Pleides

A severe amount of oil indicates piston ring wear, or something akin to it. You could also have a bad valve cover gasket/tube seals. I'd recommend doing a compression test before you throw money at solving this issue.

This seems so blindingly obvious it has to be right. I wonder if this is why my car has that little bit of wobble on the freeway. However, my car doesn't pull to one side in particular. Anyways, hope this solution helps you, OP. This seems pretty probable.

On our cars, they come as an assembly. https://www.amazon.com/MOOG-513220-Wheel-Bearing-Assembly/dp/B000JZGEVA/ref=pd_lpo_263_t_0/131-0585720-5530041?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000JZGEVA&pd_rd_r=daee6d87-6bb5-4d7f-a680-c1a7a59fdda4&pd_rd_w=CTN8y&pd_rd_wg=Iuwz5&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=11TZMGE1QJ4NTZSXNQEH&psc=1&refRID=11TZMGE1QJ4NTZSXNQEH Not necessarily vouching for a particular wheel bearing brand (mine have been replaced with Subaru OEM) but this gives you an idea of what the unit looks like. I have done it once and, like many things on this car, it wasn't something I hoped to do again soon. Had my shop do them after the second one went. I might just have a third failing now

I have a similar issue, actually, but no smell or smoke. To test your wheel bearings, do you have a set of four jackstands or a lift? You'll need that to test them with my method. Put the car in park or neutral if it's a manual, parking brake off. Prop the car up in the air so no load is on the suspension. With the car in the air, grab one wheel with one arm, preferably your dominant one. Grab the spring in your suspension in that very wheel well. Spin the wheel as hard as you can, akin to Wheel of Fortune. Unfortunately, no money will dispense itself, but if you're lucky, your spring will not vibrate or anything. If your wheel moves inboard and outboard of the hub, then you probably have a bad tie rod. If your spring feels like it's shaking when you spin the wheel, however, you almost certainly have a bad wheel bearing.

+32 offset with a 255/40R17? You’re gonna have one ugly pokey looking thing. Are you planning on lowering the car or adjusting camber? That wheel+tire on stock suspension will look ugly as sin. On a +32 offset with a 225/45R17 you’d probably have to get -3 degrees of camber in to get the top of the tire tucked under the wheel arch with a rolled fender. With a 255 you will need -3 or -4 degrees just to fit the thing in the first place. FYI, on neutral camber, an offset of about +45 will be roughly flush with the fender

Another possible answer is bad OCVs. My car either has missed a couple oil changes or otherwise has gotten some gunk in the oil and caused those to clog up, giving me similar misfiring issues. Even after replacing them and repeatedly changing the engine oil early, they still give me some issues, but no CELs. Worth giving it a shot if you see nothing wrong with the suggestions from 08SpecB. Above 3K does sound a bit like ringland failure, so before you dive into this, do a compression and leakdown test. Don’t want to spend thousands only to find the engine will need replacing.

Keep in mind that all sound equipment for cars bar a head unit are typically meant to be upgraded all at once. Upgrading just the woofers in the doors will result in your sound system having absolutely no low-end whatsoever. You’d definitely want to add a subwoofer if you go this route. I’d definitely recommend replacing worn out rubber in the suspension before foaming the entire interior since that will help quite a bit with NVH. Also, if you lose a windshield, special acoustical glass also helps, although I’m uncertain if you’d lose the functionality of the heated wipers.

The stock speakers are fine with the stock head unit and, if you have it, the under-seat subwoofer. Dynamat helps with lower frequencies in the larger drivers more than anything when installed in the doors, but you get a little bit of noise deadening if you put it in there. Under the carpets and in the headliner would be more worth your time if you had a finite amount of Dynamat. I used this stuff for the B-pillars in my wagon to eliminate a weird rattle. Cheaper than Dynamat and definitely cheaper in your hands, but works just as well for most applications. I haven't been brave enough to rip the carpets out and cover the floor with Dynamat, but hey, if the weather warms up in PDX in the coming days then maybe I'll have a nice project.

You can have your tuner tune the rear O2 out if you like, which would have to happen regardless if you decat the car.

My coolant system was left untouched by Surgeline who did the install for me. Very much recommend them, by the way. Almost no more NVH but a ton better driveability with the manual transmission.

First of all, catless exhausts smell terrible and are not great for the environment. At least consider having one so you aren't completely straight-piped. Have you tuned the car since doing any of this exhaust work? I'm talking taking the car to a respected tuning shop and having them look it over before putting it on the dyno. This is a turbo car and every little mod you make to the exhaust, intake, etc required a new tune.

Are you getting a PPI? You absolutely should if you're not mechanically-inclined enough to know what to look for. Some stuff that breaks a lot on these cars: All of the rubber. Absolutely all of it. Bushings, window trim, suspension, valve stem seals in the engine (causes oil burning), hoses, spare tire, you name it. It's a 15-year old car with a lot of miles and very soft rubber. I have replaced every single suspension bushing on my car with 213K miles (342 kms) in the last 10K miles. Engines: These engines suffer from many issues, namely rod bearing failure, piston ring failure, head gasket failure (if the boost has been turned up), and burnt valves. Do a compression test when you buy the car and ask if the engine has been replaced. The 05 year had a catted uppipe that was prone to sending bits of catalytic converter shrapnel into the engine and turbo, nuking both. Make sure the uppipe is replaced with an aftermarket catless one, is gutted, or is upgraded to an 07 LGT uppipe. Wheel bearings. Subarus go through these a lot. Lots of vibration in the wheel or noise in the cabin, depending on which one is bad. You can easily test their status by jacking the car up on all four sides or putting it on a lift. Set it in park, leave the parking brake off, and go around each wheel. Grab your dominant hand on the wheel spoke and grab the suspension spring with your other. Spin the wheel as hard as you can. If you feel any vibration in the spring then you probably need a new wheel bearing. If the wheel moves inward and outward from the hub, then you need tie rods. Since your car is lowered on H&Rs, you can replace those tie rod ends and ball joints with the Whiteline Roll Center kit. My car has had a few things break with age. Both O2 sensors, the MAF sensor, both oil control valves, the car is on its third turbo, the thing seems to eat headlight bulbs every year, the fourth gear syncho is a little bit worn, my left rear door sometimes doesn't unlock, and I've replaced two wheel bearings. You'd have to pry it from my cold dead hands despite all this. Love getting it into boost and passing Mustangs As for the price, 7K is a little much for an auto sedan to me, but I also don't know how the market is up there. You guys would have a lot of rust on a 15-year old car, would you not?

This was something I didn't understand. I was under the impression that smog checks can be an issue with an AOS but Brandon at Surgeline assuaged that by saying it has nothing to do with emissions. However, anything that affects the PCV system certainly affects emission, does it not?

Are you planning to track the car a lot? Hate to be that guy but the valving will get quite hot in those on track and they won’t last very long. Otherwise, they’re fine for a daily car that sees occasional spirited driving.

What stuff did you take off the car to work on the exhaust? The intake airbox is fussy on these cars. Perhaps start there to see if it's hooked up.

If you set the transmission in neutral, engage the parking brake, let go of the brake pedal, then put the car into park, does the clunk occur the next time you take the car out of park? Every auto car I've driven (and I've driven literally thousands throughout my time at the dealership) clunks if you don't set the parking brake and let the weight of the car rest on it before going into park on any sort of hill. Just saying - although your parking pawl can take a ton of abuse, if you don't like the sound, the ratcheting lever between the shifter and seat is always a safe bet to hold your car in place. On a hill, it should be your primary method of holding your car in place.

Thanks for the responses guys. The more I put time and money into this car and wonder when it will be reliable, the more I question that I want to spend money turning it more into a track car. I had plans to track it this summer, but COVID and sudden moving plans got in the way. I've wanted to buy a Porsche Boxster or Miata for a few years now (both were cars I seriously looked at before settling on a four-door car to haul people) and I'll probably full send one of those when my income supports it while keeping the wagon as my fun daily on the side. As for the AOS, I can understand the value proposition if it's something that definitively will aid in engine longevity. I'll opt for one if the bank account allows for it when the engine is rebuilt if only so that I don't have to worry about topping off oil all the damn time.

I’ve been in talks with Surgeline about replacing my 213K EJ255 when it goes with a stock EJ257. I got a long form quote for all the work the car would need when having the new block put in, and one thing I didn’t feel super confident about buying when the time comes is an AOS, which Surgeline had on the rebuild list (Cobb unit for STis). As I’ve understood, you only “need” an AOS if you track the car and/or have a lot of blowby. With a new motor in, I’d hope the latter wouldn’t be an issue. The former I’m not yet certain of. This car seems like it would be an expensive car to daily drive and also track with the upkeep it’s needed as a daily. Brandon told me that it was one of those things that made sense to put in as early as possible to help aid in the longevity of the motor. My plans for power on the car are to be going to topfeed injectors with a VF52. Car makes 270 WHP and 320 TQ on a VF46. If I made 300 WHP I can’t imagine I’d be unhappy, but I’d like to stay within the limits of the 07 LGT clutch, or whatever upgraded clutch wouldn’t kill me in PDX traffic with our hills. Thanks for the insight.

Well the BC BRs aren't really well-loved here, but it's your car and if they make you happy, then more power to you! Were your old top hats worn out before?

Koni's and H&R springs are what I have on my car. Highly recommend them over the Bilstein if you have a set of KYBs lying around. Super comfy, decent drop without being slammed, much better handling but nothing crazy. I feel that I noticed more from sway bars and the Whiteline KTA124 kit. The B8s, from what I've read (haven't experienced) are a bit harsher. I do believe that the top hats for the Bilsteins are different and, as such, springs don't drop as much on the Bilsteins.

Definitely do that! I'd love to buy one not already painted like the sets from Japan. Might also look good in carbon fiber.

Mine dropped slightly less in the rear because of the 3/8” spacer, but the front dropped 1.4 inches. Ride quality is pretty comparable to stock until you hit big potholes. Then it feels just slightly worse. Legitimately wouldn’t be an issue for my grandad or anything like that. Haven’t gotten any complaints with passengers in the car and haven’t needed to roll fenders with the stock tire size. Swifts slam the heck outta the car with Konis (as they do with stock KYBs) so only go with those if you want your car lower than mine.

Mine isn't crazy yet, but she's got a lot of suspension stuff (all the old shit was worn out with 200K+ and 15 years on it). Got the DKI replica full-LED Hanabis on last week or two, looks great!

What car we working with here, to start with? KYBs won't last long with a spring that drops as much as the H&R (about 1.4 inches in the front). Here's my car with Konis and H&R springs. STi pinks are a common recommendation with stock shocks because they don't drop super low and feel like a nice upgrade in the handling department. They're a little expensive given the fact that they're from Japan, but here's a link. Alternatively, if you wanted a better ride with a lowering spring and better shock longevity, you could get Koni cut-a-struts like my car has. Since you just bought the shocks, I'm guessing you don't wanna feel like you wasted all that money, which is fair.

On a 2011, the age and mileage of the car might necessitate some new bushings. Those would help bring the car back to its original level of handling prowess, so to speak. I'd recommend starting with an upgraded strut and spring setup before doing sway bars, but that's just me. Lowering the car will put new stress on your suspension bushings, so doing those soon after would be a priority. I'm not sure what support the 5th gen Leggy gets, but Whiteline makes a full suite of polyurethane bushings for our cars. Depending on what you want to do with the car, those might be a good option. A roll center correction kit is also a good thing to do if you lower the car. Koni shocks are quite popular and I can vouch for them after having had them on my car a few months with H&R springs. I believe Eibach is the popular go-to for your car for springs.