Project RS

[ScottyB]

after tolerating a nice spin-cycle wobble every time i hit the brakes for a couple months now, i finally gave the original front rotors a rest after 127k miles. crazy thing is, i'm pretty sure there's still a ton of meat on them. i don't engine brake all that much and i've run aftermarket pads on the car for years and years now...i guess i'm never going fast enough to tax the brakes :lol:

i'm going to see what it costs to skim them with a lathe and get them straight again, provided they're still serviceable. it would be nice to have a spare set if its cheap.

hit the caliper pins with grease, zipped everything back together and bedded the pads back in and let it cool/rest overnight. brakes feel awesome again.

my rear rotors are in about the same shape, so if i'm replacing them anyway, i think its time for an "H6" upgrade which consists of larger outback rear rotors and the associated bracket to move the caliper out. nothing else needs to change, and it gives me a 1" larger rotor for about $100, using brand new stuff i can get at any autozone. the car doesn't need more brake since i'm tire-limited, but i'm hoping that the added leverage gives me some additional rear bias for rallycross playtime.

H6 left, stock rear right:

[ScottyB]

for anyone who cares, CARSRallyTV on yoot00b has some of the best non-WRC rally coverage i've seen, focusing on the Canada-land rally championship (eh). as a bonus, they all pretty much drive stuff that us plebes can relate to.
[youtube]w6W9esM7tFQ[/youtube]

gotta keep stoked somehow, right?

[PDenbigh]

Well damn. Now I need to buy that Rally XR on BAT and we need to go to Canada. I'll codrive for you and you for me?

[ScottyB]

Well damn. Now I need to buy that Rally XR on BAT and we need to go to Canada. I'll codrive for you and you for me?

you've made me an offer i can't refuse

[ScottyB]

about once a year i do a used oil analysis for kicks and to see how the engine is doing, and just got this recent one back. with the fairly aggressive driving and severe heat the car gets put through down here in GA, i opt for the heavier side of oils with a good High Temp High Shear rating which also seem to help with the mild oil comsumption that this older engine shows. so, i did this run of Mobil1 0W-40 that i got on sale thanks to DJ's head's-up on a Mobil promotion at Wally World last year, and it seemed like a fair chance to drive this oil change interval out past my usual 6k mile comfort zone and see what it had to offer.



very pleased overall. an easy 10k mile oil change next time. really stout TBN which means the additive pack has tons of life left, and the cSt Viscosity is also bein a boss so its holding the 40W grade very well. this is considered one of Mobil's best widely available oils and i can see why. also cool to see silicon so low, which means the air filter is doing its job despite the dust and pollen down here.

[BLINGMW]

Cool! It's been a long time since I did one of those :thumbup:

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice! Still running strong!

[ScottyB]

thanks, i love geeking out over this stuff. the engine does seem pretty happy, which it should be for a pretty understressed engine.

UOA's are more useful trend analysis than drawing conclusions from just a single report, so now that i have 5 over a range of 5W-30, 10W-30, and 0W-40 and all the reports have come back with good results, i don't know if its really worth the money to keep doing them.

i guess if i can take anything away from these its that for this car:

• • there's not much i can do to hurt it with a good synthetic
  • the OEM subaru blue oil filters aren't "crap" even though everyone thinks so
  • OEM air filters work really well
  • 40 weight oil works great for my climate/use even though factory recommends 30 weight for "normal use"
  • 8k mile oil changes seem perfectly reasonable for my driving

[ScottyB]

just crossed 130,000 miles. a growing list of parts-hoarding in my garage means a big wrench session coming up:

• coolant flush + new thermostat and stat housing
• reseal valve cover gaskets (lower pass side is goopin' all over the place)
• front suspension comes out for warranty-replacement Whiteline strut tophats, then off to the shop for an alignment to get it proper straight again
• might look into upgraded front lower control arm rear-side bushings (anti-lift bushings in subaru speak) since the car will be in the air anyway - more caster, less anti-dive geometry so i'll get more weight transfer in the dirt and better traction under droop. i'm hopeless...

really considering trading out the rorty-snorty Borla unequal-length header/catback combo that i've had for like 10 years for a tuned equal length setup and an OEM STi catback to make a system that will make far more power and be more relaxed to drive. the EL header is a bucket of snakes but apparently that's what it takes to match exhaust pulses correctly:

not sure if this is me being old and bitchy or just getting tired of knowing i'm leaving like 20hp on the table with the unequal setup. i also like being under the radar, and being quieter/faster wouldn't be out of step. i haven't seen a equal length header turn up at a decent price yet. some days i REALLY love that subaru whargarrbl sound though...its just so in character for the car. i might ragret this, i dunno. at least i'll have no trouble selling the exhaust to everyone that worships that sound.

needs a heavy detail job too, and i just spent probably-too-much online to replenish my supplies so i'll put a little feedback in the appearance thread after a solid day's work one of these weekends.

[JPolen01]

I am with you. I used to love the loudest gnarliest sounding subarus. All of my friends had STIs with the nvdia race exhaust (n1?) and no cats. Those things were so loud!!! Now every time I hear one I am just like "get off my lawn". 20hp is a lot to leave on the table so I understand wanting to switch.

[ScottyB]

yeah. i always felt a little bit of an imposter too...i mean there's a modest power bump from a UEL header, but really the entire reason my header is designed the way it is, is to fabricate a specific exhaust note that doesn't really belong to the car naturally.

i've also been driving the same setup for yeeeaarrrrssss. a change would be nice, and if it has nothing but upsides apart from sound and a little cost, its probably not a bad alternative.

[WRXtranceformed]

You never have to justify more power to us, ever Scotty

[V1GiLaNtE]

You never have to justify more power to us, ever Scotty

#preach.

Scotty, I've always enjoyed following your thread and admired your philosophy on the RS. I won't say it's an age thing like Polen, but I think there just comes a point that the direction and intended usage of the vehicle warrants certain choices. Power is power and while everyone loves the boxer grumble, your choice in mods and upgrades directly support the very need to keep on slinging it in the dirt. Keep it slideways sir!

[CaptainHenreh]

No! Bullshit! Subarus sound like brum brum brum not weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee goddammit.

[ScottyB]

No! Bullshit! Subarus sound like brum brum brum not weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee goddammit.

but...okaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[rherold9]

The only good reason to get rid of loud, sexy, rumble noises is power.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[CaptainHenreh]

The only good reason to get rid of loud, sexy, rumble noises is power.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Let's be real here.

We're not talking about GRAAAAAAAR POWER.

We're talking about going from, what, 145whp if the stars align to 152?


I'm #teambrrumbrum

[V1GiLaNtE]

The only good reason to get rid of loud, sexy, rumble noises is power.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Let's be real here.

We're not talking about GRAAAAAAAR POWER.

We're talking about going from, what, 145whp if the stars align to 152?


I'm #teambrrumbrum

Alright Rex, we get it. You want brapbrumbrapbrum noises. Your position is obvious. Everyone else in the thread, please take note of Rex's opinion and



<3

[ScottyB]

We're talking about going from, what, 145whp if the stars align to 152?

the difference between a UEL header and an EL on these engines is ~15hp/tq

at the wheels. on an unmodified car. with a decent cat section and proper tune to match, probably 20. and the power isn't just peak, its everywhere, all the time.

so, say a conservative 25hp gain at the crank for like $400 new, and some hours of my time screwing with the tune.

but they do sound pretty lame.

still thinkin about it.

[ScottyB]

I Did A Coolant Flush, or

Oh Damn I Don't Think My Car Is Hydrating Enough This Doesn't Look Healthy


old to flushed out, L/R

so i've been putting this job off for...forever, most because maintenance is boring and i only want to be under the car if it means i get to play with go-fast bits. but in our 2 month annual triple-digit heat wave here, called "July and August", i figured it might be a good time to get proper coolant in the car and keep everything happy and reliable. its been a while since the last change and didn't want to just do a quick coolant dump and refill, it was time to get all the old stuff out and start fresh. i also grabbed some new OEM bits and a neat tool to complete it all:
• thermostat
• thermostat housing
• thermostat gasket
• Lisle Spill-Free Funnel, this thing is great
• 2 gallons of Peak Global Lifetime coolant - totally compatible and NO subaru head gasket sealer goop added.
amazingly the stock rubber coolant hoses are still super pliable and crack-less, so i passed on getting new ones.

thankfully subaru puts the thermostat right on the bottom of the block, so instead of draining everything out the radiator petcock at a trickle, i just pulled the thermostat housing and thermostat and let it all dump out in a big waterfall. as it turns out, there is no such thing as a bucket or drip pan large enough to keep you from ending up laying in a small pond of fetid coolant. sort of like being in the Splash Zone at Sea World, but with poisons. but it was hot out, so at least it felt nice.



i refilled the system with about 1-1/2 gals of distilled, burped the hoses, and ran the car with the climate control set to max heat (want to get everything out of the heater core) until the rad fans turned on. then change wet shirt, do an odd job, let the car cool, pull housing and soak myself again. rinse/repeat 3 times, and would have liked to do a few more but when its this freakin hot it takes like 2 hours for the car to cool down enough to drain again, and i just don't have that kinda time. the top pic is the result. the original coolant came out a brownish green mixture and by the end, it was just tinged a little orange.

new stuff went in and burped super easy with no spills thanks to that cool funnel. the Peak product says its "lifetime" so i guess i can forget about it forever, although maybe in a few more years it'll be cheap insurance to do it again.

as with any time i get under the car, something else probably needs some love. found out my passenger valve cover gasket is all goopy, and they seem to go about every 70k so we're about on schedule for a new one. so it goes.