Topic: Gargoyle's 2010 black WRX

[Gargoyle]

so i bought this car about a year ago but i had a crummy job and whatnot so i couldn't afford to modify it at all. This year however it started with a new job that pays about double what my old one did so i'll likely start pouring money into this thing

i bought it completely stock, like the stockist car i've ever owned, about a week or so ago put in a kartboy short shifter because i felt the stock shifter's throws were waaay too long, way longer than the stock shifter in my old 02 wrx even. now it's much nicer, i still have to install the bushings though.

here are some of the parts i'm thinking of buying roughly in the order i'll be buying/installing them, no real time line since i really should be paying off my debt with this extra money, but i'm sure some money will make it's way to the car over time.

any advice for brands or types would be appreciated

-kartboy short shifter (done)
-shifter bushings
-GS AOS (i understand it could help keep the engine healthy as it can help keep the effective fuel octane higher which helps knock etc)
-pitch stop mount (i need to take the IC off anyway for the AOS might as well do this at the same time)
-new (big) summer wheels (i hesitate to specify which ones and size so i don't make a fool of myself if they don't fit)
-summer tires for wheels
-Feals coilovers (i had a set on my 02 and quite liked them)
-stiffer engine and transmission mounts (underrated mod imo, i had them done in my 02 and it was probably one of my favourite mods)

i'd like to do more bushings and whatnot, but i don't know which ones are the best to do

that's all i can think of suspension wise, i wanted to do that all first before any power mods since i want to basically put all the power stuff on at the same time and get it tuned right away.

-Killer B oil pickup
-GS uppipe
-Invidia catless downpipe
-catback exhaust, i'm pretty torn what kind, might just go custom like i did with the 02, pretty sure i want to keep the duals though
-GS EBC
-GS intercooler
-GS intake (can you tell i like GS stuff?)
-TGV delete

that's all i can think of for now, any advice or input would be appreciated, i'm kind of a noob when it comes to this kind of thing, any help actually installing stuff would also be very appreciated

i'd post a picture but it literally just looks like a stock wrx, with some horrible swirling in the paint so not much to look at

[thedude]

Congrats on the new job! Exciting times ahead now that you're able to build the car how you envisioned.

Progression pic's are always nice. Maybe you can post the stock (before) version at a later time for comparison.

[Jay89]

Depending on what look you're going for, and your budget, I'm sure we can help you decide on wheels and specs. I personally think 18s look good on your body style. Some sti brembos would be nice too

[Gargoyle]

I was mostly going for making sure they fit, so i just picked the least ugly wheels that fall into that category that i can also afford, i plan on just ordering them mounted and balanced from 1010tires, i'm thinking i can get 18x9s to fit in the right offset, then 255 tires, should stick out a bit, but not retardedly, i still haven't checked what the stock suspension clearance is to see how much room there is on the inside, that should help figure that out

i'll post the picture from the day i bought it later, if i can afford to fix the rust on the roof this summer i'll get the paint all fixed so it looks good again, we'll see, frankly im still a little annoyed the car already has a few rust spots on the roof. i probably would have gotten it buffed or whatever already if it wasn't for those spots

[cmyles]

I was mostly going for making sure they fit, so i just picked the least ugly wheels that fall into that category that i can also afford, i plan on just ordering them mounted and balanced from 1010tires, i'm thinking i can get 18x9s to fit in the right offset, then 255 tires, should stick out a bit, but not retardedly, i still haven't checked what the stock suspension clearance is to see how much room there is on the inside, that should help figure that out

i'll post the picture from the day i bought it later, if i can afford to fix the rust on the roof this summer i'll get the paint all fixed so it looks good again, we'll see, frankly im still a little annoyed the car already has a few rust spots on the roof. i probably would have gotten it buffed or whatever already if it wasn't for those spots

The body is quite narrow on the narrow body's. 18x9.5 even with a higher offset, you're going to either run into the spring perch, or rub like hell. Especially with a 255.
Most people who run an 9.5 have to run a 225 tire to get them to stop rubbing.

An example setup for wheel fitment is this:
18x9.5 +38
225/40R18
Front Camber: -1.8
Rear Camber: -2.6

[SlowLGT]

The GS AOS does not get along with our cold climate very well. You would need something that has coolant flowing through the AOS to keep it warm (e.g. Crowford, or IAG). Best bushings: Whiteline ALK, Whiteline Com-C, and if ride height <1 in than stock, Whiteline roll center/bump steer kit.

[Mason]

For AOS I like my Crawford. The GS and Perrin don’t work very well and will likely be more of a headache for you. IAG has the best AOS, but also cost quite a bit more.

[jellynuts]

Congrats on all the things.

AOS' are engine bling and every product out there has had their issues.  Don't fall for the internet hysteria. 

Except for the pickup tube hysteria.  That's worth looking into.  You don't need a tune to install it, so...  I'd recommend doing that first.

[Gargoyle]

The body is quite narrow on the narrow body's. 18x9.5 even with a higher offset, you're going to either run into the spring perch, or rub like hell. Especially with a 255.
Most people who run an 9.5 have to run a 225 tire to get them to stop rubbing.

An example setup for wheel fitment is this:
18x9.5 +38
225/40R18
Front Camber: -1.8
Rear Camber: -2.6

i said 9, not 9.5, and correct me if i'm wrong but it should only cause issues if you're low enough, at stock height they can stick out as far as you want and would only rub if you hit a big enough bump, i will lower it a bit but i like stiff suspension so i figure i'll at least try it out, nasioc has a huge thread on wheel and tire fitment and there are a few guys running exactly what i was thinking of getting, i did check the clearance on the inside and it's not a lot, but coilovers should give me a bit more room, i'll still have my stock wheels if it doesn't work anyway

i have heard the gs aos has trouble in the cold weather, i had one on my old wrx and there was a bit of buildup but i didn't think it was a big deal, but i've also heard that you can just reroute some lines and have the same effect as an aos for just the cost of a few feet of tubing, maybe i'll research that a big more

the pickup tube will probably happen sooner than the list implies, not sure when though yet

[Gargoyle]

might as well post this here too if it gets more attention

so a few months ago my 2010 wrx started this weird jerky acceleration. basically in normal driving i accelerate slowly from a light or whatever i have constant steady pressure on the pedal but the car accelerates like im pressing harder, then releasing, then harder, then releasing, like it's reading a sine wave instead of my foot pressure. i don't get a cel. the car is soul crushingly stock with 150k km. i did take it to a shop and they did the easy checks, no intake leaks post maf, cleaned the maf, checked a spark plug and everything came back normal/no problems. it doesn't seem to do it at any other time, if im in boost it doesn't, only low throttle. it does it whether warm or cold, and in every gear, it seems like it might always be the same throttle position but it might just seem that way

the rpms also drop more than they should when i come to a stop, instead of just dropping to idle (~700) they tend to go down to 500 or so, it hasn't actually died yet, not sure if the two things are related

any ideas? my next step would probably be taking it to the dealership but they generally charge a lot of money, but i will if i have to

[Jay89]

Might not do anything but try making your own grounding kit. It helped a bit on my impreza with the weird Rev thing.

[Coops1313]

have you tried cleaning the boost controller solenoid with some carb cleaner?

[StreetsTheWay]

have you tried cleaning the boost controller solenoid with some carb cleaner?

+1
I did the same thing and it fixed it for a short while.
I just replaced it with a new one and it was a total night and day difference. Don't know if I just did a itshay job cleaning and it was still a little gummy, or if they begin to slowly lose ability to actuate properly over time.

[SlowLGT]

Would you be able to data log this behavior?

[Gargoyle]

i'm in the process of moving so i'll try out the grounding and boost control solenoid when i get a chance, those are both pretty easy i think so hopefully they both help, it does seem to be getting worse and spreading to a wider throttle position, between that and the cheap winter tires (and i might need an alignment) it's getting pretty annoying to drive

i think i might be able to data log, i'll look into it and let you know, what sensors should i log?

[Gargoyle]

so i figured out how to log, which sensors should i log?

[Delphiwrx]

Maf g/s
maf voltage
calc load
Dynamic advance multi
Timing
Boost
Coolant temp
fuel injector duty cycle
wastegate duty cycle
af learn
af correction
throttle posistion
intake temp

[SubaRay]

cool car!  where did you get your exhaust with the blue tips?  is it the nvidie n1?

[Gargoyle]

that's not my car, that was a post showing an example of wheel fitment

so i logged my trip home from work yesterday, it ended up being 2500 lines so i'll edit it down to when i know the car was acting funny, where do i send it?

also i couldn't find maf voltage, dynamic advance multi, fuel injector duty cycle or wastegate duty cycle, do they go by another name that might be in the list?

[Delphiwrx]

that's not my car, that was a post showing an example of wheel fitment

so i logged my trip home from work yesterday, it ended up being 2500 lines so i'll edit it down to when i know the car was acting funny, where do i send it?

also i couldn't find maf voltage, dynamic advance multi, fuel injector duty cycle or wastegate duty cycle, do they go by another name that might be in the list?

What are you using to log? I assumed Accessport. Plain Maf g/s should suffice.

You can host it to google drive.

[Gargoyle]

I have a bluetooth obd reader that can log, probably not as good as an accessport for that, but it seems to work once i figured out how, one reading per second which i assume is good enough

[Gargoyle]

i've never done that before so i think i figured it out

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ubNrBAfjUgXtU0Eh6ncejeKFJKwo5cBYjgMt3gUPnFo/edit?usp=drivesdk

it didn't do it borderline violently like it does sometimes, but i narrowed it down to a few minutes before and after each incident in case the clock was off

[Delphiwrx]

It is hard to tell, but it looks like your car is going lean. I also forgot to say log rpm as well lol. I think it could be Maf related or grounding related. Check to make sure the harness ground that goes to the injector shield on the drivers side tgv housing is all good. Your maf reading was going all over the place and you were also leaning out and then going rich, which can cause bucking.

For laughs, un plug your maf (this will throw a code) drive around the block and see if it does the bucking. It will put your car into a faux speed density mode. This will tell you that it could be grounding or injectors if it does it still. If it doesn't I would see if you could borrow a maf from an 08-14 wrx guy.

[Gargoyle]

thanks a lot, that at least gives me something to try, i'll have a look after work and unplug the maf and report back

[Gargoyle]

so i disconnected the maf and the weird bucking thing seemed to be gone, it wasn't 100% of the time, so i'm only like 90% sure it's gone but what does that mean? the maf sensor is toast? i couldn't figure out where that ground you were talking about was, i just looked up some pictures and have another look in a bit

i might as well post here too, i just got laid off, so unless something crazy happens all my plans will be on hold until i have money coming in again, i would like to fix this one thing though still. if anyone knows of a decent job opportunity please let me know thanks