Jaybird's 05 LGT ABP Thread

I felt it was time with this thread to centralize and document the journey that I have been on with my 05 LGT.

My 98" Subaru Legacy gt gave up the ghost at the end of Dec.2013, and instead of sourcing a used Motor to drop in, I decided it was time to upgrade.

I purchased my 05 LGT with 102k miles on the clock in Jan.2014

I ran into as sooo many others have at one point or another, the dreaded #YNANSB

For those of you that care to read about that : http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/need-some-direction-and-advice-232263.html?t=232263

The day I brought her home Bone stock and unbeknownst to me, on borrowed time.

Decided to have ESP in Sterling Ma. do the rebuild and go stage 2

again for those of you interested in the rebuild story: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/jaybirds-rebuild-journey-237012.html?t=237012

some pictures of the car at different stages of early ownership

Current List of Modifications as of 8/30/17 :

Engine

ARP Head Studs

11mm oil pump

Killer B oil pick

Grimmspeed EBCS

Grimmspeed Turbo Heat shield Blk

PTP Turbo Blanket

Thermal Zero DP Blanket

2.4" Perrin inlet

KSTech MegaMAF 73mm

FMS FMIC

CNT 3" Catted DP

Blue Tee replacement courtesy of Company 23

Cobb V3 Accessport

STI Front tower Brace

Subtle Solutions Alt. Cover

Subtle Solutions Radiator Shroud

Zero sports Radiator caps

VMS radiator stays

FP 71 HTA with upgraded oil feed lines

Cobb/ID 1050X Top feed Fuel injectors

TGV Deletes

IAG Fuel Rails

Fuelab 515 Series Fuel Pressure Regulator

SMY Top Feed Braided -6 Fuel Line & Fittings Kit V2 for -6AN FPR

AEM320 FP

GFB TMS Respons Hybrid BOV

Omni 3bar map sensor

Visconti Tuning SD kit

Perrin TBH

Tomei ELH + up pipe

JDM ProDrive mufflers

Innovate LC2 wideband + Moore Performance Rear o2 wideband input combo kit

Drivetrain/Suspension/Wheels/Brakes

Kartboy sts and bushings

Kartboy trans mount bushings

Kartboy 12mm Exhaust hangers

Group N Engine Mounts

Group N trans Mount

Cusco Pitch stop Mount

Megan racing adjustable lower control arms

Perrin Steering Dampner Lockdown

Whiteline KCA313 kit

Whiteline KCA399 kit

Whiteline KSR207 kit

Whiteline KDT927 kit

AVO RSB Brackets

AVO Rear adjustable 70mm endlinks

Moog front endlinks

Cusco 23mm FSB

Hotchkis 22mm adjustable RSB

Tein S TECH lowering springs

Exedy Clutch and SMFW FJK1001FW ( still holding 335 awtq)

Stop Tech Brake pads front and back

Stoptech drilled rotors (front)

Centric rotors (back)

Spec B LCA's

Summer Setup: Rota G-Force Hyperblack 17x8 +48 wrapped in Federal 595SS 225/45R17

Winter setup: Stockers wrapped in Dunlap Graspic 215/45R17

Exterior/Interior:

DIY S402 Replica Grille

JNA front Lip

JDM Aero splash guards color matched ABP

JDM smoked tails

ProDrive license plate surround

One off Hood scoop : http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/custom-one-off-hood-scoop-gt-best-offer-237994.html

I have put 35k miles on Motor #2 so far.

EJ257 Short Block P/N 10103AC050 nitrided crank

How she sits ATM

Power: (OLD NUMBERS, former Tuner****)

Mike Kinsman of Tuning Alliance has tuned my car twice now on ESP's Mustang Dyno, which is very stingy!!!

Most recent numbers are at 319/319, Peak Boost @ 21.5 PSI holding close to 19PSI to redline on a somewhat conservative tune. Torque was kept in check because of the stock Clutch.

Dyno Results from 2/21/16 : http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/did-you-do-your-4th-gen-legacy-todayi-volume-5-243830.html?p=5340545#post5340545

A couple of Hi res shots Latentwagen took on our way up to a ctsubie cruise/meet back in Oct.

Love the look of these JDM Tails

Engine bay and Front End

So I'm getting ready for the next round of Engine Performance Mods that I'll be doing in the next couple of Weeks ,then off to road tune with Mike and dial everything in.

I purchased a FMS FMIC and a Mishimoto CAI. The airbox will need to be modified in order for the piping to clear on that side, I'll have to take some measurements and go from there. I'm also waiting on a Innovate LC2 wideband + Moore Performance Rear o2 wideband input combo kit From Tuning Alliance. Shooting for a target date of 12/10/16 to install these parts.

In the meantime I wanted to address the slop in the steering Wheel as well as replacing the driver side WBA's. To address the steering issue I installed The whiteline KSR207 kit along with the Perrin Steering Dampener lockdown.

Locking down the Dampener was a Mod much like the Group N trans mount, the difference was felt immediately and I felt it was an improvement that paid for itself.

Changing out the WBA's, I went with Timken's from Rock Auto

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,2005,legacy,2.5l+h4+turbocharged,1430733,brake/wheel+hub,wheel+bearing+&+hub+assembly,1636

Important takeaways seeing how this was my first time changing these out. PBB and Anti-sieze are your best friends, and make sure to have the correct slide Hammer, which I did not.

UPDATE:

Perrin Steering Dampener Lockdown installed http://perrinperformance.com/i-22342620-steering-dampener-lockdown.html

I did WBA #3 this past weekend. My buddy supplied the lift and Air tools. So much easier! Humming is gone and now I can properly listen to my Exhaust.

Went ahead and installed the Whiteline KDT927 kit successfully the other night.

I previously ran into the issue of the self-locking nuts being corroded to the Studs, and thought that the only way I was going to get this kit installed was to drop the rear diff.

Fortunately, with a bit more patience and a shit ton of PBB I was able to break the nuts free by working them back and forth a little at a time.

Even if the the Performance improvement is minimal, I happily take a reduction in initial torque loss and rear diff movement.

Found out the owner of this bone stock rex waited on me at the local Auto Parts store. Nice enough kid, I gave him a referral to Tuning Alliance. Hope he contacts Mike..it will give him a whole new driving experience.

My headlights were getting cloudy and dull,I saw that Boyceware had recently used the RainX Headlight restore kit. http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/rain-x-headlight-restoration-kit-800001809/7560005-P

His headlights came out great. I was skeptical at first, but for $13 what did I have to lose. In the photo below you can see that the PS Headlight looks awesome after the application.

We'll see how it holds up after a few Months.

Nice progress bud! How are you liking the Perrin steering mod, now that you've had a while to marinate on it?

I also need to get on the WBA bandwagon, my DS front is starting to grumble...

Man I love it! It eliminates the play in the steering wheel which translates to a faster response when turning from off center.

It took a couple days to get used to a "heavier feel" to the wheel, but that precision that it gives is oh so nice!

Installation from start to finish was 15 minutes for me. A solid mod for a great value IMO.

I've had zero issues with the Timken WBA's installed so far, granted I have less than 1k miles on them at this point, but no speed sensor or ABS issues to report.

UPDATE:

Installed my FMS FMIC and Innovate LC2 wideband + Moore Performance Rear o2 wideband input combo kit this weekend. Install took about 7 hrs, I'm really Happy with the outcome!

A job like this seems intimidating for the first time, but there are so many useful resources on this Forum, for which I am grateful. Google is your Friend!

I made a rookie mistake with the CAI I ordered for Mishimoto. The MAF flange on the inlet pipe does not work with the 05 LGT MAF sensor. Luckily, my buddy had a spare JNA CAI that I was able to use.

I made the trip up to Mike Kinsman @ Tuning Alliance yesterday to road Tune and dial in the Car.

WOW! what a difference it made, netted gains in both HP and TQ. May have lost a little bit of spool up, but when It hits It pulls like a Freight train!

We started to run out of MAF, the volts were in the 4.9+ range, so Mike

suggested That I switch over to a speed density kit, which I am going to work on sourcing now.

Two tips that I found to be very useful:

Replace the 4 bolts from the kit ( M8x1.25x40MM) that mount the core to the crash bar with M8x1.25x30MM so you don't bottom out the threads and strip the helicoils. (thanks vtbimmer)

Trim 1" off the 90 degree elbow coupler that comes off the core on the driver's side. This will allow for the clearance needed to avoid hacking up the Fog light housing. ( can't find who to thank for this..lol)

Shot taken last Saturday, First "real" snow fall of the year!

FM installed, Tree acquired, and Winter mode activated!

UPDATE:

Got the parts in That I needed in order to Retune this coming Sunday.

KSTech 73mm big MAF CAI and heat shield, which is recommended for the FMS FMIC.

Visconti Tuning Speed Density kit w/ complete PnP wiring Harness

needed to order a Perrin Throttle Body coupler ( stock one keeps blowing off)

COBB XLE BPV 100% recirculating ( stock BPV is going to be iffy, and I suspect it's leaking) I should be around 22.5- 23 PSI, but I want the piece of mind with a new unit.

Had a Bung welded in the piping for the SD kit

Here is the Cobb XLE BPV. Cobb seems to be anal retentive with their R&D as well as testing, so I'm hoping it is a solid upgrade from the stocker.

You ever sell that scoop for a hood swap, let me know.

I'll keep you in mind Tony! hope all is well man!

I'll keep you in mind Tony! hope all is well man!

Things are good here man, car is looking great!!

We got 6" of snowfall this past Saturday, what better time to go out and do some errands.

On my way home I couldn't resist spinning a few Donuts. The parking lot was calling to me!

UPDATE:

A little over a week ago I had quite the scare while data logging for the tuner.

I have been working with Mike (TA) on dialing in the blended SD/MAF tune, and during the WOT pull the car started to buck and sputter around 4k Rpm's.

It's hard not to have your brain go right to fearing the worst. The DAM drops down to .875 as I'm pulling over on the side of the road.

It doesn't stall, and by all indications the idle is stable, so I drive it the mile or so home. Car drives fine under normal operating conditions and no cel's.

I got up close and personal with the engine, which I haven't had to touch in 2 yrs since I had it rebuilt.

At the tuner's request, I Swapped out the plugs and checked the gaps. Plugs looked good but gaps were off. Gapped and put new plugs in....problem still there.

Tuner then thinks it's a dying FP (DW65c), so I order a new pump (AEM320) and install that...problem is still there.

Shit is getting frustrating at this point. I just threw in new plugs and a new pump and nothing seems to be changing, still leaning out under WOT conditions, but car is driving fine under normal conditions.

Roughness counts, don't know how I overlooked that! so I log with roughness parameters selected and sure enough cly. 4 showing roughness.

Swap injector 4 with 2, roughness doesn't move, swap coil pack 4 with 2 BINGO!!! roughness follows.

Ordered a new coil pack and all is well again! bought a used OEM one from Sgt. Gator as well for good measure. More than likely replace the others in the near future.

Takeaways from this adventure......I became more proficient at working on my car as well as saving myself a good chunk of coin in the process (sans the pump and plugs).

Once again , A Big thank you to the forum and the wealth of knowledge it contains.

Tax time is upon us...stay tuned!!!

Had one of my coilpacks go and it's a bad stutter under WOT, just like you described, feels like fuel or ignition cut.

Glad you got it sorted bud!

LOL... Forgot to mention, after installing the new plugs I took the car out to see if I had the problem sorted.

During the pull the car is not only sputtering, but I hear a loud Pop , like a shotgun blast...nearly shit myself!!! Thought a rod came through the block ,I was just waiting for the smoke.

So I pull over and pop the hood. Turns out I forgot to re-tighten one of the clamps on the one of the FM couplers...it blew the pipe away from the coupler.

It was a rough couple of days bro!

Finally got the salt and grime washed off! Also added LGT Legacy Grand Touring Decals, no HP gained just a nice touch IMO.

UPDATE:

Things have been slow lately, so I decided to dip my summer wheel setup. I really wanted to go with a different color, something that I hadn't seen around.

I bought a dip kit from DYC and gave Burnt copper a go. It's only been 2 days so far and I'm on the fence. I thought this color would have been a little brighter and popped more, but It's dark. idk I'll see what happens.

In other News.....Got this in Today

Group N Engine Mounts

I thought that I was getting a vibration in the transmission recently, but it turns out that the flange where the mid pipe and Y pipe bolt up was rubbing heavily on the heat shield.

The vibration was only felt at a steady state speed with very light load. It wasn't present on acceleration or deceleration.

Three of my stock wheels that I use for my winter setup are bent, so I'm sure that helped intensify the vibration.

solution it seems was to run a longer exhaust hanger 15mm, which in turn gave the clearance needed to avoid rubbing on the heat shield.

I also switched out to my summer setup, and changed out the Tranny and Rear diff fluids as I was approaching the 30k mile mark.

Tranny fluid looked new and no metal particles were present. The rear diff fluid was dark and milky, but again no metal present.

With the current power levels and the fact that this tranny has 146k miles on the clock, I'm planning on doing a 6MT swap more than likely this time next year.

Up next will be deciding whether to wrap or not wrap the New Tomei ELH.

Header wrapped! That was fun....not!!! PITA if you ask me.

On the Car

UPDATE:

I got a great deal that took a while to materialize. JDM Prodrive Mufflers!!!

These have barely been broken in with 500 miles on the clock. The shitty Protuning Labs mufflers fail miserably in comparison.

The exhaust note obviously has changed drastically with the EL, but the Prodrives help balance it out.

Switching out the paper thin Protuning Labs mufflers for the Prodrives has also eliminated the drone while cruising, and that raspy, "tinny" ricer sound for a deeper and more subtle sound.

One of the nicer acquisitions I have made by far. Top Quality , Worth every penny!!!

One is not like the other

How they sit:

need to shorten up on the Exhaust hanger for the Y pipe. Currently using a kartboy 15mm hanger, which is no bueno. The Exhaust hangs too low.

Overall couldn't be happier!!!