GD Karen's 2006 WRX prepped for SCCA ESP

[CamaroWRX]

I bought this car during my spring break in 2008, and a month later had it out at FedEx Field in full D-stock trim.

I won DS at that first WDCR event, and later in the year, I won the ProSolo L1 Championship and finished 2nd in Ladies Challenge points. My car also helped James Feinberg win the ProSolo DS Championship, since his TypeR didn't have rain tires. :lol:

After Subaru pulled the SCCA Solo contingency monies at the end of 2008, I decided to take the car to E-Street Prepared (with some urging from IAG Performance), and I've been running it in close-to-full ESP trim since. It's similar to, but different than the other Nationally prepped ESP WRXes, including Greg McCance's bug-eye, Christian Nissen's '06 (out of upstate NY) and Drew Little's '04 (out of Colorado). McCance, Joel Fehrman ('05 BSP STi) and Billy Brooks (MODE Racing/COBB Tuning) have all helped me with setup.

IAG Performance has helped a ton with this car, from the installation of all the goodies, to the fixing of those goodies when they decided to go bad. There is a summary of all the parts currently on the car on their site. Also, Vorshlag Motorsports accepted me into their Test Pilot program for 2009, as I was one of the first with a GD chassis car to install the AST 5200 strut setup on my car, but I switched to the ZZYZX/Koni coilovers in 2011 when a set magically became available. I was accepted into Mishimoto's sponsorship program this year, after my car served as a test-fit mule for one of their FMIC kits being developed. Kartboy and TurnInConcepts have also been very generous with their help as well.

After four years of running the car in ESP, an ESPL National Championship, and what seemed like constant changes to the setup, I'm at a bit of a plateau. I am always looking at improvements that I can make, however. The latest additions to the setup (as of 5/10/2014) are asterisked below :

Engine :
COBB V2 AccessPORT / Pro Tuned by Jorge
Invidia G200 Catback Exhaust with Kartboy PINK exhaust hangers
COBB cold air intake
STi TMIC
APS Catted Down Pipe
Cusco Turbo Heat Shield
COBB Uppipe
Kartboy oil filler cap
Killer B oil pickup
IAG TGV delete
Perrin equal length headers
Walbro 255lph fuel pump
Crawford Air/Oil Separator V2
Manley platinum series pistons
IAG AIR pump block off plate
ARP head studs
Mishimoto turbo inlet
*Mishimoto intercooler hoses

Driveline & Suspension
*ACT HDSS Clutch and Flywheel (yes, this was part of the original setup, but I was on a Competition Clutch for the past two years)
MFactory Helical Front Differential
'02/'03 front axles and axle stubs
Cusco Type RS 1.5 Way Rear Differential
MODE Racing double adjustable short shifter
TurnInConcepts shift lever bushings
Kartboy shifter bushings (front and rear)
Kartboy Delrin shift knob
Kartboy rear differential outrigger bushings (hard black)
Kartboy transmission cross member bushings
Whiteline steering rack bushings
TurnInConcepts rear differential mount bushings
TurnInConcepts lateral link bushings
Group N motor mounts and transmission mount
Kartboy pitchstop
Stock front sway bar with solid Kartboy endlinks
Whiteline 22mm rear sway bar with Kartboy endlinks
ZZYZX coilovers (w/ Koni 8611 inserts)
Swift 120 front springs (~650#) and Hypercoil rears (600#) w/ tenders
Custom Front Camber Plates and Cusco rears
TurnInConcepts rearward front control arm bushings
Whiteline forward front control arm bushings
TurnInConcepts forward and rear trailing arm bushings
'04-'05 steel front control arms

Wheels & Tires :
18x9.5" Rota Torques/Grids
285/30ZR18 Hoosier A6 DOT Radials
ARP wheel studs

Brakes :
Ferodo Brake Pads (front and rear)
stainless steel brake lines
dba slotted front rotors
Perrin master cylinder brace

Interior :
Sparco Evo2 Plus driver seat
Sparco Evo passenger seat
Stri DSD 52mm smoke/white boost, oil pressure and EGT gauges

Exterior :
'05 WRX taillights
IAG Fender Rolling & Pulling
STi Rear Fender Flares
Custom Paint
Prosport Carbon Fiber Hood Dampers
IAG billet dipstick, radiator stays, master cylinder cap, slave cylinder cap, wiper fluid cap

Photo by Danny Kao, DC ProSolo 2009

And here's a great shot that Craig Wilcox captured of my car on Saturday afternoon at the 2013 Toledo ProSolo. I didn't go any faster in the damp conditions, but it made for a great photo!

I also really like how this one at Deadman Pass in Oregon (during my 2013 western roadtrip) turned out.

What's up next? I'm looking at options for replacing/upgrading(?) my aging zzyzx coilver suspension.

Ask questions if you have them!

Karen

 

[CamaroWRX]

Some video :

My best West course run at the 2009 SCCA Solo Nationanls in Lincoln, NE :
[youtube]QbZfmhzXx6k[/youtube]

My best East course run at the 2009 SCCA Solo Nationals :
[youtube]C23XF6N11d0[/youtube]

My 2010 DC ProSolo runs from Sunday morning :
[youtube]s2EAvylkF6c[/youtube]

My best run on the East Course at the 2010 SCCA Solo Nationals.
[youtube]oq3U2DMEfUI[/youtube]

My second-best West Course run at the 2010 SCCA Solo Nationals (the camera battery died before my last/best run).
[youtube]zKE1Bgje7vE[/youtube]

 

[CamaroWRX]

Also, you can keep track of the WRX (and the green terror, for that matter) on my Facebook fan page : http://www.facebook.com/TriskelionRacing, if you are so inclined.

 

[BoxerRumbleSTi]

Awesome Journal Karen. I wanna try auto x sometime.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Watched the video's. Your a very good driver. Very nice how you kept a nice steady speed and it was all nice and smooth. Most people don't understand that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[CamaroWRX]

Watched the video's. Your a very good driver. Very nice how you kept a nice steady speed and it was all nice and smooth. Most people don't understand that. Thanks for sharing.

I got an GoPro HD camera for the holidays, so hopefully I'll have some more video soon (once the season starts).

 

[CamaroWRX]

Got my order from TurnInConcepts.

I don't know what's up with the little green army men, but I laughed my ass off when I opened up the box and they fell out.

I'll probably go up to IAG and get the adjustable WL rear bar and some endlinks this weekend. Not sure which endlinks to go with just yet.

 

[IGOTASTi]

I'm doing whiteline adjustable endlinks! All whiteline! :thumbsup:

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

I'm doing whiteline adjustable endlinks! All whiteline! :thumbsup:

I have to agree

 

[IGOTASTi]

And Jordan from Defined Performance hoooooooooooooooooooked me up! Great deals he has on whiteline Karen!

 

[CamaroWRX]

I had the Whiteline adjustable endlinks on the car back when I ran D-Stock with the Whiteline front adjustable bar. They are also what was on the car I ran in 2007 (Justin Rest's wingless '06 WRX). One of the endlinks broke in the middle of an autocross run on Justin's car (at the '07 DC ProSolo... very poor timing). My first set, the spherical bearings started binding so bad within six months that I had them replaced under the one year warranty. The second set was clunking and rattling within three months of them being on the car. If I'd kept using a front swaybar, at that point, I was definitely going to solid endlinks.

I am just trying to decide if there are any benefits to the "spring" type rear endlinks that Whiteline offers over the solid Kartboy ones.

 

[CamaroWRX]

Well, I went up to IAG today and ended up getting the Kartboy front and rear endlinks, plus a Whiteline 22mm adjustable rear sway bar.

Then, I figured I'd put the Sparco in before the rain came.

Evidently, the guy I bought the seat from had the 500 series "tabbed" brackets, which are only good for the '02-'03 WRX, and not the '06. I can get two of the four bolts in.

So, the seat is only halfway installed until IAG can get the proper bracket in stock. <sigh>

 

[CamaroWRX]

Mental note. Do not do a front swaybar install without dropping the subframe. It really is easier.

I put the stock front swaybar back on tonight, and topped it with the solid Kartboy endlinks. The spacers don't seem necessary for the stock bar, but I still have them in case I decide to put the Whiteline back on... yeah, right, like I'm gonna mess with another front swaybar any time soon.

Hopefully, it'll be nice enough on Saturday to do the rear swaybar.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Did you get to drive it yet?

 

[CamaroWRX]

Did you get to drive it yet?

I drove it down the street and back, nothing severe. I will push it through some traffic circles tomorrow morning though. I'm just too tired to mess with it any more tonight. I don't have a garage, and it got dark and cold while I was doing this.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Cool. Not having a garage sucks I'm sure. Good work and will wait to hear the report on how it drives.

 

[CamaroWRX]

I decided to do the rear swaybar today before it got too late. Started at 2:30ish and finished close to 5PM. You'd think the rear should be a lot easier... unless the person who owned the car before you had some kind of minor accident with it and so the bolt holding the driver's side endlink in the lateral link is kind of locked into place by a tweak to the link.... <scowl>

Well, a breaker bar, a piece of pipe and a hammer finally got it loose, and I was able to get the rear 22mm Whiteline adjustable bar with the Kartboy endlinks installed this afternoon.

I just got back from a test drive, and it seems to be even better... of course, it evidently handled pretty damned good before. When I drove my double-adjustable Koni-shod '97 Camaro Z28 (it also has a 35mm front swaybar), it felt terrible... and it's never felt like that before. So, I'm guessing two weeks of driving around the WRX has spoiled me. Time to drop some money on the Camaros again, I guess. :lol:

 

[IGOTASTi]

Very nice. I put my whiteline adjustable sways and sealed endlinks on tomorrow and I'm pumped! Great job on the install. :thumbsup:

 

[BadlandsRacer]

Good to see another autocross journal jump up over here. You've come a long way in just a few short years. You're lucky to be in a part of the country where real events actually happen, and you have the option of attending divisional and national level championships. I went to check out your changes for this year, and didn't find anything asterisked yet. I'll assume you're still working on that.

Where'd you get your number/class decal shown in your June 2009 pictures? It looks very professional.

I'll keep an eye on this one for sure!

 

[CamaroWRX]

Good to see another autocross journal jump up over here. You've come a long way in just a few short years. You're lucky to be in a part of the country where real events actually happen, and you have the option of attending divisional and national level championships. I went to check out your changes for this year, and didn't find anything asterisked yet. I'll assume you're still working on that.

Where'd you get your number/class decal shown in your June 2009 pictures? It looks very professional.

I'll keep an eye on this one for sure!

Thanks for the kind words.

I usually just asterisk the latest thing I've added, but everything since Nationals would include the passenger seat, the switch from AST 5200s to the zzyzx/Koni 8612s (and associated spring rate changes), the front and rear sway bars with endlinks, the steering rack bushings, and then all the Kartboy goodies. I just need to install the TiC rear diff mount bushings. Beyond that, I'm not sure if I'll do anything else before the season starts.

I got my numbers/class magnetics from SSC-Tint (http://www.ssc-tint.com). That's "Little" Mike Snyder, who either runs SMF in a "plaid" CRX or STS in the CRX that matches Ian Baker's. Sometimes he codrives with Ian instead.