My Impreza, '99 OBS

[tangoranora]

Hello everyone.

I've been a member on here for quite a while now, but I don't think I've made one of these journals.

I'm from Macwahoc, Maine. Currently I'm living down in North Carolina. I plan on moving back some day.

Some of you met me in.. winter of '10 I believe, on the snow drive.

I was going to go on the next year's drive, but I moved down here before it happened.

My car is a '99 Impreza OBS.

It was bought in '05.

It has the Phase 2 EJ22, 4eat.

Currently 215k miles.

Original motor, transmission, etc.

I currently get 24mpg.

Mods:

DIY CAI

DIY grounding kit (negative on battery, driver strut tower, engine block near knock sensor, alternator, intake manifold, passenger strut tower)

Weight removal (glovebox weight, jack plate weight, sound deadening, other misc. stuff. ~100lbs or so gone.)

Removed rear wiper (motor died. Don't use it often and line was ripped anyways)

DIY mudflaps

Hood vents opened up

Roof rack removed

Modified bumper

Modified grill

Door side trim removed

Cheap aftermarket radio + single din pocket

I bet I'm forgetting things, but that's what I remember at the moment.

The tires are Kumho KR21's in 205/60/15. I highly recommend these tires in this size. I've heard of other sizes having issues, but this is the second full set of these that I've owned and have had no issues.

They do excellent in rain. They do good in the dirt, though there is a bit of understeer. Could just be my car though. They also do good in snow. I ran these rather than buying snow tires.

It has been painted twice. Was originally Green/silver, quickly repainted green/black, now I have repainted it Navy Blue. I'm happy with this color, but not the method I painted it. It was done with a roller and self leveling paint. It came out decent, and its very easy to touch up the paint. It just has a texture.

Future plans:

Maybe some sort of swap, or just a rebuild. Currently burns oil.

Wheels; I own a set of 16" snowflakes, just waiting to get them here.

Another repaint, possibly.

Maybe hatch wings.

V1-2 front bumper, or the STI sport bumper (22b bumper but not for wide body)

Now, pictures. In order from old to new.

These next ones are once I got to NC;

Some where on here, there is a few pictures of my car from the '10 snow drive. That was before I did any mods.

From an '04 Fozzie. Repainted them gold. Were silver but worn down to the primer.

Tires are 205/55/16 Glacier Grips.

New rear bumper beam;

 

[K3rn]

nice looking obs

 

[CoupedUpSubie]

Looks good. What did you do with the holes from the side molding? I'm considering deleting it also.

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

I think I remember you from the snow drive. You played nice with a small sappling if I recall correctly.

As for the understeer. That is a subaru thing. They understeer like pigs and have raisin turn in. I recommend getting an anti lift kit or sti aluminum contorl arms and doing the pin flip trick to get more castor plus trying to get your camber as close to -2 degrees as possible. That will help with understeer. Idiots on here will say swaybars, ignore.

Looks like you've put a lot of time into the car. The best cars are the ones that are worked on and driven

 

[tangoranora]

Yes, that was me with the sappling. Haha.

As for the holes from side molding, they're currently filled with some kind of.. well, I don't remember the name truthfully. Some sort of liquid metal I think. It worked alright, but if I had the choice, I would have welded in the holes and used filler to smooth it out.

I'm not too worried about the understeer, I mostly notice it on dirt. It's not bad enough on tar for me to care too too much.

Eventually I may do something. I would like to get a swaybar, I think that'd help the feeling of the car a little.

Yes, I have put quite a bit of time into it. All the visual work was done by me. The grounding kit and CAI was done by me.

I've probably got.. well, I'd say atleast 50 hours of work into it

 

[WRB_Tank]

As for the understeer. That is a subaru thing. They understeer like pigs and have raisin turn in. I recommend getting an anti lift kit or sti aluminum contorl arms and doing the pin flip trick to get more castor plus trying to get your camber as close to -2 degrees as possible. That will help with understeer. Idiots on here will say swaybars, ignore.

Not to hijack Dan, but can you send me more info on "pin flip trick" I have been thinking about doing ALK, but haven't heard of this pin flip.

Thanks

OP nice OBS, I saw you on RS25 I think, glad to see you on here again. Do love the GF wagons.

 

[scubiecraig]

It looks great, and its still going strong, that's the main thing!

 

[tangoranora]

Thanks guys.

Yes, I am on rs25. I occasionally post in the wagon picture's thread.

Yes, it is running great. Only issue is burning oil (1qt every 500 miles usually.)

Just had the timing belt done (along with all idlers, tensioner, etc.)

Had the valve cover and spark plug gaskets replaced

All four axles were just replaced, had an alignment done then.

The tires were just put on ~1000 miles ago.

Just changed the o2 sensor and knock sensor.

Checked the transmission fluid, it's the right color and doesn't smell burnt or anything. Doesn't have any debris in it either.

Only thing I have to replace at some point is the air filter.

I think at this rate, I'm expecting maybe 250k miles out of it. But who knows

 

[Matt]

Mine does the same thing... Just keep a gallon of oil in the trunk.

 

[tangoranora]

I used to, but since I'm in NC and in a wagon, it gets so hot in the back that it starts to leak or something. Last time I left oil in my car, it was just a quart. I left it in a plastic bag, standing up. I went to use it, the bottle was thinly covered in oil and the bag was sticking to it.

Since then, I've just kept a 5qt jug in the house. I usually check it every couple hundred miles or so.

Eventually I'd like to either pick up a second EJ222 and rebuild that one, or just rebuild this one.

 

[tangoranora]

From an '04 Fozzie. Repainted them gold. Were silver but worn down to the primer.

Tires are 205/55/16 Glacier Grips.

Also, replaced the coil pack and plug wires. Put on better condition exhaust piping from a '98 outback. Put a small hole threw the center of my second cat (car acts like they're clogged.)

I'm at 28.7mpg now. Pretty happy with this

 

[inski]

Nice combo!

 

[tangoranora]

Thanks.

Been a while since I've updated.

Haven't done a whole lot.

These tires are doing pretty good, only thing I've noticed is they're a bit louder than the Kumho's I used to have. But my Kumho's were nearly silent most of the time.

Looks like my steering rack is slowly going on me, thinking I'll just replace it with an '04(?) rack with slightly quicker steering.

Hunted down a wiring issue, I think my gauge cluster has a short or something. As of now, the issue is that my brake and battery light won't come on when I turn on the ignition. if I pull my E-brake, the brake light will come on. The battery light is known as working, I've tested it.

Have a couple rust issues coming back and paint issues on my bumper, but it's too cold to paint now. The paint I use won't stick when it's down below freezing.

Here's some newer pictures;

 

[tangoranora]

Minor update.

Got a '99 Outback RSB. It's 18mm and bolted up fairly good, I had to dent in my spare tire area though.

Handling feels way better. I got it for $28, one of the best mods I've done.

Bumped my tire pressure up to 40psi front, 38 rear. Helped my handling considerably, but my rack still has a small amount of issues.

We've checked every other part in my steering system and lubed it, it's been pinpointed to inside the rack.

I'm going to try adjusting the backlash on the rack and see if that helps. I'm really hoping that's going to help it.

 

[tangoranora]

Hey guys, big update.

Replaced the TPS, found out it was bad and causing some of my hesitation.

Found out my IACV was dirty, tried one cleaning method and I think it helped.

Ordered a new steering rack, it'll be here next week.

Also replaced my rear bumper beam and fixed the back of my spare tire well, it was pushed in 2" or so. It made the rear look so much better, but it's far from finished.

Here's an old picture to compare. The easiest way to see the difference is by following the lip on the top of the bumper. In the old pic, you see it go up and under the hatch about half way across it. In the new pic, it goes all the way across evenly.

 

[tangoranora]

Heres another update.

Clear corners, new mudflaps, new hatch with wings, and front brake calipers changed to 2-pots.

Heres another update.

Clear corners, new mudflaps, new hatch with wings, and front brake calipers changed to 2-pots.

 

[JoshP]

Nice, did you make that intake?  The hybrid intake like that is the best.  Cool car

 

[tangoranora]

Time sure flies!

I did make the intake, the tubing is from a late 80's Ford 302.

Updates; New wheels+tires and a new house!

2004 Baja wheels wrapped in 205/55 Douglas Xtra-Tracs