ZC6 - OEM+ Daily Driver

[villainous_frx]

Originally Posted by villainous_frx

Unfortunately the car decided that with the new condenser, a wheel bearing would die. I blame the mechanic. He definitely broke this unrelated system.

Mechanic was indeed silly, he had the wheels loose and they sounded just like a wheel bearing.

Sold the BRZ PP wheels, picked up another set of 17x9 +35 RPF1 with some 255 RS4s. Those will go on in the spring. After sitting on the Ohlins for a full year, they're going on this car in the spring with some SPC toe arms to get everything to spec.

Car hit 205k km on the odometer the other day driving to work, so that is neat. Otherwise just the usual and no changes to report.

[villainous_frx]

Went to swap a VVT solenoid o-ring and ended up creating a bluetooth sensor. Not the end of the world, but definitely annoying to have to go buy another. Fortunately the local dealership had them in stock for nearly the same price as RockAuto, so the issue was solved in under 30 minutes.
Also swapped rear endlinks with some new OE-equivalent ones, as they have been clunking since I got the car and I have finally had enough. Overall a pretty successful Wednesday night in the books.
Alignment booked for Friday as the car has started wandering a bit on the road. Probably hit a pothole hidden in the snow that bumped something loose.

[RToyo86]

Those are the cursty covers on the front of the engine?

I want to freshen them so badly..

[Ultramaroon]

If they ain't broken, ne touche pas!

[villainous_frx]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Those are the crusty covers on the front of the engine?

I want to freshen them so badly..

Yes, the VVT Solenoids. My track record is 4/4 on the orange car and 0/1 on this one... :/

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by villainous_frx

Yes, the VVT Solenoids. My track record is 4/4 on the orange car and 0/1 on this one... :/

I have one BNIB. I bought it when I thought I had a leaky one. Now it's an emergency spare.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I have one BNIB. I bought it when I thought I had a leaky one. Now it's an emergency spare.

I think I have 6 or 7 between the engine I’ve blown up and the free long block I have with a spun bearing.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I think I have 6 or 7 between the engine I’ve blown up and the free long block I have with a spun bearing.

Where's that meme I made? "I should buy a long block."

[villainous_frx]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I have one BNIB. I bought it when I thought I had a leaky one. Now it's an emergency spare.

I have a whole parts car that is parked for the season, but it was freezing rain and I just wanted the job to be finished

[villainous_frx]

Car is back from alignment, -2.5F -1.1R. Passenger rear toe arm bushing was binding, so they opted to zero the toe out and match both sides. I've had SPC adjustable ones w/ the SPL lockout sitting on my work bench since the summer, I suppose it is time to install them in the spring. Warm weather and 200tws can't come soon enough

[villainous_frx]

Continuing the trend of replacing endlinks. I swapped over the fronts to OEM-equivalents, recharged the AC after 9 months, and did an oil change.

I did recently pick up two rock chips, so as those grow I will replace the beyond pitted windshield. Told myself I would replace it once there were proper chips and here we are. 207500 km of highway driving has rendered the visibility nil at sun up/down, which is when I commute 99% of the time.

Amazing how much more I like the car once the problems I have been ignoring start to get fixed...

Also picked up some shift knobs. A Cusco, WC Lathewerks, and STI Duracon.

[villainous_frx]

"Are these cars any good in the snow?"

[villainous_frx]

Not much has changed on the car. Summer wheels on and reliably taking me to work.

Recently I've been missing my old STI swapped WRX, and throwing around the idea of a muffler delete for fun. Then as fate would have it, a super cheap Tanabe Revel Medallion-S single exit exhaust came up on marketplace. $100 later and I now own this silly straight pipe. The reason for the cheap sale was the previous owner had over-sprayed some industrial paint on it and mucked it all up on his racecar. An afternoon with some metal polish and elbow grease and it looks good as new. With the install, I ended up needing longer exhaust hangers as it was resting close to the bumper 'diffuser' and started to melt after a quick 10 minute drive from cold! Uncle Jeff to the rescue with one day shipping and we were back in business.

Driving around with the UEL header the car sounds gnarly on downshifts with crackles and pops, but feels slow as sin accelerating due to all the noise. I almost feel bad just revving to 3000 it's so slow compared to the noise LOL. Naturally I had to put it through its paces for an honest review, and took it to the mountains.

Cruising spiritedly at ~100 kmh on backroads it sounds wonderful. Driving on the highway at ~120(ish, I wasn't speeding officer) the drone is unbearable with any uphill throttle load. Due to this noise, I ended up adding 25 minutes to the drive home just to take the backroads again. Overall for the low price of admission and the afternoon cleaning it up, it's been stupid fun. I've gotten the noisy 'hot boy' out of my system for another 5 years after a week of noise and will be selling it to revert to the sensible/trusty OEM muffler from before. I feel if the car was OEM header, this exhaust wouldn't be the end of the world. It has potential to be quiet while cruising and gets lively when you step on the loud pedal. Either way, would buy again.

[autoracer86]

Thanks for the laugh haha oem FTW