My12' Wrx Sti Spec R - Shaunus

[shaunus]

Hey guys,

Well, its been a few years but I am finally back behind the wheel of another rex. Albeit this one is much nicer/newer. Not a Nissan but feel something different posted up won't hurt as I have always browsed these forums for the past 5 or so years!

After weighing up many options and almost pulling the trigger on a 99 V-Spec GTR (had piss poor compression and leak down results) I was contacted by a member of P-WRX interested in parting ways with his Subi.

After arranging an inspection and a viewing, the deal was made.

Aesthetically, I have no plans to change it's look as I personally believe the previous owner did a bang on job of making it look amazing. Performance wise however, I plan to eventually change the turbo back to something more "streetable" as it is a bit of a lag monster! With that said, once it does hit boost it hits hard and pulls well but there is nothing down low which is a bit of a bummer.

Was dyno'd at 365hp.

Future plans are a mild engine build when the current donk let's go, not chasing big hp but something that is suitable for everyday use. So reliability, strength and the opportunity to pursue more hp down the track if the bug bites.

Mods below:

AEM dry type pod filter Process west piping
Deatsch work fuel pump dw265c
Equal length headers and up pipe heat treated
x-force turbo back exhaust
bendix ultimate pads front and rear
std coilovers
gtps03 td06-20g
psr turbo inlet pipe
bosch 1000cc injectors
ultrex underbrace
hella braided telfon brake hoses
Dba T3 4000 rotors
goodridge clutch line
kartboy short shifter
whiteline positive traction kit
whiteline rear camber kit
whiteline diff bushes
kart boy transmission bushes
grimmspeed light weight pulley
grimmspeed mac valve
perrin radiator shroud
greddy magnetic sump plug
Cusco brake master cylinder stopper
1m fuel line mod
Dynotuned to 363.9hp and 499.5nm
23psi

interior
Retrimmed dash and glovebox in alcantara with red stitching
Full stereo with custom boot
0 gauge wiring split off to 2x 2gauge to amps
custom tweeter pods with suede and stitched
2x jl audio w6v2 subs
alpine pdx1.1000
alpine pdx4.100
jl audio c5 speakers allround
soundboard connected to headunit
odyssey 34r deep cycle battery
dynamat through out
Beltronics built in radar detector
JDM sti centre console extra compartment
perrin hub centric 20mm spaces bolt on
reverse camera

exterior
professionally sprayed pearl black rims
Hella super tones
Project Mu lug nuts
full genuine ht aeros kit
black JDM sti side badges


Enjoy!

Constructive criticism is welcome.

Cheers,


Shaun

[shaunus]

Few more piccies!

[dyl33]

Absolutely mint.

[Redline_GTR]

Glad to see something different up on here

Car looks good and sounds like some nice plans and mods with it.

Also very nice colour combination!

[shaunus]

Thanks guys!

Yeah between heading to Europe next month and buying a house I'm not going to go silly with it.

Just going to look at adding the following:

- 18x10 +18 Work Emotion XD9's all round - undecided on finish yet.

- Perrin FMIC kit from the States

Then going to get a re-tune to make the most of the new intercooler kit as I believe I am right on the border of maxing out my stock STI cooler. I'm also wanting them to get rid of a bit of a flat spot around 3500rpm (most likely due to the new intake) which I believe has room for improvement in the current tune. I also want to have the launch control setup properly as it is currently only set at 3500rpm. It barely makes any boost and just bogs down. Need's to be increased a fair bit in order to do proper launches. Not chasing massive HP so not too worried if we lower the boost and try and get some more low/mid range power as I am currently relying on torque down low which is a bit of a shame.

Everything else is on point!

[niZmO_Man]

Mint car! So are you going to "stance out" this car with those wheels?

[levinboy]

Have you considered going the process west Verticooler??

[shaunus]

Thanks for the kind responses guys! As for the fitment of the wheels. I want something quality, light and aggressive to fill the massive arches on the sti. I have everything already fitted to the rex to make some serious fitment achievable.

I also forgot to mention, this car is strictly only used for daily purposes. It will see no track work at all unfortunately.

[shaunus]

Long time user and thought I would give this thread a little update.

January 25th 2016 - Was an epic storm in Kalgoorlie and silly me decided to go for a little drive. Basically, got to the top of a large bridge crossing and on the other side was a large puddle..with nowhere to turn around and traffic behind me I had no choice but to soldier on and proceed with caution. Caution wasn't enough and the result was a hydro-locked motor. After countless minutes spent cussing and pushing my sti in one foot of a water to a side street I managed to calm my nerves and file an insurance claim then and there. The car was towed and a short stroll to the pub with wet shoes was in order.

Fast forward a few weeks and the insurance assessor was on his way up to Kal to view the car. Long story short the repairs were authorized albeit not with who I wanted to perform the work so I phoned up and put a temporary hold on carrying out any repairs until I was satisfied in the direction everything was going. The local guys had pulled apart the top mount and other hardware and just thrown it all in the boot with loose fasteners etc rolling around freely. I lost my sh*t obviously as that is in no way professional nor a good sign.

After a few calls to the guy handling my claim he informed me I could choose my own repairer and he will review the quotes prior to approval.  I had a few of the top Subi specialists in Perth quote up a brand new oem bottom end, arp fasteners throughout, my head's re-worked, new timing kit, re-tune etc. All of this still came in cheaper than the shonky original quote done here in Kal for a reconditioned motor by some unknown company without a re-tune.  A few days later the car was on a truck to Perth at the insurers cost. I was less stressed out by this point

Upon tear down they discovered a small portion of the crown of piston no. 4 was missing. I guess that explained why it was using a bit of oil!! That storm is starting to look like a blessing in disguise after all!

The motor only took a few weeks for them to assemble and it was all back in and running. This is where the drama started as they wanted to re-tune it as the previous tune was questionable at best. High boost, no bottom end and only 1000rpm usable power up top which resulted in a less than satisfying drive...I'm glad they were as keen as I was to get it dialed in properly. It was re-tuned using Ecutek...A very well known Perth shop did the first tune after the run in period which resulted in a big stumble in power as it transitioned from vacuum to boost. Granted it was already there on the last tune they just didn't seem too interested in diagnosing it nor fixing it so they keys were handed back and on it went to another shop in Perth. It lobbed into Tokyo Motorsports which specialize primarily in Evo's however, they went above and beyond to ensure the stumble was fixed and it would be good fun to drive. Can't thank them enough for the work they did.  They completely wiped the ecu clean and stole the oem map off another stock 2012 sti as mine had been played with so much that it was easier to start from scratch than try and correct what was already there.

The result was slightly less power however, instead of running 23 pound it now is running a conservative 17 tapering down to 1 bar. A lot safer for daily duties and with better fuel consumption...most of all the stumble is gone!!! It is seriously a much nicer drive and it makes hp more at 4000rpm now than it did on the previous tune! It is a lot more responsive and is punchy as hell compared to its previous state. I apologize for the long post but thought it might be of interest to some of you guys as its a bit different than the usual R or gtst build.

 

Few attachments.

- Old tune is in colour (bhp)

- New tune is black and white (awkw)

Future mods.

- Wheels need some attention - undecided of fitment at the moment however will aim for 18x10 +35 or so all round. Want Sp1's 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2016 by shaunus

[Jordy32]

This is a cool car!

[r32-25t]

Keeping an eye on this one

[shaunus]

Thanks for the kind words.

Going to be adding a few bits and pieces over the coming weeks so will update the thread as parts arrive.

 

 

[shaunus]

So after not posting in a while, I thought I would chuck up some more info/pics on how it sits currently...

Installed a new set of coilovers to replace the ones that were on it. I believe they damaged the front pair by strapping it down too hard for freight when they sent it back to me from Tokyo Motorsports and S-Technic. Pretty simple fix to do and was rather satisfying to not hear any more clunking and seeing the wheels no longer off centre in the guards. When I tore the old front pair down there was noticeable shaft play and a grinding feel when depressing them. Glad they went in the bin!

Have since installed a set of 18x9.5" wheels. Opted for Rota's mainly due to the fact the roads where I live are brutal and I couldn't justify the expense of legit jap rims until I move back to the coast. The wheels site much nicer and fill out the enormous guards quiet well. Am currently waiting on an S206 lip kit for it to replace the one I have on it at the moment. It has copped years of abuse and the plastic is rather banged up.

Still haven't gotten round to installing my process west fmic kit but it is on the cards next time I head back to Perth with the car as a tune needs to accompany it. Going to wind up the boost a tiny bit more and look at adding a few features within the tune. 

Any input is encouraged