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Underdog's '06 GRP Sedan 5MT


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2006 Legacy GT Ltd. Sedan - 2.5L Turbo/5MT - Garnet Red Pearl/Black

Purchased new 10/20/2006

 

Engine

- New EJ257 w/ Balanced Nitrided Crank and OEM Rods, Wiseco K598M9975 Pistons w/ SwainTech Gold Coat (8.25:1 CR), King XPG Bearings

- B25 Heads with Tomei Poncams, stock valves/springs, DIY bowl/runner clean-up, SwainTech TBC chambers and exhaust runners

- KillerB Oil Pickup & Windage Tray

- GroupN Engine and Pitch Stop Mounts

- Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator and Hoses

- Fluidampr Crank Pulley

 

Exhaust/Turbo

- JDM V8 STI Twinscroll Header/UP painted w/ VHT Silver Header Paint

- Blouch Dominator 1.5XT-R Twinscroll w/ Coated Turbine Housing

- Grimmspeed 3-Port EBCS

- Moore Performance Divorced Twinscroll DP (WBO2 bung, catless w/ re-plumb) w/ Cerakote Titanium and PTP Lava Wrap

- Cobb SS CBE w/ Perrin Poly Hangers

- PTP Lava Turbo Blanket

 

Intake/Intercooling

- GR STI Cobb SF Intake w/ Air Box and MAF

- Perrin Turbo Inlet

- VA STI OEM TMIC & Y-Pipe

- Homemade splitter

- GR STI OEM BPV

- "STI Swap" Grimmspeed PnP GR STI Throttle Body, Intake Manifold, TGV Deletes

 

Fueling

- DW65c Fuel Pump

- FPCM Wiring Modification

- '07 STI FPR

- STI Top-Feed Fuel Rails

- ID1000 Injectors

 

Drivetrain

- ACT HDSS Clutch w/ SMFW & TSK TOB

- Cobb DA-STS

- Kartboy Front, Rear, and Shift Linkage Bushings

- Original 5MT Gearbox w/ Motul 300

- Front LSD from V4-V6 JDM STI RA

- 5MT DCCD from V2-V6 JDM STI RA and 22B

- MapDCCD Controller

- Moore Performance Blast Plates

- GroupN 5MT Mount and Subframe Bushings

- AP Suretrac R160 Rear Diff from V5-V6 JDM STI w/ Motul 300

- Spec.B Aluminum Diff Cradle

- Whiteline Rear Diff Bushing Inserts

 

Suspension

- 18"x7.5" e48 Rota Tarmac II/Group A, Full-Royal Steel Grey, with 225/40-18 Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110

- Bilstein BSS Coilovers (F: 60N/mm, R: 80N/mm)

- Hotchkis Adjustable Swaybars (F: 25mm, R: 22mm)

- Kartboy Solid Endlinks

- AVO Rear Swaybar Mounts

- Spec.B Aluminum Front Control Arms w/ Whiteline ALK and Front Bushings

- Whiteline Roll-Center Correction Kit

- Cusco Front Lower Arm Bar

- Cusco Front Cross Member Brace

- Carbing Strut Tower Bar w/ Integrated MCB

- Spec.B Aluminum Rear Trailing Arms, and Upper Links

- Whiteline Adjustable Rear Camber and Toe Links

- Cusco Rear Lower Arm Bars

- Cusco Side Power Bars

 

Steering

- 2015 STI Steering Rack (13:1 Ratio)

- 2015 STI Solid Steering U-Joint

- Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings

- Cusco Steering Rack Brace

- Motul ATF

 

Braking

- STi Brembo Calipers

- DBA Street Slotted Rotors (rear adapter rotor for Legacy parking brake)

- Hawk HPS Pads

- Techna-fit SS Brake Lines (custom rear line for Brembo conversion courtesy of Brakeswap.com)

- ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid

- Carbing Strut Tower Bar w/ Integrated MCB

 

Exterior

- JDM Spec.B (Rev.A-C) Front Bumper & Grille

- STI Front Lip Spoiler

- JDM Power Folding/Heated Mirrors

- JDM Tail Lights

- TRS Mini H1 XB35 Bi-Xenon Retrofit in cleared headlights

- Debadged

- 45% Tint, Sun-Tek Carbon

- GTSpec Aluminum Undertray

- '08+ All-in-one Key

 

Interior

- DAMD Steering Wheel (Black w/ Red Stitch) w/ Spec.B Stereo Controls

- RedlineGoods Custom Shift Boot, E-Brake Boot, and Armrest Cover (Black Nappa, Black Nappa Perf., Red Stitch)

- STI 5MT Shift Knob

- Spec.B Aluminum Pedals and Prosport Dead Pedal

- STi Performance Gauge Pack

- Block8Head 2-Gauge Dash Vent Pod w/ AEM WBO2 and Fuel Pressure Gauges (also wired to TGV sensor input @ ECU)

- STI Door Sill Plates

- Jazzy Aux-in with Griffin iTrip Bluetooth Receiver

 

Electrical

- Duralast Platinum AGM Group 34R Battery (740CCA) Relocated to Trunk w/ Moroso Battery Box

- 1/0 SGX Main Power Feed w/ 200A ANL Fuse

- Power Distribution Box w/ Bussman 10 Fuse/5 Relay Accessory Panel

- 4 Ga Alt/Starter/Fuse Box/Ground Wiring

 

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zmarko said:
Congrats! Just curious.....how much was it to get the car shipped to you and what company did you use? (I think this may help people down the road who are curious to the cost of shipping a car).

 

Car looks great! :)

Thanks! I used D.A.S. (Dependable Auto Shippers) which I found through Wukindada's advice: checking out ebay - autos. Originally I was trying to get the cheapest quote possible and D.A.S. gave that to me: $850 which covered transportation from Santa Monica, CA to Woburn, MA (3000 mi.) and also insurance ("valuation"). I ended up striking a deal with them to get the shipping, enclosed carrier, top vehicle placement and the insurance for $1,275. I chose these add-ons because I figured WTF, it's peanuts compared to the price of the car. I had checked out epinions.com and a lot of people complained about D.A.S. but I found them to be curteous and helpful, the online tracking worked awesome and the car got here a full week earlier than expected.

All in all, a very positive experience. :icon_bigg

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unclemat said:
Pretty pricey. That's about what shipping a car from the U.S to Europe costs.

 

Anyway, congrats and enjoy.

Yeah it was pretty expensive and it hurt cutting that check but considering the taxes on the car were $1,500 I'm not that hung up on it.

East coast to Europe is about 3,000 miles, so that seems right to me... plus I don't have to worry about it sinking! :lol:

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...............

 

East coast to Europe is about 3,000 miles, so that seems right to me... plus I don't have to worry about it sinking! :lol:

 

:lol::lol: Yeah that's right no Titanic for Underdog. I haven't followed the complete story. I know you were looking at a car in CA. Is yuour car new or used?

 

Have fun and enjoy it, soon you'll be spending all your free cash on mods like the rest of us. :icon_mrgr

 

Edit: NM, I looked at the pictures again and figured out it's new.

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Thanks!

 

I used D.A.S. (Dependable Auto Shippers) which I found through Wukindada's advice: checking out ebay - autos. Originally I was trying to get the cheapest quote possible and D.A.S. gave that to me: $850 which covered transportation from Santa Monica, CA to Woburn, MA (3000 mi.) and also insurance ("valuation"). I ended up striking a deal with them to get the shipping, enclosed carrier, top vehicle placement and the insurance for $1,275. I chose these add-ons because I figured WTF, it's peanuts compared to the price of the car. I had checked out epinions.com and a lot of people complained about D.A.S. but I found them to be curteous and helpful, the online tracking worked awesome and the car got here a full week earlier than expected.

 

All in all, a very positive experience. :icon_bigg

I'd say that's a pretty good price for shipping nowadays, especially considering the cost of fuel. 8 years ago I was quoted a cross country (Arizona to NC) price of $750, so I don't think what you paid is too costly. You could have flown out there cheaper, but getting the car back to MA probably would have cost you the same ammount (total), so less aggravation for you.

 

Excellent deal dude. :) Congrats on the car, and good luck with her! Break her in nice!

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1st day of ownership at Colt State Park in Bristol, RI.

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All in all, actually driving the car made me realize that I did not feel the need for any performance modifications to the car at all. This thing has plenty of power for me. Right now, I want to get the car looking proper and this brings me to my mod plan.

ASAP:

  1. Tint (medium tint, even all around)
  2. Clear/Black headlights
  3. Side sill chrome piece -> Black or GRP
  4. Rebadge, not sure what will stay or go, maybe paint letters black or GRP.
  5. Gotta do something with that grille, either blacked out, or some combo of black and GRP, radiator needs to get sprayed too.
  6. Tail overlays
  7. AUX in jack per the combined efforts of RyanE, ipoduser and jazzymt.

As needed or convenient or affordable:

  1. Winter tires - Nokian WR's or Dunlop M3's seem to be in fashion.
  2. Wheel/Tire pkg. for summer - Thinking something in 18" like a spec.b or something like the OZ Michelangelo (which is 17"). Would like to get gunmetal or something 20-30% darker than OEM wheel.
  3. Brake pads, SS lines, Black out calipers
  4. Fulcrum LCA bushings
  5. Cobb STS
  6. STi gauge pack
  7. OEM sub or install my Polk/MOMO 10" in custom enclosure
  8. Extended armrest
  9. JDM 2.0 GT Spec. B bumper swap w/ new Legacy STi grille and STi front lip, probably get the Silver STi badge at the same time.
  10. Springs/dampers when the stock ones wear out.
  11. AP/UP/DP/TMIC/Meth/Protune when the powertrain warranty is out.

That's about all I have planned but its nice to know that even if none of these ever happen, I will still get a smile any time I get in that car. :icon_bigg

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Congrats!!:icon_bigg Great lookin' subie! IIRC, that side chrome trim piece is an "add-on" piece that you can take off with no need to replace, check it out.:)

 

Have fun!!

 

 

lizard.

Stage2.5376, TDC ProTune,blah blah blahhhh and....Alky/H20 injection :icon_mrgr
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First off, congrats. I know exactly how you feel about seeing GRP shine in the sun for the first time. pictures don't capture it.

 

Not liking the chrome strip on the rocker panels? I always thought that the rocker trims were replacement pieces. standard ones without chrome insert, optional ones with chrome insert.

 

I've been debating going over to those, (mine has the plain GRP sills) with some hyper-silver wheels, (Ace Arius, or ICW Racing Omega mesh-style, like but cheaper than BBS RG-R) rather than the dark ones I have, or painting the ones I have to a hyper-silver look.

 

Make sure that the tint you get is done well. mine was done previously, was not filed at the edges (slight un-tinted stripe around the edges of the roll-down glass. rear quarters and rear window are great, though) and the driver's window is starting to curl at the edge, and was previously slightly torn. I'll get it taken care of soon.

 

Subastyle grille, if he is still doing them is a very welcome addition. wings and oval removed and filled, mesh installed at the back, and subie oval or other badges can be re-added. Blacked out headlights a big plus, too. I don't have the STI guage cluster, but a CasapoliS guage pod in the cubby with ProSport guages. AFR guage needs to be connected to the O2 sensor yet, otherwise, works great, and matches well.

 

I have been wanting to rebadge and do something with the tail lights. I am not sure if tinting them is what I want to do, or if I want to try and "red-out" the chrome edge with translucent red paint and an airbrush...

 

Let me know what you find out about a radiator coating that can black that out. I'd be interested. Need to get in there and replace the horns, first, though. stock horns are worthless, weak, and inaudible at highway speed.

 

And yes, you are right.... this car is FAN-TASTIC!

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  • 4 weeks later...

In my first month I have put roughly 1,500 miles on the car. The first 500 miles were probably the most difficult - getting the hang of the clutch, obssessing about warm-up time and trip length, etc...

My driving has been probably 75% quick-trip/city driving and 25% highway (% by trip, not by mile) For the first 1,000 miles I made sure to not have shorter trips than 15 minutes in order to let the car experience a full warm-up/cool-down cycle. I also tried my best to never exceed 4,000 rpm and to not maintain a constant engine speed for too long (both per the manual).

Gas mileage for the first 1,000 came in at 18.6 calculated and 18.6 actual. I was very surprised how dead-on the trip computer was/is. While I am spending a lot of money on gas, I knew what to expect when getting the car and I have no problem paying to play! :icon_wink

I have become much more comfortable with the car since the break-in period ended. Instead of shifting between 3-3.5k rpm I will use a bit more of the engine's range and shift between 4-5k rpm based on how "spirited" I feel like driving. If I'm feeling more economical I revert back to the 3-3.5k shift point which seems to result in a smoother ride but a bit more lag if I need to get on it.

I really only have one complaint about the car and that's the shifter. The shifts often seem very "vague" like I can't tell if the gears are fully engaged. It definitely lacks a crisp, smooth shift. I think I have read every STS thread on this forum and I'm not convinced that one will fix these issues. One issue I have noticed is when I'm approaching a stop I will have the clutch disengaged and be positioning the shifter into first in preperation for a green light. The shifter will not "fall" into place until the car has almost completely stopped. The feeling could be described as if it is waiting against a hard stop which suddenly disappears and the shifter just falls into place. I can't tell if this is a safety issue (preventing a mis-shift to 1st instead of 3rd) or just the syncros taking a moment to engage.

The other "problem" I have discovered is the common affliction known as the "mod-bug." I have an almost insatiable desire to modify this car in many different ways. The problem is two-fold: 1) funds are tight; 2) The car is so good as is, I don't want to mess it up.

From my original list of ASAP mods, only a select few have survived:

1. iPod jack (have the parts just waiting to pull the stereo and hack)

2. De/Re-badge - I'm really liking chenc's L7 badges, but I've also considered blank and "LEGACY" on the left and "2.5GT" on the right.

3. Clear/Black headlights - I'm still on the fence on this one, I haven't really seen a side-by-side on GRP.

4. The shifter may annoy me to the point where I'm willing to try the Cobb DA STS.

Otherwise, I'd rather put my money into maintaining the car and keeping it clean.

Two issues come to mind:

1. I would like to do an oil-change soon to get the break-in oil out of the car and get some fresh dino-juice in there. I will probably go synthetic at around 10,000 miles. I will most likely bring this to a dealer for the first oil change (since I have to pick up the oil filters anyway, might as well get the lube/tire pressure/inspection for $27).

2. I'd really like to get into datalogging. It seems that this is the best way to truly know what modifications make the most sense for your goals. I have been looking into finding a small, lightweight laptop for use with datalogging and some minor A/V usage. It would be nice if it came with enough grunt to run photoshop (very basic user) and some modest games. Any recommendations on a quality laptop would be appreciated. I'm also interested in being able to add other sensors besides those in the OBDII protocol. (for instance, the OBDII logs IAT but I would also like to get temp/pressure before and after the IC). If anyone has experiece with the hard/software necessary to run some external sensors, I'd appreciate the help.

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2 quick things:

 

1, the 1st gear thing i think is a safety thing, My 90 Legacy L FWD did this and asked and was told that it was there to prevent a accidental shift into 1st instead of 3rd.

 

2, I would take a look at the Perfict Power 7 from http://www.rallitek.com for the additional sensors/datalogging. I think that it might be able to handle it, but I don't have one yet so I don't know.

Ben (2014 Outback SAP w/ eyesite, 2014 Tribeca Limited, 2006 LGT limited sedan)

Subaru Ambassador PNW

 

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