The Daily/Family Whip: 06 STI

[Hulakatt]

Got my first Scoobie a month or so ago and I'm having a tremendous amount of fun so far! Other than that I'm doing some mild reverse engineering and investigative work to determine what the previous owner did to mod this car while planning out my own ideas to shape it.

This is my daily and my family car. Gotta get to work every workday regardless of the weather

I can see the previous owner installed a Perrin FMIC, unknown RAM air intake, unknown downpipe and unknown exhaust. The car clearly had an A pillar gauge cluster mounted and then removed (I'd like to add that back in) and it was running super rich when I took possession of it. Brake calipers are gold Brembos which I believe were available on one of the "Editions" of the STI.

So far I've picked up and installed a Cobb AP and loaded one of the base maps (which has helped a good bit). During the install, it alerted me that there was already a Cobb AP map mapped to the ECU but I overwrote that one with the base map.

Issues/Irritants:
Exhaust is stupid loud and has a few nasty resonance peaks that are painfully loud. Loud drone on the highway and at several other RPMs.

Front suspensions squeaks depending on humidity.

Still running richer than I'd like
RAM air is rubbing against some of the FMIC pipping and wearing through a bit
current aftermarket stereo is crap and annoying.

Interior carpet is starting to show it's age and wearing through in some places.

Goals:
Determine what the unknown makes of the exhaust components are
Replace them with Cobb from the turbo back.

A Pillar gauge cluster (loaded with AEM A/F and Boost gauges)

Replace interior carpet, anyone have a good source? Preferably for other-than-stock colors?

Replace RAM Air with the Perrin unit for better fit and better placement of the MAF sensor.

Replacing suspension bits as needed with either with SPT or KW. Can't lower the car any more until I move as I'm already just scraping getting out of my driveway.

Replace head unit with one that offers Nav at the least, preferably Apple Carplay enabled. May upgrade some speakers as well.

Oh, and I'm going to pick up another set of wheels. 1 set with summer tires and 1 set with winter tires.

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

It is a thing of beauty! Good luck with it and welcome!

 

[Hulakatt]

Thanks! I think it's a close 2nd to the most amount of fun I've had on 4 wheels. The most amount of fun I've had was a pure religious moment whipping a Acura ITR through back mountain roads climbing through the vtec. First time I drove a car and aimed for redline That was the epiphany when cars became more than transport.

 

[Alin]

More pictures!!!! We never get enough pictures!!! :banghead:

Grats on the ride! :tup:

 

[IGOTASTi]

Welcome [MENTION=5878]Hulakatt[/MENTION].

?Join us as Lifetime Platinum Member today!?

 

[Hulakatt]

Gotta shoot some moar pics dude! Be cool

 

[Real Auto Dynamics]

Car looks really clean!

Give it some time and you might shift your enthusiasm more on the STi. Modded right, there is little that can compare or even compete. It can hold it's own in just about any auto sport and HPD event.

Thanks! I think it's a close 2nd to the most amount of fun I've had on 4 wheels. The most amount of fun I've had was a pure religious moment whipping a Acura ITR through back mountain roads climbing through the vtec. First time I drove a car and aimed for redline That was the epiphany when cars became more than transport.

 

[Hulakatt]

Working on fitting an Immobilizer Chip from my 06" keys into a much nicer looking 04' STi key over in this thread:

https://www.igotasti.com/vBforum/th...ys-and-immobilizer-system?p=134301#post134301

Got some other projects coming together a bit but no pics yet

 

[Hulakatt]

Ok, did a bit of work on the car, searched over previous mods more in depth and shot a few moar pics

The RAM Air intake is a K&N unit
Front Strut tower bar is a Cusco (Bonus!)

Added in pink star badges and a SPT Cooling Plate

Anyone recognize this downpipe? I do not see a Cat anywhere on it and there is an open UEGO bung on the side

 

[Hulakatt]

I figure it's a long shot but can anyone ID this exhaust? I can't find any ID or markings on it yet.

 

[Hulakatt]

Update: STi is in the shop with a blown headgasket Local Scooby dealership is replacing all seals and gaskets in the engine along with a slew of other stuff and giving the whole thing a solid look over for me. Rolling in a CrossTrek until my baby is back. After the last few cars I've owned, driving the CrossTrek is like driving inside a pillow. Everything is very nice but driving is very detached and muted.

 

[Alin]

Ouch, how much is the labor and parts going to run you? Did the gasket go during boost?

 

[Hulakatt]

Parts and labor are looking to be about $2.5k. All engine gaskets and seals are being replaced as well as the water pump, timing belt and a few other odds and ends. I can post the final toll for he work after I get it back.

The gasket did not let go under boost. It was more of a gradual break that slowly got worse. I have a suspicion that the previous owner knew it was starting to go and used some sealant leak stopper or some other such thing to "shut it up" long enough to sell off the car.

 

[Alin]

Oh, wow. That's shitty!

 

[Hulakatt]

Good news from the shop, the heads are true and well within spec. Do not need machined or replaced. Just waiting on some replacement coolant lines to replace some brittle ones above the engine block to finish it all up. Should just be another day or two.

 

[Hulakatt]

Oh, wow. That's shitty!

Yeah, but now I'll have an engine that I know to be as clean as the body is, not a bad place to start off with a new ride, particularly an STI

 

[Hulakatt]

Got my Scooby back!

Well, got it back friday. Had to race from work to get to the dealership before they closed at 6. One of the guys working there waited for me before locking up because he knew how badly I wanted my car back, good folks.

Anyway,
Heads were still true and did not need replacement
gaskets replaced
timing belt replaced
new spark plugs
new water pump
new thermostat gaskets
new coolant hoses
and a sh!t ton of labor
came in at $.04 shy of 3k

engine is notably quieter, more so than before the headgasket blew, runs smoother and is putting out more power. I actually lost traction a bit on saturday, punching it going up a hill, never did that hitting it much harder on the same stretch of road before. Never done that before in a Scooby to begin with.

Tune is still rich, putting out too much fuel at idle and pulling away from stop. One of the tech also told me that the turbo has some play in it and should be replaced soon. Given 100k on that turbo and with so much else being upgraded around it, I'm not surprised. My next few steps for the STI are:

A pillar gauge mount stuffed with
wideband a/f gauge
boost gauge

new turbo
new tune

then I'll probably pick up:
coolant temp gauge
oil temp gauge
oil pressure gauge
in a clock cluster gauge mount

 

[Doppelganger]

Congrats on getting the subie back up and running

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

 

[Hulakatt]

So... got the STI back on Friday and the radiator blew up on Tuesday. This is not turning out to be very reliable so far. My wife is getting pissed and wants me to trade it in on an 86. Got a Koyorad today and gonna install it this weekend.

Yes, that 86 would be my family car with 2 car seats in the back and not a garage queen/weekend warrior.

 

[Alin]

Dang, sorry to hear about that, man! I won't say I'm against the 86 because I want one as well, but I don't want to see the STi go! Tell you wife to be a little patient! Rome wasn't built in a day! :rofl: