The GT

[ebon hornet]

This thing started life as a 1997 naturally aspirated GL Impreza. It was bought as a field car in late December 2020, but it was inspected 2 days prior when we bought it so it had a year of road time ahead. An ice track opened for the first time near us so we took it there. Predictably, it did not have any grip. So we bought spikes. Now we were getting somewhere!

It was fun, but the entire track had to be driven redlining the 2nd, so we started looking into performance upgrades. Very soon it became clear that the only option was to swap it. We found a rusted out but perfectly working 1998 Impreza GT (The detuned EUDM WRX) for a good price. I spent the next weeks stripping first the turbo chassis for everything, then the NA chassis. During the disassembly we found out that the car had a Prodrive ECU in it, bumping the power to 245 bhp from the original 211 bhp. Then we put everything from the GT to the NA chassis. We modifications inspected it so the turbo engine is now road legal, and we've been upgrading it ever since. It has served us well for the past over 1.5 years, and has yet to fail in any way other than getting a tire puncture.

Currently, the only original NA parts in the car are the solid fuel and brake lines, the fuel tank and sender unit, rear subframe and doors. Everything else was swapped over. After that it received some performance upgrades listed below, and it's being built as a hobby rally car. Technically it's a GL, but as 99% of the parts are from a GT, I think it's fair to say it has the spirit of a GT.

It has been dynoed to 350 bhp / 510 Nm, but during summer the ignition advance is dropped 2 degrees, resulting in 335 bhp / 450 Nm.

You'll catch me here calling it "my car", but in truth it's mine and my dad's project car, doubling as my other daily.

These two are where it all started from

[ebon hornet]

Mod list:

Engine:

• EJ207 V7 S-AVCS rebuilt long block
• OEM head gaskets
• Custom built Garrett GT2971R bolt-on turbo
• Forester Turbo intake with DBW
• 1000cc Bosch EV14 injectors
• Radium top feed fuel rails
• Ø 9.5mm stainless fuel line from firewall to engine
• MaxxECU Race standalone ECU
• MCE18 CAN I/O expander
• NGK BKR7E plugs @ 0.6mm gap
• Hitachi COPs
• Turboworks 550 x 230 x 65 FMIC
• Turboworks oil cooler
• 3-port Pierburg boost control solenoid
• Stainless 3" decat exhaust
• Stainless UEL headers
• AEM 340lph fuel pump
• DIY oil catch can
• 335 bhp / 400 Nm @1.0 bar
• 386 bhp / 520 Nm @1.5 bar

Drivetrain:

• JDM STI 6MT w/ DCCD
• Custom heavy duty DCCD coil
• MapDCCD controller
• Cusco RS 1.5-way plated LSD front diff
• OEM R160 2-way plated LSD rear diff
• GSP GD STI front CV axles
• Competition Clutch 6.1 kg lightweight flywheel
• FC04T pressure plate with stock Exedy 230mm disc
• 4EAT propshaft
• Whiteline/solid bronze gear linkage bushings

Suspension/brakes:

• Opel Corsa electric steering column
• 2.2 quick steering rack with lines deleted
• Brake booster delete
• Subaru 4 pot front calipers with 295x25 mm discs
• EBC Bluestuff NDX front pads
• Volvo 240 4 pot dual circuit rear calipers with 290x18 mm discs
• Delphi stock replacement rear pads
• Hydraulic handbrake to one rear caliper pair
• LeBigem single adjustable rally coilovers
• RBF600 brake fluid
• HEL-Performance braided brake hoses
• Both sway bars deleted
• Every single wheel bearing changed at least twice

Chassis:

• STI GroupN engine mounts
• STI pitch mount
• STI trans mount
• 95SHa PUR chassis bushings
• V4 STI gauge cluster
• 10.1" Samsung Tab A as auxiliary cluster on MDash
• 5 mm custom aluminium skidplate
• 5 mm POM plastic rear skidplates
• Custom FIA compliant full 6-point cage
• RRS FIA compliant 6-point harnesses
• Toora FIA compliant Racing seats
• Battery relocated to trunk
• Washer reservoir relocated to trunk

[ebon hornet]

Inner CV joints cleaned for the LSD axle stubs

Outer CV joints in ultrasonic caress

[violet geyser]

so I'm not the only one refurbing his half shafts right now then

[ebon hornet]

Ah, a man of quality

[violet geyser]

I would have LIKED to buy new but.... the R160 ones on amayama are like £500 a side and they're unobtanium anywhere else.

so refurb it is!

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, unfortunately the bearings are a bit worn, the inner joint bearings on the other side don't stay in the race like the other side, but oh well, we'll fix it when it breaks

[violet geyser]

Same with mine. I had to take apart 5 halfshafts to cobble together the parts to make 2 good ones out of them. And even these aren't brilliant but it's down to packing them with new grease and boots and hoping for the best then figuring out the rest when we get to it.

[ebon hornet]

Yeah I CBA to search good bearings now, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it

[ebon hornet]

The first two pipes are bent and the chassis mounts are in place

[ebon hornet]

Ver1, the front pipes and the WRC-support have to be redone to allow for bearable dash installation and fitment

The initial plan was to run the front pipe behind the dash support as seen here, but it became clear that it wouldn't clear the FIA requirements then. So we opted to run the front pipes conventially in front of the dash support

But overall I'm very happy with the quality and customer consideration with the cage-maker

[ebon hornet]

Update from the cage maker, looking good. Only things left are the door pipes, center cross support and rear diagonals

[ebon hornet]

Only missing the door pipes, soon ready to paint

[violet geyser]

paint it pink!

[ebon hornet]

I kinda want to do yellow

But blue is more subdued

Getting in the car is going to be pain

[violet geyser]

but pink because sti

[ebon hornet]

But it isn't

Shitty edit but I kinda like it

Would be a lot duller in reality

[violet geyser]

This is a friends engine bay. He did the OAP mod of color coding everything. Pink.

[ebon hornet]

I'm kinda going with blue with some yellow sprinkled in

Maybe something more like this

Maybe something more like this

Or alternatively this

[violet geyser]

Kinda like it better in yellow imo

[ebon hornet]

Me too, but dad doesn't approve

Also there is the fact that yellow covers very poorly

[violet geyser]

when in doubt, paint it black 🤷

[ebon hornet]

I'd rather paint it white

[violet geyser]

https://tenor.com/view/mr-bean-firework-boom-gif-21636415

[ebon hornet]

Dad doesn't warm up to the yellow idea so it'll probably be blue for now

[ebon hornet]

Cage is finally done and GT back home

[ebon hornet]

Disappointment of the day offered by Maston Modena. Was ready to paint, dipped my foam brush in and the first note was "OK this is runny". Spread it on first pipe and the second note was "This does not cover at all."

Still decided to try, but it was so runny the underside of the pipes started to look horrid. I can't reasonably spray the interior now so I'll have to try another paint. Hope it works a bit better.

[ebon hornet]

Attempt 2 with new paint. Now we're getting somewhere! Tomorrow it'll be done

[ebon hornet]

Cage painted, next we'll have to cut the dashboard, install seats and drill out holes for harness mounts.

[ebon hornet]

Interior is set for mod inspection, only needs harness mounts drilled to the floor. It's missing some odds and ends like sun visors and door seals, but at least it's actually drivable

[violet geyser]

Happy New Year mate!

[ebon hornet]

Happy New Year to you too!

[ebon hornet]

We might've finally found the source for all the false knock

[ebon hornet]

Fresh from a passed mod inspection. It now officially has a bigger turbo and intercooler, 18" wheels, 6 point cage and 6 point harness and 300hp.

[forest stag]

wheel pics?

[ebon hornet]

Here's an old one with the winter wheels

Here's with the summer wheels

[forest stag]

the summer ones look great, i think it just needs a bit more sidewall but you do you

you know what they are?

[ebon hornet]

They are function over form, 215/40R18. I can't really fit 225's without rubbing and lower sidewall stretches less which is good for the track. I do agree they are too skinny but they work very well.

[forest stag]

makes sense

[ebon hornet]

In the summer I measured that it can't fit 225's without my inner fenders getting destroyed, but I'll have to look into it again once I upgrade the suspension which should stiffen it up

[forest stag]

oh yeah inner fenders

i forgot about them

what are your plans for suspension?

if you dont have an idea i do 100% reccomend group n bushing kit.

[ebon hornet]

2 or 3-way custom rally suspension

[forest stag]

okay

[ebon hornet]

Will also have to start chanhing the bushings for poly ones, some of them have already cracked

[violet geyser]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254370099813 what I use

and what 80% of the people in my local subaru club use

because the company is local to us and the guy that makes them is a top bloke and they're really nice quality and a very good price compared to like powerflex

[ebon hornet]

Thanks for the heads up, if that doesn't tally up for too much I'll definitely get that set

[ebon hornet]

@forest stag More recent wheel pic with black lug nuts

[forest stag]

yeah those looks good

[ebon hornet]

The whole car needs a respray but the setup is so much work

[ebon hornet]

Looks to be about 210€ total with taxes with 95 hardness and mild steel inserts. Considerably cheaper if ordered directly from the site. With eBay it's almost 300

[violet geyser]

when he says extreme he means extreme. I've seen the 95 ones and they are rock solid compared to the standard 80 ones just so you know.

[ebon hornet]

The extremes are probably better choice since it's going to be driven around the track and through forest roads. I prefer accuracy over comfort

[forest stag]

my current ones are rota Slipstreams but yeah just want an upgrade from some shitty flat lookin 5 spokes

you have alot of qheels though and they look good

[ebon hornet]

Currently 6 sets, 2 of which are the same. 2 of them aren't in use tho.

@violet geyser Apparently that kit doesn't include diff mounts themselves if I'm not mistaken

[violet geyser]

it doesn't include the two diff bushings that the diff mounts to the subframe with that is true.

[ebon hornet]

Shit, wonder where I'll get those

[violet geyser]

he's supposed to be making me a set

[ebon hornet]

Still, 200 with mild steel is very good price if they will hold up

[violet geyser]

but he's not listed them on the website yet

and with the holidays it's just been delays

[ebon hornet]

If he puts them up I'll grab them too. I think his kit otherwise covers everything except for end link bolts

Which doesn't matter since I'll be using BMW links on the front and already have Audi links in the rear

[violet geyser]

wait what

for the anti roll bar?

[ebon hornet]

Yeah

[violet geyser]

how are the bmw/audi ones compatible even?

[ebon hornet]

Not sure about the BMW's but I'll try

Audi A6 front ones fit in the rear and are made of aluminium so they're an upgrade over the stock plastics

[violet geyser]

do you have a part number I can use for them? I need to buy end links anyway so might as well

[ebon hornet]

You have 2 choices, 90mm hole-hole or 110mm hole-hole, I can't recall which ones I have. The stock ones are 100mm so right in the middle

Pretty sure I have the 110mm ones

[forest stag]

Group n diff mounts are good

[ebon hornet]

That might be it

@violet geyser So the part numbers are:
4E0411317C for the 110mm left and right
4D0411317G for the 90mm left
4D0411318G for the 90mm right
The 90mm's are the ones I have

[violet geyser]

👍

[ebon hornet]

Any idea what those 48mm "hub" bushings are? I can't think of anything

[violet geyser]

I think those are the ones on the rear wheel hubs where the rear trailing arm connects to the hub

[ebon hornet]

Knuckle would probably be more descriptive

[ebon hornet]

Yeah probably that

[violet geyser]

they're all different in size enough tho that you won't be able to put the wrong bush into the wrong place

[ebon hornet]

Can't find the GpN mounts for the diff. How much did he want for them when you ordered them?

[violet geyser]

i will find out when they're done

[ebon hornet]

So he didn't quote them yet?

[violet geyser]

he agreed to make them

and I'll just find out what they'll cost when they're done

actually need to pester him again tomorrow

[ebon hornet]

Right. Well when you get the price let me know

[violet geyser]

will do

[ebon hornet]

First test of the winter with spiked tires and 100 hp more than last time. Last time these barely spun, now it's spinning like nothing.

[violet geyser]

oooh I very much like those wheels

what are they?

[ebon hornet]

Braid Winrace N Lars 16x5.5

Would look great on normal tires but these ones are too skinny for normal use

[violet geyser]

oh I should be getting my bushes sometime next week hopefully and when I do I'll finally found out how much those bushes cost

guy is recovering from getting covid over the holidays

[ebon hornet]

Nice, it's really evident now that the bushings are in pieces. The car is very uneasy and at this point I have no clue which point is the true zero for the steering wheel

[forest stag]

those look like better sparco ones

[violet geyser]

they should definitely be cheaper than the powerflex ones https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273091222460

[ebon hornet]

Yeah the GroupNs are the same price

[forest stag]

Never heard of the power flex ones.

[ebon hornet]

Those are probably the most common

[ebon hornet]

@violet geyser If you really are interested in these wheels, Braid has Winrace N Lars TCT's, which are the same but available in up to 8" width. A set will probably be around a grand

[violet geyser]

8" is waay too thick lol

will make it handle like arse

imma stick with the speedlines i got

[ebon hornet]

I mean it's anywhere from 3" to 8", so you could order 7"s like the stock GT wheels are

[ebon hornet]

Time to swap the clutch LSD

[ebon hornet]

The new diff is in. Now to replace the 6th wheel bearing during our 2 years of ownership and then assembling the CV axles. I have a feeling it'll move tomorrow

[violet geyser]

rear bearings or front bearings?

[ebon hornet]

All 4 once, front one a week ago and now the rear right one

[violet geyser]

ooof

I had to replace the rear ones on mine like 4 months after I bought the car.

[ebon hornet]

This one didn't even last 12k

[violet geyser]

I haven't driven mine 12k between replacing the wheel bearings and it going off the road for the engine swap so I don't know how long mine will last lol

but I'm probably gonna pay someone to do them for me next time. Once my car is out of the garage, my friends MX5 will go in for work on that and who knows how long that will take (he wants to do the flying miata LS swap) so I won't have the luxury of being in doors to do work anymore

[ebon hornet]

So it turns out that the hub did not want to be removed from the bearing. Dad made a custom slide for the sliding hammer to get about a meter of travel distance, but the hub wouldn't budge more than 3mm. We decided to remove the knuckle and press the bearing out. We tried to avoid it because the knuckle has very little surface to press against, but we had no choice.

Well, it took maxing our 20 metric ton press to get the hub out. And the hub was scored badly. It had grooves in both directions. My guess is the aftermarket bearing had too small ID and it got pressed on during installation. Then we tried pressing the outer bearing out, but we accidentally left the retainer in place, and cracked the knuckle. I honestly don't mind it, because the hub was so grooved and the knuckle had just been under a truck, and I don't believe it didn't give. Now we have to wait for a used replacement to arrive from Lithuania before continuing. At least one of the CV axles is now in place.

[ebon hornet]

The hub was even worse, I sanded it down a bit before the knuckle broke

[violet geyser]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273986389721 if ya need a new-new one

[ebon hornet]

Already ordered a new used one

I don't mind the delay, I mind the urge to test the new diff. It's really stiff, dad needed all his strength to get the other side spinning when holding the sides with screwdrivers

Might actually have to take it apart and rearrange the discs

Finally it will be a proper AWD with all the wheels getting power simultaneously

[violet geyser]

what about the front tho?

did you replace the front with an LSD as well?

[ebon hornet]

The 6MT has a Suretrac in it

[violet geyser]

oh damn forgot you got a 6-speed. nice.

wait is the rear diff a R160 or R180?

[ebon hornet]

R160

I think it's from a type RA from somewhere around 95-96

Those are the only ones it came with, and maybe BC Legacys and Leones too

[violet geyser]

i think my rear diff might be LSD as well, but won't know till it's on the car and it's assembled enough to test

it's got some metal bit in the middle there

where my old one didn't

[ebon hornet]

The GT/UK2000 came with a VLSD, so if it's stock, it is LSD

Mine was, it couldn't take the abuse and decided to be open about it

I took a look at my diffs and I can confidently say that the one without the shaft is LSD and the one with shaft is open

[violet geyser]

so my old one is LSD and my new one is open?

doubt, when I had the old one on the car and spun a wheel, the other one would spin the opposite direction, the way open diffs do

[ebon hornet]

Yea. Worth mentioning is that the LSD ones are typically 3.545 and opens are 3.9 or higher. So there's a good chance it has the incorrect gearing

[ebon hornet]

Mine started doing that too, means it's worn out

I'm also 100% sure about what I said, as I have both open and VLSD diffs in my garage right now

[violet geyser]

the new LSD going on mine came off the same car as the gearbox

so the ratios should be right for each other

[ebon hornet]

Ah, good

[violet geyser]

as for the old one that's supposed to be a 3.9

[ebon hornet]

The VLSD always came in 3.545

The front is still 3.9, and the transfer case has 1.1:1 ratio instead of 1:1

[violet geyser]

now I want to test the diff damnit

[ebon hornet]

When we fit the 6MT there was a lot of spinning involved to make sure of the ratios

If you want to compare the trans ratios too, it helps to know that on a 5 speed the 4th is nearly 1:1

[violet geyser]

Turns out having the worlds supply of spare driveshaft ends has a use

The new one (with the plate) looks to be an LSD

[ebon hornet]

I have 6 and 2 spare inner CV joints, barely managed to cobble together 2 satisfactory ones

[violet geyser]

I know, same.

[ebon hornet]

If one of them eats shit I will just order rebuilt Legacy shafts from US

Costs like 200 for both, shipped and taxed

[violet geyser]

Share the link for them please

[ebon hornet]

Rockauto, 1990-1994 Legacy rear shaft. You don't need them since they have female inner joints, which are what I need for my LSD

[violet geyser]

Ah.

But yeah, I ended up barely cobbling together 2 hopefully good rears out of 7 shafts total

[ebon hornet]

But it's worth checking out for the Impreza shafts too

FYI N/A shafts and joints are smaller and with different bore count than turbos

Even the bearings are smaller diameter

[violet geyser]

between the turbo 2000 and the NAs, they're the same. I can attest to that having progressivelly swapped over
from N/A diff, N/A drums and N/A shafts,
to N/A diff, V1 WRX hubs with disks while still using the N/A shafts,
then to turbo 2000 diff, v1 wrx hubs, and would have still been able to use the N/A shafts had I not destroyed them trying to refurb them

it's only when you go up to R180 diff that you get thicker splined ends

[ebon hornet]

I wonder why mine were different

The NA shafts freely spun inside the inner CV joint race

The joint diameter was different too

[violet geyser]

are yous ure you don't have an R180 diff?

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, the shafts wouldn't fit if it was

[violet geyser]

because the driveshafts I have now are straight off a UK turbo and they're identical to the N/A ones in terms of splined ends on both the knuckle and the diff side. Diameter, number of teeth, everything

[ebon hornet]

Also I swapped the ring gear from my old diff and put the LSD unit itself in the old case so pretty sure it's R160 :D

Probably has to do with year, my NA shafts are 97, turbos are 98.

The spares I have I don't know but they're identical to my turbo shafts

[violet geyser]

don't think so, my hubs are off a very early 92/93 japanese import and they fit the 99-00 N/A shafts

[ebon hornet]

Then I have no clue

Wait

The spline counts are the same on the joints, but not on the shaft side

[violet geyser]

ah the shaft itself

[ebon hornet]

I could fit a whole N/A shaft in my old diff

[violet geyser]

yeah thats where subaru gets fucky

These splines you mean

[ebon hornet]

Hey, when building your shafts you are aware that they are different length, right?

Yeah

[violet geyser]

they're supposed to be the same afaik. none of the 5 I completely took apart were the same length

none of the 5 I took apart had the same size ball bearings in them

non of the 5 I took apart had the same size inner races in them

[ebon hornet]

The lefts are approx. 10mm shorter than rights

[violet geyser]

none of the 5 I took apart had the same inner splines in them

[ebon hornet]

Every single one was different?

The turbo shafts have 27 splines on both ends, I counted that

[violet geyser]

Yep. the last 2 that I didn't fully take apart and just changed the grease and boots on, I don't know if they were completely different or not, and I didn't want to find out

[ebon hornet]

Turbo inner joints have a bearing diameter of 16.65 and outers have 15.85

Apparently I didn't measure the NA inner joint but the outer has 15mm

[violet geyser]

all I know, is that of the 5 I completely took apart, internally, not a single one of them was the same as the other. shaft length, number of splines, location of the groove where the boot sits, BB size, race size, between 5 rear driveshafts, 2 coming off a n/a impreza and 3 coming off turbo imprezas, not a single one was interchangeable with the other. The splined end joints that actually went into the wheel hub and diff worked with both the turbo and n/a diff and hubs, but not the internal bits of the driveshafts with other driveshafts

and then the final 2 I just changed the grease and boots and rattlecanned them and called it a day because I ain't fucking with that shit no more

[ebon hornet]

I'm not even gonna bother with paint

[violet geyser]

posted in the wrong topic lol sorry

was meant to post it in mine

[ebon hornet]

Your mine same thing

Do you happen to have the pitch mount on hand?

[violet geyser]

for the gearbox?

[ebon hornet]

Yeah

[violet geyser]

yeah it's in the car but it's just sitting there, gimme a min to go to the garage

[ebon hornet]

How thick is it in the middle and how wide are the bushing inserts?

I went to the garage to measure mine but forgot I had the IC on

[violet geyser]

Big bush insert is 40.5mm wide

[ebon hornet]

No way

In the axis the bolt goes through

[violet geyser]

Small one is 24mm

[ebon hornet]

Thanks

I'm thinking going solid, the PU bushed ones cost a fortunr

How wide is the shaft?

[violet geyser]

And rod thickness in the middle is 14.3-ish mm x 18mm

[ebon hornet]

So 10mm aluminium would probably do

[ebon hornet]

Yeah 10mm aluminium and inserts for the bolts will be fine

[ebon hornet]

The car has been on the lift for the past week as we broke the rear knuckle, and been waiting for a replacement. The company sent the part, it travelled through baltics within a few days, and got scanned in Finland at Monday night.
Typically a package is sorted within 24 hours, and after arriving in Finland it's delivered in 48.
After 48 hours and no update, I dug around and found out that nowadays PostNord distributes DPD packages. I checked their tracking. They didn't even have it scanned in Finland. I called them, the rep said that they only see what I see, and that "It's their main depot, unloading takes time." Okay, typically depots with high volume also have a lot of workers. They told me they would inquire the depot. I heard nothing back. After 4 days, they apparently finally checked the upper shelf in the cleaning closet and managed to throw my package back in the conveyor, since it finally has been scanned again. In the same city. At this rate I will drive this thing during first snow.

Next time I will walk to Lithuania and back to avoid having my package given to PostMorons. Will probably be faster too.

[ebon hornet]

The new registration papers arrived in the mail and while it's been road legal with the cage for a few weeks, it's nice to see in writing that it has a cage and harnesses, but also as far as the government is concerned, it now has 220.5 kW of power. Makes future insurance fights easier in case someone decides to wreck our car.

Oh and it's a two seater now and a lot heavier than 1220kg too, so pretty much a van at this point.

[ebon hornet]

It moves! Finally. Did a test drive and nothing seems at least catastrophically wrong. Although it smells. Again.

[forest stag]

are they not supposed to smell

[ebon hornet]

Not like anything except burnings gas. Although I forgot that it has the catted DP on which is wrapped, so that's most likely the smell

[forest stag]

mine smells like gas, and burning chemicals from where i leaked oil everywhere and used metal cleaning products on my engine

and some other things

smells like shitbox

also what engine is in it?

[ebon hornet]

@forest stag #1047079329974194176 message

[forest stag]

okay

[ebon hornet]

Apparently we didn't screw anything up majorly at least as the diff is not in place and if it makes noise, it can't be heard over the whining transmission. It's a lot pushier now so that means it works too.

[ebon hornet]

Aand it's broken. Not sure what, and not certain why. All we know is air and oil temps were rising until oil pressure dropped and a rod started knocking.

[violet geyser]

oh shit man, RIP

[ebon hornet]

Although unlikely, at this point it really seems that it was killed by a turbo blanket. It has seen severe abuse with no temp issues, but yesterday we installed a turbo blanket, and went to the track. Temps shot up, and I really can't imagine why air temps would heat up if the turbo wasn't hot.
And the only reason I can think of is that the turbo couldn't shed the heat because of the turbo blanket, so it conducted to the turbo core heating the oil, and compressor housing heating the intake air.
It really seems unlikely that a blanket could do it, but at this point I can't see another reason. Will keep my eyes open during teardown, obviously

[forest stag]

turbo may have overheated and shot the lines

it may have just been a coincidence that the turbo took a shit

if pressure dropped it maybe have melted a hose or pressure got to high, which means wastegate or something may have messed up

[ebon hornet]

The turbo has been rebuilt couple of thousand km ago

When thinking about what went wrong it has to be concidered what kind of abuse it took last summer with 0 issues

[forest stag]

maybe the blanket messed up the wastegate lever thing or something

[ebon hornet]

It wasn't overboosting

[forest stag]

uh

i dunno

hwen did you last change the oil?

[ebon hornet]

Yeah me neither, but I can't get around the fact that this happened right after the blanket installation. And I can't think why would the IATs rise if the turbo wasn't too hot. And I can't imagine why it would heat up if it wasn't for the blanker

[forest stag]

well, i have no idea what a blanket could do

[ebon hornet]

2000 km ago

[forest stag]

hmm okay

yeah thats no problem then

[ebon hornet]

I'm thinking preventing heat from dissipating

[forest stag]

yeah but that may affect oil temp but i dont know how air temp would be affected

[ebon hornet]

By conducting the heat to the cooler place nearby, in this case turbo core and compressor housing

Heating the turbo core could also explain the rising oil temperature

[forest stag]

do you know what caused the opil pressure to drop? did a line break near the turbo or anything?

[ebon hornet]

Probably the oil thinned out due to the temperature

[forest stag]

okay

yeah no idea, i cant help much because i havent touched a turbo subaru in a few months

stupid as n/a shit is getting on my nerves

[ebon hornet]

At this point it doesn't really matter, the engine is coming out, the broken parts are replaced and the oil system is going to get upgraded just in case

And the blanket is going out the window, if it isn't at fault, at least for the bad luck it caused

[ebon hornet]

The blanket is looking crispy

Also fished these out through the drain hole

[ebon hornet]

Whoops, I ordered a used EJ255 shortblock for the rebuild. Just have to hope that it's good like advertised and doesn't require machining

[ebon hornet]

A sight rapidly becoming too common

At least it appears the turbo didn't suffer any damages, will have to flush the core tho as there are chips in the oil dripping from the inlet hardline

[forest stag]

ej255?

youre fucked lol

worst engine subaru ever made, extremely unreliable

[ebon hornet]

Nah. It can handle 500 bhp reliably, and most we'll ever do is 400, right now we'll stay at 350. It's the same shortblock as 257, although not entirely sure about the pistons. But we're not pushing it, so we're good.

[ebon hornet]

Also we'll change the rod bearings and piston rings.

[violet geyser]

Cylinder walls are too thin on the 255, way less reliable than the 205

[ebon hornet]

Yeah it's worse compared, but it's not bad at these power levels. As the displacement increases the boost decreases, so there will be less stress on the cylinder walls. Also this is an easy way to get more low end torque which is what we want.

[forest stag]

personally, i find the ej22s a good mix of low-end torque but still enough cylinder wall for some insane boost numbers

[ebon hornet]

Where are you getting an EJ22 that can handle boost?

[forest stag]

i havent got anything yet

but i plan to get atlest 40 pounds on an ej22g

[ebon hornet]

Where are you going to get an EJ22G?

[forest stag]

I have one

well closed deck 22 block

[ebon hornet]

Didn't even know those existed outside 22B's

2.2 would be a nice middle ground

[violet geyser]

Ej22 not as common in europe, afaik the only cars we got with that were the first gen legacys

[forest stag]

yeah those are the ej22t blocks, and they had ej22gs on some of the v5 and v6 stis i believe

i dunno its one of those blocks, i dont know the difference personaly

[ebon hornet]

Only engines ever to receive turbocharged EJ22's were 1991-1994 Legacys and 22B STI. From that point onwards all turbo engines were EJ20's. In 2004 did turbo EJ25's enter production. The EJ22 turbos were never used by Subaru WRX's. Only 22B.

Also the results are in. The #3 rod bearing has shat itself

[forest stag]

yeah you were right, forums and beamng lied to me lol, if i do have an ej22g block its not that different from ej22ts but still a good mix between both reliability, torque, and power

[ebon hornet]

If you have a EJ22G block I'm impressed. Never seen a 2.2 Legacy turbo anywhere

[violet geyser]

USDM GC imprezas came with either the EJ18, EJ22, or EJ25, thats where the bulk of non turbo EJ22 blocks comes from. Non turbo engines, but iirc they are CBD and stupidly strong once you stick forged pistons and rods and EJ255/EJ257 heads on them

[ebon hornet]

Not sure about the NA ones but the turbos are CBD

[ebon hornet]

Quiet on the northern front, been waiting for parts to start assembling and modding heads. Also decided to look into changing the heads, intake and ECU in the future, but for now we're gonna go with old stuff just to get it on the road. I did agree on buying a 99 Forester intake and wiring harnesses, and also found D25 heads and already placed a deposit on them. If I can figure the Speeduino IO I will probably use it as the new ECU, mod it into the Forester ECU box and run it as PnP.

[ebon hornet]

Yet again, change of plans. Looks like the ECU harness is more trouble than it's worth, so we're probably just gonna get the intake and intake harness and make it fit the original harness. Cheaper and probably less work. I remembered that the ECU harness just goes directly through the firewall, but it doesn't. It splits off as a dash harness, there are 82 separate wires going to the dash. I'm not going to merge those if I can help it.

[ebon hornet]

AVCS gears came, sadly they won't be going in this summer's build, but for next summer I'll have the D25 heads going

2.5 liters with AVCS and VF28, this thing is gonna have some mad low end torque

[ebon hornet]

Finally some actual progress. The shortblock is together, only missing the oil plates from the clutch housing. Then we can install the flywheel and mount the engine on a stand and start assembling it. Do have to match the heads first, but at least we have actually started the assembly.

[ebon hornet]

Got the clutch housing plates back in, and after that we were supposed to install the flywheel. As it turns out, it's cracked in multiple spots. We mounted the engine without the flywheel and installed the freshly painted oil pan and block heater. Tomorrow I'll have to clean the oil pump and start putting timing components in. Over the weekend we'll soda blast the coolant crossover pipe and some odd bits and start matching the combustion chambers.

[ebon hornet]

Soda blasted and painted the water lines and put pumps and most of the timing components on. Maybe this thing will be ready sometime in the next decade.

[ebon hornet]

First chamber done, approximately 50cc's

[ebon hornet]

Bit of polishing and these are good enough for the summer. This is actually taking surprisingly little time, but it's murder to the hands

[ebon hornet]

Heads are smoothed and off to the machine shop to be leveled and cleaned. This project can finally continue forward

Also found this when started cleaning the intake

[violet geyser]

blow-by on the turbo probably, could use an oil catch can

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, I'm just wondering what started the blow-by

[violet geyser]

do you have a wuhan war whistle like I do?

[ebon hornet]

BOV?

[violet geyser]

(cheap chinese turbo)

[ebon hornet]

Ah, no. Should be a genuine core with Taiwan built housings built at a reputable shop

[violet geyser]

if it's "rebuilt", it's probably got a 50 euro chinese core

[ebon hornet]

IIRC they did ask if it was okay if they used genuine core with aftermarket housings and I said if there's no quality difference it's okay

[ebon hornet]

Also apparently my bushing kit has finally been shipped, even tho the order was supposed to take a few days and I paid the bill a month ago

@violet geyser How was the quality on the bushings?

[violet geyser]

they went in nicely

not had the car on it's wheels yet so can't say anything about the ride

[ebon hornet]

I fear a bit as I opted for the 95Sha ones but at least it will go wherever I point it to

[violet geyser]

oh the hard ones are practically solid lol

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, at least the chassis won't split anywhere since the cage probably stiffens it up enough

[ebon hornet]

First head is on, it looks like it might run this year, or actually at the end of next week

[ebon hornet]

These heads looking mad even tho I'm still angry for nicking one of them

[ebon hornet]

Progress, finally. Needs timing components (couldn't do it today because I'm missing the foam seals for the plastics), exhaust and auxiliaries. Exhaust has to be wrapped first, so we'll get this a long way tomorrow.

Oh, and PCV hoses. By the looks of it we are opting for atmosphere venting, mostly because routing back is a hassle with a catch can

[violet geyser]

that the 2.5 innit?

[ebon hornet]

That the 2.5

[violet geyser]

the ringlands gonna sing you the song of their people after a few good thrashings

also, doesn't going up from 2.0 to 2.5 put you in a different class during competitions?

[ebon hornet]

We are only going to compete in the "hobby rally" series, in which all 4wds are in the same class. And since that's a Subaru shortblock it's fair game

[ebon hornet]

Yeah it's not THAT bad, Forester STI block with 217kkm on it, we're not gonna go over 1.3 bar if that and we're also switching to ethanol. Also it only needs to last this summer, it's gonna get rebuilt with forged internals and a lot of other good stuff including new heads and P20 housing in the autumn

[ebon hornet]

Not bad, but I ran out of wrap.

[forest stag]

i need to do that, but i think my oil cooler will get in the way and melt that hose again

[ebon hornet]

That's why I wrapped it. That's the basalt type wrap, should be a bit better than good old fiberglass.

[ebon hornet]

Engine is finally in, but with the new stainless headers we have a clearance issue with the radiator

[violet geyser]

Yep, stainless are a tight fit, I didn't heat wrap the headers, but did heatwrap the wiring loom that runs under the rad by them. Need to get the tool to be able to use metal zip ties because I doubt those plastic ones will last long

[ebon hornet]

Mine are a lot bulkier there, got 'em for free from a dad's friend. They look exactly like the 200€ ebay headers. But since removing them would require engine and turbo removal, we are going to work around it. Also the stainless headers are a lot lighter so there are some advantages. And I did sink 70€ for the wrapping in total, which I won't let be in vain.

[forest stag]

i must be doing something wrong becauase im spending less than half thr prices you guys are like 98 dollar ebay turbo headers

[ebon hornet]

Yea so we figured out why it has clearance issues. It's because it's meant for a GD. Well, little bit of finessing with the radiator and we're set

[ebon hornet]

Couldn't get it done this week. Got the engine connected apart from air box, exhaust and TMIC. Dad made a new rad mount and heat shield to clear the headers.
Still needs catch can mounted and PCV routing, oil cooler mounts which the fuel filter will also mount to, and then it should run.
Will have to shorten the oil cooler lines, do a bit of ducting for the oil cooler, make mounts for the battery and washer reservoir and make the IC sprayer system. Then a brief break-in and then it's off to the dyno and ready for summer.

Also I just did a full 14 hour day of nonstop working on this car, apart from a lunch break

[ebon hornet]

This header was a mistake. The turbo flange is in the wrong place causing the turbo to foul on the bell housing and also the downpipe is pointing the wrong direction. This shit never ends, there's always a little something

I'm honestly at my wit's end with this. It' so close, but so far. So much little stuff, and I'd like for this to be done before May. And I have a school to attend to, and the last exams are coming

[forest stag]

good luck mate

i wanted my car to be done 2 weeks ago.

[ebon hornet]

Thanks, I'll need it. I wanted this to be done a month ago. Now we are apparently going to take out the headers and extend them a bit to fit the turbo properly

[forest stag]

nothing ever works in your fovor when you diy it

[ebon hornet]

It's finally ready for a first start. Good thing dad recently bought a TIG because the headers needed some adjusting. There are still some things like battery mount, washer and IC sprayer, right fender and headlights but if all goes well it drives tomorrow.

[forest stag]

which hose kit did you get? just the ebay special?

[violet geyser]

nothing wrong with ebay special

[ebon hornet]

The coolant hoses are from Poland, most likely a rebranded ebay kit and the PCV hoses are bulk from the same company

[forest stag]

yeha i just wanted to know which one

know if it fit or not

[ebon hornet]

Every single one of them needed some cutting, but they did fit

[violet geyser]

this the kit I used https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173828507125

[forest stag]

same kit i was looking at except i was looking at subabloo

subablue

[ebon hornet]

https://turboworks.pl/product-eng-6803-Radiator-Silicone-Hose-Subaru-Impreza-97-01-GC8-EJ20-STi-WRX-GT-TurboWorks.html

I think this is the one I have

[violet geyser]

theres some in there that were useless, tho

[ebon hornet]

Those are for the IACV as you can see from my pic

But I imagine you found use for that straight slim piece, whereas I didn't

[violet geyser]

i think that was useless too

yeah my IACV is different, guess it's a v4 vs v6 thing

[ebon hornet]

It is

[violet geyser]

also I went for dump valve instead of recirc so I guess whatever was meant for that also ended up not being used

[ebon hornet]

Wait what's that to the right of the slim one

Turbo feed

[violet geyser]

turbo coolant something

[ebon hornet]

Yeah I just realized I used that too

[forest stag]

im just going to cut up the header tank hoses for 90 bends i can use

[ebon hornet]

Oh yeah NA was different

[forest stag]

mine has a newer model oil cooler installed so a kit wouldnt give me those hoses

i wanted to put in a header tank but then i figured out it only helps on turbo and would be useless

[ebon hornet]

A what? My -98 and -04 blocks had the same cooler

[forest stag]

oh

i didnt know they had oil cooler for them in the first place

well here it is atlesst, just the shitty weird looking thing

by the way whats your oil cooler kit? im going to get my windsheild washer thing moved anyway and i csn go ahead and do a battery relocation, but you know the kit you got and where you hooked it up?

[ebon hornet]

From the shop I linked, but I ordered way too long hoses. Went with 150cm just in case when 75cm would've sufficed

[forest stag]

okay

[ebon hornet]

Though what you need depends on where you mount it and how you route the hoses

[ebon hornet]

Finally, first start. The good thing is that after a while of cranking I managed to get the oil pressure to rise. The bad thing is that the turbo oil inlet leaks like a sieve

[violet geyser]

Ooofta been there. Is the leak turbo side or engine side?

[ebon hornet]

Turbo side, unfortunately the only local guy I could get a braided line from just closed, so I'll have to wait for tomorrow. In the meantime I can actually take the hose out and measure the banjos

[ebon hornet]

Yeah so as I was disassembling it I noticed it was very loose. Tightened it up and no more oil leak. Ran for the first time and no major issues

[forest stag]

you can get your engine lubed by just removing coil wires, work better than doing it manually.

well maybe you did do that it wasnt very descriptive

i am also resdy for my first start in a bit

[ebon hornet]

I wired a switch to the fuel pump relay signal so I can prevent the ECU from grounding the relay, and turned the engine over until I got the pressure to 5 bars

[forest stag]

good enough

[ebon hornet]

So it seems to run, even though the thermostat didn't want to open initially it ended up opening eventually. Needed a bit of injector scaling, also wired the O2 sensor to be able to datalog it. After the injector scaling the AFR's were good and it ran well. The new flywheel makes a big difference, but it is still very much drivable

[violet geyser]

what flywheel did you go for?

the one I used basically made the revs instantaneous, it's fantastic

[ebon hornet]

I think it's the same, the Competition Clutch one

[violet geyser]

mmmyess

I'm so glad I went for it, I blip the throttles and it's imediately at 5000rpm

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, but at least with the 2.5 it is still rather easy to creep with

[violet geyser]

oh same with the 2.0

[ebon hornet]

The car does seem to vibrate more tho

[ebon hornet]

Took 1.5 months from payment to delivery to post office but they're finally here. And boy they are hard.

[ebon hornet]

On the road and hasn't disintegrated yet

[forest stag]

gonna get mine back on the road later today aswell

[ebon hornet]

Nice. Feels really good to finally have it on the road

[forest stag]

yeah lets just hope mine doesn't disintegrate

[violet geyser]

i warned you they're basically solid plastic at that hardness lol

[ebon hornet]

They do have a bit of give, you can deform them by hand but they are quite solid

[ebon hornet]

So, we finally got the car up and running and to a dyno. The turbo is getting too small, at least on the compressor side. The darker lines are for the new, the lighter lines are for the old engine. Target boost was 1 bar.

[ebon hornet]

Battery is trunk mounted and the cables are sleeved. Came out pretty nice.

[ebon hornet]

Here we are again. It appears the fueling couldn't handle constant WOT, leaned out the last cylinder and now there's a piece missing from the third piston. Looks like the autumn build is happening now.

[violet geyser]

mans blown up 2 engines before I even managed to get the idle working as it should on mine. smh

[violet geyser]

You were still running the n/a tank and fuel pump weren't you?

[ebon hornet]

Fuel pump is an AEM340, killer was likely the stock side feed injectors. Set up in series and fuel flowing through the injectors the last cylinder in the set likely ran lean.

[violet geyser]

https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/parts-info?id=14213&cat=3678&sub=0&sec=0&var=0&dc=&gen=0&searchKey=&searchPart=

[ebon hornet]

We'll do our own as an experiment

[ebon hornet]

The block doesn't appear to be salvageable. We'll see what we are going to do

[violet geyser]

Big ooof. Looks like the 2.5 did the thing 2.5's like to do. Ringland failure. Rip.

[ebon hornet]

TBH 5 WOT pulls on the 2.0 would've killed it too

The 1st cylinder which is second to last in fueling also had been running lean. Valves on the intake side were discolored

[violet geyser]

Stop making me worry about mine now. You got me loading my shopping cart up with aftermarket fuel rails and shit damnit

[ebon hornet]

So the results are in. We are going to go with a 207 long block and build a completely new intake with a new ECU. The built 255 will come slowly in time.

[violet geyser]

207 best EJ

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, although I'd prefer closed decked and built 255. Now I'll have to figure out the fuel rails, injectors, intake wiring, throttle body and ECU setup to get the car back on the road.

[violet geyser]

Link g4+? Or go ghetto and do a speeduino

[ebon hornet]

Emu Black by the looks of it

[violet geyser]

I'm looking at getting a link g4 in mine if I can't get the factory ecu to play nice

[ebon hornet]

I did consider that to not have to cut the loom but at this point all originality is out the window so that isn't a concern anymore

[violet geyser]

Fair enough

Only reason I'm leaning towards the link g4 is theres a lot of tuners that know to work with it here. Otherwise i'd go speeduino/speedyEFI because cheap

[ebon hornet]

I mean if a tuner can work with MS they can work with Speeduino. My problem with those is that both longblocks I'm building have S-AVCS

[violet geyser]

Just because they can doesnt mean they will. Can't even find anyone willing to work with ecutek on the stock ECU...

[ebon hornet]

Ah. Shame. My tuner isn't familiar with Ecumaster so he suggests Maxxecu but checking the features I'll probably have to insist. He'll do it, but he'd prefer Maxxecu

[ebon hornet]

Now that I finally took the time to make sense of the features, it seems I'll go with Maxxecu Race. Much more programmable and no need for external modules. The box itself will have pretty much everything. It's slightly more expensive but at least it has it all.

[ebon hornet]

Oh yeah, also time for a new turbo

[ebon hornet]

After a small hiatus things are looking up again. I was planning on a Mambatek turbo, but called a "local" turbo company who specialises in custom turbos. They told me they could build me a turbo fit for my purpose. Best part is, it's about the same price as the bolt-on GTX2863 from Mamba.

For the injectors we decided on Radium top feed rails and Bosch 1000cc injectors. Not sure if they will be series or parallel, but at least they'll be top feed.

ECU will be Maxxecu, it has a lot of functionality and my tuner is very familiar with it. It's getting a DBW so we can floor it and not even hit the rev limiter. Also we get a tablet with boost, fan and even cruise switches, and digital gauges for all we could ever want.

We'll have to figure out the intake system, because the stock 57mm is too small for 400hp according to the turbo maker.

Once this is done it'll be a one mad machine.

[violet geyser]

If you're going standalone might aswell go rotated turbo so you don't have to run the inlet pipe under the intake and can go up in size

[ebon hornet]

I'd rather not go rotated because of the fabricating required, we'll see if we can cram something under the intake. Should be easier since we're building it entirely anyways

[violet geyser]

Even the aftermarket silicone ones are still only 57mm, and they're a tight squeeze to get in, you are very much limited by the intake manifold in going any bigger

[ebon hornet]

Yeah I'm thinking about doing it with a bigger straight silicone tube and maybe fabbing an elbow to squeeze past the intake runner and power steering pump. If we had eletric power steering there wouldn't be a problem

[ebon hornet]

Yeah so I initially set for a Mamba turbo, but dad suggested I'd call a Finnish turbo maker and he said he could make me a near bolt-on turbo from a genuine Garrett CHRA and it'd be only slightly expensive as the Mamba turbo. We struck a deal on the custom Garrett. Now we'll have to figure out the intake as it's going to be around 2.5", and the water and oil intake will need fabricating, as the water jackets are M14 and the oil intake is AN4 instead of M10.

[ebon hornet]

New ECU arrived. And it's an absolute unit

[violet geyser]

envy

I'll probably be getting mine in late july/august

[ebon hornet]

A step closer yet again. Shame I don't have the old one to compare sizes with

[ebon hornet]

More stuff came in the mail

[ebon hornet]

For once I get lucky. The block I just bought had a broken AVCS solenoid. I bought 255 heads from a guy a while back and he threw in one wrong solenoid because he didn't have the right ones. I called him and asked if he had any lying around. He didn't. I didn't want to spend another 150€ on a 2k block.
I get to our summer home where the heads are and lo and behold, the wrong solenoid he threw in was exactly the correct one for the 207 heads.

[ebon hornet]

Before and after soda blasting and wire brushing the intake. Still ugly, but at least a mild improvement. Will have to shave and polish or paint it later once I know what mounts I need

[ebon hornet]

New engine finally on the rotisserie, time to start the wiring harness

[violet geyser]

hot.

[ebon hornet]

1 extra o-ring and a bit of coercion and you can retrofit a Bosch 4 bar 0261230439 MAP directly onto a Subaru TB

[ebon hornet]

'bout to cut 300€ worth of solenoids to make them fit

[ebon hornet]

Nevermind, it wasn't even close

[forest stag]

what are thise solenoids

[ebon hornet]

For AVCS, they adjust the intake cam timing

[forest stag]

i thought they were on the back of the thing

head

thing = head

[ebon hornet]

I guess I committed to painting it

[ebon hornet]

Cut the PCV hoses to length and measured the required wire lengths. Gonna only have basically 5 junctions on the harness where the connectors will tee from, plus 2 separate bundles from two of those junctions. I think I can actually do this sensibly

[ebon hornet]

Adapter flange and TB modification done, next we'll have to machine some M8 studs down to make the longer thread M6. And I'll have to cut the gaskets

[ebon hornet]

The basic layout is done, next I'll have to test the fit, sleeve the wires and then crimp the connectors on

[ebon hornet]

Cut to length, wires paired and the whole thing twisted for strength. Off to sleeving

[ebon hornet]

Only a few spots to sand, then wipedown with thinner and masking. Then another wipedown and it's ready to paint

Also, antenna delete

[violet geyser]

Booo, antenna delete booo

How will you enjoy the sounds of...

Ummm

Yle Radio Suomi now!?

[ebon hornet]

No matter how I flick the switches I haven't managed to hear any station

[ebon hornet]

Antenna delete still not good enough but other than that the chassis just needs a wipedown and masking. Bumpers and spoiler need a few more scrubs and then they're ready too

[ebon hornet]

It's far from perfect, but at least it isn't even trying to be

[ebon hornet]

Precision masking is almost done, only the driver door's bottom trim left. Then we need to mask the larger areas, cover the floor and do the intakes. Then it's paint time

[ebon hornet]

It's painted. Some runs here and there, bumpers and spoiler still unpainted. But this time the coat is even enough that it actually reflects on its own unlike before, and also it's polishable without burning through instantly

[violet geyser]

Oh i really like those wheels

What are they

[ebon hornet]

Audi A3 pepperpots, 15x6. Very good budget rally wheels. Lightweight, cheap and with a bit of caliper grinding the 4 pots fit over them.

We actually have 3 sets of them. 1 set for gravel, 1 for ice (when we find tires for it) and 2 spares for both sets

[violet geyser]

Ah. I dont want to grind my calipers tho. Booo

[ebon hornet]

It's really not much

[violet geyser]

Also didnt realise A3 was on 5x100

[ebon hornet]

Old ones are, 1999 and before I think. The CB is 1mm bigger too, so it doesn't center perfectly without rings

[ebon hornet]

Stripping the center dash from useless stuff. Auxiliary gauges, navi and charger, AFR gauge and controller and radiator fan force feed relays and harness and also the cigarette lighter and ash tray, all useless now thanks to the new ECU. All will be replaced by a tablet and an extra USB charger

And this, a 4-in-1 switchboard, also includes a 12v to 5v relay for the AC switch to function

[ebon hornet]

We've gone past the point of no return

[ebon hornet]

DBW pedal is permanently in and wired on this end

[ebon hornet]

Chassis side engine harness done. Should be able to do the rest during the weekend. Only thing left to do will be the engine harness, as I can't cut it to length before it's in

Basically only things left to do in the engine bay are ethanol sensor which is in place but only missing the other end connector, and the fuel pressure sensor connector. And then tidying up the other side wiring.

For the interior, the ECU harness, switch decoder box for the center console and the switches themselves. That's actually it.

[ebon hornet]

ECU harness is done, assuming I didn't screw anything up

[ebon hornet]

And the engine is in. I'll have to put this on hold for a little while as I have work to complete before anything else.

And because any good thing is worth doing twice and as it's already customary, we got the engine lined up and almost in place when we remembered the TOB was still on the shelf

[ebon hornet]

First powerup and most of the stuff seems to be working. However the throttle pedal is acting up, as the sub position isn't working properly, no matter how I wire it. Next I'll crimp on Abikos and keep changing them until it starts working.

[ebon hornet]

It works now, apparently the Subaru pots only work one way. Got the PID calibrated too. New issue is that the IC doesn't fit with the new TB, but that might be fixable with a bit of trim mangling. Then it just needs a flange for the air box outlet and a new mount for the IC, and it's practically done

[ebon hornet]

Slight trim and the IC fits. New mount for the IC is well underway, only needs a couple of welds. Next I'll try to fit the exhaust on

[ebon hornet]

First attempt at cranking and after some fiddling and consultation, we have RPM signal and the car should run. Do need to fab up a few things and pick up some E85, I've been sick the whole week so this hasn't progressed at all. With an intake adapter and IC mount welds this should be ready for the street.

[ebon hornet]

MAF delete test fit

[violet geyser]

oh yes can't wait to ditch the MAF myself too

is it just a regular silicone elbow you used there?

what is that like 30 degree bend?

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, 45

The pipe angle on the flange is like 70 deg

The elbow is an XL though, so the leg length is double

[violet geyser]

whats the ID of the hose? I could go outside and measure... but I'm lazy

[ebon hornet]

3"

[violet geyser]

whats going on there

[ebon hornet]

That filter? Catch can venting to atmosphere

[ebon hornet]

Well, it runs. On wasted spark and way too high rpm, but it runs. And it does it pretty well

[ebon hornet]

An engine bay pic now that it's be done, apart from hooking up washer and IC sprayer

[ebon hornet]

Ready for a first drive

[violet geyser]

dooo eeet dooo eeet dooo eeet!

[ebon hornet]

Break in in progress

Ignore the fashionable tablet mount, gonna get around CNC milling the real one next week

[ebon hornet]

Got the AVCS working and boy does this pull even with a shit tune

[violet geyser]

when the vtec kicks in yo

[ebon hornet]

Yeah

I managed to get it working, dad did a pull and just smiled

"Can you feel the difference"

"Oh yeah"

[ebon hornet]

Aux monitor mount done, only needs a 90 degree cable and permanent 12V source

[ebon hornet]

Did a thing and fixed the cable color issue. Should probably make the tablet power permanent behind the console at some point

[ebon hornet]

First two bushings in. And of course the ball joint is toast

[ebon hornet]

It's always the chassis things that make the garage look like this. But now the front has PUR bushings.

[ebon hornet]

So the results are in, actually they came in a couple of days ago, I was just lazy to post them here. Didn't quite break 400, as the spring was too weak and even at 100% duty the wastegate wouldn't stay closed.

Going to go with this for the winter as it is still a very decent and drivable curve, but for the spring we'll put in a stiffer actuator and new valve springs, so we can rev it to 8k comfortably, as it seems that it'll make usable power there still. Even with a violent drop-off it'll probably still make at least 300 at the redline.

[violet geyser]

nice

https://tenor.com/view/cat-moar-more-i-want-more-mooaar-gif-23786940

[ebon hornet]

Would've been really nice to break that number, but as the peak starts to climb I'm not really looking to rise the goal beyond 400

I want low end

[ebon hornet]

Can finally see something when the sun sets, which is like 2 hours after it rises

[ebon hornet]

Skidplate status: Tested. The rubber strips we have on the ramps slipped and the car slid sideways off the ramps and the car fell onto the other ramp. Rear wheels fell on the ground so I reversed off the ramp, and when I checked the damage, nothing on the skidplate and oil pan was untouched. Glad we got that done a while back.

[ebon hornet]

+5 racecar exp

[violet geyser]

needs more lights

[ebon hornet]

Tried stage rally for the first time. It was fun and nothing broke (except I think the suspension is gone)

[ebon hornet]

For the next round we can actually talk without screaming

[ebon hornet]

Had to finally give in and switch to an FMIC. Not necessarily for more power, but 70C IATs at 0C ambient is just unacceptable, especially when not even using full boost

[ebon hornet]

Interesting, the piping, filter and all (assuming we use all of it) will be around 11kg. The current intercooler probably weighs more than that, and we'll remove the stock airbox as well. Though I didn't factor in the weight of the new airbox

Plus the marginal losses from bumper and bumper support cuts

[ebon hornet]

Bumper? Ruined.

[slow pawn]

https://tenor.com/view/front-fell-off-not-normal-gif-27006005

[violet geyser]

Rip bumper

[ebon hornet]

At least we have another

It looks like we can make the piping kit work with minimal welding

[ebon hornet]

Column physically in place and connected to the wheels. Now we need to modify the bracket a bit to move it further up, thread the wheel adapter and wire it up.

Can't believe the motor actually fit

[violet geyser]

what/ no more leaky PAS pumps? booooo

[ebon hornet]

The engine oil output will cut in half after this

What I particularly like about this though is that the Subaru ignition and steering lock works with the Opel column. We are back at one key, let's go

[violet geyser]

what rally tyres you use for dirt and stuff? These are the only knobblies I can find the right-ish size and thinking of getting a set to put on my steelies

[ebon hornet]

We buy used, I think current ones are 175/70R15 Kumho R800's

Not keen on paying 250€/tire

[violet geyser]

ah, thought you'd be running 16" wheels

[ebon hornet]

Spikes were on 16's initially, but now both our gravel and spike tires are on the 15's Audi pepperpots

[violet geyser]

what brake calipers do you have?

4-pots/ 2-pots or sliders all around?

don't know if my 4-pots even fit a 15" wheel

[ebon hornet]

4 pots with a slight angle grinder finess. We do have cheap set of 15" wheels that fit over the stock 4 pots but they are heavy as shit

Rears are stock but they will be getting Volvo 4 pots to allow for easy hydro install

Now that we are getting a DCCD trans we can install a hydro without fear of cooking the center

[violet geyser]

Aaaaaah i vaguelly remember you mentioning grindage before... I dont really want to do that on mine so ill stick with 16s then

[violet geyser]

Oh? You getting another 6-speed

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, upgrading to DCCD and better front diff. 5 and 6 gears suffer a bit though

We do lose the VSS which is a minor inconvenience to solve

[violet geyser]

I keep looking at 6-speeds but ultimately I'm just gonna wait till my 5-speed explodes before finally buying one... Its not like I have the money for it right now anyway lol

[ebon hornet]

I can sell you mine, 2600€ plus shipping

[violet geyser]

Yeah I was thinking that but just the shipping will make it more expensive than a full kit here

A set with box, diff, propshaft, cradle frame and sometimes driveshafts and hubs tend to go for about £2500-£3000 here

[ebon hornet]

That's quite reasonable actually

No point buying mine

[violet geyser]

They usually need a refurb tho, so add another £1000-£1500 on top of that

[ebon hornet]

You won't need the cradle though, it doesn't fit

[violet geyser]

Ideally i'd want a non dccd forester box for the longer gears

[ebon hornet]

No front diff though

[violet geyser]

Thats fine, i can live with an open front

[ebon hornet]

Is the Forester 6th 0.707 or 0.756?

[violet geyser]

Oh god I cant remember

[ebon hornet]

The euro and uk ones at least are 0.756 so not too short

Mine will be 0.842, sadge

[violet geyser]

i want long gears because most of my driving is long distance motorway, want that extra long legs, maybe to 150mph on the autobahn instead of 140mph

will definitely need a better rear wing next time I attempt terminal velocity, was getting a bit squirrely above 120mph

[ebon hornet]

Same, if you can choose get the long ratio one, Legacy also had it

I only need 5 and 6 for driving around, for stage 1-4 is plenty

[livid hull]

OMG, I got stage 69 tune making 420hp and fuck off, stages are bullshit...

Stages are nothing more than a marketing terminology that prove to aftermarket parts sellers you know nothing about tuning.

[ebon hornet]

Eat shit bot

Goes 170 in 4th at the limiter

[violet geyser]

oh god, I'm screenshotting that to reuse later

[ebon hornet]

Can CAN solve problems?

[violet geyser]

CAN can, but will CAN?

[ebon hornet]

New intake too, it'll be some work to make it fit but it opens up so much space it's definitely worth it

[violet geyser]

that the 253 intake?

[ebon hornet]

Think this one is from a 204 but it's the same thing

[violet geyser]

nice, I need to get my hands on one too and slowly start building it up for the dbw and top feed fuel rail conversion

[ebon hornet]

That's actually the only orientation the DBW will fit. You'll need a FMIC but half of the clearance issues I'm having are due to AVCS. You do need a mount for the expansion tank and an alternate routing for the coolant line running from the tank to left side of the engine, it directly interferes with the intake hose

[ebon hornet]

Progress, once again

[violet geyser]

aww, you've not done the super epas spool up sound

[ebon hornet]

I should install a tiny speaker that plays the transformers sound effect

[ebon hornet]

Piping done, only needs an oil cooler and front wheel bearings now

[violet geyser]

does it clash with your oil cooler?

the one you had where the washer bottle and battery went

[ebon hornet]

Yeah, we'll have to move it above the IC

[violet geyser]

no chance you'll be able to fit in the main hood scoop?

[ebon hornet]

Hoses are a bit problematic, and big oil lines above the turbo

[ebon hornet]

Needs more coolers up front. We've now fallen to the shame of a dysfunctional scoop

[violet geyser]

scoopless bonnet when? +0.05 aero

[ebon hornet]

I do have one

[ebon hornet]

Bad news: DCCD was locking up even without a controller so it should've been open. Opened it up and the friction discs were toast.
Good news: Seller immediately told us he'd get us another unit

[ebon hornet]

Update: Seller got us a rebuilt unit and the center diff works now. More bad news:

[late lichen]

Front diff identifies as shifter linkage

[ebon hornet]

Curious to see what the inside looks like but I'm not keen on taking the trans out

[ebon hornet]

Haven't gotten around taking the trans out yet but in the meantime I've been gathering parts for a digital dash and designing the GUI for it. This is where we are at now

[ebon hornet]

It's out once again, maybe tomorrow we'll get around disassembling it

[ebon hornet]

We didn't, but I think I found the reason for the clunk

We just won the gearbox lottery

[violet geyser]

diff kaput?

[ebon hornet]

That's a Cusco RS LSD, not a Torsen I was expecting

[violet geyser]

nice

[ebon hornet]

So we've been running the wrong oil in it

[ebon hornet]

New juice, this oughta shut the diff up. Car's on the final stretch to be roadworthy again, just a few things and it's inspection time

[ebon hornet]

Both gauges now operated by the ECU

[violet geyser]

are you able to make the fuel and temp gauges do a sweep as well on the maxxecu?

I know I'm able to do a sweep of the rev and speedo on the link, but not the fuel and temp, which irks me to no end if only part of the gauges do the sweep and others dont, so I've got the sweep turned off

[ebon hornet]

If you were to drive them with the ECU, yes. But not as easily as tacho and speedo sweep. I don't have them connected to ECU because I have the tablet where I have more accurate water temp and the fuel gauge is accurate enough as it is

[ebon hornet]

Stuff's finally getting ready once again. Gauges work, new tablet layout, DCCD and such

[ebon hornet]

Update: Diff is still banging, less severely than before. I'll try to break it in with the new fluid as I have no clue how old it is or if it's brand new. Car does run and drive again

[ebon hornet]

Yet another year on the road

[ebon hornet]

Lmao

[ebon hornet]

Also fog light covers are now installed, just have to paint them at some point. And should probably wash the car too

[ebon hornet]

Volvo caliper just about clears the Audi 15's with a WRX 290x18 rear rotor. Looks like the project dual circuit hydro is a go

[hardy jungle]

are you gonna switch over to volvo brakes all around?

[ebon hornet]

No, just the rears

[slow pawn]

voov gets everywhere

[ebon hornet]

I already have slightly bigger 4 pots in the front, in effect these rears will be 2 pots

[hardy jungle]

right just need to find a disc that fits and make bracket so they sitt propperly then?

[ebon hornet]

That's the disc. I'll proto the bracket with a printed part and then mill the real deal from steel

I already happened to get those discs in a part pile, didn't know I'd find use for them

[hardy jungle]

completely eliminating the drums then?

[ebon hornet]

No, those stay, a mechanical parking brake is a legal requirement

[hardy jungle]

could convert it to mechanical, but thats a lot of work

[ebon hornet]

Yeah a lot easier to do it this way

[ebon hornet]

Enjin bay pic, gonna design and print a belt cover next

[violet geyser]

its a racecar, you need more power and less weight. lemme take that entire AC system off your hands

[ebon hornet]

That's 17 kilos I won't be giving up. At this point if I were to get AC I'd look at a GD as a donor.

[violet geyser]

I've got the AC system out of an ND MX-5 in the garage, wondering if I can make it fit as a standalone on the subaru

[ebon hornet]

If you can fit the pipework I don't see why ut wouldn't work

[ebon hornet]

Before and after the brake upgrade. Ignore the paint job, the paint was literally piss and I'll have to redo it. Volvo dual circuit calipers, one pair is for regular brake and one for hydro. For clearance had to up the disc to a 290mm one and it's also vented now. Still fits under 15"s. No more stuck slider pins.

[ebon hornet]

I guess it's time for some updates once again. Got the hydro ready, only thing it's missing is the microswitch for the DCCD. Printed some lift spacers for the stock handle to clear the hydro master too.

The intercom has a phone input, so we got an Aux-BT adapter. Now we can call the service crew and talk through the intercom, no need to wedge the phone into the helmet.
Dad also bought us a pair of headsets for Christmas so we can take a break from the helmets between stages and still talk.

I'll have to make some mounts for the headsets, the BT adapter and some cupholders, but that won't happen for this event. I already have a 10 hour print going on for the FAK pouch holder and a camera mount. Maybe this time we'll have some actual incar footage

[ebon hornet]

And with these, the rally car build is finally "done". I mean we all know it is far from done but this is the last essential part that's really limiting the performance. Everything after this will just be improvements for the sake of them.

[violet geyser]

ooo whats the final ride height going to be like compared to stock?

[ebon hornet]

I have no idea, honestly. You can adjust them a bit with the spring preload but as they sit the front is 495mm and rear is 560 mm from the center of the camber bolt hole to the top hat mating surface

From that the car's weight will collapse the front about 105 mm and rear about 90 mm

[ebon hornet]

New suspension at full droop. I don't think we'll be bottoming out any time soon

[violet geyser]

Hot

[slow pawn]

why are your tyres so thin?

[violet geyser]

Those are the ice skating tyres

[ebon hornet]

Because the wheels were 90€ for the set, bigger tires won't fit on them and I still haven't found proper 17" ones

[slow pawn]

Ahhh

There is a tonne of room between the calipers and that rim

Just get bigger brakes like I did, that fixed it

[ebon hornet]

A millimeter bigger and 15" won't fit

We have as much brake as we can at this price bracket

[slow pawn]

daymn

the coating on my brakes is what makes them too big for my wheels on 15mm spacers so I get that pain

[ebon hornet]

Has been a while since I've updated here. Not much has changed, I drove into a ditch in a competition last summer, smashed the rocker in and we only fixed that not a month ago. We found a place to make an ice track on, so this winter we've mostly just focused on track driving.

The car was wildly unstable at speed after installing the new coilovers, and that was fixed by removing the 22mm RSB. It prevented the rear suspension from properly articulating, and made the rear feel floaty and you had to fight it just to keep it on a straight road.

Car still has overboosting issues, and it's exasperated by the fact that the air is a lot colder now. So, we're soon moving to an EWG to fix the issue once and for all. Otherwise the car has performed well, it just drinks like a sailor and I need to retune the fuel map.

Things to do:

• Install EWG
• Build new ELH manifold which I have already designed
• Tune the fuel map

ELH manifold and EWG sets a couple of things in motion which I also want to do but the scope creep is real. These include:

• Install EGT probes
• Rotate the turbo
• Install the 253 intake manifold
• Reroute the intake piping
• Rotate the 253 manifold
• Relocate alternator to make way for the rotated ducting
• Design and make a new baffled oil pan
• Relocate AOS and add a BMW venturi style separator?
• Fab up an electric WG actuator for an eEWG
• Rewire the entire damn car
• Sketch up the suspension to figure out the geometry
• Make some corners scales to aid with geometry correction
• Make custom knuckles to use with stronger bearings
• Fab up a new subframe and a conversion kit to install a Ford 8.8 IRS diff

So yeah, one thing quickly leads to another. But as it stands, we have a functioning car so taking it out of commission isn't something I'd like to do, though the overboosting is infuriating and I really want to fix it pronto.

[violet geyser]

ooo those studded pepperpots are sexy

[ebon hornet]

I've been thinking about painting the ones used with studs white and the gravel ones gold

[violet geyser]

white even sexier

[ebon hornet]

Would make identifying them easier too, since gravel ones always get sandblasted

So I don't accidentally mount a gravel tire on a good clean stud wheel

[violet geyser]

I want to do my set of original barchetta wheels in white and use them for snow tires

[ebon hornet]

Oh yeah

[violet geyser]

now that I have the Coupe Swastikas I'll be using for summers