Mid-July July 17, 2006
Jorge and I co-drove the M3 at the June ER event, taking 3rd and 4th out of 7 B Stock entrants. The course layout was easy, lots of sweepers and not a single slalom. I’d come up on each turn fairly hot, slam the breaks and jerk the wheel, floor the gas to instantly transition from from understeer to tail-out oversteer, and modulate the throttle through the turn to keep it under control. So. Much. Fun.
I half regret having to get rid of the car, but… I posted it on BimmerForums and a deal was made just a few days later.
Ran the numbers on picking up a more fuel-efficient car for my 20K-ish miles of annual commuting. Doubling my fuel economy would only save $1,500 or so per year. With insurance and the added maintenance from two cars I’d probably be in the red before I even factored the cost of the car itself. So I’ll be sticking with the single car.
New toys
Screwed up my Panasonic DMC-FX9 camera, it’s been replaced with a Canon PowerShot SD700 IS. It does video in AVI format so hopefully Google Video will like it better than the FX9’s wacky MJPEG QuickTime format.
Slapped the new Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT) intake and heatshield on the car. It’s just a stopgap to hold me over until the 2.5L build but I’m really happy with all the new sounds the car makes. The “blow-off valve” (technically a bypass valve since it recirculates instead of venting) is now audible, the turbo spool-up sounds are just plain wicked, and the sucking sounds from the incoming air make me smile.
Another recent purchase is a Valentine 1 radar detector. $400 and worth every penny. It comes with a hardwire kit that I’ve installed in the roof, tapping into a power line meant for Subaru’s optional auto-dimming mirror, so there’s just a little black cord coming down from the edge of the windshield.
And I picked up a used headunit from an older WRX. It’s had the “red light” mod installed, so it’ll match the STi instrument cluster that I’ll be putting in later, and it’s got a cassette deck in addition to the 6CD so I can plug my iPod Mini in. FM transmitters just don’t cut it in an area like South Florida.
This week I’m gonna try to get my windows tinted.
The next performance mod will be freshly re-designed camber plates from PDE. My coilovers have adjustable plates built in but they’re basically just a long slot with markings — not terribly precise. PDE has a unique design which uses a bolt and a series of holes to provide very exact and repeatable adjustments, and their latest version has a thru-hole for adjustable shocks that they believe should be compatible with my coilovers (and if not, they’ll waive the restocking fee for me). I’ve also got camber bolts coming. I was only able to get -0.7 using the factory bolts with the camber plates slammed, hopefully the new bolts can get me to -2.0 or so.
I’ve pretty much got all the parts for the 2.5L build, really just need some gaskets and misc parts that I’ll have the shop take care of, but… I’m getting nervous about the transmission. The USDM WRX 5-speed is notoriously weak. The 2004+ models have gears that are the same width as the JDM “STi RA” gearset that many people with pre-2004 WRXs upgrade to, but the power levels I’m expecting are where folks start breaking teeth on the newer gearsets and RA gears, not from abusive shifting but from straight-up torque. On the Pastelito board I also saw that Jose busted his RA gears at sub-300whp.
Option 1 is a PPG 1-4 helical synchro gearset. Mucho expensive at $3520 for the gearset alone, $650 in labor from the US distributor (a relative bargain), $100 in misc installation parts, another $230 for new synchros, plus shipping both ways, plus a $700 core deposit if I have them ship me an already built tranny. Figure $4800, give or take a Franklin.
Option 2 is an STi 6-speed swap. There are many ways to accomplish this, the cheaper and easier method involves swapping the ring-and-pinion in the stock WRX rear differential to match the STi’s specs ($175 in parts, $300 or so pre-assembled). I’d need the tranny itself, USDM take-offs go for $2,500-$3,000, plus the shifter linkage, shifter, shift knob, shift boot, STi or Impreza AT driveshaft, tranny mount, clutch, and I believe the flywheel. One NASIOC bargain hunter reported doing the whole shebang for $3,000, but $3,500 is probably more realistic.
The obvious advantage to the STi swap is that it should be cheaper by $1,300-$1,800, a drop in the bucket compared to my total “investment” in the car but every dollar I spend here is hurting because I hadn’t budgeted for it. With the STi swap I’d also have a 35/65 torque split instead of 50/50, making the car behave more like a RWD vehicle. Could be an advantage on an autocross course, tho not so much for daily driving during hurricane season (we now return to our regularly scheduled torrential downpour).
The glaring downside to the 6-speed is that the gearset is not indestructable. Gear breakage reports are relatively rare but they have happened. There are no known broken PPGs and many users report frequent hard launches at the dragstrip with 500-600whp.
I’ve reached out on the Pastelito board for advice, will have to reach a decision soon…
One more thing…
I got the car washed for the first time since Hurricane Wilma banged her up. Well, not exactly. I’ve run it thru a brushless wash and sprayed it with the hose a couple of times since Wilma but that barely scratched the surface of the dirt. This time she was actually CLEAN. Here’s a picture from after a couple of days driving in the rain…
- Posted in : Uncategorized
- Author :tby
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