| |
 INFYMUS .COM
© 2006-2008
Michael S. Hoenie
Hosted by
FasterPing
Compiled With:
Caligra 1.10 | 4 JUN 2008
No portion may be used without express permission of Michael S. Hoenie aka Infymus. |
|
|
|
PLEASE NOTE:
If you have reached this page from an outside source such as an Internet Search or forum
referral, please note that this page (the one you just landed on) is an
archive containing articles on
"CARS - 2005 SUBARU LGT SEDAN"
from a Blogger named Infymus. This website,
INFYMUS.COM
- is a blog belonging to INFYMUS.
Click Here to visit the main blog page.
|
Yesterday I had Modern Garage install my S Tein springs for $160 plus tax. Not a bad deal in my opinion, I haven't the equipment to do it, plus I'm all for doing work on my car, but as low as $160 (exact cost for the springs), I'd rather let someone else do it who has the equipment. Installation took about 2 and a half hours and the rate was a flat rate - $160 to install no matter how long it took them.
The springs are green, but you won't see them underneath the wheel wells.
The look is deeper than I expected. Initially I measured nearly 2 and Ύ inches from top of tire to top of wheel well. After installation, I could only measure half an inch. Springs will settle in over the period of six months, so I expect this to drop a little more, perhaps even half an inch. This could be a concern for me in the future because I run 235/40 R18's on my GT during the summer (Koenig 18" Verdicts on Yokahama AVES100's). We will have to see if there is any rubbing. With stock springs there was absolutely no rubbing at all and the diameter of the wheel is the same for the 18's (225/40) as compared to the stock (215/45's). It's the 235 that could get me in trouble, but 215's IMHO are just like pizza cutters.
I've got to say that these S springs are not for the timid. It handles most bumps just fine, but if you hit something 2 inches deep, you are going to feel it - hard. I was actually very surprised at how hard you will feel hard bumps. I live in Salt Lake City, in what I consider the king of pothole country. I quickly quickly realized that avoiding potholes is going to be key for me for quite some time.
The ride is very comfortable over most roads as long as you avoid the real deep potholes and if you're going over anything large, it's defiantly time to slow down. I found the hard ride in bumps only comes from the deep holes, not the built up road crap you almost inevitably have to ride over (as long as it's not a sudden lift). If you're going to get these springs you're going to have to change your driving style. Most of us avoid holes anyway, but now you'll need to be on hole-alert.
I'm still in the process of evaluating these springs, I've only had a day now to drive some 30 miles on them. So far, I'm enjoying them. The look is not as "punched" as you see some of the riced out Hondas or BMWS driving around. If the wheel was up under the wheel well too far, I'd have them removed right away. I really don't care for that look at all.
I have yet to find out what this is going to do to my shocks, but as long as I'm careful I think I'm going to be ok for quite some time. If after the summer I find I don't like the look, I may go to the H Tech spring.
After a short contemplation, I decided to put my 18" rims on the car to see how they would look.
At first I was dismayed, I could not get my 3 ton floor jack under the car anymore as it would no longer fit. I had to use the Subaru car jack to get half an inch then was able to scoot the 3 ton underneath and get the tire off the ground.
Once I got my 235/40 R18 rims on the car, I was dismayed. The tire sticks outside the wheel well by half an inch. These rims are 18x8 and the wheel is 235 compared to 215 stocks.
Tein stated that these springs would drop the car 1.5 inches front and 1.5 inches back. These dropped the car 2.5 inches front and 2.5 inches back. I can stick a pencil between the tire and the wheel well in the front and have at least one more pencil in width in size. The rears, the pencil does not fit straight out - only at an angle down. There is less than 1/4 of an inch between the tire and the wheel well, alhough in the rear the tire is at least 1/4 inch inside. If the tire went up 1/4 inch, it would touch the inside of the black wrapping around the wheel well. Not good IMHO, and may not work out in the long run.
The front wheel only has about 1/2 inch play betweeen the tire and the black wrapping around the wheel well.
My first impressions after mounting all four rims was that it wasn't going to work. If I hit a hard bump, I was going to rub.
I took it on a 15 mile run on some pretty harsh streets for a test. I hit plenty of pot holes and I felt them up my spine. I also heard the springs in motion and working during the ride, but this is absolutely normal for the first few weeks as the springs settle in.
When I returned home there was absolutely no rubbing at all on any of the tires or the wheel wells. When I turn the front tires side to side, there is no rubbing internally.
I have yet to put 800 pounds of friends in the car and see if I can get out of the driveway.
I will post pictures when I get them off the camera and sized correctly for the site.
Cheers for now, I'd write more but my Cobb Access ECU just came in. Gotta run.
|
My Cobb AECU came in last nite. Followed the instructions which were well defined and updated the car to Stage 1. Took about 20 minutes total to hook the wires, plug it in, and upload the Stage 1 map.
http://cobbtuning.com/legacy/power-s....
Right now I'm stock exhaust but that will change
Started the car up cold this morning (31 degrees), let it warm for about 5 minutes, and then took it for a drive.
Immediately I noticed that the (*@#%@) F'N stutter this car has had since I bought it has been reduced by nearly 85%. If I didn't get any power at all increase, I would be absolutely thrilled that the stutter is dang near gone. I can start up in first gear now without it stalling like it's going to kill, or have it stall again when shifting from 1st to 2nd. I was absolutely amazed. Being early in the morning, I had the roads to myself and I stopped, started, stopped, started, stopped... Just to see if I was really dreaming or not.
I'm very happy the stutter has been mostly corrected. There is a tiny hint, but nothing like before where if you were not careful in shifting between gears, it would nearly die, or would die. I can gracefully shift from 1st to 2nd gear now without it dipping down in RPMS and then lurching forward. It is now perfectly smooth in transition and the powerlevel comes right up.
Way to go Cobb, this is the 2nd time you've made me a happy customer.
Power band - fantastic. Stock always felt like it was so toned down I felt that my Stage 1 WRX was far better than my stock LGT. The power band came in late and cut out early. With Cobb Stage 1, the power band comes on early and it pushes all the way to redline.
Here is a link to Cobb's Stage 1 mapping:
http://cobbtuning.com/legacy/images/a...
I highly recommend (although pricey) Cobb's Access ECU. Good part as well is that I can go Stage 2 later on when I'm ready without any additional cost. Plus, if I want to go stock, I can. Cool thing is if you un-mate the ECu from the car, you can then mate it to another car (one at a time).
|
Ok, another update.
I purchased my S-TECH and H-TECH springs through Grip Motorsports at http://www.gripmotorsports.com/
As per a verbal conversation with the owner concerning the swap out from the S-TECH to the H-TECH springs, I emailed him to let him know that I had received the H-TECH springs and they are to be installed tomorrow at 1pm at Modern Garage.
I was concerned when I received the H-TECH springs because of the condition of the box the springs were shipped in. The box was absolutely brand spanking new - not a single dent or scratch on them. In fact, the box it'self had the original vinyl double-taping around the entire box.
When the owner asked me what condition the prior box was in, I agreed there were no holes (it looks like a hole is in the front, but it does not go all the way through), however, the box was "tapped to hell". Grip Motorsports stated that the box was taped because of the weight of the springs. I completely agree.
The S-TECH box looks like it has gone around the world.
I am really starting to believe that the S-TECH Springs shipped to me by Grip Motorsport's third party were used. They have got to be. How else would they drop the car 2.5" and 2.75" on one rear? (Advertised 1.5" drop) I can't think of any other reason than that perhaps these springs were indeed used, shipped back, and then sold as new through their third party vendor. Grip Motorsports receives the spring orders, then orders them through a company elsewhere (I believe California).
I hope that regardless of the condition compared to the H-TECH box, they will still be able to take these springs back.
I'm dismayed. I never even questioned the fact that they could have possibly been used. Perhaps the S-TECH boxes are not shipped with the vinyl wrapping, and perhaps UPS tapped it up because it was popping open. I have no idea.
|
One quick update after the install. Modern Garage took the S-TECH springs off and put the H-TECH springs on. Then the mechanic called me and said the drivers side rear spring was still compressing down exactly the same as the S-TECH springs were.
This leads me to believe that the S-TECH springs did drop the car more than advertised, but the rear that dropped almost 3" was due to an original factory problem.
I have a good friend that works at a Subaru Dealership and he said I'm screwed unless I put the original springs back on and pretend nothing ever happend. He also added that Subaru is now denying all warranties when there is any modifications - including blowoff vales, CAI's, Springs, ECU updates, top mount coolers - you name it.
One word of warning: If you have Access ECU'd your CPU, make sure you put the map back to STOCK before going in. Probably just good common sense anyway.
The ride back home on the H-TECH springs was much much better than the S-TECH springs. Very much more comfortable and the gap is something that I can live with. I went over train tracks and more and it was FAR more comfortable and the drop was right around what it said .9" to 1.0". Unfortuantly, the drivers side rear is still 2.75" drop and I'll bet you the car came from the factory with a drop already. If I could go gack in time and look at the stock springs, stock tires, I'd know but WTF - who knew, and obviously I didn't see a difference originally but then again, I wasn't looking.
The mechanic stated the springs looked just fine, as well as the struts and shocks. The rear spring assembly is easy - very simple and he believes it's factory and not something *he* did while installing it. Even so, he stated if I take it somewhere and discover it was the spring installation that caused the problem, they would rectify the situation. In writing? No... LOL.. But at least I"m only out $180 for labor on the installations.
So when I thought there was something wrong with the S-TECH Springs, it actually turned out to be the Legacy GT. Sad.
|
Cobb's High Flow Down Pipe and to match, Perrin Catless upipe are on order. Got a good raise at work and was made manager, so I received 4 months of back pay. That was enough for both pieces and a little more for later.
Should both be here in about a week. That will bring me up to 300 HP and 345 Torque with 16.3psi Boost. Bear in mind this is at the flywheel.
Couple more weeks.
|
Had the resonator removed today, got all of the gaskets on order. Pipes should be here by Monday of next week.
Going to have a mini "Monster Garage" this coming Memorial weekend and do a shitload of installs.
Picked up an STI short throw shifter. Friend of mine is putting on the lathe and taking 1 inch off it. So it'll be a shorty-throw short throw shifter.
Going to be nice. Can't wait to hear the sound.
Next mod: Cat back.
|
Had the alignment done today by A-Bility. They did a slammin job on getting the alignment perfect. No more pulling and with the H-TECH Springs on, we are good to go.
Heading down to try and find a goddamn Torque - 70 Bolt so we can change the front differential to Synthetic.
And got the following message from Flat Irons Tuning:
Hello Infymus,
I just wanted to let you know that your parts are shipping out today.
Also, when you get your packages, you will find your up-pipe inside the down-pipe box. It just seemed like a waste to ship them both separately.
Thanks again for your business, and please let me know if you need anything else.
Jon Cooley
Flatirons Tuning
F'n sweet. We are on track for Stage II next weekend.
|
The Perrin uppipe and Cobb MT HFC downpipe arrived this afternoon as promised from Flat Irons Tuning.
Here I am preparing to load a very big bowl.
Picked up a Torque 70 (T-70) bolt for the front differential from Snap-On Tools.
Now I'm concentrating on that Short Throw Shifter. Today my friend Don put it in the lathe and easily removed the notch, but we're having trouble finding a 1/2-20 Hex Die to re-thread it.
Will detail a little more later.
|
With the right tools and the right help you can get anything done in no-time. It took us a total of 2 hours straight up to change out the uppipe, the downpipe and the STI shifter. Helps to have all the right tools and a friend who is a mechanic.
This is what you do with your old pipes:
After we were done we hooked up Cobb's Access ECU and went full Stage 2.
Went for a ride, it sounds great, feels great. Spools far faster than before and the power is outstanding.
Thanks Russ, your help was greatly appreciated.
|
Friday night I changed out the front and rear differentials with synthetic and the oil with synthetic oil. Saturday morning mechanic friend came over and we tore into the exhaust system and within two hours had the up and down pipes replaced and the short throw shifter installed. Without his expansive tools we would never have gotten to some of those bolts.
Up pipe is a Perrin cat less and down pipe is a Cobb MT HFC all new gaskets were used. Stage 2 is Cobbs Access ECU MT 91o ST 2.
The power is insane. Feels absolutely awesome. Power is perfect no ECU codes, no rough idle, runs like a champ idles perfectly.
There is only one concern that I have and its a rattle that comes from out of the mufflers an odd sound at WOT. Before we did the install I had the resonator removed and replaced with a straight pipe. Its a kind of rattle not a whooshing sound like an exhaust leak and there is no smell in the cabin. At WOT there is no whistling, whooshing or sounds coming from the up or the down pipe it just sounds like its coming out of the exhaust. Its kind of like the exhaust itself is rattling and its unnerving. I still have the stock cans for the moment.
We went back through and checked all of the bolts to make sure nothing is loose. If a bolt falls off the car from the turbo or the exhaust manifold, then it will be a problem. At that point you will get a whooshing sound as forced air from the engine escapes from the pipe. If you get a cabin smell of exhaust while sitting then you definitely have a leak. That I know I dont because Russ and I sat at Crown Burger for 15 minutes waiting for our order and not a single smell after the WD-40 burned off the turbo and housing bolts.
Russ listened at the engine, under the car and behind the car at WOT and said it is definitely coming out of the mufflers. He said its like the cans were not designed to handle the higher flow. I replaced the entire turbo back on my WRX and it sounded deep and throaty. This LGT with the stock cat back sounds airy and rattled not deep and guttural like the boxer engine should be. New cans Im sure would go a long way to fix that, but I just spent $1600 on three parts and if I spend any more right now the wife is seriously going to bitch.
I havent checked this morning at the down pipe to mid pipe doughnut connection. Its the connection that has bolts inside of springs. How tight should it be? At present it can slightly move only so slightly (I mean just a tinch). With the stock pipe you have a few more connections to mount the pipe to the car like the one off the first cat to the tranny case, etc. The Cobb pipe only bolts to the turbo and one exhaust hanger. Beyond that, its all the way down to the Y pipe I believe before you get another hanger.
Heat Shield we cut the stock heat shield per Cobbs instructions and mounted it with I believe 5 bolts. Im doubting it was the shield because the rattling at WOT doesnt come from the shield it comes from out the back of the car.
Next weekend we are going to remove the heat shields and make sure all the bolts are still torqued correctly. For now I can live with it, but its more of an embarrassing sound rather than a nice sound.
Still the performance is exactly where I want it for now.
Update: The rattle is only between 2000 and 2500 RPM and only when the car is cool. Once it warms up the rattle mostly dissapears.
|
Perrin catless up, Cobb HF Down, resonator removed w/straight pipe, Cobb 1.5 AP St2 91oc.
Hung with a guy today in a 2004 M5, neither of us could pull on each other, straight to 60. He gave me a peace sign and a smile, I gave him a hang ten and a smile.
Still need to replace my cans. Cobb is taking such a long stinkin time to get them available - and I see Cobb's LGT white sedan around town - sounding good with their demo cans, but alas, none to be found yet.
I'm kind of set on Cobb's cans. I had Cobb's catback on my WRX with an Oakos catless DP. Loved the sound.
With my LGT resonator straight piped I get a rattle at WOT for the first couple minutes until the pipe warms up. I figure it's either Cobb's HFC DP or the piping part that Master Muffler used on my resonator SP. (Raspy sound)
So many choices for cans, so freakin costly because of the Y pipe and dual cans. Might need to wait for a tax refund to afford new ones.
|
Unfortunately with the snow coming as soon as two weeks (it's possible, though not likely), it's time to take the summer rims off the car and put the winter rims back on.
So strange driving around on them after being on 18" rims with 235x40's and Yokohama AVS100's. At least when it snows I won't be on ice skates.
|
I have Perrins catless up. Cobbs HF Down. Catback - I have only the straight-pipe removed. Painted calipers. Hacked intake (ie. Bladder removed and K&N HF filter installed). Tein-H tech springs. Cobb 91 octane Stage 2 map (AccessECU). In the summer I run 235x40xR18 Yokahama AV-ES100s and in the winter the stock rim and tire. My shifter is a 2005 LGT Short-Throw Shifter that I put in myself. It has been modified (the stick-shift I cut off 1.5 inches to make it a shorty throw shifter) .
My complaints about the 2005 GT Manual:
The stutter. The stutter on this car is horrendous. It has been since the beginning. Drive this car at 20 miles an hour in 2nd gear or 3rd gear keep it at 20 MPH and you will have stuttering. You can feel it stutter it just freakin stutters. In the morning going to work, slowing down for a stoplight (its dark outside), press the clutch in and slow down the brake to the light the stutter causes the RPMS to drop to a point where the engine almost kills then the lights drop like the car is going to kill (because of the low RPM) and then comes back to normal (because of the damned stutter). Do an acceleration from first to second gear after shifting to second gear, the stutter from pressing in the clutch and then accelerating in second gear the stutter hits hard and the car pauses then lunges instead of a good straight acceleration. Sometimes it is seriously aggravating. Even with Cobb Stage 2 which removed MOST of the stutter still it is noticeable and the dealership in my area totally DENIES thatit exists.
The Clutch: This is the WORST clutch I have ever seen in any car. It stinks to high heaven. There is no such thing as a quick launch with the Legacy GT not like my WRX Wagon. If your RPMS are too high, the clutch sits and burns and burns instead of engaging. Yes, I understand I have searched I know that Subaru changed this in 2005 to stop transmission damage. That doesnt mean that Im happy about it. Im not looking to dump the clutch, but this clutch on the 2005 Legacy GT is just ridiculous.
The Shifting. You cant quick shift in this car unless you pause. I am a pro at heal-toe shifting. Two miss shifts doesnt mean I suck at shifting considering the amount of shifting Ive done since I was 18 (20 years ago). But because of the miss shift in which I quickly corrected the gears are now so farkin hard to shift into first gear that its a work out just to drive the car normally.
After this mornings mistaken miss-shift and first gear became so hard to shift into and it would pop out of first gear back into neutral a couple times I have had it. I went down to the BMW dealership and started talking shop to get into a 2006 or 2005 BMW 330. Yes, my payments will go up a little bit, yes, I will have an extra year on my payment, but I really enjoyed the twin turbo comfort of the BMW 330, or the satisfaction of a used (well maintained) 2005 BMW 330 - at a far less cost wherein my payment would not change from my LGT to the 330.
I have always loved my Subarus, but I feel that I have come to the end of my enjoyment with Subaru.
A bummed LGT (and long-time Subaru owner).
EDIT: On December 26th, 2006 I sold my Legacy GT Sedan and bought a Mazda CX7. See http://www.infymus.com/topic_2007mazdacx7.html
|
This morning heading to work it is snowing like hell today here in SLC. Because of this we are all doing about 25-30. When I maintain a steady lower speed in either 2nd or 3rd gear, about every 10 minutes the car will suddenly hesitate and then surge (buck) forward. I cuss and flip off the dash board every time. Even when you maintain say 25 miles an hour in second gear I can feel the car hesitating and surging gently - it feels like the gas going into the engine has a dirty sock stuck in it or I picture my MAF sensor being chewed on by grime bugs.
I slow down to a light and 50% of the time when I push in the clutch the lights drop down to almost like the car is going to die and then comes back.
I shift from first to second, as I smoothly let out the clutch with gas and the clutch is engaged - it hesitates, then surges, bucking the car and again I flip off the dash board. When I was stock, oftentimes the hesitation would cause the engine to die - so I had to over comphensate when shifting by giving it far more gas then normal. It's like the car isn't getting enough gas/air mixture and it chokes? Or it's running too rich?
I'm so frustrated because I feel there is nothing I can do. Dealer has flat out told me they won't touch my car with a 10 foot pole because of Stage 2 - even though I know Stage 2 didn't do this to the car - it came that way and was FAR WORSE when I was stock.
Why couldn't this LGT be as smooth as my WRX was? Why does it have to hesitate and surge? Why is the electrical system so bad? Why does SOA continue to look the other direction?
Frustrated in a Utah snow storm.
|
|
|
Feed
0.3 Feed
