Warp3

As posted in your TWE thread, yes. Maybe. OE style rotors (for the 4-lug models, anyway) are so cheap from like Napa, though, that it would be hard to justify this (regardless, I'll be using XT6 rotors anyway, which are a good bit more than the 4-lugs, but getting the much cheaper Cavalier rotors for the front helps that a lot). YES! I currently have Axxis Metalmasters waiting to be installed on the RX, but would love to be able to go Carbotech Bobcats for a replacement set. I have Bobcats on my 2.5RS right now and absolutely love them. I was actually trying to get those for my RX originally, but they didn't have an app for it (though Carbotech is more than happy to make a set of pads if you send them a used set of pads to base them on), so I went with the Metalmasters instead. Assuming they were in stock (sold on an exchange basis, I'm assuming), I would definitely buy them from you. Having parts "In Stock" counts for a lot when it comes to choosing a vendor. Depending on design and pricing, maybe. I'm looking at making a custom setup currently, but a well designed setup with a cold-air box and good quality filter for a decent price could change that. If it was bolt-up to the TWE downpipe setup and pricing was right, I might. Otherwise, I'd probably just go with a muffler-shop-built glasspack config.

A copy of my reply to your post about this on the NASIOC board: Well, regardless of what caused it, a flush-fill-bleed to get rid of your 3-year-old fluid would definitely be advisable... I run Motul RBF600 in my 2.5RS, but will probably just use Valvoline Synth DOT 3/4 on the RX (which I used on the RS for a while before switching to Motul and it worked great). If that doesn't fix it, then I'd say your pads are possibly glazed...try roughing the surface up with some sandpaper and see if they bite any better then.

Which reminds me...I weighed my 2.5RS at the divisional this weekend (they weighed all the Prepared, Modified and Street Modified cars (i.e., the classes with weight minimums) as part of impound). No driver, 13.5lb 15x7 Kosei K1s with 225 Victoracers, half-tank of gas, no spare, no jack, no back seat, 12.5lb battery, 9lb flywheel, DMS Gold 40mm coilovers (that's all the things I could think of that would affect the weight): 2725lbs! The stock curb weight is 2840lbs but that includes a full tank of gas as well. My minimum weight in SM is 2400lbs (2600 if I go forced induction). NOTE: This also means to still be SM legal, your car must be at least 2600lbs (since your car fits the "Up to 3.0L, forced induction, OHC engine / AWD" designation). Since I am going to RWD with my RX, my weight minimum is a lighter 2400lbs instead. (Note that if you opt to switch to SM2, you can drop to 2300lbs, but then you are in a class with turbo Miatas (and on an national level some very fast Z06 Vettes).) Driver ability distorts that comparison, though. Considering how well you did when that wagon was only on 3-cylinders, you'd probably beat the same WRX driver in his own car. LOL Let me know before you do. Since you already know the specs and have dealt with Delta cams before, I may send you some money and have you order me a set as well (depending on how the RX is running at the time...I'm back to having intake boot issues since I installed the intake I bought from you... ) I believe the TD04 may very well be sufficient for the power needs you will have. Plus if you opt for a Monster TD04 (from DeadBolt Speed) it will spool faster and flow better than a standard TD04 as well. Don't forget the STi 6-speed is $5000 new (and good luck finding a used one). Besides, I'm slightly more worried about the axles and CV joints than the tranny (though I think both would have issues with that kind of torque). FYI: I just did a recalc, based on the weight you listed and the STi's curb weight of 3298lbs, and to have the same power/weight ratio, you need 242 hp (and 242 lb-ft of torque for the same torque/weight ratio). That's a lot of power, but may very well be doable (albeit probably not cheaply). Again, though, weight reduction makes a big dent in that figure. Using my 86RX's curb weight of 2520lbs cuts the power requirement to 229 hp instead. Considering the extra advantages you also get in braking and handling, you may want to try using weight reduction first, to reduce the power level you will need to attain before messing with power mods.

Oh, so I show you some ballpark calculations showing that "faster than a WRX" is possible (due to much lower weight) and now you're shooting even higher, eh? LOL (Of course, the good news is that the STi is even heavier than the WRX, so that makes the fraction of the target car's hp you need to actually make even lower. You are still going to need at least double what the stock EA82T produces though, and even then, don't forget the STi has the torque to match.) Yes...this has already been well established in past threads...LOL Don't forget, though, that turbo engines don't really like aggressive cams. I'd go for the mild one, if at all. Don't go too large on piping pre-turbo, though, or you'll hurt spool. VF22 is probably overkill, but go for it...hehe Depends...has anyone actually found the limits of the stock pieces yet? Even though the Legacy Turbo and early WRX engines had this, it's interesting to note that the later models (including the infamous STi 22B), do not utilize this any longer. Absolute must! Wouldn't hurt to work over the regular cooling system either. Don't forget that larger turbos (like the VF22) produce more CFM at lower psi than small turbos. Thus this amount of boost may not be necessary. (In other words, a VF22 will push more air (and thus make more hp) at 8psi than a VF7 would at 8psi.) This is the area, I'm most worried about. The engine seems quite strong, but the drivetrain just wasn't designed for this kind of power and I don't know how well it would survive it.

Will is insane...that is all...LOL

FYI: I figured out this morning why the RX won't run but didn't have time to fix it before work (glad I own two cars...lol ). I had previously "fixed" my air intake boot crack with a rubber boot and metal clamp setup over the turbo inlet side of the boot. Since, you have to slightly rotate the whole intake setup toward the front of the car to install a cone filter, it partly "undid" my fix and exposed the damaged part of the intake boot...d'oh...hehe ...we now return you to the resolution of other people's surging issues, already in progress...

Ahhhh!!! I got greedy and tried to install the intake and the now the freaking car won't run (it will start, but dies immediately)!!! On a what-may-be-somewhat-related note, there is this kind of "rubber cap" thing on the bottom of the vacuum canister with a hose coming out of it. Does this hose actually connect to something or does it just hang there (like it's doing now)? (The FSM doesn't show ANYTHING coming out the bottom of the vacuum canister, oddly enough. :-\ )

Update on my car (sorry to jack your post Hondasucks ): I replaced the cracked vacuum hose with silicone vacuum hose (and two others that were nearby and decently accessible as well...would have replaced more, but the mosquitoes were in full-on attack mode this evening! ). When I started the car up the ECS light was on!? However, it went out after a bit and hasn't returned yet...oh well...{shrug}. So, I take it for a test drive. Holy **** this thing pulls like freaking mad!!! I knew it was down on power compared to when I bought it (even with me running 10psi via MBC), but this thing is a complete night-and-day difference from last time I drove it! The turbo spools WAY faster and the car actually pulls all the way to redline now! So the moral of the story is...check/replace your vacuum hoses! ...now to get that intake I got from WJM installed! BTW, any reference I've made in the past that these cars can be quick but aren't capable of taking on the newer Subarus is hereby recanted! Even with a full load of crap (various 5-lug swap suspension/brake parts (read: very heavy stuff), 3 wheels, and 4 tires in the cabin, plus tons of tools, a WRX intercooler, a full size spare, etc. in the trunk) this thing was still accelerating VERY hard.

It was a small turnout (like 9-10 people) but it was pretty fun...it would have been more fun if it weren't raining so much, though. :-\ Oh...and I need to get the freaking A/C fixed in my RX...driving in the pouring rain with a fogged up windshield SUCKS!

I'm glad you posted this here...NASIOC is down for maintenance this weekend and I hadn't written down the directions to this place yet...LOL

Which is why most people "trim" the bumpstops, not remove them...LOL

I would have bumped one of the older threads I had about this, but this one is recent and still relevant to the topic so here goes: I *may* have found the problem I'm having with my car hesitating and "surging" (and even if it's not the source, it's still a definite problem). I had done the "cold idle" test on my AAC valve yesterday evening (i.e., with the car at idle but not warmed up, clamp the hose coming from the AAC valve and see if the idle makes a notable change (it should, if it's working properly, as the AAC valve should be letting extra air through)) and it passed fine. Well I went to test the "warm idle" today when I got home (same test but it should NOT change the idle as the AAC valve should be closed when the engine is warm) and it passed that test as well, but I discovered something by accident along the way. When reaching the pliers in to grab the hose, I lightly nudged the vacuum hose that is right beside the AAC hose and the idle dropped notably! What the...!? I nudged it a few more times and every time I applied ANY pressure it would drop the idle (to the point of nearly stalling) but would return to normal when I removed the light pressure. It wasn't nearly enough pressure to "kink" or "pinch" the hose and the hoses on this thing are too hard to easily pinch anyway...LOL My guess is that there is a small crack in the vacuum hose that is fine when stationary but "opens" when moved any. Guess it's time to quit procrastinating and install that silicone vacuum hose I bought a while back...LOL

Muhahhahahahahaha...ahem...sorry... It's actually a hybrid setup that I've never heard of being built before, so I want to see how it turns out before I divulge the details. I'll try not to keep you in suspense for too long...LOL

Oh, BTW, I just remembered: According to Jerry the exhaust side of the VF7 is absolutely HORRID in terms of flow and should notice a HUGE difference from the "monster port/polish" process.

I was talking with Jerry (i.e. Deadbolt) recently about this very thing (i.e. acquiring a "Monster VF7" from him), and I know that Pleiades was at one point planning to get him to "monsterize" his VF7 turbo for his GRM $2004 challenge entry, but IIRC it didn't happen in time. But after discussing turbo options with him (and having him propose some alternatives), I have decided on something a little more customized and a little more wild (which, if it works as expected, should spool much faster than a TD04, but still flow a good bit more air than a VF7). More details as the project progresses. FYI: Those of you with TD04s might want to consider having him convert your turbos into "Monster TD04s" (maybe even with a bit of a clip) as the turbo spools quite a bit faster after this treatment is performed. (The "monsterizing" is essential a port and polish service, primarily of the exhaust side of the turbo. Several of the local guys are running Deadbolt "Monster" turbos (it helps that Jerry lives like an hour from here and attends the local autocrosses...LMAO) and absolutely love them. Here is the Deadbolt Speed website if you are interested: http://www.deadboltspeed.com

GM bought a 20% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru's parent company). From what I had read, GMs primary interest was in Subaru's AWD technology. That said, I've already seen references to two "cross-breed" cars come into being since then (the Saab 9-2 is being released, which essentially has a WRX drivetrain...and in one country a "Chevy Forester" is being sold which appears to simply be a rebadged Subaru Forester). How much more will come of this alliance is anyone's guess. :-\

Y'know, maybe I should just bring my car down there to Charlotte one weekend and see if you can help me get this thing running right...LOL

Hmmm...I wonder if this could be related to the surging/stumbling issues I'm having. How much work is involved in what you were talking about WJM? You don't have to drop the tank or anything to check, do you? Speaking of which, the more I drive this car, the more I think the AAC (Auxiliary Air Control) Valve is, indeed, the cause of the hesitation the car has before it's warmed up (which is far more noticeable than the other issue).

If you don't mind the speedo/odo error (with the larger tires, your speedo reads slower than you are actually going by a small amount) and you aren't getting any tire rub from the extra width and height...then you are fine. As for the speedo error...you aren't too far off anyway, with your current difference from stock, when your speedo reads 60mph, you are actually going 61.2mph.

We may not be too much help to you as we never got the WRX in the US until 2002 or the STi until 2004. However, I do know that the turbo engines use a different crossmember than the N/A engines, so unless you want to swap that out, you'll want another turbo engine (plus switching to N/A would mean different exhaust routing). Even more of a pain would be the harness. Putting in anything other than the original engine may require a different wiring harness, which is by far the hardest part of an engine swap (that's a lot of wires to splice). BTW, I assume by STi05 you mean an STi version 5 (which would match up with the 99 model year you mentioned). Also by EJ25 are you referring to the 165HP USDM N/A 2.5L, the JDM N/A 2.5L (which has more horsepower than the USDM version) or the 300HP USDM STi 2.5L Turbo? You might also want to try forums like ScoobyNet (http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/) which is in the UK and whose users would have more firsthand experience with the GC8-body WRX/STi models.

I find it hard to believe that the pre-2000 Legacy 2.5GT would need premium (don't know if the 2000+ models are any different, though). They have the same engine as the 1998 Impreza 2.5RS (the only DOHC 2.5RS) and that car only requires 87 octane.

I've been on the NASIOC board for quite a while (as evidenced by my sub-200 member number...lol), but mostly I only hang out in the SouthEast and Motorsports forums there (though I definitely keep an eye on several other sections including Old School and Other Factory Turbo).

I've actually gotten slightly over 30mpg one time (with the A/C running, no less), but it was one solid "gas station to gas station" run on the interstate during a long trip. During normal mixed city/highway driving, however, I very rarely exceed 22-23 mpg. (Of course, I'm sure that planting my foot to hear the boxer growl from the Borla headers has absolutely nothing to do with that, though...LOL )

Header and downpipe for stock turbo

That Erebuni scoop is the one I ideally wanted for my RX, but it's so overpriced compared to the scoops you find elsewhere (especially compared to the fiberglass scoops on eBay). How much you planning to sell it for?