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Superacerc's Garage/Journal

('09-'13) 
309K views 3K replies 94 participants last post by  Superacerc 
#1 · (Edited)
Accomplishments so far:

Engine Mods:
-stage 2 built block from awdtuning, dallas tx.
+JE Pistons
+heat treated nitride coated crank
+manly H beam rods
+acr race bearings
-Cobb UNcatted DP (rallysportdirect.com)
-grimmspeed ceramic uppipe (rallysportdirect.com)
-Tuned via Rom Raider myself
-PTP turbo blanket (PTP in austin)
-lava heat wrap on Down pipe in engine bay. (PTP in austin)
-GFB Hybrid Blow off/bypass valve (rallysportdirect.com)
-Walboro 255lph fuel pump (rallysportdirect.com)
-GRIMMSPEED manual boost controller www.grimmspeed.com
-back to stock TD04
-Top Mount intercooler process west style (Fast motorsports) (turbotektuning.com)
-1000cc BOSCH injectors (turbotektuning.com)
-Grimmspeed Lightweight pulley (Grimmspeed.com)
-1 step colder NGK plugs (ray@turbotektuning.com)
-back to stock header
-2015 Sti Sedan Catback
-AEM Cold air intake
-Perrin turbo inlet
-2 Oil Catch Cans
-Deleted BPV return line back to intake.
-wrx engine mounts
-QTP Electric Exhaust Cutout


Suspension mods:

-22mm Whiteline front swaybar (rallysportdirect.com)
-22mm Whiteline rear swaybar (rallysportdirect.com)
-kartboy aluminium endlinks (rallysportdirect.com)
-Anderson Design Fabrication 2" lift with trailing arm extensions.


Drivetrain mods:

-6 speed sti transmission
-DCCD pro controller
-limited slip r180 rear diff
-sti axles
-sti driveshafts
-clutchmasters 6 puck fx400 clutch
-kartboy shifter bushing
-kartboy short throw shifter
-turn in concepts shifter linkage bushing.
-Drive Shaft Shop 08+STI Aluminum Driveshaft (58 inches)
- killer b delrin matte shift knob


Comfort/Utility mods:

-BFG TA KO2 IN 265 65 16
-Insulated Car with RAAMAT and Ensolyte (RAAMAT.com)
-Rubber Undercoated the entire underside with 3M Rubberized Undercoating (Autozone)
-Tinted front windows to match rear factory tint (Solar Shade Humble, tx)
-JVC Head Unit (SF.org member)
-Sylvania silverstar ultra lowbeams
-THULE Sidekick rooftop carrier(amazon.com)
-53" crossbars(amazon.com)
-gorilla offroad mudflaps (gorillaoffroad.com)


Supporting Mods:
-aem uego wideband O2 kit and gauge
-prosport sti style boost gauge
-smy gauge cluster
-wrx gauges(ebay)


Style/look mods:
-lamin-x gunsmoke rear tail tint (lamin-x.com)
-SPARCO Terra Corsa 16"
-Sports Grille


Brakes:
-Stoptech Street Performance Pads (rallysportdirect.com)
 
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#30 · (Edited)
Update on the protune: in the latest revision of my tune (7th), I'm now holding 17.6 psi. That's all she's gonna do for boost I believe. We held the timing in a bit longer on the top end as well. I may get one more revision but I think it's close to done with. Dropped almost a second off my quarter so far as compared with the Cobb STG II and .6 off my 0-60. From a virtual Dyno program the tuner is using (I don't know how accurate it really is, seems a bit generous to me) he inputs the info from the data logs which I complete on a super flat piece of Tarmac and before this latest revision he figured me at 257whp and 279 tq. My quickest 1/4 I've done so far is 14.4 @ 9X(90 something) mph. Temperature was 78deg and extra humid when doing the runs. Best 0-60 so far is 5.7. All the times were recorded using the Cobb ap applets built in the programmer. I figure there's some error involved due to the fact that the tires size can't exactly match whatever the ecu is using to calculate the speedometer, which should be where these numbers are coming from. I just dont know if the error is in my favor or against me.
 
#31 ·
Thats about max for the td04 especially for a stock catback. I dont know how close the cobb aps are but they are probly a little generous. The dyno graph he uses is pretty close but a little generous as well its pretty much the same as the cobb dyno ap. Congrats on the new found boost now lets see some real quarter mile times.
 
#32 ·
Yeah, figured it sounded too generous since he gave me numbers that other people with better mods are getting. I've got to get out to the track at some point but it's getting miserably hot already here in Texas which makes track nights not so much fun. I'll try to hit up the track about 20 minutes from my house in the next month.
 
#34 ·
He's got my boost target set at 17.9psi and i'm hitting 17.6 so that's not too far off. As long as that BOV holds (I don't mind if it doesn't cause it'll give me a good reason to buy a metal one) I shouldn't do too bad. What was the temperature at the track when you ran the 14.09? Just curious if the colder temps help out some. Its been close to 100 deg here in texas where i was camping this past weekend.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Tinted the windows yesterday. I think my left arm has gotten more of a tan than my right due to not having tinted the windows already.

I'm ready to get out of Houston! I'll be PCS-ing next year hopefully somewhere north (very north). Going to put in for Anchorage, Juneau, Maine, Washington, Buffalo, or anywhere in north michigan or wisconsin. Hopefully I'll get one of those placs.

Coming in to work today there was a brand new Mercedes SL350 in front of me. I don't know much about these cars except they should be pretty quick. He was always taking off like a rocket from each stop light but would get caught usually at the next one. I ended up behind him and decided to see if the Foz could keep up with it's acceleration. To my suprise he couldn't leave me behind at all. Once he saw I was playing keep up behind him he nailed it a bit and still couldn't leave me behind. I'm sure at first he had no clue what was behind him since it was 0545 and still dark outside. Then at the next light i'm sure it pissed him off that a little station wagon/CUV was keeping up with him. Made me smile a bit. (No speed limits were majorly broken here. Just accelerating to about 5+ on the limit. It also wasn't a race. Just seeing if I could hang with the big boys ). I just looked up the SL350 and it's times from the factory are almost identical to what my foz should be at the moment. A pretty even match on the acceleration front, not so even on the classiness, or handling, or comfort or pretty much anything else though. Was a bright red one. Very nice looking.
 
#37 ·
When I got home today I thought of some places I could use my leftover RAAMAT. I had about 3 full pieces left. I figured I could knock out some road noise by putting some underneath the car on the parts that didn't have any rubber undercoating. There were quite a few areas that weren't coated with anything and probably let in alot of road noise. Some were around the transmission tail and the driveshaft, others just on the floor under the feet of the people in the car. First I took mineral spirits and cleaned up those areas. Then I cut up the RAAMAT into pieces so I could put it in various places to get as much general coverage as possible. Being quite a parts store pack rat I had 3 cans of 3M rubberized undercoating. It goes on really thick and rubbery so I figured I'd cover up all the patches I put on and seal the edges of them so they won't get dirt stuck in there. Then I emptied the entire can everywhere else that wasn't coated and then added layers to what was coated. Having only cranked the car to move it back in the garage it seemed that the exhaust tone quieted down a bit. I'll be able to tell tomorrow when I get it on the road if the general road noise has diminished some.
 
#38 · (Edited)
I've got some Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires ordered to replace the stock Geolanders. Quietness will be observed in my forester starting tomorrow afternoon!

I went with the MXM4 over the MXV4 due to the sport factor that the M4 type can give. The V4's are super quiet but too cushy in my opinion, great on comfort but not sporty in the least. The M4 is a standard Mercedes/Audi/BMW tire that provides superior comfort and some sportiness. Maybe just a tad louder than the V4 style though. Going from the Geolanders though, the difference should be equivelant to having my kids in the back screaming at me or having them asleep.

I'll post my opinion tomorrow.

If anyone wants a set of geolanders on the cheap make me an offer and pay for the shipping. They are about half worn with 25k miles on them. Lots of tread left though. I'll take some pics if anyone is interested.
 
#39 ·
Speaking of tires. Just had to replace my right rear after backing into a sharp edge curb at like 3 mph. Took a chunk out of the side wall and scraped the rim a bit. The lucky part was that I only needed to buy 1 as I only had 2000 miles on them and it was within tolerance. Only cost me $277 for that mistake. The guy at the tire shop said that next time when you replace them all you can get a less expensive non performance tire. He clearly had no idea about the XT:shake:

As it is I haven't had time for any other work I needed to do on the XT and I had to take time out to get another tire instead of doing things that need to be done:icon_mad:
Like install my VF52

I'm off after 5/20 for a week and the Vf52 and TMIC goes in:woohoo:
 
#40 · (Edited)
Are you sure you don't want to donate the 52 and tmic to my forester? I'd send you my old turbo and a carburetor spacer from my 66 ford. That's a great deal really.

Update on the Michelin MXM4 Tires: Now that they have a few miles on them I'll say that they are far quieter than the Geolanders. Not silent when on concrete roads here in houston, which is almost all I end up driving on since all our highways are made of the stuff. They are quieter though. On black top they are silky smooth and super quiet. They seem to get quieter as the temperature heats up during the day as well.
For performance factors, the sidewalls don't give as much as the geolanders so it's much more predictable on turn in and has the same feeling i would get if perhaps the sway bars were thicker because it's reducing some of the body roll on hard turns. They seem far grippier when wet as well. I'm happy with the purchase.

Tonight I'm going to take the fender well linings off and rubber coat the inner fender/front of the passenger area as well as the rear fenders, and see if I can take out some more noise which still could be much quieter even though it's getting negligible.
 
#50 ·
Are you sure you don't want to donate the 52 and tmic to my forester? I'd send you my old turbo and a carburetor spacer from my 66 ford. That's a great deal really.
Too late. It's installed I'll give you the defective miss drilled AVO TMIC for that spacer though it will probably fit just as well. Need to send that one back. (See my post on Nates Journal for a pic) Just waiting on my tune on Friday:woohoo:

How about you doing twin td04's? I have a spare:Banane36:


By the way Braking is overrated. Go fast first then worry about stopping next:Banane28:
How many miles were on the old pads and what shape were they in?
 
#42 ·
Had to go across the city for something in full traffic a few minutes back. Coming out of the toll plazas(i make a full stop cause I dint have a pass) I usually gun it to get up to speed (where else can you do 0-75 in a nice straight shot legally?) So I'm speeding up, my kid is in the back sleeping, and I notice a honda civic that came through the fast pass lane beside me (traffic is backed up so they were slow moving coming out of the fast pass lanes as well). I'm moving past him at not a super fast pace but pulling away pretty quickly as I go up to 75 and I'm thinking to myself man my car isn't as fast as I thought since I figure he shouldn't even be near me with a plain civic when im at full throttle. After driving down the road a few minutes he comes past me in the fast lane and I realized it was an SI model. That made me feel a bit better. He must have had that thing floored to be keeping up like he was. Of course an SI needs to be floored to be in its sweet spot in the high revs. It used to be easy to spot the SIs cause they looked different. It was a plain ugly grey 4 door.
 
#43 ·
Stoptech Street Performance pads ordered. Hope these do the trick.

Next Mod: Rear sway from the STI. Then the Swift Springs. I'm slowly collecting the upgrades for the foz. Hopefully by christmas(or earlier) I'll have the handling upgraded quite a bit.
 
#47 ·
New brakes going on this afternoon. Got a Jvc head unit coming from fisher in PA on friday. Also just ordered the red PTP turbo blanket and some heat wrap for the downpipe.

Sent from my ARCHOS 80G9 using Tapatalk 2
 
#48 · (Edited)
Brakes are finished. I took it for a test drive and to bed in the pads. I noticed an immediate difference in bite from the stock set. These are much better than whatever was on there stock! I heated them up by stopping as hard as possible from 60-10mph and then speeding up again perhaps 8 times in a row. Then drove a while at speed to cool them down and repeated it a few more times after that. They bite hard every time even after multiple stops and will lock all 4 tires up pretty quickly when poked a bit harder. The old ones, after a few quick stops would go mushy and not stop as quickly. With these, that certainly isn't the case.

These would probably not do for someone tracking their car for a full weekend of hard braking at a course but they are a must have for gaining extra stopping distance and keeping out fade in the mountains.

I'd recommend these to anyone wanting better braking and not wanting a pricey full racing setup. Cost me $95 and was well worth it.

On a side note, the jeep will be getting a set of these next go round.



Sent from my ARCHOS 80G9 using Tapatalk 2
 
#49 · (Edited)
Quiet Video

I put some extra air in the new michelins. Gave them a tighter, more sporty feel and made them a bit quieter on the roads (even the concrete ones). The tire has a max cold psi of 44. I put in 41 front 39 rear. The reccomended oem pressures were too floppy on this tire to me.
Extra Quiet 2009 Forester XT - YouTube
Couldn't figure how to embed this
Don't know how well you can tell anything from the video.
 
#51 ·
The old brakes weren't in bad shape but I don't know how old they were. Could have been the Originals since the car only had 25k on it. Here's a pic of the front. The rears were a bit closer to being worn out.


Twin 04's? ummm.... If you'd like to ship it to me for free I'd be glad to sell it and put the money towards my favorite charity........

For not too much more than buying a stock set i'd get some better brakes next time you need em. I have no doubt that my braking distance shortened up quite a bit.
 
#53 · (Edited)
I know it'll be awesome but it cost's money, lots more than I can drop at the moment. I'm going to concentrate for the next few months on suspension and handling and then get the new turbo and TMIC, and Fuel pump, and Injectors, oh yeah and a tune (Holy crap thats going to be some cash!). I'll get there before next summer.

Yeah you should start your journal. If I had to guess I'd say youd be in the mid-high 13s 1/4mile range with your setup. Pretty sweet!

In the meantime, I got the radio installed today. It sounds much much better than stock. Right off the bat the bass has come out more and everything sounds nice and well.... better in every way.

A cool feature:
Since the display and buttons change color it has 2 modes, one for night and one for day. It knows when you turn your lights on to swap colors. I tried to match the night time to the colors in the car at night and the daytime mode to just be bright and readable.
Here they are

Daytime:


Nightime:


Thanks again to Mike/Fisher624 for the sale and good service.

My turbo blanket was sent to the wrong post office (according to the online tracking service) and was hence undrliverable yesterday so I guess it'll probably get here next week sometime.
 
#54 ·
Turbo Blanket and Exhaust wrap did make it here!

I was thinking I wouldn't get this till next week but found them in the mail late this afternoon!
Gave me something else to do this evening. They supplied the bailing wire for the buttons on the blanket but I forgot to order some metal straps for the exhaust wrap. I'll pick some up tomorrow morning at Lowes or something but for now it's all on there just not super secure for the exhaust wrap. These should keep my engine bay (esp. the TMIC) a little cooler. Heres a few pics.

Everything i got in the mail:


An overhead view of the blanket:


On the car with the exhaust wrap:

 
#55 ·
Waste gate flutter almost slient with Turbo Blanket and wrap!

This morning I put some bailing wire around my heat wrap to secure it. I might buy one more wrap piece and double insulate it.

Upon heating up the PTP blanket for the first day or so it smokes just a bit while it's breaking in. Don't worry if yours does this, It's NORMAL. First thing I did when I got back to the house was pop the hood, Wow! You can actually just touch the blanket and it's not hot. The intercooler also is much cooler where the heat was rising up to it.

I'm quite happy with the product and knew it would work from the beginning due to the heavy use of Turbo and exhaust blanketing (called lagging) in the Marine Industry(all the big ships use em, in fact they have to for safety reasons/regulations).

For you guys with wastegate flutter noise with the Aftermarket downpipes on a TD04, this makes it so I can't even hear it. I haven't been out on the highway yet but I was trying around my local area to replicate the annoying ticking(by changing speeds and accelerating at different rates) coming from the wastegate and although it's obviously still there underneath somewhere the insulation keeps me from hearing it.

That's awesome!:woohoo:

I'll post my findings in the related threads as well.
 
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