jdm subaru grb hatch 2.0L

[cbDrift]

Pretty happy with the car at the moment, so i'll post up a blurb about it - i'd call it "almost done" now.

It got to the point with my old Type-R EP3 where it was either "finished", or I slap a turbo or rotex supercharger kit onto it because I'd done everything else to it to prep it for boost.

But a friend of mine convinced me to get something else if I was going after boost and after driving a few of his collection of JDM cars I traded in the overly tweaked up EP3 on what seemed to be a fairly unmolested 2007 sti grb hatch with 127,000km's, a catback 3" exhaust on it and some JDM Work 18" wheels.

...and immediately started molesting it.

I got some new tyres, and we did some basic servicing on it and I did some cosmetic bits and we got a 3" catless downpipe (yay NZ emissions laws) installed, then I fired it off to the tuner down in Tauranga to get some stuff done.

I got them to install a g4x v11 link plugin ecu, canbus wbo2, flexfuel sensor, bosch 1600cc fuel injectors, 3port boost control valve, fuel pump and fuel filter installed onto it which netted 220kw at wheels on the factory turbo with a factory intake and filter on it with the factory top mount (booo NZ bumper crash bar modification rules)

I also love how the color seems to change in the different light levels

After nuking a set of spark plugs over the following month or two due to not being able to get it to run on pump gas at a reasonable idle mixture, i got some hks spark plugs and some ID1050xds injectors and got it re-tuned for the new injectors.

A local speed shop had a sale on where they got some of the last HKS bolt on factory location turbos for the grb twin scroll engine, so I picked up one of them and a cold air intake and with the MAJOR help from my friend, some choice words and some skinned knuckles, and a break to stop cursing so much during the process, we got the new turbo installed and installed the cold air intake.

I fired it back down for a tune up again to the workshop, I also got them to install a 3" 100 cell racing cat converter and to chop out the downpipe flange to 3" catback and replace it with a flexi join and vband to get rid of a restriction there. Also got a Tomei intake hose installed to replace the factory rubber intake pipe.  I got the cat installed to keep it technically legal if anyone whined about the cat, and to take out the horrible resonant raspy noise which it did quite well - still loud - but not ear-bleeding due to the pitch.

Asked for an ethanol tune (it got up to 50% ethanol blend before the injectors ran out of room at high boost)

New turbo has not much below 4000 rpm as you can see - but its way more fun than a factory one after that

I organized to move from Auckland to Christchurch - booked my tickets for the ferry, organized a place to stay - and was a week out from the big move and the OE factory clutch expired in a passing lane going up a hill.

One of the motorsports workshops in Auckland was able to fit me in with days to spare before leaving, they had a clutch in stock, so I booked it into get it replaced and had all the fluids changed and a new set of brake pads to try and get rid of the squeal when it stops. (the new pads didn't solve the issue the squeal is real again)

I took off on schedule for the move 2 days later 😃

Its a lot colder in Christchurch than Auckland, and the car picked up a decent chunk of pep just due to the ambient temps
I'm guessing its closer to 300kw now.

I also found someone who sells super high quality e100 race fuel by 20L container or 210L drum here in Chch - yay.

I spent a fair bit of time down here playing with the PID settings for the boost control to get rid of some spikes and wobbles and have that fairly sorted now and then got an oil air separator installed.

I did a lot more to the Honda, and some things didn't make it any nicer as a road car - they all improved it but some things made me question my choices after they were done. Having learned from that, I wont be doing some things to the STI that I did to the Honda.

So the current list-o-bits on the thing is

2007 JDM GRB hatch 2.0 with a 6 speed (Japan got them in 2007 - but everywhere else it was 2008 onward)
ej207 engine with a w20c block (the good one)
Work 18" wheels with Bridgestone Expedia Sport tyres - square fitment 245/40/18
Project Mu Pads and Project Mu brake fluid change.
ORC twinplate clutch and flushed the clutch fluid.
3" downpipe from the turbo, 3" 100cell racing metal cat (you can read looking through it at your phone), Greddy 3" catback exhaust
Tomei intake pipe from turbo intake to the Process West cold air intake.
Link G4x Plugin V11 Subaru ecu, Link canbus wideband, Link flexfuel sensor, 3port boost control valve
Injector Dynamics 1050xds, DW300 injectors, new fuel filter.
Radium Oil/Air separator that breathes to air not the intake again.  This made an improvement to the "knock trace" levels
HKS gtIIIrs turbo - its a twin scroll and is a bolt in, stock location replacement for the factory turbo
An equal length factory exhaust manifold - it sounds nicer to me than the unequal length rumble.
Factory top mount intercooler.
And some cosmetic mods (front lip, indicators, badges, tail lights, led high beams and led driving lights)

At its current power level, its a nice street car that's "quick" not "fast", handles nicely on roads that are not perfectly flat and has done a couple of track events and been to a drag strip.

I still want to do some more bits to make it a "it doesn't need anything else now" type thing
- Replace all the missing trim and panel clips after a passing lane obstacle tore out the wheelarch liner, undertray, all the clips holding them recently.
- Fix up all the paint chips/scratches etc
- An engine rebuild to make it bulletproof at the current power levels rather than worry about when itll die on me - Subaru life
- A gearbox and shifter refresh, "and while its out" - swap out the twin plate for a single plate
- Suspension bushes and maybe the new HKS coilovers when the current stuff wears out.
- A front mount intercooler if I can find someone to provide the cert for modification legality, water to air if I cant.

It's a fun project and is better than the Honda was in every way over 50kph, at less than 50 and with the Honda being a super snappy NA engine it would blitz the STI around town. Subaru has all the handling tho even after doing everything to the Honda suspension. The Honda felt like you had to thrash it everywhere, all the time, EVERYWHERE which was going to be bad for my license points.
Thankfully I've found myself driving a lot slower and more relaxed in the STI, I missed having turbo torque but there is a bit of "its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow", my license points should be safer overall now that I don't feel like I have to thrash it everywhere.

Horses for courses I guess

Anyways - enough burbling - That's my current "its almost done, honest!" project