Simon C

I had a sexy blonde promo girl lean over my car in a skimpy blue dress, and let me take photos.

I got a freshly rebuilt GReddy T518Z TD05-18G from the US for $900USD + shipping.

It'll work, and you'll make more power, and you'll save a lot of money over a branded one. Until it blows up. Then the opposite will apply. I've heard lots and lots of horror stories, but I'm sure there are people out there who have bought them who haven't run into problems. If you've got the extra to spend, I'd buy from a reputable source. The extra money will be worth the peace of mind.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448097 This is the best resource in the world for which wheels will fit the STi. Just search the thread.

Stock offset for Spec C is +53. Good luck finding an aftermarket wheel 5x100 with that offset that clears the Brembos. Rays have charts on their website which indicate which offsets in which model will clear the STi Brembos. Not sure, but I'm assuming that sold-to-public Spec C numbers reflect the homologation requirements put out by the FIA for that year.

New tires. Continental ContiSport Contact 3s. Bit of a performance downgrade from the RE070s, but definately quieter, a tad more comfy.

I was advised to reuse the factory sock when fitting my Walbro, although I also have the Spec C tank as well.

All that mattered in that movie was who was tougher, Vin Diesel or The Rock. And they gave us the fight to answer the question. Win

They're standard V8 STi cams, which themselves were prototyped on the V7 RA Spec C. Your car should also have the smaller, baffled fuel tank which is a PITA to fill up. Roof and boot lid should be alloy rather than steel.

+1. Cheapest option would be camber bolts, then camber plates, then adjustable lateral links. Changing the height just to set static camber is being silly.

Oil change, removed the rear seats and front passenger seat, brought all the tire pressures up. See you all at MM tomorrow morning!

Mine vents like stock, but still makes noise because I've removed the factory resonator airbox. Will be a PITA if I have to explain that to every cop who hears my valve venting when I drive by.

It's a VERY tight fit in there. I had to get at mine from above, as my sensor is in a different place due to my aftermarket headers. Was a PITA to get at.

Puck clutch can be a biatch to use as a daily driver. Getting it just to do the occasional launch makes no sense if your car is a daily driver.

You don't want a high compression ratio on a high boost engine. Recipe for detonation. Also, spool relies on exhaust flow, so there's a lot of factors that come into it. To say that a WRX engine with milder cams, ECU tune, etc. will spool a VF22 faster than an STi engine is just silly.

Spend the money on properly thought-out suspension. You'll go way faster and enjoy the car a lot more.

Don't buy a V8 STi because you think it's faster than a V7. For the same price, V7 STi + mods will easily take down a stock V8 STi (and you'll get the boxer rumble too!). Get the V8 STi for comfort over the V7. The primary difference is the seats, the V8 seats are a lot roomier and softer. The V7 STi ones are too hard for long distance driving, and are too narrow if you're fat. Agreed, getting rid of twin scroll = expensive, troublesome, makes you slower.

V8 STi is a V7 STi with exterior facelift, Thunderbird 2 rear wing, V7 RA Spec C cams and twin scroll headers + VF37, hypereutectic alloy (rather than forged) pistons, new (and still ugly) steering wheel, softer wider seats. V9 STi is a V8 STi with new stronger 5x114 hubs, wider rims, Spec C front suspension arms and geometry changes, facelifted interior, yaw sensing diff setup. IMHO the one to get is a V8 STi Spec C if you want a blobeye. I wouldn't go for a plain V8 STi, as the V7 RA Spec C is a much better car from a performance standpoint (and you get used to the bugeye!). If you're not prepared to live with a Spec C and want more comfort/amenities, then I'd agree that for a bit more money the V9 STi is the way to go.

JDM coilovers tend to have harsh damper settings as their roads are a smoother than ours, and biased to track work. Also don't have much droop travel. Some coilovers can't be rebuilt in NZ, some can, but they're all pricey to do so. So best to know how much use a set of coilovers have had before you buy used ones. A pity that Wteline no longer make their G4 coilovers, they were supposed to be some of the best track capable street setups around.

From a business model perspective, it makes sense for Subaru to stop devloping the STi for consumer purchase. It's a lot of additional R&D and tooling cost, for a low volume seller. Their loyalty is to FHI's shareholders, not driving enthusiasts.

Easy. There are lots of guides out there how to change pads on Brembos. I managed to do mine without incident, and I'm a crap mechanic.

I got 3" all the way, Rage downpipe with custom midpipe to Zerosports muffler. Three resonators welded in to keep the noise down, was still too loud with only two resonators. Went 3" for future proofing in case I did a big powerup, but to be honest 2 1/2 is plenty and it has a nicer note (less boomy).

HOES! (I think it's what they say in the movie....)

I think a test was done a while back, and Apexi had both the best filtration, and the highest flow rate. Worst filtration were the HKS foam mushrooms and the Blitz steel mesh pods.

V7 has VF30, or VF34 if Spec C. V8+ have VF37, or VF36 if Spec C.