rougeben83

esp since the car was considered "fixed" under the recall...I would serious talk to your local dealer have them talk to SoA and see if they would cover the repair.

airbag recall.

If you "don't want to cheap out", budget $1500-2000 for a good coilover like KW. You get extra adjustability and damper settings - whether you can take full advantage of it is all up to the user and their knowledge of suspension setup. The downside is that coilovers need to be rebuilt every 40-50k. Don't argue, it's in the manual for every reputable coilover manufacturer. Also the corrosion that cause all those adjutable bits to freeze up - it happens when you drive your car on a daily basis. If you're willing to live with the tradeoffs for the potential adjustability, coilovers are a good idea. If not, a good strut paired with a good lowering spring will do wonders with swaybars, bushings, and a proper alignment (which would end up costing roughly the same amount as a good set of coilovers).

05 OBXT 2 tone...

Just putting it out there, but did you look into an automatic driveshaft before going custom? I've done the sti 6 spd swap on my 3rd gen and 4th gen, and each time people told me to go custom ds, but I've just used an auto driveshaft of the same chassis and everything lined up perfectly. Looks good so far!

Intake manifold is pressurized, I don't know if jb weld repair will hold up. Better to just drill and tap the vacuum nipple.

Did this a month ago after finding my PS pump covered in caked-on fluid. Cleaned off the pump and replaced the O-ring - so far the pump has remained clean.

Nope, just regular ol' vented rears. I've had good luck with EBC yellows and reds, Hawk HPS and HP+, as well as Porterfield RS4 (wear out quickly though). Like I said, the stoptech street pads were the first time I had that kind of problem. It got so bad for me that I had to resurface my fancy DBA rotors (thankfully, I found a machine shop that will resurface slotted rotors).

Mine were vertical lines. I switched to Hawk HPS pads in the front, EBC Redstuff in the rear. The Stoptech street pads were the only pads I've ever experienced this kind of problem.

if you have stoptech street pads, they're know to leave a lot of uneven pad deposits - that may be the cause of your recurrent shudder. I know I had that problem on my car (I could see the line of brake material left on the rotor whenever I left the car undriven for over a day).

I'm using a Legacy auto driveshaft in my OBXT, no issues.

Less expensive solution: cut off the old bolt and replace it with another one. It's just a cam bolt, similar to the camber bolts in the front struts. The cam surface rusted into the rear trailing arm, preventing smooth movement when you pivot the bolt. And no, you don't *NEED* the toe lock kit when you get the adjustable trailing arms. Its optional.

has anyone looked into the 11-14 STI LCA rear bushings? They are pillowball mounts - one of the big changes for the 08-14 wrx chassis.

Thanks, the steering lockdown was my 2nd option.

Thanks guys. What's the ratio on the OBXT? I've found the lock to lock is higher (3.2 vs 2.6? or thereabouts) vs the LGT but I can't find the ratio listed. Having the 05 STI steering rack already is the primary reason I'm looking into the upgrade. Though when I ran it in my 03 Legacy (mind you, the wheel base are somewhat similar to the OB) the steering feel was substantially tighter and felt more "dialed-in" - although the latter could also be because I was running more negative camber and other STI front suspension bits like the control arms. Rhitter, did you also upgrade the U joint? I think I read somewhere the OB U joint being longer than the LGT, so I'm not 100% sure about the '15 STI U joint being 100% interchangeable. And yes AFAIK the track and suspension geometry on the OB did not change throughout the BP chassis years.

so what's the final list of parts needed to make this work? No need to mix/match inner and outer tierods? I got an old 05 sti rack just sitting in my garage

Yup. The less a tech has to deviate from the playbook, the better.

Just to add my experience, I had a "custom" boost gauge and "custom" bluetooth mic on my steering column. The dealership charged me an extra $60 to do the recall because of it...after the recall fix, I don't think they even touched the two items on my steering column. Negatives: my lighter door wasn't locking (the arm linkage was knocked loose) and a couple of nicks on the upper cubby trim where they obviously were in a rush to yank it out. Pros: I don't hear a lot of loose rattles behind the dash anymore. They finished it in about 4 hours. I was on the waiting list for about 6 weeks though. They saw I needed a new cabin filter - they wanted to charge me regular parts and labor (despite the dash being taken apart already). It's only a pro because they called before doing it and I graciously declined their offer (took 15 minutes and all of $9 charcoal filter to do). Overall, this just further supports why I never go to the dealerhip to have ANY WORK done.

do you have a spline count for the U joint connection on the 15 rack, or stock LGT U joint? I have an 05 STI steering rack, want to compare if it will bolt up to the U joint.

The cocktails are just a bandaid to a worn synchro- doesn't fix the problem, just mask it. HOWEVER, it all depends on how long you will realistically keep the car and your priorities as to whether or not a trans swap is justified...

Did this to my OBXT recently. I had my old drivetrain from my swapped 03 Legacy, so I just reused 80% of the components. The only things I needed were the automatic driveshaft out of a legacy/outback and the 6 speed shifter assembly from an 08-14 STI. -2005 STI 6 speed (05) -KB short shifter, poly shifter bushings front and rear, 08-14 STI shifter assembly -matching 3.9 rear diff with VLSD -Stock Exedy clutch -STi stock flywheel (19lbs vs. 26lb dualmass stocker) -Group N transmission mount -WL rear diff bushing inserts http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k153/rougeben83/OBXT/20160621_170825_zpsml6xzyxd.jpg

Reviving for clarification. Just to add for any OBXT people, I think the access to the rear bolts are easier due to the subframe spacers that drops the cradle about another inch compared to the Legacy.

I am enjoying all these HID retrofits

clipped the curb while trying to make an exit. I wasn't paying attention and didnt realize the exit was coming up, cut it too close. The car fishtailed into a lightpost and then I was along for the ride into a tree after that.

On the vanwyck/lie interchange...