Sarang

Jeez. How wide are you tires and current wheels?

 

I went to 18x8" wheels and 225 then 235 tires and tires were so stretched they look like tank treads from behind.

My 225/50R18 looks pretty square on my 18x8 wheels...

good thing there’s a warranty for that “bill” I’ll get.

Exactly. I just don't get why people say that kind of thing like it's a good thing. I'd rather just have a reliable vehicle.

But I hope you're happy with the SQ5.

Didn’t bother finding out the problem. Traded for a new Audi SQ5. Good riddance.

Oof. That's a downgrade...

The week I drove an A4 was probably the most boring driving of my life. That includes the Toyota Echo.

Brittany Sanderson <brittanys@tuningalliance.com>

She was very tolerant of my list of n00b questions, which is nice, because I definitely ask some stupid questions sometimes.

Didn't Phatbotti just raise prices a lot?

I am very happy with Tuning Alliance for my etune. I'd use them again.

Sorry guys, I've been busy with work and dealing with a power outage at home.

I did receive the sprayer nozzles from Amazon, so one of these days I'll tee into the oem sprayer line and do a proof of concept. I also ordered the condenser cleaner, so I'll be doing that soon too.

Another interesting note: I changed my oil this weekend and filled up with 20w50 (replacing the 5w40 that was in there) and my coolant temps have not been higher than 208.4 since. Even today in stop and go traffic at ~108 it was rock solid. I'm not sure if that makes the difference, but I guess I'll switch to 20w50 earlier next year. So I guess this is just a friendly reminder that Subaru does recommend different oil weights for different climates.

My Mishimoto radiator is pretty beefy. I had to grind off some of the oem fans supports to fit it, so I don't think trying to put in a bigger one would be worth it. I also happen to work at a mechanical/refrigeration contractor and I'm pretty skeptical of the marginal increase in cooling capability that a slightly larger radiator would add.

I think that a thermostatic oil cooler would be the next upgrade if the sprayer mod doesn't seem to do the trick.

Fans work. The skid plate and the oem lower splash guard are on, so I think that is working pretty well.

The car does great when it's only 100F out. The coolant stays below 212F and the AC is ice cold. My question is really about what I can do for those extreme, ridiculously hot days or situations like the other day.

I am thinking that I will make a styrofoam block for the scoop since that'll be very cheap and reasonably easy. Maybe that will help with keeping that area low pressure.

Another thing to try could be the STI coolant thermostat that opens earlier?

I forgot to mention in my first post that I do have that. When I installed the radiator I put in the lower temp STI thermostat.

I think I'll pursue tee-ing into the washer sprayer line as a proof of concept. If that works, then putting in the additional time and money to put in an Outback tank with dual pumps and wire one up for a system will make sense.

Thanks for the input guys. Out of curiosity, when would an oil cooler be the answer?

I do have the Mishimoto STI-08 installed.

So would the next logical step be an oil cooler?

I was also thinking about tee-ing into the washer fluid sprayer line and adding a nozzle to spray the radiator.

Thanks, I am very interested in that product! Couldn't hurt, right?

I actually had to remove the black plastic and cut away some of the painted bumper cover to fit the FMIC. Here's a couple recent pics: https://imgur.com/AsFgx9p https://imgur.com/nuj9N15

The other day in traffic it seemed like my coolant temps were creeping up, like my cooling system was insufficient. I was wondering what can be done to cure that. It seems like the ECU turns off the AC when it's getting close to overheating, so if I can avoid that it would solve the AC issue.

you aren't running the Subaru blue coolant?

I am. It's half premixed 50/50 from the dealer and half distilled water.

Hey guys I would like to start a discussion about how to counter the heat. Yesterday and the day before were probably the hottest days of this year at 117F and 116F respectively. Yesterday when I got home from work here are the temps I was looking at: (This is parked in the shade!)

During the commute home the AC turned off several times, especially on the freeway at moderate freeway speeds between say 45 and 65 (traffic). That was pretty uncomfortable. So what can be done about this?

I'd like to keep AC on the hottest days, and if I could get some (safe) performance too that would be awesome.

Currently I have: TBE, FMIC, Mishimoto Radiator, OEM STI lower temp thermostat, Primitive skidplate with OEM plastic splash guard. I have not plugged the hood scoop, and both fender splash guards are not on the car at the moment. My coolant is steady at the full mark with about 75% water to 25% coolant (I mixed the 50/50 premixed from the dealer with distilled water). On days under 100F, my coolant temp does not exceed 212F which makes me think that my cooling system does not have a problem.

What's next? Intercooler or radiator sprayer? Oil cooler?

I did find some WRX/STI threads about this, but they usually recommend wrapping UP, DP, and turbo, and other things that don't really apply to my car.

Glad you're OK. I was hit a few times in the last couple years when I was in college. It's just so easy for a driver to make a little mistake and ruin your day even when you're doing everything right and being defensive...

Lookin' good!

Isn't it surprising how much more sporty it looks from a distance with the spacers?

Planning on doing the Prothane rear diff inserts and the Rallitek 5EAT bushing tonight with a buddy's help. Doused the all the bolts in PB blaster last night, gonna swing by Home Depot on lunch and grab some C-clamps to assist in pushing the trans bushing in, hoping everything goes well. I know it's gonna be a bit tight working on the rearmost diff inserts, but we've got box ends and such. Gonna dig through the vacation pics for torque specs, but I don't think we'll have access to a box end torque wrench.

 

Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

Sounds like you have a good idea of what you're getting into. I had a real hard time with my rear diff inserts, but GTeaser said his went smooth so who knows how you'll find it.

For next time: You can put your hand inside the cubby, make a fist, and (carefully) pull to remove that entire piece. The clips pop right out. That way you don't have to put down tape and take all that time.

I would replace the burned/melted connector. Why not? I'm sure the part is cheap online.

I'm not sure if it would indicate a bigger problem though.

I would think that for a 0-60 less than 4 seconds you'd need north of 400 hp which sounds like at least a 20g with cams if not more.

You should do this: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/eleguas-badass-br9-wagon-241754.html?t=241754

Thanks.

Weather does make a huge difference. When I'm on my way to work in the morning at ~80 degrees I swear it has 20% more power than when I leave at 110 degrees.

OK attached are my datalogs.

Datalog1 is from tonight. WOT in 3rd.

Datalog3 is from back in March. WOT in 4th.

I notice the fine knock and DAM of .94 which I don't love. I also notice that my target boost is not 17.3 as my tuner told me. My IDC also seems to peak at 83% on this one.

What are your interpretations, thoughts, concerns?

Thanks.

datalog1.csv

datalog3.csv

WGDC is 63.37 solid for the whole run. My AFR is solid 11.03 too.

I don't have logs of AF Error or Boost Error, but I'll log those sometime soon.

I'm certainly no tuner, but I am curious about my tune. I'm not sure if I should blame the hot weather or if my tune is less than great.

I've read ASubieNewbie's tuning guide and I noticed that my tuner seems to have taken a very different approach.

I had a Vibrant Ultra Quiet Resonator welded in to my exhaust for $45 at a local shop that specializes in restoring old cars. I just left the car there for the day and Uber'd it to and from work so they were able to just fit it in whenever. I'm not sure about prices in your area of course, but you could make a few phone calls and find out.

Sorry, but I don't know much about cats. I did a search on Ebay and the 'high flow cats' seem to range from $80-$400. No idea what the differences are or if they matter.

I like your plan of taking it slow and thinking it through. There are definitely some things that I would have done differently if I hadn't gotten excited and jumped in. Like my Nameless DP which I almost want to remove and replace with the Invidia Catless + cat...

My thoughts of good options:

Invidia catted dp ~$600

Dynotune ~$500

Total $1100

This one is easy and not very labor/time intensive for you. You get your tune all done and buttoned up in a single day and drive away.

Invidia catless DP ~$350

High Flow Cat ~$120

Exhaust shop to weld cat in at the downstream end of the DP (like the options out there for the 2015+ WRX) ~$50

BPV ~$170

EBCS ~$150

E-Tune ~$250

Total $1090

This is what I would do if I could have a do-over. It is much more labor/time intensive for you but you end up in a better place for a similar cost. The E-Tune involves you getting tunes via email, then testing and sending logs back to your tuner, who updates the tune and sends it back. You repeat the process until it's done. It can easily be a week between new tunes. Moving the cat farther from the turbo should help spool/response but it's hard to know how much and if it will be noticeable.