Squarepant5

Well, been knocking around here for a few weeks and didn't even think to see if there was a Welsh section not like I'm unfamiliar with the inner workings of forums either. Ah well.

I posted a thread re wheels and Peter Pan directed me over here so here I am

I'm from the Celica world formally, this is my first Impreza and I have to say I absolutely love it. I took a relatively large sized chance on this one as it's come with no service history. Test drove it and it starts, goes, stops as it should. It has some nice bits on it so I presume has been loved at some point in it's past.

It's largely standard; a very generic o2c WR WRX, there are many like it but this one is MINE.

List of mods are as follows:

Milltek cat back exhaust
Turbosmart recirc twin port dump valve
(inoperative) boost gauge in drivers a pillar pod
WRX Pro replacement front calipers and drilled/grooved discs
possibly a quick shift, it's very short but no reference point
a new gear **** to replace the Momo one that wasn't to my taste when bought
STI rear spoiler
shark fin thing on the roof, hated it to start but It's kinda grown on me. Also looks like I'd rip the roof off if I tried to separate it so it can stay for now
HIDs which are awesome

Think that's it

Given the lack of history I did quite a bit of ringing around and settled on Dean @ Three Arches Garage in Llanishen to do some initial service stuff on it. A Cam belt and tensioner change, 4 new plugs and an inspection on the general condition of the car. I expect to find the clutch isn't brand new, I'm hoping the dampers are in good condition, I'll come back to that in a bit.

Dean is also going to do a few extra things (he may not know about these yet) i.e. hand brake adjustment as it travels to the moon currently
Oil change with Fuchs Titan something 5W30 and filter
Attempt to get the boost gauge working
Try and reprogram the fob for keyless entry as it does NOTHING at the moment

It's the newest car I've owned and after the Celica which I spend faaar too much money on it destroys it straight out the box in all departments. It's quiet, competent, very fast (my Celica was 300hp on paper but I'm sure this covers ground better) and I have an outside temp gauge, can you believe it?! It's like living in the future, I love that little feature

Future plans

Those Prodrive/Eibach springs designed for the WRX from Peter @ PCA Dynamics, this is why I'm hoping the dampers are good, otherwise I'll need to go for the KYB Ultra SRs from Camskill

Engine mods.. hmm. I spent so much on the Celica that I almost cringe when I think about modifying too much, I fell in to an almost bottomless pit of engine tuning with the previous car (cracking ring lands on no less that 3 occasions and needing the same number of rebuilds) and there's no way I want to repeat that so any boost increase is almost a definite no for me; especially given the lack of history, how strong is the bottom end? I don't want to find out. That being said, I hear a remap can increase fuel economy so that could well be an option. One thing that is confusing is the fact that these things have 3 cats?? I don't even know where you put 3. Replacing the up pipe is good I hear as the cat in there can bum itself. Well, anyone with a rock solid - do this and it'll be better - recommendation please comment and I'll do that. Maybe after that is done a quick remap with very conservative boost levels and I'll be happy. Ace Performance use Jolly Green Monster so will employ him all being equal.

I'd like to fit my existing O.Z. Chronos wheels but as Peter P says, might be easier to buy ones that actually fit without faffing. So I'll be on the look out for those/getting my current ones to fit ala

https://www.scoobynet.com/wheels-tyr...s-queries.html

And I promised myself I wouldn't ramble

Any way, some pictures. Sorry firstly, my Iphone appears to have started taking terrible quality photos but you get the idea















I've subsequently cleaned the engine bay quite considerably but yet to capture in on film









and the O.Z Chronos that will probably be too much of an issue to make fit



Some pictures duplicated but how many angles are there

I did speak to the previous owner yesterday, tracked him down from the log book and he's a pleasant chap, sounds like he serviced it well when he had it generally looked after it, unfortunately he didn't have the service history either. Might be a bit harder tracking down the other .. ahem 11 owners

So, that's me

I'll try to keep this up to date and should have another update after it's been serviced on Thursday. Hopefully get to know some of you better in the coming months

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

Welcome along to the Welsh section of ScoobyNet, looks like a nice WRX you've got yourself there and hope you enjoy your new car. You've certainly chosen the right guys to work on your car, Three Arches have a very good repertation on here for sure.
As for Simon Roe (Jolley Green Monster) he sadly passed away last November unfortunatley so I don't know who Ace Performance would be using now, if anyone?? I'm sure one of the other members who use them would know??

Pop along to the next meet on the 9th of April if you can make it?? Always good to see new faces.

Squarepant5

Thank you Pete and I will certainly try. Be good to have a chat and see what's what.

Been looking around the forum, there seems to be some knowledgeable members in SW with some considerable spannering skills, may come in handy

Oh forgot to say on the mods side of things. I do like my music so will be installing a solid, economical install consisting of new head unit

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blue...ood-kdc-bt92sd

and brand matching Kenwood speakers, will be going slightly bigger front and rear and possibly a 12" sub to add some volume. Not a boy racer by any means but will be doing some trips to France and Germany this/next year so will be nice to have a substantial setup to keep us company. Sub will probably be out of the car 90% of the time. I'll do a little install write up when it's done

Squarepant5

That's good to hear dude, I spend 2 days on and off making calls and suming up who to use, glad to hear I chose the right guys! Dean was excellent to be fair, I probably would have got pissed off with me long before he did with all the questions and queries I had

Ahh that's a shame I am sorry to hear that. Ace Performance actually quoted Simon so I guess are not up on current affairs. I've seen another name mentioned on here but can't recall it. If anyone want's to recommend a mapper that'll be great. I've learnt that it's not the map it's definitely the mapper, I'll only use someone who has a huge portfolio of successfully mapped cars behind him and a wealth of recommendations.

The Sheep Worrier

iTrader: (2)

Epic opening into there spongebob, must have taken you ages!

Welcome along to the Welsh sector,as you've already noticed ther's a wealth of knowledge in here, and some very competent spanner monkeys, Peter included!

Enjoy your new car.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

More Blobs

Squarepant5

Cheers guys, yea SW did take a while but when you're genuinely interested in something I guess it shows huh

I've decided I want to get these O.Z. Chronos on. Does anyone here have experience with offsets? Hub centric spacers etc aren't cheap so I only want to have to make these purchases once

STI Glenn

I told Andy last week regarding Simon Roe he didnt know ,good mapper Bob Rawle and a few others

Squarepant5

Ahh OK Glenn. Yea Bob Rawle is another/the other name I've heard a lot of. Is he down our way often?

Squarepant5

update

Dropped the car off @ Three Arches Garage this morning for Dean to carry out the work. It was booked in for the main work of the cam belt and tensioner being changed, along with oil, filter & drain plug change/replacement. While Dean had the car he also gave it an inspection and I have a few advisory notes that I'll come to shortly.

Whilst Dean had the car he noted there was a whine when the car was running, I'd assumed this was an alternator bearing as this is where it seemed to be coming from. Dean advised it was the air con tensioner and he asked if I'd like it replaced along with the air con belt that was badly cracked. I gave the go ahead and; where before there was quite a loud whine when running the car is now much much quieter and I have the added peace of mind that the bearing won't fail and cause further damage to ancillary belts etc. The oil, filter and magnetic drain plug that I supplied were changed and a new set of PFR6B plugs installed.

Whilst Dean had it in he gave the car a thorough look over and talked me through his findings when I collected it. The list of advisories are:

my comments in ()

No belly pan (plastic sump cover, I'll need one of these)
Sump heavily corroded (as a result of above - this will need replacing at some point)
front drop links worn & knocking (audible knocking over bumps)
Front brake pads approx 50% worn (I'll change em soon)
Rear drop links worn & perished (will change these too)
n/s rocker cover gasket leaking (will ask Dean to sort this out)
mud flaps incorrectly fitted (I noticed 1 bolt on each mudflap is loose and not contacting the body)
A/c belt cracking (now replaced)
A/c idler pulley noisy (now replaced)

To be honest I'm not too phased at all by the above list, some items have already been replaced and the remainder are items I can do over the forthcoming weeks/months.

In addition Dean has adjusted the handbrake so it has a great action and little travel. He advised that the aftermarket a-pillar boost gauge is kaput and to replace with a mechanical gauge for reliability. He also advised the alarm ECU is dead and I'll need another one. If anyone has one send it my way

Over all I'm really pleased with how well the car did and I'm massively impressed by Deans & Three Arches Garage approach to working. Dean called me on 3 separate occasions throughout the day advising me of any slight changes to anything already discussed (cam belt brand) to clarify additional findings like the air con belt etc and to confirm that I was happy to go ahead with the additional work before starting anything that may cost me more money.

In the morning when I arrived there was a very nice blob eye STI on the ramps having the alignment done to Prodrive specs and Dean was familiar with the PCA Dynamics springs I've ordered with Peter. That's great because I'm now confident that Dean will be doing my alignment when the springs have gone on.

£500 spend today but I wouldn't have wanted to spend a penny less, I've got more confidence in the car now and I know It's been in the best of care.

I'll recommend Dean and Three Arches Garage to anyone in the South Wales area and beyond, he and all @ Three Arches are very professional whilst maintaining a warm family run business culture.

Right I'm off to go waste some petrol

STI Glenn

You have to go to Bob Rawle in Swindon not far

Squarepant5

For what Glenn?

STI Glenn

If you want him to mapp your car

Squarepant5

Ahh indeed!

To be honest I'm in two minds. I'd love to have a bit more performance of course but to be honest I'm still finding it fast enough. The big thing making me dubious about any boost increase is the unknown state of the bottom end. I have no evidence or specific reason to believe it may be weak and it runs superbly but coming from 3 engine rebuilds on the Celica (albeit ringland related not crank) I'm hesitant to start putting extra stress on the internals and possibly causing a failure. No doubt I'm being overly cautious but I love the car as it is and if it started knocking 10 mins after getting an extra 40hp I'd make these faces for a very long time

Any comments welcome, I'm assuming the power hike comes from upping boost, and that's where all my issues have arisen from in the past.

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

Three Aches really do have a really good reparation, depending on how things pan out I might just take the blob down for a geo set up before the track day on the 11th of April.

Squarepant5

I can't comment on the alignment personally as yet Peter but given work already carried out and the looks of things when I saw the STI having the alignment done I'm more than happy to entrust the job to Dean and the guys there.

Squarepant5

Well decided to go a more familiar route with the wheels. Saw these advertised on FB locally and decided to pick them up. I'm happy enough with the standard wheels but those Wanli's were bothering me due to dire wet weather handling.

The new wheels are Inovit something-or-others 7X17 ET42. They're in near perfect condition and very light by the feel of them; I'll weight them against the OEM wheels and Wanli's and hope to see a weight saving. Tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2s with 6mm of tread on all, more or less brand new. picked them up for less than the cost of the tyres. Also got open ended wheels nuts and adapter tool for all nuts (locking)

As a bonus I don't believe the WR blue and gold wheels theme as been done before so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how they work together.

Chances are I'll wait for the Prodrive Blue springs to arrive in May before I fit these, I'd rather see them when the car has a little less arch gap and the weather should be better by then. I'll keep the OEMs for winter/Rally nights use where I don't mind gravel rashing them a little and abusing the tyres a little more

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

You could always scrub the Wing **** ditch finders out on the track day a week on Saturday if you fancy it?? 2 spaces left

Squarepant5

Ahh got plans Sat Peter

Llandow I assume

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

Yeah

Squarepant5

Not much of an update but now need to spend a bit more money following some faffing to get the WRX up to standard

Since I've had the car the brakes have been slightly spongy. Given the fact that it has the WRX Pro aftermarket front calipers on it I assumed someone hadn't done a great job of bleeding the system after fitting so yesterday I got around to bleeding the system with the help of a reluctant female.



The bleed itself went without incident and bled in what I assume is the correct manner, furthest away to closest to the MC. All lines were full of fluid rather than air except the front near side. That belches out large amounts of air before any fluid came through. Great I thought. That's the problem, easy fix.

Long answer is it didn't work. Somehow there must still be air in the system or there's something else slightly amiss as the pedal still needs an initial prod then a subsequent one in quick succession to realize full braking force. Not a problem exactly but an annoyance none the less. All pistons look in good condition from a very cursory inspection so I'll have another go at bleeding the system when I ... replace all discs and pads

I hadn't quite noticed that the brake discs are more or less shot to ****, I felt the edge of the discs when I was buying the car and there was no lip at all, brill I thought loads of life left in these but on closer inspection yesterday I see that there's hardly any/if any groove left on the face of the discs, they're almost smooth which points toward them being severely worn. Pads are ok but meh they'll get replaced too.

I'll be buying OEM spec discs and pads from Scoobyworld when they open again on the 14th (who closes for a whole week?) along with front and rear Whiteline arb drop links and arb bushes. Any know what size is correct, The website has a choice all the way from 16mm to 4 feet.

Next - thing



blown NSR damper. So; when I replace the Prodrive blue springs I won't be putting them on blown dampers, I'll be buying KYB Ultra SRs from Camskill and mating them all up. I want to retain as much OEM or OEM equivalence as possible in these areas and the KYBs are a good standard/uprated option along with the WRX matched shocks from PCA Dynamics.

#money

Took advantage of the good weather and completed some cleaning therapy

Summer wheel clean







Took a surprising amount of hours to do all 4 properly.

Today I continued detailing the engine bay, removed intake hoses and gave them a good scrub along with the air box, cleaned the various reservoirs and reservoir caps etc etc. No pics of that.

And that brings us up to now

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Get Godspeed Discs and pads. Ian is only in Bryncethin nr Bridgend.

The NSF brakes seem to go first as they pick up ****e from the gutter with puddles on the same side. You may have the steel pistons that stick. Again Ian will supply a refurb kit or refurbed brakes with stainless pistons.

Problem solved.

S3LDM

Welcome along mate

See you have been busy already, hope you got plenty of money as the Scooby will eat up quite a lot if you go down the modding route

That's a nice Blob you got there enjoy it

Squarepant5

Well taken the Godspeed advice (cheers Trooper) and ordered 4X discs & F&R kevlar pads, £250 delivered which I'm happy with. I mentioned hoping the calipers aren't seized whilst on the phone with (I assume) Ian and he mentioned that as they're the WRX Pro calipers they should be OK as they haven't actually been around that long. No guarantees of course but he said he hasn't seen any major corrosion issues with them yet.

Popped to Halfords (again) after replacing my windscreen wipers for new Bosch units yesterday and picked up another set of axle stands to get all 4 wheels off the ground for the up coming brake replacement and suspension work and even a little garage stool (eBay) to save the knees as I'm working on it. Along with the breaker bar on the way, my new (shiny!) torque wrench, some penetrating (giggidy) fluid and de greaser spray I should have most things to do the job. I'm hoping I don't get stuck half way through the suspension job as that will be a bit of a PITA, that is some way off still though as the springs won't be in from Germany until May. When I do the brakes I'll make sure all the suspension components I'll need to replace have a good spray of - lets call it WD40 (I bought the Muc-Off equiv)

I hope ZSX appreciates all this time and money I'm throwing at it

Cheers S3, not going down the modding route per se, just getting it back to where it should be with piece of mind that all major service items have been completed. At least that's my plan, the wheels don't scream OEM I know but given the spec on my last car everything I'm doing to this one is super tame in comparison

Squarepant5

7 hours today I'm knackered

Received the Godspeed brakes and got to fitting around 12pm today. Weather was good if not a little blustery. Brakes look great out the box, nicely finished and all very.. disc shaped. The job took so long as I was new to the Impreza brake setup and took plenty of time to clean up all bolts, slide pins etc and clean all mating surfaces and copper slid all interference parts (apart from pad to disc)

Discs boxes branded as LPB







Got a good assortment of tools together, wanted to be able to start the job and not get held up by having to jack up / remove more wheels half way through the job so got it up off the floor at the beginning of the work







All was going very well until I mistakenly identified my WD40 as disc cleaner and covered the front off side disc in lubricant thankfully I had disc cleaner to cover my tracks.

I was really surprised by how well everything came apart, I was dreading seized bolts and rusted pistons but everything was in great shape. All pistons look in great condition and pushed back into the calipers with no fuss. I handily had a syringe on hand to remove the excess brake fluid from the master cylinder as I returned the pistons to their housings

handy device



The rear brakes and pads coming off were in fact perfectly serviceable, discs had lots of life left in them and pads were less than 30% worn I'd say but the fronts were past their best.

Few random shot from the job and the result









All in all a very honest days work

Results are hard to comment on as I've only taken it around the block so far today but initially I can confirm that the spongy pedal and necessity to pump the pedal twice to get a good feel has disappeared and over all pedal feel is dramatically better. Time will tell how they perform past run in period. 300 miles now on light braking

Well as I was typing this up my mate arrived at my house to gloat with his new purchase, a bug eye STI PPP with every option from the factory and a huge amount of Subaru history, and he paid less for his than I did *****

Squarepant5

Drive today to complete the bed in miles. Bit of a habit with my cars taking a picture here







The launch not long after these pictures were taken tells me I'll need a clutch soon

Squarepant5

Well, ordered an uprated Exedy Pink Box clutch from Bob Aztec about 2 weeks ago. After a week I dropped him an email as it hadn't arrived and he noted that Exedy are having a few issues at the moment and he offered instead a Competition Clutch (actual manufacturer rather than a description which confused me at first) Stage 2 Carbon Kevlar kit for a little extra money, so I took it. This is supposed to give an easy pedal still but can apparently hold up to 607hp good to know.

Item looks very nice. Now, this is where the slight surprise comes. Opening the box I pulled the clutch kit out and thought - there's something else in here



so I pull out - a 4140 Forged Steel Ultra Lightweight Steel flywheel that I haven't ordered or payed for.

Didn't pay for it, can't keep it unless I've wildy misunderstood the purchase process I shouldn't have this thing.

It hits me right in the feels to send it back but I'll contact Bob and see what he wants to do.

Anyway some pictures which is why I'm sure we're all here

Whiteline front and rear ARB drop links and bushes





clutch goodness





spigot bearing and alignment tool



Why is life so cruel

/first world problems

Looking forward to getting the clutch fitted in the next few weeks. Just suspension to tackle then and it'll be exactly as I want it.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Any reason why you went for that particular clutch?

The Sheep Worrier

iTrader: (2)

I think due to as said in post above, excedy were out of stock and the above was recommended by bob for as mall amount of money extra.

Great thread op, sounds like you know your way round a car and are doing a top job.

I really ought to do a project thread on mine after all the effort have been done over the years (7infact!) but never seem to get roud to it and its a lot of effort and I hate computers!

Great progress well done.

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

Looks like the Subaru has already got under your skin and started to empty your bank account. I'm starting to think with mine do I own the car or does the car own me?? Probably the latter.