The hubs were actually done by a brush for speed.

Hammerite will have some degree of self levelling, so any minor brush strokes won't be that noticeable. No major need for taping then, turning it into a quick job.

 

Haha! I wasn't hoping that you'd say that bud.

Ill definitely paint mine then, as I'm waiting to fit some new discs and brembos over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the advice

 

No problem. If they are new discs, spraying will give a much better finish.

Also the new Brembo discs have a grey / black coating on them to prevent rust.

 

The discs are nearly new so the hubs will need to a little tlc before I put them on.

unfortunately they're not new brembos. I'll be interested though to use a protective coating, if you knew the name of the product that they use mate ?

 

Sorry I'm afraid I don't.

 

It's been a while since the Impreza had a good long drive.

So a road trip was booked over to Scotland.

Time for a quick oil change.



The start of a quick clean up.



Getting some supplies ready for the trip.



That's her all cleaned up.




The quality of the HKS exhaust always amazes me. It cleans up so well too.



The gold wheels look so well when they are clean.



An early start for the first boat over.



Arriving in sunny Scotland.



Obligatory car in boat photo!



Sat Nav primed for a target south east of Edinburgh.



Arrived in the stunning Port Seaton and left the car with the infamous Andy Forrest.



The last boat back, it's been a long day. I left the boat around 9:45pm.



Naturally the real purpose was to get the car over to Andy Forrest to have the map tweaked for UK fuel. Living in Northern Ireland I opted for a map based on BP Ultimate (97 RON). I appreciate it's not the best fuel ever, but at least the car is running perfectly and on a fuel that is readily available to me.

More to the point the infamous Andy Forrest is an absolute gent. Exceptionally knowledgeable and more than happy to answer my list of queries on the car. He's a fountain of knowledge and had loads of advise for me.

The car got a very clean bill of health and I was provided with 336BHP and 336 lb/ft to drag me home.

The trip home was fantastic. As Andy said the mid range is immense, bare in mind the car was certainly no slouch before hand. It's now a much creamier, thicker level of power and significantly more responsive.

The car has genuinely went up a level. I'm much happier it's sorted for UK fuel and is running well.

I can see why Andy Forrest has such a good reputation!

The car was ideal for the road trip. Around three hours from one side of Scotland to the other. The pouring rain on the way back didn't phase her in the slightest. The coast road home highlighted the superb chassis and power-train of the car. Neither were phased by the increase in power. What a car!

 

Great read. Brilliantly maintained. Credit mate.

Is your car standard apart from the HKS backbox? I ask as 336bhp from a standard JDM STI? Is that the sort of figures you'd expect from just a remap?

 

Ta very much!

Yep beyond the HKS exhaust that's her standard. Arguably being well maintained, K&N panel filter, rcm oil pump, belts, grade 7 plugs go some way to making sure she does the best she can...

I wouldn't get too hung up on the figures, she drives incredibly well now.

 

The jdm sti are epic cars straight out of the box with very little mods to make them an even better car.
Spools great and loads of mid range punch.

 

Awesome read. I'm loving the attention to detail. I'm hopefully picking up a MY04 jdm sti widetrack very soon and this has given me some ideas

 

Cheers Craig, go for it absolutely brilliant cars.

 

Hi Neil. Hopefully I'll be collected the car tomorrow, can't wait! One of the first tasks will be to underseal the car and treat the areas under the wheel arches etc. Which Dynax products did you use on which areas of the car? And which Por 15 product did you use behind the sideskirts?

Craig.

 

Good luck, it's not a nice job lol! Naturally don't wear your Sunday best to do it .

I used Dynax UC on anything I could visibly see, including behind the arch liners, beneath skirts etc. Any box sections, sills, inside the u frame the bonnet innards etc were treated with Dynax S50.

Two of each aerosol will be plenty and leave you with some spare for top ups.

The POR-15 was used for the seams, arch lips, sills etc. Really in areas that aren't visible. Done well it's an added level of protection.

Note it may be worth getting hold of some extra trim clips for the liners, skirts etc.

The Bilt Hamber products are brilliant, great customer service and they ship very quickly.

Any rust you may wish to treat with Hydrate.

My own car didn't have any rust at all. So I used the UC product. The UB product isn't clear and may be your preference. I'll be using the UB product on a track car soon. But it's no where near the standard of the Scooby.

 

Ill get some products on order.

Craig.

 

Add a HazMat suit too

 

Neil
great looking car in the best colour IMO, you've turned a clean car into a show car
she's cracking, enjoy the drive

 

LOL probably quite true, the rally car should really have splats of mud up the side of it.

 

Hi Neil. Picked my JDM STI Widetrack up, now the fun starts ☺.

 

That looks very sharp in white with the grey wheels!

Get stuck in!

 

@Neil. Great work - very clean car you've got there.

@Craig. Nice! White JDMs are a rare sight on UK roads and subsequently command a price premium. Where did you buy it from? Is it a fresh import?

 

Kk

 

They aren't necessarily the most refined cars ever but mine would be fairly smooth.

I'd suggest just as you are doing gearbox and diff oils for good measure.

 

Turn the DCCD to manual and see if it still does it then.

 

What car you running Uncle Creepy?

 

What a relief.

 

Phew! Cheap fixes are always welcome eh?

 

MOT time for the STI, so a bucket of water was thrown over her .




Excuse the dirty engine bay, however the joys of MOTing a car in NI is stricter than the rest of the UK. Basically any car with HID's must have a head light washer system installed. Being an import there are no headlight washers installed. I'm not about to hack my bumper up so...

Much to the MOT testers amusement these technically "ticked the box".



The MOT was passed without any advisories.

I may be selling this car soon, should anyone be interested in a real clean example with a full years MOT, feel free to give me a shout.

 

Ha. Great mod there fella

 

I should sell it for £99.99

 

Time for a few random pre sale photos from the weekend.

The facelift interior is a bit step over the pre facelift. A surprisingly nice place to be!




I love the front end with the grilles added!



The sauce pipe always looks well cleaned up.



A nice "little" organised history file!



Fuel filler area is nice and clean!



I was out today painting the bells of the discs, polishing the callipers and waxing the wheels. An awful day for it, I'm starting to dry out now...