Warp3

Carfreak is, indeed, correct. Rich = cooler, Lean = hotter. If you are reading an EGT gauge and it runs hotter than it should be you are either running too lean or have large amounts of timing retard (which causes hotter than normal exhaust temperatures). Also, while I could picture the exhaust manifold being easily hot enough to ignite the unburnt fuel from running overly rich, you still need air to complete the combustion process and if there were excess air onhand, you would be running "lean" and thus the unburnt fuel wouldn't be there in the first place...

Ummm...aren't you broke, Will? LOL

Subaru must have a real liking for that thread pitch. On my 2.5RS, the shift knob, upper strut mounts and lug studs all use M12x1.25. I knew the RX had the same shift knob thread pitch (as I have a WRX shift knob installed currently), but didn't realize the thread pitch on the lugs was the same, too.

The black car that's barely visible behind Will's RX is my 2.5RS. I was going to bring my RX, but when I started it that day there was an odd noise coming from the engine bay and it sounded like it was coming from the alternator, so I didn't want to risk the 1.5hr trip since I had another car I knew would make it. On a related note, I investigated the noise further today and discovered that the sound was coming from the A/C compressor not the alternator, so I guess I could have taken the RX after all...LOL (Of course, it was pretty warm Saturday and the 2.5RS actually has working A/C...hehe )

I'm planning to lower my RX, but not until after I do the 5-lug swap.

I'm working on it...hehe I have a stock WRX intercooler/bypass valve combo that I'm planning to install as soon as I figure this freaky hesitation thing out (which I thought my new O2 sensor had fixed, but apparently not ). There is lag, but not really more than at stock boost levels. From what I've read on this board these engines have a valve in the throttle body to prevent it from just slamming shut when coming off the gas anyway (though I kinda wonder at what psi point is that setup no longer sufficient).

I went this route: http://www.geocities.com/chmwatson/FAQs/mbc.html My only notes about the above are as follows: a) Don't "buy a male coupling, hack part of it off, and tap it" as the instructions show. Instead go to the plumbing department and buy a "bushing" which is exactly what the finished product is and costs little more than the coupling does (make sure the bolt/nut you buy matches the thread pitch of the inside of the bushing, though). You can also find one of these "bushings" in a boost gauge installation kit (the one I used was from my autometer phantom boost gauge and was the perfect size). If you find that your T has a larger inside diameter than the one he shows (like mine did, though I think it may be because mine is a plumbing Tee not an air-hose Tee like he used), you will want to make some kind of sleeve for the spring so it won't bind on you. I used the gutted innards of an ink pen (which is also where I got the spring), but if I did it again, I'd probably try to find a tee with a smaller inner diameter first to make it easier overall. My MBC works perfectly (the inside thread of the bushing I used was 3/8-24 (i.e. fine thread), so I get extremely precise boost control) and has a VERY small boost spike (it only spikes to about 12.5 (maybe 13 at most) psi before settling back to a rock solid 12 psi). Note that I did not do the part with the drilling of the small hole, but have noticed no detriment from it (from the way its worded it doesn't affect anything until higher boost levels anyway, which aren't safely reachable without upgrading other parts first). Oh yeah...the whole deal cost me about $10 and you end up with enough parts that you could make a 2nd one for about $5-6 more. Recently, I bought some GM boost solenoids and am working on turning it into a 3-stage MBC now (2 user settings (controlled by 2 MBCs) + stock with a switch to select between them from the cabin). The whole 3-stage setup is only going to cost me like $60 total (for comparison, a new TurboXS MBC is $85 and their "dual-stage" MBC is $249!!!).

Last years Grassroots Motorsports $2003 challenge had an XT6 turbo, but I don't know if the builders are on any of the forums or not (though I'd imagine, XT6.net would be the best place to start looking).

The 2.5RS scoop is too wide as well. Being a 2.5RS owner, I already had that thought on my RX. There are a good number of scoops for sale on eBay that would work (which is the route I was originally considering but I went with Auto Ventshade's "roof scoop" instead (which doesn't even have a real hole but is recessed where it wouldn't be hard to cut out). Unfortunately, the scoop curves a little (since it is a "roof scoop" not a "hood scoop") but I figure I'll just heat it up a bit before attaching it which should flatten it out some. I believe it's Erebuni that makes a "mini" WRX scoop that would fit, but it's much too expensive (like $80-$100, IIRC).

Yes, but you are also 2 hours away. LOL Lately, AutoZone has just started to piss me off. They've started carrying more and more ricer crap and fewer actual car parts over the last year or so. I'm starting to have much better luck with Advance and NAPA lately (not just for parts, but they seem to have better customer service as well). Anyway, UPDATE ON MY HESITATION ISSUES: On the way home from a friend's house last night, I noticed that pretty much all the hesitation was gone (plus it's amazing what an adjusted throttle cable does for throttle response...lol...speaking of which, this makes me wonder if I ever really hit WOT before, when you manually pushed on the throttle cable, it took about 1.5 inches of travel before it took up the slack and the throttle part would actually start to move). However, at one point during the trip, I did get the familiar, mash the gas to the floor and wait a few seconds for the car to respond, and when it did I looked over at the A/F guage. It was still doing the hovering "closed-loop" thing, even though I was at WOT! When the car finally took off (literally 2-3 seconds later) the A/F gauge immediately showed the change to "open-loop" landing in the slightly rich range. The rest of the time, though, it would immediately change to open loop when I'd peg the gas with no hesitation. So this has me wondering, could my TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) be dying on me or there something else to suspect here?

While many coilovers are damping adjustable as well (like the DMS Golds on my 2.5RS), I was referring to height adjustment instead (which are common to all "coilovers") by raising/lowering the spring perch. For example, Ground Control offers "coilover kits" (similar to the kit used by the guy in the XT6.net thread I linked to) that mount over a strut/shock and have adjustable spring perches and various available spring rates. In this case, whether it has adjustable damping would obviously depend on which strut/shock you used. I'm probably going to use a Ground Control over either KYB GR2 (non-adjustable) or KYB AGX (adjustable) combo (using the "Impreza" application) for suspension when I do the 5-lug swap on my RX, but I haven't decided how I'm going to handle the rear yet.

Replaced the O2 sensor on the RX today ($30 for a Bosch from Advance (and not the "universal" one either...that one was only like $18)) and it looks like some of my hesitation is gone now...also, the A/F ratio gauge isn't "sluggish" now either (which is one reason I was suspecting the O2 sensor in the first place). I also replaced the distributor cap (was going to replace the rotor as well, but the part I got (from Autozone) isn't the right size ) and also adjusted out the slack from the throttle cable while I was at it. The car seemed to be running much better and was much more responsive during the post-install test drive today. A few more hose replacements (PCV and vacuum) and I'm done with the basic maintenance and ready for some upgrades!

What material? Harder durometer rubber (like Group N mounts)? Poly? Metal?

I believe he is referring to height-adjustable coilovers (adjustable spring perch) and something a bit more flexible than the stock "3-position" spring perch setup that came on some Subarus. Hey, Will, here's an article on XT6.net that may be of some use to you. It's on an AWD XT6, but some of the same info should still apply: http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2063

No comment...LOL Originally, I was looking around for a set of broken axles to steal the outer stubs from, but now I'm just thinking I'll wait until I get my five lug parts and do it then (since the front axles will have to changed to XT6 axles anyway during the conversion). Since the front axles I'm getting will be off a car that's being parted out, I figure I'll look at the condition and go from there. If they are in great shape, I'll keep them for the reconversion to 4WD this winter and start looking for broken XT6 front axles. If they are in any less than great shape, I'll destroy them for the outer stubs and buy a set of rebuilt front axles for the winter. BTW, the car made it's first real trip this morning (to work, which is about a 25 mile drive) and it ran pretty well. Still a little hesitation under certain conditions (maybe the IAC valve or O2 sensor IS bad) but no smoke from the turbo today...woohoo

Everybody quit backing out dang it, I want these parts...LOL You are still handling the TWE GB, though, right Will?

The sun was in my eyes... The dog ate my turbo hose... I got greedy and ran 24psi on the stock fuel system... Ahhh...I misread the thread and thought it was still on the 15th. Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm working on it. My Impreza still has MUCH better handling and power, though. Weight is about the only advantage the RX has and it isn't THAT much lighter. I don't expect it to be as fast as the Impreza but it should still be decently quick once I do the RWD conversion and do the 5-lug swap so I can toss the 225 Victoracers on there...LOL

The eBay seller id is "vertexnow" and the company is called Vertex Industries Inc. Here is their eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/vertexnow Here is the item I bought from them: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2471549747

My RX has been down for a while (nearly two months, IIRC) while I was busy trying to get some silicone heater hose to replace the upper turbo coolant hose (which had suddenly started spurting coolant when I swapped out the bad radiator). BTW, if any of you are looking for silicone heater hose, check out a company named "Vertex" on eBay. Great pricing, sold by the inch (no 10ft minimums like some companies ), and they actually have the stuff (I tried to order from Paragon Performance originally, which has great pricing as well, but their supplier is horribly backordered). Also, while the car was down I reinstalled the manual boost controller (as it's a pain to do once everything is back in place) and "fixed" the crack on the intake boot (more on this once I've driven the car enough to approve of the results). The good news: - Car isn't "hesitating" like it was after my former intake boot "fix" (i.e. duct tape...lol) - The car isn't shooting coolant out the upper turbo coolant hose now - The engine feels very strong - The temp gauge is rock solid at just over the 1/3 mark on the gauge (180-degree thermostat) The bad news: - There is a good amount of smoke coming from the turbo area (my current theory's are: turbo needs rebuilt (bad seal?), oil line leak, lower coolant line leak, or something just got on the turbo while it was sitting and is just burning off); I can't actually see anything leaking so I'll see if the smoke persists after a few trips and watch my coolant and oil levels in the mean time. (Since the turbo wasn't smoking like this before, I'm hoping it's just burning off something; maybe some leftover coolant residue from when the upper turbo coolant hose was leaking.) - The oil was noticeably low - it's been a few months since I changed the oil and I haven't kept an eye on the oil level, so this could have been a gradual thing (it is a Subaru after all...even my Impreza eats oil...LOL); it was about 2.5 quarts low, though, so I need to keep a better eye on that. :-\

I didn't realize that was this weekend. I may have to take the RX out there this time if she's running well enough.

FYI, from what I've read the stock EA82T pistons are already forged. (Though, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this one, USMB guys...hehe)

I'd vote for the EJ22T from an early 90s Legacy Turbo. Several people have gone the EJ20 (WRX motor) route, so you'd have some existing knowledge available to work from (most of the EJ-turbo engines are practically the same from the outside, so whatever makes an EJ20 fit should make the EJ22T fit as well), but you'd get better torque and driveability with the 2.2L!

That's a T-bird Turbo Coupe / Mustang SVO intercooler, right?

...and me...my RX hasn't even been driven in at least a month... :-\ But I'm getting close to having it back on the road soon.