Underdog

The pics next to your stockers is helpful. I actually like that they aren’t plain silver, but It’s interesting - I found this thread from a few years ago selling the same wheels and they do look really grey on the car, but throw so much more light in the other pics.

I’m used to the machined face with light grey paint of my current wheels, so this color might work out. As far as the 18” - hopefully it doesn’t look too spindly with the Brembos under there. While searching for pics I came across some 20” leggeras and the spoke proportions definitely start to look spider-like at that size. 

Thanks. I like the wheel design a lot and was considering the 18x8, but the pics of that color on google really cover quite a range from approaching silver to more of a gunmetal hue. Maybe it’s just direct lighting vs shade? I appreciate you letting me know about your experience with it. 

On 2/11/2023 at 5:23 AM, seanyb505 said:

@seanyb505 Do you recall if this is OZ’s “bright race grey” color?

3 hours ago, shralp said:

Quick question for you Underdog. I may choose to swap in an aftermarket drivers seat into my ‘05 track car but still need airbag functionality until I can afford a cage.  Does this mean that I only need to do the first two steps of your three step process, (The resistor and seat position sensor), to make it work since I’m not touching the passenger seat? 

Yep, you got it. Very easy if you’re only replacing the driver’s seat, and easy to reverse the mod as well. 

This is for USDM cars but I’d imagine the systems function similarly on JDM cars. 

1 minute ago, SoobyDoobyDoo said:

Finally got my rear brakes done, thankfully this time no sheared bolts. Finally got an electric impact, which makes a huuuuge difference breaking free 18 yr old rusted bolts. Had to turn it up on high for the drivers side to break away the bolts but it’s done. ‍

only thing now is I need the replacement caliper bolts to come in, lost one while I was cleaning them with my bench grinder. 
also, is there something wrong with this picture? Seems like the curved part should be in the curved portion of the casting but it seems like it’s off just enough to keep the bolts from engaging. Is this wrong? Cars gonna be parked anyway while I wait for new hardware. 

I’d caution against using a wire wheel to clean your hardware - it removes the protective coating and they will rust way more aggressively even with anti-seize. Better to replace the hardware with new OEM, especially for brakes/suspension, IMO. Trust me, I learned the hard way many years ago. 

The 6 pots look great. I was thinking about picking up a set versus rebuilding my 4 pots when it’s time to service them. Any gotchas or do they bolt right up like the older fronts?

GDT cooling kit sold to MasAyinde

Clean! Should be an easy sale at that price. GLWS

Thanks @cheeseenlo - that setup looks great, and I appreciate your feedback. I do like that the 235/40 is a little taller overall and it looks just right on the 8” wide wheel. 

50 minutes ago, Febreze Mee said:

@Underdogmaybe I missed this somewhere, but are you still selling this car?

Well yes and no. I’ve been getting the car ready for sale, but decided not to list it on BaT and haven’t posted up a sale thread yet. I’ve exchanged PMs with a few interested parties but the timing hasn’t been right. When BRZ orders open up I might feel a different sense of urgency, but right now I’m just enjoying wrenching on the car and driving it. 

Yeah I kinda realized that I might as well maintain & modify it as if I’m going to keep it, and if the right buyer comes along then I’m sure we’ll work out the particulars. 

If you come across the pic of the 225/45 yeah post it up. It all helps. 

I see what you mean. It looks like it fits the wheel well nicely at stock height, but does look chonky. Those are the as4s? I’ll look up the section width. Most of these wheels have an 8.5 wide option in 17 and/or 18 so I could go that route. I just go back to what I said about the 225 and 235 - might as well stay on the 7.5 wide wheel with 225 at that point  

I was thinking about getting a Bilstein fixed perch strut and OEM Spec.B spring combo so I could send the Bilstein coils for rebuild and still drive the car. I think I might like it and raise the car a bit after I get the coils back. 

6 hours ago, 08Spec_B said:

Awesome write up! For the switch resistors, what W rating did you use? That is the one part thats I dont quite understand how its figured/calculated. 

 

Thanks! I used regular 1/4W resistors. It’s just a rating how much heat the resistor can dissipate, which is the product of voltage and amperage in a DC circuit. I don’t know the current draw of the sensor but figured it’s likely on the order of 10-100mA, which would mean a resistor power rating of 1/8W to 1W would be sufficient. Only downside to overspec’ing is cost and having to find room for the larger resistors. Of course going too low on the power rating means the resistor performance will degrade over time due to overheating. Haven’t had any issues since I did the mod in ~2018, but will certainly update here if that changes. 

@cheeseenlo how much would you say you adjusted the pedal overall? I think it’s more of an issue in multi plate due to the stack up and subsequent wear of the multiple friction discs. Single disc kits should have around the same stack height as stock, but it’s still a good thing for people to inspect occasionally to prevent premature TOB or main bearing wear. 

Agreed with @08Spec_B - valve job, new seals, set the lash, and rock it. 

If you have a later EJ257 shortblock then you likely have the 24cc dished piston which puts you at a calculated CR of 8.57:1 with the D25 heads, which is perfectly safe and will be tuned around with boost targets and ignition timing.

If you instead had the 22cc piston from your original EJ255 (also used in the 05 STI with B25 heads) then your CR ends up around 8.76:1. Cometic makes head gasket in a a variety of thicknesses you could use to bring this back down, but again it really only limits the boost target since your dynamic compression ratio will be higher for the same boost pressure.

Thanks for the feedback @seanyb505. The Leggera HLT is definitely a contender as well, and looks great on your car. In what way did the 245 feel too wide for the 8”? It doesn’t look squished on there. Did you have any rubbing?

I had 225/45-17 on an 8” wide wheel before and they were a little more stretched than I’d prefer. See quoted pics below  

I’m all about sticking with a 17” for more sidewall as well as filling up the wheel with brakes. The only upside to 18” for me is that it’s easier to clean the barrel of the wheel. 
 

On 9/9/2011 at 9:13 PM, Underdog said:

Looking at a few wheel options... The current setup is 18x7.5 e48 with a 225/40-18 tire, handling is sharp and the tire looks good on the wheel (squared off). I think it would look better with another 10mm of poke, just so it isn't quite so tucked.

The next wheels will be 8" wide with a 45-48mm offset, I just haven't decided if they'll be 17" or 18". I am tempted to run either a 245/40 or 245/35 tire, respectively. 225 just doesn't seem like enough tire on an 8" and with 235 you either need to go with a slightly shorter tire, or one that's much taller. I can always adjust the coilovers and camber bolts/bushings, or roll the fenders, but I don't think this setup is that extreme. What's your bet - will it rub?

On to the candidates... RPF1 - timeless or boring? It definitely is period-correct, and an iconic design that looks at home on any Subaru. Also you cannot beat the low weight at 16.05lbs for the 17x8 and 17.95 for the 18x8, especially at their price-point. The silver paint is okay but I prefer something like the bright silver OZ below, or the storm grey Enkeis. Not really up for gold, bronze, black, or chrome.

Another classic design from the same era but has aged more gracefully. Always liked the way this wheel looked on the Legacy in pics shared here on the forum. At 17.4lbs for 17x8 and 18.4 for 18x8 it is another very lightweight option and comparable in price to the RPF1.

Kinda been feeling like the car needs a little exterior refresh. This is the Enkei TSR-X which is available in 18x8 e45 and weighs 19.3lbs. I like the sharper look and feel like it modernize the car a bit, especially over freshened up Brembos. Will it look out of place on a 17y/o car? The storm grey has kind of a hypersilver look to it that I think will pick up the chrome on Underdog pretty nicely.

Another throwback design - the TMS gives off snowflake vibes from the 3rd gen that I always liked. Definitely the wrong direction in terms of easiness to keep clean. Weight is not superb at 20.5lbs and 20.85 lbs for the 17x8 and 18x8, but not terrible either. Same storm grey color as the TSR-X above.

The T6R is an uncluttered design that looks good and would be easy to clean. I like the tapered spokes more than the straight spoke of the T6S, and I prefer the 6-spokes to the 5's. Going to be at the heavier end of the spectrum around 22lbs for the 17x8 or 18x8. The gloss gunmetal is a little dark for my tastes but it looks like it will throw light when shined up.

Incredibly satisfying when both the registration sticker and inspection sticker match the car. 
 

So the engine was pulled due to misfire traced back to a burnt valve? If the current oil filter element looks clean (and the banjo bolt filters if you still have them) then I don't see any reason not to keep on trucking with this shortblock, oil cooler, cam gears, etc. If it's peace of mind you're after then it's gonna cost you, but I think you're fine as long as the valve didn't break up and mess up your cylinder.

I have a spreadsheet for calculating the CR with different head/piston combos. Used to measure out the actual volume of new pistons and new heads as they came in the shop. Would just need to confirm which pistons you have and plug in the relevant data to let you know your actual CR. You could put in a piston with more dish, but is it really necessary? What type of tuning did you have done on the car?

I love the organization on the cardboard "workbench"...

On the 05-06 the pedal can be swapped by pressing out the pivot pin. On the 07-09 the pedal assembly needed to be swapped. I have done it on my 06 LGT and 09 OBXT. I don't know if the 05-06 pedal assembly will work in the 07-09 - there might have been a change when the car switched from k-line to CAN.

Sold

Thanks man. It’s in the home stretch now - putting the siding and trim on that upper middle wall with the transom windows next, so I can put the greenhouse roof on it. I used the same polycarbonate, but with a 30% tint, on the shed side roof so there is tons of light. All the yard equipment currently in my garage will be moving out there. Might treat the car to a set of MaxJax when it’s all done!

Happy to report the car now has a clean bill of health. It also turns out I may need glasses.

While going through my parts pile I found a new set of plugs (22401AA670) - figured it couldn't hurt to throw one in cylinder #1 before diving into the injectors later this week. Sure enough, that cylinder stopped misfiring completely. I looked closely at the old plug under my bench light and they definitely look more fouled than I thought they did the other day. Not the first time I've noticed my eyesight not being what it used to be.

I suspect the fouling/varnish is from the multiple short drives the car did from January to July while I was working at a shop 10 minutes from my house. After that the car sat for months while I've been building a new 20'x24' greenhouse/shed.

I swapped the rest of the plugs and took the car out for a 10mi drive, stopped back home for lunch, and then went out for another drive. The car is running great! Happy to eat crow on this one, and put the newly serviced ID1000s in the spare parts pile for now.

Next up I will be taking the car for an inspection, test fitting the 08-14 OEM STI airbox, and getting new tires (and possibly wheels). I start a new job this coming Monday and am looking forward to some extra cash.

P.S. I’ve gone back and fixed all the broken image links in this thread, and added a bunch more pics and background information on many of the modifications (pages 3-5 are my favorite). I updated the first post with a clickable index, and tried to add links to jump around to related posts more easily, since the thread now spans such a long time. 

That’s correct. Bilsteins need spec.b top hats. Probably worth ordering new as the bearings do wear out over time, but you could reuse yours if they’re in good shape. Tough to tell unless you take them out of the car and spin them by hand, but if they are original it’s a safe bet they should be replaced.