Die cut sticker, 1 × 1 in
Small enough for a helmet, a laptop or a toolbox drawer.
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A time trial team of one, a 2011 STI hatch named Battle Beans, and an honest log of everything that went right and wrong along the way.
- Power
- ~352 whpMustang dyno at 22 psi, YimiSport tune
- Brakes
- AP 9660372 mm front rotors
- Classes
- M2 / XA / TT3 (aspiring)SCCA TT, SCCA Solo, NASA TT
- ECR best
- 2:06.4Eagles Canyon, 2.7 mi
Battle Beans…the Subaru
| Car | 2011 Subaru WRX STI hatchback (GR) |
|---|---|
| Engine | IAG short block, forged pistons and rods; Killer B header and up-pipe; Blouch 1.5 Dominator XTR |
| Fuel and tune | COBB fuel system, YimiSport tune, 100 octane |
| Suspension | RaceComp Tarmac 2 (KW), Swift 11k/12k springs, Vorshlag camber plates, Group N bushings, Whiteline 24/22 mm bars |
| Drivetrain | Cusco Type-RS 1.5-way rear LSD |
| Brakes | Essex AP Racing CP9660, 372 mm |
| Wheels and tires | Wedsport 18x11 ET+15, Bridgestone RE-71RS 295/30/18 |
| Body | Cut fenders, HT fender flares, Marsh composite hood |
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Group N Bushings
Started with STI Group N bushings through the entire chassis and powertrain. Probably the best bang-for-the-buck mod: it removed the vagueness from the rear end and dramatically improved throttle control. Start here for suspension.
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Attention to Detail
Replaced every lock nut that had been used more than once: cheap reliability insurance. Ball joints got replaced too as a while-I'm-in-there job. They had 80k miles on them anyway.
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Suspension Basics
First real suspension mod: Whiteline solid sway bars, 24 mm front and 22 mm rear. Full-stiff rear induces some snap oversteer at the limit, so the rear bar lives on the middle setting.
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Racecomp Engineering
GTWORK/Bilstein Trophy Cup coilovers: adjustable ride height without the complexity of adjustable damping. They cut lap times, but the real win was how easy it became to drive repeatable, consistent laps.
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A Proper Alignment
Super Pro adjustable rear lower control arms to control camber after a 0.5 in drop. Front top hats went from Whiteline back to new stock, since the drop alone reached the target of -2° front camber.
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Corner Balance
Coilover ride-height adjustment made a real corner balance possible. Redone after every weight change, most recently the Tomei titanium exhaust and lightweight battery.
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A New Short Block
A compression test turned up a weak cylinder, so instead of rolling the dice with power mods on a questionable motor, it got an IAG short block.
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While You're In There…
Killer B oil pickup and baffle kit, ACT clutch, Gates timing belt, new oil and water pumps, full-radius valve job, Killer B ELH and up-pipe, COBB intake and fuel system, and a Blouch 1.5 Dominator XTR with 3 in inlet and 10 cm housing.
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Because Why Wouldn't You…
A non-stock turbo bumped the car out of the classes originally planned. Didn't care. This turbo is awesome. TGV deletes were needed to fit the 3 in inlet and should free up a little more power.
Read the speed overlay -
Brakes
The OEM Brembos can handle track duty with the right fluid and pads. The AP Racing CP8350/325 kit added thermal capacity and saved 14 lb of unsprung weight.
Read the full write-up -
Kumho Ecsta V730
Tried Kumho's 200TW tire for autocross and a track day. It leans toward the endurance-200 crowd rather than the super 200s: less grip than an RE-71, but it wears like iron and is remarkably consistent.
Read the full write-up -
Motion Ratios and Stiffness
A couple of weeks of free time measuring motion ratios and anti-roll bar stiffness front and rear, to estimate lateral load transfer distribution and make suspension changes less of a guess.
Read the full write-up -
Cooling Down the EJ
Over 100 whp more meant heat. Oil in the pan went past 260 °F and coolant peaked above 220 °F, so something had to be done.
Read the full write-up -
Titan 7 T-R10 Wheels
Wider tires at last: 18x9.5 Titan 7 T-R10s in COBB gold, wrapped in 265/40/18 Kumho V730s, then straight to the track to see how much time they found.
Read the full write-up -
YimiSport Retune
May 2023The original tune from the engine build was solid on the street, but on track I had heat soak and enough knock events to pull my DAM down. Paul at YimiSport Tuning retuned it for track duty, and the car now makes its power much sooner.
Read the full write-up -
Essex AP Racing 9660 × 372 mm
More power, wider tires and cold New England temperatures called for more brake. The buy-once, cry-once solution.
Read the full write-up -
High Lead in Oil Samples
After a day with pan temps near 270 °F, an oil sample came back high in lead. Bearing wear? The readings fluctuated, then settled, so the job became eliminating variables one by one.
Read the full write-up -
Cusco 1.5-Way Rear Diff
April 2024In really tight corners the inside rear wheel would lift and the open rear diff sent all the power to it. A Cusco Type-RS 1.5-way LSD fixed that. It took some relearning, but now I love it.
Read the full write-up -
RaceComp Tarmac 2 Coilovers
November 2024Time to graduate from the Trophy Cups. I stepped up to RaceComp Engineering's Tarmac 2 two-way adjustable coilovers, built by KW, and swapped the worn Whiteline top hats for Vorshlag camber plates.
Read the full write-up -
Cutting the Fenders
August 2025The turbo from the engine build locked me into XA at Solo Nationals. Once I saw what a competitive XA car looks like, I knew I needed a lot more tire under the car, and that meant taking a grinder to the fenders.
Read the full write-up -
Swift 11k/12k Springs
November 2025With 295s under the car, RaceComp Engineering recommended stepping up to 11k/12k Swift springs for where the car was headed. The car barely rolls now, and after a few months of damper tuning, it's dialed in.
Read the full write-up -
Drag Reduction
An under tray, a cut rear bumper, an antenna delete and APR GT3 mirrors, all chasing top speed before the Ultimate Track Car Challenge and SCCA Time Trials Nationals. Write-up coming soon.
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Gilgamesh the Tow Van
This year Battle Beans started traveling by trailer behind Gilgamesh, a 1999 Ford E-350 Super Duty with a 6.8L V10. The story of getting it road-trip ready is coming soon.
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Splitter and Wing
A flat plywood splitter and a 9 Lives Racing Big Wáng, built to be legal in SCCA Max 2, NASA TT3 and Solo XA at the same time. Target: a 2:04 at Eagles Canyon.
GR STI Data
A consolidated list of data I've had to track down while working on my car: over 40 part weights from intercoolers to rear seat brackets, OEM ride heights, and the full suspension motion-ratio and anti-roll bar measurements.
40 lbOEM hood
9.75 lbMarsh composite hood
27 lbOEM header
11.4 lbKiller B header
Merch
Stickers for your car, your toolbox, or your rival's car. Order through Instagram and I'll sort out payment and shipping.
Die cut sticker, 4 × 5 in
Window or quarter-panel size.
Order on InstagramTransfer sticker
No background, just the lettering. Looks painted on.
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One person's attempt to take themselves less seriously. It started as a joke and… well, it's still a joke.
I'm collecting what I've learned while slowly turning my old daily driver into a dedicated track car. Hopefully it saves you time on your own STI, or at least you can learn from my mistakes.
Like an oil cooler. Just get an oil cooler if you're tracking your car.