Subaru Impreza WRX 04' Blobeye
Discussion
Well what a few hours..
Back to 3 Arches for a few jobs today; fitting the suspension and sorting a few issued with the HKB boss. Suspension has been a bit of a debacle over the last few weeks. Camskill apparently no longer stock the Excel G dampers that mirror OEM units. I then went to ... some other company autofactorsuk I think? who stocked the same units. ordered them, waited about 2 weeks for them to arrive, called and was told the order had been lost in the system. Another few days waiting for them to look into it and then told they have 3 of the 4 dampers in stock and a weeks wait on the 4th. No good to me so cancelled that order and went totally oem spec from Import Car Parts (ICP) whom I've had good dealings with in the past. The units turned up the next day and saved me about £100 over the Gs. I wanted oem kit as a) I'm trying not to 'improve' the WRX too much and more importantly b) the Prodrive springs from PCA Dynamics are tuned to match oem dampers.
The dampers from ICP are branded Optimal. They appear to be big news in Germany, they're black and .. damperish.
The kit that's been fitted
so in the boot and off to 3 Arches
Picked the car up earlier and wooow what a difference. I can't emphasize enough what a stark difference there is in the handling. Before the car would pitch and wallow around corners, I never thought I wouldn't make a bend at speed but it did complain a little in the process. Now however I cannot believe how flat it is through the corners, there's no perceivable roll or leaning during spirited driving, its superb, I actually let out a laugh and started clapping after a series of bends going over Caerphilly mountain I was that impressed. Love it, perfect. Thanks to Peter @ PCA Dynamics he really does know what he's doing. The ride is still comfortable and compliant at normal speeds, it feels standard but press on and it transforms. Amazing.
The drop isn't too severe which is great as I didn't want to lose driveability around town etc, there's a subtle drop that particularly reduces the front arch gap and makes the drop uniform front and back.
before
after
If you're looking for stance these may not be the ones for you but for a usable daily with a transformed ride I can't recommend it enough. 3 Arches gave me a choice of road, fast road or track alignment setup, I opted for fast road as track would probably just eat the inside of the tyres and, well its a road car, fast road is about perfect
Cheers again to the boys at 3 Arches, superb work, cannot fault them, highly recommended.
Well, my group buy Scoobyworld mudflaps turned up. Thought it would be rude not to fit them given the new suspension, could have waited until tomorrow but weather is supposed to be dire this weekend so I got to work. Took longer than expected.
Started off with optimism, only 3 bolts per flap, what could be easier
not the hardest job I've ever done but most of the nuts had seized inside the arches so had to be a little rougher than I wanted but nothing bent or broke and got the new ones on with no real issues apart from fighting with the 8 or so seized bolts.
Start of the job
The old flaps actually turned out to be Scoobyworld items, exactly the same as the new ones but they were badly faded and the fronts particularly weren't fitted well; the inside portion being left unsecured and causing rubbing issues on lock
old left vs new right. yes it had started raining by that point
Fitted the fronts correctly albeit with 1 self tapper rather than the recommended 2, couldn't see the need to drill another hole
random strut shots
Well that brings us up to now.
Oh new wheel fitted
Fantastic addition as far as I'm concerned, the standard Momo is rather large makes the steering feel slow and ponderous, this sharpens it right up makes it feel all ... rallyish. In my eyes it's basically Grp A spec now
and of course
time for a beer..
Back to 3 Arches for a few jobs today; fitting the suspension and sorting a few issued with the HKB boss. Suspension has been a bit of a debacle over the last few weeks. Camskill apparently no longer stock the Excel G dampers that mirror OEM units. I then went to ... some other company autofactorsuk I think? who stocked the same units. ordered them, waited about 2 weeks for them to arrive, called and was told the order had been lost in the system. Another few days waiting for them to look into it and then told they have 3 of the 4 dampers in stock and a weeks wait on the 4th. No good to me so cancelled that order and went totally oem spec from Import Car Parts (ICP) whom I've had good dealings with in the past. The units turned up the next day and saved me about £100 over the Gs. I wanted oem kit as a) I'm trying not to 'improve' the WRX too much and more importantly b) the Prodrive springs from PCA Dynamics are tuned to match oem dampers.
The dampers from ICP are branded Optimal. They appear to be big news in Germany, they're black and .. damperish.
The kit that's been fitted
so in the boot and off to 3 Arches
Picked the car up earlier and wooow what a difference. I can't emphasize enough what a stark difference there is in the handling. Before the car would pitch and wallow around corners, I never thought I wouldn't make a bend at speed but it did complain a little in the process. Now however I cannot believe how flat it is through the corners, there's no perceivable roll or leaning during spirited driving, its superb, I actually let out a laugh and started clapping after a series of bends going over Caerphilly mountain I was that impressed. Love it, perfect. Thanks to Peter @ PCA Dynamics he really does know what he's doing. The ride is still comfortable and compliant at normal speeds, it feels standard but press on and it transforms. Amazing.
The drop isn't too severe which is great as I didn't want to lose driveability around town etc, there's a subtle drop that particularly reduces the front arch gap and makes the drop uniform front and back.
before
after
If you're looking for stance these may not be the ones for you but for a usable daily with a transformed ride I can't recommend it enough. 3 Arches gave me a choice of road, fast road or track alignment setup, I opted for fast road as track would probably just eat the inside of the tyres and, well its a road car, fast road is about perfect
Cheers again to the boys at 3 Arches, superb work, cannot fault them, highly recommended.
Well, my group buy Scoobyworld mudflaps turned up. Thought it would be rude not to fit them given the new suspension, could have waited until tomorrow but weather is supposed to be dire this weekend so I got to work. Took longer than expected.
Started off with optimism, only 3 bolts per flap, what could be easier
not the hardest job I've ever done but most of the nuts had seized inside the arches so had to be a little rougher than I wanted but nothing bent or broke and got the new ones on with no real issues apart from fighting with the 8 or so seized bolts. Start of the job
The old flaps actually turned out to be Scoobyworld items, exactly the same as the new ones but they were badly faded and the fronts particularly weren't fitted well; the inside portion being left unsecured and causing rubbing issues on lock
old left vs new right. yes it had started raining by that point
Fitted the fronts correctly albeit with 1 self tapper rather than the recommended 2, couldn't see the need to drill another hole
random strut shots
Well that brings us up to now.
Oh new wheel fitted
Fantastic addition as far as I'm concerned, the standard Momo is rather large makes the steering feel slow and ponderous, this sharpens it right up makes it feel all ... rallyish. In my eyes it's basically Grp A spec now
and of course
time for a beer..
Well just got back from France, was a great trip and the Impreza didn't miss a beat (more than could be said for my Garmin Nuvi sat nav)
Put around 820 miles on all told, may have been a little less had it not been for the already mentioned sat nav issue but hey-ho no one died. Stayed in the Mayenne region which is pretty rural, our second time out there; staying in a small cottage on a lake with the nearest town being 2 mins away by car. Most places enjoy 2 / 2 1/2 hour lunches most days so the pace is pretty slow, there's some great ex pat pubs around where most patrons seem to be from the Greater London area and seem to be enjoying a slower pace of life in rural France. OH and I don't speak or read a word of French which was interesting at points, trying to buy 98 at a self service station almost had me self immolating, had I been able to get any petrol out the pump which I couldn't. That was after getting lost in lanes for most of the afternoon in 30c heat, a rare annoyance during a largely very relaxing week. The gite we stayed in had lots of fish to feed bread to in the lake, 2 goats to try and chew our fingers off, 2 bernese mountain dogs and 3 ducks. I did end up carrying bails of hay around a field to feed the goats, certainly not an all-inclusive type break but perfect if you want a bit of involvement rather than being waited on.
3/4 of a tank to get to the destination 247, which I was happy with. (i'll apologize again for the terrible washed out photos from my iphone, the inside of the lens still has a load of dust on it)
Saw this on the way, very cool
picture of car on ferry
arrival
realxing the first day with Evo and the nicest cidre I've ever tasted, only 2% but 2euros a bottle; incroyable. Brought about 30 bottles back, should see us for a week or so.
car in a bush
we took a trip one day to Le Mans, about an hour away. Thanks to those who recommended the trip on a thread I put up when we had a little wifi
The museum was brilliant, a lot of pre war stuff but some very interesting cars and the history to go with them. For some reason I decided to leave the Cannon EOS 1200D in the car, not a great decision on hindsight
This went over the Himalayas apparently, must have been parky
There's hundreds of cars there, well worth a trip if you're in the area. On the way back we got a chance to drive Arnage and around to the end of Mulsanne (driving the circuit in reverse) it's a public road of course most of the time but was still cool to hit a few kerbs. Stopped at the bottom of the straight for a picture
Got home via Caen-Portsmouth without a hitch. The car was filthy by this point, I could hardly see out of the windscreen for bugs and the front of the car was almost black from the same. Elsewhere was the usual grime from a weeks driving with no tlc. Not got a before and after but washed the car today (took a bit of time) and pulled out the Canon, might have to learn how to use this thing properly!
blue again
Should have another service before too long.
That was my week
Put around 820 miles on all told, may have been a little less had it not been for the already mentioned sat nav issue but hey-ho no one died. Stayed in the Mayenne region which is pretty rural, our second time out there; staying in a small cottage on a lake with the nearest town being 2 mins away by car. Most places enjoy 2 / 2 1/2 hour lunches most days so the pace is pretty slow, there's some great ex pat pubs around where most patrons seem to be from the Greater London area and seem to be enjoying a slower pace of life in rural France. OH and I don't speak or read a word of French which was interesting at points, trying to buy 98 at a self service station almost had me self immolating, had I been able to get any petrol out the pump which I couldn't. That was after getting lost in lanes for most of the afternoon in 30c heat, a rare annoyance during a largely very relaxing week. The gite we stayed in had lots of fish to feed bread to in the lake, 2 goats to try and chew our fingers off, 2 bernese mountain dogs and 3 ducks. I did end up carrying bails of hay around a field to feed the goats, certainly not an all-inclusive type break but perfect if you want a bit of involvement rather than being waited on.
3/4 of a tank to get to the destination 247, which I was happy with. (i'll apologize again for the terrible washed out photos from my iphone, the inside of the lens still has a load of dust on it)
Saw this on the way, very cool
picture of car on ferry
arrival
realxing the first day with Evo and the nicest cidre I've ever tasted, only 2% but 2euros a bottle; incroyable. Brought about 30 bottles back, should see us for a week or so.
car in a bush
we took a trip one day to Le Mans, about an hour away. Thanks to those who recommended the trip on a thread I put up when we had a little wifi
The museum was brilliant, a lot of pre war stuff but some very interesting cars and the history to go with them. For some reason I decided to leave the Cannon EOS 1200D in the car, not a great decision on hindsight
This went over the Himalayas apparently, must have been parky
There's hundreds of cars there, well worth a trip if you're in the area. On the way back we got a chance to drive Arnage and around to the end of Mulsanne (driving the circuit in reverse) it's a public road of course most of the time but was still cool to hit a few kerbs. Stopped at the bottom of the straight for a picture
Got home via Caen-Portsmouth without a hitch. The car was filthy by this point, I could hardly see out of the windscreen for bugs and the front of the car was almost black from the same. Elsewhere was the usual grime from a weeks driving with no tlc. Not got a before and after but washed the car today (took a bit of time) and pulled out the Canon, might have to learn how to use this thing properly!
blue again
Should have another service before too long.
That was my week
Cheers guys. I'd like to go back to factory calipers as these are the WRX Pro copies on the front of course, I should paint them you're right, ironically not high on the list at the moment. They will get done though.
Next on the list is fitting the Hertz Energy ESK 165.5s in the front doors.
Plan is to build a 19mm ring spacers to allow the magnets to clear the window glass. I won't be using the rear door speakers as yet, the Hertz are rated @ 100wrms and 93db/spl so should be plenty loud enough and being 6'5" should provide decent frequency range. Will see how they sound and may plumb in some 5.25" in the rears if needs be. I will be putting a 12" Kicker Comp in the boot. To help the sound along I've got 8sq ft of dynamat (or Silent Coat) to do the front (and maybe) rear doors and the boot area.
Next on the list is fitting the Hertz Energy ESK 165.5s in the front doors.
Plan is to build a 19mm ring spacers to allow the magnets to clear the window glass. I won't be using the rear door speakers as yet, the Hertz are rated @ 100wrms and 93db/spl so should be plenty loud enough and being 6'5" should provide decent frequency range. Will see how they sound and may plumb in some 5.25" in the rears if needs be. I will be putting a 12" Kicker Comp in the boot. To help the sound along I've got 8sq ft of dynamat (or Silent Coat) to do the front (and maybe) rear doors and the boot area.
well washed the car again today (stop all of the presses)
About a week ago was it we had that Saharan rain come over which the Impreza got caught in, covering it in sand; great.
Didn't want to touch it until I got the tools needed to get it off without risking the paint too much. Bit the bullet today and went to get me a pressure washer. Was looking at Karcher K2 Compact as that seemed to be the Apple of PWs. Bit of reading up and it seems the K2 has a plastic pump/impeller and a few guys on Detailingworld recommended the Nilfisk as an alternative due to its metal gubbins and good output. Found the Nilfisk @ Maplins at a good price so picked it up
Must say I'm really impressed. The kit comes with a main attachment and two different heads for various flows, a brush thingy which I doubt I'll use and the most/all important foam lance. With the main water jet attachment it's very powerful and got the car wet in quick time, moved onto the snow foam stage with great results, totally covered the car and turned it white, by the time i took these pictures it had dissipated slightly.
On checking the surface with the car still wet (having washed the foam off) most of the sand had been removed which is exactly what I was after of course. A quick wipe with a microfiber cloth confirmed this. Then onto the wash as normal. haven't taken any after pics this time as the last thing any of us need is any more pictures of my car looking clean; needles to say it's shiny and blue for the most part.
As an aside, can't remember what podcast it was mentioned on but apparently this is a good read
I may even read it at some point, probably the 3rd book I'll have ever read
About a week ago was it we had that Saharan rain come over which the Impreza got caught in, covering it in sand; great.
Didn't want to touch it until I got the tools needed to get it off without risking the paint too much. Bit the bullet today and went to get me a pressure washer. Was looking at Karcher K2 Compact as that seemed to be the Apple of PWs. Bit of reading up and it seems the K2 has a plastic pump/impeller and a few guys on Detailingworld recommended the Nilfisk as an alternative due to its metal gubbins and good output. Found the Nilfisk @ Maplins at a good price so picked it up
Must say I'm really impressed. The kit comes with a main attachment and two different heads for various flows, a brush thingy which I doubt I'll use and the most/all important foam lance. With the main water jet attachment it's very powerful and got the car wet in quick time, moved onto the snow foam stage with great results, totally covered the car and turned it white, by the time i took these pictures it had dissipated slightly.
On checking the surface with the car still wet (having washed the foam off) most of the sand had been removed which is exactly what I was after of course. A quick wipe with a microfiber cloth confirmed this. Then onto the wash as normal. haven't taken any after pics this time as the last thing any of us need is any more pictures of my car looking clean; needles to say it's shiny and blue for the most part.
As an aside, can't remember what podcast it was mentioned on but apparently this is a good read
I may even read it at some point, probably the 3rd book I'll have ever read
pfnsht said:
Good read and thanks for posting up the pictures of Le Mans, I too am off to the Mayenne region on hols this year and will be paying a visit.
Off topic any ex-pat pubs to recommend, our french is poor at best, apart from please and thank-yous!
Cheers
As said our French is non existent! It didn't make communication impossible but certainly made things interesting. The closest village to us was Le Bois, a teeny tiny village in the middle of no where near the larger town of Gorron, a great little place there run by ex-pats next to the church (what else?) very friendly chap, he reached across the bar and grabbed my beard within 2 mins of saying hello Off topic any ex-pat pubs to recommend, our french is poor at best, apart from please and thank-yous!
Cheers
may sound like a declaration of war to some, it was a very chill place and we go back there at least twice a week when there to eat their bolognese pizza and drink the local cidre, superb. Other than that bud I can' really recommend anywhere else as we tend to stay local to our very rural area, eat/drink at the gite most nights. You'll enjoy it though! Look forward to the debrief
and yea if all else fails wave money and point
pfnsht said:
Ahh almost snap, we're staying to the North East of Gorron - Couesmes-Vauce, directly to the east of Le Bois. Small world.
We'll likely do very similar to yourself interms of holidaying local to the gite.
I'll hunt out that pub!
EDIT: The pub I'm thinking of is in Passais la Conception, not Le Bois, it's about 15 mins drive from Le Bois. D'oh..We'll likely do very similar to yourself interms of holidaying local to the gite.
I'll hunt out that pub!
No way! how cool is that. Given the size of rural France what are the odds, very high it seems
the local tipple there is Loburg if I recall, very nice inoffensive lager, I drink the cidre made by a chap called Jerome Forget, Cidre Fermier I believe it's called. You can't miss the pub really as you can see from one end of Passais to the other if you stand equidistant to both ends. I do hope you pop in, I felt right at home there and hope you find the same, it's nice to have the familiarity when all you have are odd looks from people who can only speak french all week Whether you do or not I do hope you have a good week, it's beautiful around that whole area. Have you been to Mont St Michel? If not (and I don't want to hijack your holiday itinerary) I'd say go, what a place...
oh and make sure you buy some Calvados, the older the better, 10+ years if you can. And Pommeau is a must, an apple brandy, it's gorgeous! and pretty cheap, about 11 euros for a great one, they sell it at the Super U or there's a cider museum, I've found the leaflet, it's called the Musee du Cidre, Melleray la Vallee - 53110 Lassay-les--Chateaux. That could well be the address, or something else ha. Their Cidre, Poire (pear cider) Pommeau and Calvados is all wonderful and made on the premises. If you can find it it's great
looking at the small map it seems it's close to Chantringe on the D202.As with all things in that region make sure if you can that places are open, most places shut for 2 hours for lunch and a lot of places may not open early in the week in the evenings, pubs etc. Saying that we found most things open at convenient times. Sorry I'm on a tare here, you may well already know this! apologies if so.
Cheers NM
it's taken a bit of work to get it to this point granted! Yea I think we're destined to just mention it on each thread about once a week for the rest of our lives.He called me Nicole, and he was very gentle I'll have you know..
Edited by squareflops on Tuesday 7th July 22:53
Cheers guys
I'm fortunate at the moment R7YN, doubt it'll last forever though and who knows what's around the corner you could have one next I am glad I went for the WRX blob rather than the STI bugeye I was looking at on balance. She is very pretty this one.
No worries pfn it's my pleasure, great that I have a little bit of knowledge to share, doesn't happen often
derail all you like there's no agenda to this really, just thoughts on paper (digital paper)
Well I bought a Fabia vRS last weeekend, a hasty decision for one reason and another and just got a £400 bill to get it back into the shape it should be, drop links, service, track rod ends, alignment etc.. and that's the daily
I'm fortunate at the moment R7YN, doubt it'll last forever though and who knows what's around the corner you could have one next
I am glad I went for the WRX blob rather than the STI bugeye I was looking at on balance. She is very pretty this one.No worries pfn it's my pleasure, great that I have a little bit of knowledge to share, doesn't happen often
derail all you like there's no agenda to this really, just thoughts on paper (digital paper) Well I bought a Fabia vRS last weeekend, a hasty decision for one reason and another and just got a £400 bill to get it back into the shape it should be, drop links, service, track rod ends, alignment etc.. and that's the daily
something a little different this evening, this thread is taking some twists and turns.
As mentioned I picked up a Fabia vRS last weekend to replace the MX-5 (
) time for something slightly more practical and less prone to rust related issues in the future. So I've swapped to something with wiring related issues in the present (ish)
Got a relatively good deal on the MX and there seems to be quite a following for these little Skodas and I'm starting to see why. First the bad though.
After picking it up and looking at it a little more closely (I bought it by the 'stand 50 ft away from the car and ask if it's a good one' method) I notice a few rice related additions. a stainless cat back exhaust, a carbon tubular air filter thingy, a strut brace (race car) an adjustable anti roll bar (such race car) and a load of dynamat in the boot where someone had obviously had sweet stereo bruhh.. Money had been spent in these wrong areas. This was confirmed after I booked it in with Dean and the boys at 3 Arches Garage for a thorough inspection and minor service consisting of oil and filter; cam belt was done not long ago.
The list of things needed is as follows:
Interim Service
Inspection
Supply & fit osf steering arm (wheel was a bit wobbly see)
Supply & fit alternator belt
Supply & fit nsf drop link (such clunk)
Tracking
Parts used were
Oil filter
Engine oil
Screen wash
Drop link
Steering arm
Alternator belt
Pollen filter
Labour
Also fixed whilst there was a loose dog bone mount which re secured the engine as it should be and Dean tidied up some wiring in the engine bay putting it back to factory condition.
So some money later the vRS now feels and goes superbly. The clonks from the front have disappeared, acceleration feels more eager and the whole car feels more taught. I'm extremely happy with it now, 3 Arches have done a great job, that's the Impreza and the daily being looked after by the 3 Arches boys.
So first impressions on the car. It's my first diesel so I'm having to learn how to drive again. I have no point of reference but rather than revving on to gain speed as you would in a petrol, it seems its all about gears in the derv. The power is from 2k to 3/3.5k, after that the power delivery seems to flat line and progress reduces. I struggled with this concept for a few days and thought - is there something wrong? It doesn't seem so, rather than revving on (which my small brain is programmed to do) you just give it another gear @ around 3.5k and off the thing goes again, so it's all about gears not revs. I can see why it's a 6 speed now.
The handling is ridiculously good. As far as I know it's on standard suspension (springs are same green as the calipers?) and it's pretty roomy in the arches so don't thinks it's been dropped but crikey it's confidence inspiring in the corners. I went over Caerphilly Mountain earlier pretty much as fast as I could and it just stuck, no fuss, no roll. Really impressed. Brakes are crap though.
Well, that was probably an incredibly boring read for those of you who didn't tldr.
Why we're all here, pictures (the sun was in exactly the wrong spot for these) after a wash
I laid on the floor here for you all I hope you're grateful
handy foldy seaty things
Not going to start it's own thread for this, as much as I like it it's a daily and isnt going to get the same attention as Impreza, so this is probably a one off 'for info only' thing.
One thing I do want to do is swap the wheels back other to the correct OEM for this MY. These ones are lovely and in surprisingly good condition, they look new, but I want the other ones.
So there..
As mentioned I picked up a Fabia vRS last weekend to replace the MX-5 (
) time for something slightly more practical and less prone to rust related issues in the future. So I've swapped to something with wiring related issues in the present (ish) Got a relatively good deal on the MX and there seems to be quite a following for these little Skodas and I'm starting to see why. First the bad though.
After picking it up and looking at it a little more closely (I bought it by the 'stand 50 ft away from the car and ask if it's a good one' method) I notice a few rice related additions. a stainless cat back exhaust, a carbon tubular air filter thingy, a strut brace (race car) an adjustable anti roll bar (such race car) and a load of dynamat in the boot where someone had obviously had sweet stereo bruhh.. Money had been spent in these wrong areas. This was confirmed after I booked it in with Dean and the boys at 3 Arches Garage for a thorough inspection and minor service consisting of oil and filter; cam belt was done not long ago.
The list of things needed is as follows:
Interim Service
Inspection
Supply & fit osf steering arm (wheel was a bit wobbly see)
Supply & fit alternator belt
Supply & fit nsf drop link (such clunk)
Tracking
Parts used were
Oil filter
Engine oil
Screen wash
Drop link
Steering arm
Alternator belt
Pollen filter
Labour
Also fixed whilst there was a loose dog bone mount which re secured the engine as it should be and Dean tidied up some wiring in the engine bay putting it back to factory condition.
So some money later the vRS now feels and goes superbly. The clonks from the front have disappeared, acceleration feels more eager and the whole car feels more taught. I'm extremely happy with it now, 3 Arches have done a great job, that's the Impreza and the daily being looked after by the 3 Arches boys.
So first impressions on the car. It's my first diesel so I'm having to learn how to drive again. I have no point of reference but rather than revving on to gain speed as you would in a petrol, it seems its all about gears in the derv. The power is from 2k to 3/3.5k, after that the power delivery seems to flat line and progress reduces. I struggled with this concept for a few days and thought - is there something wrong? It doesn't seem so, rather than revving on (which my small brain is programmed to do) you just give it another gear @ around 3.5k and off the thing goes again, so it's all about gears not revs. I can see why it's a 6 speed now.
The handling is ridiculously good. As far as I know it's on standard suspension (springs are same green as the calipers?) and it's pretty roomy in the arches so don't thinks it's been dropped but crikey it's confidence inspiring in the corners. I went over Caerphilly Mountain earlier pretty much as fast as I could and it just stuck, no fuss, no roll. Really impressed. Brakes are crap though.
Well, that was probably an incredibly boring read for those of you who didn't tldr.
Why we're all here, pictures (the sun was in exactly the wrong spot for these) after a wash
I laid on the floor here for you all I hope you're grateful
handy foldy seaty things
Not going to start it's own thread for this, as much as I like it it's a daily and isnt going to get the same attention as Impreza, so this is probably a one off 'for info only' thing.
One thing I do want to do is swap the wheels back other to the correct OEM for this MY. These ones are lovely and in surprisingly good condition, they look new, but I want the other ones.
So there..
Edited by squareflops on Thursday 9th July 23:03
It rained today, a lot.
Which was a pain because this was the day we got to sorting out the 'sounds'. Arrived at my mates who was a dedicated audio installer in a previous incarnation at about half 8 this morning and left at around half 5 having had no breaks. What a day. We got the Hertz in the fronts, a Vibe Black Box 3 amp powered with 4 guage in the boot along with a Kicker Comp 12" in a sealed box. The results are excellent.
The time was taken up stripping the car to lay the cabling and RCAs, doing the door builds and dynamting the front doors, so; everything took time really. Given time constraints this a 'phase 1 of 2' kind of deal at the moment as things can be improved with more time spent. We ended up tapping in to the existing stereo harness so next time will be running heavier gauge wiring through the doors, doing a rear door build also and tidying up the boot as the amp and sub are not nailed in as yet (they're not loose either but they're yet to find their final resting place).
Pictures (again again again sorry for the iphone pics, regular readers will know my iphone camera's f
ked)
Out with the old 5.25" Fusions, these weren't actually that bad but not good enough to keep
Notice no sound deadening, tapping the doors was like hitting a metal bin with a jack handle
stripping stuff out
the rain came pretty early and stayed most of the day, sometimes torrentially
This gazeebo thing saved us
Started with the silent coat, this stuff is actually pretty good, goes on easily and is pretty malleable, id recommend it at a fraction of the cost of proper dynamat. I didn't cover every square inch of the doors, 1.5 sq feet on the out skin of each door and another half sq ft on the inner door skin roughly, the difference is very noticeable
from twang to thud
knocking up the new rings, 19mm and the drivers barely clear the windows, but clear they do, yay
almost fitted, everything was tidied up of course and buttoned down to eliminate vibrations
That's all the evidence I have of the day but the results are amazing, it's been a while since I've had a quality install and it's great to have one again. The Hertz components are astoundingly clear and deliver a heavy punch while the sub hits so awesome lows and adds huge volume to the over all sound. Very pleased.
I'm so tired..
oh and I washed the car the other day, took loads of pics, no one needs to see my car clean again though, I'll spare you all.
(it was one of these types of wash tho)
Which was a pain because this was the day we got to sorting out the 'sounds'. Arrived at my mates who was a dedicated audio installer in a previous incarnation at about half 8 this morning and left at around half 5 having had no breaks. What a day. We got the Hertz in the fronts, a Vibe Black Box 3 amp powered with 4 guage in the boot along with a Kicker Comp 12" in a sealed box. The results are excellent.
The time was taken up stripping the car to lay the cabling and RCAs, doing the door builds and dynamting the front doors, so; everything took time really. Given time constraints this a 'phase 1 of 2' kind of deal at the moment as things can be improved with more time spent. We ended up tapping in to the existing stereo harness so next time will be running heavier gauge wiring through the doors, doing a rear door build also and tidying up the boot as the amp and sub are not nailed in as yet (they're not loose either but they're yet to find their final resting place).
Pictures (again again again sorry for the iphone pics, regular readers will know my iphone camera's f
ked)Out with the old 5.25" Fusions, these weren't actually that bad but not good enough to keep
Notice no sound deadening, tapping the doors was like hitting a metal bin with a jack handle
stripping stuff out
the rain came pretty early and stayed most of the day, sometimes torrentially
This gazeebo thing saved us
Started with the silent coat, this stuff is actually pretty good, goes on easily and is pretty malleable, id recommend it at a fraction of the cost of proper dynamat. I didn't cover every square inch of the doors, 1.5 sq feet on the out skin of each door and another half sq ft on the inner door skin roughly, the difference is very noticeable
from twang to thud
knocking up the new rings, 19mm and the drivers barely clear the windows, but clear they do, yay
almost fitted, everything was tidied up of course and buttoned down to eliminate vibrations
That's all the evidence I have of the day but the results are amazing, it's been a while since I've had a quality install and it's great to have one again. The Hertz components are astoundingly clear and deliver a heavy punch while the sub hits so awesome lows and adds huge volume to the over all sound. Very pleased.
I'm so tired..
oh and I washed the car the other day, took loads of pics, no one needs to see my car clean again though, I'll spare you all.
(it was one of these types of wash tho)
vtec420 said:
Great read - apart from the bit about the derv!
Lovely car. Drove a battered blobeye wagon today myself. If you were buying again, what would you scrutinize / look for on the ride / forecourt.
Cheers dude, the vRS is actually behaving itself so far, we shall see. Lovely car. Drove a battered blobeye wagon today myself. If you were buying again, what would you scrutinize / look for on the ride / forecourt.
Good question. In my experience, and the things I'd look out for again would be
Clutch. This is of course a relatively big job and ideally not one that would need doing soon after purchase. I'd imagine a clutch change along with some other jobs would make some people pass these on so be aware of that. I had to replace my flywheel too as it was cracked and another unforeseen expense was the down pipe needing replacing due to excessive rust so check that out if at all possible or at least budget for it being an eventuality. A standard replacement cost me £80.
Cam Belt. Another big job. These need doing every 60k I believe, someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Look for evidence of this being changed, it's normally a good idea to change the water pump at this point also, I didn't to keep costs down but peace of mind will be had if it's been done.
Brakes. Could be classed as a service item but again I hadn't budgeted for replacing them. They looked OK initially but on closer inspection they needed replacing, around £300 from Godspeed replaced discs and pads.
Suspension. Given the nature of the car the shocks can take a beating, I replaced springs and dampers @ around 90k due to a blown NSR damper. It was determined to be blown by a wet oily film running down the leg. If you can get the car in the air and lift the dust boot any problems should be clearly visible.
Drop Links and Bushes. These can be surprisingly expensive. new drop links front and rear cost me around £100 from Whiteline although can be had for around half that. Whiteline bushes for the ARB were £15 an end. Listen out for any clunks on the test drive as (again only in my experience) this can point to worn drop links etc.
Other than that I'd do the usual checks (that I didn't do with the vRS) look for any minor accident damage with uneven shut gaps on panels and damage to the paint.
These cars may have been driven hard so look out for blue smoke which may point towards excessive turbo wear.
Other than that, buy it with your eyes (sounds stupid but I know what I mean ha) how does the car present itself, paint work/is there excessive interior wear? Are the tyres matching and in good condition with plenty of tread? Cheap, odd tyres may point towards a lack of general care towards the car.
Is it modified? A modified car can have been very well maintained but a car in poor overall condition with a load of cheap shiny things bolted on may again point toward money having been spent in the wrong areas.
That's all I can think of right now
hth.cannondale said:
Looking good.
What's the story with the Sierra on the back of the trailer in one of the last photos? Future project?
That's the boys who's doing the audio's rally car. He does auto tests mostly. apparently under powered with the 4X4 and the 2l. Still, It's got a hydraulic hand brake and goes round lovely with enough revs! What's the story with the Sierra on the back of the trailer in one of the last photos? Future project?
GTIAlex said:
Enjoyed reading this; shown it my dad to get his arse into gear about sorting his blobeye out. Lots of little bits hes let mount up.
Cheers bud, I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I can get these bits done at the moment. Hopefully some inspiration can be found for your dads Impreza, they're well worth it when sorted and can be epic to drive in the right hands Another tangent. My unease with the vRS manifested itself in it spewing its own fluids all over the engine bay in huge clouds of smoke a few days ago. Spoke to the dealer and he couldn't have dealt with it better, a little bit of discussion and I now find myself the owner of a new daily
(spot the iphone pic)
Weirdly the only two modifications seem to be the 'murdered out' S on the front grill (why)
and more expected are the Apex lowering springs. They give a firm ride shall we say handles very well on smooth roads but they make themselves known over the bumos
The comparison is night and day to the vRS. The Fabia had a hard life, the likely cause was turbo failure/over fueling with the sump somehow getting pressurized and blowing it's oil all over itself as mentioned. There was no oil in the engine when inspected. Although that caused a bit of pain temporarily, I'm over the moon with the Sport. It drives like new, the clutch bite point is low and firm, the brakes are strong, the engine pulls really well and the condition over all is superb. I was surprised to see that someone has gone to the trouble to even keep the insides of the exhaust tips clean
It even has some new iPhone headphones in the glove box and a pretty good 'Newquay' mix MP3 CD player (speakers are also very good in this!) It needs tyres but we adjusted the difference in both cars prices to account for that. Oh darn that means I have to spend some more money on cars
Love it, really pleased.
(spot the iphone pic)
Weirdly the only two modifications seem to be the 'murdered out' S on the front grill (why)
and more expected are the Apex lowering springs. They give a firm ride shall we say
handles very well on smooth roads but they make themselves known over the bumosThe comparison is night and day to the vRS. The Fabia had a hard life, the likely cause was turbo failure/over fueling with the sump somehow getting pressurized and blowing it's oil all over itself as mentioned. There was no oil in the engine when inspected. Although that caused a bit of pain temporarily, I'm over the moon with the Sport. It drives like new, the clutch bite point is low and firm, the brakes are strong, the engine pulls really well and the condition over all is superb. I was surprised to see that someone has gone to the trouble to even keep the insides of the exhaust tips clean
It even has some new iPhone headphones in the glove box and a pretty good 'Newquay' mix MP3 CD player (speakers are also very good in this!) It needs tyres but we adjusted the difference in both cars prices to account for that. Oh darn that means I have to spend some more money on cars
Love it, really pleased.
TEKNOPUG said:
Still a little bemused with your second-car Skoda/Swift situation. Man-Maths would suggest to me that it would be cheaper and more practical simply to spend the money on maintaining the Scooby as a Daily, rather than buying, taxing, insuring & maintaining a second car.
Fair comment dude, your man maths make far too much sense for me to even fathom (are they ever supposed to make sense ha) Maybe I've unwittingly mislead the masses. The Swift nee Fabia is the OH's. We've always run two cars, the (now) Swift is the daily car and the Impreza is firmly the weekender. SWMBO will always need a daily car given her job, if the Impreza goes down I can always catch the train to work and share the Swift when needed.
The Impreza is my toy I guess, I think maybe I referred to the Swift as mine; or at least didn't make it clear that it (technically) isn't
Still hasn't stopped me planning out some improvements for the Swift though
ohtari said:
As someone who's been daily driving a WRX for the past 2 years (20k per year), I can totally, whole heartedly agree with squareflops' decision
They're fantastic cars, and especially brilliant in the rain and snow but they do get tiring after a while. And you quickly get used to the performance and feel. I find that I appreciate it all the more so after a day or two driving something "normal".
I for one will be getting a cheap daily soon, with proper STI aspirations for the future
exactly what he said ^^ They're fantastic cars, and especially brilliant in the rain and snow but they do get tiring after a while. And you quickly get used to the performance and feel. I find that I appreciate it all the more so after a day or two driving something "normal".
I for one will be getting a cheap daily soon, with proper STI aspirations for the future
I guess slightly different scenarios but totally agreehad another little potch yesterday. I had some silent coat left over from the doors/boot and noticed there was still some rattle from the door cards during some compositions. I pulled the door cards off and with them removed there was little/no unwanted vibration at all from the actual doors so confirmed it was door card related. I've so far spattered some silent coat on both inner door cards which should go some way to deaden unwanted vibes. I can always add more if needed.
I think primarily what helped was securing the door card clips. These clatter about terribly in standard form so I thought about an easy solution to this with items I had laying about the garage. Que masking tape.
I used 5 layers on each clip holder, made a small incision and slid the clip back on
not pretty but works very well
you can't argue with success
drivers door finished and passenger door still bare
Difference was noticeable. no more vibrations, for the most part. I can still hear a slight rattle with some songs, if I pull the door card away from the door slightly with it all buttoned down all rattles stop so I have something in mind for tomorrow to totally eliminate everything.
Well the Millenniums are in good condition but not perfect. From 20ft away you'd hardly tell they were anything bar new but a little closer and the kerbing marks become apparent and some defects in the finish are visible. I've also had two people ask me if they're all the same colour; I can't see any difference tbh but if there's any doubt there is no doubt.
That being the case I took the opportunity (tyreless) to get them refurbished. They're at Castle Coatings in Caerphilly at the moment. One of the top boys there interestingly has a very nice Grp 4 Escort and likes his rallying, we even know a few of the same people which is nice as it puts me at ease knowing he's an enthusiast and a friend of friends of friends..
The kerb marks are manageable and will be removed, the colour is slightly more tricky. I'd ideally like Subaru gold of course but that's not readily available in a powder. Some inquiries are being made and hopefully we'll have an answer in the next few weeks from some suppliers. They may end up Subaru gold or something else (still gold) I'm not toooo fussed if they end up being a different hue, as long as they look good. White would have been a few days turn around but not really fancying white.
In anticipation of their return I phoned Revolution to pick up some genuine (obvs) centre caps. Very helpful chap there.
Settled on Vredstein Ultrac Sussantas in 225 40 18. Not the greatest of tyres sure but they get good reviews and won't cost the earth.
On a side note I was fortunate enough to get some fog light covers for a very low price, I've not seen these go for less than £120 when they do come up which is pretty rare. They're not genuine Subaru items but for the price I paid that couldn't be less of a consideration
paint is perfect and they're covered in 3M film to avoid any damage from stone chips etc. Great, reeally great. Nice
That being the case I took the opportunity (tyreless) to get them refurbished. They're at Castle Coatings in Caerphilly at the moment. One of the top boys there interestingly has a very nice Grp 4 Escort and likes his rallying, we even know a few of the same people which is nice as it puts me at ease knowing he's an enthusiast and a friend of friends of friends..
The kerb marks are manageable and will be removed, the colour is slightly more tricky. I'd ideally like Subaru gold of course but that's not readily available in a powder. Some inquiries are being made and hopefully we'll have an answer in the next few weeks from some suppliers. They may end up Subaru gold or something else (still gold) I'm not toooo fussed if they end up being a different hue, as long as they look good. White would have been a few days turn around but not really fancying white.
In anticipation of their return I phoned Revolution to pick up some genuine (obvs) centre caps. Very helpful chap there.
Settled on Vredstein Ultrac Sussantas in 225 40 18. Not the greatest of tyres sure but they get good reviews and won't cost the earth.
On a side note I was fortunate enough to get some fog light covers for a very low price, I've not seen these go for less than £120 when they do come up which is pretty rare. They're not genuine Subaru items but for the price I paid that couldn't be less of a consideration
paint is perfect and they're covered in 3M film to avoid any damage from stone chips etc. Great, reeally great. Nice
Well another non Impreza related post. Not sure if this is annoying for anyone or an interesting segue?
Anyway. Had an X-Type at the house today for a clean, was pretty filthy outside and worse inside, crumbs, dog hair and general grime abounded. spent 6 hours with a 20 minute lunch break in total, so that's about £180 I didn't earn doing it
I've started to think (as I seem to be photoing my work for prosperity) I should have set angles for before and afters to more easily see any differences; hmmm..
Cleaned the wheels first this time
came up lovely.
state of the bodywork as it arrived
Boot lid
After a snow foam, rinse and shampoo wash it was clear the car was covered in stubborn water marks, it looked better after these two stages but anything less than 5 feet away presented a world of pain on the paint surface. Next stage was to clay mitt with detailers spray to flat the paint and remove the contaminants, this is a very satisfying procedure as the difference is night and day. I don't have a DA as yet so elbows were employed along with Autoglym Super Resin Polish which did the job wonderfully. The paint/clear itself is in very good condition, minimal swirls and no lacquer peel etc. All water marks were removed with the Polish.
After that I used some newly acquired Poorboys Black Hole glaze, applied with applicator pad
and removed with a microfibre cloth. Excellent results I must say, lovely stuff. I'm sure toddlers would love to drink it too if they had the chance as it smells like bubblegum
If I'd had the time in the day I would have sealed/finished with PB Natty Paste Wax but I opted for Meguiars Quick Wax for a quicker job. I'll apply a more long lasting wax when I have more time.
Results
Paint is now like glass covered in PTFE, beautiful to run your fingers over.
Essentially what we're looking at here is a clean car. It's sure it's hard for some to comprehend that this result took 6 hours to achieve, the good news is the car now has several superb layers of protection and subsequent washes (assuming they're relatively frequent) will be joyous occasions where the nearest glimpse of a sponge will have any errant dirt running from the vehicle.
Impreza news, struggling to get the wheels done.
Anyway. Had an X-Type at the house today for a clean, was pretty filthy outside and worse inside, crumbs, dog hair and general grime abounded. spent 6 hours with a 20 minute lunch break in total, so that's about £180 I didn't earn doing it
I've started to think (as I seem to be photoing my work for prosperity) I should have set angles for before and afters to more easily see any differences; hmmm..
Cleaned the wheels first this time
came up lovely.
state of the bodywork as it arrived
Boot lid
After a snow foam, rinse and shampoo wash it was clear the car was covered in stubborn water marks, it looked better after these two stages but anything less than 5 feet away presented a world of pain on the paint surface. Next stage was to clay mitt with detailers spray to flat the paint and remove the contaminants, this is a very satisfying procedure as the difference is night and day. I don't have a DA as yet so elbows were employed along with Autoglym Super Resin Polish which did the job wonderfully. The paint/clear itself is in very good condition, minimal swirls and no lacquer peel etc. All water marks were removed with the Polish.
After that I used some newly acquired Poorboys Black Hole glaze, applied with applicator pad
and removed with a microfibre cloth. Excellent results I must say, lovely stuff. I'm sure toddlers would love to drink it too if they had the chance as it smells like bubblegum
If I'd had the time in the day I would have sealed/finished with PB Natty Paste Wax but I opted for Meguiars Quick Wax for a quicker job. I'll apply a more long lasting wax when I have more time.
Results
Paint is now like glass covered in PTFE, beautiful to run your fingers over.
Essentially what we're looking at here is a clean car. It's sure it's hard for some to comprehend that this result took 6 hours to achieve, the good news is the car now has several superb layers of protection and subsequent washes (assuming they're relatively frequent) will be joyous occasions where the nearest glimpse of a sponge will have any errant dirt running from the vehicle.
Impreza news, struggling to get the wheels done.
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