TMBLKDG

It's a silly little thing, but it'll improve my enjoyment of the car. I've been bemoaning the lack of bluetooth or any other way to connect my phone to the car for music and making calls. then I stumbled across a reference to bluetooth FM transmitters in a conversation on facebook so poked around on Amazon and found they're cheap and people are, generally, happy with them so I ordered three different ones to try out. None of them fit in the power port in front of the shifter since it's buried so far down inside that cubby, so that ruled out one that had a stalk attached to the plug that put the controls up in front of the dash. No big deal, I wasn't wild about that design anyway but people were happy with it's performance. The other two just look like giant USB chargers with a knob and digital display and fit just fine in the power port inside the console storage compartment which I like better anyway because you can't see them. Some of the reviews mentioned units that only broadcast in mono and sure enough, the first one I tried was mono but the second one is true stereo. So now with the radio tuned to 87.7 FM (an unused frequency in these parts) I can finally listen to the music on my phone or stream and make hands free phone calls with the stock stereo, all for $18. The other two units will be returned. This is the one I kept. Hopefully it'll continue to work well but for $18 in Chinese electronics, we'll see. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLY87PY8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Been awhile since I've been around. Work consumes my weekdays and the "honey-do" list is neverending on the weekends we're home. But, I'm going to have to find some time for the car. Of course, it's problems that bring me snooping around again so I just want to say that since getting the new 6MT installed and the header and intake, I've been thoroughly enjoying my commutes. But, issues are creeping in. First - the transmission. I might be making too much power/driving with too heavy a foot for a 5/6MT. I probably should've just bit the bullet and done the STi swap or seen if I could find a Spec B trans. This "new" 6MT which was supposed to have only 50K on it when installed and which I've put about 10K on so far is sending signals that it's not happy. It pops out of first gear when coasting unless I keep my hand on the shifter and even more problematic is that it's "crunchy" going into 4th gear unless you're driving very tamely. Any higher RPM/spirited shifts from 3-4 result in a solid crunch. I'm exploring my options and need to read up on the Spec b swap though I imagine finding one of those transmissions could be a challenge. Next problem which I just discovered today is that coolant is disappearing from the engine. No signs of leaks anywhere and the oil looks fine but today I noticed the temp gauge fluctuating and reading just a little hotter than it's ever read before, so I checked and the coolant level is low. Any car I've ever owned that's had coolant disappearing without a trace has had a bad head gasket. Time to pull the spark plugs and see what they tell me. This engine only has ~30K on it since the rebuild and even with the noisy forged pistons in it, doesn't use a drop of oil. And one last issue that just recently cropped up - the Cruise Control has stopped working. I had a wheel speed sensor go bad, resulting in "Err 55" appearing in my odometer and the ABS light coming on but not seeing any lights since the sensor was replaced. I also had the clutch/brake pedal assembly replaced at the same time the sensor was fixed as the clutch pedal was making a very annoying cracking/creaking noise. Don't know if that's related, but it's the only thing that's changed lately that could affect the cruise control. Not sure how to proceed with troubleshooting. The "CRUISE" light turns on and off as it should when I push the button on the stalk but it won't engage and hold the car at speed. Yeah, I'd really rather be writing about installing the new stereo, or the JDM headlights, or the new tinted taillights but that will all have to wait a little longer. Guess that's what I get for flogging a hot-rod Subaru 80 miles a day.

Awesome! I wonder how that compares to a Pontiac V8 as that's my next project for my '72 'bird?

Yes, based on my personal experience with them, I'd recommend AWD Auto in Kirkland. I'm just surprised none of the other Western WA folks have mentioned them.

The sad fact is I work too much and have too many other family obligations. Hell, I haven't even found time to install the new stereo and I bought all the components and JDM parts over three years ago. I need to retire but then I wouldn't have the money for anything fun. Kind of a catch-22

Damn I forgot to take a Pic. Mine hit the 200k mark on Monday.

My stereo is stock, so not much competition there...lol I figured as much so I'll just say that I may have inspired someone to pursue further mods.

Surprised none of the Washington peeps have suggested AWD Auto in kirkland, WA (subaru specialists) . Have folks had bad experiences with them? I took my WRX there a couple times and more recently my LGT when the intercooler hose blew off and they treated me right, got the work done quickly and for a fair price and didn't try to upsell me on a bunch of unnecessary crap. (I was pretty sure a hose blew but it was dark, I had no lights and no tools and was stuck on the side of the freeway, so taking it to a shop seemed the most sensible course). I'm also torn on whether to mention Drive Auto Sports in Everett, WA. They're the ones who did All the work on my car. I feel that for the most part they did good work, the car is running great, and they are IAG certified engine installers, but there are a number of minor issues that I'm unhappy about and it makes me hesitant to give them a two thumbs up recommendation.

Not had time for much lately but I did finally adjust the koni struts to a stiffer setting and what a difference. They were about in the middle of their range and I put them at 1/4 turn back from full stiff and it's made a huge difference. The car no longer has a wallowing feel on uneven pavement, it feels totally planted now even on undulating pavement and big sweeping ramps and it didn't hurt the ride quality at all. The odometer will turn over 200k on my morning commute. Also went up against my first BMW tonight but not sure if I'd be breaking any site rules talking about that.

I sure would love to have time to attend an event like this. Been a long time since I've been on a track and it would've been a hoot to have two wagons there. Love the stance of yours. What springs/ struts, or coilovers?

How can I find the site guidelines/ rules? I can't seem to find a link to that anywhere once logged in. I don't want to break any rules with certain topics.

No doubt a smaller turbo like the VF40 would be even more responsive at lower RPMs, but check the dyno graph I posted. I was pretty happy with the VF52 and it was making 75-80 ft-lbs *more* torque from 3000-3500 RPM which is a big difference. Of course the headers and intake may very well have killed off some of that lower end with that turbo too. I don't know how the intake really affects things on these cars as far as midrange goes - I don't think intake pulse tuning is really a thing with a turbo and intercooler in the path, but I'm pretty confident that the headers have pipes that are too big for my particular application/desires.

I didn't know there was any options for the Tomei beyond EL and UEL. I can't find any reference to headers with different size pipes from Tomei for our cars? The VF52 was just as trashed by metal debris as everything else in that engine. In hindsight I should've kept it and sent it back to JMP to see if it could be repaired but my mindset was "flush it all and start over" at the time. This car has been a money pit for sure, but at this point I'm ready to start throwing money in a different pit so I'm going to take a break, other than buying amplifiers and a subwoofer for the stereo and dealing with cosmetic issues. I'm also setting a little aside for the eventual replacement of this engine as 350 whp forged piston engines aren't known for their longevity. When that happens I'm thinking type RA shortblock and going back to the VF52 or some other similar turbo, and maybe a set of custom headers... LOL. I've also read about ported stock manifolds. Don't know if anyone's doing that any more but it's an intriguing idea. There are also several other manufacturers making UELs for our cars, I'll look into the specs on them and see if any are different head pipe diameters. i just received a forged and nitrided, 4" stroke crankshaft from Molnar Technologies for a Pontiac V8 that I've been waiting on for about a year, so my focus is going to pivot for awhile and I'm going to try just enjoying driving this beast. I will say that if I drive it like I stole it, it's pretty thrilling.

Well, so much for what you read on the internet... As mentioned in my previous post - info I found about headers and intakes indicated they would improve airflow through the engine below the peaks and help the turbo spool up faster. This has turned out to be exactly the opposite of what happened. To sum up: I had a Cobb SF intake, Tomei UEL header, and IAG oil pan installed. I was really hoping the intake and header would help the turbo spool up faster as I've been missing the "snappy" feeling of the VF52. Well, they didn't do that at all and in fact I lost a significant amount of low end torque. I've attached a graph that shows the changes between the original engine with the VF52 and the new engine with the 380XT. The lowest, kind of fuzzy line was the original engine with the VF52. The middle red line was the new engine with the 380xt. There weren't any changes in supporting parts between these two engines, just the change to the turbo. The line showing the highest peak is the current configuration after the headers and intake were installed. Ugh, not entirely what I wanted. I will say that above 3500 RPM this thing hauls ass now, but just cruising at lower RPMs it's sluggish. I'm a turbo noob but in the NA world of old V8 engines I'm used to playing in, these results would indicate that the header and possibly the intake also are too big for this combination. Smaller diameter header pipes would increase velocity at lower RPMs and enhance lower RPM torque while still helping top end power by providing a more efficient flow path than factory manifolds (assuming the factory manifolds are an inefficient design). It looks to me like the Tomei pipes are intended mainly to increase top end power and are probably a larger diameter than they need to be for my relatively small turbo. The intake could also be contributing to the problem in the same way. The exhaust note also changed significantly. Even though they're UELs, the exhaust note has lost some of that burble/growl of the stock configuration and has a much "smoother" sound to it and sounds kind of like a very deep-toned typical inline 4 now. It's still recognizable as a Subaru, especially at idle and low speeds but it's not as "growly" any more. I'm not going to make any more changes in the foreseeable future, I have other things to spend my money on currently and the car is running fine but I definitely want to look into what I can do to bring back some of the low end torque which is more important to my daily driving enjoyment than a boatload of top end power. Would a different turbo work better? Anyone make headers with smaller primary and up-pipes (the Tomei has it's own proprietary up-pipe that replaced the Invidia that was on there)? Is the intake hurting or helping my cause? (It certainly is louder, I can hear a loud "whooshing" sound on acceleration all the time now which honestly I could live without). I wonder how all these parts would work with a modified VF52? I would gladly trade 20-30 HP above 4000 RPM to get back the 50-80 ft-lbs I lost between 3000-3700.

Just got the car back from having a Tomei UEL header, IAG oil pan, and Cobb SF intake installed. The results were not what I was expecting or hoping for. See my build thread in the 4th gen forum for all the details. I will say, as long as you keep the RPMs above 3500 this car hauls ass now. 350whp and 367 tq at the peaks. There just aren't many places I can drive it like that around here... LOL.

Thanks KZJonny! I will try that search method. So, I am unable to see the General Forums for some reason. Hopefully someone can fix that in my account. Losing the rumble isn't an option. It's part of what makes a Subie a Subie to me. From what I've read, even the UEL headers will help spool a little and add a little power. Good enough for me!

Got the replacement intercooler from Grimmspeed and installed it over the last weekend. Everything's back to normal. I wouldn't call my interaction with Grimmspeed painless, but in the end they stood behind their work and replaced the intercooler which is all I could've asked for. Their communication left a little to be desired and I had to call them to get things rolling when an email didn't get any action but the rep I spoke to said they're moving locations and things are pretty chaotic there right now so I'll chalk it up to that. Overall I'm thoroughly enjoying the car right now. My morning commute can be quite entertaining as there's very little traffic and it's freeway most of the way. The 6th gear in the new transmission is wonderful for making high speed cruising much more comfortable. The only thing I'm not super happy about is the turbo is a bit laggy. It's just not as snappy as it was with the VF52 though it certainly pulls hard once it's spooled up. It looks like the last bolt-on parts I could put on the car could help with that though so am looking at installing a Cobb SF intake and a Tomei UEL header. I know, I know, a UEL header isn't optimum, but I love that Subi rumble too much and I'm not concerned with squeezing every last pony out of this engine. By all accounts these mods should help the turbo spool up noticeably faster and preserve that great exhaust sound. of course, if you can present a good argument against this stuff, please chime in! I'll be very curious to see what the final AWHP numbers come out to after this work. I'm also going to have an IAG oil pan/pickup/baffle installed at the same time. I figure with the improved handling and my love of pushing it on the big sweeping cloverleafs I should do something to help ensure more consistent oiling. Stay tuned. It's going to be a couple of weeks before I get this done as my truck is in the shop and I need to wait for that to be finished first.

I have a feeling I'm unable to see some forums again. When looking at the root Forums index I don't see anything called "General Forums." Is there supposed to be a "General Forums" section? What about a Newbies Forum or an FAQ forum? I don't see that anywhere either. Reason I'm asking is because I've seen these referenced in posts I've read recently but when I go looking for them I can't find them. Second question - I could use some tips on using the forum search function. Maybe the forums I'm not seeing would contain the tips I need? I suck at searching but want to at least try before starting a thread that's probably been started before. Specifically I'm looking for any information/thoughts/reviews on specific parts such as the Tomei unequal length header. If I go to the Intake & Exhaust forum and type in "Tomei unequal" I don't get anything because the quotes restrict the search to that exact string. If I type ' Tomei + unequal ' or ' Tomei unequal ' it returns every thread that has either word in it, which isn't helpful. How can I restrict the search to only threads that contain both words? Thanks for your help!

Talked to a rep at Grimmspeed and he pointed out they have a lifetime warranty. I sent them an email with a link to that video and a copy of the invoice so hopefully this process won't be too painful. Unfortunately their website says they're out of stock on this model currently...

Here's the video.

The service manager said they have video. They put soapy water on it so you can see where the leak is. When I get the video, I'll share it.

Well, good news, for the most part. The shop found the problem - a cracked weld on my Grimmspeed TMIC. I bought this TMIC probably three or four years ago but it never got installed until about 8 or 10 months ago. I'm hoping Grimmspeed will stand behind their product, but we'll see. Anyone have experience with this sort of situation with Grimmspeed?

Well, I guess if it wasn't for bad luck... and you know the rest. I picked up my car from the shop last week after they finished the 6MT swap. Man it drives nice with this new trans, and I can actually shift it fast at high RPMS! It's quieter in the cabin and that lower 6th gear is so nice on the freeway at 70 MPH. But, in testing how it shifts at redline under full throttle I quickly discovered a scary loud noise - nothing to do with the trans at least... There was a loud sort of whistling or shrieking noise coming from the engine compartment. I played around with it and determined the noise was only occurring under boost when boost got to 10+ psi. I checked all the clamps on the intake hoses and nothing was loose and there was nothing obviously out of place. I called the shop and they asked me to bring it back the next day so I did and took one of their techs for a ride. With the windows down (and even with them up) the noise is impossible to miss. You hear it best in 3rd gear as the engine is building full boost for several seconds before you have to shift (or let off because you're going way too fast in a crowded urban area). Thinking there might be a leak, the tech took it for about an hour and pressure tested the intake and exhaust systems with the BOV functional and locked out and could not replicate the noise or find any leaks. At this point it was closing time so I elected to take the car back home and drive it a little more. Over the next couple of days the noise went from being a sort of high pitched whistle to more of a raspy high pitched scream. Also, boost pressure at WOT is fluctuating and not holding at peak boost any longer (19 psi target but it only gets to 17-18 after rapidly fluctuating between 15-19 at this point.) I dunno but I'm sure thinking this sounds like the turbo bearings are on the way out. Only about 10K miles on this turbo... The shop is busy and didn't have any openings for dyno diagnostic time 'til next monday (6/19) but they said if I dropped it off before hand they'd try to get it on the dyno in between appointments or if they had any cancellations. Since I'm fearing the turbo is giving up I figure I better not drive it any more so I dropped it off with them yesterday. It's back to driving my old beater truck with it's nasty exhaust leak, loosy-goosy steering, and no A/C for now... At least the weather is supposed to be cool for the rest of the week. Stay tuned - I should have a firm diagnosis by early next week.

Yes, your thread and Scottydunno's are the ones I referenced and the lower freeway RPMs and reduced NVH are the reasons I'm going this route. Also, much less cost overall and hopefully they can get it done faster but this shop never does anything quickly. The shop is skeptical of information gathered from the internet and supplied by customers so they had me approve a $1000 parts buffer in case they needed to order parts that aren't part of a normal 5MT swap (The new shifter and cables were accounted for separately). Of course, I know they won't so I'm not worried about it. What is it about your shifter that isn't right?

Thanks for the info! If you're interested in boxkita's spec B trans, go for it. I need to get my car back on the road asap for the least amount of money. I really don't have any time to be running around gathering parts, etc. Plus, I have an Exedy stage 1 clutch in the car that only has 15k on it. I'd hate to have to replace that too. I'm just going to proceed with the WRX swap as that will get me back on the road the soonest without me having to do anything but wave my credit card at the shop. I'd rather do it myself but I just don't have the time or a good place to work on it right now.