Author Archives: Mod Erator

Bored With The Wrangler

So, I bought a Jeep Wrangler Sport S back in October 2018. I love Wranglers. I still love this vehicle, but I’m not sure it’s Covid-19 (I no longer drive to/from work – in fact, I rarely drive now) or the fact that there’s not a lot of trails around here to drive on, but I’m beginning to be bored with the Wrangler.

It has some mods but nothing traditional. For example, the first thing folks do is throw on big wheels and a lift. I don’t really want bigger wheels or even a lift. Why? Because Jeep will not remedy (under warranty) suspension issues if I start adding my own parts. I like the way the Jeep currently rides. Also, I can’t stand tire hum and big all-terrain tires will do that. Yes, I can have two sets of wheels/tires in case I want to play on the trails, but there are no trails close by. I’m not going to spend the money on a lift and tires/wheels if I’m not going to use those tires/wheels.

Currently, I’ve side steps, LED headlights (mandatory, IMO), and Mopar mats in both the front and back.

What I really miss is my STI. Will I be getting another? Not unless they release a new revamped version.

I have been looking at several other sports cars:

Late model (2008) Porsche 997.1 Carrera 2 Manual

Porsche (2009) 997.2 Carrera 4S w/ PDK & Chrono package.

Early Porsche 718 w/ PDK and Chrono package (I’d prefer the 718S, but most are out of my budget)

Toyota Supra MkV (either the 2020 or the 2021 model)

VW Golf R (2017 or so; DC-equipped)

VW R32

I wouldn’t even mind a hard-top Miata at this point (I’d even consider supercharging it).

I’m leaning heavily toward a Porsche but I’ve to pay off the damned Wrangler first (plus, I’m putting a kid through college with another heading to college in 3 years; another is almost done with college). Plus, the two I really want is either the 997.2 or a 718S. The 991 is too expensive and any 997.2 2010 or above will cost dearly (997.2s have been creeping up in price, too). If I want a 997.2, I should be looking at them now…they might be unattainable if I wait too much longer.

I can also step down in Carrera models (996s, which I do not really care for, especially when those could have IMS issues), but that’s considered settling for less, IMO.

I think I’m just missing a sports car. I suppose I could find an older R32 or Miata and keep the Wrangler too (I’ll definitely consider this option), that way I can have my cake and eat it too. I don’t need a lot of power or an exotic to have some fun.

NextBase Dash Cam – 322GW

I haven’t been idle with the Jeep Wrangler. I’m not doing anything crazy with it either, though (ie, there’s no lift or big tires and bling wheels).

Some things added since I bought it less than a year ago:

  • Mopar rubber floor mats (front and back) – these were a birthday gift from my sister.
  • Side steps / Nerf bar
  • LED headlights

Last week, my Mobius action cam died. I’d been using it as an dash camera in the STI and kept using it as a dash cam when I got the Wrangler. Well, I can’t say I didn’t get my money’s worth. I used it a LOT. It looks beat-up. When it wouldn’t start, I troubleshot for a bit then decided to buy another. I actually ordered one but it got lost when being delivered.

My wife asked why I didn’t just get a real dash cam. I thought about that for a bit. I could actually benefit from a camera that was purposely designed for automotive commuting.

I went to Best Buy and looked at what they had. They had so many that I was overwhelmed. I ended up spending close to an hour just trying to compare each camera’s stats and capabilities. I walked out with the NextBase 322GW.

It took me a solid week to assess the unit and study it, which actually frustrated me. It wasn’t as simple as plugging and playing, as it has a crap load of options that I had to be aware of.

For example, I didn’t know that it requires a Class 10 SD card. It will not work with non Class 10 cards. Then when I found a spare one, I thought that the camera was broken because it wouldn’t record to the SD card. I later found that the card went bad (bad sectors that won’t go away). For now, I’m using an 8GB card.

As well, for awhile, the unit kept running out of power. Apparently, it needs to be charged for two hours right out of the box before use. Also, the unit will run out of power if you don’t configure it to automatically shut down when the ignition is off. Also, there is a feature that will re-enable the camera and record footage if it feels that the car is being bumped/moved. Well, you can adjust those settings and it can be too sensitive to the point that it continually enables, draining the camera’s charge.

There’s a hard-wire kit for the unit but for now I’m using my power outlet on my dash. That’s a pain because I was using that outlet to charge my phones (work and personal phones) while driving to/from work. I lost that capability when I got this camera, I guess. I may have to use the hard-wire option.

I did hide the cabling with a plastic tool that comes with the camera that helps you to tuck the cabling behind auto trim pieces. That helped a LOT. The cabling is now hidden.

The unit comes with two mounts: one being more of a permanent type of mount where it uses aggressive 3M adhesive, with the other mount being a suction cup mount. I’m currently using the suction cup mount.

As I learn the unit, it begins to grow on me. It comes with wifi capability so that the owner can connect to it using his/her smartphone. It also has phone apps for it for both Android and Apple phones. It is also GPS capable and you can turn on things such as speedometer details, location of video…there’s far more than I’m going to list, though. It has a feature to allow you to contact authorities. It will also automatically contact the authorities if it’s g-sensor registers a high measurement (indicative of a crash) – you can disable that feature or use a red button on the back of the camera to stop the auto-call to first responders. As well, you can use that same red button to lock a video file from being overwritten when you’ve gotten into an accident.

And lastly, you can also purchase a rear-facing camera, a rear window camera, and a cabin view camera (you purchase them as modules).

I can go on and on with talking of these features. As much as I hate all the options, I don’t have to use them all. I do have to understand them, though, so that I can get the best experience from the camera (and so I’m not causing myself negative experiences).

Do I recommend this camera? Yes, I do.

So, I did this thing…

What did I do this weekend?

I traded the STI for a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

I now have all these parts to sell but need to spend some time trying to appropriately price them.  I still have the winter wheels (OEM) and tires (new Blizzaks), a CNT catted downpipe that’s never been installed, a Cobb AP (unmarried), a Nameless cold air intake (was installed a few years but is near perfect), and a few other things (turbo blanket, EBCS, Walbro fuel pump).

The funds I receive for those parts will go to Jeep parts!

I was considering another STI but didn’t want to buy one and see Subaru release an engine revision soon after.  I also considered a Golf R, but quickly gravitated to the Wrangler instead.  I briefly looked at Focus RSs but for some reason, I’m not attracted to them, regardless of 350HP.

Oh, I got $17,500 for my 2011 STI.  That’s a healthy down payment.  That’s the highest offer I’ve received from a dealer (I’ve seen $14K and $16K).  The car had 44K miles and had wear and tear associated with a 7 year old car. It had 3 door dings and some chipped paint on the hood.  KBB quoted me $18.5K and $19.5K a week later.  I think I did well enough.  This is the value power of STIs.  If I’d had a different brand, especially domestic, they would’ve given me maybe half that.  This is the main reason I decided to go Wrangler…they’ve more value power than even STIs.

The car was stock when I turned it in (that was mandatory for me to do…I was not going to shaft the next owner).  Before I returned it to stock, it only had the Cobb OTS stage 1 with AEM intake tune and the Nameless cold air intake.  Was easy enough to put it back to stock…would’ve been a bit more difficult if I’d added those other parts like I’d planned.

Anyways, I’ll keep this site up for now and I may occasionally post about WRXs or other sports cars.

Porsche Boxster – Sounds Like A WRX!

I was curious about this, then I clicked the link, which took me to a R&T page that had a YouTube video. I was floored.

The video in question:

It took a sec for me to understand that the sound wasn’t coming from the WRX but from a Porsche Boxster.  And it sounded VERY nice.  Very Subaru’ish but still very nice.

The 2019 Toyota 86 TRD Special Edition Doesn’t Get More Power, and Honestly, That’s Fine

So, I checked FB today and saw this at Road and Track’s page:

I honestly haven’t even read the article yet (will do so soon) but immediately went to the comments section, because I knew there would be guys insisting they know how to build a better sports car than Toyota or Subaru.  Well then, if that’s the case, you’d think there would be many more cars better than this (while also being at an equivalent price point) on the market already.

I’ll update the post once I’ve read the actual article.

UPDATE:

So, the article is saying that if people want more HP from the 86, they should just wait for the upcoming Supra.

Need A New Y-pipe! :(

Some updates with me:

I’ve been out of work since late April of 2016, as I quit my job.  I’d been in financial limp mode since then.  I’m about to start working again and can resume supporting my hobby activities.

I’ve not driven the car all that much since then.  Before that, I’d taken a trip to Roanoke, VA and back (was doing some remote work there).  There’s maybe 25K miles on the car, but I recently had to look under the car to assess a tire that wouldn’t hold air.  I was shocked at the amount of rust I saw on the Y-pipe…it looks like it’s already allowing air to escape.  So, I need a new Y-pipe.  Most places sell the Y-pipe with the mid-pipe.  Also, most places sell these for mucho dinero ($600+).

Now, I have a CNT catted 3″ downpipe now, as well as Nameless axleback muffler deletes.  I found an aftermarket mid- and y-pipe for under $300 but that set is 2.5″…I’d rather have 3″ all the way back, not 3″ tapering to 2.5″, but I don’t think I’ve a choice in the matter.  Well, I do, but the next choice is $600+.

I still need to install the CNT downpipe…it’s been sitting in the garage in it’s box the last 2 years.  There’s really nothing keeping me from installing it other than utter laziness.  I really should get it installed soon.

My next purchase needs to be deep socket lug nuts.  The OEM lugs work fine with the OEM wheels, which I still use with winter tires in the winter.  They work fine with the TSWs functionally, but they’re difficult to install without scratching the wheels.

I should also consider looking under the car to ensure the suspension bushings aren’t damaged.  I thought I saw one that was cracked the last time I swapped the wheels out this past spring.

Updates done!  🙂

Cobb Tuning – They Dyno’d a Ford Focus RS!

The above was a Cobb Tuning live video session that occurred today.

They dyno’d a Ford Focus RS.  The car was stock.  In fact, they dyno’d it four times.  The first two pulls were with the stock tune.  The latter two pulls were with a Cobb AP tune (stage 1).

The guy in the video stated that he’d heard that a lot of people were thinking the car was overrated from the factory and that they wanted to test to see if it was true.

[SPOILER ALERT – Stop reading now if you’d like to watch the video to see the results!]

Well, the first two pulls netted 301 WHP and 340 lb-ft of torque.  The last two pulls netted 313 WHP and 360 lb-ft of torque.

Now, my concern is that current RS owners say they aren’t getting full boost on a consistent basis (ie, they’re not getting the full power on demand, every time they run the car hard).  Yes, different atmospheric  conditions will dictate how well the car runs, but if your car is only generating 250 WHP when you want the full Monte, that’s a problem.  The cars are probably dialing back boost when ambient temps are high.  The Cobb test car was run in Texas, where it’s in the low to mid 90s today.  The dyno testing didn’t see any anomalies but their testing isn’t what the mag publishers’ test numbers are showing.  The mag publishers are showing discrepancies (the cars are not generating what it should, HP-wise).

Cobb needs to test more, IMO.  Or maybe they don’t care enough to investigate further…after all, it isn’t their problem.

Regarding the HP numbers of the dyno runs, the car saw rather significant gains when going stage 1, but this car is already putting out serious amounts of power.  How much more before the car either stops generating nothing but heat (or a thrown rod or cracked piston)?

Subaru Gains Class Win in Nurburgring 24 Hour Race

http://www.car24news.com/subaru-wrx-sti-scores-back-to-back-class-win-in-a-very-wet-nurburgring-24-hrs/

I post the above for those that insist that Subaru is no longer relevant in motorsports.  Subaru certainly isn’t the only manufacturer in the SP3T class.  Thanks to Car24News.com for the above article.

Note that the SP3T class requires 2.0L or less in engine displacement, as well.  They’re using the EJ207 as a base in their NBR race cars, which doesn’t represent USDM but is nonetheless one of their core engines.  This also means that this car will not be competing with the Focus RS, as the RS is using a larger displacement engine (2.3L, I believe).  I mention this because several people insist that the RS can do better…it so, it’ll have to step down in displacement to prove that…that’s certainly not going to happen, because they’d have to either homogenize a 2.0L version of the car and then step down.  Or, Subaru would have to use the 2.5L variant of the EJ, which would put them in the same class as the Focus RS would race within (that’s not going to happen, either).

Subaru Gains Class Win in Nurburgring 24 Hour Race

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http://www.car24news.com/subaru-wrx-sti-scores-back-to-back-class-win-in-a-very-wet-nurburgring-24-hrs/

I post the above for those that insist that Subaru is no longer relevant in motorsports.  Subaru certainly isn’t the only manufacturer in the SP3T class.  Thanks to Car24News.com for the above article.

Note that the SP3T class requires 2.0L or less in engine displacement, as well.  They’re using the EJ207 as a base in their NBR race cars, which doesn’t represent USDM but is nonetheless one of their core engines.  This also means that this car will not be competing with the Focus RS, as the RS is using a larger displacement engine (2.3L, I believe).  I mention this because several people insist that the RS can do better…it so, it’ll have to step down in displacement to prove that…that’s certainly not going to happen, because they’d have to either homogenize a 2.0L version of the car and then step down.  Or, Subaru would have to use the 2.5L variant of the EJ, which would put them in the same class as the Focus RS would race within (that’s not going to happen, either).