Peet's 04 STi - aka how to ruin a nice car

[pcowan]

aka how to make a nice car ugly and fast
aka how to spend too much money for a virtually unknown motorsport
...etc

from http://petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/my_STi/tn/DCP_3483.JPG to http://petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_4.29.7/tn/DSC_4706.JPG

Alright, time to confess my sins of RallyX addiction, Subaru gluttony, torque lust, automotive neglect and wrath upon the dirt.

I don't entirely have time to write the whole things right now, but I'll kick off with Chapter 01:

December 2002 - News that the STi is coming to the US has convisnved me that my 02 WRX is now inferior and must be replaced. I've given my deposit to Carlsen.

April 2003 - WTF, the Evo is here but my STi isn't yet? arg!

7/2/2003 17:44pm - Hooray!

http://petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/my_STi/tn/DCP_3478.med.JPG

The first thing I realised with this new car was:
a) it looked exactly the same on the inside
b) I have now bought two Turbo imprezas in two years
c) JBP looks better than OBP, maybe it's just because it was clean
d) wtf was I thinking

The WRX was relagated to be the skiing car while the STi becamse the daily driver and RallyX car.

I feel ashamed that my first mod was cosmetic, but I really wanted clear headlights. In late July I gutted my car's eyes, baked them in the oven, removed the pigment and shoved them back in. I'm so vain.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/headlights/tn/DCP_3605.med.JPG
(I HAZ N0 EYEZ!!! I KANT SEE!!!!)

The next order was a second set of wheels (Rota SDRs) and tires (Conti Xtreme Contact) for racing on, stainless braided brake lines and removing the giant wing. The first race was a rally school where I was a driving instructor followed by a race the next day. The initial results took me to 4th place in stock (1 hundredth of a second behind Skylar driving my borrowed WRX) which was reasonable for a new car and an improvement from 7th place in my past race in the WRX.

http://petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyClass_9-27-3/tn/IMG_0736.med.JPG

Up until this point I'd moved the WRX stereo and speakers in the STi, but it had come time to give it a voice of it's own. One of the things I didn't like about the GD impreza was the lack of speakers in the rear deck. Solution: jigsaw and some metal working blades for it. Luckily only the right side needed modification and that along with some MDF make for some decent speaker placements.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/sti_audio/tn/IMG_2455.med.JPG

In addition to the Alpine 2-way 5"x7" speakers in the rear deck, there are Infinity Reference 2-way 5" in the rear doors and 2-way 6.5" in the front. In the trunk is an Infinity BassLink and the head unit is a Sony somethingorother with a Empeg (Rio Car) player with 120gb of mp3s onboard.

The mounting of the Sony and Empeg were somewhat problematic as they were larger then the openings in the face plate. My ghetto-ass-kmart-brand "dremel" was able to solve this if not crudely. Lesson: don't buy cheap dremels.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/sti_audio/tn/IMG_1412.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/sti_audio/tn/IMG_1423.med.JPG
(at this point I was still using the tape adaptor for the Empeg, fixed that later)

You're notice the Valentine1 remote there. I'd mounted the V1 next to the mirror but hadn't had a change you mount the remote yet... it took me two years to get around to that, but wait 'till you see it: fab-o!

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/Valentine1/tn/IMG_0685.med.JPG

In November of 2003 I was given the opportunity to have my car in the SCCA exhibit of the San Francisco Auto Show. I can't say it impacted my life much, but it's pretty cool to be able to say :)

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/sf_autoshow/tn/IMG_1500.med.JPG
(The car has never been this clean since)

Thus ended the SFR 2003 racing season for me with a 9th place in stock class out of 40 people. Tragic.

In the post season I added Whiteline anti-sway bars, steering bushings and rear subframe bushings to make things a little more solid. We've got some real magic planned for 2004 though

[pcowan]

In late December 2003 I put down my money for the newly released Vishu Tuning Stage1 kit which was comprised of their turbo back exhaust (actually a Tiapan XP) and the Xede piggyback ECU. I took delivery on 2/21 and went in for tuning on 3/11/4

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/Vishnu_Stage1/tn/IMG_2228.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/Vishnu_Stage1/tn/IMG_2388.med.JPG

The results were 60lf/lb and 50whp over my stock dyno results and I was hooked.

I quickly got myself onboard as one of the testers for the Vishnu Stage2 kit that was indevelopment around their special "GT450" turbo.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/my_STi/Vishnu_Stage2/tn/IMG_2267.med.JPG

I installed the turbo in early march and had the car tuned shortly there after followed by a walbro fuel pump install in early May.

The first race of the season was on 5/15/4 and the car was tuned with the new turbo but no other supporting mods. It was fun to drive but I only finished 6th in class, 9th overall.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_5.15.4/tn/IMG_2727.med.JPG
(yeah, 2 car lengths from the apex... nice job Pete)

Shortly after the race, tragety struck while the car was in for injectors and tuning. This time it was in the form of a fractured piston which marked the first engine replacement. :(

Now is when it's nice to have a spare WRX laying around. I moved all the mods (sans turbo) over to the WRX and used it for the next two races. For both 5/34 & 6/26 events I placed 4th in class.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.26.4/tn/IMG_2936.med.JPG
(the apex isn't even in the photo *sigh*)

After the engine rebuild (completely stock) I decided to leave the car as-is for the rest of the season. With new wheels (Rota something) and tires (PZero Neros suck btw) for the 10/17 event I finished 2nd in class, 4rd overall and top subaru (Evos took 1st & second overall)

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX-10.17.4/tn/IMG_3718.med.JPG

Season finish, 3rd in class (SSM4 - RP4 equivilant). So much for magic. Maybe we can improve things a little for the 2005 season. Next season I'll try to find pictures that prove I can do more than turn left as well.

[flat4motorsports]

nice work!!

[pcowan]

Thanks, I keep remember things I did in the first two years and keep updating the posts... *sigh* I knew I should have planned this out a little better.

Ok, I added all the audio stuff now.

[Rudukai13]

In the picture without headlights it almost looks like that Porsche brown color...It looks good.

[pcowan]

Ok, this was our season. We had a team (Go Big Racing), two drivers, a good car to start with and stupid money.

The first race of 05 was 5/14 at Thunderhill, my folks showed up and we managed to walk away with 1st & 2nd in class (Open4) and overall. In the off season I had added the Whiteline ALK and we'd figured out some important areas in terms of car setup philisophy. We were also using new wheels (Rota... I dunno) and tires (custom carved BFG KDWSs). I this was also when I picked up a pair of Sparco Torino racing seats... fantastic investment! Other sundry items includes an SSI skidplate and a tire groover (whoa, groovy man!).

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_5.14.5/tn/DCP_0140.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_5.14.5/tn/DCP_0184.med.JPG

I owe a lot of it to the new tires. After studying various rally patterns and understanding the surface I was to make a few modifications to the KDWSs the really had a profound effect on the grip.

The next race was 6/25/5 and it was the first course I designed... so obviously I over-prepared for it. I made a scale model :)

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.25.5/tn/smfast_sm.med.jpg
http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.25.5/tn/smhairpin_sm.med.jpg
http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.25.5/tn/smflip_sm.med.jpg
(complete with Skylar) ;)

It actually turned out very similar to the design I made:

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.25.5/tn/DSC_0164.med.JPG

This event also went well, once again I finished 1st in class and overall. My codriver was down at 8th and 13th respectively due to a single horrific run (.15 off the lead). At this point the only updates to the car were in the suspension geometry, bushings and tires.

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.25.5/tn/DSC_0126.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_6.25.5/tn/DSC_0138.med.JPG
(it's the Knight Rider shot)

The next big jump was rally tires. Before the 8/13/5 event, I picked up a set of Subaru GrpN brakes, Compomotive wheels and Michellin ZA*81 tires. This was the wired time in a meduim compound, same tyres that the top WRC teams were winning with. I also put the exhaust and ECU back on the to bring it up to Stage1 specs (+60ft/lb,+50whp). This was either going to be a serious boost or a serious disappointment. ...guess which?

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_8-13-5/tn/DSC_0002.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_8-13-5/tn/DSC_0147.med.JPG

Actually, both. While the traction was stunning it totally changed the way one controls the car. We used to use the KDWSs nearly like like rudders in the front, rally tires don't work like that. The solution? Put the KDWSs back in the fronts of course.

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_8-13-5/tn/DSC_0195.med.JPG

The results? 1st in class (Open4) and overall by a serious margin. My codriver took 3rd in class.

The 10/1 & 10/2 events was the same thing over again... finally, an unstoppable car. Woot!

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_10-1-5/tn/DSC_0547.med.JPG

And the end of the day we switched back to the rally tires on all 4 to start getting used to them... they felt much better this time.

http://www.petcow.org/~pcowan/pics/Cars/RallyX_10-1-5/tn/DSC_0628.med.JPG

Unfortunately less dust means faster so I had to trade hero driving in for faster times. Before the race I had also purchased my latest toy, a Prodrive GroupN N10 hydralic handbrake. The first ever RallyX nationals were 2 weeks away in Nebraska and we were going. Had to work fast!

Next Chapter: 2005 RallyX National Challenge & the SFR 2005 season wrapup.

[T-Heineken]

Dude....This is a seriously awesome thread.

I can't wait for the next piece!

[04caliwrx]

did you come to cali and have Shiv tune your car?

[rollo]

He was still in the Bay Area at that point. btw I vote that all rallycross courses should have giant gumdrop candies instead of cones, that made me LOL.

Great thread, nice to to know the story behind the stories.

[409industries]

pete

Great to see some of work that went into this car. I did the exact same thing to my STi's headlights too, they just look so much better w/o the reflectors in there.

Interesting about the KDW's up front and rally tires in the rear...

[pcowan]

It's neat how unique it makes the car look yet at the same time going a little more stealth. In 5 years of driving this car in the bay area at least 50 miles a day, I wasn't "spotted" once.

The KDWS's (different than KDW's) were fantasic RallyX tires before going with full rally tires. I'm somewhat ashamed that I had to go with the 50/50 tire split for a couple races, it was more a matter of pride in not allowing a few crappy runs to get used to the new tires.

BTW, custom tire carving FTW!

[pcowan]

Around June of 2005 my "codriver" and I (crodriver in that he also drove the car, not in that he provided navigation services... I personally think these are pointless in RallyX, see the FRX thead about that) decide we were going to hit the SCCA RallyX National Challenge in Hastings, Nebraska. As the event grew nearer we got sort of obsessed with winning.

The Prodrive handbrake was something I'd wanted for a while and I'd figured that it'd give us a little advantage in hairpins which tend to be more prominent in RallyX than actual stage rally. The parts showed up about a week before the event while I was away crewing in Prescott (we won). I'd already stripped the interior in preparation before hand and started trying to fit the kit the hour I got home. The kit I'd ordered was an end to end solution from the master cylinder to the calipers which allowed the stock dual lines thanks to a trick Alcon dual-piston cylinder integrated in to the lever. After a few hours trying to get the lines fed through the firewall without (a) bending and destroying them or (b) removing the engine I had to contact Prodrive for a little more assistance. The next morning I had a doc in my inbox with pretty pictures of how the whole thing went in without removing the engine... sweet! The rub: it required the GrpN master cylinder which was a mirror copy of the stock one. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! I can't find any pictures of this tragic disappointing story.

One of the benefits of Crewing on a rally team is that you often get access so useful equipement. The equipment in this case was Penelope, a Ford E350 cargo van and a trailer. The other vital equipement for the RallyX was new tires from Subesports drop shipped to Nebraska. Around 9pm on 10/12/5 with a van full of crap and no sleep, we headed Eastbound on I-80

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_Nationals05/tn/DSC_0862.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_Nationals05/tn/DSC_0884.med.JPG
(it's a long drive from the bay area to Nebraska... especially just for the weekend)

We made it there in about 24 hours or so. The next day we picked up the new Michelin ZA tires and tried to get them mounted. We first dropped them off at a cheapie tire place and went to breakfast. After breakfast we came back and found that the rally tires had broken their mounting machine. heh :) Next we stopped at a tire place in downtown but the man there seemed far too drunk to be able to help us. Next up we a shop on the south end of town that was actually able to get the wheels on the tires... I forget the name (c'mon nearly 4 years ago) but they rocked.

After getting tires taken care of we headed over to try some shake down runs. 5-4-3-2-1 blast-off and CEL and limp-home-mode.... SUCK! Ok, not the way we wanted to start. After three more attemps at this with the same results we figured it was time to start figuring out what was wrong with the car. After some messing, ODB scans and frantic calls to Shiv, AutoHQ, and EQ tuning we had a TPS fault and not much else to go on. Next up was the Parc Expose in downtown. The car was still dirty from the trip, no decals, this is sucking.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_Nationals05/tn/DSC_0899.med.JPG

Oh yeah, and they gave us black number... for a black car... stunning. On the plus side we had more than enough painters tape to make number backings.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_Nationals05/tn/DSC_0901.med.JPG

The stickers: SCCA RallyX, SFR SCCA, In-And-Out burgers (!), Ferodo pads and the bumper sticker: "Guns don't Kill People, Rappers Do". We figured it was appropriate for the midwest stereotypes.

The next morning started out earlier than we thought with Parc Ferme (don't ask) which we were late to followed by racing. That'd be a big hooray if the car hadn't been jacked up.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_Nationals05/tn/DSC_0932.med.JPG

That night was dinner with the SoCal guys and more car investigation (fruitless). I'll spare you the rest of the racing since it was more of the same and end with the results: With a broken car we finished 1st and 2nd in open class. Quote of the trip: "if we'd realized we were making history we would have paid more attention" ...we paid far too much attention.

The trip back was better though just as flat.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_Nationals05/tn/DSC_1020.med.JPG

I'm not entirely sure it was worth to drive to Nebraska over a weekend for a race. I would have felt much different if the car had been working.

After getting back to the bay area I dropped off the STi at Carlsen Subaru to figure out what the problem was. The fix was $150 for investigation and $5 for the part. The part? yeah... ummm... remember how I stripped the interior for the handbrake? There's a plastic throttle stop button that without it the pedal goes too far and makes the ECU freak out. sonofabitch. :/

The last race of the season was a pilot race at Altamont raceway. There were not points, it was the first time that we'd used an automated system and was hopefully the start of an awesome venue.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_11-6-5/tn/DSC_1416.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_11-6-5/tn/DSC_1429.med.JPG

On home turf with a working engine and nearly new tires I was 1st in class and overall again with 7 seconds between myself and 2nd place and 14 seconds to 3rd place. Hooray. The season ended up with me in 1st in class (O4) and overall and my codriver taking second.

Next up: 2006 with more modifications more power and 5 races.

[pcowan]

The 2006 year started off pretty tame with not much going on car wise. Since putting the interior back in everything was stable.

I'd better getting annoyed with the excessive sound of the Vishnu (Tiapan XP) exhaust system so I'd gotten a 3" to 2.5" adapter built to mate up my stock muffler to the downpipe. This quieted the car to the dull roar that I was looking for bringing me back to the stealthy car I desired. With more than enough torque on tap I wasn't that concerned with the power loss associated with it.

The other great thing was that I finally got the hydraulic handbrake installed. Hello snap oversteer on command. Hairpins were now my bitch!

The first race was late in the season: 6/11/9. We took first and second in class and overall by over 10 seconds.

(first we go left)
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-11-6/tn/DSC_1944.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-11-6/tn/DSC_1942.med.JPG
(then BAM! we go right)

If anyone has ever considered an uber handbrake for their rallyX car. Two words of advice: **** YEAH! Nearly useless for stage rally, awesome for US rallyX.

The next race was a two day "SCCA National Challenge" event at thunderhill. This was the first RallyX I'd ever put on myself and frankly it sucked. The heat was in the 100s, no shade and minimal breeze. Our "marketing" had sucked so the entries were low and with the heat and extra runs, it was tough on a lot of cars. I personally broke a motor mount which in turn crushed a power steering line. Luckily the steering issue only became a problem on the way home. Other wise we wouldn't have finished in the [near the] top again (2nd & 3rd class (someone :roll: was an idiot and jumped the start)) with Brett Blakely (pomspeed) taking top honors for the race.

Day 1:
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-24-6/tn/DSC_2228.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-24-6/tn/DSC_2274.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-24-6/tn/DSC_2290.med.JPG
(do we use a lot of cones? Blame the safety steward)

Day2:
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-25-6/tn/DSC_2479.med.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-25-6/tn/DSC_2460.JPGhttp://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-25-6/tn/DSC_2461.JPGhttp://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-25-6/tn/DSC_2462.JPG
http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_6-25-6/tn/DSC_2473.med.JPG

What?! We were beaten by a car in Stock 4? But we're Open4 with rally tires... I guess we need more torque.

Around August I started talking to my new shop about new directions to take the car. Since Vishnu was now out of the Subaru buisness I had to find a new tuner.. that shop was AutoHQ in Redwood city. After talking to Kevin a bit we decided to go with a Fugitsubo turbo back exhaust, a better flowing uppipe, bigger injectors and replace the Xede piggyback ECU with an ECUTek reflash. I was a bit hesitant on the reflash since a) I'd paid a great deal of money for it and b) I'd be losing the ability to change maps whenever I wanted. In addition if I ever wanted to tune the car myself it would be much more difficult and more expensive. And with that I shelled out the cash for a faster car.

Anyone want to buy an Xede piggyback ECU with both WRX and STi harnesses?

The next race was 9/17/6 and our first points event at Antioch fairgrounds. The new power along with a wreckless abandoment for person and automotive safety took us back to 1st (class & overall) and 2nd (in class). Brett was 2nd overall.

http://www.petcow.org/pics/Cars/RallyX_9-17-6/tn/DSC_3620.med.JPG
(countersteer!! (moo?))

The last race of the season was 10/21/6. I don't have any pictures because I burned them all. I came in 2nd (class/overall) and was beaten by my own car. suck. The good news was that I stole the Porsche of the guy who beat me in my car.

Season totals of course had it at 1st and 2nd in class and overall for a nice solid finish to 2006.

2007 will be a small update, but 2008 saw a lot of work done. 2009 will be the killer post... just got back from the tuning yesterday. What would you say to 392ft/lbs of torque? "Hello 392ft/lbs, please don't hurt me"?

[409industries]

The fix was $150 for investigation and $5 for the part. The part? yeah... ummm... remember how I stripped the interior for the handbrake? There's a plastic throttle stop button that without it the pedal goes too far and makes the ECU freak out. sonofabitch. :/


It took us a long time to figure out this exact same scenario on my friend's full on time attack STi. I was driving it, and same thing... BUMMMMP *CEL comes on*, car just rev's at 2000rpm.

Our fix? 1/2" piece of cork under the gas pedal. LOL

[pcowan]

I was talking to Tim Bailey at Surgeline yesterday and he ran into the same thing at a tuner shootout a number of years ago. Apparently it cost them the race.

[97ScoobyL]

loving this thread, keep it coming!

[carl]

good read - nice pics

don't worry, i've ruined my 04 STI far more than you have. at least you still have a turbo. and your frame is probably somewhat straight

[rollo]

and the bumper sticker: "Guns don't Kill People, Rappers Do". We figured it was appropriate for the midwest stereotypes.

Bet that got some confused looks... Goldie Lookin Chain reference ftw 8)

[em99sport]

Thoroughly enjoyable thread. I really wish I had the 6 speed, so I could take advantage of an open center diff when pulling the e-brake.

Were you pissed when Vishnu quit offering stuff for you? I remember looking at their stuff back then, thinking that if I had an STi or Evo, I would have gone with them.

[daywalker007]

2007 will be a small update, but 2008 saw a lot of work done. 2009 will be the killer post... just got back from the tuning yesterday. What would you say to 392ft/lbs of torque? "Hello 392ft/lbs, please don't hurt me"?

When do we get to see these?

[409industries]

Were you pissed when Vishnu quit offering stuff for you? I remember looking at their stuff back then, thinking that if I had an STi or Evo, I would have gone with them.

I would be pissed. I love my Vishnu TBE, bought it used off a guy that paid the ridiculous price tag on it brand new... and i still payed a lot for it (probably the same amount as a brand new cobb setup) but i'll keep it forever. They made some bad ass stuff.

[rollo]

Shiv was always a controversial fellow but I didn't know he'd stopped offering stuff for Subarus and Evos. Their (or his) website still shows all those parts..