Member Profile - 2008 tbSTI SWP Wagon + 2004 2.5i OBP Sedan

[Turbo Lag]

Only been on this forum for 10 years now, may as well make a thread.

Car #1; 2003 MY04 Subaru Liberty 2.5i Safety Pack Manual OBP









Engine/Driveline:
Complete engine rebuild to stock specifications via Subaru.
Gearbox replaced with reco'd unit.
SMF conversion with Exedy HD clutch.
Exhaust heatshields removed.
Intake resonators deleted.
K&N panel air filter.

Chassis/Suspension/Brakes:
Shockworks Coilovers.
Front 326mm Brembo brake conversion with DBA T3 5000 2 piece front rotors, with Intima SR pads and SuperBlue fluid.
316mm/294mm brake conversion to GT with DBA T3/T2, Intima SR pads and SuperBlue fluid.

Interior/Exterior:
Double DIN fascia + A/C unit with Pioneer DAB headunit.
Prev. tbSTI pre-FL seats. Sold to Benny
KAP Industries Fire Extinguisher Mount + Fire Extinguisher.
avoJDM mesh grille.
OTR front lip.
eBay rear lip spoiler colour matched to 32J.
Number plate risers DIY'd.
New windscreen.
All paintwork corrected.
Light rear guard rolling.
VIOFO A119S dashcam.

Car #2; 2008 MY08 Subaru Liberty GT tbSTI Manual SWP #130









Previous owner took care of most of the mods and work thankfully

Engine/Driveline:
EJ257 short block swap.
Reco'd heads.
XS Injectors XS1000M4-15-8 1000CC.
ARP head studs.
IAG Competition Series EJ Oil Pan.
IAG Competition Series Baffle.
IAG Windage Tray.
IAG V2 Oil Pickup.
IAG AOS V2.
Process West TMIC w/ DIY sprayer routed from rear wiper.
Mishimoto oil filter sandwich plate + FB25 OEM oil filter.
Innovate MTX-D Oil Temp/Pressure gauge.
Invidia dump pipe.
Perrin Pitch Shift Mount.
Mantic Stage 1 clutch.
GCG GTX3071R GenII.
GCG GTX2867R Gen II.
PWR Universal oil cooler.
Koyorad Radiator.
GReddy GREX thermostatic sandwich plate.
Quaife ATB LSD QDH3Y Front Differential.

Chassis/Suspension/Brakes:
Shockworks Coilovers.
Hardrace rear camber arms.
Godspeed adjustable rear toe arms.
Whiteline adjustable front sway bar + adjustable endlinks.
Prev. Whiteline adjustable rear sway bar + adjustable endlinks.
Drive Industries 18mm custom rear sway bar + Whiteline adjustable endlinks.
DBA T3 5000 2 piece front rotors with Winmax W7 F/Intima SR R and SuperBlue fluid.
Shockworks 6-piston 355mm brake conversion with Hankook FRIXA pads and SuperBlue fluid.
Prev. Cusco 686 477 A underbody lower control arm bracing to suit N/A modified to fit with N/A jack up plate.
Cusco 684 477 A underbody X brace.
Cusco Brake Master Cylinder Stopper.
HEL Braided brake lines to suit larger calipers.

Interior/Exterior:
Double DIN fascia with Pioneer DAB/NAV headunit + 2 Alpine amps + subwoofer.
Number plate risers DIY'd.
New windscreen.
Front and rear guards rolled.
KAP Industries Fire Extinguisher Mount + Fire Extinguisher.
LUFI OBD2 gauge.
VIOFO A119S F/R dashcams.
Plus all the usual 08 tbSTI goodies.

Owner #1: search.php?author_id=1160&sr=posts
Owner #2: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35450

Wheels:
5x100
18x7.5+5x 2008 tbSTI stock Enkeis.
17x7+55 2.5i pre-FL stock wheels on 225/45/17 Michelin PS3.
17x8+53 WRX 2012 wheels on 235/45/17 AD08R.
17x8+53 WRX 2012 wheels on 235/45/17 Michelin PS4.
18x8.5+44 SSR GTV02 on 235/40/18 AD08R and 245/40/18 AD08R.
17x8+45 Enkei RPF1 on 235/45/17 Nankang AR1.
18x8.5+44 ROTA Gravel on 235/40/18 Pirelli Dragon Sport.
18x8+42 WedsSport TC105N on 235/40/18 Falken FK453 235/40/18 Nankang NS2R 180TW.
18x8.5+45 WedsSport RN55M on 235/40/18 Bridgestone RE003 235/40/18 Nankang AR1.

One of the few days they were both clean at the same time.



Car #3; 2010 MY10 Lexus IS250 Prestige 6AT Molton Copper/Amber Pearl

Gone!

Bone stock.





Car #4; 2000 MY00 Toyota Altezza RS200-Z 6MT Auburn Sky/Red Metallic Mica



Engine/Driveline:
TODA Lightweight Clutch/Flywheel.
Genuine Timing Kit replacement.
1-way Cusco Clutch-type LSD.
Koyorad radiator.
New thermostat.
Power steering fluid flush.
Genuine cam seals.
Throttle pedal adjustment.

Chassis/Suspension/Brakes:
Cusco Coilovers.
VMAX Slotted S-Type Rotors.
Intima SR pads.
RBF600 Brake Fluid.

Interior/Exterior:
CT Auto tail lights.
OEM-style red tail lights.
eBay rear lip spoiler colour matched to 3N3.
Genuine option Altezza mesh front grill.
Genuine TRD shift knob.
Guards Rolled and Pumped.
Genuine black housing headlights.
Kenwood Double-DIN headunit.
Focal speakers.
Weathershields.
VIOFO A119S dashcam.

Wheels:
5x114.3
17x7.5+45 Enkei Tuning FC01 on 225/45/17 Continental MC6.
18x8+40~ Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 on 235/40/18 Nankang NS2R 180tw.
17x8+45 Enkei RPF1 on 235/45/17 Dunlop SP Sport FM800.
17x8+35 2x BBS LM071 on 225/45/17 Hankook RS4.
17x8+45 2x BBS LM068 on 215/45/17 Sailun Atrezzo Sport R01.
17x8+45 BBS RG136.

Car #5; 2008 MY08 Subaru Liberty 5MT 2.5i Manual OBP [Shared race car]





Bike #1; 2016 MY16 Honda CB500FA Lemon Ice Yellow

Gone!



Bike #2; 1996 MY96 Honda CBR250RR MC22 Tri-Colour

[Yowie]

Very nice.

The Gen 4 Liberty is one of the best-looking cars in my opinion.

[Turbo Lag]

Thank you. Yeah IMO one of the best looking normal kinda cars to exist, I am a little biased now though! 3 of these things in the house.

[Yowie]

Back in 2015 I searched carsales dot com for ages to find a Liberty GT wagon (before settling on a forester). There were always stuff-all in Queensland but loads in NSW and Victoria.

Turns out you were hoarding them all along before hoarding became popular!

[gtbsti]

can you post more pics of the wagon?

[Turbo Lag]

Sure why not...

What colour is your one? So few in Melb.

[seroesh]

Hi all ^

The cars look great!

Just a question, are these lowered on coilovers? if yes, which? or springs? if yes, what size of springs gave you that gap on the front wheels?

I have Pedders springs, but the front has a bit of a gap, than the back.

[Turbo Lag]

Hello Seroesh!

Thank you.

Both of them are on Shockworks coilovers. https://www.facebook.com/shockworks/

The sedan is on a sedan spec set, and wagon on a wagon set.

You will find it quite difficult to reach a perfect height on springs alone as you can't fine tune. The rear shocks tend to let go over time and you'll see plenty of Gen 4s with saggy rears. Have a look at just about any Gen 4 with the original setup still on! The front will sit fairly high, and the rear too low.

If you don't want coilovers, you can always simply change out your original shocks to something like KYB or Koni's.

[Clintski]

nice combo, I just love a white wags. Looks neat

[Turbo Lag]

Few updates to the wagon over the last few months.

Images are pretty large so open them up separate to view the entire thing.

Started out with purchasing the Whiteline ARB pack a while ago to test these out. First time changing out ARBs on either of my cars, and have always heard good things about larger ARBs and new bushings.

https://www.whiteline.com.au/product_de ... 4&sq=46374

Began by throwing in the rear ARB along with the supplied bushings and end links. The rear ARB supplied is a 2 point, 20mm solid bar, compared to a 18ish mm hollow bar (I believe this is equivalent to a 16mm solid?). Since many recommend only changing the rear bar out, I was keen to test the difference doing this without touching the front. I set the rear bar on the stiffest setting to hopefully notice any immediate effects.





After going for a test drive and pushing quite hard, I really disliked how the car felt. The rear end kicked out at the limit and the car always felt rather on edge. So I turned the rear bar to it's middle setting, but it still felt similar. I ended up going for the softest setting, but still never really liked the handling characteristics. It's time to throw the front on to see if it would counteract this.

You may notice in this picture that one of the mounts on the stock one is missing... yes it actually didn't exist at all on the front right. So, time to get a new mount and throw the front in.



The new ARB is a 2 point, 22mm solid bar. As before, threw it straight onto the hardest setting to notice its effects. Again (this time as expected), I completely hated it - the front end was incredibly understeer prone and pushed wide, while the rear remained somewhat on edge (even on the softest setting). Immediately turned it down to its softest setting which I found was much more neutral. With both bars on their softest settings, I found this combination to be the best. Personally don't see how people like only doing a rear bar any more! Ultimately I was not a fan of the pack combined with the Shockworks - I feel like the car was better (more roll-prone but easier to control, and a lot more neutral handling characteristics) with the stock bars.



As I do plan on running larger rear tyres (235 to 245/40/18) in the near future along with my Nankang AR1s, I also decided to purchase some rear camber arms to allow a bit more adjustability in the rear. Eyeballing it, it seems to allow for up to around -2.5deg camber, which is plentiful as I only wanted around -1.5.





It was a surprisingly easy install, and the old arms were out in a few minutes. Adjustability while on the car isn't too difficult either.



An ad on FB showed up with some Cusco front underbody bracing showed up, and these are yet another component I've always been wanting to test. I had no clue what the part number was but bought them anyway - worst case it can go on the sedan. Part number is: Cusco 686 477 A



Little did I realise it only fits N/A cars as it fouls on the turbo subframe brace. Unfortunate, but I worked around it (probably going backwards) by replacing the turbo subframe with the N/A subframe.



A very simple install... but I wasn't too happy with it in the end as it's probably a step sideways realistically.



Just before lockdown hit Melbourne, one of my mates managed to install the wiring for my Innovate MTX-D oil temp/pressure gauge. Big props to him as he did a fantastic job on it. Definitely planning on running a lower viscosity oil in the future as pressures are very, very high on 5w40 Motul Sport. Ideally a 0w30 with an oil cooler or 0w40 without. But no big rush on this one just yet! Unfortunately was not a big fan of the gauge in use - the temp is difficult to read while driving due to its dot design around the outer ring. If I were to do this again, I'd definitely go with a separate, analog temp and pressure gauge combo. It does the job though.



So back to that N/A bracing from before - while scouring Gumtree I came across a listing for yet another underbody brace - but this time it was actually suited for turbos. At the price, I couldn't resist. This one is Cusco 684 477 A. This also meant I could get the original turbo subframe brace back on too, which was definitely better off compared to the N/A one. I still feel like chassis stiffness is a weak point with our cars so I'm going to keep trying every alternative I can get my hands on!



A very straight forward install that uses the same plate support as the N/A brace. Easy. I have yet to actually notice any difference as we're still in lockdown and can't go for a test drive.



After living with the Whiteline ARB solution for a while, I wasn't enjoying it. The rear end was still too snappy, so I decided that if I can't find a better solution, I'll revert back to stock. For a while, I was considering somehow making the stock one adjustable so the length can be shortened (ie. making its effectiveness stiffer). Easier said than done.

I searched around more and came across an Aus based ARB manufacturer called Drive Industries, who claimed to be able to make custom sized bars to suit different applications. I dreaded the price of a custom bar but enquired anyway - thankfully their pricing was incredibly competitive compared to Whiteline so I ended up ordering a custom 2 point, 18mm solid bar of their existing 20mm ARB (which is basically the same as the Whiteline equivalent I already have). It also came alongside 18mm specific bushings, lateral locks, and mounts too.

https://www.driveindustries.com.au/coll ... adjustable



So out with the Whiteline 20mm bar:



A side by side comparison: Top being the 18mm Drive Industries bar, middle stock, and bottom Whiteline 20mm bar.



And finally installed.





First impressions (at least from the short distance I can drive) are very good. It feels just like the stock rear ARB on its softest setting (which is what I was aiming for). The rear does feel a bit lazy compared to the Whiteline at the softest setting, so I think bumping it up to its middle setting will be optimal (yet to do this). I will probably leave the front alone (at least for now) until I get sick of it. Ideally I believe a 2 point, 20mm solid front ARB will be perfect for my liking.

A few more steps until I can get the car corner balanced properly and hopefully its first track day.

[Yowie]

Great write-up. I'm a big fan of this sort of post (with pics, explanations, reasoning etc).

---

I'm looking at aftermarket control arms for more rear wheel camber. Any reason why you went with an adjustable upper arm rather than an adjustable lower arm? I see that both exist (at least for a forester) and am considering which is the better option.

---

In terms of the Innovate MTX-D oil temp/pressure gauge, I considered it for a while but gave it a miss for the reasons you outlined. The display is @rse-about. Why show temp (which moves slowly) via an illuminated bar with no units, but pressure (which changes quickly) in a digital display?

(I ended up with a dual digital water & oil temp display. I'll probably grab an AEM X-series oil pressure display when I can afford more gizmos for the car.)

When you say the oil pressures were very high on x or y grade oil, what sort of numbers were you seeing with what grade oil under what conditions? (eg cold start, normal driving, high revs).

cheers

[Turbo Lag]

Great write-up. I'm a big fan of this sort of post (with pics, explanations, reasoning etc).

---

I'm looking at aftermarket control arms for more rear wheel camber. Any reason why you went with an adjustable upper arm rather than an adjustable lower arm? I see that both exist (at least for a forester) and am considering which is the better option.

---

In terms of the Innovate MTX-D oil temp/pressure gauge, I considered it for a while but gave it a miss for the reasons you outlined. The display is @rse-about. Why show temp (which moves slowly) via an illuminated bar with no units, but pressure (which changes quickly) in a digital display?

(I ended up with a dual digital water & oil temp display. I'll probably grab an AEM X-series oil pressure display when I can afford more gizmos for the car.)

When you say the oil pressures were very high on x or y grade oil, what sort of numbers were you seeing with what grade oil under what conditions? (eg cold start, normal driving, high revs).

cheers

Trying to keep a diary of sorts for myself so I can remember what works and what doesn't (for my specific situation anyway), especially since I try to not mod for the sake of it.

With regards to the arms, I went for the upper as I wanted to pull the top of the wheel inwards, rather than push the bottom of the wheel outwards (this seems to be the theory behind it, correct me if anyone has had a different experience). I also didn't want to ditch the stock STI arms I have, to get more Whiteline products that just don't seem like they're great quality... In my opinion I'd also rather have less adjustable parts as it's just another point of potential failure and effort to adjust. Whiteline sells this rear kit which the majority opt for: https://www.whiteline.com.au/product_de ... 4&sq=46395 In your case, not sure if a kit like this exists as it seems like most change the lower arm? Is changing the upper arm more expensive or harder to find?

You are spot on with the gauge and its readout issue. It was an impulse purchase around 3 years ago when I didn't know any better - I should've done more research to learn that you can't switch temp/pressure around on the readouts. The worst part is that the temp readout isn't even linear and you literally can't program it to be either. Your solution seems to fit the bill and I'll probably change to something in the future much like yours.

I'm running Motul Sport 5w40 and seeing 100psi cold idle starts, all the way through the rev range for the first few minutes. When warm (90-110c), it'll hit 100psi at 3krpm onwards. Idle, around 30-40psi. I don't want it hitting bypass all the time and the pressure looks way too high. I was considering going for Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0w40 to solve the cold starts but unfortunately it got pulled from Amazon before I purchased it. I'll likely opt for a 0w30 instead, but it's hard to find a brand I like who makes this viscosity oil in a non-eco product. I'll probably need an oil cooler as well for track purposes. I'm almost glad I never had a gauge on the sedan or I probably would've never tracked it Are these figures similar to what you're seeing?

[Yowie]

Regarding rear camber for a Forester, I've spotted the "tube style" upper kits (from Hardrace and probably others) and pressed steel type lower arm kits (from Whiteline & Superpro) and also a welded steel version from Hardrace that seems to weigh a fair bit. It's the same rear lower control arm from a BRX/86 so that gives a few aftermarket options for an SH Forester. I'll probably go for one of the pressed steel lower arm kits because it was cheaper than an upper arm kit last time I looked.

Regarding gauge setup "perfect is the enemy of good enough" (to murder a saying). If you're getting the info you need then job done. Dual digital readouts (for temps) are probably sub-optimal for any track work because it's slower to read at a quick glance (cf. "analogue needles in right positions") but to me efficiency of cost and space for gauges is more important. The car is on the road not the track 99.99% of the time anyway (plus you can set flashing warnings for over-temp).

Thanks for reporting the oil pressures. From what I've read "Subarus just run high oil pressures" (necessitating a gauge with a peak pressure of 150psi rather than 100psi). Also a reason why OEM oil filters (with high bypass valve pressure) are important, at least until you run a full race-spec remote-mounted monster filter.

I don't have an oil pressure gauge yet, so I can only report temperature trends (low 90s after 10-15 minutes, high 90s after 30 mins, 110-115ish highest temp seen after a spirited climb up a windy mountain road or at a dirt track rally day).

Perhaps ease back on the search for super-thin oil just to chase unrealistically lower oil pressure on a Subaru. Cold start is a write-off anyway. If you are pushing the car hard (once warm) a reasonable viscosity will give better protection than some super-thin oil. Speaking of pushing the car hard, what sort of max temps are you seeing on the track (if possible to know on the Innovate gauge)? Opinions differ, but quality synthetic oil can handle a fair bit of temp. Plus hot oil flows better (and reduces oil pressure).

According to the book "Four Stroke Performance Tuning" (A Graham Bell, 4th ed, page 526) ideal oil operating temp is 95-110 degrees and oil can run at 130 degrees for short periods (but power can be lost over 115 degrees and bearing failure is possible above 130 degrees). The author goes on to list anecdotes of engines surviving 150-180 degree temps on Mobile 1, then says "I would only recommend an oil cooler if under hard driving conditions the oil is regularly in excess of 120 degrees". He goes on to recommend 1/2 inch+ (preferably 5/8" to 3/4") oil lines to the cooler, a smooth-flowing sandwich block (eg cast or ported [if machined] to take out sharp internal edges) and a thermostat to keep the oil above 85 degrees. Also - never buy a 2nd hand oil cooler because it's impossible to flush all the bits out of one if the engine had issues.

[bigBADbenny]

Awesome member profile, 10 years in the making!
Quite possibly a lurking record?

Can you please tell us more about you philosophy as regards cars and driving, including but not limited to having a 5mt 2.5i, tracking it and along the way, lurking till pouncing on what’s generally regarded as the ultimate BP GT or perhaps the most desirable lib ever made: and a nicely stock yet modified example

As regards your swaybar development process, its intriguing about the front missing mount.
Indeed old school member Kiks recommendation for tracking a lib was to just disconnect the front swaybar and have at it hanging the tail out.

To this end, my advice would be to keep the rsb or go back to stock, get a 3 position fsb, but get it lighter, or same as than the stock fsb.

Imho with quality dampers, with meaningful adjustment, less bar is more

[Turbo Lag]

Regarding rear camber for a Forester, I've spotted the "tube style" upper kits (from Hardrace and probably others) and pressed steel type lower arm kits (from Whiteline & Superpro) and also a welded steel version from Hardrace that seems to weigh a fair bit. It's the same rear lower control arm from a BRX/86 so that gives a few aftermarket options for an SH Forester. I'll probably go for one of the pressed steel lower arm kits because it was cheaper than an upper arm kit last time I looked.

Regarding gauge setup "perfect is the enemy of good enough" (to murder a saying). If you're getting the info you need then job done. Dual digital readouts (for temps) are probably sub-optimal for any track work because it's slower to read at a quick glance (cf. "analogue needles in right positions") but to me efficiency of cost and space for gauges is more important. The car is on the road not the track 99.99% of the time anyway (plus you can set flashing warnings for over-temp).

Thanks for reporting the oil pressures. From what I've read "Subarus just run high oil pressures" (necessitating a gauge with a peak pressure of 150psi rather than 100psi). Also a reason why OEM oil filters (with high bypass valve pressure) are important, at least until you run a full race-spec remote-mounted monster filter.

I don't have an oil pressure gauge yet, so I can only report temperature trends (low 90s after 10-15 minutes, high 90s after 30 mins, 110-115ish highest temp seen after a spirited climb up a windy mountain road or at a dirt track rally day).

Perhaps ease back on the search for super-thin oil just to chase unrealistically lower oil pressure on a Subaru. Cold start is a write-off anyway. If you are pushing the car hard (once warm) a reasonable viscosity will give better protection than some super-thin oil. Speaking of pushing the car hard, what sort of max temps are you seeing on the track (if possible to know on the Innovate gauge)? Opinions differ, but quality synthetic oil can handle a fair bit of temp. Plus hot oil flows better (and reduces oil pressure).

According to the book "Four Stroke Performance Tuning" (A Graham Bell, 4th ed, page 526) ideal oil operating temp is 95-110 degrees and oil can run at 130 degrees for short periods (but power can be lost over 115 degrees and bearing failure is possible above 130 degrees). The author goes on to list anecdotes of engines surviving 150-180 degree temps on Mobile 1, then says "I would only recommend an oil cooler if under hard driving conditions the oil is regularly in excess of 120 degrees". He goes on to recommend 1/2 inch+ (preferably 5/8" to 3/4") oil lines to the cooler, a smooth-flowing sandwich block (eg cast or ported [if machined] to take out sharp internal edges) and a thermostat to keep the oil above 85 degrees. Also - never buy a 2nd hand oil cooler because it's impossible to flush all the bits out of one if the engine had issues.

If the lower arms are significantly cheaper then you can't really go wrong I guess. The only downside is if you're running big camber numbers and your wheel ends up sticking out a lot - but I'm sure you're not after some ridiculous setup in the first place. Helps that it shares the same components as the 86 since parts availability is crazy.

The issue for me regarding the gauge setup is that on track it's very difficult to keep up with all the numbers especially when they're mounted poorly (in my case). Usually I'm tracking water temp, tyre temps and of course track times themselves. I've actually got a separate centre cubby that I tuck an OBD2 gauge and tyre temp monitor in for track. Having the alarm is definitely handy but it would help a lot knowing when it will reach temp rather than counting the dots. So I agree on having this type of gauge for street, but on track it'd be much more beneficial IMO to have a simple large number readout for temp, and have the digital outer ring gauge for pressure. Ideally I'm trying to throw this into the wagon before its track day as the setup worked very well for me last time.



I'm seeing oil temps stay around 110c while daily driving when the car is fully up to temp so I'm not looking forward to seeing how it will perform on track. It doesn't help that track days tend to occur more during the warmer seasons and it's not uncommon for it to hit 30c+ out at Winton. However I haven't managed to monitor temps on a warm day in the hills yet so I'm not sure how it will perform. I haven't yet been to the track in the wagon so I'm not sure - I never ran an oil temp/pressure gauge in my other car on track so I never knew either.

You are right in the fact that it looks like a decent quality oil can handle very high temps without breaking down. This is one of the reasons I have stuck to Motul Sport as they claim to not break down as easily as other oils at extreme temps, however it's very hard to see any evidence (ie. data) to support this. Plenty of others at track run it as well so I'm going by this until I hear of something better.

Good advice on the cooler as well that seems like a pretty solid source. There's no way I'd run a cooler that's open all the time, ideally I'd want one that opens up at around 115-120c to keep it at 110c. Reading about it, it sounds like a pretty complicated process to install a cooler that serves its purpose and is reliable, especially where the plate would sit on our EJs. I'm not yet convinced to do this before the track day though, lets see how it performs first before solving an issue that may not actually exist. I just wish I could actually drive at all and give it a test now but haven't been able to for months now.