Underdog's '06 GRP Sedan 5MT

[Underdog]

Well it's the spring cleaning time of year and rather than make a new thread, I'll do my part to keep the place tidy.

It's high time to make a decision on some summer wheels and rubber. I really don't have a ton of disposable income, but I'm willing to drop good coin since these will be serving as performance and cosmetic enhancements.

I've been thinking that I will stay with a 17" wheel but would like to step up to at least 7.5 width so I can run a 235 tire. The 17" will allow interchangability with my winter tires and spare re92's. I also believe that the sidewall height of even the 215/45 is approaching the danger zone for Boston "roads."

I don't race or demand the ultimate traction in corners. However, I do appreciate sharp handling and road-feel. I feel that the 17x7.5 with a 235 tire will offer a good sized contact patch and sidewall height.

After long deliberation I have settled on the Rota Tarmac II. Besides the availability of the 17x7.5 I think the radius that blends the hub to the spokes compliments the wheel much better than it's replacement the Tarmac 3.

For cosmetic purposes, I have been working on establishing a GRP/black/chrome scheme. I have the chrome rocker panels and cleared chrome headlights (which will be getting some stanza lids soon). I can't decide if I should go for something hypersilver or full royal gunmetallic or even the titanium chrome. I think the titanium chrome might be my top choice and it would make the caliper painting and rotor upgrade much more urgent.

So if you have any insight or experience you can share with me regarding this wheel or just feel like leaving you opinion.... feel free.

[IwannaSportSedan]

Are you cyber-stalking me, man???

 

Tarmac IIs... Have you been stealing ideas from my poll thread???

 

GRP and with black and chrome trim... That is why I am leaning toward Tarmac IIs in full royal gunmetal. 18x7.5 for me, though. I have even contemplated the chrome rocker panels, to go to the GRO-pseudo-Spec B look.

 

Completely agree about the spoke curvature. The dropped hub center is pretty slick, too, especially with the polished face. I am not considering P1s or Tarmac 3s, or any others that the spokes recurve toward the center of the rim. Spokes to the tire bead FTW...

 

first ones with wheels and tires mounted must post pictures in the other's thread...

[Underdog]

A chop with the wheels I’m looking at (Rota Tarmac II) and the original posted below... Oh, and my new plates!

As always, thanks for looking...

[IwannaSportSedan]

those wheels are going to look hot.

 

tint the windows, black out the headlights, lower the suspension, remove the chrome strip, and change the wheels to gunmetallic shadow, (and obviously not the same license plate...) and that would be very close to my car.

 

so not exactly the same, then... but your car still looks hawt.

[Underdog]

Waiting for the elusive "last snow" before I put on the new Tarmac2's with Toyo T1-R tires 225/40-18.

Wheels: $600 from MachV

Tires: $987 from Direct tire. This price was $170 more than if I had bought the tires online and had them installed by a competent tech on good equipment. However, they offer free balance, rotation, alignment check and flat repair for the life of the tire. It also covers all road-hazard damage 100% for the next three years. To top it off, they can handle a claim the same day since these tires are always in stock...

I will also be putting in a Cobb DA STS, tinting the car and painting the calipers in the next few weeks.

Waxed the car finally when it was warm enough. Using NXT for the transitional months and switching to Wolfgang in the summer. Caught a pic with a rainbow reflecting in the hood... of course it rained a few mins later!

[RezaLaleh]

Looking good.... That Wax job brings out the GRP really noiceeee...

[IwannaSportSedan]

Damn.

 

Those wheels should be mine! I was || that close to buying those.

 

Instead, I went with Modacar who said they had those with gunmetal paint, with the polished face, so I ordered those, instead of Mach V's Full Royal Steel grey.

 

Man, YOU got the upper hand this time. I've been HAD. FRICK!

 

Seriously, though... Congrats, man. They look great.

[Underdog]

[RezaLaleh]

Man, That car looks way better than when it was here.....

[RobE]

looks sweet mang.

[IwannaSportSedan]

damn. I am still jealous.

 

freakin' wrong color rotas.

 

That aside, the car is looking fantastic. Lower it, a bit of tint, and you are golden.

[Underdog]

Tint is 45% Sun Tek Carbon. Service was performed by Tint King in Billerica, MA. There is some very minor haze that is expected to disappear in the near future as it cures.

I could have gone with 35% but wanted to avoid inspection headaches down the road.

I'll be struggling with suspension and brake decisions for the next few months while the nest-egg grows.

Stay tuned.

[Billy Dagwood]

lookin good Underdog.

 

Some time you'll have to help me do some installs!

[IwannaSportSedan]

Looks great, mang!

 

You need a K2 rear lip spoiler, like CreoSTI has. I so wish I had a spoilerless trunk, so that I could do that.

[Underdog]

B.Dagwood: Thanks! Let me know when you are planning some mods...

 

IWSS: Maybe once the suspension, brakes and powertrain mods are done... Lowering as a result of suspension mods and maybe a bumper swap if I'm feeling crazy. Those are the only other cosmetic mods I'll consider for the forseable future. (I have stanza eyelids waiting to go on the car, so those don't count.)

 

For the brakes I'm looking at the Mach V kit... DBA slotted rotors, hawk pads, fluid & ss lines.

 

The suspension is tougher... there are a lot of variables to consider just in the mechanical aspects, nevermind balancing my goals/money/timeframe.

[Billy Dagwood]

B.Dagwood: Thanks! Let me know when you are planning some mods...

 

Dude, I've got a couple lined up already. I've been waiting for my buddy to help me out, but I'm not sure when we'll get to it.

 

What I've got just waiting to go on:

 

front cobb sway

frear cobb sway

shifter bushings

cubbypod with volt and oil pressure gauges (missing some hardware still)

 

I'm starting to get sick of waiting, so if you're down ..

[Underdog]

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been over a year since I've touched this thread. The car has received a few small upgrades and I have been slowly implementing my suspension plan that I had started talking about over a year ago.

First I had to put in a Cobb DA-STS which I set for the shortest throw & height possible without trimming the metal plate which secures the console trim. The shifter drastically improved the shift feel, and although it can still be notchy, I have come to appreciate the directness and the feedback that you get through the solid metal shift lever. I am hesitant to add any bushings or transmission bracing lest I ruin the feel of the shifter that the car has now.

Of course, with the shorter shifter, the saggy shift boot became even more of an eyesore. Not only that, but the material would rub on 1-2 shifts which was very annoying. That problem was solved with a pair of Redline Goods boots. I ordered the 2 boots & armrest cover, in Black/Perf. Black, with a matching stitch. The shift boot was ordered to be 2.5" shorter than stock, and I think it's perfect. The color combination works great with the black interior as well, and never looks out of place in any lighting conditions.

 

I also added some Stanza eyelines to the car to tone down the chrome "blinginess" that resulted from clearing the headlights. The paint match was perfect and installation was easy using the supplied double sided foam tape. The look with these eyelines is very subtle, and I have toyed with removing it since it doesn't really add much to the overall look. However, I don't want to risk damaging them and since I don't feel too strongly either way, I'm going to leave them on a bit longer.

 

The weekend of April 20th was Round 1 for my suspension install, which consists of the following, evolving list of parts:

Koni Dampers

Swift Springs

Spec.B Front Control Arms, Rear Trailing Arms, and Rear Upper Links

AVO Offset LCA Bushings

Whiteline Roll-Center Correction Kit

4BoxParts Adjustable Lateral Links

AVO RSB Mounts

Cusco Lower Arm Bars (Front & Rear)

The shock/spring install was surprisingly straight-forward and within 2 leisurely days, my buddy and I had it all together. We ran into a stumbling block with removing the ball joints from the steering knuckles, so I decided to put some time on just the shocks/springs and return for Round 2 after a few weeks.

Round 2 finally happened on Memorial Day weekend. I approached the day with a lot of apprehension... this time, failure was not an option! I had come up with a variety of methods to try and extract the stubborn ball joints, and gave myself 2 full days to get it done. However, all my plans were for naught against the rusty, crusty ball joints and despite my best efforts, I was unable to extract them.

During the process of trying to remove the ball joint, I completely destroyed it. I ground off threads, destroyed the rubber boot, took a torch to the knuckle... you name it. By the end of day 2, I was struggling just to put the old arm back on, so I could have the car towed to a shop. Fortunately, after a $20 tow to Somerset Subaru, I was able to have the dealership put in the spec.b arms with the AVO bushings and Whiteline RC Correction Kit. Total was $300 including a full alignment...

That brings me to the present... I am itching for Round 3 of my suspension install. I still have to put in the rear components, of which I expect some difficulty with removing the axle nut, so I'm going to give myself a full weekend for that. The Cusco bracing seems very straight forward, so I will likely do that while I'm under the car doing the rear components. In fact, I could have put the front bracing on during the whole ball-joint fiasco, but I was under the gun and decided against it at the time. Regarding the RSB mounts, I think I will hold off until I have picked up a swaybar as well. I am currently debating going for the JDM RSB or perhaps picking up the AVO unit or even the matched Cusco set... I'm not sure yet.

My opinions of the suspension setup are dispersed amongst a few threads. Here's what I could remember:

Impressions of Konis/Swifts (Starting in Post #473 and playing with settings up until post #505, which is where I'm currently at)

Impressions of the LCA/Bushings/RC Kit

 

Some pics of the car on the new setup...

[SubLGTaru]

Looks awesome Rick!

[Underdog]

Some pics of the Konis & Swifts, Spec.B control arms & links, Cusco bracing, and Whiteline swaybars. I didn't do a great job documenting these installs because time was short and there was a lot of rust to fight. I'll try to get some better pictures next time I'm in there.

[Underdog]

Quick update - this spring I replaced my Konis/Swifts with Racecomp Tarmacs. What a difference! It is nice to know that I will have at least a half-hour of driving bliss on my way to and from work each day.

 

Two new projects in the works:

1. JDM Twinscroll Turbo Swap

- TD04HLA-19T Turbo

- JDM OEM Equal Length Header and Catless Up-pipe

- JDM OEM TMIC

- AVO 3" Catted Downpipe

2. JDM Rev.D-E Spec.B/S402 Front-End Conversion

I will be making new threads for each project and will link to them here.

[JoeFromPA]

I'm guessing the tarmacs offer you much greater comfort, based upon that comment?

 

I am, quite literally, dying to read your comprehensive review of the twin scroll setup....knowing you, (along with Unclemat and a few others on here) I have no doubt you'll get 'er done right and can't wait to read the results. I'm guessing it's going to feel like a nicely tuned 4.0 liter v8 at 2000 rpms

[Underdog]

The Tarmacs are very comfortable. However, the car is also stiffer and better balanced (subjectively) than when I was on Konis/Swifts. Quite odd when you consider the following:

Stock - 3.5kg/mm (F), 5.5kg/mm ®

Swifts - 4.3kg/mm (F), 6.6kg/mm ®; +22%, +20% respectively

Tarmacs - 7kg/mm (F), 7kg/mm ®; +100%, +27% respectively

So the springs are stiffer, but the ride is more comfortable. That is because the damper is properly matched for these springs and also, I gained about an inch of ride-height (available compression stroke) all around.

I am trying not to set my expectations too high for the new turbo setup. I have been nearly 100% suspension-oriented since I arrived (almost four years ago... jeez) so I have a steep learning-curve for the power/tuning aspect of things.

[JoeFromPA]

Sorry if I built up the expectations then...I'll say this: I don't have high expectations for your high end

 

Honestly though, I'm just tired of reading "Twin scroll has GREAT response"....well, wtf does that mean anyway? Compared to what? Does it feel like N/A? Does it feel like a current gen GTI with direct injection, whereby the lag is distinct but gone in an instant? Does it feel like a BMW 335i where the power just starts at 1500 rpms and never stops until the top-end peters out a bit?

 

Does the car feel great in everyday driving AND when driving aggressively? Etc. etc.

 

Based upon your past reviews, I'm not concerned with getting "It feels great!" from you

 

Joe

[Underdog]

Well, the hope is that with the larger hot-side the turbo will be able to flow a bit more at the top end than the 35lb/min VF turbos. Personally, I am hoping that we can keep the torque curve as flat as possible into the ~2800-5300rpm range, since this is where I do 90% of my accelerating. If I can have 300+ wtq for a 2500rpm range, I will be very happy.

I will reserve judgment until after the install but my understanding is that the "GREAT" response means that the boost threshold and lag is very low, which is due to the smaller volute (scroll). In order to have a single scroll turbo achieve the same "response" you would be severely restricting exhaust flow (increasing Turbine Inlet Pressure) at higher rpms. Therefore single-scroll turbos can be seen as a compromise between low boost threshold and top end flow. A twin-scroll is an elegant way of making a turbo respond like a small turbo but flow like a larger turbo.

[Underdog]

Spec.B Bumper Swap & Brembos

Lucked out and managed to snag a JDM Spec.B bumper kit from Aczwild when he was parting out his car. It came with the foglights, grille, STI lip, fender well liners, and a GTspec undertray, making my life easy. All I had to do was get it sprayed to match the car and install.

The Brembos are some mint condition GD take-offs with DBA rotors that adapt to the LGT parking brake. I used the Brakeswap rear SS lines made for this swap, as well as regular LGT SS lines everywhere else. Fluid is ATE Super Blue. I'll likely use the pads and rotors for a while and save up money to get a new clean set, as these already had a bit more rust and wear on them than I'd prefer. They were included in the sale and still have plenty of life in them - it's purely cosmetic.

 

Mishimoto X-Line Install

Installed a new 08+ STI fitment Mishimoto x-line radiator which has a thicker core and adds a gallon to the cooling system. Everything fit great - the line from the turbo reservoir is a different size on the LGT so I had to put in a reducer fitting. Mishimoto will be putting it a threaded bung and including a barb for each size that the user can install. The OEM fans bolted right on. I tried installing it with the Group.N radiator bushings, but the fillet on the radiator mounting posts won't seat all the way in the radiator bushings. Works fine with OEM however. You need to trim a bit off the radiator hoses to make it fit nicely and the upper hose comes very close to the P/S pump.

 

I also picked up some new winter wheels. Enkei PF01 in 17x8 e45, wearing Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds in 225/45-17. Fitment and feel is great. Would not have minded a bit more tire width to square it up, but these are winters and I'll appreciate any additional "cut" through the messy stuff I can get.