Los Angeles Subie lover since '00

[Dub-R-Ex]

Hey everybody. You've got some new blood joining the site from Los Angeles.

A little about me-

I have loved them Subies since the year 2000. Ever since I found out the price/performance of that car (AWD, Turbocharged, High HP, High Torque, Low Weight), I realized that it was the "ugly" little car for me.

It took a while though for me to actually get one. It was never the right time. I had a motorcycle, and worked at home a lot, so having a fun, fast car in the ghetto didn't make much sense. Also, to make sure I was OK with a manual transmission, I finally got a 2002 WRX back in 2014. Sold that, and got a brand new 2016 STI in December of 2016 - my dream car (among a few others of course).

I found this site recently and I'm itching to upgrade the car. It's currently bone stock internally - HOW DO I GET MORE LOW END TORQUE??

I'm a also Subaru Ambassador.

I hope to get the car modified in a way that makes it great for daily driving, but also good enough to make it a little more personalized. A Subie with tightened suspension and 350WHP and higher low end toque, all while being as quiet as stock is my dream.


Current mods:
Subiespeed vortex generator (painted)
Viper alarm with remote start.
Hyper Blue Black STI badges on side and rear
Hella Supertones
Front and Rear Dashcams
ROKBLOKZ mud flaps

Upcoming mod/upgrade ideas:
Front/Rear sway bars
Downpipe/Up-pipe
Stage 3 Cobb package
Federal RSRR tires
Intercooler Spray

I'm also thinking about maybe even selling this car and getting a GC8 with an STI swap. hmmmm!

I almost forgot to post a pic of the STI!

 

[Slim_Jim]

Nice ride! Welcome to the board!

How did you do the remote start with the 6-speed? I'm curious, I'd like to put one on mine eventually.

 

[Dub-R-Ex]

Nice ride! Welcome to the board!

How did you do the remote start with the 6-speed? I'm curious, I'd like to put one on mine eventually.

Hey thanks.

I did not do it myself, and I had a shop do it for me. It was a pain, and I had to take it back twice. I actually need to take it back a third time...

Here's the long story-

I decided to go for the Viper 5706V, but I'm always looking out for the best bang for the buck. I realized that Directed Electronics is the actual OEM for Viper, and you can buy the same exact parts far cheaper on Ebay. The 5706V was Viper brand, but the rest such as the window sensor, the tilt sensor, and I think the brain itself was from DE. You can mix and match and save quite a few $$$.

Once I received it all, I brought it to the shop, and of course, the guy had never installed this on the STI. He struggled, but made it work. The problem was that there were times where I would unlock the car, open the door, and the alarm would sound. He ended up calling DE, who are up in Canada, and they gave him a beta version of the software needed for the brain to get it to work correctly. This guy lost a ton of time and money on this car btw.

This whole process took much longer than expected, and to answer your question- The remote start has a neutral position sensor that is either not installed, or is not compatible with the Viper remote start + Subaru. It is disabled. Therefore, if I leave the car in 1st, and I do my remote start, it will take off. Luckily, this has not happened yet. Is it worth it for the risk? Hell yes. I don't allow anybody to touch it. Having the AC + bluetooth start up while I'm walking to my car is totally worth it.

Problems I'm encountering:
Inconsistent ability to open the trunk.
Locking the car will give me an error to let me know that the trunk is open, even though it's closed.,
NEW: I can't actually remote start the car right now. I let the timer count down to 0 and once I tried to remote start the car again, it now gives me an error to let me know that the hood latch is open even though it's closed!

The end- I'm done rambling.

 

[Alin]

Welcome to IGOTASTI!!! You're going to absolutely love it here!! What other cars have you had before the WRX?

How was your experience for the duration of the 2 years with the bugeye? What did you love and what did you hate about it?

Does the 2016 STi compare in any regards whatsoever with the bugeye WRX; the car that Subaru launched with AWD/turbo in the USA?

 

[Dub-R-Ex]

Welcome to IGOTASTI!!! You're going to absolutely love it here!! What other cars have you had before the WRX?

How was your experience for the duration of the 2 years with the bugeye? What did you love and what did you hate about it?

Does the 2016 STi compare in any regards whatsoever with the bugeye WRX; the car that Subaru launched with AWD/turbo in the USA?

Hey thanks. It's a bit lonely over here in Los Angeles. I don't roll with any crowd or anything. I'm just a Subie dork in a crowd of fart can Civics.

The bugeye was awesome. I felt really grounded to the road. The clutch was a bit stiff, and the shifter bushings probably should have been replaced, but it was a ton of fun. I loved the way the bugeye looked, and I kept it bone stock except for the accessport stage 1 OTS tune. I bought some fat Federal 595EVO tires, which paired decently well with the lower powered WRX. I never attracted admirers to tires before, but a bunch of people noticed them. They are kinda cheesy with the flame on it, but whatever. I didn't like the extremely high friction point of the clutch. It made it really tough to drive on a steep hill and made it lurch even more easily than my STI.

Before the bugeye, I had a bunch of cars, but the only ones worth mentioning were my 2002 Saab 93 hatchback (my faux WRX), which drove really dang well, but leaked oil like nothing else, and my 1998 Land Rover Discovery. Both were bought used and driven into the ground- The LR quite literally.

What I miss most about the bugeye compared to the STI is that it felt more RAW. The power was less, but I could really feel the car move and hear the engine. It felt more mechanical, and less modern. There's nothing wrong with modern safety, but that '02 was more predictable. I also liked the extra room in the hatchback form. I expect the GC8 body style to be similar to the 2002 WRX, so I am thinking about up/downgrading to the 2.5RS STI swap. We'll see.

Check 'er out-

 

[Slim_Jim]

Hey thanks.

I did not do it myself, and I had a shop do it for me. It was a pain, and I had to take it back twice. I actually need to take it back a third time...

Here's the long story-

I decided to go for the Viper 5706V, but I'm always looking out for the best bang for the buck. I realized that Directed Electronics is the actual OEM for Viper, and you can buy the same exact parts far cheaper on Ebay. The 5706V was Viper brand, but the rest such as the window sensor, the tilt sensor, and I think the brain itself was from DE. You can mix and match and save quite a few $$$.

Once I received it all, I brought it to the shop, and of course, the guy had never installed this on the STI. He struggled, but made it work. The problem was that there were times where I would unlock the car, open the door, and the alarm would sound. He ended up calling DE, who are up in Canada, and they gave him a beta version of the software needed for the brain to get it to work correctly. This guy lost a ton of time and money on this car btw.

This whole process took much longer than expected, and to answer your question- The remote start has a neutral position sensor that is either not installed, or is not compatible with the Viper remote start + Subaru. It is disabled. Therefore, if I leave the car in 1st, and I do my remote start, it will take off. Luckily, this has not happened yet. Is it worth it for the risk? Hell yes. I don't allow anybody to touch it. Having the AC + bluetooth start up while I'm walking to my car is totally worth it.

Problems I'm encountering:
Inconsistent ability to open the trunk.
Locking the car will give me an error to let me know that the trunk is open, even though it's closed.,
NEW: I can't actually remote start the car right now. I let the timer count down to 0 and once I tried to remote start the car again, it now gives me an error to let me know that the hood latch is open even though it's closed!

The end- I'm done rambling.

Thanks for the info...Before I got the car I was looking into this, but the area I live in is pretty small (not a lot of installers for anything) so I kinda gave up. I know I'd have to bypass the safety switch and leave it in neutral, and I'm kinda iffy about that. I may wait until the warranty is out before I start thinking about it again.

 

[Alin]

I like the long replies since we've been lacking them lately. :lol: I haven't had a chance to sit down and spew my thoughts yet. :tup:

 

[Alin]

How much do you cruise/drive a week? Being in LA, surely you guys must have some amazing back roads and canyons. Have you taken any pictures recently? [MENTION=6705]Dub-R-Ex[/MENTION]