07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

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07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby Silverwolf » Wed Oct 01, 2014 11:44 am

Starting around Christmas / early next year the mod work on my MY07 Liberty 2.5i will begin. At the moment I'm basically continuing my research, putting together a list of what I'm going to be doing to it, where I'm getting the parts from, pricing it all up. That kind of thing. One comment I've had a couple of times is why not just sell the current one, find a GT-B and go from there. And the answer is basically because even if I did, I'd still have to do much of the same work to it, including pulling it's engine and gearbox out to recondition them / clean them up.

The goal with this car is fairly straight forward. This car is going to remain my daily driver, and 'comfortable' mountain-runner for long road-trips and weekend jaunts through mountain roads. Longer term, once I have the room to do so, I'm looking at picking up a GT / GT-B shell, and custom building it from the ground up for track and hill-climb work. The plan being to make it a visually similar to my current one, but with some serious performance work and not for daily driving. I want the current one to be responsive, handle well (With a slight emphasis towards oversteer), and have enough power to be fun - but not so much that my fuel bills go through the roof, or that spending 8hrs behind the wheel on everyday roads requires some chiropractic work after.

Additionally; Up to this point I've been firmly a computer Nerd. I've wanted a Gen4 Liberty since I first saw one and now I have it - but now begins learning about cars and their mods. I can learn it, but there is much I have to learn, which is why I'm here asking questions of those who have the answers.

So, with the goals of this initial project out of the way, on to the mod planning;

Stage 1: Handling

- STI front strut tower bar
- STI lower arm bar
- Whiteline front sway bar
- Whiteline rear sway bar
- STI Group N pitch stop mount

Stage 1 is pretty straight forward. Get the body roll I experience at the moment firmly under control, and get the power where it needs to go. Also had a bit of a look for STI Group N engine and transmission mounts, but aside from the fact installing those would mean getting the engine and transmission out (I think?), the only ones I could find seemed specifically for WRX models. Other things I've looked at is potentially replacing OEM bushes etc with Whiteline ones, but that also starts to push out .

Stage 2: Suspension & Wheels

- ROTA Grid-R 18x9.5 +38 and tyres to suit (Suggestions?) - Still tossing up between Gold or Matt Black, but leaning towards Gold
- ?? Coilovers (Adjustable, preferably from inside the car)

Stage 2 is liable to be the second most expensive stage of this, but the main question is what Coilovers do people recommend, and what tyres for those wheels.

Stage 3: Bling

- Split facia
- Double-din headunit (red display)
- New amp
- New speakers
- Custom gauges (red)
- Footwell lighting (red)
- STI front seats
- 6000k HID Headlights
- 6000k HID Foglights
- 'Angel Eye' driving lights
- LED interior / rear lights
- STI decals

Stage 3 is more bling then anything else. I'd like to replace the OEM speedo etc with a unit that is more red in colour / more red back-lighting. The rest is fairly self-explanatory. This stuff will probably actually end up kind of scattered throughout the build, so this one is more just a checklist of stuff to be done.

Stage 4: Brakes & exhaust

- Bigger Brakes / Rotors
- STI exhaust system

Stage 4 is essentially the prep for Stage 5. Hi-flow exhaust, hoping to track down an STI setup or at least STI tips. Bigger brakes because with more power, have to balance it with more braking.

Stage 5: Engine, Gearbox, & Drivetrain

- Reconditioned STI GT-B EJ25 Turbo
- Reconditioned STI 6-spd
- ?? Performance drivetrain

Stage 5 is the big power revamp. New engine, new gearbox, performance drivetrain. Both the engine & gearbox I'll probably pickup earlier on, so that I can work on them / have them worked on prior to installation and get them all squared away, then swap out the current ones for the new.

Stage 6: Body & respray

- Gialla front bumper
- Gialla CF front lip
- Gialla CF side spats
- Gialla CF rear spats
- Ultrex CF front grill
- Ultrex CF rear diffuser
- GT bonnet
- Albero front duct fenders
- Gloss Black respray maybe with red pearl

As per Stage 3, so of this is liable to happen in other points of the build, but I may leave this until last to do in one big hit after all the performance work is done. The GT bonnet I'll probably pickup earlier on, and possibly the Albero fenders.

Thoughts? Additions? Critiques?

What am I missing? Should any of it not be done? Should I go with any particular components over those currently selected? What other small cost-effective changes can I make earlier on to give smaller boosts in power? Note I'm not overly keen on spending the money/time on tuning the current engine, as it is going to be completely replaced, but depending on how long some of this ends up being delayed I might.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Obviously, with this being a year or more of work, and with it not commencing until early next year, there's no rush on any advice for this, but I'd like to get it all squared away and planned out asap so that I can work out roughly what I'm saving for and how much I need to save, and better plan out when I do each stage.

For those interested, the track / hill-climb build is also currently being planned, but it's a lot longer process. Looking at a full rebuilt engine for that one, at $12,000-$15,000 for the engine alone (Cosworth forged parts etc, 2.6L, ~450-500hp build).
Current: MY06 Liberty TBSTI #275
Prior: MY06 Liberty TBSTI #235
Prior: MY07 Liberty 2.5i
Prior: MY99 Liberty Heritage
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby KiDo_Tuning » Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:33 pm

Stage 1: Some of the 2.5i suspension parts wont fit to the GT-B subframe under the engine. Be aware of that

Stage 2: Wheels are too big. They are WRX fitment. Check what other people on the forum have got

Stage 4: Brakes yes, anything is better than stock. Exhaust, well since your chasing more power and the STi system is just a set of rear mufflers, your better off delaying this stage til the engine goes in and doing it all at once and getting a proprer free flowing exhaust

Stage 5: The STI LIberty got the same motor as the GT-B, same thing for gearbox. You will need a full ECU wiring loom swap from a GT-B as well to get SI Drive, which also means new dash cluster. Best off buying a wrecked car to swap parts off. Means you also get the engine subframe etc

Stage 6: Get a Deschele Engine. Cheaper than cosworth, more reliable and handles more power on less boost with ease.
KiDo Racing Tunes Info: HERE

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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby Silverwolf » Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:43 am

KiDo_Tuning wrote:Stage 2: Wheels are too big. They are WRX fitment. Check what other people on the forum have got


Is that in reference to the offset?

They're actually listed in this thread and shown on 2 separate Libertys? Though listed as being +35 there.

From my research here the '07 is a 100x5 stud pattern with allowance for 45-55 offset?

While most of the wheels listed in the above thread are +45 or greater offset, there is a couple (The Grid-Rs included) shown with a +35?

Not trying to argue :), just looking for clarity.
Current: MY06 Liberty TBSTI #275
Prior: MY06 Liberty TBSTI #235
Prior: MY07 Liberty 2.5i
Prior: MY99 Liberty Heritage
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby Da4sti3 » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:18 pm

no hes talking about 9.5 inch its way too wide to fit the libs 8.5 at +35 would still poke a little i have 18x8 +42 and they fill the guards nicely and dont poke at all
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby Da4sti3 » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:27 pm

i wouldnt bother doing an exhaust on a 2.5i the performance is minimal is really only for sound and looks if your going to replace the motor do it after or during the engine build
there is plenty of choices when it comes to suspension if its just daily some bilstein suspension with sti pinks is probably best suited over coilovers most coilovers are very harsh in daily driving. Bilsteins are more suited to performance comfort. That being said I am planning on coilovers for my daily but it will also be used for track days etc aswell
Brakes are a hard thing they isnt alot of options for the 2.5i you can upgrade the calipers to spec b/3.0 brakes and thats about it other than going for big 6 pot brake kits
In the mean time brake pad choices are also limited I havent found many brands that make pads suited to the 2.5i they are a different size to the gt so performance pads arent really made for them
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby weaslebee88 » Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:22 pm

Friends got a set of Rotas in matte black 18x9.5 +38. Need to do gaurd work and have the right suspension but they do fit. They look tough too.
2006 gen4 Liberty GT tuned by STI #275
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby Mystery1 » Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:24 pm

Just fyi , they don't make rota grids in gold anymore , tried to purchase some a week ago , guy called me up saying they have none in stock and won't be getting more as they didn't sell well,
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby bigBADbenny » Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:01 pm

Unlimited budget:
Buy a complete wrecked 6mt postFL tbSTi, a deschelle 2.34 cd short block with recoed ported etc heads from the tbsti, El headers, 3"tbe, Efr turbo etc, and a set of Shockworks. Fuel system and intercooler upgrades etc, etc... Strip your car, totally. Install goodies, and get Matt to tune it.

Realistic version:
A set of Shockworks, GT brakes, a tune and enjoy.

Iirc Owens sedan is FS, and it's more than halfway to where you want to be already :)
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Re: 07 Liberty 2.5i - Mod advice needed

Postby HardwareBoB » Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:26 pm

bigBADbenny wrote:Unlimited budget:
Buy a complete wrecked 6mt postFL tbSTi, a deschelle 2.34 cd short block with recoed ported etc heads from the tbsti, El headers, 3"tbe, Efr turbo etc, and a set of Shockworks. Fuel system and intercooler upgrades etc, etc... Strip your car, totally. Install goodies, and get Matt to tune it.


Oh Ben, you know how to talk dirty
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