Yamazaki's '05 STI/ 13Dec15 homelink!

[Yamazaki]

This car taught me how modifications can become a madness that consumes you (and your wallet), and I stopped modding it in mid-'12.

2005 Impreza WRX STi
WR Blue Pearl
44,000 miles (purchased with 20 miles on odometer)

Exterior:
WRX wing
Saab 92x Linear hood w/Saab badge
Saab 92x fenders
Saab 92x front bumper w/foglights
Saab 92x front grille
Saab 92x side skirts
Saab 92x airbag module
Saab 92x door sills
rear windshield wiper/wiper assembly imported from Japan
Side mirrors imported from Japan
GT Factory Diablo Door system
5Zigen GN+ 18x8.5J rims (and stock silver BBS's, depends on which I feel like putting on at the moment)
Saab logo tire valve caps


Interior:
'07 STI Limited center console and HVAC controls
'07 STI rear seats (has rear passthrough)
Recaro Speed black vinyl/blue suede driver and passenger seats
Weighted 6mt shift knob from STI catalogue
Defi triple gauge pod (clock mounted)
'07 STi Limited red hazard button
Broadway 270mm LED lit rearview mirror
'07 STI black floormat option
'05 STI extended center armrest option
LED cabin dome lighting from Autobacs
'07 Impreza headunit w/Aux in port
Electronic/Electrical:
Defi BF Amber gauges (oil pressure/boost gauge/exhaust temp)
Side mirror control module imported from Japan
COBB Accessport
Forester wiper control switch and module
Gentex 313 rearview mirror with Homelink

Mechanical:
GReddy Evo2 turbo back exhaust
Garrett 35R rotated mount
APS DR725 front mount intercooler
Custom fabricated intercooler piping
Crower engine internals stroked to 2.7 Liters
820cc injectors
Stock cams
TGV deletes
'05 STI short throw shifter option
Exedy Hyper Multi clutch
IAG Air/Oil separator

Suspension/Braking:
Cusco adjustable rear sway bar
Kartboy endlinks
STi Stainless steel braided brake lines


Removed:
VIS Racing Tracer carbon fiber hood (all painted except around vents)
'04 STI headlights (I traded mine after I had cleared them and wanted the amber back)
Aqua reverse hood scoop
AeroCatch hood latches
RedlineTuning hood struts
Syms fog light covers
STI Door sills from STI catalogue
PIAA blue LED running lights (wired to the stock foglight system)
Alpine KCA 420i interface adaptor for iPod
4" Alpine MBA-W925JB headunit
Blue/black steering wheel cover from Autobacs
'08 Impreza "IMPREZA" badge
Badging garnish from Autobacs
Silver "STI" badge from S401 on trunk
custom "2.7L" badging on trunk
WRX wing

Interesting note:
I went with the Forester rear wiper control module because it has an 'intermittent' option, unlike the Legacies and Imprezas which only have 'on' or 'off'.
The dynograph was on Shell 91. I never intend to put race gas or an injection system on, so I only had it dyno-tuned for what is available anywhere, anytime.



New Pics!

[mike-tracy]

That car is unbelievable. If you could do it over, what would you have done differently?

+1 except the lambo doors imo, but i cant say anything with that dyno sheet staring at me

[Yamazaki]

That car is unbelievable. If you could do it over, what would you have done differently?

+1 except the lambo doors imo, but i cant say anything with that dyno sheet staring at me

Yeah, the doors are a little annoying. They're really easy to open and give lots of space to get in/out, but the two big detractors are 1) no passengers seem to follow directions how to open without first yanking on them furiously (which is actually a testament to their build quality since they've never broken), and 2) they draw WAAAY too much attention when I get out (so does the hood...).

But if I could go back, I'd only do stuff that's reversible. We move on in our lives and it sucks to be stuck with something you did in a phase of your life that you're no longer at.

It's irrelevant now though. The S401 more than makes up for all of the craziness of the Imp. And I'm crafting yet another "project" (it'll be my 7th Subie!) that I'll be revealing soon.

[Yamazaki]

Just returned from visiting my Impreza for the first time in too many years and took some pictures while I was there getting it ready action again. I also changed the exhaust to something quieter.

Anyway, the new pics are in the first post (as thumbnails).

[SativaMan04]

Beast!!! Did you tune it yourself?

[Yamazaki]

Beast!!! Did you tune it yourself?

No. Just before I left Hawaii in '08, Jarrad from PDX came out and tuned a number of cars. Here are pics of him tuning:

[rocketlegacy]

that car has got to pull like freight train... i hope you went on a drive while you were over there.

[elislider]

amazing! so many factory option parts ive never even seen

[SativaMan04]

Beast!!! Did you tune it yourself?

No. Just before I left Hawaii in '08, Jarrad from PDX came out and tuned a number of cars. Here are pics of him tuning:

I bet you had butterflies while he was tuning it. hehe You got all the good cars!!

[Dead91silvia]

I'm doing work to a customers car that has a carbon fiber hood thats really close to the same look as yours.

Thats a clean looking car for sure. Not much for the doors, I think it would drive me nuts, but thats me. Is this car still in HI? Or is it going to be home with you where the S401 is?

[Yamazaki]

It is not in Hawaii, it's in SoCal. It will be active once again in about a week and I'll drive it across the US where it will meet up with the S401 (I'll be getting a car for the Blitzen project along the way as well).

Right now it is undergoing some changes before I return:

1) Tilton clutch changed to Exedy HyperMulti clutch (for a more tolerable driving experience)
2) Utec removed
3) Two map tunes; one for daily activity, and one to destroy a friend's Shelby GT500 at any type of racing venue (drag, auto-x, etc.).

...and the doors DO drive me nuts. But they are structurally part of the car now. No easily undoing what has been done....so I live with it.

[Dead91silvia]

Ahh.... I see. It's too bad you dont have a reason to drive up to Washington, would be cool to meet up with ya, but So-Cal is about 20+ hours from me.... bummer.... Come to think of it, you should come get my BH from me and sell it over on the east coast, no rust! haha

How are the doors part of the structure? I thought most of those kits retained and used the original door mounts? I guess I can see leaving it if they are welded in place if thats the case.

[Yamazaki]

How are the doors part of the structure? I thought most of those kits retained and used the original door mounts? I guess I can see leaving it if they are welded in place if thats the case.

Yup...

[Dead91silvia]

That sucks!

[Yamazaki]

Yup...

[Dead91silvia]

Then again, I'm betting you had it done back in the day when they first came out so it's understandable... I was at a yard a couple weeks ago getting a new sunroof glass for my BH and I saw a 2006 Ford Explorer with those type of doors. As much as I dont really like them, they are kinda cool!

[Yamazaki]

It was done in '05. In fact, if you go to a back issue of Modified Mag (Dec '05) you'll see my car on page 91. It's an ad for GT Factory and my car is right there in the middle. I'll see if I can find a copy of it....

But yeah, done at a time in my life when I thought it was cool. 7 years later however, that is no longer the case.

[Dead91silvia]

Thats kinda cool! A little claim to fame!

Funny how when we are younger, we do things we think will be awesome forever and then we get older and realize it might have not been the best idea. I remember painting my Silvia 2 tone and go figure less then 6 months later not liking it as much. After doing a $5000 paint job, I didnt feel like doing it all over again...

[Yamazaki]

Found it.



It was before I ditched the whale tail, traded my cleared '05 headlights for stock '04 headlights, and a host of other things. But you can still see the Syms foglight covers, the massive APS DR725 FMIC, and you can kind of see the Aqua inverted hood scoop.

In fact, here's a picture of the car from that timeframe:

[Dead91silvia]

Thats pretty cool! They have your car as the main one even though I see a Plymouth Prowler, M3, NSX, a Vette, and some others but a Subaru is the big selling point. haha!

[elislider]

I like those fog light covers

[Yamazaki]

Yes! This car is active once again! The crappy Tilton twin plate clutch was replaced with an Exedy hyper twin and it makes a world of difference! I also had the car retuned, but it wasn't done very well and I'll have to get it redone again when I arrive on the East Coast. I'm a little angry about shelling out serious cash for a mediocre tune, but I really didn't have many options....

[98legwag]

Yes! This car is active once again! The crappy Tilton twin plate clutch was replaced with an Exedy hyper twin and it makes a world of difference! I also had the car retuned, but it wasn't done very well and I'll have to get it redone again when I arrive on the East Coast. I'm a little angry about shelling out serious cash for a mediocre tune, but I really didn't have many options....

For tuners on the east coast I recommend http://agileauto.com/. They done some great cars including my brother's 05 STI. There are some other good ones in the MD/DC/VA area but I have personal experience with Agile.

[Yamazaki]

So I finally had the car re-tuned (actually, it was done a few weeks ago) and it drives like a car again. I also learned that you can fudge the numbers on a tune simply by adding "correction" or something like that. So my previously impressive numbers weren't really all that impressive. I got two tunes - one with and one without a silencer:

Silencer (13lbs boost max)


Without Silencer (22lbs boost max)


I am told that these are more realistic numbers...

Oh yeah, and I installed '07 STI Limited center console w/HVAC controls. Looks cool. I'll post pictures later.

[chrish8r]

Very nice looking subie...I wonder if ill get to see any of your cars sometime because i go to the occasional car show in maryland

[Yamazaki]

Just hit 30,000 miles today!

[hansvonaxion]

Ask for ATW figures, that way correction doesn't come into play.

[SilverSuby]

Does it have the wrx or sti spoiler now?
-Logan

[Huffer]

^^ not completely true - because At The Wheel figures depend on the kind of dyno being used. Every dyno has a correction built into it. The only way to get a true baseline is car vs car - the same car, same dyno, same tuner. Hardly ever happens.

All you can do is quote what you've been given and give the type of dyno. Mustang Dynos for example are reputedly "heartbreakers" - many people with supposedly 400whp cars have sat on those dynos only to achieve 350-390whp. And others have been known to do a dyno run on a high-reading dyno just for bragging rights.