shralp

My ‘08 XT daily only has 40k on a new short block w/refreshed heads and with the sudden replacement of my 5speed with a ZF Design RA Spec close ratio 1-4 OEM 5th I’m in it for the long haul. Paint is getting tired but at least I don’t have to obsess over it and the car checks boxes that most cars just can’t. 
 

The track car? Well that’s just a 15 year slippery slope. Will continue to modify and upgrade but don’t see ever getting rid of it unless I was it up at the track…

Yup teachable moment for me for sure!  So yup was actually running 3mm spacers on this set up when it happened.  I tend to never run spacers and wouldn't ever go more than 3mm but in this case, I discovered that the Continentals 255/40/17, even though they are slightly smaller sectional width on paper, are actually marginally wider than the Hankook RS4's I'm used to running.  The side wall was ever so slightly rubbing on the spring collar of my KW coilovers up front.  3mm was enough to give me some wiggle room.   Hard to say if this was a huge factor or not as 3mm is pretty widely regarded as safe. 

What I can say however is that my records show that the LR hub had never been replaced on the car.  The RR was done in 2018 and the fronts every few years because the heat loading on track would wreck them.  Now that I've got proper ducting I don't see that being a big issue going forward.  Can't say with 100% assurance that the LR was original but certainly can't find it in my records.  

A rough theory is that swapping out the other 3 corners on a semi regular basis kept the wolves at bay enough that the studs never had a chance to fail before getting replaced.  The LR however, unsure on the replacement interval and perhaps this, along with the 3mm spacer was just too much for it to handle.  These Apex's are ET42 offset, (before the 3mm spacer).  

Thought I'd post a cautionary tale of woe from my recent season ender at the track.  A good friend up in British Columbia owns a 911 Cup Car (997), and is a member at the Area 27 racetrack. He invited me to bring the track car up for a few days.  With guest privileges all I had to pay for was daily insurance at $100 CDN so it was pretty hard to say no!  

The layout at Area 27 is gorgeous and a joy to drive for sure.  That said, it was completely new to me and the morning sessions were tricky learning the race line.  I was also having horrible grip issues with an older set of Hankook RS4 tires that were giving me fits.  I decided to swap on my new Continental Extreme Contact Force set right before lunch and it was like night and day.  I was starting learn the race line, grip was back, and I was starting to pass other cars.  

Half way through my second session with the Continentals, I had just apexed a tight right hand corner, (one of only two lower speed corners at the track, the rest are high speed sweepers), I heard loud SNAP! followed by an immediate loud BANG!!  I felt left rear corner of the car get low and out of my peripheral vision I saw my LR wheel launching off into the infield.  Luckily I was just getting back on the power and had the car relatively straight going about 50 mph.  With the left rear corner sitting on brake rotor I skidded to a stop half on track and half in the grass.  Really lucky that this didn't happen on a high speed corner or a blind one as everyone coming behind me was able to see well.  Once I was safely able to get out of the car it was painfully clear what had happened.  All 5 wheel studs had sheared in half launching the wheel into space  

Amazingly we were able to put a 2x6 under the rotor and use it as a sled as we slowly winched the car into the infield and up onto my trailer without doing any additional damage to the car.  I spent the rest of the day riding shotgun in my buddys Cup Car which at least was some rowdy fun consolation.

I mean, I know aftermarket wheel studs are a thing but wow, I've never seen or heard of this happening going on 15 years driving this car on track.  Based on what I'm doing with the car and the fact that most of the cars I see at the track are running OEM wheel studs, it just never crossed my mind that I should upgrade them.  So yup, that's on me for sure...

Final damage tally: An Apex ARC-8 rim, Continental tire, new rotor ring and hat, (thank god the caliper is ok, just some beef jerky to Dremel off and its good to go, call it a battle scar!), and a new CV axle.  My nice Whiteline bits are thankfully ok but when everything compressed, it bent the shit out of my now unobtainable Perrin sway bar mount.  My tuner was able to bend it back into shape and we buttressed that whole system by adding Anderson Design & Fab sway bar reinforcement brackets so its plenty locked down now.  My unobtainable ancient Perrin mid and Y-pipe too a big hit as well.  They were able to get it relatively back in shape but its a temporary fix.  I'm swapping in a Nameless mid/Y this winter.  Considering I've had the Perrin on since '08 I think its done its duty!  Lucky break again, my Prodrive muffs made it thru ok with just a some bending of the lip at the back of the can.  

So thats my tale of woe.  I guess the lesson to be learned here is that you've really go to be methodical with upgrades if you're gonna push a car hard.  Even the little stuff, like wheel studs, can bite you in the ass eventually if they are not up to the task.  ARP studs in all 4 corners fixed that!  Really happy that the body sustained very little damage.  The rear clip popped back on fine and there is just a bit of wave in the quarter panel, probably from when the wheel jammed upward before launching off.  If you look in just the right light you can see it but its virtually invisible.  The plastic dogleg just ahead of the wheel did get ripped off.  It was completely gravel hammered from 18 years of use so I just bought new ones and wrapped them in matte black vinyl.  Actually looks better than before!

A few pics of the carnage and repair below... 

11 hours ago, Tehnation said:

How did the setup work for oem mufflers and 3" mid/Y pipes? Are the flanges the same size even though the pipe diameters are different? 

Yup flanges mate up but it just necks down to 2.5 for the OEM muffs

5 hours ago, Tehnation said:

Can't seem to find the perrin mid and y pipe but I did find one by nameless.

https://shop.namelessperformance.com/2005-2009-legacy-gt-midpipe/

Is this similar to the Perrin? Why did you go to the aftermarket mufflers over the stock? Does the bigger muffler pipes do anything performance wise? 

The Perrin mid/Y hasn't been around for years, I put mine on in 2008.  The main reason at the time was less restriction but civil as a daily driver that I was starting to take the the track as well.  Once the car started leaning way more towards track in about 2015, I swapped out the OEM muffs for the Prodrive ones.  At the time Cobb Surgeline mentioned that having 3" to stock muffs was fairly inconsequential power wise given I was just at Stg. 2 power levels (VF-52).  Maybe leaving a HP or two on the table.  

A recent mishap at the track has rendered my 15 yr old Perrin set up DOA so I just purchased the Nameless mid/Y from a forum member and will be hooking that up to the Prodrives.  Can let you know what changes it makes in the exhaust note, if any. 

I ran 3” Perrin mid/Y to stock muffs for many years and that was really civil, maybe too civil for most people. Switched to that set up with ProDrives muffs and while it’s definitely louder, everyone at the track always comments that “your wagon is so quiet”

PM sent

hmmm kinda tempted to snag your mid/Y, just not sure how long I'll be able to run this 15 yrs old Perrin before it falls off the car.  Any idea what it would run shipped to Bend, OR 97702?

23 hours ago, BridNasty said:

I think I remember seeing somewhere they were made for the wagon? I'm not sure, I had them on my sedan and they looked like this. 

Hey Brid, quick question. Assume your Nameless mid/Y pipe hooked up fine to the ProDrives? The Perrin Mid/Y that I put on in 2007 is no longer available and it’s getting pretty long in the tooth

For sure get these Fabreze! My sedan ProDrives fit well enough on the wagon and after an (ahem…) on track incident at Area 27 last month,  I’m in the middle of an unfortunate repair that is sucking all my funds. A post and carnage pics incoming in the following weeks

You guys should just call Myles at Racecomp and he can explain any differences between the two. From the pics in your links it appears that the RCE units are using Swift springs, which are a nice upgrade from the KW ones. This is what Myles suggested for me back in the day when I bought a set for the track car. Currently running 10k F/R Swifts on my set up. Also note that RCE is discontinuing the Tarmac’s for Legacy so if there are in fact differences between the two you might want to get on it. Myles worked with KW to specifically valve these for ‘05-‘09 Legacy. 

Any idea if the ProDrives are for wagon, (longer tips) or sedan? 

20 hours ago, KZJonny said:

NP.

On the other hand dude, prove me wrong. I am sure the information would be appreciated if you can figure it out. But it seems that generally despite COBB insisting that their SF tune takes care of everything, you generally need a pro tune to use it. I'm not trying to harsh on anyone for wanting some peformance parts.

I think it was Shralp? who said his tuner told him to remove it and go back to stock 'coz it was causing problems tuning his car. I want to say that until going to a high performance 16G he was getting better performace with stock than the SF...

Yup, that’s what my experience was at Cobb/Surgeline, my tuner of 12 years. They had me keep the stock air box on until going 16G or larger as the car ran much better and was easier to tune.  Seems counter intuitive I know, but with a clean panel filter installed it flows plenty well at VF40/52 power levels. 

6 hours ago, xt2005bonbon said:

 

Can you post a pic of it?

Beat on any rim hard enough and it will break. That said, the Terra is built as a rally inspired rim which means it’s pretty beefy (i.e.- no long, delicate thin spokes). Because of that they aren’t particularly light (hence the inexpensive price). Love them on my ‘08 XT and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again 

Whats the condition of your front fenders? Any dents ripples etc? All the mounting points in good shape? Could have someone grab them and store them in Turah at my father in laws for now

56 minutes ago, tysparks81 said:

I actually like this option, as I'm running the blouch 2.5xtr and think I'm pretty close to 400 on pump gas.  I think going to a 3.0 or 4.0 would have gotten me to 400 easier but with more lag.  

Sorry for the brief thread jack, hey ty what are you getting out of your 2.5xtr currently?  Did you go with 8cm or 10cm?  Currently considering it for my track car, thx. 

Thought about the Blouch 3.0 XT-R? Ball bearing goodness

Hey all, 

Well, after 15 years of tracking my car I'm finally doing the smart thing and putting in a roll cage / seats this winter.  Does anyone have any info on pulling out the passenger side airbag?  The recall has never been done on this car since passengers typically are not allowed in the car for track days, (at least in my region).  With the car gutted I can easily see all the side curtain ones are easy to remove and the steering wheel looks to be straightforward to pull out the bag itself and put the center portion back in.  I've scoured a bit online and really can't find anything specific to the '05-'09 platform. If anyone has info to pass along that would be great.  Assume I'll have to put up with some sort of annoying light on the dash from here on out unless someone has a hack for that too, thx!

Oh man, sure you want to part with the awesome build? Dang…

On 1/31/2023 at 7:17 PM, Underdog said:

Copying this information over from my build thread to make it easier to find. This modification came about when I installed Bride seats in my 2006 Legacy, and needed a way to bypass the occupant detection system and get rid of the airbag light on the dash. The original post was here if you'd like to see info about the Brides elsewhere in that thread, but the ODS Bypass Module and other airbag light information has been reformatted and moved to this thread for clarity.

Note: These modifications can affect the operation of your airbag system and if you choose to do it you are doing so at your own risk! Death or serious injury may occur if the airbag system does not function as designed!

To summarize, there are three things that must be done to prevent an airbag light with aftermarket seats:

1. Delete the airbags themselves. -> Bend a 3.3ohm resistor as shown below and insert into the airbag plug. Wrap with a quality electrical tape like 3M.

 

2. Transfer driver's seat position sensor (driver-side only, the sensor picks up a "flag" welded to the seat which disables the airbag when the seat is all the way forward). -> Remove sensor from bottom of seat by drilling out two rivets and unclipping the plug from the metal bracket. Coil up the pigtail and install plug into the floor harness.

 

3. Transfer occupant detection module and bypass occupant detection sensor. -> See below.

Note: This only applies for the MY06-09 which uses a bladder-style ODS; the MY05 uses four load cells which all communicate with the ODS module. For more information on the MY05 and a possible workaround to use the method below, please see 2005 Seat Swap to 2006+ with Full Airbag Function by @Harrimat.

The occupant detection module collects the signals from the passenger seat belt receptacle, the side airbag, and the occupant sensor. The module must be removed from the stock seat and plugged into the harness under the new seat. Be careful when drilling out the rivets that secure the ODS Module or you may drill through and pop the bladder in the seat - if you can get something behind the rivet to protect it, all the better. After you've removed the rivets you can unplug the ODS sensor and unclip the module plug from the bracket.

 

The sensor that detects the pressure in the bladder and communicates with the ODS module is a simple active 5V pressure sensor with three pins: 5V input, the signal output ("Vout"), and ground reference (GND). In order to vary the voltage on Vout we will create a switchable voltage divider by putting a resistor of fixed value between the 5V and Vout pins (R1), and resistors of two separate values - let's call them R2(empty) and R2(occupied) - between Vout and GND, with a switch selecting which resistor completes the circuit.

 

To simulate an empty seat R2 must be ~3x the value of R1. To simulate an occupied seat R2 must to be ~1/2 of R1 (the signal varies based on the weight of the person - the following is for a ~160lb person)

We can make things easy by selecting a value for R1 of 1kΩ, which means R2(empty) will be 3.3kΩ and R2(occupied) will be 470Ω, all common resistor values.

Now we can use a simple SPDT switch (preferably one that is ON-ON, with no OFF position in the middle) to toggle between two resistors for R2. Please see attached wiring diagram.

 

To make this mod plug-and-play I used the following parts:

Switch: "Baomain Car Toggle switch SPDT ON-ON 3 Pin 2 Position 12V 25A with waterproof cover for Auto Car"

Enclosure: "uxcell Waterproof Plastic Electric Project Case Junction Box (2.3x1.4-Inches, 5pcs)"

Connector: "GM Delphi / Packard - 3-Way GT 150 Receptacle Pigtail" (I ordered with 6" of wire on the pigtail and it was enough for my install, however you can order with any length and always cut it to fit.)

Otherwise you just need a few resistors and standard electrical work supplies (solder, heatshrink, wire loom, electrical tape, grommet, and hot glue/zipties for strain relief).

I used a step drill bit to drill 1/2" holes for both the grommet and switch. To keep things compact I soldered the R2 resistors directly to the terminals of the switch and encased them in hot glue to prevent movement that would lead to fatigue failure or a short circuit. The R1 resistor is soldered to the 5V and Vout wires from the receptacle pigtail, with the white wire connecting the Vout side to the common leg of the switch. Heatshrink everything and tuck it into place.

 

The completed module can now be plugged into the pressure sensor receptacle on the ODS Module harness. 3M double-stick tape was plenty to attach the enclosure to the frame rail of my Bride seat, and I added a ziptie for extra security.

 

With the switch mounted under the seat you can toggle between armed and disarmed, and everything behaves normally. Congratulations - you have completed the ODS bypass modification.

Quick question for you Underdog. I may choose to swap in an aftermarket drivers seat into my ‘05 track car but still need airbag functionality until I can afford a cage.  Does this mean that I only need to do the first two steps of your three step process, (The resistor and seat position sensor), to make it work since I’m not touching the passenger seat? 

11 hours ago, Gex said:

Another track day for the Camel wagon. Love this car. Unreal on the slicks. Need to do more for oil cooling though. Perrin oil cooler be damned.  I suspect I’m going to ditch this killer b header soon. It is massive and just bakes the oil pan and oil filter. Switch back to my AP header with much more clearance. 

Chasing down a PDK GT4. Don’t mind that oil temp warning.

 

What are you running for slicks and how many days would you say you're getting out of them?  Still comtemplating going that route but its an expensive one if I'm blowing thru tires like I do with 200TW on the track  

+1 for the Conti’s. Love mine on the daily and will be putting them on my track car for a rain set up

Convince the TX forum member in here to ship his lightly used KW, you won’t regret it

Murray Constant tension clamps work quite well. I’ve swapped them at critical spots. You can find dealers on EBay, etc. https://www.murraycorp.com/dual-bead-shield-constant-tension-clamp