Ryan's 86 car journal

[Racecomp Engineering]

I have 2 of those Subaru "JDM" exhaust hangers that are supposed to reduce some noise and vibration. Free + shipping if you want them.

- Andrew

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I have 2 of those Subaru "JDM" exhaust hangers that are supposed to reduce some noise and vibration. Free + shipping if you want them.

- Andrew

Thanks, I actually have all five JDM hangers already installed. I'm considering experimenting and tossing on stock hangers in different locations to see if there is any difference.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Thanks, I actually have all five JDM hangers already installed. I'm considering experimenting and tossing on stock hangers in different locations to see if there is any difference.

Lemme know what you find out, I have 5 and was planning on installing just 3.

- Andrew

[RToyo86]

I Did a 100km nut and bolt check, added some orange gasket maker for good measure to rule out leaks.

Switched out for 2 rear JDM hangers, and 3 OEM, like how STi suggests for their axleback.
Went for a quick drive, hard to say if there's any difference. While the exhaust is cold it's less boomy, after a few minutes I noticed it got boomy again.

I picked up a Vibrant 12" bottle resonator, and took some measurements to see what would need to be done. Lots of space overall, the big resonator will need to move back 2-3" to give comfortable space to weld the vibrant resonator in.
I wish I had a lift

Initially I wanted to have this Tig welded in, but I need to do some digging to have the work done. Either it's a long wait or I am being given High priced quotes over the phone. I have an appointment Wednesday to have the car on a hoist via a shop who did some exhaust work on my old integra.

Alternatively I could see a friend and we could DIY with a MIG, but I'd prefer to keep it looking as OEM as possible in case I decide to sell it later.

[RToyo86]

Update: Going to make some changes.



Got pricing from a few people to install the resonator and the cost isn't worth it. 2-3 hours labor at $150 an hour. Not sinking $500 into a 1.1k exhaust to potentially make it bearable.
In retrospect I probably should have got a full refund when my fujistubo order was canceled. Lesson learned!

Considered a few options, like selling the SP at a loss and stick with the stock CB, maybe run a aftermarket front pipe to try and change the tone a bit.
Before that I'm going to try a little experiment. I'm picking up a friend's 2017 OEM header tonight to keep as a "revert to stock" and will be punching out the cat on my OEM header to install. Will need to do some logging with the original tune @tomm.brz provided with UEL setup.

Will decide then to toss my Gruppe-S header up for sale, then set some money aside for a HKS or something similar EL setup.

Picking up new grimspeed header gaskets in stock tomorrow, and doing the install.

[RToyo86]

Swapped over the decatted OEM 2017 header on Thursday.

Ultimately the SP isn't going to work for me, I blame my sensitive ears
It's much more Livable than when paired with UEL headers. Drone is considerably less intense inside the cabin; but still there from 2000-3000rpm.

Going to continue to run the decatted header for a while, I want to see if I miss the UEL sound.

SP will be up for a sale soon.

[RToyo86]

Reinstalled gruppe-s header, Gutted my OEM front pipe, installed stock catback.

Put the car on stands and installed Cusco shifter front carrier bushings and torque solutions rear shifter bushing. RIP to my body after doing it on my back .
Took several hours due to fighting to get the inner carrier bushings out and rear shifter bushing installed.

For anyone doing this combo together on jack stands I would suggest disconnecting the front carrier then sliding it forward to install the rear bushing after boiling it in a pot of water.

I am now quite happy with the shift feel with the short shifter. Stock bushings/short shifter combo is not something I would recommend, at the very least the rear bushing.

[RToyo86]

Weather outside is absolutely beautiful, which allowed me to get some cosmetic TLC done to my driver door. Between the two door dings and the residue that is caked on the paint under the mirror it was looking pretty grimey.

Hit the paint with Sonax fallout remover and then clay which got out a good 70% Of the contaminants under the mirror.
Made a quick pass on the door with the polisher. Minimized the residue on the dent and cleaned up the other door ding to about 95%. Removed remaining fallout junk under the mirror.
This should tide me over til I have the dent PDR'd and give the car another polish when I recoat it over the summer.

[RToyo86]

Started a suspension refresh with a new set of yellow springs. Got the rears done yesterday before a crazy thunderstorm hit and took out power in the city.

Shout out to @Racecomp Engineering for helping me out and going above and beyond



Wrong bumpstop was used in this photo. Fortunately I caught it quickly and fixed it.






Ordered some pedders offset strut mounts to install when I compete the fronts. One was missing from the order so that will be done later in the week.

[RToyo86]

Got the front suspension dialed. Pedders installed, new springs and end links. Opted to keep the camber bolt/crash bolt combo out of curiosity of what max potential is, then dial back I'd needed.

Ordered some Moog rear end links to freshen them up.

Need to get my alignment checked before final impressions, but between the fresh end links and pedders the wheel weight is slightly heavier and the front end feels very planted around corners.

Picked up a HKS dual resonated front pipe pop up in good condition via local classifieds. Ended up chatting with the owner for a while during the sale and made a friend. Another reason I love this platform

[RToyo86]

Got some seat time with the new front pipe. Very unexpectedly all of the annoying RPM based NVH I was getting after doing the whiteline trans insert is now completely gone. The gruppe-s header introduced it and assumed that was the cause. I've had the front pipe completely off and reinstalled with no change to NVH.

The engine also revs more freely, and blips on downshifts feel cleaner. I didn't expect much of a difference vs stock or gutted oem header.

[RToyo86]

Got fresh rear end links installed. One side came out no problem, other got 90% out then stuck and required persuasion by my Dremel.

Alignment is booked for tomorrow to check camber and toe.

This is how the car sits right now with pedders, crash bolt and lower camber bolt. It looks like 3° but I'll be curious where it sits. Rear was measured around -1.8° last alignment.

[Petah78]

Question, where do you get your car aligned?

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Got fresh rear end links installed. One side came out no problem, other got 90% out then stuck and required persuasion by my Dremel.

Alignment is booked for tomorrow to check camber and toe.

This is how the car sits right now with pedders, crash bolt and lower camber bolt. It looks like 3° but I'll be curious where it sits. Rear was measured around -1.8° last alignment.

Nice curious to see what you get. I’m planning on running this combo on my gen 2. That does look close to, if not -3 visually, which would be amazing.