Alright so, been awhile since my last real update. I know folks are patiently waiting. And this time, I have a lot to say. I apologize for the length. I mean it. It's LONG.
New Sponsor: GrimmSpeed
GrimmSpeed. Do I really need to give them an introduction? I mean, come on. They've been in the Subaru game for what, around 8 years? And do I need to talk about their products? We all know these guys have the best electronic boost control solenoid out there. We all know they have an excellent PnP manifold setup. We all know about their EWG up-pipe, their gaskets, their phenolic spacers, their awesome brake master cylinder brace, their air/oil separator, their gold BBS wheel paint, etc, right? If you don't, get with the program, because these guys are seriously awesome. I have never had anything but top notch customer service from them.
I have been running GrimmSpeed products on my car for awhile now...their 8mm phenolic spacers, their boost control solenoid, and their master cylinder brace. Now I'll have the pleasure of helping to promote this awesome company's products and services. So before I get the party started, let's cover the facts:
A) GrimmSpeed, 8+ years in Subaru performance, has some very high-quality, innovative products for our cars, plus awesome customer service
B) You can reach GrimmSpeed at their website,
www.grimmspeed.com, or by calling 612-379-0000 (call on a weekend just to hear the voicemail, it's worth it
)
C) GrimmSpeed is also available on the forums or via instant messenger (GrimmSpd on AIM)
My car will be a showcase for a number of GrimmSpeed products/services in addition to those I've already been sporting. Before I go over them and post some pictures, there's one more loose end...
New Sponsor: JNA Performance
JNA Performance you may be slightly less familiar with. They're a performance retailer and forum vendor that sells a number of aftermarket brands, but what I really want to focus on is some of their own products.
If you didn't know, JNA manufacturers polyurethane V-Limited style lip replicas (like mine), JDM-style rain visors, a vent clip for your Cobb AccessPort, and JDM-style rear spats. It was the spats I was particularly interested in, so that's what they sent me to review...but don't overlook the fact that they have some other awesome products, and great brands...check them out at
www.jnaperformance.com.
Without further ado, this is what I've been up to!!
The first shipment from GrimmSpeed contained lots of goodies! Also, my intercooler is back, yay, hooray! (Okay, so it got back forever ago. Leave me be.) The intercooler got a healthy dose of GrimmSpeed's black thermal dispersant paint across the core, and the endtanks received their thermal BARRIER paint. This should definitely help keep the intercooler...well, cooler on those hot autocross days. Also included in my goodie package was GrimmSpeed's new front license plate relocation kit. This kit mounts to your factory front tow hook location to move the intercooler out of the flow path of a FMIC. However, since the APS front mount has its own support beam...I don't have a factory tow hook location. :lol: I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to install this. Also, some gaskets I'd be needing in the near future, and two cans of their World Rally Blue rattlecan paint. Hmm, wonder what that's for...
The second package from GrimmSpeed was just as fun as the first. This one contained their PnP manifolds, high-flow crosspipe, EWG up-pipe, and dump tube...all ceramic coated black, of course, to hold the heat in. Also, an internal wastegate bracket to hold shut the IWG on my 18g-XT without having to weld it. For those of you wondering what became of the Litespeed header, I opted to go in a slightly different direction. If anyone wants, they can PM me about it. Back to GrimmSpeed.
The TiAL 38mm v-band MVS wastegate was sourced from Apex Performance. The fitment on the GrimmSpeed stuff...spot on. Everything bolted right in and sealed with no headaches. When installing the TiAL wastegate to the GrimmSpeed up-pipe, it looked for a moment as though some power steering lines would cause an issue. Nope! Man, these guys have thought of everything. The wastegate was a perfect fit, with the dump tube routed down and underneath the downpipe...no clearance issues anywhere along the way. :tup:
A quick note about the IWG bracket...at first attempt, I honestly didn't think it would fit. A quick call to Will at GrimmSpeed, and I had the proper install procedure...hook the flapper arm first, then MUSCLE. Fits with no problem, nice and tight to hold the IWG shut.
But what about the spats? Well, while the GrimmSpeed exhaust stuff was going on, Tyler at Performance Plus Automotive (they sponsor me, they just don't know it yet ) was painting my spats...with the GrimmSpeed WRB paint. Now, here's the thing. JNA's spats are polyurethane replicas of the JDM ones, so they're less expensive. But having a body shop paint them? Well, I was quoted over $230. That's when GrimmSpeed stepped in, and said "whoa, hold on Mike, we have a solution." The WRB paint retails right at $15/can. Now, I know what you're thinking...do you really want to rattlecan some nice body trim pieces like that? Yes. With some primer, the WRB paint, and some spray-on clearcoat, Tyler at PPA got the job done for less than a fifth the cost of a body shop...and it does NOT look like a rattlecan job. My only complaint is the paint on my spats looks better than the paint on the rest of the car. :lol:
And the finished product:
Tyler was also able to give my headlights a little lovin with the kit that Corbin from PPA bought for my birthday.
To wrap it up, I picked up a Varis carbon fiber exhaust heat shield courtesy of t3h_clap, and had Ressler/Kupper Subaru install that and the spats (I'm not terribly comfortable drilling into my own bumper). The spats installed with some 3m stickiness and some self-tapping screws...the heat shield required a drill and rivet gun.
Final shot with the heat shield and spats installed:
So, that's that! EFI Logics and I will coordinate the tune via email and hopefully soon I'll be able to do another AP dyno pull and at least get a rough idea of a power increase from the GrimmSpeed mani and EWG setup. I'm pretty happy with the way things have gone for this car over the next couple days. Racing season is getting closer!
Next up? More weight reduction...and installing the BC Racing coilovers, and Whiteline tidbits! I'll be around! And if anyone is interesting in buying my RCE Black springs once the coilovers go on, let me know!
Big thanks to all of my awesome sponsors for making more great things happen with the car, and to Pat, Tyler, and Corbin at PPA for helping me with the install process and just generally making everything as smooth as silk. :tup:
