Enlight

I saw that video you're talking about. I've been looking at IDPA and USPSA events around me too. Your wise point about "the most winning move is not to play" is well received.

All the paperwork finally went through and I picked her up from the dealer on Wednesday. Next step will be to get some private instruction and a holster, I don't feel confident enough to carry yet. I'm surprised how manageable the size is. I'm leaning towards a shoulder holster even though many consider them outdated. I think it would work well for the way I dress.

(Ignore the LED flicker) I got around to installing my repaired taillights today. They shorted themselves out before so rather than tossing them I figured I'd send them to a retrofit guy to upgrade them. Instead of the turn signals flashing in the direction I would be turning in, they flash upwards. Then the brake lights seem to dim/brighten on a cycle. Lastly, I find out the right turn signal does not work at all. Between the vinyl wrap, bad Craigslist sellers, and this, I'm a bit exasperated with dealing with people. Still,I'm thankful that bigger things that could have gone wrong did not (like my engine).

Yup! That's my office and my warehouse (read: storage room) is in the same building. I can probably deliver it to you myself on a weekend drive. I can measure my midpipe to confirm but I think you might be correct about the diameter. The USD-JPY conversion is very nice right now. In either case I'm just broadening up the options, looking forward to your results whichever direction you choose!

Shameless plug: seeing as you're here in NY, if you see something you like on Yahoo! Auctions I can ship a midpipe+mufflers for about $350 from Japan. Here is an HKS Super Turbo catback penny auction that has the Helmholtz Resonator I and @Infosecdad will soon have. I expect my next container to arrive April/May '24, though.

Are you saying that you would organize a trip to Watkins Glen outside of ECM '24? If so I'd be down. @KZJonny Are you referring to June 10-13? I could stay an extra day to drive the Glen.

It's an indulgent, overkill, nerd experiment. I'm wondering how long a forged engine can last if it is pre-heated given that most wear occurs at startup. In the winter months I will angle the heater exhaust towards the oil pan as well for added effect.

I'm in! Thanks for pulling this all together, @m sprank.

Email sent, that's def the way to go. I'll give him a heads up that he has an email incoming.

Member @JmP6889928 can rebuild your old turbo, here's a thread with all his reviews. He does this as a service to the community and in his spare time. That being said, the turnaround can be quite quick depending on his schedule. If you would like his email I will PM it to you.

500 miles on the engine now and did the final oil change with Motul 10w-40 break-in oil. I was being precious and covered the oil fill to keep debris out. At 1,000 I will begin using Motul X-Cess 8100 5w-40. I installed the front license plate on the Spec B bumper, PIAA horns, and built-up the bumper clips that like to break. The immediate reward of the PIAA horns made them positively fun compared to, say, installing IAG's AOS. The horns sound much better than the OE "meep meep." The horn is still polite enough for pedestrians when tapping, e.g. not laying on it. Interesting tidbit, the OE horns are grounded by their attaching bolts. Also mocked up the Eberspacher heater in various locations, I'm down to behind the driver side bumper cover or right below the steering shaft. I will have to fab the bracket for it and I'm not exactly sure how to start. Re: muFreight, I got a nice break and found space on a container that is arriving in December. I'm glad I can get these deliveries to people in a reasonable time frame and that monkey is off my back. Notices will be going out to the customers soon. I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to deliver @Infosecdad's parts during the 48 Hours of Tri-state since we'll be traveling west towards Subaru's Indiana plant this year.

Methinks @msprank is having too much fun with this new rig but I'll be curious to know what this sedan sells for.

Here's a new, OEM oil cooler on "fleaBay" for $150 shipped from Japan. Threadjacking, but I ordered a used HKS oil cooler from Yahoo Auctions that I will have flushed before installing. It's hammer price was less than $100 USD.

Interesting spoiler on Yahoo! Auctions https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u1111418090

The famous John's of Bleecker Street pizza is just 100 feet away . I was going to crop in the photo more but then there was too much trash filling the frame

The car is still incomplete but here is a picture of her as she sat yesterday. The logo and window vinyl will all be redone in the coming weeks. I was surprised by how good she looked as I walked back to the car. I'm not into "stance" but after going to all these car shows I'm feeling the need to speak the language a little bit. I'd like to experiment with a raked stance, maybe starting with a 1-inch drop in the front and 1/2-inch in the back. Another winter project.

I'm finally beginning to feel more confident in the car again. After cleaning up the coil packs and harness contacts the idle has smoothened out and the hard starting seems to have gone away . Tightening up subframe bolts also seemed to tamp down the back and forth rocking in 1st gear. There is one remaining clunk that I need to locate, I'm thinking it's the endlinks even though, visually, the look fine. 500 miles on the new engine now. I romped on the @JmP6889928 VF52 and it caught me by surprise twice, the "jerk" is incredibly fast.

I had a driveshaft shop install u joints with zerk fittings into mine. I wonder whether the "soft" option would increase or decrease NVH in my car...

Continuing on my search to figure out my misfire/hard start issue, I spotted some corrosion in the coilpacks. One of the bolts holding in another coilpack was also loose. I cleaned them all up with Deoxit and a terminal cleaner (harness side too), then tightened down the plugs and coilpacks with a torque wrench. I also went over my different subframe bolts and found quite a few that were loose (one that was finger loose). All things I overlooked when I was in a rush to get my car ready for the turner. Hopefully that will take care of the clunking. Off to another car meet tomorrow to promote muFreight, it will be a food drive.

So it will actually heat the oil when cold and cool the oil when it's hot, it will basically bring your oil to coolant temp. Not telling you to go one way or the other, just want you to make an informed decision. If you really do have an oil overheating problem, the stock oil cooler won't be enough and you will probably need a proper air-to-oil cooler. Good idea not to put the old cooler on though

I've retained the oil cooler, am only running a VF52, and was advised by my tuner to upgrade to 11mm. I would ask your tuner, but I think 11mm is safe. Any reason you are giving up the oil heat exchanger? I may remove mine because I also have the STi gauge pack sandwich adapter and plan on installing an oil cooler down the line.

I would use some Permatex RTV on that gouge to see if it will hold. Those small bolts can be tricky, I bought an inch-pound torque wrench on eBay for those.

@AZP Installs recommends TrakMotive axles. I didn't have luck on the one I almost installed, but I would say AZP's advice outweighs my n=1 experience. I'm currently running rebuilt OEM ones from Raxles.com.

I learned today that the water pump works differently from the oil pump. Even when it's not in motion, fluid can still pass freely from one side to the other.