CovertRussian's 05 LGT Build Thread

[covertrussian]

Had me scratching my head for a day or so, I was trying to figure out how on earth the exhaust would get louder (thought maybe my pipe came out of slip joint), but next day it would be quiet again. I had a good laugh after I figured it out.

[covertrussian]

After all the years of owning the car, I finally got around to replacing the speakers. Stock speakers have been good enough up until recently, where they started distorting at higher volumes. I had some Focals and Polks sitting in a box for years from my other car, just had to get the speaker adapters and wire adapters.

 

For fronts I used Focal Access 165 A1 components. I removed the stock twitters, saved the plastic and fitted the Focal twitters in them, this places them in stock location and has a very clean stock installed look. I was able to get the crossovers hung on the door, there was an existing hole that a screw would fit through. Woofers needed adapters, which were fairly cheap from ebay.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254640&stc=1&d=1503892915

 

For rears I used Polk DB651's with built in twitters, install was very simple and uneventful. Though I will say the door cards are touching the twitter a little.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254641&stc=1&d=1503892915

Edited August 28, 2017 by covertrussian

[WRX USA]

What did you do with the OEM wiring from the tweeter and woofer? Did you connect them together, + to + and - to -, so that you had a full range signal going into the crossover?

[covertrussian]

I actually didn't do any of that, just unplugged the stock tweeter completely. It sounds like I'm getting full range, but I might try plugging the oem tweeter wires to the crossover input now.

[covertrussian]

Listened to the speakers yesterday and I heard full range from woofers and tweeters, thus I don't think there is an oem crossover to worry about.

 

I just looked at the speaker wire diagram and I don't see any crossovers, looks like the tweeters are just directly wired into the woofer wires. I will try to use a voltage meter to see if there continuity later.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254717&stc=1&d=1504025697

[WRX USA]

I need to check the wiring diagram on mine. I replaced an HK OEM stereo and I swear I wasn’t getting full range which made me think the crossover is in the amp (under the passenger seat).

[covertrussian]

Ah, there might be a difference with factory amps, I don't have one. I just looked through the diagrams and didn't see any amp related diagrams for 2005 manual. There might be something in the 09 one.

[WRX USA]

I know this has nothing to do with your build but just in case anyone searches and finds your thread, the wiring on speakers on the 09 HK system is different.

 

[covertrussian]

Thanks for sharing that, that does make it more difficult. I wonder if you can just twist the two wires together and it will combine the lows and highs together. Or don't bother with aftermarket crossovers for tweeters, and just wire in the aftermarket tweeters to stock wiring.

[covertrussian]

I've been hearing an odd click everytime I would start or stop the car from the front left side. At first I thought it was my brake clips or wear bars dragging (same kind of metallic click). After tearing into the brakes, relubing the covers, I still had the noise.

 

At this point the only other thing that I could think of was the wheel bearing, since the car has 140k miles and front left is the only original bearing left. I'm surprised it lasted this long, but I guess my regrounding kit kept it alive past the others.

 

Pulled the axle out and the usual suspects. With the axle out I could finally free spin the bearing, heard some normal noise, so at this point I'm questioning my decision...

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254801&stc=1&d=1504154487

 

Used a slide hammer and got the old wheel bearing out no problem. After removing the wheel bearing I did hear some noise if I held it just right, but this could have easily been damage from slide hammer.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254802&stc=1&d=1504154487

 

Being a fan of Timken's quality I went to buy another one, the first one I bought in 2013 was Timken HA590118 but this time I was greeted with an updated part number HA590315. Unfortunately it does seem like they cut a few corners with this bearing..

 

Things like less metal on the hub, non coated wheel studs, etc.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254803&stc=1&d=1504154487

 

The part that attaches to the knuckle is actually thicker

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254804&stc=1&d=1504154487

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254806&stc=1&d=1504154487

 

Their pictures of HA590118 show them using NSK bearings, this one is unbranded (which might just mean it's an inhouse bearing which is fine with me).

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254805&stc=1&d=1504154487

 

Bolted up perfectly, so won't cast any stones until it stands the test of time.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254807&stc=1&d=1504154487

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=254808&stc=1&d=1504154487

 

Been driving all week, and no more clicking noise! I'm now wanting to take apart the old bearing just to see what's wrong with it .

[covertrussian]

Here are the a couple of minor mods that I've done to the car recently.

 

Rear Diff Cradle Replacement

My rear diff cradle bushing was leaking, I didn't feel like fighting with replacing the bushings so used the cradle from my 5AT parts wagon.

 

5MT one on top 5AT on bottom

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255891&stc=1&d=1506397928

 

Had a fun time getting all the bolts loosened, required a lot of torching to get the bolts to free up.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255892&stc=1&d=1506397928

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention, replacing the cradle seemed to have fixed the harshness that whiteline diff inserts have caused.

 

Bumper Scratch

Next one is not a mod, just some fun misfortune, coworker ran into my rear bumper while parking. You can see the previous scratches to the right too, where another person hit and ran. It's a big red car, not sure how people miss it

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255893&stc=1&d=1506397928

 

 

Headlights Refinish

I last refinished the headlights in 2015, like all off the shelf kits, they got foggy little over a year later. Buddy of mine works at Subaru and said they use a proper kit that should last the life of the car (I believe Subaru gives lifetime warranty for the refinish).

 

I had him refinish the headlights, I don't believe the "life of the car" but am hoping it will last another 5 years at least.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255894&stc=1&d=1506397928

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255895&stc=1&d=1506397928

 

MAF Cleaning

Last but not least, cleaning the MAF. I last cleaned it in 2014, about 40k miles ago. Looking down at the elements, I saw some fuzzyness, figured it's time to give it a good cleaning. Most of those miles have been on the older OEM style air filter too.

 

After carefully spraying and swabbing with the q-tip, letting it dry, took it for a quick spin. I did a couple logs before cleaning and after cleaning the MAF.

 

The results are pretty astonishing, clean MAF is seeing almost .10v more, which translates to .10 g/rev more engine load and with my tune .6 richer AFR's (went from 11.3:1 to 10.7:1). Moral of the story, keep those MAF's clean!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255896&stc=1&d=1506397928

Edited October 2, 2017 by covertrussian

[rebourne]

the headlight look great!

 

Maf cleaning: Does that mean you have to dial in your tunes again?

[covertrussian]

the headlight look great!

My friend did a good job, for $50 I can't complain too much either .

 

Maf cleaning: Does that mean you have to dial in your tunes again?

 

Sure does, all of this is basically teaching me this: Replace everything in your car, including your car with a brand new one, everytime you want to tune for a new performance mod.

 

In all seriousness, it's fairly minor I went from 2.60 g/rev to 2.70 g/rev. Since we cannot have a column for every g/rev, ECU will interpolate fuel and timing values between the two columns. Before I was between 2.50 and 2.70 columns, now I'm at 2.70 - 3.00 column. Which means I'm running more fuel, and less timing (all safe things, unlike Intakes which make you run less fuel and more timing)

 

My logs show me running 1* less timing, I'll do a couple pulls later and add 1-2* back and see if the car gains or looses power. If it gains power but less then 5whp I wont bother adding any more timing, because that's really close to MBT and detonation zone.

 

TL;DR: If your going to be pro-tuned, make sure you replace as many wear items as possible: Fresh 93 Gas, Air filter, Spark Plugs, clean/replace MAF, O2 Sensor, Fuel filter, Fuel pressure regulator, heck even brakes (to make sure they are not dragging). All of these items not functioning at 100% will lead you to have a bad tune, which might require a retune if you ever fix them.

Edited September 27, 2017 by covertrussian
Adding O2 sensor to the list

[d22597]

Good recommendation. I would add front o2 sensor to the list.

[covertrussian]

Good call, added it. I think the O2 sensor is actually one of the few items that will throw a CEL when it's toast.

 

Though if you have a wideband the importance of a fresh O2 sensor is less so (unless your trying to tune out your long term fuel trim adjustment).

[covertrussian]

Here's a riddle for you all....

 

I've been trying to figure out if my new 3" DP's cat is clogged or not. It measured 4.5psi right behind turbo (pre-cat). Last night I swapped in my old 2.5" DP, that measured 4.0psi right behind turbo, pre-cat.

 

This morning went to work, car is driving like crap, way too rich (going below 10:1 AFR). Did a 2nd gear pull and my MAF voltage is up by 0.20v compared to same ambient temp yesterday, this translates to my engine load going from 2.70 g/rev to 3.16 g/rev at peak. Removed 13% from MAF scale(now it's on stock scales), it's better now, but still on richer side.

 

My thoughts and take aways:

First of all, this almost confirms that the 3" downpipe's cat is clogged (having 0.5psi more backpressure then 2.5" pipe). I'll do some more backpressure testing before I cut/reweld a new one though.

 

Second, going from 2.5" to 3.0" downpipe on stock exhaust made no real difference, but now with the custom exhaust it's now a huge difference. That just seems weird.

 

Third, I don't trust our MAF's at all, they show less load with better flowing intakes, and more load with better flowing exhausts. But I do want to say, if something raises the MAF voltage, it should in theory increase airflow, right?

[utc_pyro]

Here's a riddle for you all....

 

I've been trying to figure out if my new 3" DP's cat is clogged or not. It measured 4.5psi right behind turbo (pre-cat). Last night I swapped in my old 2.5" DP, that measured 4.0psi right behind turbo, pre-cat.

 

This morning went to work, car is driving like crap, way too rich (going below 10:1 AFR). Did a 2nd gear pull and my MAF voltage is up by 0.20v compared to same ambient temp yesterday, this translates to my engine load going from 2.70 g/rev to 3.16 g/rev at peak. Removed 13% from MAF scale(now it's on stock scales), it's better now, but still on richer side.

 

My thoughts and take aways:

First of all, this almost confirms that the 3" downpipe's cat is clogged (having 0.5psi more backpressure then 2.5" pipe). I'll do some more backpressure testing before I cut/reweld a new one though.

 

Second, going from 2.5" to 3.0" downpipe on stock exhaust made no real difference, but now with the custom exhaust it's now a huge difference. That just seems weird.

 

Third, I don't trust our MAF's at all, they show less load with better flowing intakes, and more load with better flowing exhausts. But I do want to say, if something raises the MAF voltage, it should in theory increase airflow, right?

 

A) Grimmspeed might be using a more restrictive cat?

 

B) Slight variations on O2 sensor placement and turbulence between the downpipes might be chaining the backpressure reeding. May not matter though, I do electricity and data so this is outside of my knowledge base. Did the pre-turbo pressure change?

 

C) What is your injector duty cycle looking like? Mine was hitting over 100% at wastegate boost on it's Evo 16G after I swapped my failing stock exhaust with the Q300. That might be making things MORE confusing.

 

D) Install your TGV deletes and PM me your address, I'm going to send you something to do proper backpressure test with.

 

E) This MAF scaling changes based on exhaust changes is making my head hurt

 

I need to check the wiring diagram on mine. I replaced an HK OEM stereo and I swear I wasn’t getting full range which made me think the crossover is in the amp (under the passenger seat).

 

Oops, missed this. WRX USA the HK amp under the seat is a DSP, and each speaker in the HK system is driven independently with out any crossover at the speakers. The stock tweeters have a highpass x-over built in. Your best bet is to replace the HK amps with a JBL MS8 (cheapish on ebay now) and run your new speakers active like the HK amp was doing. You can reuse the OEM wiring, but it will give you the option to chose appropriate crossover points and whatnot for your new speakers. It also sounds pretty damn good.

Edited September 28, 2017 by utc_pyro

[1-3-2-4]

The front wheel bearing is it easier or harder than the rear?

[covertrussian]

A) Grimmspeed might be using a more restrictive cat?

 

GS uses a 300 cel cat, no idea on what my 2.5" uses, but I think 300-400cel too. I recently installed a 300cel metallic cat into my SR20DE+T Nissan. With same muffler, and many more bends, that setup is putting out 2psi of total backpressure (with 1psi being the muffler). But that is a 2.0L, with a slightly smaller turbo, and 3psi less boost.

 

B) Slight variations on O2 sensor placement and turbulence between the downpipes might be chaining the backpressure reeding. May not matter though, I do electricity and data so this is outside of my knowledge base. Did the pre-turbo pressure change?

 

My 2.5" downpipe has a bung right before the cat, I'm gonna try to test backpressure at that point, that will eliminate the divorced wastegate joining and two 90* bends as noise.

 

I haven't tested more manifold backpressures because car runs like crap without Front O2 (also want to minimize touching it since they are so sensitive). BUT with that said, I did test the manifold pressure with exhaust and with an open downpipe (no catback). Stock exhaust was 23psi, 19psi open downpipe, and almost 20psi with catback/muffler.

 

To my surprise, preturbo backpressures are linear. Removing the stock exhaust (which was 4psi post cat), reduced back pressure by exactly 4psi, adding my catback added backpressure back in by 1psi. It sure makes math easier though!

 

C) What is your injector duty cycle looking like? Mine was hitting over 100% at wastegate boost on it's Evo 16G after I swapped my failing stock exhaust with the Q300. That might be making things MORE confusing.

 

About 90% with 10.5ish AFR's. Stock pump and stock (but not original) injectors, only fueling mods is in bay fuel filter and STI FPR with BOV vacuum source.

 

Do you know about how much power you were making on wastegate boost (I'm assuming 13psi?).

 

D) Install your TGV deletes and PM me your address, I'm going to send you something to do proper backpressure test with.

 

I'm trying to keep the variables down man . I'm really trying to get the exhaust free flowing, do power and gas mileage tests, then move on to the intake side of things.

 

Course of action is:

1. Get exhaust to be about 2psi of post turbo backpressure: 1psi for cat 1psi for muffler, currently it's 3psi for cat and 1psi for muffler.

2. Reinstall my custom intake & build airbox, tune and test

3. Install TGV, tune an test, maybe install stock airbox, tune and test

4. Install stock UEL header & Invidia Up-Pipe (though I would like to get a GS one instead), tune and test

5. Port the heck out of another stock UEL (I have a couple to play with), install and once again tune and test.

6. Enjoy the rumble since my exhaust is loud enough for it to matter, EL header makes it sound like crotch rocket around town (I've gotten some thumbs up from motorcycle guys )

7. Build an ELH header out of USDM NA 2.5i 4-1 header .

 

 

E) This MAF scaling changes based on exhaust changes is making my head hurt

 

100% agreed, I wonder if my MAF is due for a replacement, hence it's so sensitive? If it wasn't for my wideband confirming correct AFR's during cruising conditions, I would have thrown it away by now.

 

The front wheel bearing is it easier or harder than the rear?

 

Much easier up front, the 4 bolts are actually reachable. In the back they are a PITA.

[1-3-2-4]

Much easier up front, the 4 bolts are actually reachable. In the back they are a PITA.

 

 

I had to change my passenger rear like 3 years ago in the dead of winter with snow on the ground must of been like 24F outside Good to know the fronts are better!

[covertrussian]

Alright have an update, I'm now 99% sure my MAF is just dying. Short of having a brand new MAF vs my MAF comparison, I have other proof! I probably will do a proper how to on this later.

 

 

Air to Fuel Ratios - The first suspect is inconsistent AFR's. Yesterday the car was mid-high 11's, this morning it was low 10's. Reason I mention this first is, this is very noticeable without a laptop or data log, if you have a gauge wideband. Now on a stock car high native D learning (pulling fuel) could cause this, which could be a bad O2 sensor too, pull a learning view to verify the learning ranges are in range (D learning should be 0).

 

Engine load - Yesterday at 88F engine load was ~2.50 g/rev max, this morning at 73f engine load is peaking at ~3.00 g/rev. There is no way 15*F difference would increase engine load by .50 g/rev. Bonus points if you notice another tell-tale sign, which was my actual aha moment.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=256049&stc=1&d=1506653500

 

High AF #1 Corrections - For last couple weeks I noticed my idle was leaning out badly, 17-18's on my AEM UEGO, but then after a little bit it would be back down to 15ish. This lead me to drive around with my laptop and this is where I noticed the AF corrections maxing out yet the AFR's are still lean. Keep in mind that there are a number of things that can cause this condition besides the MAF: Bad O2, Vacuum Leak, clogged fuel filter, clogged injectors and other fuel related issues.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=256053&stc=1&d=1506653600

 

 

Dip in Engine Load Without Boost Pressure Drop - Remember the tell-tale sign? Well it really showed for me in one of my pulls, Engine load dipped then slowly came back up, all while boost stayed the same! I can't think of anything that would cause this mechanically, thus MAF is an easy target, though AVCS could cause this too, so make sure to log AVCS angles and make sure they are not changing around the dip.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=256050&stc=1&d=1506653677

 

Technically, I should say it's actually MAF voltage that dipped down, but engine load shows this phenomenon much better. Also interestingly enough, this didn't happen on every, but it was getting close to every other one.

 

Testing With Another MAF - Final nail in the coffin, I borrowed another MAF, this one has 118k miles and both of the wires were really clean on it already. I did a before and after pull on the same road the difference was huge. In this run my stock MAF didn't dip down as badly as before, like I mentioned earlier, it happens every other run or so.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=256052&stc=1&d=1506653500

 

Lower mile MAF is way leaner, this is because it saw a lower MAF voltage = less engine load = less fuel & more timing. This is a perfect example of tuning around bad parts and not knowing about it . Notice that the lower mile MAF also has a slight engine load dip, makes me think that it might be on it's way out too.

 

Check Engine Light - After weeks of this issue going on and after writing up the rest of this thread, my car finally threw a check engine light "P0171 - System Too Lean" at idle, which doesn't automatically pinpoint the MAF either though. If I wasn't careful my motor would have been dead, don't rely solely on check engine lights.

 

Did cleaning the MAF kill it? - I don't think so, since I cleaned it similarly 40k miles ago. I think the dirt on the hot wire masked the issue, by insulating the wires and basically making the airflow seem the same no matter the temperature. After cleaning it, it became much more sensitive to colder air temperatures thus it would become much richer, forcing me to retune it. When it would get warmer again, it would go back to previous air flow rates, but the new tune would be much leaner now.

 

 

I should say my MAF failure scenario (MAF inflating voltages) is probably on the rarer side, usually MAF will get clogged and read lower voltages, which leads to leanness instead. Which is what happened to a local OBXT friend recently, his car was really lean, new fuel filter helped a little, STI FPR conversion. I was reviewing his logs and noticed his engine load was only 1.50 g/rev, where my LGT's stock logs were 2.00 g/rev at very least at those boost levels. He replaced the MAF with Denso 197-6040, and finally the car stopped being as lean and engine load went up to ~2.20g/rev.

Edited September 29, 2017 by covertrussian

[SBT]

Here's a riddle for you all....

 

I've been trying to figure out if my new 3" DP's cat is clogged or not. It measured 4.5psi right behind turbo (pre-cat). Last night I swapped in my old 2.5" DP, that measured 4.0psi right behind turbo, pre-cat.

 

This morning went to work, car is driving like crap, way too rich (going below 10:1 AFR). Did a 2nd gear pull and my MAF voltage is up by 0.20v compared to same ambient temp yesterday, this translates to my engine load going from 2.70 g/rev to 3.16 g/rev at peak. Removed 13% from MAF scale(now it's on stock scales), it's better now, but still on richer side.

 

My thoughts and take aways:

First of all, this almost confirms that the 3" downpipe's cat is clogged (having 0.5psi more backpressure then 2.5" pipe). I'll do some more backpressure testing before I cut/reweld a new one though.

 

Second, going from 2.5" to 3.0" downpipe on stock exhaust made no real difference, but now with the custom exhaust it's now a huge difference. That just seems weird.

 

Third, I don't trust our MAF's at all, they show less load with better flowing intakes, and more load with better flowing exhausts. But I do want to say, if something raises the MAF voltage, it should in theory increase airflow, right?

 

Why not clean your CAT?

 

Straight acetone or diluted with a small amount of Marvel MO and Chevron Techron, and depending which end your cat is on - mine's a COBB so on the aft end - just pour it through and catch it on the other end.

 

Or, if you have a deep enough metal pail, fill it up and let it soak. Then blow it out and let it dry. You'll be surprised at the amount of carbon and blow-by junk that will come off.

[SBT]

Oh, and any chance of getting the pictures loaded?

 

You can still use Photobucket to load with Manage Attachments and put your photos exactly where you want them, and then PB can't break your links. How-to here

[covertrussian]

Why not clean your CAT?

 

Straight acetone or diluted with a small amount of Marvel MO and Chevron Techron, and depending which end your cat is on - mine's a COBB so on the aft end - just pour it through and catch it on the other end.

 

Or, if you have a deep enough metal pail, fill it up and let it soak. Then blow it out and let it dry. You'll be surprised at the amount of carbon and blow-by junk that will come off.

 

I wasn't sure if there is a safe way to clean it (without damaging it). But that was my goal after I 100% confirmed it is the cat that is clogged. With my MAF dying it gave me some false readings airflow wise, so I'm waiting to replace that before I do anything else.

 

 

 

Oh, and any chance of getting the pictures loaded?

 

You can still use Photobucket to load with Manage Attachments and put your photos exactly where you want them, and then PB can't break your links. How-to here

 

I've been slowly going fighting with downloading them and uploading them. I'm doing my How To threads first, I think I'm about 50% done, but it's a really time consuming method (I wish attachment links had image names in them, sometimes it's easy to loose track )

 

I just saw that you posted the new method, gonna try it with next batch.

[SBT]

Yeah PB doesn't keep your image name when you upload to their site. That does make it more difficult when there's a ton of pics per post. Sorry. Hazards of "hosting" mostly.