RacingDiffs have thought of this and have put together a set to get your diff working at full capacity once again. So what comes in the kit? You will get 6 external plates and 4 internal plates to replace you factory setup. And lastly you get two cone springs, these help with preload and activation. The spring cones are quick to wear, so these are one of the most important pieces to replace.

To increase their durability the plates have been Molybdenum-ceramic coating to remove the metal shavings that shed from the factory plates. The coating also helps lower temperatures in the diff by 15% which is beneficial on and off the track for longevity.

The set comes complete and is a plug and play setup. Once the differential is removed and opened up, you will just need to remove the old plates and install the new RacingDiffs plates. RacingDiffs recommends using Motul Gear Competition 90-140W fluid. Questions, comments, concerns? Leave them below!

Links below to find your set today!

RacingDiffs.com

STi Clutch plate set

Find it on eBay!

RacingDiffs STi clutch plate set

When my STi was revived a few years ago I wanted a lightweight battery without all the downsides that come with a tiny powersports battery. And the Antigravity AG-35 ticked all of the boxes. Lets go through the major points that make this battery the best for a street/race car battery you can buy.

Lightweight

The best reason to add an aftermarket battery to the mix in my mind is to lose a few pounds. In the STi this weight is located in the furthest front corner of the nose of the car and any weight decrease will be highly beneficial to handling. The AG-35 is a full sized battery but it weighs only 13 pounds! Most undersized powersports batteries weigh more than this while giving up a lot of cold cranking amps.. which will take us into our next topic.

Cold cranking Amps

Now the Antigravity AG-35 gives you 1500 cold cranking amps! This is generally the opposite for those going to a lightweight battery. I believe my old undersized powersports battery had less than 300 and this is really noticeable when you are trying to flash new maps, listen to music on accessory mode or do any types of testing that need multiple starts. The Antigravity battery will easily keep up with all these tasks and more.

Fitment

An often overlooked feature of the Antigravity battery is the fact that it just fits in the factory battery location. I know that I spent extra money on an install kit for my undersized battery. And I still wasn’t all I needed to do.. I had to move the wiring around to fit the new location where the battery now occupied. With the AG-35 I just plopped it in and was done. Everything was ready to go and it felt great to be able to pop into the car and go for a drive.

Restart feature!

This battery has one more trick up its sleeve which is the ability to the Re-start function that is controlled wirelessly from the key fob. IN the case that your battery is drained and you need a jump it has that built in! No more struggling to get a friend to come out or finding jumper cables, with a press of the button you can give it another go.

Longevity

It seems like the lifespans of car batteries today is not what it once was. This battery features Battery Management System of BMS for short. This keeps tabs on the battery to prevent it from overcharging or overdischarging, which can easily reduce a batteries life span. The expectation of the battery life will be 7-9 years, climate can have an effect on this, much like any other battery.

So far with 6 months behind me I am very happy with the battery. I am looking forward to many trouble free years of use and will update this with any further information.

If you are curious about the install, follow this link to see the simple steps. How to install an Antigravity battery

If you are looking for a link or a discount you will find those below!

Antigravity links

Antigravity size 35 battery

Use promo code: Blingstrom for 10% off your purchase

Antigravity battery website

With so many options in the seat game it can be overwhelming to choose. But when there is a rare oem option most enthusiasts take note… like myself. I find myself oddly drawn to Oem performance options due to their fitment, quality and the likelihood that they were thoroughly tested.

I quickly replaced my factory seat due to the previous owner ruining the left side bolster. I found a relatively good priced Recaro Sport seat and installed it. I like it but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. Overall it’s great but I wanted something a little more driver focused.

So after many many years of looking at seats, thinking about buying one a S203 seat.. I finally did. But one of the funny things I heard when I was speaking about it on social media was… Will you fit in it? I kinda laughed at that comment but I then started to think, maybe there is something to it. Of course right after I purchased it I read another talking about how it wasn’t that comfortable during longer drives.. Now, I am thinking I have made a mistake.

So now I am just awaiting for this seat to arrive… ready to find out whether I made a terrible mistake or if I had worked myself up for no reason. For a twenty plus year old seat it was in pretty good shape, it had a little bit of dirt and discoloration that was taken care of and then it was time to sit in it, will it fit…?

It is definitely made with one intention, and that is to be a purpose built race seat. I am small framed at around 150 pounds and this thing holds me tight like a small child with their favorite toy in their hands. When I was running in Auto-x I added a four point harness to my car to help stabilize my body and this seat literally reminds of the feeling of being harnessed in… without a harness. . I can barely wiggle or shift around once I am planted in the seat.

I would suppose on a long drive having the bolsters pushing into you constantly would/could be quite uncomfortable, but I have yet to test that out. I am currently keeping my old Recaro sport for this very reason, if it becomes too much to bear on long road trips, I will just swap it out for the trip. I don’t have any plans to make a trip like this in my current future, but I also like to keep a pretty open schedule.

I also recently added a flat bottom steering wheel and while I thought for awhile it was a mistake, this seat has made me understand why flat bottom steering wheels exist. The bolsters are so high that I have to slide in under my steering wheel, now I could tilt the wheel up every time I get out and tilt it back down every time I get back in, but who really wants to do that?

While on the topic of the high bolsters I would like to point out this seat isn’t a Bride low max Gias with rails that are a half mm off the floor. It sits at the stock seat height, my previous Recaros were mounted on Wedge brackets that allows me to adjust their height and opted for about two inches lower than a stock seat. While I enjoyed the lowness of the outgoing Recaro I have found the ride height is really pleasant. I feel quite comfortable in this position with great visibility and the deep bolsters on both the seat bottom and help support your arms and legs, if you are muscles are tensed constantly you will quickly become fatigued at the track and start making simple mistakes.

One thing I immediately noticed was how supported my thigh is by the bolster during clutch engagements, my Exedy stage 1 clutch isn’t super stiff but it takes a touch more effort to press. The large side bolster keeps my hips from shifting to the side and really helps support my lower back, just another interesting part of this seat.

The biggest downsides to this seat in my mind is the cost and it is not exactly easy to get in and out of. Where I used to just slide right in over my much smaller softer Recaro sport bolsters, I now have to make a conscience effort to step in the car with one leg over the bolster and then pivot over the bolster but under the wheel. As well as the entry price and due to the rarity of this seat. Recaro did make a non-Subaru versions known as the SPx-CL100, but just like this seat those aren’t exactly easy to find and are just as coveted.

Now is this seat worth the cost? Everyone and everything has a price, it is up to you to determine what it is worth to you. Given my current overhaul on the car to turn it into a S203 tribute model, I was ok paying a certain price and I was just lucky enough to do just that. I also don’t feel like these are going to get much cheaper in the near future, so if you are looking it might be time to make a choice.

With plenty of brake pad choices out on the market you can easily get lost and confused as to what will work well with your car and your setup. Ebc does their best to make it more simplified by giving each pad a color designation that helps you easily identify what characteristics of the brakes. They further break it down with each color being towards a specific vehicle type, in this case the Ebc yellow pads are for fast sedans and hot hatches with the intent of spirited driving, non extended track lapping and drifting on the lighter vehicles. If you have different goals you can check out there rest of their line of pads at Ebcbrakes.com

So back to the choice of pads on my STi, I went with the yellow due to the specs from Ebc for my Auto-cross setup and if I found time to make it to the track they would be right at home. For Auto-cross they give excellent cold bite which is extremely necessary given the needs on the course. You pop right out from your grid spot and are out on the course within a matter of minutes, you have no time to prewarm up the brakes. Alongside the great initial cold bite they give a linear pedal feel from start to finish which helps you be able to put down your fastest times.

Since my Sti isn’t just a track toy it finds plenty of time on the street and once again the Ebc yellow stuff shines above the others. With almost all high performance pads you will notice that they other drivers know that you are stopping… what does that mean exactly? That they are loud… squealing and squawking at every stop no matter what speed you are going. But that isn’t true for the Ebcs, they are absolutely quiet. We generally like to joke about our cars with comments like “well, it is a racecar, its supposed to be loud.” But how often do you enjoy the high pitched squeal of a brake pad when coming to a stop in front of traffic… I sure don’t. This is one of the best features for me, I have enough noise going on inside my car… It makes it just a bit more livable.

If the above comments match with the goals for your car you should give these pads a try as I don’t think you will be disappointed. If you are in between the Red stuff and these stop over on my Forester review for the Red stuff pads which also an excellent and might fit your current build.

Amazon link

Ebc Yellowstuff front pads (Sti)

Ebc Yellowstuff rear pads (Sti)

Ebc slotted and dimpled front rotors

Ebc slotted and dimpled rear rotors

There are still many of cars on the road that don't have a nice touch screen to control their tunes from but Eonon would like to change that with a very simple install. With the install of a charger and aux cable you are ready for a quick and simple setup. 

Whether you are an android or apple person you will find the E20s fits your needs with Android Auto and Apple carplay ready to run. Now you can easily access your phone apps at an easy glance without looking for your phone... which you probably shouldn't be doing. 

The E20s arrived just in time for my family vacation which allowed me to see how easily swappable this unit is. Pop out the cables and simply attach it to our family car. During this trip I tested it's capabilities for running media which included plenty of kids movies to keep them occupied. It ran flawlessly with both the external speaker and headphones connected for over two hours. And controls were simple enough for my 6 year old to run without any trouble.

I spent a few more weeks just enjoying it in my Sti. Sound quality is just as good as running it straight through the old stereo. It also gives me the ability to switch music on the fly instead of setting up a playlist and setting up my phone. It also gives me a large screen to view my Google maps as well as listening to the nice lady directing me. 

Overall I love the ability to drop it into a car and go. If you have a certain aesthetic with a your project or show car you can easily remove it when you get there and keep the simple clean look. Also at under a $70 which is their current promotion… it's one heck of a bargain. Links below with a discount code!

Questions, comments, concerns? Leave them below! 

Amazon link:

Eonon E20s portable stereo

$10 off Discount code: BL10

Eonon website E20S

While the boxer engine has many benefits one of the softer points is that the exhaust lives directly below the engine and thus the heat rises and soaks everything above it. Instead of that heat staying put in the exhaust helping spin that turbo up it heats up the oil, block, coolant, etc.. When you go to a set of aftermarket headers you will find that they hold less heat that the good old cast manifold and heat shields. How do we deal with this?

There are many coatings out there to help with this like Swaintech, Cerakote, etc, but in my mind these alone don't do as well as the factory manifold did and I wanted to decrease the what in the engine bay. After seeing how impressive my Lava rock turbo blanket was I decided to give DEI's titanium wrap which is made pulverized lava rock which is stranded into a fiber and woven into a proprietary weave, seems legit to me.

Unlike most fiberglass wraps this is highly resistant to oil, abrasions, temperatures and vibration breakdown which were all worries to me from prior experiences with fiberglass wrap on cars I had worked on. Unlike fiberglass wrap you do not need to wet it or add any coating to help protect it, dry it lays down tight and easily after watching their how to videos.

This was my first attempt with any type of header wrap but overall it came out very well. Trouble areas I found were likely specific to my header design, my large issue came from the very large 4-1 collector on the headers. I found that it was best to use one piece just for it, making sure to the start with the stitched side away from the largest portion of the collector downward.

Once you install it you will need to get your car outside and let it run for awhile as there will be plenty of smoke and burn off to come. For me this lasted for around 15 miles, I am still only a 100 miles and on hot days after a highway run I can still smell it slightly and I assume it will be gone very soon.

After a few spirited drives with the hood open to check that everything is running fine and have found temps have dropped significantly. Whenever I would align my car I could always feel the heat beating down on me after even the shortest of drives, with the wrap on it is no longer unbearable hot below the car. I look forward to putting more miles on the car and seeing how well it lasts but so far I have been very happy with it. This 2 inch by 50 foot sized set easily fit the headers even with a few redo’s. If you have these headers I would recommend this size.

Amazon part links!

DEI titanium exhaust wrap 2” x 50 foot

GTSE 6" Heavy Duty Metal Zip Ties, 25 Pack, 200lb Strength, Stainless Steel

When modifying cars the old adage that if it isn't broken don't fix it never really holds water.. We are here to eek out every bit of performance we can and with that mindset and that leads us to our Grimmspeed 3 port Ebcs replacing the factory boost controller. While the oem won't likely fail on your, it certainly won't build boost quite like the Grimmspeed unit.

What comes in the box.. You will find your Gs ebcs with factory wiring connector alongside a good length of vacuum hose to install it with ease. You can find the installation instructions over on Grimmspeed's website. You will find installation quite easy as it takes over the factory mount location and uses the factory connector to plug right in.

Now why do you want to upgrade your oem unit? This unit will allow for better control over boost for a much more dialed in tune and can also decrease spool time by up to 10%. Which means more time to be in boost… can you ever have enough time in boost? I don’t think so.

My install went very quick and smooth with the online guide. With just a few ratchets, sockets, pliers and cutting tool your install will be completed and ready to run. This is one of those parts that a tune is necessary after install to take advantage of all improvements.

I am currently running a base tune as my new motor and turbo are being broken in so pushing the car to the limit has yet to be done. After a few miles I did notice just how much quicker it builds boost even on part throttle and below 3k, which for the larger IHI VF48 turbo is quite impressive in my opinion. Coming from the Vf39 a VF48 has a noticeably slower spool up.

Stay tuned as we put more miles on the car and find out how it performs when fully tuned up and the engine and turbo are pushed hard.

Amazon links!

If you are in the United states and many other areas your Subaru is most likely equipped with hypereutectic pistons. These pistons at stock limits can definitely make it through plenty of daily driving due to all the high mileage Subarus out there. But what if you want a bit more power or you are fearful of a self destructing engine.... Are forged pistons your answer? Let's take a look at what you gain and lose with each piston. 

The factory hypereutectic piston is the choice from Subaru for it's higher silicone content over typical cast pistons to help handle the factory boost. They can also have a tight piston to wall clearance which helps keep blow by to a minimum, engine wear and noise on start up. What it gives up is with time and heat it can become quite brittle and with a bit of detonation and it's so long ringlands! 

With those thoughts in your mind you may think that forged pistons are the answer to all your Subaru related problems! Remove those nasty stock pistons and get to the boosting! While forged pistons can take the abuse what do you give up for these attributes? 

Forged pistons have a much larger thermal expansion and so you will need larger ring gaps and clearance, this can cause piston slap on start up until things heat up. With this you can have a bit of smoke before everything is warmed up and as little more wear as the piston is actually rocking in the cylinder bore. It is also said that this can cause forged engines to have a shorter lifespan with more wear being accumulated. 

After having my Sti succumb to ringland failure I thought "Forged pistons in all the Subarus!" Why take the chance of breaking another...? Well.. what are you using the car for? Racing on the weekend, daily driving? Daily driving and racing? 

Now with this are you armed to make a decision? Not really, you can start to see the path that will work best for you but now is the time to talk to your tuner and see if your goals will work in your reality.  

Things I have learned from my forged piston Sti are, I don't really care for the piston slap on warm up. I really don't like the extra blowby before warm up that lightly coats the intake tract with oil and smokes a bit. But I don't want another ringland to crack and I don't daily drive the car so those are small annoyances versus blowing the motor at a race event. 

On the other side of the coin my Forester runs the factory cast pistons because for a daily I believe they can get the job done. The annoyances of a forged piston are something I wouldn't want to deal with everyday and that is why I own the Forester. I do have a few performance mods on the car but I keep up on maintenance to keep it running well. 

Do as much research as you can and be sure to ask your fellow owners to see how they feel after switching to forged pistons or why they stuck with stock units!

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below! 

Amazon links

Wiseco 100mm bore forged pistons

For more Subaru related fun and hijinks stop by Blingstrom.com for all your Subaru related info, diys, links and photos. 

For all my Subaru related tire needs I have always gone with Bridgestone tires from the 960as on to the Potenza Re-11s and on to the Re-91s. The Re-11s and 91s have never let me down on the auto-x course but with the Re-91s you can expect unbelievable levels of grip. With this soft sticky grip you give up the ability of the tire to last a long time.

But what if ultimate grip isn't as big of a deal to your car build... or expensive tires that won't last more than a summer. Look no further than the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s. These are basically the Re-91r little brother, lots of grip but without giving up as much tread life. 

These were brought to the Us market as a Firestone tire but before coming to America it was known as the Bridgestone Re003. Looking at the tread pattern you can definitely tell it is a Bridgestone tire, a very familiar look to the S02 and Re-91r. This tread pattern to me is very attractive and can really set off yoru wheel and tire package. 

For me these tires are perfect for your entry level auto-x'er that is starting out, they are sticky enough to help you get low times but still keep you from forming bad habits. If I were to ever track my car I think these would make a much better fit due to their longer tread wear rating, allowing them to last more than one track night. 

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below! 

Amazon links

Firestone Firehawk

Bridgestone RE71R

This mod is very simple but extremely worthwhile. For many of you that may work on your own car, you know that removing the top mount intercooler is necessary in many tasks for services on your Subaru. The factory intercooler has 2 threaded holes for the bypass valve which you unbolt every time you need the intercooler moved from the engine bay. If you use the factory bolts you know that your bpv gasket falls out when they are removed.. and now you have two more bolts to keep track of. 

The stud kit replaces those two bolts with studs and nuts. Therefore you no longer have to worry of cross threading or galling up the threads of your intercooler when reinstalling the bpv. If you end up crossthreading the studs you can easily remove them with an allen key and replace them.  Which speaking of is all it takes to install these bad boys, an allen key easily threads them in and you can slap your bpv back on, tighten the nuts down and be back on the road faster than you can say ringlands. 

Now when your "friend" grabs the 3/8ths impact or puts the ugga-dugga smack down to install your bpv, there is no fear of a intercooler will need to be helicoiled or replaced. I truly enjoy this product much more than any one should, it is a simple mod but it just makes your life so much easier. It often makes you wonder why the top mount wasn't manufactured with studs from the factory. 

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below.

Amazon part links!

Company 23 tmic stud kit!

Quicker faster turning, what's not to love about that upgrade for your car? Especially when it is an oem part.. being that it comes from a newer car with a different overall dimensions it unfortunately won't bolt right in. But this guide will help you figure out what tools, parts and modifications to do so. 

First up, if you have your rack removed and are trying to install it in the SG/GD subframe you will notice it won't even make it through the cutouts. The fix for this is to enlarge the holes in your factory subframe and make a few other cuts along the way. Otherwise using a newer VA subframe is an option but you will need to enlarge the subframe mounting holes and you will no longer be able to use your factory lower U-brace.

With your factory GD/SG rack next to the 15+ rack you will see how much wider it is. There are many ways to combat this, apparently 06-08 SG inners will bolt in (credit to @danny2shoogs) and shorten the rack width. Otherwise you can cut the 15 rack inners and outers to fit your setup and lastly, you can add 1988 GL outer tie rods which are much shorter and fix the problem. 

Now the rack can make it through the holes but the mounting locations on the rack have changed and won't fit our Gd/SG subframe. At least one spacer(3/8' thick) is necessary to mount it properly. If you head over to where the rack hardlines meet the power steering lines, you will notice they no longer meet. To fix this issue we need to slightly bend our rack hardlines to a better angle, and/or add -An lines. 

You now have the ability to fit the rack to the subframe, attach your power steering lines and bolt in the tie rods to complete the ability to steer. So what else is left? The factory GD/SG power steering pump can run the rack.. but for how long? The 15 Sti rack is normally powered by a more powerful pump than the older racks. So installing a sti 08+ P/s pump will be the next step. If you added those -An lines you are haflways there as you will no longer be able to use the factory lines. The 04+ STi pump bracket will mount it for you, if you don't have this bracket you will need to add it to your list. 

These are what you need to make sure is part of your game plan to install your 15+ Sti rack into your older SG/GD. A full DIy install will be on the way! 

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below! 

While power is important to get a car from point A to point B… a great alignment is just as necessary. A great setup and quality suspension can easily beat out a higher horsepower car on the auto-x course/track.

Adding a catalog of suspension upgrades won't make that much a difference without an alignment to properly utilize them in harmony and really make the car drive well and corner hard. When ever your replace a suspension you should get the alignment checked, as most likely it is no longer in specification. 

As endless car setups exist, the same is true for alignments. Most of my Subaru alignment knowledge is heavily based on GD and SG chassis's, It can be a guideline to most MacPherson based suspension cars.  My first alignment was stock specs to get a good idea of the factory numbers and what it could use to improve and I would tell you do the same.

My second alignment for the STi was changing the front camber -1.5 rear camber -1.8 and 0 toe all around. This is a very good setup to keep tire wear in good shape and enjoy the improved turn-in and cornering. This is on stock suspension from the Sti.

Next after a full suspension overhaul. I moved front camber to -2.2 and left the rear alone. 0 toe. I was still daily driving this setup and now auto-x'ing as much as possible. I was not seeing excessive tire wear from camber but I was using 200 tread wear tires. You can see some tramlining from this setup. This is a quite neutral setup for the auto-x course and the backend of the car will happily follow the front giving it an excellent feeling through turns.

I have added even further camber to my STi as it has become more of a weekend car/auto-x car. Which will probably be a bit much for most street driven cars. With just a tad over -3.5 camber up front, zero toe all around and a bit more negative camber in the rear too. This setup has been excellent and I am not really sure where to go from here.

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below! Happy to help you with your setups! 

When you are looking to purchase a turbo inlet for your turbo Subaru there are countless options but what is right for you? After sifting through many I decided that Perrin seemed to have a good reputation, build quality and dyno info. For 6 years it had performed very well but there were a couple concerning areas that put me back on the market for a new turbo inlet. 

What would be the best replacement for a good part, a great one! This is where a late night search located this Group N turbo inlet... I had always been a huge fan of the S203-206 cars and wanted my car to be a bit closer to those.

 The design is simple yet effective, it is larger like most aftermarket designs, but fitment is much better. Where the Perrin inlet loved to push on everything around it like the manifold, evap hoses, fuel lines and power steering pump. The Group N unit is large but not obstructing and pushing on everything. The Perrin unit started to rub a hole in it's self on the manifold. 

Overall the quality is top notch and that is one of my favorite differences. The metal fittings it comes with are excellent and give it a nice touch. I bought mine used so it was unfortunately missing one, I am sure I can find a replacement to complete the look. 

The power band remains unchanged as far as my butt dyno is concerned. My protune has remained unchanged and it appears that the engine is running better at idle and part throttle. The only downside is the price, finding one new will run your around $1k, the used market is a bit more reasonable for half or less, depending on the condition.

Questins, comments, thoughts? Leave them below! 

Feeling like your turbo is not boosting like it used to? Leaking turbo seals or visual turbine damage? What is a Subaru owner to do? You could buy a brand new unit from Subaru, upgrade to a different turbo, or rebuild your current unit. 

I went ahead and decided to rebuild it myself. With this method you will need to buy a complete center section that is already high speed balanced to keep everything in check. After a bit of searching I found that Melett is well known turbo manufacturer located in England and a US headquarters too. 

Included with your purchase is the turbo center section (CHRA), a small oil syringe to prime it and a small instruction/warranty brochure. Installation was easy enough with the turbo removed from the car and everything fit just as it did from the factory. 

With it back in the car I spent 500 miles breaking it by slowly building moderate boost. I have been extremely pleased with it performance, it builds boost and holds boost just like a brand new turbo. 

This is definitely a great option for those looking to repair their old turbo instead of replacing it with a used turbo. If you can find a cheap Vf turbo that is blown you can always rebuild it and pop it on your Forester for a cheap upgrade! 

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below! 

 This downpipe goes beyond your wildest dreams, it is just almost too pretty to put on the car. The welds are amazing, ceramic coating helps keep heat in it's place and the R&D is top notch. You will struggle to find a piece that even gets close to the beauty and design of it. 

 It comes ready to install with Grimmspeed gaskets which are beefy multi-layered units that can be reinstalled with no worries if you remove and reinstall any parts. The limited adds a beautiful 3D contour smoothing out the flow from the internal wastegate for proper boost control. 

 Fitment is spot on and lines up just like factory. It comes equipped with a bung that is ready for your aftermarket wideband 02 sensor but if you aren’t ready for it, it also comes with it cap to seal it up.

A 300 mil high flow cat keeps exhaust gases flowing while taking care of excess emissions to keep the CEL in check.  It has a nice racey smell from the tail pipe with the high flow cat, my Forester sports the Invidia unit which is a nice piece but lacks the higher quality cat and you can smell the difference. Also a lower mil spec cat does not necessarily mean freer flowing exhaust.

For those wanting a Grimmspeed downpipe but not wanting to pay for the limited unit, they also have a noncoated version and nonlimited. Which are still great units but without the upgrades. I decided to go all out as it just seemed worth the extra money.

  If I had the money I would definitely pop one on the Forester XT. The STi started with the Invidia downpipe but went to the Grimmspeed unit... Maybe its a about time for Forester to upgrade. 

 Amazon part links:

Grimmspeed Ltd downpipe

Grimmspeed downpipe

Grimmspeed downpipe gasket

Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below!

After purchasing any used car I always like to see what lurks under the hood and usually finding things here and there I am not fond of. My STi was equipped with an oiled K&N filter and I knew that had to go. But what is right filter for you?

For me the stock airbox was going to stay put and so what can you install in it to keep that air clean? The Aem dryflow filter ticked all the boxes in my checklist as a reusable durable filter that may add a bit of performance.

As with any panel filter these pop right into the factory airbox and work just like the paper filter. The filter does appear to be a bit thicker and just takes a bit more force to close the box.

With your trusty Aem dryflow cleaner in hand you can remove this filter and spend 15 mins cleaning it, then allowing it to dry before reinstalling it.

To me this is a no-brainer of a mod, having a easy mod that adds a couple horsepower and keeps a pile of old dirty filters out of the junkyard.


Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below!

Amazon links!

Aem dryflow filter 28-20232

After countless hours of searching you finally decide on a set of coil overs... now what will you top them off with? If you are looking further adjust camber and caster look no further than these camber plates from Vorshlag. Adding a static degree of caster and varying camber to set to your specific vehicles setup.

What features make these stand out among a sea of products? A extremely low stack height of the bearings allow for further suspension travel than most, this helps maintain ride quality on your vehicle. The design has a degree of caster built in, which helps diminish camber roll and improve turn in. They can be designed to fit your coil over brand, which is something you won't find with other competitors.

The slotted camber adjustment is easy to utilize and can add an additional degree of negative camber for your vehicle. Using the factory strut eccentric bolt and the plate I was able to attain -3.5 degrees of camber on my STi, and if there is anything a Subaru needs on the race track it is as much camber as you can toss at it.

Installation is very simple and just takes removing the coil over and unbolting the top mount and bolting this unit on. This is when you may take notice of how thin the stack height is, you may need to adjust ride height to put it back to your original setup.

Overall, I have used had no trouble with these over the last 4+ years of use. I did end up sending in the right front as it seemed a bit rough when pivoting versus the driver's side. It was a simple process and just something you can expect when using any vehicle used in a racing application.

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When you are looking to make the biggest improvement to your cars handling, tires would be on the top of this list. A great tire can improve your traction, braking and cornering ability... The Re-71Rs are at the top of their game in all these categories.

These tires are at home on the auto-x course, with their 200 tread wear they love to stick and keep on sticking. This grip level allows them to help shorten brake distances and fire you off the line. They tend to keep gripping even at higher surface temps where other tires will start give up and slip.

The Re-71rs start with 7/32nds of tread which helps them out on the auto-x course but they don't last long. I have had many sets of these and getting 10k miles out of them would be impressive. Given their aggressive tread pattern and lower starting tread they can be troublesome in rain, especially when they are at half tread or lower.

The aggressive tread will look at home on any modified vehicle. Though, with most performance tires you will find a bit of hum around 40 mphs.

Overall given their very performance orientated design these are great for modified vehicles but truly for those who want to track them.

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Amazon links

Bridgestone Potenza Re-71r 255/40R17

Having enjoyed the Feal 441s I decided it was time to upgrade them a bit. And what better way than to have them upgraded to 442s. For those not aware 441s are entry level coilovers from Feal, they are a terific value for the money but being a well equipped auto-x car I decided to upgrade.

The Feal 442s add dual adjustments for jounce and rebound making them extremely versatile for any track/auto-x course. They also include a secondary reservoir to help aid in this damping.

Enough of the specs... how do they handle and ride on the road? With the right setup I believe even with my stiff 9k/8k spring rate these ride nicer than the factory STi struts. Only the largest of potholes or speed bumps remind you you are in a car with coilovers.

The broad spectrum of adjustability allows it to be firm but smooth on the road. Drive to your favorite local track and adjust the dampers and it is a whole different car, it still maintains the ability to soak up bumps but now you ca minimize body roll, dive and squat with the right setup.

I was really concerned when I purchased these about the 9k/8k spring rate but with the proper strut damping you will be amazed how they ride. They come in at just about double the price of the 441s but totally worth it.

Coilovers are a place where you truly get what you pay for and these have been worth every penny.

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Stop by Fealsuspension.com to pick your self up a set.

A noteworthy area for improvement on most Subaru's are the factory rear differential bushings. For the 93-07 Impreza, 98-08 Forester and Legacy/Outback variants these solidify the front diff mounting points.

The factory bushings attempt to hold it in place while keeping the noise to a minimum. But a quick 1-2 shift will show these aren't up to the task, a familiar thunk will be noted in between shifts, as the diff slaps against the bottom of the car. The rear diff bushing inserts/washers are the first line of defense to this issue.

But if you are looking to really keep that diff in place that is where these shine. The biggest downfall is a moderate increase in noise, but unlike a solid upgraded bushings they won't be as intolerable. For my already Sti with stiffened and upgraded bushings it added a slight hum at certain highway speeds.

With the diff held tightly in place you will notice on throttle is insanely responsive. With a slight jab to the throttle propelling the car like a stabbed rat instantly. On the auto-x course this is an excellent attribute to rocket yourself from sharp slow turns and leaving the starting line is just a squat and go ordeal.

These can be a bit much for those daily driving their vehicle everyday on the highway. Unless you have a excellent sound system or loud exhaust. A worthwhile trade off for those looking for on track/course performance.

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Amazon link

SuperPro Rear diff crossmember washer kit