Project Turbo Wagon: 2002 Subaru WRX

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice find! One of the first cars I ever "wrenched" on was my buddy's white Bugeye "wagon". That car was so awesome, slammed on white Buddy Club rims, huge fart can that shot the LARGEST FIREBALLS I have personally witnessed on a catless car. I remember spending about 4 hours in his garage heating up a knife and shaving down his front bumper little by little to get a perfect fit with the front mount we installed.

Ahhh the Subaru days. In a kind of sadistic way I miss them.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Rotella 5W-40 T6 is a great answer. its cheap, robust, plentiful, and does a great job of protecting the internals in an EJ205 which are prone to spinning bearings. really any 0W-40 or 5W-40 oil is solid insurance. if you really want to stick with 5W-30's get something robust like Syntec 0W-30 (it performs more like a 3W-35) or Mobil1 High Mileage 10W-30. DO NOT get any kind of "energy conserving" 5W-30, it'll shear down to a 20 grade in no time and you'll be rolling the dice.

Great response Scotty! I was just reading about that this AM. Seems the Rotella makes good oil. I'll be sure to pick this up when I'm due. Which I realize is actually within 100 miles not 1000. :lol:

[V1GiLaNtE]

Seems replacing these bushings are some of the best bang for your buck performance items in terms of feel and putting power back into the drivetrain

Yep. TurnIn Concepts is the answer and I'd look into getting the "comfort" versions. it'll be stiffer than stock but still good for a daily. They are a great subaru vendor and the guys that started the company walk the walk so to speak.

if you have the bucks, an anti-lift kit for the front and lateral link/trailing arm bushings for the rear will make it feel awesome. i mean, you're under the car anyway right? 8)

School me on this "anti-lift kit".

It's something to consider replacing but again, I'm only trying to slowly work the car back up with what I consider NEED items.

I'm planning on dropping it off this weekend to get the OEM alloys swapped back on with a balance and alignment. :thumbup:

[ScottyB]

School me on this "anti-lift kit".

it replaces the rearmost bushing on your front lower suspension arm with a stiffer bushing and mount. additionally, it's also designed to change the geometry of the arm to remove the anti-squat properties on the front end and gain you some caster. the net result is that it rides better while simultaneously giving you better bite out of corners since the wheels can droop easier under power. just be aware that if you want to autox the car, this mod it will put you in a modified class since this part is considered "changing a suspension mounting point."



Whiteline and GTSpec are the common suppliers and MSI has a "Direct Steering Kit" which is the same thing minus the geometry alterations, so you can get the sharper steering response from the upgraded bushing/mount but stay legal for autocross because the mounting point is considered same as stock.

you'll find the biggest suspension drawbacks with imprezas are the soft bushings, especially on the RS and WRX. the STi has a few trick bits so its not so bad with them. but regardless its still a 12 year old car and will appreciate a refresh. i'm looking forward to doing an ALK and upgrading the rear lateral links next time i have some cash fall in my lap.

[V1GiLaNtE]

The goal is to sell these Motegi's to finance the bushing replacements. Apparently the rear diff cross-member bushings in the Klunk Killer set are a PITA to do but well worth the upgrade.

[davej]

did you list it for sale already?
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[DavidL]

Awesome pick up - I approve!! I remember my bugeye days fondly...

Lemme know if you need a hand with anything!

Also - to second Scotty, I have run Rotella in both my Subarus since 2009 - great stuff.

[Sully]

I have Rotella in the s2k and had it in the M3. Pretty sure Maeng runs it also but i think he cuts his with crappy oil or something. I forgot how he explained it to me.

[V1GiLaNtE]

did you list it for sale already?
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Lol. My shit ain't that busted.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Awesome pick up - I approve!! I remember my bugeye days fondly...

Lemme know if you need a hand with anything!

Also - to second Scotty, I have run Rotella in both my Subarus since 2009 - great stuff.

Uppipe install...? Haha. I may request your beer goggle supervision when it comes time to throw in bushings.

I think I'll pick up some Rotella and a Purolator One filter this weekend. I suspect it could use some seafoam in the tank and oil, no?

I also need to reset the Ecu. David, what sorta mileage did you squeak out of your bugeye?

[JustinG]

Just get a subie filter for $5

Oh and another rotella user here. Have it in the fozzy and the saab. Used it in the dsm as well.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Just get a subie filter for $5

Oh and another rotella user here. Have it in the fozzy and the saab. Used it in the dsm as well.

My understanding is Purolator manufactures OEM filters for SOA.

[JustinG]

Just get a subie filter for $5

Oh and another rotella user here. Have it in the fozzy and the saab. Used it in the dsm as well.

My understanding is Purolator manufactures OEM filters for SOA.

Honeywell does. But I've used the Purolator filters to.

I just love the numbered triangles on the SOA filters that tell you you have turned it 7/8s of a turn, since I'm always paranoid about I'd i tightened the filter enough.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Hand tight and then a quarter turn has always been the rule on all of my cars. I'll pick up a OEM filter then. Might as well stay consistent.

Do stiffer exhaust hangers actually work? I can hear the cat back every now and then rattling.

[CaptainHenreh]

did you list it for sale already?
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Lol. My shit ain't that busted.

That's my old car. You see he's taken great care of it. :roll:

[JustinG]

Previous owner did tbelt but not tensioners

Shame on you

[D_Eclipse9916]

Hand tight and then a quarter turn has always been the rule on all of my cars. I'll pick up a OEM filter then. Might as well stay consistent.

g.

I run Purolator Pure One on all my cars. Between that and Wix they are supposed to be good. hrug: just don't get Fram's regular filters.

[CaptainHenreh]

Previous owner did tbelt but not tensioners

Shame on you

Says him.

[ScottyB]

i used to use the purolators with the grip coating but started finding that the grit from the coating was sometimes on the rubber gasket or loose in the box. don't want to take a chance with grit in other parts of the filter and getting into my oil so i'm moving away from them to play it safe.

i ran the standard suby blue OEM filters for the last year. put one through a track day in April and it did fine. cheap and easy to get, i think they're they easy button.

be sure whatever filter you get meets the subaru oil bypass pressure of 23psi. many non-OEM's do not meet this number as subarus run a higher bypass pressure than most cars. if you don't, it won't kill your car but it just means you'll be bypassing oil more often instead of filtering it.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Went ahead and picked up an OEM filter/crush washer and Rotella 5w-40 T6 over the weekend. I put about 500 miles on the car in one week of ownership. Oil change this week.