Neal Cassady

They are lower, but not that much. It’s tough to say exactly, I’ll have to meet up with someone who has OEM seats to give you a more accurate idea. Also compared to the fixed bucket I had in a S13 with “super-low” seat rails, it sits high, but that seat was essentially on the floor. If you made your own seat brackets there is room to lower the seat more.

2005 LGTs have a sensor at each corner of the seat base, rather than a bladder to detect someone sitting. It's actually similar to the Recaro passenger seat occupancy sensor system, so perhaps its possible to swap it over relatively simply. The seats are fantastic. My back doesn't get sore/tire on long drives anymore. If you've sat in STI seats, these are improved over those in terms of lumbar and shoulder support. They could use a bit more leg support, but that's compared to a fixed back bucket.

***DISCLAIMER** You do this at your own risk. Airbags/squibs are dangerous to work with and it can result in serious bodily injury and/or death. I take ABSOLUTELY no responsibility for your actions for any and all results from this post or any thereafter dealing with this subject. If you choose to do this mod and you or anyone else are injured in the event of a crash, accidental deployment, or any other incident involving this DIY, you are on your own. This is by no means an exact step-by-step guide, however it should cover most hurdles for someone looking to install Evo X Recaros in their Legacy GT. It assumes a reasonable level of mechanical aptitude and access to tools (a Dremel/cut off tool is required). The 2005 Legacy GT’s will be much more difficult due to the passenger occupancy system and this guide does not cover that. I believe 2006+ are all similar, but the vehicle in this guide is specifically a Canadian 2006 Legacy GT Wagon Limited 5MT with 2009 Lancer Ralliart Recaros (Canadian car – heated seats). Parts required: - Driver & passenger Recaro seats (2008-2016 Evo X or 2009-2010 Lancer Ralliart Recaro will work, 2009-2014 for the Ralliart in Canada) - These come in a variety of materials and with/without seat heaters, Canadian & higher spec Evo seats usually have heaters. Canadian Ralliart Recaro’s have the grey alcantara and black leather with heat seen in this guide - Evo X or Lancer Ralliart heated seat switch WITH PLUG and ~4” of wire - Planted Technology driver & passenger seat brackets (Part No. SB180DR/SB180PA) - Legacy GT driver seat position sensor (ideally from your car or the same model year as your car) - Legacy GT passenger seat bladder + module - Legacy GT driver & passenger belt buckles (with wiring/plug) - Legacy GT air bag connectors (easiest to snip off a pigtail from a junkyard car and de-pin it) - Qty 8: M8 x 16 mm lg. hex head cap screws - Class 10.9 (it's not recommended to use 12.9 zinc plated fasteners due to brittleness and potential hydrogen embrittlement) - Qty 8: M8 flange nuts - Class 10 (thread pitch doesn’t matter, just match the M8 bolts in the line above) Procedure: Strip all parts from the bottom of the Recaro seats (including the sliders). Eventually you’re left with the seats themselves and the seat sliders + floor mounts. We’ll need to get just the plain seat sliders, with a flat bottom. This will take some time, you need to drill out the spot welds, cut off studs, grind down the silver rivets and cut the fillet welds along the sides of the floor mounts. Drill out the hole the rivets used in the slider to allow clearance for the M8 bolt (I used a 21/64” drill bit). Eventually you’re left with flat bottomed seat sliders, I spray painted mine black to cover the bare metal. Recaro components not used: Mounts to be removed: Next is to prepare the wiring on the bottom of the Recaros. You’ll need to de-pin the airbag connector, shave the Recaro pins slightly (compare to the Legacy pins to get an idea of the area to be shaved), and insert them into the de-pinned Legacy GT airbag connector. It’s a tight fit, but it will go back together (ensure pins are fully seated) and connect properly with the chassis side of the Legacy airbag harness. Here is the reference I used for the airbags. This is a 2007 WRX so the seat heaters are different. These are the unmodified Recaro airbag pins Tough to see, but these are modified (small tangs ground off) The seat brackets need to be slightly modified was well. Drop M8 bolts into the front & rear slider mounting holes from the top side (requires moving the slider fore and aft to access each hole), use this as a template to see how much of the seat bracket needs to be ground. I left the front holes of the bracket untouched and only dremeled the rear slots slightly. I removed the seat belt mount tabs as the Recaro seats have this integrated. Paint bare metal. The driver side seat can now be bolted to its seat bracket, ensure to torque M8 bolts (27 lb-ft for M8 10.9, zinc plated and dry). I found a washer could not be used under the bolt head as there is limited height below the slider which cannot be impeded. Bolt the Legacy GT belt buckle to the mount on the Recaro seat. The seat position sensor just needs to be plugged into the Legacy chassis harness and secured wherever there’s space. Note, it will no longer function to turn off the airbag when the seat is all the way forward. Most people don’t require this feature however it is something to be aware of for shorter drivers or if others borrow your vehicle. I don’t know exactly what point the sensor sends a signal to turn off the airbag and unfortunately I no longer have my original seats to check the position of the sensor trip. If someone is able to check this that would be helpful. On to the passenger side, which has some extra steps. You’ll need to remove the bladder from the passenger Legacy GT seat, I don’t have photos of this but the steps are to unclip the seat cover of the bottom cushion and peel it as far back as needed to work the bladder out from being sandwiched by the cushion and seat springs. Rivets securing the module to the Legacy GT seat need to be drilled out to remove the module. Unclip the Recaro bottom seat cover in a similar manner and peel it back to begin working the bladder between the seat cushion and springs. Work slowly and evenly to ensure bladder does not tear. The bottom seat webbing/spring of the Recaro does not have a hole for the tube to the sensor, however this has not impacted function as far as I can tell (occupancy sensor & indicator light works as factory). Reattach the passenger seat cover and bolt to its seat bracket. Torque M8 bolts to 27 lb-ft. Secure the occupancy sensor module to the seat bracket. The following section covers the seat heaters. If your Recaro seats do not have the heated option, you can skip these steps and install the seats. Plug in all sensors and adjust seating position to your liking! Depending on the exact position of your seat on the bracket and seating position, the shoulder bolster may slightly rub the B-pillar. Loosen the M8 bolts and shift the seat on the base until it does not contact the B-pillar. The Legacy GT heated switch has 4 positions instead of 2 and operates differently so cannot be used with the Recaro seats. Place the seats in the car and lean them against the back seat bench so the underseat plugs are easily accessible on the seat and chassis side. The wiring diagram below is specifically for a 2006 Legacy GT, however the descriptions should allow one to adapt it to other years in case the wire colours differ. De-pin the Recaro heated seat connector – blue/yellow/black wire (or chassis side, doesn’t matter) and insert the wires into the plug such that they correspond with the wiring diagram. Before plugging in and installing the seat, I recommend finishing the switch installation and checking continuity/function. To make the switch wiring easier, remove the centre console and detach the wiring harness. Remove the Legacy GT heated seat plug from the harness. Following the wiring diagram, connect the appropriate wires of the Legacy GT harness to the wires of the Mitsubishi plug. Note the two wires that need to have a ring terminal attached to them to ground the seats. Ground location below centre console: A switch plate will be needed to house the Mitsubishi heated seat switch in the original Legacy location. I used black ABS material, cut to shape and then heated while forming to the centre console as the OEM switch is not flat and has compound curvature. Enjoy! You should have no airbag lights and heated seats should function. These seats are a massive improvement over the OEM Legacy GT seats at the track and daily driving in terms of support and comfort. I do have more photos and a better copy of the wiring diagram, just send me a PM with your email.

Swapping the ring and pinion requires fairly involved set up in terms of lash/pre-load/pinion depth. Easiest to find one with the correct ratio. If you have no luck locally, check out subierecycler.com. They will most likely have one and they ship anywhere.

To be absolutely sure you have the right ratio, you can pull the diff cover the the ring gear will be marked 39:11

Correct, I believe any STi or Spec B R180 is 3.54:1 or a 02-05 WRX with a manual transmission is the R160 you’d need.

Selling a set of (4) OEM LGT injectors (520 cc side feed) in good working condition. Pulled from my 2006 Legacy GT. I thought I potentially had a clogged or dripping injector (negative long term fuel trims - rich, no vacuum leaks), so I replaced these with a set of used injectors that had been cleaned and flow tested. There was no discernible difference in running, so this set is in good working condition. O-rings should be replaced, I can include new ones for an extra $10. $70 including shipping and pp fees to Canada/con-US.

Yeah, I was thinking of transferring over the STi tips since I like their proportions and I already have them.

Swapped mufflers to OEM JDM LGT wagon axle backs, all resonance gone. Looking at the STi twin tip axlebacks, the spot welds along the seam of the muffler have some corrosion, so I'll smoke test and see if it's leaking. Thanks everyone for their input. cheers

Thanks for confirming! I figured as much, but doesn't hurt to check. cheers

Can you confirm the Suretrac would work with Legacy axles? There is a version of the R160 Suretrac that takes double-splined axles. See here cheers

Consider parting the Ganadors?

Fair enough! I'll see what swapping axlebacks does, then look into adding a resonator to the OEM midpipe. cheers

Haha I wish it were that simple. As far as I know that only helps with higher pitched tones/"raspiness". Sounds good, I've been meaning to do those anyway to tuck up the tips a bit more. I'm thinking I will pick up a pair of stock mufflers to confirm that fixes it, then see about grafting the twin tips on the stock mufflers. Thanks all.

I was worried about that possibility, I've found a few places that people mention the deeper bass from STi mufflers.

Thanks for the input. I have a JDM wagon bumper and they protrude past the lower part of the bumper (see profile photo), but do not extend completely past the bumper when viewed from above. It's definitely better than being sunk in the USDM bumper, however I didn't notice a change in the resonance when the JDM rear bumper was installed. I could try putting some extra piping over the tips to temporarily extend them and see if it has any impact. cheers

Looking for feedback/opinions/ideas for reducing the exhaust resonance/bass/vibrations on my wagon, heard/felt outside the vehicle. It occurs around 1000-1500 rpm, especially on start-up/cold idle. The reverberation will shake the house and seems excessive. Overall the car is not much louder that stock, if at all, in terms of volume, but the resonance outside the vehicle is substantial. There is some exhaust boom/drone in the interior, but it is livable and goes away to essentially nothing while driving. I have gone over the various sound deadening threads, but they seem to focus on interior resonance. I will try likely try some of the solutions anyway. I have checked for exhaust leaks and have not found any obvious ones, but I will try a smoke test on the exhaust side to confirm. Vehicle is a 2006 LGT Wagon: - Stage 2 tune - OEM exhaust manifold - OEM STi non-catted up-pipe - Grimmspeed catted downpipe - OEM midpipe and y-pipe - JDM Legacy STi wagon twin tip axleback mufflers I've read an ELH could help since it eliminate the unbalanced exhaust pulses, as well as adding resonators/mufflers to the midpipe (with the COBB and other CBE). Open to hearing any and all suggestions! First image courtesy of Gex.

Switch plate for EVO Recaro done. ABS cut, formed and wrapped in 3M vinyl wrap. Not perfect, I may try taking a mould if the original switch since it is curved in 2 directions and might be a nicer fit & finish making a carbon or FRP version.

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A local junkyard out of a Lancer Ralliart, in Canada they had the same Recaro's as the EVO X, but with black on black alcantara/leather and heated. Side airbags are plugged in, no airbag light on the dash and should function if needed. This link goes into more detail about the similarity of the EVO & Subaru airbag system: How To: Install Evo X seats in wrx/STi Seat brackets are the LGT ones from Planted Technology, when I have some time I'll create a separate thread with more detail on the install.

Finally finished the EVO X Recaro seat install, got the heated seats working. Just in time for a cold snap, and still need to make a replacement plate to mount the switch to in the centre console opening.

Good call on EZ vs EG. I put an EG33 into a 2.5RS (GC8 chassis), it was fun, but the extra length was a major pain. cheers

I've had 2 greyhounds in the back of mine, not quite as large/tall, they were 60 & 75 lbs each.

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