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Old 02-23-2017, 01:50 PM   #1
GarrettPlusBugeye
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 455087
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Albany, OR
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WRB

Default My '02 Bugeye, AKA "Sloth"

Hello all! This is my first thread on here, and I'm about 80% sure it's in the right place. If not, mods feel free to move it! That being said, this is my end-all be-all thread, purposed to cover the current condition of the car, future plans, pictures, any research I'm doing, etc. So... Let's dive in! -I will be adding pictures in the near future-

A few months ago I purchased what I call my "reasonable dream car", a 2002 WRX Sedan with around 133K on the odometer.I'm the 3rd owner, with the 1st owner nicknaming the car "Sloth", and the 2nd keeping the tradition. So hey, I'll keep it too. Of course, like all first time buyers, I was instantly in love. Being the first turbocharged car that I've driven, I was astounded! "It takes off like a rocket, it corners like a go-cart, this is unreal!" Said I. Well, here I am still in love, and I want to give the car some love back.

The Current Build

Exterior
Prodrive wheels (I have to check which ones specifically)
Gorilla Mudflaps
That's it! The prev. owner liked the stock look.

Power/Drivetrain (All STI parts swapped from an '04, by the prev. owner)
STI Pink Injectors
Walbro Fuel pump
STI TMIC
vf39 (puke)
The ORIGINAL AccessPort
Straight cut RA gears (All 5 + R.)
Catless STI Uppipe
Catless Cobb Turboback
Short shift (Cobb or Kartboy, can't remember)
All I can think of right now.

Interior
Katzkin Leather & Blue Suede seats (LOVE)
3 aftermarket gauges, of which only the boost gauge works.

I'm going to have two sections to my "planning" phase, a short-term "things that need fixed and things that I want changed immediately" and a long-term "what I want the finished product to be" section. So bear with me!

Short Term!
The car has some things I'd like fixed right away.
1) First is an exhaust leak, (yes I caused it) from reassembling my entire exhaust without a torque wrench. I read on NASIOC that is was fine to do, turns out it's not. I'll fix it when I have all new gaskets. Valuable lesson learned, not everyone on here is an expert. The leak is changing how the car drives, boosts, it's really making me unhappy. I want it back how it was.

2) Condensation inside my headlight housing. This one is straight forward, a million guides exist on how to disassemble and reassemble headlights. No biggie.

3) TGV Delete. WHY this wasn't done, I don't know. Of course, this comes with the need for a retune, so I'd rather group this project with others that require a retune so I only need one.

4) Alignment mystery. The car drives weird. It wanders to the left, it wanders to the right. It wanders day and night. I just had a front end alignment which helped, I'm pretty sure I need a rear alignment too. Maybe there are additional variables in this problem, i.e. I've read about steering rack bushings. I digress.

As for non problem-solving mods..

5) Wingless trunk. (Keeping my winged)
6) Different exhaust (after Exhaust leak is fixed)
7) Gauges that work....


Long-Term Planning
Note: I recognize we all want to do different things with our cars. Our ideal Subaru looks different in each of our minds. I do not find it acceptable to bash on people over their taste and preferences. To be fair, a riced out Subie makes me cry. But I'm not gonna shred someone over it.
In my mind, there are three types of Subaru owners.
1) The PAUL WALKER FANBOI.
2) The Colin Mcrae fanboy.
3) The JDM culture fanboy.

I started as #2, and have evolved into a full blown #3. So come along on my journey, #1's, #2's, and #3's alike! As Maynard James Keenan says, "we can coexist".

Power Mods
I'm not a HP junkie, nor can I afford to be. The debate here is simple, and has been covered 10^10 times. To build the 2.0, or to swap in an STI 2.5. Thing is, people ask this question with the intention of getting max HP. I don't want max HP, in fact I don't even have a desired HP goal. I want a fast spool, for a quick little backroad car. So here are my two ideas.

A) Keep 2.0l, upgrade the turbo, injectors, and do a FMIC. Turbo would most likely be a Blouch Evo iii 16g. This would spool pretty quick, the problem is it'd have much less low end power than a 2.5l. We all know this already. This would keep the car as "bugeye" as possible.

B) Save up longer and just do 2.5l swap. Probably better overall, I'm sure 80% of people recommend this one. More research needs to be done on my end.

Exterior Mods
Morette Headlights.
Fender flares done right.
Different rims.
Wingless- yeah I said it twice, I like it that much!
Underglow- Just kidding did you think I was serious?
Custom Plasti-Dip. This one is tricky, because PD can look GREAT and it can look like dog poo.
Here is an example of it done correctly.
Here is where I'm going to lose most of you. Our mature 45 year old Subaru owners are too mature, too refined, too dignified to run..... Blast pipes.
I can feel the hate coming, I can sense the salty seniors rushing to smash the keys on their keyboard, chiding my young, reckless self for wanting to do something so ridiculously.... Atypical. Dr. King had a dream, and so do I. Mine involves blast pipes. (I'm sure I'll take them off after my first ticket or headache from the drone..)

This is where I'm stopping for now, but I will be back to add more and better format what is already written. If you took the time to read it, thank you! Feel free to jump into the thread, provide info., links, what have you. Just don't be rude, that's all I ask.





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Old 02-23-2017, 01:57 PM   #2
jimbosv650
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 261307
Join Date: Oct 2010
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: Miami,FL
Vehicle:
04 wrx wagon
WRB

Default

If you'd like an alternative to blast pipes, you can install an electric exhaust cutout. I would say it's probably my most practical mod.
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Old 02-26-2017, 11:31 PM   #3
GarrettPlusBugeye
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 455087
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Albany, OR
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WRB

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbosv650 View Post
If you'd like an alternative to blast pipes, you can install an electric exhaust cutout. I would say it's probably my most practical mod.
I've heard that exhaust cutout is hard on the engine.. I'm kind of leaning toward a regular style cannon now.
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Old 03-05-2017, 07:40 PM   #4
GarrettPlusBugeye
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 455087
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Albany, OR
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WRB

Default

I've been doing research on the steering issue, which like I mentioned continued even after an alignment. Today I rotated my tires (fronts-> back/ vice versa) and the problem swapped, or seems to have. It used to pull to the left, now it pulls to the right, equally is hard. I'm not entirely sure what is going on here. Off to do more reading, I will update as I learn. (I plan on including everything I learn as I go in the thread, in case someone else is searching for similar solutions).
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Old 03-29-2017, 10:42 PM   #5
GarrettPlusBugeye
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 455087
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Albany, OR
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WRB

Default

Minor update. I am pretty sure I have found the cause of my steering issues, I was just using the wrong keywords in my searches. Steering Rack Bushings. If you don't already know, our cars come stock with very soft steering rack bushings, so soft that the rack actually moves within them! So I ordered some Whiteline 30mm bushings for a total of $50 including shipping, I'll install them when they get here. Also, I finally a picture to post.
Please let me know if the pic isn't showing up.
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Old 11-24-2017, 10:59 PM   #6
GarrettPlusBugeye
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 455087
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Albany, OR
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WRB

Default

So, a big update. A lot has happened. The day after I paid off this baby, the engine started knocking. So long story short, I ordered a v8 EJ207 from JDMRacingMotors, replaced the water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, ran the IAG AVCS wires, swapped to the v8 jdm ecu, dropped the engine in.
As of right now, the engine is in but has to come back out again. The clutch seems to be dragging when I rotate the engine assembly. Also my shift fork is installed but will not cause the throw-out-bearing to move. These 2 factors are encouraging me to pull the motor again and try one more time, but I want to wait to do all that work until I order a new clutch. I don't know how to tell, but I think this clutch is shot? You tell me.

Besides those issues, I need to rewire the passenger side engine plug on the engine side, as some of the wires pulled right out of their pin locations on the plug. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a diagram for this yet. Here's a picture of that plug.

Another thing irking me: My stock twinscroll downpipe is shorter than my aftermarket single-scroll Cobb downpipe. And I COULD potentially swap my unequal length headers off my ej205 over and run my ol' vf39 with my Cobb exhaust, but the twinscroll vf37 is gonna be so much better, and it's visually MUCH newer and less used. So I think I might see if an adapter can be made from the stock twinscroll downpipe to the Cobb catback. Also considering de-catting that stock downpipe.
What a project to take on at 21. Before I bought this car, I didn't even know how to change my own oil. I'm proud of where I am right now. Progress is slow but real. Even once the car is running, I need a tune, and then I immediately start saving for a JDM 6-speed! Hoping my straight-cut gears will keep my 5-speed from grenading, but we will see. I'm sure there's much more I could write, but as of right now I am fresh out of thoughts. Share thoughts/help/opinion etc.! Could use any fresh ideas.

Also if you are in the OR, WA area and are interested in polished concrete flooring, counter tops, benches, stairs etc. for your home or business, please PM me
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