Hi everybody,
Finally saved enough to buy my dream car, a Subaru WRX Sti. I couldn't last a month before getting the ecomodding bug.
Since the car is brand spaking new, i am mostly sticking to simple aero mods that will not permanently alter the look of the car (gonna hold off on rear wheel skirts or kaamback's for now).
current mods:
1) side mirrors folded in
2) Torque App to track mpg's
3) 90% lower grille block
4) Fog light covers
5) tires at 42 psi (max sidewall 51psi)
6) upper grill block
Future mods:
2) under belly tray (the nice thing about getting a sports car is that the bottom is already very flat from the factory).
3) rear underbelly tray
Current mods in the works:
1) side skirts
Side Mirrors Folded in: Version 1.0:
Used a simple bubble mirror with an aluminum bar, double sided tape.
The mirror was too heavy and the heat casued the double stick tape to loose its stickiness, the mirror kept falling off.
Version 2.0: i used a different style blind spot mirror, double sided tape attached the mirror itself. This gives me a better view of my blindspot since the mirror is on the outside now
Torque App:
used my old HTC android phone with a windshield suction mount. The app is great, however, the mpg's max out at 255mpg when coasting, therefore, the total average mpg's are slightly off..so at best you'll get an accurate ballpark figure.
It turns out the old rule of thumb of "80% load to accelerate" may not be the best for this car because in 6th gear at 80% load puts me in boost...in which the mpgs drop to 5mpg.
Building the lower grill block:
Since it's a turbo car, i know engine temps will be very important to keep an eye on, therefore, i recycled my old grill block from my del sol and cut the block into sections so i can attach/remove sections if temps start to creep up. I also left about a 1 inch clearance on the bottom of the grill block to still allow air to flow in if im stuck in traffic.
The nice thing about the STI bumper is that there is a 2 inch wide strip of unpainted bumper, therefore NO RISK OF DAMAGING PAINT! I just used double sided tape again to attach the coroplast.
It kinda looks like teeth
Coroplast lines up perfectly to sit flush with the bumper
Building the fog light covers:
I just used painters tape and masked the fog light covers. Then took a pen to trace the shape onto the tape. Then i took the tape off and put it on corolast, then cut to shape. Attached using double sided tape.
it sits flush
Finished the grill block and PAINT
If you're wondering what type of paint i used for the bumper...its' flat black PLASTIDIP....i sprayed the bumper to protect against rock chips because a 3m clear bra would run me $650
The nice thing about Plastidip is that it will peel right off if i ever want to change color or touch it up.
Pseduo Results: the car seems to coast a lot longer now, no ABA testing because i know these mods definately worked on my del sol. EPA is 20mpg combined...right now im averaging about 23-24 mpg combined. The car is still breaking in with only about 1300 miles on it. MPG's should hopefully increase after my first oil change.
Next up: upper grill block and side skirts
My dog, Einstein, checking out the new ride
**Updates 8/12/13**
Building the Side Skirts - I didnt want to drill into body work, luckily the bottom of the car is already flat from the factory, so i want to build something that is lighweight and that i can attach using double sided tape. A traditional vinyl rain gutter felt a bit too heavy to be supported by double sided tape. I also wanted to make it easily removeable for ABA testing.
**UPDATES The side Skirts ended up warping and looking really crappy. REMOVED SIDE SKIRTS 8/26/2013**
Building the upper grill block
The hoodline creates a big gap, so i want the upper grill to serve a double purpose....cover the grill and cover the hood gap. I'll most likely use velcro so i can remove the block easily.
Using painters tape to see how much blockage i can get away in terms of engine temps. So far, engine temps have been normal around 188*F
Rough fitment and Mockup - i'll tweak this design if I ever have any engine temp issues.
**Added 8/26/2013** See Page 6 for more details
**ADDED 8/26/2013** Kill Switch V. 2.0 - Page 6
**ADDED 9/13/13** upper grill block v3.0 - Page 7
**ADDED 9/23/13** passenger side mirror delete - page 8
**ADDED 10/11/13** Kill Switch V. 2.1 - replaced with brake switch- Page 11
**ADDED 10/11/13** Lower Grill Block v1.1 - One Solid coroplast piece- Page 11
**ADDED 10/16/13** Upper Grill Block v331 completed - page 12
**ADDED 1/15/14** underbelly tray - page 12
Front to rear
rear under tray with rear wheel boat tails
***ADDED 3/20/14 scangauge ii*** Page 14
***ADDED 4/30/2014 Upper Grill block v3.4*** page 17
***ADDED 6/28/14 Underbelly tray v2.0*** page 22
***ADDED 8/30/2014 Windows Tinted*** page 25
***ADDED 8/30/2014 Rear Diffuser*** page 25
***ADDED 10/6/2014 Almost OEM Upper Grill Block page 26*** page 25
***ADDED 11/3/2014 Almost OEM Lower Grill Block*** page 26
