Category Archives: WRX

Nice WRX!

I saw the below on the Facebook “STi Photography” group:

 

It was a very good video composition. The car wasn’t bad, either.

Here’s another video (from the same FB group) of an STI playing in the snow. I’ve done something similar but never filmed 3rd person:

WRX / STI parts of interest

Here are a few parts of interest that have recently caught my eye:

Killer B Equal Length Headers

Killer B Motorsports WRX / STi Holy Header

Killer B Radiator Shroud & Alternator Cover (pictured respectively below)

alt-shroud

 

The headers are the big ticket item (close to $1500).  That might be attainable next year but I won’t be able to pull that one off any time soon.  The radiator shroud and alternator cover might be easier to get ahold of, though, although I like JNA’s version of the alternator shroud better (they also come in different colors):

 

Your thoughts?

Flow-matched Fuel Injectors

If you’ve ever done research into upgrading your fuel injectors, and are looking for a used set, you’ll occasionally see someone saying, “make sure they’re flow-matched”.

Were you ever curious as to what that means?

Look at this video:

In the above video, initially, the spray pattern is being observed, with the injector on the far right turned sideways to see the spray pattern at a different angle.  These are Subaru WRX injectors (so said the author).  The injectors are being run at different RPMs and are not yet clean.  At the end of the observation, the injectors were statically tested.  At the end of that test, 3 of the injectors were flowing 95-96cc while one was flowing 92cc.  3 are within flow specification while the other is not.  His plan is to apply a 20-minute ultrasonic soak to the set in the hopes that the injector with the lower flow will increase it’s flow (the soak would probably clean out any build-up/gunk in the injector).

The above video shows the results of an ultrasonic cleaning and a back-wash to remove any build-up within the injectors from the first video.  Notice that after the static flow test, the injector with the hangup now has a measurement of 96cc, matching at least 2 of the other injectors (the last one is still at 97cc but is probably within spec).

Yes, I saw that he quoted the measurement of the 2nd injector being 92cc in the first video and 93cc in the second video.  Probably a (small) gaff on his part.

I thought these two videos were pretty cool.  I’m a geek like that!

I found the videos while trying to find videos on how to perform an injector swap on GR/GV STIs.

Oh, and by the way, going big on injectors….requires a tune.  The stock ECU cant calibrate itself to adjust for larger injectors — source is here, under the “Questions” tab, and is the answer to Question #3.

Service (Shop) Manuals?

So, after the 2007 model-year of WRX/STI, Subaru stopped offering paper service manuals.  Instead, they offer them online (for a fee).  A 3-day subscription will give you access to the online database of manuals.  You can download the PDFs for later use.

http://techinfo.subaru.com/index.html

Some forums also have PDF copies of the service manuals.  IWSTI, for example, has them in their Donating Member section.  Also, a quick scour of the web (via Google) may get you some hits.

What Forums Do I Frequent?

I’m not sure if you guys are curious as to what internet forums I frequent (in relation to Subarus), but I’m a member of the following forums:

IWSTI.com

NASIOC.com

ClubWRX.net

Flat4va.com

i-club.com (registered tonight)

Of the above, IWSTI is my favorite by far.  ClubWRX is the next favorite but I rarely post on that particular forum.

Regarding NASIOC, I mostly read there.  I’ve a post count of 2.  In my first post, I immediately had a run-in with Unabomber…he tried to be a dick to a poster regarding a him asking questions about a Setting Saver (Unabomber said they were non-existent) and I provided a link showing that they indeed existed.  Unabomber never responded.  This berating of new Subaru owners turned me off and I stopped using that forum as a resource.  I’ve only just started using it as a resource again.  There’s a gold mine of information there (there’s so much of it that it’s rather disorganized).  And they’re extremely rough on anyone that’s not deemed part of the popular crowd.

I’ll be reading up on i-club.com the next few weeks, just to see how it compares to the other forums I frequent.  It is not a quiet forum, so I might actually find good info there…I’ll let you know.

I usually go by either ‘unixfool’ or ‘NoVaSTI’ on those forums.

EDIT:  I forgot about Flat4va.com, so I added it.  Also, I registered on i-club.com and the site gets a fair amount of traffic, as it’s been around awhile, but on a day-to-day basis, it’s a bit quiet.  Also, most of the traffic appears to occur from California users. Does it matter?  It depends on what I’m looking for.  It’s obvious I can’t use that site to arrange local meets or ask if anyone has local parts, but for general information, it may suffice (it’s certainly no NASIOC or IWSTI, though).

Rally Sport Direct’s 2015 WRX & STI Review

I’m going to let this video speak for itself, but Rally Sport Direct (RSD) has both a 2015 WRX and a 2015 STI that they’ve recently reviewed.  The review is more off-the-cuff in nature (it is not a technical review by any means). They’re also a good vendor to purchase parts from, too.

Without further delays, here it is!

 

Shift Knobs

If you’ve an STI or WRX, I’m sure you’ve either looked at or purchased aftermarket shift knobs (or even purchased SPT versions).

Here are a few that appear to be worthwhile to own.

http://fastwrx.com/kadeshkn.html (in fact, Mach V has a crapload)

http://www.killerbmotorsport.com/index_files/DelrinShiftKnob.htm (5 listed here)

I’ve a very heavy Razo knob that I used in my Eagle Talon awhile back, but the threads are different between the cars, so I can’t use it in the STI.  I might find a new one and mount it in my car, though.

The cool thing about Delrin is that it won’t get hot or cold like metallic knobs typically do (but I tend to like metallic knobs better).

There’s also Flossy knobs, but I will not link them.  Flossy shift knobs are highly desired, but I wouldn’t order one directly from the vendor, because customer service sucks to the point that you might not ever get your knob (it’s a crap shoot).  If you want a Flossy, I recommend you check for For Sale ads on Craigslist or your favorite Subaru forum F/S threads.  Order directly at your own risk.

Do you have a favorite shift knob?  If so, share the maker/model!

2015 – Car Photos

I’m going to try something different.

I’m attempting to document each color option of 2015 STI/WRX with real-world pictures.  It’s very obvious when looking at the site states that people are interested in seeing pictures of the 2015 STI and WRX, so I’ve created galleries of each color:

Crystal Black Silica:

Crystal White Pearl:

Galaxy Blue Pearl:

Ice Silver Metallic:

Lightning Red:

World Rally Blue Pearl:

 

I’m still trying to determine how to reference the galleries (each color has it’s own gallery), as I won’t always want to post 20 photos into one blog entry.  I’ll figure it out soon, though.

2015 WRXs!

I don’t know about you people (dare I even ask?), but the new 2015 WRX has been growing on me — my preference is the 2015 STI and not so much the 2015 WRX.  Every time I see pictures, my mind is blown!

 

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These are tastefully done, IMO…definitely not of the Hella Flush crowd.    And that silver one…looks great in that color.  The quad exhaust look great too!  Yes, I can definitely do a ’15 WRX!

Aftermarket Heat Shields

I posted earlier about my turbo heat blanket research and my findings.  I mentioned in that post that I would look at aftermarket heat shield solutions.  My plan is to use both a good turbo heat shield and the turbo heat blanket.

My choice will be one of the following:

Nameless Performance Downpipe Heat Shield

CB Titanium Heat Shield

 

The Nameless Performance example is normally $85 (subject to change, obviously) but there’s also the option of a ceramic coating, which adds $40 more to the cost.  There are also free color options.

The CB example is fully titanium and is $4 more than the Nameless version.

I’m obviously biased since I’ve several Nameless products on the car already (a Nameless product would better fit the current motif, and with the option to add different coloring, I can better coordinate a desired look).  I’ll more than likely go Nameless, but I wanted to mention the CB option, since they’re close in price and because titanium is one of the more exotic materials to use.