Category Archives: STI

New Winter Tires

I ordered Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32s last month, but it took me 3 weeks to get my OEM wheels to the shop to have the tires mounted on them.

They look good, too!  I can’t wait for the first snow (or hint of real cold weather).

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32s in 235-40R-18 size

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32s in 235-40R-18 size

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32s in 235-40R-18 size mounted on OEM STI wheels

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32s in 235-40R-18 size mounted on OEM STI wheels

I’ve retired my ASA JH3 wheels (with mounted Michelin Alpin PA2s).  I wanted to go 18″ for my winter tires (so that I could use my OEM wheels).

The ASAs are now for sale…whoever buys them will have to get new tires, as the Alpins are dry-rotting.  No, the ASAs are not pretty, but I never bought them for that.  I bought them because they were cheap (they were 2nd-hand) and I’m not about to buy Volks as winter wheels (why would I do that?).  The ASAs served their purpose.  I’m sure they’ll look attractive enough for someone that’s new to Subarus (like I was).

Color-changing LED Turn Signal Bulbs for 2008-2014 WRXs & STIs

These LEDs are pretty cool. It solves the issue of wanting white LED turn signal bulbs but also wanting to stay legal (not having orange turn signals is illegal in many (if not all) states).

The link to order these bulbs is here.

They are normally $59.99 a pair, though. Note that they’re currently marked down to $49.99 for the normal set and $79.99 for the mega-bright set(as of 9/4/2014).

UPDATE:  Note that if you use these LEDs, you’re going to need an LED-capable blinker relay…that’s the case with any upgrade to LEDs.  It can be found here (same site).  The price is $19.99, as of 10/7/2014.

It might be time to update the wish list!

Upcoming STI Hatch?

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014/09/subaru-wrx-hatchback-spied-testing.html

001-subaru-wrx-hatch-mule628opt

There’s a bit of an uproar today.  Why?  A mule of what’s apparently a VA-series STI hatch has been spotted.  What’s the uproar about?  Well, it’s two-fold.

  1. A hatch version was speculation.  The current WRX and STI line-up consists only of sedan models.
  2. “WTF?!  It’s ugly!”…people don’t understand that mules rarely look like the production models.  The same exact thing happened with the sedan’s mule spotting (WTF?! It’s ugly!).  They also saw the WRX concept and did the exact same thing:  they let their emotions and the pre-production viewings get the better of them…their expectations ran amuck.

I’m not a hatch guy, so I’m fine with the current sedan model, but I’ll wait until a production photo is released for the hatch before I judge it.

Additional links:

Automobile Magazine – WRX/STI Hatch Spied (added 9/2/2014 @ 6:14PM EST)

Motor Trend – Subaru WRX/STI Hatch (added 9/2/2014 @ 7:14PM EST)

You can read more comments of the mule below and at the above URL’s comment section.  Also, here’s a few comments on the IWSTI forums.

 

A New AWD Offering?


http://blog.caranddriver.com/2016-ford-focus-rs-awd-back-on-the-table-u-s-sales-more-likely-than-ever/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/future-cars/2016-ford-focus-rs-first-details-exclusive-insider-info

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/future-cars/ford-denies-nothing-about-focus-rs-says-its-doable

I wanted to get all of the embedding and linkage out of the way first, as there is a lot of reference material, and I don’t even have reference info from Motor Trend or Automobile.

My thoughts? These are speculation articles, but R&T does have some communication from Ford regarding this car.

Is it a threat to existing cars of it’s genre? It’s too early to tell, but there’s a void to be filled (the Mitsubishi Evolution X). The playing field is being redefined, as well, because the upcoming Golf R is supposed to be a stellar offering and may well surpass the Subaru WRX STI in performance (or at least make Subaru concerned).

The early planning of the Focus RS dictated that the car would be front-wheel-drive. That has changed as of yesterday. It is definitive that the car will be AWD. We do not yet know how much HP the 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder will produce, but speculation is between 300-350 HP. We also do not know if the car will be definitively sold in the US, although the articles state that there’s a strong possibility. We also don’t know it’s proposed pricing, although a car that is designed to compete with the Golf R and/or Subaru STI will probably be similarly priced as those two cars. Word is, the Focus RS will also be a limited production vehicle, which may warrant a premium price (I’m not sure on this, but its worth mentioning). Will the car be a 4 door hatch? More than likely, if Ford wants to compete well with the other cars of this genre.

Other questions: Will the car have good value retainment? STIs hold their value extremely well. I can’t speak for Golf R owners (the Mk 7 isn’t yet released to the US public). Will the car be reliable? Will the car be expensive to maintain? It may be good to ask a Focus ST owner those two questions, since the RS will be new to the US.What of modifying the RS? Does Ford condone modifying Focus STs as far as warranty is concerned? Are the cars difficult to modify? Is the aftermarket as vast as Subaru’s? If anyone has answers to those questions, please comment!

Subaru STI & Fuel Consumption


I thought this was a pretty cool read. I’ve been seeing a lot of guys complaining about the fuel consumption of their STIs lately…I’m wondering if it’s due to the influx of “new blood” (ie, owners that are new to sports cars and have just purchased an STI) or hipster activists (which Subaru tends to attract). But the gist of the article is, why buy a sports car of this caliber and complain about it’s fuel consumption?

I decided to embed the Google+ post vs. posting the URL…it’s more eye-catching.

Enjoy the read!

Please Don’t Defraud Subaru of America!

Read the following thread today:

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gr-general/272848-13-sti-cyl-4-missfire-other-problems-need-help.html

Read it and see why I have a problem with it.

Basically, the OP stated that he’s at stage 2+, has 20K miles on the car and the car is exhibiting symptoms of cracked ringlands.  Some responders tell him how to check for further symptoms (smoke coming from oil cap opening).  Smoke was exiting the opening.  In the next post, the guy states that he has his car on a flatbed and it’s on the way to the dealer.  He states he’s reverted back to the stock tune (and that the dealer also stated he should do this).

Wow.  I see these at least once a week on the forums.  Some guys end up pannicking when they realize that Subaru of America (SoA) sometimes correlates such posts to real-life people and deny the claims.

IMO, issues such as these constitutes fraud.  I’m a firm believer in “pay to play”.  People who can’t afford to fix their car because they took it beyond the limits of Subaru’s design should not modify their cars.  Shit like this is what makes it difficult for the guys with real/legit repair issues to get them fixed.  Also, someone has to pay for the fraudulent claim (and it’s usually not the dealer nor SoA)…it’s usually other Subaru owners (the dealer spreads the cost to all Subaru owners by raising costs of other services).

I hate crap like this!

EDIT:  here’s one from last week (pay attention to post 6)

Firmware updates for ALL Subaru Accessports!

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/cobb-accesstuner/271467-firmware-updates-all-subaru-accessports.html

I like leveraging IWSTI forum posts (because I spend a good bit of time reading and posting there).

Cobb has updated the firmware for all Subaru APs.  The notes are below:

Fast Logging for ALL Subaru Accessports!!

We’ve improved datalogging rates for all Subaru Accessports. This includes V2, V2b, and V3 units and all Subaru Accessport part numbers.

V2 and V2b units will now see improvements in excess of 300% over previous datalogging rates. V3 Accessports will see nearly 250% higher resolution.


OTS Map Updates!!

2008-2014 STI v334 Map Updates

  • Revised Engine Load Compensation tables to address potentially high absolute values in the A/F Learning “C” range.
  • Activated new toggle to induce Per-Gear Timing Compensations for 6th gear.
  • Eliminated factory “Fuel Enrichment Ramping” behavior that caused temporarily lean conditions following shifts while driving aggressively.


2002-2007 WRX v310 Map Updates

  • Massive update for Stage1 and Stage2 mapping. Includes refinements to boost control and overall ignition timing strategy.
  • Added Stage1 and Stage2 support for COBB Electronic Boost Control Solenoid (EBCS).


2009-2014 WRX v331 Map Updates

  • Synchronized mapping across all model years.
  • Implemented Per-Gear Timing compensations.
  • Reshaped Boost Targets table for better control at higher RPM which reduces need for Severe Low Wastegate (SLWG mapping).
  • Removed SLWG maps from map offering
  • Revised odd factory Per-Cylinder Injector Pulsewidth tables
  • Updated Primary OL Fuel tables.
  • Revised ignition timing tables based on power and detonation concerns.
  • Many minor adjustments (changed per-cylinder timing compensations slightly, disabled trims based on rear O2 sensor, revised closed loop fuel target at idle, etc.).


For access to updated features, simply connect your Accessport to Accessport Manager and perform a firmware update!

For any other questions, feel free to email support@cobbtuning.com or submit a support ticket at cobbtuning.com/support

The coolest part?  The increase in datalogging rates — 300% for pre-v3 APs and 250% for v3s!!  What does that mean?  Better (quicker) logging!  That means better quality datalogs!

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.