hadvw

Hey now, Fremont's not that bad

Wow, 28k! That's a find! I guess "because Hawaii car"? No, no need to change coil packs when doing plugs, unless you're getting misfires or something. As for mpg - city driving, you're probably not going to do much better than 16.5 mpg. With mods, worse. I'm getting around 12-13 in the city these days, but it's a LOT of acceleration and braking.

So, it's not going to last forever, and "probably not going to last long", but might as well get forged pistons? Wouldn't OEM oversize be significantly cheaper and last as long as the rest of the car? Not criticizing, just curious. I'm constantly debating about my car - 108K, almost 10 years old. How much longer will she go? I'm hoping another 4-5 years, 40-50k more. I have a few issues, but nothing major at this time. At what point do I just keep driving it until it breaks? I mean, if my block went tomorrow, I'd be really torn between dropping $10K on a full rebuild and transmission rebuild, or selling the carcass for $5K and putting that $15K towards a new car ('15 WRX?)

Agreed - I wouldn't have the time nor the courage to attempt it..

Hmm. May look at my tune's tables, just for fun, and see what they look like.. (I have e-tunes from 2 different vendors)

I keep seeing a silver lgt wagon share the parking lot with me at work on Maude Ave..

Have you looked to see if any used tires are available near where you live? Some racer-friendly independent tire shops will shave a tire to match others. I had one Michelin Pilot All Season develop a bubble, found a used one to trade for 2 of my used tires locally that ended up being so close in spec that no shaving was necessary (they measured it). Also try ebay..

Same here.. 20-21, bnr16g, 650s

That makes sense. I've passed 2x with a 1-washer on one side only hogzaust... gutted oem dp, stock sti up, etc...

Please explain.

What happens if you fail? Is it a real PITA, or just annoying?

I did one washer, passenger side. That's it. Gives me enough of a rumble/growls when getting on it so I can hear it a bit. My ears are somewhat sensitive, and it's enough for me. Don't need it to sound like a coffee can

Still running HZ here after 7-8 years.. Car is just too quiet otherwise. 1 washer passenger side gives just a nice bit of volume when getting on it..

I think it's more the case that we don't know how to register our cars there when we live in a smog-county...

Sell the DP, or sell the car?

Thanks so much! This makes me feel much better - I've always felt a little nagging that I had never installed that Tru-Cool 4454 (IIRC) that I bought. And of course, my initial instinct was to do "poor setup #1". Given that I live in NorCal (ambient temperatures for the most part are 50-80 year round), and the most spirited driving I do is the occasional on-ramp run or quick-pass after some stop-and-go traffic, I have a feeling leaving it stock is my best bet, other than a full bypass+cooler setup. Even then, it might not be that useful.

(first, sorry for the long post) Thanks for that link - I read that page, and it explained it quite clearly. So, it says to check shocks too. I have Konis (around 50k miles ago), and I think they are still working, although the driver's rear has been bottoming out more than before when loaded, going over speedbumps (i.e. not a common situation, but it didn't use to bottom out then either). But, AFAIK, that's more springs than shocks.. And the clunking is definitely driver's side rear - could there be something else that has worn out? I haven't seen any major leak from the shocks, and the "stand on bumper" test seems fine - I have them set quite firm, and in general, they seem ok too. I'll be doing the rear brakes soon, so I'll be "in the area" - anything to look for? Not very good at telling if a shock is worn or not.. Looking at unclemat's list, I've already done rear endlinks (not to address this problem, but at least that's off the list). Could I expect the problem to "get significantly better" (maybe not go away entirely, but get a lot better), if I told the shop to -take off the rear trailing arms -is there a rear frame piece holding the trailing arms? Take that off too? -replace all bushings involved with OEM (or upgraded, if not too much $$) How much work is involved in that (removing the rear trailing arms/rear frame piece)? Could I do that on a Saturday, take it to a shop to press out/in the bushings, and re-install the next Saturday? Do I just have to support the rear axles/diff? Or do I have to totally disassemble the rear axles/diff as well? I'll also have to look at replacing the exhaust hangers with stronger ones - is there a good source for decent exhaust hangers I could try? Again, sorry for all the rambling..

I just went and read most of the pages (over 2 days), and my head's still spinning a little. It definitely seems like it requires the replacement of 2-5 different bushing sets/mounts (which you self-fabricated), and even then, it only gets progressively better with each thing replaced. This makes it hard to "plan" what to replace, other than "everything", and as you say "everything" is too expensive for most people. I live in NorCal, and yes, with a somewhat colder winter, I notice it more. And, as has been mentioned over and over, it's easier to reproduce when turning (especially a right-hand turn for me - I've almost never had it in an left-hand turn), and with passengers in the car. But, even now that it's a little worse than 2 or 3 years ago (although basically same drivetrain/suspension setup), it's happening a little more. Suspension mods: Koni springs, Cobb sways front and back, WL LCA bushings, steering rack bushings and upgraded endlinks (endlinks made no difference). The big question I have: how dangerous is it? Are we wearing out part of the drivetrain each time this happens, or is it just something that sounds horrible, but isn't really going to matter as far as overall wear (other than maybe tires)? Lately, I've had a burning oil/grease smell that I haven't had time to fully track down (right after the major coolant leak in this car AND our other one, all within a month of each other). Thought it might be the passenger-side front CV boot again (had it done 3-4 years ago), but after reading this thread I'm wondering if maybe the U-joint grease is leaking/burning?? Ahhh.. Ignorance really is bliss

Just hit 100K on my '05 Limited wagon (5EAT) the other week.. Not stock :-) (bnr16 for almost 40K miles - man, driving great in 35F weather!) repairs/preventative maintenance: -CV joint boot (front, passenger side) around 40 or 50k -radiator leaking (possibly due to some abuse of the car) around 70k -rad hoses (upper/lower) just recently blew out -one coil pack replaced around 90k -killer bee oil pickup around 65k -IP&T oil kit around 80k -5EAT flush around 60k -timing belt/water pump around 77k

Didn't find out about this until today - it's 5 mins from my place.. I was somewhat under the weather on Friday - was supposed to take my kid to her Christmas play, but grandma helped out.. But, after hearing about all the doofuses, am glad I didn't go - getting too old for that. Plus, traffic is bad there at the best of times on a Friday night - I can't imagine the insanity..

I know how you feel! Sometimes, the more I know, the more I worry.. When I got a CEL out of the blue about 1.5 years ago, I expected the worst. Figured my car was down for 1-2 months, rebuild, etc.. I just forgot to fully tighten the gas cap.

What's the best bang-for-buck in this category? I.e. cheapest one that's decent?

1) I needed a way to get out of the not-long-for-this-world vf40 (it was showing some signs of wear at 63k miles when I took it out). I was quite happy at stage 2. Stage 3 has been somewhat of a pain - but still quite smile inducing. 2) meet my friend, Mr. California SMOG tester. I've passed as is twice with flying colors. I've heard TMIC is allowed to be changed, but I'm very leery to spend lots of $$ only to find out it isn't true. Exhaust pipes are NOT allowed to be changed. Well, ok, technically they are, but you can't change any cat (not even a replacement - under 75K, and they'll force you to go the manufacturer for a new one). Stock pipes look stock and they have obvious cat bulges.

I guess I should have been more clear that I didn't expect they'd be able to do it for that price. I was just stating what would make me a "no brainer" buyer. I'm a happy owner of their MBC brace (and yes, I had to massage that a bit to make it work). Same with the IP&T oil line kit. Also, notice that I said "at THIS point the car isn't my hobby" - until now, the car HAS been my hobby, which is why I've modded it (that, and the self-destructing vf-40s - if they hadn't been dropping left and right around 50-70K miles 3 years ago, I would probably still be at stage 2). As to why I've gone the route I've gone - CA CARB rules. If I lived elsewhere, I would have slapped on a new DP, and probably FMIC or a bigger TMIC. However, I've also heard of all the problems with the aftermarket TMICs out there (I believe all of them have fitment issues). So, if they can simply build something that's as good as OEM and doesn't fall apart at 21 psi, I'd consider spending $400 on it. More than that, and it's getting to be a pretty big investment for little return in my case. I did say I was in the minority.

My input, from a guy who's running stage 3 (or something) - bnr16g + injectors + pump, gutted OEM pipes (for smog), bulletproof TMIC: I would switch for a solution that is 1) better than OEM 2) solid and fits 100% dead on, no massaging required 3) affordable FOR ME, $700+ is NOT a workable price because I have a working solution and wouldn't expect more than 5-10 hp max from switching. I've passed on used Perrins at $400-450 because of the fitment issues. For me, $399 is about the highest I'd go. At this point, the car isn't my "hobby" (I have the house for that - currently doing a major remodel ), so I just need it to be reliable, and a "set it and forget it" type of thing. I realize I'm in the minority.