rkrenicki's 2004 US "RS30" - The End.. 2019-12-20

[rkrenicki]

Oh yea? I am 95% positive you do not know what I ordered.. heh, but there is always a chance.

[amgarrety]

Haha there's a good chance I'm wrong, but there was a set of the rims I'm thinking of that were just for sale. Either way, I'm excited to see what they are!

[rkrenicki]

They are not from anyone on here.. these are brand new from the manufacturer. Nobody sells them used yet because they are too new.

[amgarrety]

Ok, I'm definitely wrong then. I was thinking B4 rims I saw on eBay for $450 :P

[rkrenicki]

I will say this.. the primary color of these rims is *not* silver. Oh, and they are domestic rims, I am not going to import something heavy like big chunks of aluminium by themselves.

Otherwise, my "new" grill showed up today after some minor fighting with UPS, but that needs some slight work before it goes on.

I also pulled out the back seat completely and re-ran the wiring back there. I also took the opportunity to run some control wires for my hide-a-way strobes and my Basslink unit. It will be nice to not have to pull the fuse in order for it not to drain the battery.

I hope to actually find some time tomorrow to physically connect those wires.

[rkrenicki]

Today was a bit cold, so I did not get much done. I pulled off the crooked SLI stickers and the Secor Subaru emblem. Tomorrow should be warmer, so I should be able to get the new SLi decals on there how they should be.

Otherwise, I tried to fit the honeycomb grill that I picked up from amgarrety before I did any changes to it. Unfortunately it does not fit properly with my outback bumper. There is nearly an inch gap between it and the top of the bumper So, back to the drawing board on that one...

[amgarrety]

Ohhh. I see now. I would've never guessed there was a difference, but I guess there is.

Want my bumper too?

But really, my stock bumper is for sale. Haha

[rkrenicki]

I have a few ideas of what I can do here, but obviously this grill is no longer part of the plan.

A new bumper may work for me.. but I like the look of the current one, and the fogs that are on there... I am not sure.. many things to think about here....

[rkrenicki]

I am waiting for the phone call so that I can pick up my rims today, I will reveal them this afternoon

For the grill, I have decided to butcher up the original Outback one. I ordered a new badge and some hex mesh to install and I will plastidip the whole thing. I just need to find my dremel and hack out the old plastic bits. I do not think I can bring myself to spending hundreds of dollars on a replacement bumper just for a grill, especially when I like the bumper that I have, heh.

As for the new cluster, I received some more bits over the weekend, and I am just waiting on the last part before I can begin assembly of the new and improved adapter.

[rkrenicki]

I just picked them up!

[amgarrety]

They are in Subaru boxes but they are aftermarket?

[Yamazaki]

I keep checking to see if you've shown pics of the wheels yet.... stop teasing us and post them already!

[rkrenicki]

I do not believe I ever used the word "aftermarket" to describe these...

So, I picked up these rims from Dan Perkins Subaru, aka Subarupartsforyou.com. They are located in Milford, CT which is about an hour-ish drive from my office. The reason why I hadn't shown photos of the rims until now, is that I haven't opened the box until about 5 minutes ago.

Enough with the blah-blah.. these are them!

[amgarrety]

XV RIMS!!!


I really can't wait to see how these look on our cars, I've sort of had my eye on them. I don't think I'd do it on my car, but I still had a burning desire to know how they'd look, becuase they kind of seem like a spiritual successor to the Blitzen rims, just as the new Forester XT rims look (and believe me, I'm really interested in seeing those on a BE as well).

[rkrenicki]

Bah.. apparently they do not come with the center caps.. I just opened up another one to check. I am hoping that I can get them to send me a few, as I do not want to make the 2 1/2 hour round-trip for them, especially after dropping almost $1200 (!!) on these, it seems odd to not include the $20 center cap.

But yes, XV rims!!

I also took the opportunity to check out their BRZ while I was there.. my wife wants one of these in the worst possible way. She is actually a little jealous that I sat in one today without her, hah!

[Yamazaki]

Ooh, nice. Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't rock those. I like the two-tone look too. But crazy about the no centercap thing.
One more thing, if you run the 215/45ZR17 tires that are standard on the 17x7, offset +48 wheels, then you'll have to correct your instrument cluster because your speedo will be reading 8% too fast (which will also screw with your ODO). On the other hand, if you can adjust it to where the speedo is accurate with that setup, then PLEASE let me know.

I cannot wait to see how those look on the car.

[Lancaster6]

I like this approach much better than plasti dipping the wheels...I can't wait to see how they look!

[rkrenicki]

I was going to pick up 225/55R17s to keep nearly the current circumference, but with the current tires my speedo is already about 5% fast. This is not an artifact of the km/h-mph adapter nor the speedo itself, as the original USDM speedo and the OBD2 data both reflect 5% faster than what multiple GPS units have shown.

I am still awaiting an answer back from Dan Perkins Subaru about the center caps, but my current plans are to get tires on these and installed later this week or over the weekend.

cglock25: I don't think that I would ever plastidip a wheel.. seems tacky to me, and I doubt it would hold up to being on a wheel for very long, besides.. I would not have XV rims that way! The only thing I will likely be plastidipping is the franken-grill that I have in the works.

[Lancaster6]

I don't think that I would ever plastidip a wheel.. seems tacky to me, and I doubt it would hold up to being on a wheel for very long, besides.. I would not have XV rims that way! The only thing I will likely be plastidipping is the franken-grill that I have in the works.

I don't blame you. I did it as an interesting quick, yet reversible, poor man's "mod" thingy. When I get my money tree I'll get some real wheels that aren't dipped. I've never seen the XV wheels up close and personal before, they look sweet. *Patiently waits to see badass wheels mounted on car*

[Yamazaki]

I was going to pick up 225/55R17s to keep nearly the current circumference

Will that fit with the car on lowered suspension? I can't wait to see how it looks on your car. I may end up doing that with the "Blitzen" if it works out well..

but with the current tires my speedo is already about 5% fast. This is not an artifact of the km/h-mph adapter nor the speedo itself, as the original USDM speedo and the OBD2 data both reflect 5% faster than what multiple GPS units have shown.

Is there a way to make it more accurate?

[rkrenicki]

I was going to pick up 225/55R17s to keep nearly the current circumference

Will that fit with the car on lowered suspension? I can't wait to see how it looks on your car. I may end up doing that with the "Blitzen" if it works out well..

That is a really good point, and something I had not thought of. I have at least 3 inches between the top of the tire and the bottom of the well opening. If the drop is around 2 inches, I would think it would sit like any standard Legacy with about an inch all the way around from the opening.

but with the current tires my speedo is already about 5% fast. This is not an artifact of the km/h-mph adapter nor the speedo itself, as the original USDM speedo and the OBD2 data both reflect 5% faster than what multiple GPS units have shown.

Is there a way to make it more accurate?

I suppose if either the VSS itself were altered, or the signal coming out of it before the ECU were properly adjusted, but a small percentage of error that has been present prior to my tinkering is acceptable to me. I guess I could compensate for it in tires...

[rkrenicki]

The official word is.. Subaru OEM wheels do not come with the center caps. Just an FYI for those who may end up doing this too.

That being said, Subarupartsforyou.com is working out a deal for me that while I am not 100% happy, is better than spending $80 additional to finish these wheels.

[Huffer]

I am pretty sure your existing center caps will snap in. You could easily paint your center caps to match and snap them in.

[rkrenicki]

My current wheels will likely end up on my BG, so I want to keep them complete.

[rkrenicki]

So I have resolutions to both of my outstanding issues. Subarupartsforyou.com is giving me two of the caps for free, and I am buying the other two. They are also throwing in free shipping. Basically, we split the cost of the caps 50/50.

I also finally heard back from Tokico about my struts. They tell me that they will function fine as long as there is no damage on the shafts. They are giving me a $50 refund to pay for any painting I do to rustproof the struts.

[rkrenicki]

I am pretty sure your existing center caps will snap in. You could easily paint your center caps to match and snap them in.

I received the new caps today. They are the same as the 4th gen Legacy caps, except painted in the gunmetal color, the part number on the package is 28821FJ000, indicating the XV model, but the cap itself has 28821SA030, which is the part number for the Legacy caps.

I have not looked closely at my 3rd gen caps, but they look different on this website.

Unfortunately, money is a little tight when I have to come up with several hundred dollars for home heating oil.. so tires are going to have to wait a bit I also need to let the wife cool down a bit too as the conversation went something like this.. "You spent HOW MUCH on these?.. and that does not even include the tires?"... She knew I was going to buy them, but I guess I never ended up telling her how much they were going to be..

In the meantime, I hope to get the struts installed this weekend, assuming the weather holds out.

Also.. a photo of the rim with its center cap installed!

[Yamazaki]

Unfortunately, money is a little tight when I have to come up with several hundred dollars for home heating oil.. so tires are going to have to wait a bit I also need to let the wife cool down a bit too as the conversation went something like this.. "You spent HOW MUCH on these?.. and that does not even include the tires?"... She knew I was going to buy them, but I guess I never ended up telling her how much they were going to be..

I hear you brother. I even showed your post to my wife and she said "of course she's angry. I understand how she feels".

They just don't understand us. :smt009

[rkrenicki]

Oh, I do not blame her for being angry at all. In hindsight, I should have waited until after the holidays to pick these up.. but its too late now. All I can do is postpone the tires for a bit as that is going to be another fairly decent chunk of change.

So, in a pile these rims will sit for at least a few weeks. What sucks the most is that I am really excited to see these things on there, and I am going to have to wait longer. At least I have some other projects that I can complete now without spending any (or very little) additional money since I have all or most of the parts.

Speaking of projects. The last bit for the 090 BFM should be here tomorrow according to the tracking number, so I will try to get that done over this weekend as well.

[rkrenicki]

Since the sun was out for a bit today, I decided to re-do the SLi decal that I had on the car. The white on silver was hard to see, and it was crooked. This time, I moved it down a bit onto the finisher panel. I did make sure to measure the trunk and get everything centered using some painters tape with about 5mm of spacing between each section. I am much happier with the way it turned out, you can actually read it now!



I also finished running the remote turn-on wire for my Amp as well as a switch and wire for the corner strobes. This way I do not need to pull the fuse after using my sub, and I do not have to use the accessory outlet to turn on my strobes. I still need to permanently mount both the sub and the strobe pack, but at least this is a step in the correct direction.

[rkrenicki]

Just to keep this thread up to date...

New BFM adapter:


Adapter tucked away in the dash:


Cluster installed, and evidence that the tachometer is now correct!


And.. My SLi dead pedal showed up yesterday. I think it looks great!