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SMH LOL - Full 05 STi Swap - finding lineage and building a racecar for the street

43K views 183 replies 20 participants last post by  Razor7 
#1 · (Edited)
BIG UPDATE POST #90: http://www.rs25.com/forums/f145/3541362-post90.html

Hi guys,

Long time lurker/shopper on here. Been through quite a few Subarus in my time, and a few GC/GM/GF chassis over time.

96L EJ205 swapped wagon - Peeling White
2000 RS Coupe - STM and cobwebs
2001 RS Sedan - BRP - Current DD
1998 L coupe - Avery Bright Blue Metallic - Current monster

Well I just sold my 2000 RS coupe and 2002 WRX wagon, in order to get the cars I've always wanted, a BRP 01 RS sedan and a 98 L coupe powered by 2005 STi running gear.

The L has gone through quite a few hands, both on the forums and off, and tracing it back has been a chore, mostly finding deleted FS threads, and sparse information otherwise. I was able to track a few of the forum owners, from qax, powerneedy, and silver70lt1.

I believe the swapped state of the car started in the hands of qax, who I think had the swap done by Garage Tuning back in the day. It then moved onto powerneedy, who tore down the motor and rebuilt it while adding some small bits. I think it went to a non forum owner, then the owner I bought the car from. Previous owner fixed a lot of small things on the car and kept very good care of it, and also DIY wrapped it in Avery Bright Blue Metallic.

Saw the car pop up on CL and it looked like it was in good shape, and I happened to be passing through the area, so I checked it out. I was sold after the test drive, and talking to the owner who I seemed to have a lot in common with.

The car is in smog mode right now, on a factory map, with only a Cobb catback on it. It is blistering fast, and will only get faster. I plan to campaign the car in Global Time Attack Enthusiast class to start, so the car will be built accordingly to the class rules.

I'm still sorting through the mod list given from the previous owners, and will post one eventually. Also, proper pics will be coming soon, but for now, here are some phone pics from my first day of ownership

Here are the mods on the car from day 1 of my ownership, based on what I was told, what I saw, and what was in the supplied paperwork:

05 STi Motor, fully rebuilt. Currently has 17k miles on the rebuild
05 STi complete drivetrain(6MT, diff, driveshaft, hubs, brakes, etc)
05 STi BBS wheels, 17x8 +53ET
05 STi Engine and bulkhead harness and cluster
05 STi front subframe, 98L rear subframe
05 STi Pedal set
05 STi Steering wheel, column, and steering rack

Aftermarket stuff:

Motor and drivetrain:

Cobb catted downpipe and catback
Welded TGV deletes
AMR hard inlet
Exedy twin plate clutch
Cobb shifter bushings
STi short shifter
GroupN trans mount
JDM WRX coolant overflow tank
GD chassis Koyo radiatior

Suspension:

Feal 441 Coilovers
Cobb front and rear sway bars with rear mounts

Interior:

Version 5 door cards and rear panels
New carpet
Some Kenwood headunit and upgraded speakers

Exterior:

RS hood
RS side skirts
RS wipers with deflector
Version 6 JDM STi wing
Depo black housing headlights
Depo amber corner lights
Replica JDM STi front lip
Replica GDB STi hoodscoop (bleh :-/)

A lot of this is going to change, as I will be building the car to my liking, as well as prepping it for track time.







 

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#80 ·
I kinda did a thing...



I vowed I would never get a super loud exhaust again, but I figure, this will eventually be a racecar, and needs to make racecar noise, so what the hell. It a full 3" Blitz Nur-spec axleback. I got lucky and it mated to the Cobb midpipe without too much issue. Its officially loud AF. I love it. I'll be swapping between this and the Cobb for track and street respectively. Only had to trim the bumper just a little lol.

Also, Cobb Tuning was nice enough to come onboard the program, with an AP V3, 4-bar MAP sensor, Flex Fuel kit, and Fuel Pressure sensor kit. WOOT!

 
#82 ·
Allows the ECU to accurately read over 40 psi. Technically its overkill for my current setup, but its part of my plan of future-proofing. Will pair well with a built motor and bigger turbo. Will most likely go with a new Garrett G25-550 or 660 when the motor gets built.

As for the next update, I have no pics of anything since nothing has currently changed. I've been driving the car periodically to enjoy it before it goes down for the full offseason build.

I have three places left to fortify the car, and they are three of the most important. Fueling, safety equipment, and gauges.

Fueling:
I already have a host of IAG fuel system parts, ID1000s, and Cobb Flex fuel kit and Fuel pressure sensor, however I still need to flesh out the big parts of the fuel system. At the least I will be running an AEM 50-1200 E85 in-tank pump, but at this time I want to add a Radium FST, as I don't want to starve the stock block of fuel. This also make me want to add a larger return line to as well. This just comes down to money at this point. If I want to play, I have to pay.

Safety equipment:
This is self explanatory. I need to be safe on the track. This is not a want, but an absolute requirement. There won't be a roll bar at this time, as I want to keep the car a street car, but I did get an old Rally Innovations harness bar from a friend, to facilitate in harness ROUTING, not MOUNTING. Harness will be mounted at the seat belt anchor points. The rest of the safety stuff are the usual bits, new helmet, suit, gloves, etc.

Gauges:

To be continued
 
#83 ·
...Continued:

Gauges:

Well I had a plan to run a bunch of Defi gauges in the coupe, but I didn't really like the idea of clutter in the car, so I aimed a little higher and found a good deal on an AiM Sport MXL Pro dash for the car. At least I'll have all the pertinent information in one place on one dash versus running a bunch of gauges. It hurt the wallet some, but in the long run I think it will make for a better setup. Now to get all of the add-ons...
 
#85 ·
Another update:

Car still has not gone down, still enjoying driving it, and amassing a mountain of parts.

Finally got my fuel pump and ARP wheel studs.

Got a used STi cluster wiring harness so Brian at Iwire can build me a wiring harness for the AiM MXL Pro so I can remove it from the car as needed. All the sensors are coming as well.

I think I am going to be asking for trouble doing this entire install at once. The car will be a completely different car once its complete. :lol:
 
#87 ·
Well, finally started tearing the car apart. Turbo, headers, uppipe, intake manifold are all out right now.

Running the IAG turbo/AVCS oil feed line and power steering line right now, and measuring all of the fuel hose to cut and fit for AN fittings. TMIC was drilled for a GM IAT, as I am going straight speed density rather than a hybrid setup. Made fabbing up the intake piece I needed much easier.

Doing all of the motor/power parts first, and the transmission finally, then onto the suspension last.

Things I still need to buy:

Tires
Pads
Sensors and harness for AiM dash
Oil pan, baffle, and pickup
Safety gear. Like almost all of it :-/


No pics because I'm too lazy to upload them.
 
#90 ·
BIG UPDATE

Well, install took longer than I thought for all of the engine and transmission related stuff, but its all done!!!

The main reason that the install of all of the parts took so long is that I chose to hide everything as best I could, and route everything as clean as possible. Also, it was just a lot of shit to install. Car went from a basic stage 2 swapped L to an almost completely bolted on car.

I chose to hide all the mods I could, and keep a clean engine bay, mainly for smog purposes here in CA. If the hood gets popped, you can only see the Grimmspeed TMIC upon first glance. You really have to go looking for the rest of the stuff.

Parts installed:

Version 6 JDM STi Airbox with 3.5" MAF housing
APS inlet
Cobb 20g
Grimmspeed TMIC
Cobb 4 bar MAP sensor
Cobb Fuel Pressure sensor kit
Cobb Flex Fuel sensor kit
iWire Speed Density conversion with GM IAT
IAG TGV deletes
IAG Fuel rails and Flex Fuel line kit
ID 1050Xs
AEM 320L E85 ready fuel pump 50-1200
Grimmspeed ported header ready for EGT probe
Grimmspeed uppipe

And I'm still running the Cobb midpipe to the Blitz Nur Spec axleback.

I also installed the new Rallispec built transmission:

JDM Long ratio gearset
Rallispec DCCD clutch pack
OS Giken Super Lock front LSD tuned by the head tech at OS Giken USA
All new syncros and shift forks, etc, etc...

Car has been converted to speed density, as recommended by my tuner Travis at Snail Performance. I also could not get a custom MAF pipe in time, so SD it is. Car runs great for being on a base tune, and will only get better once protuned. I'm hoping the car will probably make about 320-340 WHP on CA 91 on the Mustang Dyno at Snail. Car will be protuned this week.

The transmission is an absolute charm. The gearing is perfect, and I mean PERFECT. Exactly what I was looking for in an all-around street car. It still goes quickly, and yet has a very comfortable cruising RPM. The OS Giken front diff is insane. I thought the stock 05 STi front helical diff was great, but this OS diff is something to behold. I can only hope I can do this setup justice on track.

Next up is the suspension install. I have to finish valving all four dampers, build them, figure out a camber plate solution, install the front control arms that I've already prepped, and install the rear STi pink suspension bits.

I also still need to install the external oil cooler, order the KillerB oil pan setup, get tires, brake pads, and safety gear. Oh and register for the first Global Time Attack event of the year on March 31st. SO MUCH STUFF.

Here are a few pics I snapped during the install of everything:















 
#93 ·
Yeah man, my motivation is the initial round of Global Time Attack at the end of this month, and also my tuner can only tune the car this week. I'm in a time crunch now, but I should hopefully be able to get everything done. Now I just need to buy entry into the event, tires, pads, and some safety gear.

Dude! Sweet! I like that you took the time to hide some of the stuff. Looks great so far.
Thanks man, yeah, there are a few things I could have done better on, mainly the valve cover vacuum lines, but I'm going to clean them up once I get the bracket fabbed for the IAG AOS.
 
#98 ·
Well, got some #pluskey from Travis at Snail Performance and I couldn't be happier!

Car did 313WHP/337WTQ which is about where I thought it would be on the current setup.

ECU was pulling some timing due to the crap 91 I tanked up with from Chevron, and the fuel pressure was petering out up top due to not having a hard-wired fuel pump. Couldn't get the iWire FPC harness in time due to budget constraints, but it is coming soon, along with a surge tank and Bosch 044. I shouldn't have ANY fueling issues then. Now I just need to stop using Chevron...

Vid to follow shortly, but here is the graph. We put a splash of Ignite E85 in just to see what the ECU would do, and it did advance the timing a bit, but we decided not to push it, and left the map the way it was for 91 ACN.

 
#100 ·
Thanks man! Just glad the engine and trans stuff is done.

I got the front control arm setup in right before I got it tuned, now I just need to get the rear STi pink setup in, and finish the dampers, and the suspension will be done. Then it will be safety gear, tires, hopefully a KillerB oil pan combo, brake pads, and some other little finishing touches.
 
#101 ·
ANOTHER BIG UPDATE

Well, I got it done. Seat, harness bar, and harness were installed. AOS installed. Suspension sort of dialed in. Brake pads in and bedded. Oil cooler installed. Podium achieved.

Here are some pics from the last few weeks because I've been horrible at updating this thread:

Here is the AOS install, I may look into hiding it a bit more, but its as clean as I can make it for now:



here is the oil cooler install, I initially had a small 19 row core, but after looking up the specs, it definitely wasn't enough. Luckily, one of my sponsors hooked it up with a 25 row big boy core that was more suited to my power numbers:






Here is the seat, harness bar, and harness. Its a Racetech RT4009HR, Sabelt HANS compatible 6-point harness, and old school Rally Innovations harness bar. Harness bar is being pulled very soon for an Autopower 4-point roll bar with removable cross and diagonal bars.



Here is the rear suspension links finally installed. I was a little disappointed with the rear camber numbers I got, so my measurements were off, considering I'm using a suspension meant for a 5x114 STi. I ended up having to use a SPC camber bolt in the uprights to dial in a little more negative camber in the rear. Got about -1.5, looking for -2. I'm going to end up going with 05 STi aluminum lateral links, hopefully the JDM versions with the pillowball bearings as well. Also installed the Kartboy rear end links as the car only came with stock ones.




Here are the dampers I ended up using, Based on the AST 5100 single adjustable inverted dampers, running 8k/8k front and rear springs, with customer valving by me with input from a good friend of mine. Old Whiteline KCA251S front camber plates because its all I had laying around, and Bakemono rear camber plates. With this setup in the front, I have the ability to run up to -5 degrees of camber in the front. Obviously I won't be doing that, but I'm going to settle on -3.5 degrees in the front, and -2 in the rear. At the track I had the alignment set up specifically for Buttonwillow, and it worked out great, based on my tire wear patterns.

 
#102 ·
And the result:



I ended up warping the front rotors and boiling the fluid, which sucked. I broke too early and too long, but thats what I get for being a first timer out at Buttonwillow. For all the times I've been there running support for our sponsored drivers, I have never turned a wheel on course until this event. I got a chance to lean the track and there is a lot more time left in this setup.

For the next event at Willow Springs, I have the following priorities:

Autopower four point roll bar
Cut the brake rotors and re-bed the DTC-30s
Install the rear ARP wheel studs
Install my new KillerB oil pan, baffle, and pickup (this gives me close to 8 quarts of oill capacity, including the oil cooler.)
Swap to the Cobb catback or build a rear bumper exhaust shield
 
#105 ·
Awesome!!

Nice to see some real progress with this thing. Did you get any telemetry data?

I think my blanks warped slightly in the front, too. Good enough for another day though.

Let me know how bad it is to install the killer B pan with the engine in the cradle still. I wish I had done it when my motor was on the stand...

Do you have more pictures of the AOS? I'm still thinking of where I want to tuck it away.

What tires were you running?

I was getting fuel cuts after turn 15 at Thunderhill after burning 7.5 gallons of gas. Did you get any fuel cut? I don't think the STI slosh box is doing that great of a job...

-TC
 
#107 ·
awesome!!

Nice to see some real progress with this thing. Did you get any telemetry data?
No telemetry is setup yet. I have to wait for my budget to free up before I can get the AiM dash wired up.

i think my blanks warped slightly in the front, too. Good enough for another day though.
I'm going to have both sets of my rotors cut, hopefully I can salvage the ones I used. If not, I have some friends that have some really nice rotors I DON'T want to spend money on LOL

Let me know how bad it is to install the killer b pan with the engine in the cradle still. I wish i had done it when my motor was on the stand...
It'll be straight forward. Just jackacking up the motor from the header for clearance, since I will also be installing new GrpN motor mounts.

do you have more pictures of the aos? I'm still thinking of where i want to tuck it away.
As requested:




what tires were you running?
Ended up running what I had since my budget is tight. Michelin Pilot Super Sports, 300TW, 225/45/17

i was getting fuel cuts after turn 15 at thunderhill after burning 7.5 gallons of gas. Did you get any fuel cut? I don't think the sti slosh box is doing that great of a job...
I was out for about 15 mins at a time per session, burned 1/4 tank per session. Never had a starvation issue at that fuel level. Anything under or even close to a half tank, and you will have an issue, based on one of my sponsored driver's cars, and they had a Holley Hydramat. I'll be putting together a surge tank, hopefully in time for the next event. Surge tank will be a stand alone, with an external fule pump, most likely a Bosch 044. I'll need to get my iWire FPC harness and also a re-tune when that happens. Even though this car is only going to be a "street" car, I still want a surge tank for safety, as I don't want to burn the motor up.

I'm aiming to prep every supporting system to keep the motor happy at track events. Oil and water cooling is done for now, and once the fuel system is done, it should be more than enough to support the car to my target power, around 450whp. After that, I'll just be waiting for the OEM block to take a shit, then a built motor will go in, as well as bigger injectors and bigger turbo.

-tc


i thought i saw your car in a picture with black coupe that's been on speedhunters..loving the progress so far. Glad she held up at the track minus the rotors.
Yeah man, I met that guy right as I got there in the morning and I was showing him around my car. Nice guy, he ended up getting bumped to Street Class due to his tires, Falken RT-615K 200TW. Other than that he wasn't far off my times, which I'll attribute to it being my first time actually driving BW, and that event being my first time on the track in over 10 years. By the end of the year, I'm hoping to be under 2:10 at BW. I doubt I'll get to sub 2s without more seat time and better tires.
 
#108 ·
Is your sponsored driver running the hydramat in conjunction with a slosh box? I wonder if stuffing one of these in there would be helpful, or if it'd make little to no difference.

Holley 16-116 2.5"" x 8" HydraMat(R), Rectangle

Are you rubbing with the 225s? I had issues with rubbing on my 215s, but that was when I was running V6 inverted struts. I wonder if I now have clearance with the coilovers and can stuff wider tires in there.

Looks like you ran (coolant reservoir -> inlet on AOS), (outlet on AOS -> Inlet on turbo). Is that correct? That's actually a bit simpler to install than I expected - I figured you'd splice it in between the passage way that runs from block to throttle body.

-TC
 
#109 ·
Is your sponsored driver running the hydramat in conjunction with a slosh box? I wonder if stuffing one of these in there would be helpful, or if it'd make little to no difference.

Holley 16-116 2.5"" x 8" HydraMat(R), Rectangle
Sponsored driver is no longer running the hydramat, but went with a full Radium fuel cell with integrated surge tank

Are you rubbing with the 225s? I had issues with rubbing on my 215s, but that was when I was running V6 inverted struts. I wonder if I now have clearance with the coilovers and can stuff wider tires in there.
No rubbing whatsoever with 225s. Ran about -1.5deg negative camber. 17x8 +50ET Enkei PF01s. No spacers in the rear. I'm probably going to end up going with 17x9 +45ET RPF1s because they're cheap. I'll most likely need to run a 5mm spacer in the rear, and I'm already running 10mm worth of spacer in the front to stagger the track width, so I'll either stick with that up front, or move up to 15mm worth of spacer. We'll see.

Looks like you ran (coolant reservoir -> inlet on AOS), (outlet on AOS -> Inlet on turbo). Is that correct? That's actually a bit simpler to install than I expected - I figured you'd splice it in between the passage way that runs from block to throttle body.
Correct, this is how IAG has the installation set up. Its a pretty cake install, the biggest pain in the ass is running the lines to the IAG supplied T-fitting, then clearing the TMIC compressor discharge hose, as it gets a little tight in there. But its all dependent on the setup you have. I have the Grimmspeed TMIC and Y-pipe, so the silicone hose is a little thicker where it connects to the turbo, and space is at a premium there. Great AOS otherwise. I recommend it for EVERY turbo car that comes through.

-TC
 
#112 ·
Got the rear ARP studs in finally, now that I had some free time.

Also, bleeding the brakes again to flush all the old fluid out and getting some new ATE SuperBlue in it. Still had one last can from the old days.

Now I'll need to figure out my rotor issue, and then pull the Racetech bucket and harness bar and put the STi seat back in. I want to drive the car until I'm able to get the Autopower rollbar
 
#115 ·
There are two brackets, one to the top of the strut tower, and one to the side of it. Its a little hidden. You should be able to see them in this pic if you look:



JJ at IAG told me with some slotting and washers I could use the original bracket that was supplied, but I wanted to hold on to that for the day I swap the AC system over to the GD setup and get rid of that accumulator/drier on the strut tower.

I wanted the two brackets for stability since the can is sitting right over the AC hardline. I also put a split hose over the hardline to protect it just in case.
 
#118 · (Edited)
Looking good!

I just went to button Willow last weekend, and I had the same problem, my brake pads couldn't hang. No fluid boil, just pad fade. My fault for using street ceramic pad on track. I was able to do a 2:20 cooking the pads.

When are you going out to steets of Willow? I'm gonna be going on the 12th of next month for the Subie Challage event. It would be cool to meet you in person!
 
#119 ·
Thanks man! Likewise!

Yeah I opted to try the DTC30s, I'm just going to move up to the DTC60s.

I'll be going to Big Willow for the next GTA Pro-AM on June 3rd. I didn't know about the Subie Challenge, but I'll be out at GTA Road Atlanta that weekend running support for the Snail team. I don't have enough budget this year to run the full GTA schedule, so I'm sticking to the CA Pro-Am events.

Yeah I'm always down to meet other Classic owners! If you see me anywhere, don't hesitate to say hi! I'd love to check our your build as well, shit is SIIIIICK.
 
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