soba noodle

Boom! Found some info about rear brake rotor inserts I got with my Brembo set-up. Turned out it's a kit made by a JDM tuning company called T.N Guts. Available from japanparts for JPY67,962 (adapters + rotor inserts + bolts). Dammit, this find certainly made my evening Some picsies I stole from minkara.co.jp (seems like it's a fairly common mod)

the actual fogs? Don't have them on me right now but you can easily find the part numbers from diagrams http://opposedforces.com/parts/

Got the pupm through PRO Wholesale - awesome to deal with and competitive prices (got UR brace off them too).

DeatschWerks DW65C 9-652-1008 installed.

Cheers. The hooks go under the monsoons which means you have to cut small gaps in double sided tape that holds the visors. Not the most ideal situation but that the only option if you want to keep the monsoons on (and I certainly do). I sealed the hooks with some tape to stop water leaking through the gaps, not really noticeable unless you look under the visors. I'll try to remember to snap some pics. Other than that the fitment is perfect.

Last bit of the rear suspension puzzle. A few months back when I was compiling my Cusco orders I pretty much ordered a Cusco 684 492 R lower power brace, pretty much because I went online to double check the numbers/fitment and found a few posts saying that the brace is not 100% perfect for facelift models - two centre points have nothing to bolt on. I know at least some pre-facelift JDM models had a thin brace there from factory with appropriate holes in the space saver well. Nothing like that under my facelift BLE. http://goo.gl/858OVm So I changed my mind and gave up on that idea. Until someone told about one specific UltraRacing brace, exactly the type that should fit perfectly with only two mounting points: part number UR-RL2-1431. Found a NZ supplier - pretty much half of what I was prepared to pay for Cusco (new vs new). Ordered, recieved next morning, installed a few hours later. To be honest I was a bit sceptical about UR products. Never seen one in person, just heard a few silly things about. Quality is definitely there, very well done. Really like the metal plate with a serial number on it. Install is easy, in fact it took much longer to remove the plastic wrap and the (bloody) sticker than install the whole thing. I reckon I'm done with the rear set-up, a few ideas for the front. Said good bye to Trust/Greddy mufflers and welcomed controversial Liberal Albero squares back - I actually missed the sound (and a bit of the look, let's be honest here) of them.

Thank you!

Rear suspension upgrades: Lower Arm Bar Version II Rear 684 478 A STI Pillowball Rear Lateral Arms ST2029021000 Before: 684 478 A and ST2029021000 (correct for facelift models with auto headlight leveling) The actual arms are the same as stock, the bushings are different Install in progress Done!

UPD: the mufflers are Power Extreme II, not Racing Sport as I initially thought. Found someone with the same mufflers on their B4

Some mufflers arrived today. Had a few spare minutes today and chucked them on the car. Trust/Greddy RS (Racing Sport) Surprised how perfect the fitment is, probably one of the best I've seen, well done Greddy! The quality is there too, very neat welding. Shame the style is not something I am fond of, the sound is pretty awesome however - deep and loud, noticeably louder than HKS. I wonder if the wife will notice any extra dB :scratch:

I reckon it should, front stock calipers are pretty big. Otherwise I'd hunt for a ver.7 space saver.

Haha nope but definitely thought about it. Would a space saver fit over the rear calipers? Are you done with your big project?

Adapters came with the kit. All the bits and pieces apart from the lines, that's why I jumped on it - didn't have to hunt for anything. Those FLATT Div. backing plates were supposed to go on my BH5 but then I decided to upgrade and sold them to someone on CS, then Ross got them.

Yeah that logo, just remember seeing it somewhere. FHI means inserts were made up from stock rotors, perhaps? Or some other FHI rotors..

Looks perfectly centered to me (which disapproves my offset theory above, otherwise wouldn't, right?) http://i.imgur.com/PsjYNuo.jpg Are 190 drums/hats higher(wider) than 170? Don't have mine to compare, stored at a different place, but 190 looks pretty wide to me I guess I'll know for sure if the 190 rotors were modified or not if I decide to upgrade them (imho would've been pretty dumb (and expensive) to do so much work and then do it again when time comes to replace the rotors ).

Thank you for the pics, agree mine look very much the same. Found a few more crappy pics. Doesn't look like original rotors were modified, the inserts are only a few mm thick, making my offset at the rear something like 45-46? PS: is that a brembo logo in a small circle (stamped on the insert)? PPS: didn't really notice that the studs looked noticeably shorter.

Damn should've investigated/snapped some more pics before I chucked them on, now you made me thinking Wouldn't gain much if they made the rotors thinner. What does a 190mm looks like from the inside? Are yours still off?

I don't think the inserts add any thickness at all - otherwise the rotor won't sit properly and fit inside the caliper?.. Good point though. I read a few people in Russia did a similar thing with some machined rings pressed into 190 drums. Found the kit locally, have a suspicion it came from Japan on an imported car and was removed by a dealer.

Did you decide what size you're going with? I'll be a bit jelly if you get RE003, those look pretty sexy. I ended up with my almost new set of RE002 sitting as spares since Prodrives came on decent S001s, contemplating whether I should run S001 till they die (won't happen anytime soon), chuck RE001 on and sell S001 or sell RE002 and later upgrade to RE003. First world problems Calipers do have a few scuffs here and there (usual spots), don't bother me that much, and I couldn't be bothered (nor patient enough) to do a respray, too much PITA. Inserts came with the kit, it was on a Legacy before - perfect bolt-on fitment and nothing to worry about (well apart from a failed WOF due to rear caliper adapters). I have a suspicion that someone machined a stock 170mm to do the trick, bloody well done and thank you for that! What rear rotors does you set-up have?

Big day today - it's Brembo day! I am slowly improving my skills: suspension jobs - tick, ICE - tick, plugs - tick, full brake swap - tick. Took me a bit of time to do the whole swap, including the lines. The kit I got includes: Brembo 4 pot front calipers Brembo 2 pot rear calipers Adapters for the rear calipers Brembo front and rear rotors 170mm insert drums for the rear rotors (don't have to modify anything and can run 190mm drum STI rotors ) Dixcel M type pads front/rear Decided to upgrade to braided brake lines and after a bit of research got myself a 6pc set from Safebrake (Australia) - awesome quality and OEM fitment without any mods required, came with retainers, banjo bolts and copper washers. Most importantly these are LVVTA ok so no issues with warrant of fitness inspections and no certification required (wouldn't say the same about two pot rear adapters though :/) Brake fluid: Motul 600 I knew Prodrives were Brembo friendly, no suprises there. Cleared the front calipers by a few mills only - looks like they were specifically designed to clear Brembos judging by the inner curves of the spokes, follow the contours of the calipers. Crappy pics as it was getting dark (it's winter here in Aotearoa). Fronts + Rears with adapters + Braided brake lines: Rear rotors with 170mm adapter drums: Did rears first, read that many needed to grind the knuckles a bit for the adapters to clear - didn't have to do that at all, straight bolt-on. Not sure who manufactured the adapters but thank you for that! The fronts are much easier and faster to get done: All done!

Slowly getting through some goodies in the boot. Today's quota fulfilled: 686 477 A Lower Arm Bar Version II Front 680 318 B — BH/BE Sway Bar Links Rear Got some BH/BE rear links to go at the front - fit perfectly with the Tribeca bar. Then was the lower arm bar. 3.0R specific and doesn't go across like K-bar did on my old BH. Quality Cusco stuff as always, much beefier triangle bit than stock, 5-point bar on each side instead of a flimsy little bracket. Didn't have a chance to give it a decent test-drive but definitely felt more solid on a motorway and in a few sharp turns. I shouls really borrow a stock 3.0R to remind myself what stock feels like

You can easily find Yakima/Whispbar compatible options here too. S6 and K165 for a BL sedan just in case.

Now with my very own Prorack Cargo Box 10

Heard some people calling it a "invisible" strut bar, obviously for a reason. Cusco goes above the floor panel, Beatrush under. You'll have to do a bit of trimming of the underside of the floor panel as far as I know - won't be visible and won't affect anything. Sedans are a bit different due to being sedans, still more stealthier look than Cusco. Beatrush has lower profile overall, especially top hat mounts - makes you life much easier if you have to access suspension damper adjusters, Cusco was much more pita.

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