BenWRXSEI

I always said I'd sell my Subaru when I work out what I'd liek to replace it with, but after 2.5 years and ~60k miles I'm still none the wiser (without spending silly money at least!) so I think it's time to admit the car's here for a while

I'm initially after a little advice on what I can do, and I'll probably keep this thread as a bit of a diary as I go. It's not going to be a fire-breathing epic build by any stretch, more a quest to subtly improve and make easier to live with a car I already like a lot.

So, here's what we're starting with:

2006 2.5 WRX Wagon
PPP
108k miles
Bone stock apart from the usual PPP accouterments

Here it is after a wash, parked up at a friend's house:





My requirements are probably a bit different to most Impreza 'projects' in that I currently do around 20k miles a year, included towing duties for my Westfield. For me it needs to remain stock externally (I visit customer sites where it already sticks out amongst the sea of VAG goods on PCP!) and be an entertaining daily, without compromising it's everyday 'get in and drive'-ness or the ability to tow a ton of track car/trailer. For this reason I also need to maintain the stock ride-height, otherwise the tow-bar height will be all wrong. I'm not chasing power and it will never see the track, and I won't polybush it as I don't want to make it even louder on the motorway. My list of current ideas is as follows:

- Whiteline (or similar uprated) ARBs - assuming these are OK with stock suspension?
- Braided brake lines
- Uprated pads of some sort (I've liked EBC Yellows in the past, but open to suggestions)
- Brake stopper
- Bluetooth & DAB enabled stereo, probably with some uprated door speakers
- Remap - the PPP isn't the smoothest so I think I can get more out of the car with a custom map. I'd expect power levels to remain similar to current.
- Some additional sound-proofing, perhaps
- Retro-fit cruise control
- Some subtle mudflaps that don't make me look like a Colin McRae wannabe (do these even exist?!)

...like I said, hardly the most exciting of projects

If anyone has any thoughts or recommendations I'm all ears. It'll be fairly slow going as I'm in the middle of sprinting season so the Westfield is taking up most of my spare time, but I'd like to start getting everything lined up at least.

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Did you not consider LPG conversion? If you do so many miles. And Brembo calipers all round.

BenWRXSEI

Will Brembos fit under the standard 17s?

Not a fan of LPG really. Plus I can expense a fair chunk of my fuel costs so I'm not too worried about that side of things.

Cambs_Stuart

iTrader: (3)

This is a great wagon thread with plenty of good stuff that will improve your wagon

https://www.scoobynet.com/members-ga...wrx-wagon.html

I've copied a lot of the ideas (albeit less skillfully) on my own wagon.

https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-4...o-be-here.html

But some effective and relatively cheap mods are: group n pitch stop mount, brake stopper, steering rack poly bushes, 20mm rear arb (plus bushes), and braided brake and clutch hoses.

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

As far as i know you can. But brake upgrade should be top of your list, as with the weight your towing. Interesting job aswell, how did you get into that?

Also the links provided look really good.

BenWRXSEI

Ah great, thanks Stuart. Some excellent reading material there!

BenWRXSEI

Ah, might not have explained that too well. My job is fairly ordinary (I'm a licensing consultant, hence the site visits), the sprinting is purely a hobby.

I know the standard brakes aren't the best, but in 60k miles I've not had too much issue with them. I'll probably go for braided lines, pads and the brake stopper first and see how we get on before considering shelling out for Brembos. Good to know they'll go under the 17s though! Towing-wise, fortunately my trailer has pretty good brakes on it so bringing everything to a nice safe halt is pretty easy

Thanks all for the suggestions

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Ah trailer brakes why didn't i think of that

Its a pity you can't have something like ESL, and have 2 maps, one for towing and another for fun.

Ah ok got the job from now.

Avalyn

I've just installed a new Bluetooth head unit (double din Kenwood), huge difference even with the standard speakers (next job on my list).


Pretty easy mod, especially with the autoleads connector, it's a 30 min job at the most.

BenWRXSEI

Good to know. Which one did you go for? I'm debating holding out until Android Auto units come down in price, but I suspect I'll be waiting a while

Avalyn

It's a Kenwood DDX-4017 DAB. It was a pretty simple plug and play with the Autoleads connector (old one out, remove from cage, put new one in cage, feed phone lead into glovebox, feed mic towards steering wheel, connect up and stick new unit in).


Does spotify, comes with an external mic for calls, Bluetooth connectivity, there's definitely an Android symbol too so is compatible. I was tempted by the latest Apple CarPlay models but to be honest most of the time I drive with the stereo off

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Whiteline C-Com top mounts, bigger rear ARB, proper 4 Wheel Alignment, decent tyres, brakes. Can't do much more with the handling if staying on stock springs. Koni-Sport dampers will tighten things up but uprated springs with a small drop make the major difference.

Chef.gav

Nice hawk wagon to start with
Iv been down a lot of that roads where you started from.
Don't think the brembos fit below that wheels with out spacers. I went braided lines, better discs and pads, brake stopper. Then ended off with a set of 330mm ksport brakes.These fit behind my stock 17"wax wheels for winter and the 18" pro drives for summer. Couldn't justify the extra for money for AP's as still a road car. I needed the upgrade as the wrx calipers just wasn't up to the task. I got a turbo swap done to a hatch sti turbo (vf48) and needed to extra bite to stop!!!

Handling I did a few month ago and it stiffened the driving up a lot. Already had eibach springs, but put on whiteline pack of ALK, droplinks, ARB and centre roll kit. Really worth it and has made it easier to put it into the corners quicker and out the other side.
You can do a lot to a wagon, just all depends how far you want to go ; )

boggissimo

Brembos will NOT fit under standard WRX 17" wheels, but they will fit under standard STI 17" wheels. I had Brembos fitted to my wagon and had to pick up some STI wheels to go with them (there are also plenty of non-OEM 17" and 18" wheels that will fit over Brembos, but it's always worth checking).

If you're not tracking it and are happy with the braking while towing, then it's probably overkill for you to go for the Brembo calipers, plus the discs and pads needed. Better pads and discs, a brake stopper and braided brake hoses should still make a noticeable improvement, even on OEM calipers.

There are some Prodriive mudflaps in this thread in the breakers section:
https://www.scoobynet.com/full-cars-...-prodrive.html

BenWRXSEI

Thanks for the clarification boggissimo - I'll stick with plan A re: the brakes in that case. I think if the Prodrive mudflaps flaps are as subtle as I can get I'll do without

Gav - your wagon looks lovely!

Thanks also to everyone else who has given their suggestions. I'm chasing down a wheelbearing-ey sort of noise at the moment which should be sorted next week - after that I'll start collecting bits

DTB

That's a very clean looking wagon you have there Your alloys may be in great condition (can't really tell from the photos, although they look fine) however, if they are not I would recommend getting them refurbed in black. It's only my opinion, but I think grey wagons look best with black wheels.

Tidgy

Just had mine mapped and i would recomend it, MPG is better and pulls better.

BenWRXSEI

Good to know. I have a local mapper in mind who I'll contact in due course. Was yours a standard WRX or did it already have the Prodrive pack?

Re: the ride height, for clarity here's a pic of it in full workhorse mode:



Obviously the weight of the trailer pushes the back end down an inch or so, so with it all correctly loaded the two axles on the trailer are holding the load pretty evenly.

Re: the wheels, they're a bit untidy so I might think about a refurb in pewter grey or something in due course. TBH the bodywork has its fair share of marks and dings from a life spend on industrial estates (no matter how careful I am about parking away from the great unwashed!) and this is likely to only get worse, so I try not to be too precious about how it looks on the outside.

Managed to give the MAF and boost solenoid a good clean out yesterday as I felt it was a bit down on power, and it definitely felt happier this morning. I bloody love this car

Tidgy

mine was standard bar ppp. The secondary air system had a fault on it causing a CEL. Its a daft system that takes in water so it rusts and causes the valves to seize, the water that poured out of the pipework was just red rust. Choice was overhaul the system or remap it out.

My drive haha

It's my daily so other than some small bits and bobs i might have done will stay as is, have my type R for the weekend so wont ever be as quick as that anyway.



I've got the graph a home so i'll try and get it up here later

BenWRXSEI

Love that driveway!

That'd be great of you could - thanks

Tidgy

haha cheers, my daily, the type r and then the mrs's. although R is now in the garage now i cleared it out lol

Tidgy

Hopeully the pic will work,

https://goo.gl/photos/ZuKZgBU1DYSH6yGk6

BenWRXSEI

That works. What an improvement!

Tidgy

yeah, torques jumped up nicely, pulls alot stronger as well drive ability feels alot better. I always recon first map is the most noticeable.