club.liberty.asn.au

Hey Guys,

Just an update, the DMS coilovers have been fitted along with the billet camber tops. I am extremely pleased the the ride quality and the handling, its go kart flat! My cornering speed is at least 20 KM/hr more than before and thats with the old stock STi rims and tyres! Can't wait to see how it goes with below.

I have now fitted the XXR 527's 18 x 8.75 +35 with Toyo Proxes R1R 18 245 40 series tyres. Most of you already know this combination has been tried with a 225 and also 235 tyre has met with limited success, to the point where the members got rid of the rims.

Below are pictures with the rims fitted, the DMS camber tops made all the difference regarding fitment in the front. I also used some Whiteline KCA399 Rear Control arm - upper outer bushing to tuck in the rear tyres. Excuse the dirty car and wheels.

The car is now about to go to the body shop to have the front and rear guards flared. They won't be using a rolling tool, instead are going to manually hammer the fenders into shape and then plastic weld the front bumper and rear bumber and guard supports so that there is a nice flare and tapered radius , keeping true to the body line of the car and shape. They will then respray the guards, panels and doors, blending into the original paint work.

Will keep you posted of the progress of the panel work. I intend to take pictures of the process. I believe they are going to mock up something first to ensure I am happy with the shape of the flare.

Cheers

Awesome! It will be interesting to see how it all works out with the fitment.
Are the DMS 1 or 2 way + damping adjustable?
Who is doing the body work and the eventual setup and alignment?

They sure are some chunky tyres!

To what extent are you going to flare the guards?

bigBADbenny wrote:Awesome! It will be interesting to see how it all works out with the fitment.
Are the DMS 1 or 2 way + damping adjustable?
Who is doing the body work and the eventual setup and alignment?

2 Way adjustable.
GT Autosport at Albion Brisbane are doing the body work, they are artisans, old school panel beaters.
John French Motors at Wooloongabba are doing the setup and alignment.

zch91 wrote:They sure are some chunky tyres!

To what extent are you going to flare the guards?

I personally hate the drift under tyred look. Does nothing for grip or handling and looks pretty silly in my opinion. I prefer a full flush tyre, maximum grip and cornering.

Whilst it doesn't sound like much and I know some here may think you could just roll and pull the guards, the flare will come about 10mm+ or so out possibly a bit more. I think its fair to say members on this board have tried to get away with a 225/235, roll and pull and it hasn't worked out the best. The good thing is the panel won't deform or buckle in places(can happen with a allot of pulling) and the plastic bumpers and supports will also be moulded and flared out to suit. So there will be no scrubbing of tyres etc and the turning radius should be preserved. It should look OEM just a bit wider and squatter.

I hate the XXR caps, they poke out, I prefer the centre cap of the STi/Enkei setup, that sits flush. Unfortunately the EOM STi centre cap 60mm in diameter and the internal diameter of the bore of the XXR wheel is 62mm. I am getting John French Motors to machine up 4 x billet aluminium centre O rings that will sit inside the bore; with a 60 mm internal diameter they will be anodised black and I will be able to fit the OEM STi centre caps which will look nice and flat and like the STi/Enkei setup.

Will take pics of the O rings and the STi caps as a completed project.

The car is now at the body shop to have the fenders and panels reshaped. This will involve cutting the panels and building out the front and rear so that natural flare of the bodywork is accentuated. The rears will look very much like the fronts, it should follow the natural line of the car, keeping with the overall look, just wider and squatter.

The guys at GT Motors have been excellent, they are extremely customer focused and genuinely want to get the best possible outcome. I am very pleased with their approach to this project so far. I will take photos when they start the work.

I am happy with the ride height front and back. The pictures don't really do the car justice, the new XXRs with the 245 Proxes R1R's are extremely aggressive. I have removed the XXR centre caps, I am having some aluminium rings machined out of billet blocks, so that the original STi center caps can be recessed flush into the XXR rims. The aluminium billet rings will be anodised black.

Awesome and even awesomer if you can get the 2nd set of 114pcd holes covered.
It's the only, tiny little thing I find lacking with those XXR's

245's will be meaty as!! VNice!

Looking forward to the glory shots when finished.

J

Well I am committed now, they have started cutting metal.

The panel guard will keep their inside lip, they will not be rolled flat, so the inner plastic tub guards in the arches will be retained. The plastic inner tub guards will need to be plastic welded and widened so that they can reattached to the metal guard lip inside.

Its hard to see in these pictures but the rears will sit allot wider and squatter; one thing I always liked about the BL5 was its aggressive squat front fenders....I hated the rears as they were almost vertical, and the OEM rims always sat well inside the rear guards. Stock 18's always looked lost, the offset was all wrong.

I will take more pics on Wednesday once they have spot welded the guards back in place. They want me to come and have a look at the metal work and guards to ensure I am happy with the width and stance before they weld it up properly and finish the body work.

So far I am very pleased the way its looking, it just looks more squat and aggressive.

wow thats some pretty serious modification. looking forward to the end result!

Love the commitment

Hope it comes out exactly the way you have imagined as everyone else am keen to see the outcome

ooohh yeh baby.

I cant wait for this to be done. I have the same thoughts about the rear quarter panels, too flat.

If you dont mind me asking, but what the ruff cost on doing this??

Well the front has really come along and I am extremely pleased with GT Motors work. The rear still has some way to go but it's taking the shape I want. The car will look very squat and aggressive once the metal is smoothed and painted.

The inner lip of the guards, the L shape has been retained both front and back. This means I get to retain the plastic inner liner of the front guards, something most people have to ditch once they flatten the inner L shaped lip.

This is mental. And I love it!
Great work on doing it properly. I love the fat tyre look (as well as the functionality of the super wide tyre!)

Keep posting updates, I'll be keenly awaiting them.