Subaru Impreza WRX 04' Blobeye
Discussion
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.
squareflops said:
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.
19mm spacers? I'd be very concerned about getting your doorcards back on. I reckon that you'd get away with 12mm with those speakers. 64mm mounting depth I think. The speakers I have are 69mm and I had to space them out slightly further when using 12mm MDF. No way were the doorcards going back on without crushing the speakers 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.
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
Point, whilst grasping a wad of Euro's. It's the international language that EVERYBODY understands Off topic any ex-pat pubs to recommend, our french is poor at best, apart from please and thank-yous!
Cheers
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
Isn't beard grabbing a form of foreplay in France, he didn't ask you to call him "Papa" did he?
Looked like a great trip though, bet there were some great roads.
The blob looks great though, serious amount of work gone into it to get it on point!
interesting note about the Sahara rain, all my hard work at the weekend has been ruined today after a downpour
As has been mentioned many times now, we need to get out for a blast in the beacons...
Looked like a great trip though, bet there were some great roads.
The blob looks great though, serious amount of work gone into it to get it on point!
interesting note about the Sahara rain, all my hard work at the weekend has been ruined today after a downpour
As has been mentioned many times now, we need to get out for a blast in the beacons...
squareflops said:
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 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
Ahh almost snap, we're staying to the North East of Gorron - Couesmes-Vauce, directly to the east of Le Bois. Small world. 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
We'll likely do very similar to yourself interms of holidaying local to the gite.
I'll hunt out that pub!
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)
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