View Full Version : The Adventures of wrxtunerd, from 01RS to 07WRX!
First and foremost, welcome to the Adventures of wrxtunerd!
Most Recent Picture and Mod List on MY07 WRX:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP4398.jpg
Mods:
Swift Sport Springs
GReddy Strut Bar
GReddy Shift Knob
Whiteline Rear Subframe Lock Bolts
Whiteline Camber Bolts (not currently installed)
Rally Armor Classic Mudflaps, Black on Black
Subaru All Weather Floor Mats
18x8 Rota Tarmac III's in Full Royal Sports Bronze
235/40/18 Kumho Ecsta SPT's
Red Tuner Lugs
Helix Catless Downpipe with Heat Shield
Espelir JGT500 Catback Exhaust
Cobb AccessPORT Stage II 91 Octane
Tinted Windows, 35% Front and 15% Rear
STi Trunk/Torsion Bar Swap, debadged
OEM Boost Gauge
Intake Silencer Delete
05 IMPREZA Tail Lights with JDM Tail Lights Mod
Original Post:
Up until last summer, I drove a Chevy Silverado. June 2006 was when I bought my first Subaru, a Blue Ridge Pearl 2001 Impreza 2.5RS from Ricky, aka maddhatteroo7. It was put back to stock when I bought it, so I had a blank slate to work with.
Here is a picture of my car on Day 3, the day I would end up crashing...
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/a.jpg
That night, I was driving late with my girlfriend in the car and long story short, thought I was cool in my new car and didn't take the time to get used to it- so.... I understeered out in the twisties in a decreasing radius turn going the posted speed limit for the turn lol... I hit some gravel as I understeered, droped off the 6 inch shoulder and rode a dirt wall on my girlfriend's side of the car through the turn until I hit a sign, and pulled off the hill before a 5 foot drop into some rocks...
Here is a picture of Day 4 ... The Morning After:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/b-1.jpg
Not too much damage, relative to what could have happened... but enough to make me feel stupid and teach me a valuable lesson early on, one I wouldn't easily forget!
So, lucky for me, my Silverado hadn't sold by the time I had the accident. My car went off to the most baller local body shop for the work and I cruised around for another month in my truck.
While the car was in the shop, I decided to upgrade to a VIS Racing Carbon Fiber Hood along with Sparco hood pins, the Pink I Badge Grille Emblem, and replace all of my head lights, corner lamps, and foglights (even though only the passenger side was neccessary).
After it came back from the shop, just in time for Mt. Hammy, it looked like this:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/gc.jpg
I learned my lesson that night, I had almost killed my girlfriend of two years at the time, shown my parents I wasn't ready for a "sporty car," and severely damaged my confidence as a driver. I wasn't even driving aggressively that night, I was just on unfimiliar roads and didn't understand understeer or how my car handled...
So... over the next few months I got into I-Club and RS25, started attending the Fairfield Barnes and Noble Meet every Friday and went from there.
By October I had an AEM Short Ram Intake, a Borla Catback Exhaust, a Kartboy Short Shifter, a GReddy Shift Knob, a new set of Polk Speakers, a 10'' Subwoofer braced in the trunk, and new Toyo Proxes 4 tires.
Here is what it looked like at around that time:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP7778.jpg
By Christmas, I managed to score a Version 6 STi wing from the RS25 classifieds, a set of Prodrive P1 Springs, a set of WRX pedals, rear spats (that never got installed), and a 2.5RS Badge to make a Grille Badge out of, as well as some yellow Rock Blocker fog light protective film.
Here's what it looked like, before the Prodrive P1 Springs were installed, but with all of the above listed mods:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/8.jpg
After Christmas, in early January I installed the Prodrive P1 Springs and got rims off of a 2005 wrx with Kuhmo Ecsta tires. Here are some pictures:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9482.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9479.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9496.jpg
***Special shout out and thanks to my good friends Sam (05 Black WRX) and Tansley (Tanz1983) for teaching me how to install lowering springs, great guys and always willing to help!
Shortly after I got my springs installed it was time for the GST Dyno Day 2007. I took my RS and Mike threw it on the Mustang Dyno. Here are some pictures from that afternoon:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9800.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/dynoday2.jpg
and my results were 134 Wheel Horse Power and 142 Wheel Torque:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/dynoday4.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/dynoday5.jpg
*** These were relatively good numbers for an RS with only Short Ram Intake and Catback Exhaust, so I was happy :) Plus there is a picture of my car on GST's website ;) lol
The GST Dyno Day was a cool event and well worth the drive down to Hayward from Fairfield, here are some more pictures of the event:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9886.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9928.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/50.jpg
***One of my favorite pictures is the one with the cop looking at their race car lmao!
Shortly after the GST Dyno Day, my best friend Lorin (RallyTard) picked up a 2000 2.5RS after MONTHS AND MONTHS of us searching for the perfect RS!!! Here's a picture of our two cars parked together in my sideyard before we left for a weekend in Tahoe:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/2.jpg
He picked up a 2 Door Blue Ridge Pearl early in January and lucky for him he would inherit some of my parts soon after picking up his car!
At this point I would like to take time to post a picture of our Fairfield Barnes and Noble Meet and thank a few important people.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9262.jpg
Just want to say thanks to my girlfriend Jen, RallyTard, Tanz1983, 05 Black WRX, SubieBabe, AdamBombSTi, OranageDot3083, Tamashi523, flipmode, Mr2slow, maddhatteroo7, 4URABUS, Double Helix, STI RUSH, and all the others I may be forgetting at 2AM... for helping me out over the passed year in making decisions and working on my car.
So by the end of January I decided I wanted to sell my01RS and pick up an 07 WRX before the Impreza turned into a hatch!
Here is what it looked like before I parted it out:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP9511.jpg
...and here is a list of what I had done to my car up until I parted it out:
AEM Short Ram Intake
Borla Catback Exhaust
Prodrive P1 Springs
22mm Rear Sway Bar
Kartboy Short Shifter
GReddy Shift Knob
WRX Pedals
WRX Bronze Rims with Kuhmo Ecsta tires
STi Version 6 Wing
Sparco Racing 4 Point Harness
2.5RS Grille Badge
Pink I Grille Badge
VIS Racing Carbon Fiber Hood with Sparco Hood Pins
Rock Blocker Yellow Protective Fog Light Film
Tinted Windows
Polk Speakers, 10" Sub, Clarion Deck
Okay, so then on January 31, 2007 I bought my Satin White Pearl 2007 WRX Sedan from Livermore Subaru:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0137.jpg
I was the first one to test drive it and purchased it at mile 15. It came wingless and with no options added in, which is exactly what I was looking for. It took countless hours searching dealer inventories to find it, BUT I DID :)
and here's the money shot for you perves out there:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0139.jpg
That same night, I drove home to sell my 2001 2.5RS to a son and father for his kid brother's 16th birthday present... but oh well it was a smooth day, buying and selling within two days of posting my RS for sale... and I got more for it than I bought it, which made it great!
Like I said earlier, RallyTard got lucky and inherited my AEM Short Ram Intake, Borla Catback, Version 6 STi wing, and some other goodies.
Here is a picture of his car after I sold mine:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1380.jpg
It's practically my car reincarnated lol, but two door and even cleaner on the inside than mine was!
Well, going into the purchase of my 07, I knew the stock ride height was enough for my head to fit between the front wheels and the fender... so I set up an appointment at GST for an hour after I was going to Livermore to buy my car... by mile 45 I had modified my new car! It only took an hour and I was rolling on a moderately dropped 07 WRX. The springs I picked up at GST were the Swift Springs, soon to be replaced for a set with more of a drop like the Tein Springs.
So, over course... more pictures from that first day:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0224.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0219.jpg
Now that I had purchased a new car and sold my RS, I HAD NO CAR PAYMENTS FOR A MONTH! So... of course after my break in (which took 3 days to go 500 miles lol) I used my paychecks to get some noise makers!
I ordered the Espelir JGT500 Catback Exhaust from Suby Dude by the third week of owning my car. It looked and sounded great!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0347.jpg
I also went ahead and got my windows tinted, 35% up front and 15% in the rear. Here are some more pictures from the first few weeks with my springs, exhaust, and tint:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0352.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Moonlight4.jpg
This time around I went ahead and devoted hours to learning how to drive my new car before pushing it. The hardest thing for me to get used to was dealing with boost in turns and during downshifts on the mountain course near my house. I really had to spend time getting used to my car and the weight transfer since it was a lot bigger than my RS. So of course my friends and I spent some time up at Berryessa:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0386.jpg
Here's a picture of the Barnes and Noble Meet the first time I took my 07:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0371.jpg
Within another few weeks of having my car I bought a Helix Catless Downpipe with insulating heat wrap for quicker spool up, from AdamBombSTi and installed it, so I had a complete Catless Turbo Back Exhaust System. The car felt great and the sound was amazing.
By this time I had also debadged my trunk and put in my GReddy shift knob, as well as installed a boost gauge with the help of a good friend, Allen (Double Helix).
I went out to Sac Raceway with him and got some pics of our cars. Here are some pictures of Allen and his 04 STi:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0864.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0862.jpg
and myself:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0872.jpg
The 1/4 timer was broken, so I only got clocked on a 1/8 mile with no practice runs. With TBE and no Engine Management I ran a 9.01 second 1/8mile, which was 0.01 seconds slower than our predicted time, allowing me to barely stay in my bracket and win the race.
Here are some more pictures taken around that time:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0836.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0609.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0602.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0675.jpg
I spent countless hours driving our local mountain roads getting used to my car and learning to fight the understeer... Here's a picture of my car on the shoulder at the foot of the first hill going into our 8/10 of a mile, extremely twisty section of our course...
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0433.jpg
and some pictures after putting in my GReddy Front Strut Tower Bar, which makes it feel like I am understeering even more than before, but it was a gift... so it's staying on for now... just means I need a rear Strut Tower Bar and some sways lol, which is fine by me!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0937.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0948.jpg
and here's another money shot at school (Sac State's parking garage):
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP0904.jpg
I was lucky enough to pick up a Seibon Carbon Fiber hood scoop from an 06-07 carbon fiber hood after meeting someone at our big Fairfield BBQ and Drive in May. So here are some pictures from the BBQ as well as a link to my video of the drive from my in-car camera:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007/5.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007/23.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007/29.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007/3-2.jpg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Js_oSlUX8DU
and my new carbon fiber hood scoop:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1254.jpg
After picking up my scoop, I knew I had to work on getting engine management because I kept throwing CELS/Cruise Control with my TBE. So I ordered my Accessport V2 from GST and went to pick it up. Thanks to Greg and a friend, Nick, I got it installed before I left.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1654.jpg
I loaded the Stage II 91 Octane Map and noticed an increase in power, but more of an increase in the smoothness of the powerband, which was well worth the money!
Then a friend of mine traded in his 350z and got an 07 STi, so here are some pictures of his car and our Barnes and Noble Meet:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1604.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1637.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1648.jpg
I had been thinking about doing a trunk swap even before I picked up my 07, which is why I bought a wingless one. It was what I wanted and if I ever wanted an STi wing, all I would have to do would be to convince an STi guy to trade my trunks and become a sleeper!
Well just got my trunk swap done Saturday night, so here is a picture of our cars after the swap:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1441.jpg
And here is GoodTimes' STi after the swap:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1386.jpg
And my car as it currently sits, with the stock scoop back on (until I get my carbon fiber STi scoop painted) and with my new STi wing:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP1467.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/wrxtunerdRallyWWA2.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/wrxtunerdRallyWWA.jpg
I finally ordered some Whiteline Rear Subframe Lock Bolts after being advised to do so for about a month or two by Jon. They are amazing and really eliminate a majority of body roll.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/WhitelineRearSubframeLockBolts.jpg
Then, I drove down to Freemont to visit Suby Dude!
I picked up a pair of 18x8 Rota Tarmac III's in Full Royal Sports Bronze, a sick ass color... I also picked up some Red Lugs while I was down at the shop.
Here are some pics:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP2871.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP2869.jpg
So now I am just waiting on my tires, I am probably going to order the Azenis, but haven't completely decided yet.
Here's a Fourth of July picture of my car under the fireworks:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP3081.jpg
Alright, I finally got my tires on my rims and threw them on my car!!!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP3113.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP3136.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP3110.jpg
Thunderhill 07.27.07
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP2918.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP2749.jpg
Our Fairfield BBQ and Drive on 07.29.07:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007%20II/IMGP3663.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007%20II/IMGP3792.jpg
Hopefully this makes it into SubieSport!!!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007%20II/IMGP3835.jpg
The FFBN KR3W:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/Fairfield%20BBQ%202007%20II/IMGP3804.jpg
nice I love the royal bronze wheels
Very nice journal so far. I really like what you have done with both of the cars. It must ahve been hard selling that 2.5RS though!! Good luck with your WRX and keep us updated!!!
It was really hard to sell the RS :( but the WRX was worth it!
Thanks for the comments guys :)
Great journal and documenting.. I wish i documented my car before modding it up at <1k miles!
this all looks pretty familiar...
SWP's are sexy! get the v-limited lip and it'll be pure sex!
I know!!! I want the lip and I'm going to be putting the roof wing on too.
I Finally got my hands on some 2005 IMPREZA Tail Lights!!! 05's FTW!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP4398.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/wrxtunerd/IMGP4408.jpg
I also did the JDM Til Light Mod, so I'll post pictures soon.
They look good!
Nice work!
Nice Journal. and man was that rs http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w245/TommyAg/Sexy/thhot.gif
man wrx looks sick, i got a rs but there is no way i can give it up.... i just take all my STI parts and out em on the wifes WRX...
NICE BUILD MAN!!!!
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