gathermewool

Nice! We need a thumbs-up smiley on this site.

Break-in is complete. Carry on and report!

Nice!

Unless the OEM bushings are falling apart, no one will notice the slight difference poly bushings will make for the small OE bar, compared to all of the other soft bits on the car. Most people who drive moderately might not even tell you swapped their OE bar for a larger one, unless you told them. Besides, why not replace the bar for $100 while you’re down there and the bushing brackets are off!? I can see upgrading to poly then...just make sure to use some really tacky grease to keep the squeaking at bay...OE bushing tend not to make any noise for a long time.

The STI BBS wheels I bought from a guy on this forum last year came with nearly new Conti DWS. I'm very impressed with how they drive, compared to the stock tires (with ~36k miles on them) they replaced. Based on how I drive, these tires (and much lighter BBS wheels), as well as the 20mm rear sway are all that I need for performance upgrades on this car (2015 2.5i). Dedicated summer tires, like I had on my STI before, would likely help performance in certain situations, but it's not worth the reduced tread life and possible MPG hit, compared to decent all-season tires. // As I mentioned, the Blizzaks seem to be louder than the Conti Winter Contacts I had on my Civic. This isn't an apples to apples comparison, though (Civic with Conti vs STI, Legacy, and FXT with Blizzaks), but it's not a bad anecdote. Just looking at the tread pattern, you can see that the Blizzak tread and sipes look a lot different than the Contis. It's been too long since I researched the differences, but I would guess that the Blizzak, with its wider channels and larger blocks are what causes the increase in noise, as the tread moves around more during rotation. This might make them better at slush/water evacuation, compared to the Contis, but the Contis seem to have plenty of space in its lateral grooves to serve the same purpose, though the Blizzaks have much larger radial grooves. I'm not sure what difference the differently-designed shoulder blocks make, but they are noticeably different between the two tires. Anyone with more tire design knowledge wanna chime in?

I think I’d choose the Conti’s over the Bridgestones, to be honest, even bough I don’t have any experience with them in anything other than the Civic. However, the Civic was actually much quieter with the Contis’s, which was unexpected. The Blizzaks are much louder on both the Foz and the Leggy. With that said, Blizzak’s previous gen were actually pretty quiet on my ‘08 STI, even though I recall the tread pattern being very similar to the latest gen (WS70 vs 80). Regardless, snow vs all-season is a pretty major difference. On really bad days, a drive turns from white-knuckle to adventurous and fun.

Nicely done! The taller, thinner tires will likely be advantageous. The tires were probably cheaper, too, right? The Contis worked really well on my Civic for the few seasons I had them (my brother-in-law has the car now, with the tires - no reported issues this past winter, which was pretty crappy). When my Forester (with X-Mode...and stock, half-worn tires...) was unable to get out of our parking lot after a big snow a couple of years ago, while the Civic (and Conti snows) plowed the little car right through it! Everyone helping shovel out gave me crap based on how poorly the Foz did. Ever since getting Blizzaks on the Foz, it does a million times better than before, and will get up and go a billion times better than the Civic. I never measured, but the lighter, smaller Civic seemed to stop in a shorter distance when driving on light snow/icy conditions, which surprised me. The Foz definitely had the advantage in heavier, deeper snow, since the Civic tended to lose traction upon high-centering more easily.

Very nicely done!

The grid lines on my head unit become more visible as the light on it becomes more direct. If the light is mostly directly on it, all I see is grid lines.

Looks fan-freaking-tastic! I didn’t even like the blue color until I saw this. Seriously! The red accents and exterior updates do make it pop, though, compared to your typical Subie on the road.

You mean vendor? Isn’t that what the green username denotes? // The OEM bushings (two new rubber bushings are supplied with the 20” sway kit) are fine for a daily-driver. I used poly with the RCE sways on my STI and, while they’re definitely less compressible, I’d say it’s of zero value if you’re not rally-X’ing or driving like a maniac. I like that the larger rear bar reduces understeer and that it changes the dynamics on bumpy, uneven highways (just a modest amount, though). I also like that the OEM bushings don’t need to be lubricated and won’t make noise for a long time.

Disagree. I don’t like the tramp stamp, but the rest of the car looks pretty good. I didn’t mean to start passing around the hateraid for every other jerk like me to gulp down!

I was honest/serious about it looking good. I was also being facetious about the tramp stamp; the comment was meant to be light-hearted. I’ve had a lot of bad days this past year, so I’ll assume today was shitty for you. Seriously, Im sorry if my comment was taken out of context. I’m known more for being blunt than being tactful!

Looks really good. I'm not sure how I feel about the tramp stamp, though!

Sorry, demon lights?

Nice. I like that a lot more than the overlay!

Purple?

Required

This is the interwebs, bud, where everyone has opinions and assholes, or whatever. Seriously, though, I could have been a little more tactful. That lip does not appear to to fit the trunk (style-wise), at all, to me; just me...maybe others love it (maybe everyone else, who knows). We come here to support each other by telling the truth about our reaction, not sugar coat it.

I’d love to see a good pic of that. Not a fan of overlays. Durability?

Looks terrible in the brighter light. Look at all of those yellow specs! JK Can’t believe how good that looks. Much better in these pics!

Looks really nice, but does it look as orange-peely in person as it does in the closeups?

Install was very quick and easy. I sprayed all fasteners with penetrant a week prior, while bleeding the brakes. This does not affect alignment at all.

Looks terrible.