Dan F Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi all- About a year ago I set out to improve my all-stock, rather boring, 2006 2.5i 5MT wagon. I thought I’d share my experience for other total amateurs who might be interested in doing similar upgrades. At the time my car had 80k. I wasn’t totally happy with it. (My previous cars, so you get a sense of what I was comparing to, were: ’85 Civic Si hatch, ’96 Impreza, ’94 Miata, and ’05 turbo Golf.) I love my Subie for its reliability, practicality, snow-driving ability, and even its looks. But it was lack-luster in handling (body roll, imprecise steering, etc.), shifting (a sort of subtle back-and-forth slopping and bucking when on and off the gas in low gears), acceleration (obviously, with the NA engine). All of this existed from mile 1 with this car, and though some of the handling had gradually worsened slightly, none of it was due to anything that had seriously worn out. And on top of all that, the sound system was crappy. I was faced with a decision: sell out of boredom, or improve until I liked it. I went with Option 2 The first thing I tried was higher-performance tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport XL). As a first step, this was a mistake. The car started tram-lining like crazy. Keeping straight on the interstate took major focus. I was white-knuckling the steering wheel on city streets (bad pavement up here). An alignment didn’t help at all. But everything I did next did. The changes, in the order I did them over several months: - K&N air filter - Electronic throttle controller - Whiteline steering rack bushing - Whiteline rear differential mount bushing (KDT906) - Rallitek front swaybar + endlinks. - Whiteline rear swaybar + AVO endlinks + AVO rear stabilizer mount brace - Group N transmission mount + Group N transmission crossmember bushing kit - AVO +0.5 caster rear lower control arm bushing + Whiteline front inner control arm bushing I am not any kind of mechanic at all-- prior to this my car work had mostly consisted of changing oil and taking wheels on & off. But with the exception of the LCA bushings, I did this stuff myself, just in my garage with jackstands. And with about a hundred hours of reading on this forum (thanks, everyone! : ) There were a few problems with the parts but all the manufacturers were great to deal with and addressed the issues quickly. The biggest challenge throughout was simply stuck fasteners at every turn. I used a LOT of PB Blaster, liberal cursing, and came away feeling that mechanics in New England should get paid a 50% premium over those more benign climates. Final driving experience: Overall, this is a totally different car now. The K&N filter alone made quite a noticeable difference. The throttle controller did too—just changing the sensitivity of the accelerator makes the car feel faster and more fun. If you have only $200 to spend, I’d do those things. But then you will want better handling. So, as for the suspension changes: each one produced incremental, but noticeable, improvement. The steering bushing was subtle, but took away some of the “floaty”, uncentered feeling. The rear differential bushing I’m not sure did much, but it was cheap and relatively easy. After the sway bars, all that rolling on hard cornering was gone, and the perpetual understeer feeling too. The transmission mount & crossmember bushings greatly reduced the “shift-slop-buck” sensation, but did also result in noticeably more noise & road-feel in the cabin. I don’t mind—it was when I began to feel that I wasn’t just along for a boat ride, but actually guiding a precision machine. (I kept the original parts, though, in case a future owner likes a cush ride over good handling.) Lastly, the LCA bushings made a major difference. The wonderful Paul (aka GTTuner) found and pressed them into a spare pair of LCA’s for me. I was planning to attempt the LCA swap-out myself, but eventually persuaded my local mechanic (who only works on Subarus, and is wonderful, but is not at all a “performance”-oriented shop) to do it, somewhat against his better judgment. He had never seen such bushings before, and several times said “I think those are meant for race cars…” After the swap, he returned the car to me somewhat apologetic, saying the ride was unbelievably harsh. But he failed to mention that the handling was also unbelievably excellent. Yes, I’m definitely feeling expansion joints more now. But the steering is now precise and the cornering fantastic. Accelerating out of on-ramps or twisty corners has become super fun. I take them with at least 40% more speed than I would’ve felt comfortable with before. No more endless correction just to keep in a straight line, either. The wagon now handles better than my Golf did (at least before I put Bilsteins in it), and, if I close my eyes, almost better than the Miata. It might be just my imagination, but the AWD is something I can actually feel pulling me around corners now. I love it. (For the record, my girlfriend hates it. She screams & grabs for the handgrip when we go through a cloverleaf, and tells me I’ve become a maniac driver. But I feel a whole lot safer with a car than goes where I want it to.) Along the way I did swap out the front shocks for new stock ones. I had thought about upgraded shocks, and springs, but now I’m glad I didn’t go to that level. For a “daily driver”, this transformation has been perfect. The only downside, of course, is I’m pining for more horsepower. Perhaps a GT is in my future, but then I might have to start all over with the handling and suspension mods. Or perhaps an AVO turbokit is in my future. We'll see. P.S. As for the crappy sound system… I had the good fortune to have manual climate control. I bought a higher-powered Kenwood head unit from Crutchfield, which came with a kit that reconfigures that area of the dash. Put in some upgraded speakers, and dynamat in the doors. It was all a PITA, and still not up to what I’d like, but a vast improvement over the stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanJz Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 This is an awesome post showing what you can do with an NA to improve it without the obvious trading it up for an LGT. Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.sane Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Welcome! And thanks for the informative post. Just be careful with that K&N filter. It needs re-oiling as maintenance, but don't over do it since the MAF sensor won't like it. I use the AVO dry filter. No oil and rewashable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katalyst Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 good write up and summary for 2.5i owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan F Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Thanks N.sane. I did get the re-oil kit for the K&N, but might not stick with that filter long-term. I guess there is some controversy about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito_b0y Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I have everything done on your list minus transmission mounts and bushings, instead of the K&N, I have the AVO (oil-less filter), and I have all Whiteline bushings plus their roll-center and bump steer kit. Ah, new love. I love my Koni/Epic shock/spring combo. Fully adjustable in under 5 minutes. I have them set at full soft as my winter 'tune' lol, and will stiffen them back up in a couple months (or maybe even earlier) for when I put my summer tires back on. God I miss my 'Kooks. Because of them, I feel the notorious sidewall flex of my DWS' /shameless plug 2006 SWP 3.0R 5EAT VDC BBQ 2008 OBP 2.5i 4EAT BBQ [RIP] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluchz Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Great post, thank you. I too am a wagon "non GT" owner looking to make improvements to my car. Looks like I have a good starting point. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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