Next Round Of Modding Has Begun

[badbaz]

Looking good Barry...

Did you get to the bottom of the Boost creep issue?

I wouldn't have the knowledge to take on a project like this, but it's interesting to see someone else's hard work!!!

sure the finished article will be well worth all your efforts!

I haven't solved boost creep yet - too busy with other stuff. It'll be in at the end of next week for further investigation and hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it! The only cause at the moment looks like a wastegate not having been ported. I hope it is that or god knows where next!!!

It ain't so hard to do. Having the workshop and tools is a massive help - that and it not being a daily runner too!

I've got a bit to do yet on the inside - outside is almost as it will be -couple of minor cosmetic tweeks and that's it.

I'll update here when anything else changes. . .

[MarkJHarris]

Still the best thread on here!

Keep it up Baz. If you ever fancy going backwards, there will be a blob in the salvage auctions soon full of mint standard parts!

Seriously , it shows how much goes into a proper mod. The replacement I'm after has mods and the fuel pump upgrade was cocked up- the level sensor is catching it.

[badbaz]

Cheers mate!

When do you reckon you'll be sorted out Mark?

I've had no time to do anything with the car in the last couple of weeks. I'll be back to do some more to it next week, though what remains now will be slow and not so exciting!

[MarkJHarris]

I really will miss my blue blobby. It just looked like a proper scooby should. However, I should be able to get the keys to the replacement in a week or so. I'll have one quick blast with it just to see what 360bhp feels like then it will be into the garage to demod it back to standard. Can't wait though.

[badbaz]

I really will miss my blue blobby. It just looked like a proper scooby should. However, I should be able to get the keys to the replacement in a week or so. I'll have one quick blast with it just to see what 360bhp feels like then it will be into the garage to demod it back to standard. Can't wait though.

For why???

[mark191178]

let us know what your taking off and if its up for grabs mate

[MarkJHarris]

let us know what your taking off and if its up for grabs mate

Well,

Frankly, these cars are barking enough as they are. If I leave it with the extra power, it'll cost the earth to insure, drink fuel and tempt me to be a naughty boy. If I want warp drive acceleration, I just jump on my bike.

I don't compete, do drag runs, etc.

Also and more importantly, I need it to be quite quiet so I don't wake the kids, wife or neighbours ar 4:45am when I go to work. that means a standard back box is essential.

I'll be selling the whole turbo-back exhaust system as soon as it's off the car. (and cleaned!)

The seller doesn't have the heatshield off the downpipe though-I might put a sports cat downpipe on to free it up a little maybe.

This isn't a selling thread to hyjack so PM me if anyone wants a pipe to suit a 2.5 STi.

Back to Baz- get spannering, we need more of this thread, it's superb

[gus sti8]

lookin good baz

[badbaz]

lookin good baz

Cheers gus!

Update:

Finally got time to get the car back into the garage to try to resolve the boost creep issues. While I was waiting to get my downpipe cool enough to remove I thought I'd fit my splitter which I've only had for about 8 weeks!!!

Here's the before front and corner shots

And after securing the item to the bumper we got

Mobile phone pics I'm afraid. It's an HT Autos item, seems reasonable quality.

I then removed my downpipe and measured the wastegate port. It has been ported at the build stage though there is scope for more if it's needed. I also checked the exhaust for blockage just in case but it's clear. There are a few further things to check now to be 100% sure of the cause, the pipe work for the actuator and solenoid. Once I get them checked I'll be a step closer to resolving this problem!

Here's the wastegate port of my turbo for those who don't know what one is. This is the exhaust side of the turbo. You can see the hole next to the compressor wheel, this is the wastegate hole, the 'button' which covers it is, the gate if you like, is fully open to the the right of the hole to allow me to measure it.

[Big 'D']

Good work Baz, a blocked exhaust would limit boost mate

I would try connecting the turbo compressor outlet to the actuator directly with a know good short piece of pipe then see what happens, if it did turn out to be the wastegate port there is loads of room for expansion there mate.

Keep us updated fella

Cheers Iain

[badbaz]

Good work Baz, a blocked exhaust would limit boost mate

I would try connecting the turbo compressor outlet to the actuator directly with a know good short piece of pipe then see what happens, if it did turn out to be the wastegate port there is loads of room for expansion there mate.

Keep us updated fella

Cheers Iain

Thanks Iain, ordering silicon pipes I need to get anyway as I type so will know soon

[Big 'D']

Thanks Iain, ordering silicon pipes I need to get anyway as I type so will know soon

Do you not have a short piece of pipe to fit between the turbo/actuator?

Cheers Iain

[badbaz]

I do, it's a long story mate, trying to do everything at once, don't have time to get exhaust back on right now and trying to make sure I have stuff here to do other jobs when I do. If you follow

[Big 'D']

I do, it's a long story mate, trying to do everything at once, don't have time to get exhaust back on right now and trying to make sure I have stuff here to do other jobs when I do. If you follow

Thats cool mate I am just being keen to see what the issue is, I am very interested in boost related faults

Cheers Iain

[Big 'D']

See with waste gate when shut has it got a tight seal .Because looking at your picture of the turbo with the waste gate open .The waste gate opening nearest the blades is all shiny with a good seal metal to metal the other half is all carbon nearest the waste gate arm.If that makes sense so leaking boost pressure.If it sounds stupid i will delete this reply

What you are saying makes perfect sence but to be honest it is very unusual for there to be a shiney area of the port face as normally there will be a slight build up of slight corrosion and carbon even with 100% good contact, the car is suffering from boost creep at the mo so I doubt it will be leaking.

Cheers Iain

[badbaz]

Turbo has only done about 250miles so not really had chance to rust or carbon? I noticed the same thing Dipsy.

Can't see it leaking though as Iain says as it is suffering boost creep and has too much!!!!

[badbaz]

Back to the modding. . . . .

Boost creep update for those who've not read elsewhere: after checking every aspect and confirming without doubt that the turbo was at fault, I removed the turbo and returned it to the supplier where it was fettled to rectify the problem. It winged it's way back to me with a considerably larger wastegate port and also work done inside the exhaust housing leading to the port. See shiny bit here

Jobs required, along with refit, were to fit oil catch tank, repipe boost solenoid, remount boost solenoid and then test it out. Normally I'd just have stuck the turbo on and boosted to see if all was well but since I figured it would HAVE to be ok now I didn't want to start stripping stuff off, yet again, to fit the catch can etc.

The can, a group buy over on Scabbynet, is aluminium, has three inlets which suits the Scoob and can be seen below mounted into position on the N/S/F inner wing.

I bent and cut one of the mounts so it would sit better, picking up a bolt hole on the inner wing and making one for the bent bracket through the bulkhead. Easy for me to do having no carpet or bulkhead sound deadening! Can securely in place meant I could pipe it up using silicone hose which I had bought for the job. This was all done in conjunction with trial fittings of the TMIC to make sure nothing was fouling. The only breather I'm going to re-route at a later date is the one coming from the block breather, going forward, at the moment it routes over the alternator but I'll get a 90degree bend and take it along under the throttle body - neater. There is a large vent pipe which now leads down the bulkhead and terminates alongside the centre diff.

Turning my attention back to the turbo, I removed the wastegate actuator and turned it through 180degrees as the pipe was pointing straight into the TMIC, tweaking the compressor boost pipe too, as it also was pointing in a rather awkward direction. Altered:

Then I made a minor adjustment to the parts of the bellhousing mounts which had to be altered to clear the turbo. The one on the right needed a little more off it to make way for the turbo.

All bolted on I used the original boost solenoid brackets to make a bracket to mount my 3 port boost solenoid to the wing via several rubber bushes to stop the tic tic tic from it coming right through the car. Using silicone hoses I plumbed it in, hoses are now as short as they can practicably be without mounting the solenoid on the turbo!

Got the TMIC back on, minus the black pipes that used to route the breathers, topped up with water and fired her up.

Despite initial issues with the boost controller settings I finally got things sorted out and I'm now glad to report boost creep has left the building.

There's a lot to do now to get things to my liking, both engine and interior/exterior work - more to come as I complete it.

[badbaz]

I'm still struggling to get my boost controller set up properly, if indeed it is it that is causing the slight flutter/pulse when on boost. I'm discussing it in the dump valve thread of all places, so I'll not go into it here until it's solved.

In the meantime, the next work was completed by a fellow forum member. I'm promised this gives me equivalent 5bhp increase

Before

yes, I know I have a dented rear bumper - it was like that when I bought it but couldn't see it for the stars

After

A lot of work, I'm sure

Cheers mate.

Need fit my new flaps to complete the look.

Bringing it home, today, it doesn't look like that now!

[badbaz]

Easter holidays and indecision on solutions to interior issues mean little progress at the moment.

I sold my centre console, dash centre section, heater controls, radio surround and what not. When I started rebuilding and tackling different things I was going to use very basic heating controls. In the end, with the heater flaps all being controlled by stepper motors, it was easier to use the standard controls. I discovered that the pre 2005 models, which have black controls, would be more easily incorporated into my ideal dash - conveniently the wiring is the same! I managed to pick up heater controls, the centre dash section and also the centre trim section. I intend to fit my gauges, heater controls, DCCD controls and the AVC-R into this section. Before I started the refit, this is what I have to work from

I managed to fit the centre section of dash in, the rest is 'in progress' at the moment.

Next up, I bought the instrument cluster from a Hawkeye last year and decided it was about time to fit it. It had some damage, so after sorting that out I set about testing to discover what wiring issues I would have. The plugs are a direct fit (albeit they face the other way) and I was left with only two issues.

Firstly, there was a loud buzzer on all the time. Some research showed that it would stop when the wire at C9 was cut. There are three plugs on the cluster, A, B and C, going left to right as you look at the cluster from the driver's seat. The plugs have tiny markings on them to denote the wiring position - you need to look very, very closely! Any info I could find said the wire was orange with a white tracer. Mine wasn't so I reluctantly cut it anyway and thankfully it worked - no buzzer. Rev light/buzzer still works too.

Second problem was specific to me. As the car no longer has airbags or the ECU for them, the airbag light was on constantly. I couldn't find a solution for this so it was suck it and see. I knew the wire was B18 for the light but didn't know whether it could be cut, grounded or needed powered. The answer is it needs 12v from an ignition feed to kill the light.

Job done, fitted and functioning. The only thing I'm left without is a dimmer, but as I like my dash bright, I'm not concerned.

Here's some pics:

before

after

and a little video

click to view

I now can get enough pleasure just by turning the key, watching the gauges and then switching it off! Saves petrol

The defi gauges I have match these and everything should look better when I'm done. This is a nice little upgrade I reckon. Knocklink next to go in . . . .

[badbaz]

Or maybe not. I'll get to the Knocklink in due course!

Decided to get on with removing the remainder of the sound deadening from the rear seat area and the boot. I reckon this job is best done in the cold weather as it mostly comes away in sections and is brittle. It's still cold I can confirm!!!! Sorry about phone pics, it was so cold I was shaking

Next up for the insides will be to remove all brackets and fixing points which are just for show

I also received my dash centre panel which will carry my Defi stuff, AVC-R, heater controls and some other guff

It's carbon fibre and although not 100% what I wanted to do, it will serve the purpose. I hope! I can't make a start to it until after the Highland Fling as I don't want any faux pas before then!!!!

That was a couple of nights ago, last night I decided to do the timing belt before the Highland Fling. The car has done 39k now and with all the power hike mods I figured it better to be safe than sorry. It was to be fitted before the map day but that just never worked out. I fitted a Cosworth Kevlar job. It's a nice colour, see:

What a pain in the butt the small timing belt guides are at the four corners! Trying to set them at about 1mm and get them to stay while using a mirror - much cursing. Top tip - get some coppaslip on the cover bolts for next time - you never know when you'll need to be having them off again!

I also had the rear and rear side windows limo tinted as the interior in the rear isn't the prettiest now! Unfortunately the young chap brought the car out of their workshop and decided to drive it nose first into the parking bay, folding my splitter in half in the process! I left it with them for painting(it didn't break) and collected it today - it's not what it was and once refitted, if I'm not happy, then I'll be 'having a word'.

Here's the tints

Some more work before the Fling, then onto the dash afterwards, hopefully in time for Knockhill in May!

[badbaz]

Just weighed all the sound deadening tar type stuff from the car. It weighs an incredible 4 and a wee bit kilos!

[kennybspec-d]

Just weighed all the sound deadening tar type stuff from the car. It weighs an incredible 4 and a wee bit kilos!

baz you have far too much time in yer hands

the builds getting there now ehh! looks great with the tints were did you get them done ??pop n bang ftw!!!

kenny

[badbaz]

baz you have far too much time in yer hands

the builds getting there now ehh! looks great with the tints were did you get them done ??pop n bang ftw!!!

kenny

Cheers Kenny

Pentagon were my tinters of choice. A few years back they did my S4 and it was a faultless, pain-free process. This time, alas, not so. The car was brought out to me from their workshop and, before my very eyes, he drove into the kerb and demolished my (split new) splitter! It came back out to shape but was scraped to hell (HT Autos). They offered to remove and paint and I was happy with this. I got it back yesterday and refitted it last night - it's not what it was. One unpleasant phone call coming up. . . . .

[badbaz]

Just a wee update post Highland Fling.

Before I went I took the plunge and wired up my electric driver's window. It's no use going to the drive through without one

No photos I'm afraid as, well, an electric window is an electric window! Not having the original switches I sourced a prewired one, not unlike MKIV Golf type, for £4. I mounted the switch where the headlamp level switch used to be(with a little tweak) and wired it up from the original door loom, using the rubber trunking to get the wires to the door and into the motor. Incredibly it now goes up and down which is a real luxury in the grand scheme of things! Added bonus was the fact it lights up orange, just like my defi style clocks. Just need to work on the clock, ignition surround and heater control colour next

I'm also in the process of relocating the hazard switch here too. It's a switch from a pre 05 which makes it black, but the switches are contoured to match the original position in the dash. Some dremmel work is going to be needed to tidy this up - later

Next up was a problem from before the modding. As part of my sticker get up, the SUBARU name on the windscreen is on the outside. For obvious reasons the letters would be rubbed away by wipers so a shorter pair were fitted and the problem solved. This unfortunately left bigger unswept areas but I could live with that. Since then, I have my much lower bucket seats and the weekend's routes showed a serious flaw to my genius plan. When the windscreen gets dirty you can't see too well, especially over the crests - and there were many!

Solution was, not to just sacrifice the stickers but, to fabricate my own wiper blades, custom length. I got hold of a couple of Bosch Aero Twin wipers, the new posh type, and after some checking a 24" and 20" were the best for my needs. I then stripped them down, shortened the top side of them to the desired length, rewelded the frames, painted the welds and built them back up. I now have the best sweep possible, clear view from the bucket seats and no rubbing of stickers! How magic am I?

In true Max Power style - wiper blades:

No performance gain, no weight saving but I can see where I am going now and that is always worth the effort!!!!

Apart from the dash panel, gauges and knock link, it's just odd improvements from here on for me, for now. There are many things to tidy up and perfect and as time moves on I'll keep cutting bits off to save weight. I seem to need the car for meets, runs and events so I'm avoiding getting too serious in case I can't use it. June should be better!

Next up is to fit this aluminium duct I sourced into the fog light cover, just for neatness!

[badbaz]

Can't believe I've done so little to the car in this time!

I finished the cold air supply pipe from a kit from Larkspeed and a standard fog light surround. I glued the ring to the cover with a couple of spots of super glue just to get a hold and then applied far too much sykaflex(sp?) but it wasn't gonna be movin

Once dry, fitted to the car with a short length of duct giving a nice cold air supply to the APS cone in the inner wing.

Voila!

My only gripe is the wire coil in the duct has rusted already! Need some stainless coil

I also acquired a set of 'road' wheels and an additional set of 'Kames' wheels.

The roads are 18" Prodrive gc-010e if I remember the name correctly and after some tyre swapping/matching look like this

Despite the bigger wheels, bigger tyres, they weigh less - always good

The track set are BBS from a spec C - slightly lighter and very nice wheels, looking good on the car with the RE-070 Bridgestones

No pic of these for now -

No further modding will be happening until the 'closed' season, after the meet runs have been put to bed for the winter - October I presume