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As we all know being a perfectionist can be a costly trait where cars are concerned.
I knew when i picked the car up from Jay that there were a few rough edges i wanted to hone.
To date I have done the following in no particular order..
So some minor things, some major.
Let's look at a few of them.
Oil Cooler.
The engine had a tendency to build a bit of oil temp so oil cooler was the obvious answer, space is tight with Perrin FMIC bein present but RCM cooler was squeezed in. Temps are now under much better control.
Remap....
I'd always felt the engine was not running quite optimally, power delivery was not as smooth as i would like and while it made good power i suspected there was an improvement possible.
Enter Paul Blamire who has done an amazing job of the mapping.
On the road the power delivery is smoother, it's quieter, more responsive, eager to rev and it makes more power !!
Before the mapping it was pumping out 517bhp on RCM rollers targeting 2.0 bar.
Now it clears 538bhp with a boost target of 1.9 bar.
As requested Paul has added an immobilizing cal and has added a cal for 95 ron if the usual diet of vpower is not available.
Other than that there are cal for 1.1, 1.5 and 1.9 bar.
This work has made a big difference.
Suspension...
The AST units fitted to the car as part of the T20 package from Litchfield are great on tracks and smooth roads, however round my way the roads were not good enough for them at least IMHO. The AST's are now for sale and cleaned up like new.
BC units have been fitted in replacement along with new front ARB bushes and fast road alignment setup.
This work has transformed the handling and now the car instills the kind of confidence that an AWD Impreza should. It really is a night and day change from the previous setup.
Also, for some reason the car had rear ARB bushes fitted to the front, theses were binned and the correct ones fitted.
Engine Breather....
I'd noticed some ingress of fumes into the cabin .
Further inspection showed a breather hose venting to atmosphere in the bay and also a fuel tank breather VTA in the bay. Not a great combo.
In the end all the breather hoses were stripped out and a simpler yet more effective setup was put in place. No more fumes a lot less pipes and peace of mind that I'm not getting poisoned by the car
A selection of hoses removed.
The net result of all this is that the car is now on another level altogether.
It has refinement and poise to go with the speed and in fact it goes even faster too.
I chose to entrust all this to RCM and am very glad i did. The attention to detail, the sheer desire to ensure i was 100% happy with the car was a breath of fresh air, as was the way i was kept informed with regular mails and photos i honestly can't imagine taking the car anywhere else now.
The car has gained about 21hp when comparing before and after figures on the same dyno on the same day whilst using 0.05bar less boost to do it. That's why it doesn't feel like it's lost any power!
To maximise the cooling, alloy rad has been fitted along with RCM thermostat.
I then adjusted the fans cut in/out point in SCal and now water and oil barely breach 90c in any conditions.
Be nice to get a closer look at this at some point matt as didn't have time last time we met and looks like I missed out looking over a very nice car ��
Quick update to keep this thread current to the state of the car.
ARB's adjusted today.
Now 20mm front (standard subaru bar)
And 21mm Whiteline at the rear
Down from the 22mm all round setup.
New configuration allows the BC's to do their job much better. For me this is a road car or be it a very fast one and the softer bars are a nicer setup, large reduction in harshness over our bumpy roads.
That was the last mechanical job i had in mind for the car.
Other items if / when funds become available.
1) Re finish steering wheel
2) Speedline Turini's in anthricite
3) Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres
4) Black vinyl wrap on the roof or bonnet
But for now it's point at a corner and enjoy.
Even had 26.5 MPG on the last tank due to motorway driving.
Of course the process of continual development is ongoing.
So the car is away at the moment, for fitting of the following parts.
STI R205 Suspension
STI Front Cross Member support
STI Front Strut Brace
The oft maligned BC coilovers, really are not that bad in my experience, particularly combined with a reasonably compliant tyre like the PS4.
Those BC units will be available for sale soon at a nice price, PM if interested.
However, mine and the wifes backs dictate a move to more OE setup.
The car's concept is more Rally than Race you could say.
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