Performance/Reliability Balance (06 OB XT 5EAT)

I recently got an accessport and have been playing around with it. Stage 1 is a noticeable, but not significant change. My end goal is to go stage 2 along with the most effective suspension mods. For now this is a daily driver and I don't want to take it much past that. I may get an E-tune once I'm done, but I plan to run off the shelf AP maps until then.

 

The first things I want to do are a catted down pipe and Hexmod's F1 5EAT Valve body upgrade.

 

Do I need to do a new (catless) up-pipe along with the downpipe, or does it not make a huge difference?

 

Should I do Hexmod's center diff bushings as well, or is this not necessary for my expected power levels?

 

For suspension mods, what is going to give me the most noticeable improvements without greatly affecting ride quality? I don't want to do any lowering as I often go places with dirt/gravel roads and need to keep the clearance.

 

I have been (and will continue) reading as much about everything as possible, but I'm trying to figure out where to focus my attention first.

 

Thanks!

What is the mileage on the, presumably, stock turbo?

 

For suspension mods, what is going to give me the most noticeable improvements without greatly affecting ride quality? I don't want to do any lowering as I often go places with dirt/gravel roads and need to keep the clearance.

 

 

2004 outback KYB retrograde rear struts. firmer, less bouncy and floaty, car definitely doesnt sway as much but still the nice highway cruiser comfort without lowering. its a well documented must-do "upgrade." have them on mine, the struts alone did more than both sway bars changed out.

 

read up:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/81-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension/28368-2005-2009-outback-suspension-faq.html

 

a thread i started saying how great the struts were, tons of other threads on it too.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/128818-finally-did-rear-strut-retrograde-1000000-a.html

What is the mileage on the, presumably, stock turbo?

 

Everything is currently stock.

 

I bought it less than 2 years ago with only 26k on the odometer. I've run it up to just over 50k. Even though it's super low miles for the age, it's my understanding that the timing belt should be done by the end of this year (105 months), is that correct?

2004 outback KYB retrograde rear struts. firmer, less bouncy and floaty, car definitely doesnt sway as much but still the nice highway cruiser comfort without lowering. its a well documented must-do "upgrade." have them on mine, the struts alone did more than both sway bars changed out.

 

read up:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/81-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension/28368-2005-2009-outback-suspension-faq.html

 

a thread i started saying how great the struts were, tons of other threads on it too.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/128818-finally-did-rear-strut-retrograde-1000000-a.html

 

Thanks, adding it to the reading list!

Its a good idea and time to do the up pipe while doing the down pipe. For peace of mind if nothing else (substrate failures). Sti pipe will work if your trying to save a bit, or you can buy a different one. The diff bushes are your call, I and many others have put double the stock output through the stock unit without any issues. The work to get the valve body in and out is totally unrelated to the work of removing the center diff. I personally wouldn't do it unless i had a reason to go in there.

What range of years of the STI will fit my OBXT? This essentially just deletes the cat in the up-pipe so that it doesn't shit itself into your turbo, right?

thats correct and pretty much any sti UP should work. just make sure its the 3 bolt and good to go.

A friend is hooking me up with his used grimmspeed up pipe. ( http://www.grimmspeed.com/up-pipe-wrx-sti-lgt-fxt/)

 

From what I've been reading, I keep seeing something about adding a resistor to an EGT sensor that gets removed in the process. I saw an O2 sensor on the manifold just before the up pipe, but is there another sensor on the pipe as well? Does this apply to my car or only a different model?

not positive if you have the egt sensor in your up but if you do its an easy fix. leave the sensor in the pipe and the plug on the vehicle end just put the resistor in where the pins in the plug should have gone, cover with tape or silicon and good to go.

 

i believe the resistor is 2.2k ohm, dont mistakenly buy 22k or 2200 or something else that is right next to it and similar looking because the values are wwwaaaaaayyyyy different and i believe this is where alot of people end up having problems with this "not working"

Thanks.

 

I can also just remove the code with my AP as well, correct?

 

For resistors, 2.2k is the same as 2200

Haha! I have a '05 OBXT 5eat. And are goals sound exactly the same unfortunately I have 180k on my OB:eek:

 

I'll be watching this thread very closly

I'll update as I go

 

Here was my latest week of "fun"

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cel-after-stage-2-222613.html?p=4769903

 

Here's a few things I've learned from the process that will hopefully help others:

 

- Buy a bag of 6mm and 8mm push in plastic pop rivets before touching anything on your car. The old ones will break. It's $5 for a bag of 40, shipped.

 

- If all you do is an up pipe, and your old one had a cat in it, you need the 2.2K resistor to avoid a CEL. A tune/Accessport is not required.

 

- If you plan to do a down pipe, do your up pipe at the same time. It is possible to remove the up pipe with the (aftermarket at least) down pipe still on, but it's a lot easier with it off.

 

- If you are using an Accessport with Cobb's OTS tunes, the stage 2 maps will ignore the EGT readings, so you don't need the resistor fix. You do need a down pipe to use these maps though.

 

- If you are leaving everything past the down pipe stock, you will need a 3" to 2.5" adapter kit (Grimmspeed makes a good one) and a new donut (PN: 44022AA122 or 44022AA123)

 

-The stock O2 sensor is a Denso 234-9120. <$100 on amazon, or $200 from the stealership, your call.

 

- There are two cross pipe gaskets - one for each side. The passenger side one has a big triangle on it that sticks out. I think this is for heat shielding your oil filter, but I'm not sure. I needed a new one immediately and no one had this in stock, so I used the one from the driver's side. It is identical minus the triangle bit, which seems fairly useless anyway.

 

-$6 Autozone gasket sealed as well as the $17 OEM one.

 

Next up:

 

I'm in need of new control arm bushings, so I'm currently trying to find ones that are better, but not super harsh, as I am not trying to turn my OB into a street racer, and need the suspension for dirt road driving.

 

I may also do the rest of the exhaust if i can find pipes that bring out the lovely engine sound, but aren't "look at me" stupid loud.

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2004 outback KYB retrograde rear struts. firmer, less bouncy and floaty, car definitely doesnt sway as much but still the nice highway cruiser comfort without lowering. its a well documented must-do "upgrade." have them on mine, the struts alone did more than both sway bars changed out.

 

read up:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/81-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension/28368-2005-2009-outback-suspension-faq.html

 

a thread i started saying how great the struts were, tons of other threads on it too.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/128818-finally-did-rear-strut-retrograde-1000000-a.html

 

I should have done the retrograde struts when I swapped my overload King springs in. The previous owner had just replaced the rear struts and I figured they would be fine.

 

Also, I highly recommend the King springs. They really improve dive and squat with braking and acceleration. I have standard front and overload rear. The 'overload' springs raise the front too much for the control arm to be at a safe angle (in my opinion), but they're pretty great in the rear. I can load down the back with cargo without severe sag.