rebourne's '06 OBXT build thread

[rebourne]

AQ Motorsports installed the 1050cc injectors, ID Top feed conversion rails, ID conversion fuel lines, put a better clamp on my turbo oil return line, and did a smoke test.

 

They also swapped out my FPR for a STI. It was their advice that the FPR set up on my 06 won't reliably supply fuel to the ID top fuel setup. It's so much cleaner too! Literally removed a few pounds of stuff. So far the notorious 2k - 3k light throttle surging is absent. Will report back on that one.

 

Removed:

 

So clean and simple now:

 

 

Today I installed the 3" mid and 2.5" Y that my cheap exhaust system came with. I've never installed it before bc I was missing some gaskets and I knew from others' reports that it's stupid loud. But I wanted to install it for the upcoming dyno tune. It is stupid loud.

 

 

stock:

 

3" - 2.5":

It's not an optical illusion, it does tuck up a bit higher.

 

 

Also installed a Kartboy short shift kit, bushing and a giant red shift knob (Thank xtea!!)

 

 

 

Current problems:

 

• the OEM mid and y is one piece and so long! Where the heck am I going to store this thing...
  
• LOUD! And rasps like crazy 2.5-3k. Maybe I'll get a mid pipe installed.
  

Other than that, it's ready for the dyno next week.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Flinkly
fix'd

[rebourne]

Dyno Day Results

91 tune is solid, 300hp / 316 ft-lbs. This dyno reads lower than a DynoJet, but not heart breaker levels. I think he said 330 DJ hp is 315 on his dyno. 2015 WRX stock makes 207whp/208 wtq (91octane) on his dyno FWIW

 

E85 tune is ~E70 due to residual 91 in the tank, but...

Ran out of flow on the DW65c! It started leaning out at 5k while putting down ~ 360hp / 375 ft-lbs

 

He wants me to come back with a bigger fuel pump and a 4 bar map sensor. Until then he backed off on the E85 tune, and end result is only 27 hp/ft-lbs higher than the 91 tune. Not really worth the extra time to fill up on E85 more frequently, even thought the $/mile comes out the same in Cali.

 

Probably won't be back on the dyno with those parts until after the new year. And the non resonated 3" mid-Y has to come off, at least until I can redesign it. I can't even enjoy the power, because it's so rowdy.

 

 

 

Exhaust research:

 

Really leaning towards cutting up this cheap, yet stainless with great, strong flanges, cat back system into a single exit 3".

 

I'm researching Varex mufflers, with the adjustable baffle. Currently looking at the new non-polished models that are meant to be hidden away. The offset in, center out should work for an OB, with a tucked up exhaust and a down turn. I'm leaning towards just one 3" in/out that would use the VMK52-300. The difference in loud and quiet is less with this design, and there's not many reviews to go off of though...

 

 

The other Varex I'm interested in, is the vmk41-300, which is more expensive, pointlessly polished for me, but more the expected loud vs quiet of the Varex brand.

 

 

 

 

 

Varex has an amazing app that interfaces with the control box that will open the flap at X rpms, X throttle position, close between X and X to squash drone, close based on GPS coordinates when you get home or pass the church, and some more tricks. Cool. But at $350, I want to see what I can solder and program up myself. RPM and TPS is all I really want. Something like: open 50% at 4k rpm. Open 50% at 70% throttle. Open 100% at 5k rpm. open 100% at 85% throttle. Sounds like fun. Oh and an override keep-it-quiet button for climbing steep hills with a full load of family and gear, when the above thresholds are crossed.

 

Also trying to understand when a device installed in a mid pipe is it a "resonator" vs a pre-muffler. I think many of the so labelled "resonators" are really just cherry bomb style bottle mufflers. Vibrant calls some of it's devices "resonators", including cherry bomb/bottle style and the very, very muffler shaped Ultra Quiet style.

 

 

One's I am considering:

 

Vibrant 1795: 3" in/out bottle style, 18" total L, 4" OD.

 

 

 

Pros:

- has that tapered shape that is more likely to slide over speed bumps and driveways than a rolled edged cylinder or oval style.

- long does more sound control than a shorter one? right?

- Summit Racing reviews: tones down the rasp, sounds great

 

Cons:

- slim ID to OD logically isn't going to do much.

- Amazon reviews: doesn't do much

 

 

 

 

Vibrant 17950: 3" in/out cannon/bottle style, 18" total L, 5" OD.

 

 

Pros:

- championed by GTI Jake* on the MK7 forums, with many happy followers: https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33309

- not a hard rolled edged style that will catch when exhaust drags

- Amazing amazon reviews

- Great Summit reviews like this one that hits the bullseye: "I have 1jz vvti I made custom true straight 3" side exit exhaust and it went from loud and raspy cop magnet to in my opinion perfect suttle low growl with mean sound"

- long does more sound control than a shorter one? right?

 

Cons:

- not as smooth a transition as the bottle style and will probably get dented and scraped on the leading edge

 

MBPR R1017

Resonator, 3" inlet/outlet, 22" body, 26" overall, T304

 

https://store.mbrpautomotive.com/en/muffler-resonator/471-resonator-3in-inlet-outlet-22in-body-26in-overall-t304.html

 

 

I'll revisit this as I learn more.

 

 

* This GTI Jake character has tested the Vibrant Ultra Quiet and says it doesn't work for the drone the MK7 guys get when they install a downpipe off the turbo.

Edited November 9, 2018 by rebourne

[kzr750r1]

Thanks for showing us around your rabbit hole... Great build!

[Rhitter]

I bought a vibrant 1792 and had it welded inline in my exhaust. It helped a lot with the drone around 3k rpms. Doesn't seem like a "real" muffler though. i.e. it's straight-through and isn't going to do as much.

[rebourne]

That's good to know! The 1792 is 12" long, but an 18" long will fit fine. But is longer better when trying to kill drone?? I never see a correlation of the size and length of bottle style resonators and the frequencies it dampens. And that is part of my quest to understand.

[Flinkly]

as already stated, trying to understand exhaust components and choices is a never ending rabbit hole.

 

longer is probably better in this case.

 

That's good to know! The 1792 is 12" long, but an 18" long will fit fine. But is longer better when trying to kill drone?? I never see a correlation of the size and length of bottle style resonators and the frequencies it dampens. And that is part of my quest to understand.

[kzr750r1]

Changing the length and diameter is going to swing the pitch of the note. Just like a trombone side changes the pitch of the instrument by expanding and contracting the signal path. Where you want it is a crap shoot. Good thing Rhitter and others have blazed before us. Nice to have some bread crumbs to follow toward a decision.

[imprezkid]

Off topic but do you still have the Rev9 intercooler? If so which version did you go with (perrin or PW) and do you have any pics?

[rebourne]

Nope. I stuck with the AVO TMIC.

[rebourne]

Everything is on hold until I get smogged. Been too busy doing back to back snowboarding trips to worry about smog though. Flex Fuel kit, bigger fuel pump and finish the tune.

 

I think one of my rear(?) wheel bearings is going. Car is louder than I think it should be and there's a subtle wah wah wah when I clutch to let the exhaust quiet down at freeway speeds. Pretty sure I am on stocks, and at 153k it's probably due.

 

I also have a set of assembled HID retrofits headlights that I needed to clean out one of the insides of the lens plastic. I think it was poorly sealed and got a water mark inside when it was stored. That's been sitting on one of my kids folding play tables for more than a month, half done. Probably two to three hours worth of work left. I've had these things for two years...

 

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ were great in the snow last weekend. Had chains with me, but didn't need them.

[kzr750r1]

My favorite tire on this car. Good luck on the smog. Curious how it goes with your mods in place.

[Smithcraft]

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ were great in the snow last weekend. Had chains with me, but didn't need them.

 

The Continental ExtremeContact DSWs have really been doing a great job, but since I'll most likely go with Costco when they are worn out, it's good to know that the PS A/S 3+ are doing well in the snow.

 

SC

[rebourne]

To be fair, I didn't go faster than 45. I was following a big GMC thing with chains when another Subaru passed me. .... Why am I following this thing? Passed him and several others with chains. Way, way better than the summer tires we tried on the X once.... The AS3+ review really well on Tire Rack and a great price when Costco discounts them.

 

No idea if they are better than the Contis, personally, but they worked great on a Sub for me.

 

Would buy again.

[Smithcraft]

To be fair, I didn't go faster than 45. I was following a big GMC thing with chains when another Subaru passed me. .... Why am I following this thing? Passed him and several others with chains. Way, way better than the summer tires we tried on the X once.... The AS3+ review really well on Tire Rack and a great price when Costco discounts them.

 

No idea if they are better than the Contis, personally, but they worked great on a Sub for me.

 

Would buy again.

 

Still good to see. I was pretty much softroading it in the snow Tuesday after work. I was looking at the brochure for the AS3+ and they remind me of the Goodyear Gatorbacks.

 

I think that because of Costco, all the worthwhile tire shops in the area have closed so for now, what Costco has, is the best option.

 

SC

[AirplaneMode]

We need more pics of your car rebourne!

 

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[rebourne]

We need more pics of your car rebourne!

 

It needs a wash and wax, and I need to find a new decent spot to take pics at. That and some motivation.

 

Oh, I do have a picture thread that I rarely update: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/rebournes-06-obxt-242645.html?t=242645

The better stuff is towards the end.

[rebourne]

I bought these retrofitted headlights from Monstorr's part out over two years ago. One needed to be opened up again to clean up an area right in front of the projector that was dirty from storage.

 

And because of that, they sat. Months ago I started the process of opening and cleaning them. Cleaned them, then polished in the inside with Meguiar's headlight restoration kit. And that was their status, in pieces on my kids art table as an unfinished project until a few weeks ago. Sorry kids. A week or so ago, my right low beam went out. Told myself I was not buying a bulb. Alright, let's get that project done. Sealed them back up with heat and fresh rtv.

 

The lenses aren't perfect and have some scratches. Maybe an 8 out of 10 for a restored lens. But compared to my 2 out of 10 stocks, I'm happy.

 

But man, oh man was that a lot of wires and junk to deal with. Okay it's not that many, but it was more of a pain that I wanted it to be. Sure, I've dealt with way more wires when I was installing car stereos, but this was a lot of junk to find homes for just to have better lights. Two ballasts, two relays, two halo/switch back controllers, three ground wires, and a thick power wire to the battery.

 

This is just the relays and some of the extra wire that needed to be zip tied up:

 

When I was finding homes for all the components, I did have a second thought: Box it all back up, order those Hikari LEDs that are popular, and restore my oem headlights lens. But I pressed on. I do like the blacked out headlight look, and would never take on that project on my own headlights. It's one of those changes that when I look at old pictures of my car, I kinda of say "eww those headlights were nasty."

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Night:

 

Hrmm, I thought I had a decent picture of the halos. I'll try to add that later.

 

The HIDs are 6500K, which I wasn't sure about, but am perfectly happy with. I don't care if the halos are in or out of fashion, they are there and different, so I'll take them. I only briefly debated with myself about setting up the amber/white switchback feature of the halos. Tried it, works, seems like it would get attention (that's the point, right?) so I wired them to switch back. And everyone's been talking about Diode Dynamics switch back modules lately, so seems like it's the trendy thing.

 

I still need to dial in the aim. The cut off line on the left one is lower than the right. But with all the light polution in LA, I can only notice that when they are shining on my garage door. We have another snowboarding trip planned for March where the lights will have their chance to shine (Ha!), so I have a few weeks to get around to it. :wink:

[rebourne]

Took some pictures of the rubbing against the fender liners. It doesn't rub often, or so I think. When it's just me in the car I don't hear it much, but with the family in the car I hear it more often. There's a few spots on my normal drive that get it to rub consistently. It's a sliding on plastic sound, not a squeak or grinding sound. Looks consistent with the pictures.

 

Left side has rubbed a hole through

 

rubbing through to some metal back behind there

 

right side

 

#lowlife

[monkeyposeur]

Rhitter, are you using your stock injectors? I was looking at your build thread and I didn't see any aftermarket injectors listed.

 

I'll probably upgrade to a VF52 or similar size turbo one of these days. Gotta get my Rallitek lift kit installed first, then wheels, then start power mods.

[covertrussian]

Just an FYI, I'm using stock injectors and fuel pressures, on Evo 3 16g (slightly bigger then VF52). Duty cycles still stay at 90% for the most part, but can get over 100% when it gets really cold.

[monkeyposeur]

Just an FYI, I'm using stock injectors and fuel pressures, on Evo 3 16g (slightly bigger then VF52). Duty cycles still stay at 90% for the most part, but can get over 100% when it gets really cold.

 

Ok, cool. Seems like plenty of people get good power out of the stock side feeds. I have ID1000s in my bugeye and am about 62% duty at WOT with a Blouch 20G-XT.

 

I'm not too crazy about approaching 100% duty, but when my bugeye was stage 2+ running a little TD04 I was approaching 95% with no ill effects.

 

I've been looking into top feed conversions, but I don't want to go too crazy with the XT build and get stuff I really don't need.

[covertrussian]

Right, I believe in keeping it simple. Retuning for injectors can be a pain, especially with aftermarket intakes.

[AirplaneMode]

Interesting to see the rubbing! I also have h-tech springs and 3/4" spacers in the rear. Right now I'm on factory wheels/tires but have a set of 18x8.5 +35's sitting in my garage. I was thinking 235/45 but maybe I should go 235/40....

 

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[rebourne]

Can't tell how much of the rubbing is from the current 245/40/18 or from the stock 225/55/17s.

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=273793&stc=1&d=1551725064

[rebourne]

Let's see....

 

Smogged without having to remove too much stuff. But the whole process was stressful. Now that CA passed the law where cars less than 8 years old don't have to smog, I'm very seriously looking at my options. Meaning selling and getting something newer.

 

The thought of selling is also a pita, lol. Too far modded to sell it as is in CA or any CA-smog following states. So much work to get it to a saleable level (read: smogs anywhere), and then so many parts to sell.

 

The HIDs are great. Was stoked to use them on our last snowboarding trip of the season, but with day light savings time, I didn't get to use them, lol.

 

Which ever hub bearing is going bad on the left side is getting worse. Still hard to tell which it is. I'm leaning towards the rear. I was driving at 80 in 4th today because I couldn't hear the revs.

 

I have RSB and coil over envy. But everything is on hold for a bit.