SilentJ20

On 12/16/2023 at 12:45 PM, 4BKT VET said:

How is this accomplished?

I used these two threads:

I like it better having the backup camera part of the nav screen because it's higher up and imo, easier to see than where the stereo is.

I don't really consider it "old".  My 2008 is 15 years old, effectively has a brand new engine and still drives wonderfully with 145k miles.  The cost to buy a new car, fix a new car, the move away from physical buttons (though backtracking is in sight), and the connectivity and crap required on newer (5 yrs or less) cars is a real turn-off.  I paid too much for my spec.B during covid, spent 4k on a new shortblock, clutch and other parts, and I still can't justify the price of newer cars.  Turbo, awd, 6-speed manual that fits 4 adults and isn't a bloated chonker... and it doesn't report driving/location metrics back to HQ?  I'm holding onto this thing as long as I can.

Besides, it's one year newer than my previous daily! (RIP)

Figure I'd throw a quick ask in here first:

Is there ANY reason why my spec.B front suspension would be wider than other cars?  I just replaced the hubs with OEM-equivalent.  Would different spindles, or anything make my front track about 1in (0.5in per side) wider overall? As far as I know, everything is stock and stock rims with no spacers.

3 minutes ago, WRX USA said:

What wheels did you remove and did they have hub centric spacers? When I installed my first of my new TE37's, I didn't realize that the spacer from the Enkei that I removed was stuck on the hub and I had issues getting five lugs on. I imagine with extended studs you could overlook this. Only 2 of 4 stuck to the hub and not the wheel.

I removed the factory 18x7 et55 wheels.  Factory-equivalent hubs, no spacers, no rings.  I didn't have the new rings yet so I just carefully put the Enkei Triumphs on with 3 lug nuts, just tight enough hold firm to get a look, plenty of thread to hold them on.  Idk, it's weird.

I test fit my wheels to check clearances before tires.  Discovered something concerning...

My post in the wheel thread.

Learned either my car is different than everyone elses, or something is off.  Everything I've read and seen says they should fit fine.  Not poke out the fender almost an inch.

Ok, I did some test fitting of the wheels to make sure things look good for my tire appt.  But, I have a huge issue, it seems.  Per the above, the wheels should sit just about perfectly flush with the fender.  Here's what I had after lifting the LCA with a jack to get them up as far as possible:

They sit like 3/4 of an inch PAST the top of the fender.  So, I did some measuring with the OEM wheels back on.

From the face of the wheel to the top of the fender well:  Front = 0.5in inset, Rear = 1in inset.  Is that normal for a spec.B?  

13 minutes ago, SilentJ20 said:

Getting "analysis paralysis" here, going back and forth.  I have some Enkei Triumph, 18x8.5 45 offset.  2008 Spec.B, stock suspension and ride height.  Everything I've read so far says I'll be ok with a 225/40R18 tire and won't need to roll or pull (please correct me if I'm wrong).  I want to see what it looks like, but have been unable to find any pics.  Does anyone have pics of this size setup?  Now that I've gotten everything in order, I'm worried it will poke too much and I'm freaking out, haha.  I'm ready to order tires and get things rolling (ha), but my nature to second guess myself seems to be winning...

I'll keep looking around and share if I find anything.

I think I found a couple that help quell my fears.  Never thought to look on Fitment Industries.  It's a wagon, but it's the same front end and gives me a good visual.  This is with 235/40 tires.
 

From HERE

Getting "analysis paralysis" here, going back and forth.  I have some Enkei Triumph, 18x8.5 45 offset.  2008 Spec.B, stock suspension and ride height.  Everything I've read so far says I'll be ok with a 225/40R18 tire and won't need to roll or pull (please correct me if I'm wrong).  I want to see what it looks like, but have been unable to find any pics.  Does anyone have pics of this size setup?  Now that I've gotten everything in order, I'm worried it will poke too much and I'm freaking out, haha.  I'm ready to order tires and get things rolling (ha), but my nature to second guess myself seems to be winning...

I'll keep looking around and share if I find anything.

23 hours ago, Code said:

Gorgeous wheel. Weight?

Thanks, I love the bronze wheel on silver car combo.  Enkei doesn't seem to publish the weight on their site, oddly.  But from what I can find they're about 21lbs.  Definitely no RPF1 or forged wheel, but not bad and lighter than the OEM.

EDIT: confirmed with my luggage scale--21lbs on the dot.

Found a good deal on some new wheels.  Enkei Triumph 18x8.5 (I also learned it's pronounced "En-kay").  I've wanted something besides the OEM wide-blade windmill design since I got the car (I'll keep them, not tossing OEM wheels).  Next move is to go deep into analysis paralysis on tires until I find a good deal, clean up the brake calipers since they'll actually be seen now, and acquire other bits-n-bobs needed (TPMS, center rings, etc).  Just gonna run the stock wheels through the winter, then put these on when the sun comes back out.

Edit: They're the first NEW wheels I've ever bought for any car.  I've refurbished and restored beat up wheels, but the price of these was good enough I couldn't justify spending the time and money cleaning up lesser wheels (not that these are crazy special).

Did some tweaking to the stereo.  Still running the stock speakers off of the Sony head unit, and then the ski-pass infinite baffle sub.  Used a cheap (but still decent) calibration mic and my phone to set the EQ with pink noise.  Emphasized the bass, and trimmed down the treble.  Impressed with how good it sounds, but I do think new speakers are in my future.

Also cleaned the center console armrest that was getting kind of tacky?  I feel like an interior deep clean is happening soon.  It generally stays pretty clean, but I think summer time with the heat and short sleeves/shorts made some surfaces just attract a bit more dirt than I was previously aware of.

Whatever you do, don't run it without a proper tune.  When I bought my spec.B it had the COBB intake and I thought nothing of it.  Not CEL, no codes, everything seemed fine.  Until I looked at the learning view (ECU learned fuel trims, etc).  It had been running poorly, limiting boost, wild swings in lean/rich corrections, but all within what the ECU was capable of so it actually never showed a problem on the dash.  Until I blew a ringland due to (assumed) months/years of poor running and occasional knock.  Odd thing is it seemed to drive fine with NO indication things were so bad.

Discovered a more reliable way to check the oil level.  After having recent difficulty getting an accurate reading on the oil dipstick, I found a thread suggesting to open the dipstick cap and/or oil cap to let everything settle more completely.

Even after sitting over night, with all caps tightly sealed I'd always have oil on the edges of the dipstick and had to 'interpret' where the lowest point was.  After doing the above trick, I still have a difference on either side of the dipstick, but it's much clearer to read.

19 hours ago, Captain Redbeard said:

Thanks, I've been enjoying the way she sits, couldn't imagine being any lower. I'm running STI wagon pink springs with Koni yellow dampers. It would've been great having another wagon out there! She definitely got a good amount of love from all the Porsche guys there!

Yeah, your height and wheel flushness is spot on.  What wheel width & backspace are you running?  That's a perfect fit from my perspective.

I've had people ask me if my stock spec.B is lowered.  I guess it sits low enough for now.  That comment is making it easier for me to focus on putting money on things other than lowering, though.

What did I do today? I learned that there's a fuel cut when I hit the rev limiter at 6500...   I didn't mean to, but I was passing someone and they decided to speed up a little, and my ego put the pedal down.  I was worried I'd damaged something when the power dropped off, haha. But after my weekly fluids and Learning View check everything is still happy.

I also waved at multiple other hood scooped subies with no reciprocation...

2 hours ago, legacybg9 said:

I need some help.  I have the JDM DD and got a harness from Tight fit.  I have it wired up to a kenwood DD.  The back lighting is not working on the HVAC,  when the headlight are off the display is dim, and when the headlight are on the screen is almost blank it is so dim.  

All of the functions work correctly for the HVAC.  

There is a wire on the OEM side of the harness for the illimitation - and  +.

Car is a USDM 2007 Legacy GT sedan 5 speed

I had a similar, but slightly different, issue when I did mine.  On mine the display wouldn't light up and the fan would full blast.  Turns out, one of the plugs wasn't pushed in all the way.  So, the only help I feel qualified to give right how is, "check the plugs and make sure...", and have you messed with the instrument backlight knob to see how that affects it?

Mine is a little dimmer than the original unit, but not drastically so.

After flashing the ECU back to stock (mentioned previously), I've been gently ramping up how heavy my right foot is.  Last night I finally put my foot to the floor a few times.  Not official pulls or anything, just a few to get max boost and higher RPMs to see how my IAM looked afterwards.  Happy to say, my Learning View looked excellent after.  I'll still be checking it every month or so (because unpredictable engine issues are what makes a Subaru a Subaru...).

Also did some work trying to condition/soften the passenger seat, lower side material.  The leather/vinyl/whatever next to the Alcantara has gotten kinda stiff.  I'll be giving it good doses of leather conditioner to try to get it to soak in and see if it loosens it up.  My driver side is soft and flexible.  I also found that same stiff material on the tops of the rear seats, so doing the same there.  Anyone have special tips on getting that stuff supple quickly?

5 hours ago, Infosecdad said:

Put the white wagon up on quickjacks; changed the oil, changed the spark plugs, and she was good to go.

About 90 min total (over last night and this morning). 

Plugs were about 3 years old, still looked decent but aged.

 

90 minutes for plugs isn't bad. Only time I've done mine was with the engine already out, haha.

Prior to my short block replacement, I had gone to a local shop (legendary place, PIA in Spanaway/Tacoma WA) and the 'tweaked' my tune to try and work out some hesitation bugs.  AFTER the short block, I was still running the modified tune.  I went back and they quickly flashed back to stock.  Without knowing if the prior odd behavior the tune compensated for was caused by the soon-to-leave-me ringlands and a poor internal condition, I wanted to be as stock as possible before I start looking for and troubleshooting new issues as they crop up.

Also, still looking for wheels.  Nothing wrong with the stocks, but they're heavy and I want less spoke and more brakes visible.  

46 minutes ago, Rusty9 said:

That's a great idea. I'll have to go to the junkyard and find a car that already has a flap/door and cut the legacy tray to match it

I thought about junkyard crawling, but I figure I'd try this first.  I have no doubt the OEM part will hold up better, but this took less than an hour of fiddling/measuring/modeling, and most everything else happens automated.  I'd very likely spend more time than that going to/from the yard to pull the part--if I could even find one.

Been kind of quiet with my GT projects lately, but after trying to locate a (likely unnecessary) oil filter door for the engine splash guard, I just said 'screw it' and made it a project instead.

3d printed one out of PETG material, we'll see how it holds up.  Even thought it's not a huge part, still took 23 hours to print because the material really likes a slower print to come out better.  PETG has decent heat resistance, and it shouldn't get too terribly hot as it's on the bottom and has good airflow.  Not shown are the numerous simple test outlines I printed to get the shape right.

Is it needed?  No.  But I like having all the pieces in place as best I can.

No record breaking here.  ~140k miles on the car, trans, etc.  ~1000 on new short block, haha.  BUT, if the previous owner (not sure which of the two) hadn't put a COBB intake on it with no tune and caused terrible running conditions, it would probably be on the original engine with lots of life left.  I'm planning on it lasting a while so I'm treating this car better than it's probably seen in its recent history.

On 9/7/2023 at 7:46 AM, m sprank said:

For turbo cars running a top mount an undercover is imperative for proper air flow through the intercooler.  The undercover keeps the airflow moving from front to back under the car.  This causes a high/low pressure variance between the underhood and undercar areas which results in a "vacuum/suction" action.  Air comes into the engine bay through the condenser/radiator as well as through the scoop/intercooler and is drawn/sucked down into the "jet stream" under the car.  Without the undercover the "jet stream" air travels up into the engine bay (swirling) causing a high pressure area and decreasing underhood airflow. 

Dang, I didn't know this.  I've done without the under tray since I rebuilt the engine.  I wanted to make leak detection easier, etc.  But now that things are good and I want to drive more spiritedly, I'll make sure I throw it back on.

19 hours ago, Febreze Mee said:

Everyone is posting such wonderful things they've done, today. I figured I'd share too. 
 

Went on a drive with @boxkita, @Captain Redbeard, and another friend this morning down to Elbe and back up to Orting.

You started in Orting?  I'm just up the hill in Graham. Small world!

That can be a really nice drive.  We have some very scenic routes around here.

22 hours ago, SilentJ20 said:

Replaced the front hubs.  Well, I attempted to replace the front hubs.  Trying out Detroit Axle as reading HERE they seem to be a decent option.  Driver side was ok, took some time to remove the bolts but I eventually got it all back together.  Passenger side, however...  3 out of 4 bolts had enough thread damage from corrosion that I could barely get them out, and can't be re-used.  So after I get new bolts *sigh* I'll get the passenger side on.

On the plus side, the brakes are in excellent shape and I have a lot more time remaining than I thought.

Finished replacing the hubs.  I strongly recommend disconnecting the steering end link from the spindle.  Pull the pin, undo the castle nut, tap the ball-joint shaft and with it out of the way the spindle can be turned both ways quickly and easily for better access.

Also, almost cross-threaded a caliper bracket.  I don't know how the F I managed to do it, it started easy by hand and I almost just grunted through tightening it up.  Caught myself in time, cleaned the threads by going through backwards and was able to install/torque it fine.  About sh!t myself when I realized what I'd almost done.

But, wheels are turning nice and quiet again.  We'll see how long these hubs last.