is PAINTED!!!!
Post #106: Rear Harness Installed
Post #125: Engine/Transmission are IN!!!!!
Post #153: 2.5i manifold and Fuel System Upgrade
Post #162: Trouble's abrewin'... ;)
Post #193: A Walk Down Memory Lane......
Post #289: The Titanium Fisaco


The Car

I purchased the 1998 Impreza L coupe in December 2008 from a dealership in Michigan after an exhaustive 4-month search. I was completely set on 3 things: Coupe, White, and No Rust. I got 2 of the 3 (some minor rust is apparent on the driver's side rear quater panel, which will be fixed soon)The purchase price was $3,000, and had 174k miles on it at that time. It was shipped to my house where I took delivery and started daily driving to keep the miles down on the Focus so that I could sell it.

Update: Sold the 1998 Impreza L, bought a 1995 Impreza L coupe with a blown clutch for $1000. This is why some pics are of a white car, and others are of a red car. The 1995 is the red one, but soon to be Aspen White.

Current Pic:



Goals

My goal with the car was somewhat simple: keep it light, keep it nimble, make it powerful. I am most likely going to be daily driving this after the swap is complete, so I want some reliability, but not a dyno queen of power. 350WHP is plenty on a 2700 lbs car if you ask me.

Plans

I knew that I would be doing a swap on this car, the question was which swap was going to occur. I had 3 paths to explore: USDM STi, JDM GC8 swap, or JDM GDB swap. All of them have pros and cons, and I consulted a fair amount of Suby people to get their opinion on how best to attain my goals. The first option I threw out was the JDM GDB swap. Although these cars are built superbly, the only ones I would like are the V8/9, since they come with the 6-speed DCCD tranny. Since these clips go for around $10,000 and the amount of exterior parts I would get with the clip wouldn't bolt on, I threw this option out. So it was down to 2.

After deciding on either USDM STI or JDM GC8, I was given the opportunity to buy a wrecked 2006 STI from Kevin at Garage Tuning. I pounced on the chance, and while the conversion might be a bit more difficult, in the end, I think I will have a far superior car.

Mod List
Power
2006 EJ257 STI swap
Hydra EMS (v2.7)
Element Tuning rotated turbo kit
gλµk FMIC piping
Garrett GTX3076R turbo (4" inlet, 0.63 A/R hotside)
TurboSmart UltraGate 38mm wastegate (non-recirculated)
ID1300 injectors
2.5i intake manifold
KSTech 19mm phenolic spacers
Radium Engineering Multi-Pump Surge Tank
Radium Engineering PTFE fuel lines
AEM 320lph E85 fuel pump (to surge tank)
Walbro 485 lph E85 fuel pump (in surge tank)
Cosworth fuel rails
Moore 2.5i manifold fuel rail spacers
Aeromotive FPR
Aeromotive 40 micron stainless steel fuel filter
Grimmspeed ported/coated headers
Grimmspeed coated crosspipe
ATI damper pulley
JIC Spartan De Type 1 full titanium exhaust
Blitz FMIC
Tial Q BOV
Koyo R1819 radiator
JDM coolant overflow tank
Denso Iridium one-step colder spark plugs
Evap system delete
A/C delete

Engine Build
EJ257 704 new block
OEM heat-treated crankshaft
Element Tuning forged rods
Cosworth 99.5 pistons
King bearings
11mm oil pump
Gates Racing timing belt kit
Tomei belt guide
LIC adjustable idlers
ARP head studs
Exedy lightweight flywheel
Exedy Stage 1 HD clutch

2006 WRX single AVCS D25 heads (raises CR to 8.7:1)
Kelford R-199-B camshafts (WPC treated)
OEM buckets
Ferrea Competition Plus +1mm intake/exhaust valves
Ferrea titanium retainers
Ferrea road race dual valve springs
TIC FU bolts
LIC halfmoons
Nameless EGR deletes
Mild bowl blend

Dry Sump System (Coming 2016)
ARE oil pan
Peterson 3-Stage pump (1.00" pressure section)
Peterson 2 gallon lightweight oil tank
Peterson 60 micron oil filter
Peterson catch can
Brown and Miller hoses

Handling
AST 5200 2-way coilovers
MSI Competition top hats
TurnIn Concepts lateral link/lower trailing link bushings (Sport)
STI pink trailing links
Whiteline 27/24mm F&R sway bars
Whiteline rear sway bar mounts
Whiteline anti-lift kit (Sport)
Whiteline roll center kit
JDM STI carbon fiber front strut bar
Cusco rear strut bar
STI Group-N transmission/engine mount kit
Beatrush pitch mount
Kartboy F&R endlinks
BBS LM F1 Championship Edition (17x9 +20)
Dunlop Direzza 255/40/17
ARP wheel studs
Muteki lug nuts
AP Racing big brake kit
Ferodo DS2500 (F), EBC RedStuff (R)
DBA slotted rear rotors
AP Racing brake/clutch fluid
DCCDPro

Exterior
Aerosim Research widebody kit with Burn-Up style lip
JDM V6 aluminum hood
JDM tail lights
JDM corner lights
JDM clear banana/side turn signals
JDM 22B hood vents
L'Aunsport WRC carbon fiber mirrors
JDM Type R roof vent
Aero locking gas cap
Bakemono V6 carbon fiber wing
Nurburgring trunk decal (fo sho!)

Interior
fully stripped (no carpet, plastics, radio, A/C, heat, airbags, sound deadening)
Prodrive WRC carbon fiber seat
Takata 5-point harness
2008 STI Sparco harness bar
STI titanium shift knob
Works Bell Quick Release (silver)
Works Bell short hub
Nardi Deep Corn steering wheel
AIM Sports MXL2 (oil pressure, oil temperature, fuel pressure, EGT)
JDM V6 STI Limited instrument cluster (repinned for GD STI swap)
JDM hazard button
Advanced Keys push button start system with JDM STI button
Flocked 98+ dash
Zeitronix ECA2
4-panel rear view mirror
Braille 11.5 lbs battery (mounted behind passenger seat)
gλµk carbon fiber switch panel
 

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#258 · (Edited)
I will update this by saying that I attempted to start the car up yesterday after sitting for about 9 months and it will crank over, but will not fire. I later determined that I did not program the immobilizer bypass correctly, so the ECU never got the green light to enable the ignition. I *think* I have it figured out, but if this doesn't work, I'm blaming the gas next......

 
#261 ·
So, I have been trying to get the car to fire up the past few days and all I get is cranking. I have changed a lot around, so I relooked at all my mechanical and electrical connections in the engine bay. Check. Then I look through the wiring of the keyless start kit. Check. I then narrow it down to three things: bad gas (9 months old with no stabilizer in it), immobilizer bypass is messed up, or the map I made is not working.

I got on the phone with iDataLink and described my situation. He stated that it is most likely a wiring issue, because in the programming phase of the bypass, it will let the engine start with the key (which is what I've been doing). BTW, iDataLink has very nice and knowledgeable customer service.

Before draining the gas next, I hook up the laptop and crank it one more time. Nothing is registering on the dashboard. Hmmmm. I then take a deeper look into the wiring behind the dash when, low and behold, every single connector coming from the fusebox to the engine bay is disconnected. :screwy::screwy::screwy:

I had remembered that when I was relocating the windshield washer tank and pulling the wires back into the interior, I had disconnected those to have better access to the two wires I need. Connect everything back up and *BOOM*, fires up in 3 seconds! :sunny::sunny::sunny:

I love this sound. It's so raw, so mean. A couple of blips of the throttle and the entire car shakes like a tiger in a cage during mating season. Need to work on my startup tune to smooth out idle and get the enrichment right, but its probably at least drivable. Going to test out the push-button start and then get the dash back together. Then, it's off the paint booth........:naughty:
 
#264 ·
All bad things:



My 05 STI has had some weird starting issues lately. It all started shortly after converting to top feed and swapping in an Aeromotive fuel pump. At first, I would have to crank several time in order for it to fire, but then it became a normal occurrence. I was thinking I was in for the dreaded ring land failure, but after listening closely to the fuel pump prime, I could tell that it was taking 2-3 seconds for it to build pressure up. I figured that the fuel pump is probably the culprit, so I picked up a Walbro GSS255 pump from Flatirons and swapped it in one night after the girls were in bed. First key turn, instant fire up!

Not sure what lead to the premature Aeromotive failure, but it was definitely 100% of the problem. After about 2 weeks of daily driving, I have not had one weird start issue. I know this pump is not rated for E85, but I never ran one drop of it in my STI, as its not tuned for it yet. I'll keep it as a spare, since it does still work, I just think the internal check valve is bad.
 
#267 ·
There definitely is a debate on the merits of these damper pulleys, but I figured since a lot of high HP Subarus are running these exclusively with great success, I should at least entertain the thought of one myself. If for no other reason than to minimize forces on the bearing surfaces......
 
#269 ·
So, I'm in pain.

I finally talked to my doctor about fixing my hernia I've had for a few years. It was getting to the point that it was bothering me daily. So, I went under the knife yesterday to fix it. I ended up having two hernias, one on each side of my groin. 5 incisions later, I'm at home recuperating.

I'll be back in the garage in a few weeks after my checkup.
 
#270 · (Edited)
Damn bro, Idk how you went that long! I had a hernia back in High School, and there was no way I could wait a week, let alone years! Mine was so bad that my intestines were sagging down into my scrotum. Gross I know... I only had 1 incision, and it took 7 staples iirc. Sometimes I get pains in that area and get scared that it will happen again.
Any ways, Wish u a speedy recovery!

Oh and BTW, ur build is coming along nicely! Ur doing everything that I should be doing... I just wish I could get mine on the damn road. Ive maybe put 100 miles on my new build. Hopefully these new parts I just acquired will get me back on the street. Fingers crossed!
 
#271 ·
Ouch, that sounds much worse than mine. I had a bulge on each side of my man V, but the tear was so large that my intestines would just go in an out freely. Doctors are more concerned if it gets trapped and strangulated, then its emergency surgery.

I've taken a bit of a focus shift and put it to my daily driven 05 STI this past week. I picked up a Element Tuning GT52 and will be getting a Process West TMIC for it as well. Slap it together with the Perrin inlet I still have, couple it with a V3 Accessport I just got this week, and I should be having much more fun on my way to/from work. A co-worker with a manual 05 FXT has offered to buy my stock VF39, TMIC, and old AP, so this upgrade will only cost me a few hundred bucks in the end. Not a bad way to pick up over 100 WHP!!!
 
#277 ·
Thanks guys. I am feeling much better now (not 100%, but getting there) and have started prepping the rest of the panels for paint. Part of the wing, one fog light cover, and roof vent are ready to go. I removed the FMIC to get some measurements for how much I need to trim off and realized the passenger side tube hits the intake vent on the bumper, so that will need to be trimmed back.

I am also trying to get my catback fixed up too. It looks like I will need to fab up a connector piece to finish it off. Pics will come soon to explain.....

Finally, I am picking up a very trick suspension, so you will need to await pics on that too. Let's just say that there are some pretty good acronyms going on the car......
 
#280 · (Edited)
Believe it or not, they were used on a track car for one year. Have about 500 miles on them, so they are practically brand new. The great part about them are the top hats from MSI are configurable for either GD or GC strut mounts. The original owner ordered them through Pure Tuning in Toledo, OH (PURE Tuning - Subaru GDB STI Time Attack)

AST Suspensions has a service warehouse in Santa Clara, CA where you can purchase spare parts and rebuilds from. You might want to contact them as well: usa.ast-suspension.com
 
#282 ·
Indeed. I was on the hunt for some Bakemono plates awhile back, but these are beefier and have the interchangeability too. I will take some closer pics of them soon.

In the meantime, I am doing body work. Roof scoop, front and rear bumpers, and fog light covers are prepped and ready, but I am tackling the doors right now. These will take the longest, as the passenger side had a medium dent in it and both sides still have a couple trim holes left to fill. The trunk, wing, and hood will go quickly. The bumpers sucked because I couldn't use a power sander for prep. I think I can still get everything sprayed soon, assembled, windshields installed before May 27th...........
 
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