2007 Subaru STi Limited #782 build thread

[Vandelay]

Figured I should toss my build thread onto this forum and see what you guys think. I've been building this car since November 2012 and it's close to completion.

Subaru made 800 Limited STi's, all numbered cars in 2007 only. The limiteds had black calipers instead of gold, a ducktail spoiler on the rear instead of the picnic table, a front lip, fog lights, a black leather interior instead of blue suede, some different interior trim and a sunroof. Subaru produced 400 gray and 400 white limiteds.

I bought this car at stage 2 and it was originally built at COBB's Plano, TX shop and had the following mods

APS DR525 FMIC w/ CAI
COBB custom maps w/ AP
COBB short shifter
COBB Catless TBE
Dealer option boost gauge

I drove it for 26,000 reliable miles, took a few epic roadtrips through BC, and had a riot learning the car at AutoX



I added a few goodies, all major work was undertaken by VEX Peformance in Calgary

Whiteline rear sway
Killer Bee oilpickup & windage tray
RA Motorsports aluminum skidplate
COBB Knob
Group-N Engine Mounts
Dunlop Direzza Z1 *specs
All fluids changed to MOTUL
Endless SSY brake pads
Tomei timing belt
Mishimoto radiator
Rally Armor flaps

Verified the tune at Airboy tuning here in Calgary and made 271 WHP / 323 WTQ @ 3500' altitude (stock 07 STi makes 224.7 WHP / 225 WTQ on the same dyno)

I used the car as a daily driver in addition to its weekend warrior duties until September, when I popped the engine. It was low on oil which I was able to find in the FMIC :unamused:

Engine:
VEX built 2010 NOS shortblock (stock forged/nitride treated crank & rods) with Mahle forged pistons
VEX built ported heads with Tomei cams, titanium retainers & new valvetrain
JDM oilpump
Cosworth H/G's

Induction:

Blouch 2.5 XTR 8cm
Tomei UEL header (wrapped in DEI titanium wrap)

Engine goodies:

TiC/Motive TGV deletes
Perrin turbo inlet hose
Samco airbox hose
Crawford AOS
Cosworth airpump delete
Beatrush dogbone
Aquamist HFS3 with a 5 gal AEM tank
ID1000 injectors
DW300 pump

Drivetrain:

Exedy Stage I clutch
Exedy lightweight flywheel
Kartboy Shifter bushings
Whiteline crossmember bushings
Group-N transmission mount

Suspension:

RCE Yellows
Whiteline roll centre kit
New top hats
Kartboy diff bushings
Kartboy outrigger bushings
Kartboy subframe locking bolts
Whiteline steering rack bushings
Whiteline anti lift kit
Whiteline adjustable rear trailing arms

Brakes:
Grimmspeed master cylinder brace
Endless 650 fluid
Endless MX72 pads
DBA 5000 2 piece front rotors
DBA 4000 rear rotors
Goodridge stainless lines

Interior:

Sound deadening - complete car, doors, roof, etc using second skin damplifier pro
Gray Microsuede headliner
Gray Microsuede pillar trim
Interior plastics dyed dark gray
Dye stock charcoal carpet black
Sparco R505 seats with Bride rails
DEFI DIN Gauges (water temp, oil temp, oil pressure)
Custom dash pod for Aquamist controller/gauge

Electronics:

Alpine X305 with Bluetooth (bluetooth mic stealth mounted in maplight housing)
Alpine PXA sound processor with time correction
Audison 4 ch
Hertz 6.5" components
2x Kicker CVT65 6.5" Subs
Whistler remote radar detector with GPS, display mounted in clockpod
Black powdercoated supertones

Enough talking, onto the pics!

Sound deadening install:

[IMG][/IMG]







I didn't snap a pic but I also matted the outer skins on the front doors, they thud like a Bavarian now!

2005 JDM Tails I bought from a NASIOC member in Ontario. They were in OK shape but had a lot of superficial scratches as well as some larger scuffs

After cleanup (my dumbass forgot to take before pics)



I shaved the DOT Markings as well



After:



On my wetsanding/plastic polish kick, I decided to do the headlights and fogs too:



After:

[Vandelay]

The KS tech scoop delete is really going to change the look of the car:



Bluetooth mic in maplight





Radar in clockpod:





ohhh new parts!



And with them, the gauge sensors, the last part I've been waiting on to get moving on the wiring. I prepped a harness for the gauges and head unit and did some test fitting:


That was enough to lead to a 3 AM night in the garage getting the bulk of the wiring done :o

I ran the hose for the WI, wire for the pump, valve controller & flow sensor wiring, front radar sensor, amp wiring, and the Defi wiring through the the engine compartment:



There's a bunch of wiring, plus the Aquamist hose in the next two pics (the hose pictured is the factory IC spray line):





I'm really happy with the wiring so far, it looks like factory. I fabric taped the stock harnesses where they meet the body to minimize any chance for rattles while I was at it

[Vandelay]

testing some LED's:



Started, and then got distracted and put this project on hold:



I fixed my swiss cheese crash bar/ bracket for the APS FMIC (hack attacked from the previous owner), first time I've ever used bondo for anything other than fibreglass projects, I think it came out pretty well

before:



after:


the intercooler looked like it was in Fallujah:



After paint:



A buddy of mine came over and soldered up the harness from the Aquamist controller to the Subaru ECU as well, the wiring is really close to completion!

A pillar trim before & after:



C pillars:



Some of this:


A bit of this:

[KRyn]

Bad ringlands caused the failure of your first motor? How much power are you hoping to make on the new motor? Thanks for sharing your build!

I want to do the hood scoop delete this year as well, who did you order from?

Sunny's dyno is a real heart breaker, I am going to be on it this year to get my tune straightened out. Hopefully I can make a few more HPs as well.

[Vandelay]

A dab of this:




A lot of this:


And now the suede is done!

The B pillars were ridiculous:



And the curves on the "hump" of the sunroof and the way it rolls back down forced me to do a seam underneath the passenger side sunvisor, but I am extremely happy with the results nonetheless:



The rest of the pics are from my phone, sorry for the low quality:

I tackled the wheels during the summer. They were pretty beat up from driving year round in Calgary and from the PO. Most of the wheels had rash and pitting like this one:



I fixed all of the curb rash with a 3M filler product called liquid metal and then sanded them smooth. I had originally planned on painting the wheels with a 3 stage duplicolor treatment so I repaired and prepped one for paint:





It took a ridiculously long time to get those wheels sanded, primed and sanded again, so I decided to fix the other three and then have the wheels powdercoated gun metal. I painted the centre caps to match with Duplicolor wheel paint+clear

[Vandelay]

I also got a new set of 245 width Z2 *specs

The interior mods were almost done when I finished all of the suede wrap and got the headliner back in:


But I still needed a solution for the Aquamist gauge and controller. I used the same suede to give it contrast and try to match the feel of the stock gauges:



Next was finishing the centre stack. I wasn't happy with one of the pieces I wrapped in carbon fibre so I decided to replace the dash panels with new pieces until I can finish the CF project. Clockpod is the radar display as previously posted and I'm digging how closely the Alpine stereo matches the feel of the climate controls.



Next up was getting the subs and mounting for the Aquamist pump and reservoir sorted. I've always been a fan of the GT-R's centre subwoofer enclosure:



But I wanted something closer to a factory feel and a bit of security compared with the GT-R. We started with 2 6.5" Kicker subs and the AM pump and went from there. I wanted the box to be secure so there were no concerns at track days or autoX. I also finished it in black microsuede to blend into the interior



Then a trim plate to cover the gap at the bottom and the metal iinterior piece at the top:


Finished product:


A view into the trunk, I wanted to keep enough room for my golf bag to be secure back there and I nailed it! I'm going to build a trim plate to cover the back of the box and the hose+wiring from the meth tank with an integrated fan for ventilation



Next up was mechanical work, I found the PO had changed the front but not the rear shifter bushing:


Swapped the tranny mount out for a new Group-N:

[Vandelay]

Cozied up the downpipe:


Painted up a plate delete with the same paint as I used for the centre caps:



My build motto:


Assembling the shortblock at VEX:




Got the engine back for final bench assembly:


Looks like home:


Picture me rollin:


There's still a few things that need to get done along with first start up and tuning but VEX Performance is going to handle all of that. I'll get the car over there next month and then finally hear this thing rumble to life! I'm not planning on driving it until the snow melts and the gravel is off the road.

[Vandelay]

Originally posted by KRyn
Bad ringlands caused the failure of your first motor? How much power are you hoping to make on the new motor? Thanks for sharing your build!

I want to do the hood scoop delete this year as well, who did you order from?

Sunny's dyno is a real heart breaker, I am going to be on it this year to get my tune straightened out. Hopefully I can make a few more HPs as well.

Thanks! glad to share it

I don't think it was a ringland issue that ate my original engine. The motor was starved for oil, it badly needed an AOS and I didn't get it in on time

I ordered the hoodscoop directly from KS Tech http://www.kstech.biz/servlet/the-WR...ete/Categories I like it, but I question how much I'll like it when its raining outside.

Sunny's dyno is a heartbreaker (stock STi is 225/227 IIRC), but I'm much more concerned with reliability than anything.....that being said 370+ WHP in the top end and 400 WTQ around the 3700 RPM mark would make me a happy man.

[IggyB]

[ryanallan]

WoW
Nice work!

[94boosted]

This is one of the nicest & cleanest STi's I've ever seen

PS: I remember seeing you at some of the Deerfoot Mall events before that venue got shut down

[AudiPWR]

Wicked build thread!

The quality and detail is amazing! Props!

[topsecret]

That is some awesome attention to detail!!!

[amear]

Well done! keep it up!

[KRyn]

How do you plan to break your motor in? Are you going to beat the shit out of it on the dyno?

[zipdoa]

Sick build. What's with subaru's boxer engines blowing up all the time? I just got a Bugeye WRX and I'm nervous about engine failure. Any precautions that you recommend?

[KRyn]

Originally posted by zipdoa
Sick build. What's with subaru's boxer engines blowing up all the time? I just got a Bugeye WRX and I'm nervous about engine failure. Any precautions that you recommend?

Subaru's are notorious for exploding engines! The usual causes are bad oil pickups or ring land failures. From my understanding the most common year of failure was 2007. That said, people on various forums have reported failures in the following years as well (caused by the same issues). To ensure you don't have an oil pick up failure replace your stock unit with a Killer-B pickup. I think ring land failure is inevitable if it is going to happen. In all of my research most people had their engines fail within 30,000 kms (give or take).

[Perfect Dark]

Originally posted by zipdoa
Sick build. What's with subaru's boxer engines blowing up all the time? I just got a Bugeye WRX and I'm nervous about engine failure. Any precautions that you recommend?

Don't worry about your 2.0L, just worry about your transmission haha.

Most of the problems Kryn is referencing involve the 2.5L.

[zipdoa]

Originally posted by Perfect Dark


Don't worry about your 2.0L, just worry about your transmission haha.

Most of the problems Kryn is referencing involve the 2.5L.

Already did blow up =) I bought the WRX from a mechanic who had replaced the blown tranny with an unknown tranny from a JDM importer

[Perfect Dark]

Originally posted by zipdoa


Already did blow up =) I bought the WRX from a mechanic who had replaced the blown tranny with an unknown tranny from a JDM importer

Anything is better than the 02-03 USDM gearset...you could cut notches into waffles and stick them in a transmission housing and still get more km's out of it than a stock one haha.