KiwiJoe

*Special Pirate Edition.

All sorted. Was the heat shield rubbing, so some cutting and welding and it was all fixed. Rattle gone, the car sounds great and goes like the clappers. Great guys to deal with, and really went out of their way to sort things out (nearly a three hour job: I rolled in through their doors at just before three in the afternoon). It\'s pretty nice having three different custom tunes to choose from thanks to SI Drive. Wouldn\'t hesitate to recommend Jon and the team at Spec Performance, or a new down pipe if anyone\'s hesitating.

Nice, quite an unusual piece that - great price too, japanparts.com has it for $1500 or so (new though). Would be interested to hear what you think of it; I was thinking about grabbing it myself I had this installed earlier this week along with a dyno tune reflash from Jon at Spec Performance here in Christchurch (over two days). Quite surprising the difference it makes. I can\'t fully judge how it sounds yet as it has a bit of an installation rattle that needs to be fixed (resonates against something it\'s touching slightly on the underbody at around 2000rpm) but wide open it\'s much, much louder and at idle adds quite a deep rumble. I was hoping for performance improvements without any obvious change in car sound to give away the difference, but as soon as the foot goes down it\'s clear something is up...

Which is single scroll if I\'m not mistaken. No, it\'s twin-scroll.

Facelift (RevD 07-08, 2.0) JDM autos and manuals both switched to VF45s.

Looks like a bargain! Brand new set of Super A Number 1 HIFLY tyres on front of this 25k STI! What could go wrong?

Never mind. Just decided to give this a go (post-08 import, so a catted version should save me some hassle, and the price is right): http://www.subaruspeed.co.nz/products/downpipe-3-hks-legacy-03-09

Has anyone installed the subtech downpipe on a rev D (06-08 facelift 2.0)? Looking at the (insanely expensive) front pipes available from various Japanese sites, it looks like the fitting may be different.

Looks like the Levorg gets both 1.6 and 2 litre engines using DIT tech:

I just ordered an Apexi panel filter (http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/air-filters/auction-664833711.htm) after spending some time researching online. I\'ve had K&N before, but not with an AFM and I don\'t feel like taking the risk if I don\'t have to. Not expecting a difference, but curiosity won out.

It is better, but often results in carbon build-up over time so historically isn\'t so good for engine longevity.

Yes, but without turbo and with Toyota\'s cloggy direct injection system.

FA20s are all 2 litres. The Le Mans engine is just a smaller displacement prototype based on the FA20 with some shenanigans to reduce its cooling requirements.

The FA20 comes in the latest Forester XT and in the 2012-on Legacy DIT in Japan (and possibly the Outback). You can already get the Legacy here (Armstrong Chch have a 2012 Legacy DIT on trademe for ~45k). Puts out 221kW and 400nm with a 6000 rpm redline, yet burns a lot less fuel than the old EJ20. It uses a new direct injection twin scroll design (Subaru designed, not borrowed from Toyota). Looks pretty epic.

Good price, and they look to be in pretty good condition too (with a little help from Autosol!).

No, they seemed totally serious. This is for an 07 GT.

I asked about a dyno flash at an outfit in Christchurch yesterday. They said there would be a $500 \'setup fee\' to unlock the ecu before the tune even began. I was unimpressed.

I\'ve got a set on my GT sedan here in Christchurch if you\'re curious. They came on the car from Japan. My take is that they sound great, but don\'t really improve the aesthetics.

Did you get a chance to hear one? What did you think?

Should be fine. With its age and mileage it\'s probably spent its life highway driving. Morrison give you a one year guarantee anyway so you should be fine. Bought my last Legacy of them and they were good to deal with (although they have a history of dodgy trademe sales that led to a hefty fine) and had zero mechanical problems.

Get some Autosol on those! You\'ll be amazed.

True, but part of that extra 90kg is made up by a 5-speed auto, versus the four-cogger fossil in the S-GT.

Have a look here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1265631

Riced my car up a bit, USA-style. Installed, and this is what\'s left: Not great photos (dark, camera phone): When I first got the car I thought about putting an STI badge on, as it has various STI parts, but I also thought it was a bit dishonest considering it isn\'t an S402. At least this way it\'s totally honest about what it is.