Jon Snow…the Subaru

  • Group N Bushings

    Started with STi Group N bushings through the entire chassis and power train for all fitments offered. Probably the best bang for the buck modification as it removed the vagueness of the rear end and dramatically improved on throttle control of the vehicle dynamics. Highly recommend starting here for suspension modifications.

  • Attention to Detail

    During all the suspension work, time was taken to replace all lock nuts that had been used more than once for some cheap reliability insurance. The last thing you want is a suspension component coming loose at high speeds. Ball joints were replaced as a “while I’m in there” upgrade. They had 80k miles on them anyway. T

  • Suspension Basics

    The first real modification to the suspension was sway bars. I swapped in a pair of Whiteline solid bars front and back 24mm/22mm. There are a lot of different techniques on what sizes to use. I like this set up. When I adjust the rear bar to full stiffness it tends to induce a bit of snap oversteer at the limit. I like to run the rear bar in the middle setting.

  • Racecomp Engineering

    A set of Racecomp Engineering’s GTWORK/BILSTEIN Trophy Cup Coilovers fit the bill for a beginning set of coilovers. Offering adjustable ride hight but without the complexity of adjustable dampening, these coilovers turned out to be the perfect fit for a solid foundation. Although these coilovers no doubt helped drive down lap times, the real improvement was how easy it was to drive repeatable consistent times on them. One of the best modification’s thus far.

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  • A Proper Alignment

    After rebuilding the suspension a proper alignment is necessary. A set of Super Pro adjustable rear lower control arms were needed to control camber with a .5” drop in ride height. Front top hats were changed from White Line units back to new stock hats because the desired -2 degrees camber was achievable in the front with the ride height drop.

  • Corner Balance

    The ride height adjustability of the coil overs also allowed for the a proper corner balancing of the STi. Pictured below is the most recent results with Tomei titanium exhaust and a light weight battery installed to shave a little weight. However, there were multiple iterations of adjustments each time weight is changed on the car.

  • A New Short Block

    With a compression test revealing a weak cylinder, I decided to just go all in with an IAG short block instead of rolling the dice on adding power mods to a questionable motor.

  • While You're In There...

    Since the motor was coming out, I took advantage of the opportunity to do some required maintenance as well as some nice add ons. The build includes the Killer B oil/pick up/baffle kit, an ACT Clutch, Gates timing belt, new oil pump, new water pump, full radius valve job on the heads, Killer B ELH + up pipe, Cobb Stage intake, Cobb fuel system, and a Blouch 1.5 Dominator XTR w/ 3” inlet and 10cm housing.

  • Because Why Wouldn't You...

    A non stock turbo bumps the car out of the classes which I originally wanted to compete in, but I decided I didn’t care. This turbo is awesome. A set of TGV deletes were required to fit the 3” inlet and should free up a little more power.

Speed Overlay w/ New Motor

  • Brakes.

    The OEM Brembos on the STi are plenty capable of handling Track duty when paired with the right fluid and pads. However, the AP Racing Competition Brake Kit CP8350/325 increases thermal capacity and saves 14 lbs of unsprung weight.

    CP8350 / 325mm Rotor Review

  • Kumho Ecsta V730

    Tried out Kumho’s new 200 TW tire for autocross and a track day. As many reviews have discovered, it leans more toward an enduro 200 category vice the super 200s. They don’t have the grip of the Bridgestone RE-71, but they wear like iron and are remarkably consistent.

    More on the Kumho Ecsta V730

  • Motion Ratios and Stiffness

    I spent a couple weeks of free time measuring motion ratios and anti-roll bar stiffness front and rear. This will allow me to calculate a rough estimate of lateral Load Transfer Distribution (LLTD) to make suspension running more efficient in the future.

    Motion Ratio and Stiffness Measurement Results

  • Cooling Down the EJ

    Adding over 100 WHP to the engine unsurprisingly has created heat issues. With oil temps in the pan exceeding 260 F and cooling peaking above 220 F, something had to be done.

    Cooling Down the EJ

  • Fitting 18x9.5 Titan T-R10 Wheels

    Time for wider tires! Finally went for a wheel upgrade with Titan & T-R10 Wheels in COBB Tunning’s gold. Wrapped the wheels in my Kuhmo’s incredibly consistent 265/40/18 Ecsta V730. Then I went to the track to see how much time I could pick up!

    Wider Tires Chasing Faster Times

  • Essex AP Racing 9660 x 372mm Kit

    With more power, wider tires, and colder temperatures in New England I needed more brake capacity. Time to make the buy once, cry once solution.

    AP Racing 9660 372mm Lap at Palmer

  • High Lead in Oil Samples...Bearing Wear?!

    After some high lead in an oil sample after a track day where my oil temps got to be close 270 F in the pan I became hyper paranoid of a possible bearing wear issue. The elevated lead readings fluctuated but became more consistent. I started eliminating variables to determine the cause.

    Oil Sample Conclusion