Sean's MY04 LGT Slushwagon

[Sean82]

After off-loading my Foz, I collected my things and sorted a nice and cheap silver 2005 Liberty GT wagon with the mighty 5EAT box



Some of the basics of the car on taking ownership:

- EJ20Y with VF38...a teeny tiny town scroll
- The Mighty 5EAT
- 235,600 km on the clock

I was really hoping for an LGT with leather seats, a sunroof and the McIntosh stereo system. I got none of those things

What I got instead for a bargain price is a car with:
- New spark plugs
- New timing belt
- New radiator
- New dba T3 4000-series slotted rotors F&R
- New Hawk SPC (semi-ceramic) pads F&R
- New Bridgestone RE002s (215/45R17)
- A body that I would describe as awesome for a car of this age and mileage (a few little scratches here and there, a couple of tiny dents, but otherwise, very clean)

The money that I saved by getting a car with slightly higher mileage and none of the luxury features can be put to better use:
- tyres for my STi 18x8 rims that don't scrub (getting 235/40R18 RE002s on Tuesday 11th March)
- Cusco RSB & endlinks
- 2006 LGT tb STi mufflers (bought from Cody today; actually I picked the car up, drove a few suburbs over, then picked these up; was great to meet you mate )
- Custom stainless steel DP (with a v-band clamp holding the bell mouth on so it's a much easier job when, not if, but when, I upgrade the turbo)
- a few other bits & pieces I'm sure...

I fitted up my STi knob this evening and also fitted the STi rims. Yes they scrub, but I'm only driving to work then to the tyre place then I'll have more appropriately-sized tyres

Here is an awesome pro-level, low light pic from tonight:


I may have overestimated the quality of this pic...

So there it is, my new ride.

First impressions: loving it. A much nicer ride than my Foz was when stock, down on power a little, sure, but just more supple and responsive at the same time...

Thanks for reading,
Sean..

[Sean82]

MODS LIST

Engine & Drivetrain

- MY06 tbSTi quad-tip mufflers
- DW65C fuel pump
- VF49 with JDM STi headers, up pipe and cat-less down pipe (bell mouthed)
- Grimmspeed 3-port BCS
- Torqued Performance tune

Ordered/Awaiting install:
- 2013 JDM STi EJ207
- Cusco catch can

Handling & Braking

- dba T3 4000 rotors F & R (fitted by previous owner)
- Hawk FC brake pads F & R (fitted by previous owner)
- Cusco Street Zero-A coil overs.
- Cusco 19 mm RSB, end links and mount strengtheners
- Cusco FSB and end links
- Cusco type OA front strut brace with integrates brake cylinder stopper
- tbSTi rear suspension arms (alloy and spherical bearing links)
- tbSTi alloy front LCAs

Exterior
- STi Enkei 18x8 12-spoke rims; wrapped in B'stone RE002 235/40 tyres
- Valenti LED tail lights

Ordered/Awaiting install:
- JDM HID head lights

Interior
- 3D floor mats (thanks to bBb )
- STi auto gear knob
- STi Genome / Defi sports meter set (L -> R) Oil temp, oil pressure, manifold pressure
- DAMD black/black leather steering wheel

ICE
- Kenwood DX7330BT Nav HU
- Polk Audio MM6501 6.5" components (F)
- Polk Audio MM650 6.5" coax (R)
- Kicker CX600 4 ch amp (for door speakers)

Awaiting install:
- Clarion 10" slimline sub
- Option Audio OAK600 mono amp
- metric tonne of Jaycar Response sound deadener

[PUDZ RSC3.0RB]

Bloody good pickup, and some quality maintenance parts to boot.

[KiDo_Tuning]

Looks good Sean

[Sean82]

Bloody good pickup, and some quality maintenance parts to boot.

Cheers mate

Looks good Sean

Thanks Matt, it's a very clean car for the age...
Needs E85 though

[KiDo_Tuning]

Bloody good pickup, and some quality maintenance parts to boot.

Cheers mate

Looks good Sean

Thanks Matt, it's a very clean car for the age...
Needs E85 though

Side feed injectors of fail though Needs a GTX2867R from Dan and a top feed conversion for some low 12's

[Sean82]

No Matt, no! Lol

Plan is to stay side feed and just bolt up a VF56. I'll be happy with that.

[Sean82]

New tyres today; Bridgestone RE002 235/40R18











I'm really happy with how its looking.

Unfortunately though, tyre place found that the front lower control arm bushes (the rear ones in the front LCAs) are cactus. I was expecting a few little "problems" like this.
To rectify I've decided to try out the Superpro anti-lift and castor kit. It's designed primarily for the 08-13 Forester and WRX, but the castor bush thicknesses and diameters are all identical as far as I can tell...
I'll get Fulcrum to install it asap...

Cheers
Sean..

[bigBADbenny]

Nice one: getting up to speed very quickly

[KiDo_Tuning]

VF56 or VF53 is not bolt on, needs Spec C headers as different twin scroll flanges. The TS dumps don't clear the 5 speed though unless custom
Zeak from OzFoz has a TS setup though as complete setup but DP would need mods

[Sean82]

VF56 or VF53 is not bolt on, needs Spec C headers as different twin scroll flanges. The TS dumps don't clear the 5 speed though unless custom
Zeak from OzFoz has a TS setup though as complete setup but DP would need mods

Waaay ahead of you

I've been speaking with Mick, Kris at Rising Sun and Dan at Car Mods... VF56 is going to be my turbo of choice, but I'm undecided yet as to what I'm doing for headers and up pipe: Spec C or GT Spec.... Hmmmm....decisions.

And the DP, sorted too. I'm going to be getting custom as 1. it's gonna fit better, and B. it's only $150 more than what I can get the AVO pipe for. Oh and 3. I'm getting the zorst shop to mount the cat as low as possible (perhaps even in the horizontal part), and in the down piping part, just south of the bell mouth, they're putting in a v-band clamp. This will mean that when I do upgrade the turbo, it's just a bell mouth and a flange that bolts to the turbo that I'll need to have made up. Saves a lot of work and a fair whack of cash: the second flange/bell mouth should only be about $150-200 if that I'm told. I'm also getting them to make a custom centre pipe: it's going to be 3" to a hot dog resonator, then from the resonator back 2.5" to the '06 tb STI mufflers (which will be modded to have 2.5" inlet); basically, it's an 08-13 STi sedan mid pipe that's slightly bigger... This should give quite decent flow without compromising on cabin noise and should also eliminate the potential for the dreaded drone (something I got massively with the Q300 on my Foz).

Yesterday I contacted Eric at Torqued Performance asking him to get me a tune on the stock setup. I know a DP would be much more beneficial, but I'm not sure what that's going to happen (I've got a fairly hectic next 2 months, not sure if I'll get time to take my car in). I sent him a LV shot and he picked up a boost leak (among a metric tonne of knock):



Tonight I did an oil change (at 235,000 km; the oil in it was pretty good, but I wasn't sure how long it's been in there, what type, who dunnit, etc. etc. so for the sake of $60, I have new oil; Penrite 5W-30 EP-5 btw). I also chased down that boost leak. I found it: the MAP sensor hose was farked. Fixed it, reset the ECU, went for a 45 km drive. Looked at LV again. Here's a pre- and post-ECU reset view:

Pre:


Post rest and drive:


Still not great, but a heck of a lot better.

I had noticed that in the time between me looking at LV and sending to Eric and then the one tonight, things had actually improved. I'm of the mind that the previous owner wasn't putting good fuel in. Since I've had it, I have filled up with Caltex 98 twice; first time straight after I picked it up when it took 59L and then this morning when it took another 32L.

Anyway, while I was fiddling round the engine bay tonight, I noticed and horrendous site: black (or bloody close to it) brake fluid. That's going to be looked at in the next few days when I can con a buddy to pop round and help me out. I'll fill with Super Cheap stuff for a few months then switch to Castrol or maybe even Motul...

Tomorrow new front LCA rear bushes are being put it at Fulcrum Yeerongpilly. I'll also be getting an alignment. As I'm putting the offset bushes in for more castor, it should make a nice little difference to the feel, especially on turn in.

Thanks for looking
Sean..

[bigBADbenny]

Good stuff

[KiDo_Tuning]

VF56 with stock headers and a modified CES dump pipe goes 212kw@17.2psi with full boost by 3000rpm. It is actually what my old VF56 went onto that I sold on OzFoz.

The smaller VF53 does 237kw@wheels on 22psi with a stock exhaust with a Spec C motor(Targa Wrest Point showroom class winner) so I would say 250kw on E85 won't be an issue

[Sean82]

Cusco RSB and mount support arrived at the office today
Tonight I'll install these along with the STi mufflers; looking forward to it.

I'm off to Darwin next week for work, so down pipe won't be for at least another few weeks at this stage.

[Sean82]

Fairly decent mods day.

Fulcrum Yeerongpilly installed a set of Superpro front LCA rear bushes; the offset ones for more castor (now ~6.45* either side). They also did an inspection on the suspension and found nothing untoward. Apparently the rest of the bushes are in good nick for a 10 y.o. car. Of course, they'll all slowly get replaced. I'm going to try out Superpro because they're quite a bit cheaper but they're developed and engineered by Fulcrum Suspensions...

I also had my Cusco RSB delivered from Garage 88 in Sydney today (not bad considering I ordered it Tuesday arvo). So I took the mufflers off, installed the RSB and the Cusco mount supports/strengtheners and installed a set of 2006 LGT tb STi quad tip mufflers. They have a nicer note; it's deeper. Even though there's no signature Subie rumble, I find it a nice note nonetheless, especially given it's untuned and basically a stock zorst. A good DP and a much smaller mid-muffler should give it just a tad more noise.

The RSB hasn't made as big an effect on the roll as I expected, but it is also trying to stabilise a car riding on 10 y.o. struts/shocks and springs. I think that once I get some newer (or maybe even new, haven't decided yet) struts/shocks in with the LGT STi Pink springs, it'll be much flatter.