GD Joey's mistress: MSI rear subframe & 04-06 STI lower control arms

[joey.lisano]

Awesome man!

Are you going to autocross now?

Thanks, BAD. Yeah, I need to start figuring out stuff. I suppose I just need to pop my cheery, ya know? :lol: I'll be moving to Indiana in another month and a half. There might be some autox in my town, but I'll probably have to drive an hour to Indianapolis. They have cars and coffee on Saturday mornings, and there are some nice $$$ cars there.

Your STi sounds real good Joey. The star specs are the next set of tires I'm going to buy when my tires are ready to be replaced. I also like the video that shows the street and not the inside cabin roof, lol.

Thanks, JJ. The cabin video was me driving. I tried to tape the camera to the dash, but that didn't work. The road video is with Got2Boostit2 driving and me holding the camera.

 

[STi FR3AK]

Your videos just made me miss my car even more I compared my dyno graphs for the tq curve from after I installed my el headers on my stock turbo to what it is now and LOL what a joke. I thought the vf39 was quick but I went from 175tq @ 3500rpm to ~330 lol

 

[IGOTASTi]

I just ordered my new go pro. Can't wait.

 

[joey.lisano]

Your videos just made me miss my car even more

I can't understand why you are buying mods for your car when it's not even in the same continent as you. You haven't even felt your turbo setup yet. :tard: That car is going to be a squirmy and have a ton of lift under WOT, right before you blast off and wind up in outer space.

I just ordered my new go pro. Can't wait.

Yeah, I have a GoPro. I'll get some footage on that. I don't like its sound quality though, which is why I used my mediocre camera.




four 2.5" ID needle roller thrust bearings

 

[icudruln]

Any word on the numbers Joey? Awesome vids, I'm getting more curious about the Litespeed Header.

 

[Paul.c]

+1 for auto-x. Once you pop your cherry you will be addicted.

 

[joey.lisano]

Litespeed UEL header

The dyno plots are in. The results are astonishing. All I can say is wow.

Summary of Events
As everyone knows, I dyno tested the Litespeed UEL header. Same car, same dyno, same day, same tuner. After a rough journey to the shop, I walked into the door and immediately surrendered the keys. I didn't see the car again for many hours. They fixed my TMIC, gave my car the standard pre-dyno inspection, and did who knows what else. Some time later, I started hearing that Subaru rumble through the wall with the EWG intermittently going off. I was just sitting in the waiting area, nervous as can be. By the time I got into the garage, the car had just finished being tuned on the stock manifold. I got the nickel tour and then waited a couple more hours. I got to go back in the garage again to get some video and watch. After dyno tuning, the car was road tuned for driveability. I eventually paid, got a short test drive, and drove back home.

Procedure
The car was strapped to the dyno, and the limp map dynasty finally ended. The stock manifold was tuned WOT until it couldn't make any more power. The car was then removed from the dyno, and a tech installed the header. After strapping the car back on the dyno, a few pulls were done on the stock manifold map. This shows the effects of the header alone, without any tuning. Afterward, the car was tuned until it couldn't make any more power. The header allowed for more midrange boost; however, the turbo could not keep up in the higher rpm. The header also allowed timing to be advanced in the higher rpm; however, because the turbo can't maintain boost in the higher rpm, the gains aren't as impressive. I'd love to see this header on a 20G or 30R - something that still hits in the midrange but is able to hold boost until redline.

There were no signs of knock the entire day, so my setup was tuned until it couldn't make any more power. Variation within the dyno readings was on the order of 4 whp/wtq. To try to limit this effect, the highest curve for each case was used for comparison purposes.

Results

Dyno plot #1
solid line = stock manifold, tuned to its potential
dashed line = Litespeed header, "untuned" (same map as stock manifold, same boost, same timing, same A/F, same AVCS, etc.)

Dyno plot #2
dashed line = stock manifold, tuned to its potential
solid line = Litespeed header, tuned to its potential (more midrange boost, more timing up top)

Explanation
The goal behind this header was faster spool than any aftermarket header while still having more peak power gains than a PnP setup. What actually happened, though, was another story. It spooled faster than the OEM manifold. Thank you Swain Tech white lightning ceramic coating. If anyone needs me to walk through that thought process with the governing equations, I will. In addition, the design and nicely sized piping diameter helps with spool. You may be wondering if the design will limit peak power. I argue not much because AMS just made 618 whp on a Mustang with the stock manifold. My turbo just can't push any more air flow in the upper rpm, so I can't show great gains in that area.

Details about the Header
- It is American made with 16 gauge 304 stainless steel. For more info about the specs, consult Litespeed or the header's tech 'n' spec thread.
- Due to its design, it weighs 17 lb less than the stock manifold and retains the UEL rumble. It's not the 4-1 UEL rumble either; it genuinely sounds like the stock manifold, especially at idle and cruising at ~2000 rpm. Above 2500 rpm, the sound is a touch meaner because of that tubular construction vs. the thick cast elbows of the stock manifold.
- The tech who installed the header said it had perfect fitment. The header is actually two pieces with a slip joint, so you can adjust the width to fit on the studs nicely.
- The Swain Tech white lightning ceramic coating is amazing. I have it on almost everything - header, up pipe, EWG, downpipe, and catback. It keeps the exhaust hotter, improves spool, reduces heat damage to the engine bay, and is corrosion resistant.
- Power and torque gains at every rpm. This is what I find incredible. There is no trade off in midrange response and torque for peak power. The instant throttle response and midrange torque feel real nice on the street. Both of the shop's tuners commented on how much they liked the instantaneous response. Got2Boostit2 drove the car and has now nicknamed me Joey "Quick Spool" Lisano.

Pictures

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

Wu... Wow... just fucking wow! :-o

 

[JJBTEXAS]

very impressive, will definitely need to look into these headers

 

[IGOTASTi]

When I cross that road I will be looking into them headers for sure. Very nice write up Joey. :thumbsup:

 

[BAD STI]

Awesome Joey!!! I'm glad to see it paid off. I see some of those headers in my future.

 

[Paul.c]

Very nice Joey. Thanks for all of the detailed info.

 

[icudruln]

Holy shit! Very nice Joey. Pricing is extremely competitive on it...$839 with Swain Tech Coating isn't bad at all. I may be seeing this in my future as well.

 

[icudruln]

Any idea what it roughly costs to do a downpipe and catback (TBE) in the Swaintech stuff?

EDIT: I found it on their site

 

[joey.lisano]

Whew, what a long weekend. We are two dirty pigs, but we did it. I went back to The Shop for round 2 today, and we got quite the fight. The write ups will come after my editor censors half the script.

ZZYZX competition coilovers
- koni 8611 dampers, double adjustable twin tubes, ~5" of damper travel
- aluminum housing and clevis, double height adjustable
- special slotted upper strut clevis holes for insane camber adjustment
- 600/500 Eibach springs, 6" length, 3.32"/3.62" strokes
- front & rear helper springs
- Noltec front camber-caster plates
- Cusco rear camber plates
- Torrington needle roller thrust bearings

MSI 6061-T6 billet aluminum engine mounts
Solid mounts on a double D, baby!

Whiteline extended ball joints and tie rods

Lets do the math...
321 ft-lb wtq - strut springs + 600/500 coilovers = very little lift under WOT
600/500 springs + engine lowered 7mm + smaller roll couple + 27mm front sway bar on stiff = I am on rails
+ koni 8611 dampers = the potholes don't bother me

Initial impression is that I like it; I like it a lot.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Awesome. I definitely wanna see this write up. Very very nice Joey. :thumbsup:

 

[icudruln]

Oh my.... I'm gonna do the Whiteline Ball Joints when I do my coilovers. That setup must be killer Joey! Hopefully I'll be getting some of the same things done in the near future.

 

[IGOTASTi]

I'm glad Joey is doing this as he is helping me now with what I buy and do for suspension mods.

 

[joey.lisano]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. It feels like a completely new car! May the feeling be long lived... before I get used to it. Ah, we all know I'm going to keep modding it regardless.

Form is function.

 

[icudruln]

I <3 RPF1's