Preventive maintenance

As the weather starts to heat up, the urge to ensure all fluids are fresh becomes stronger.

I started noticing a coolant smell after short drives. Turns out my lower radiator hose developed a slight leak.

So a replacement set from Samco was purchased. The silicone hoses Samco produce are top notch and at the price the standard rubber hoses sell for, it makes financial sense to purchase the aftermarket alternative.

Wouldn't surprise me if these hoses out last the actual radiator... 

Before the car was filled with fresh Castrol Radicool coolant, the overflow bottle was removed and thoroughly cleaned from the mildew that was had started to form on the insides. 

Second item that required replacing was the turbo to intercooler silicone elbow. 
The standard STi item had developed a slight rip from previous IC removals/installs. 

Samco part E9051 was sourced and cut to fit the tight squeeze.

Next item on the list to be replaced is the intercooler to throttle body hose as the standard rubber item developed a rip...

Mods Mods Mods!!

It's been awhile since my last post and how soooo much as changed!!

Change is good, especially when its in the form of a power increase.

First things first, the stock exhaust was to go. This was replaced with a TCP Auto turbo back exhaust system. I decided to go with the TCP system due to the lower db reading it produced, which apparently comes in just under the legal limit. I wasn't after a noisy full blown race system, just a decent flowing system that would help improve the power output and give that unquie subaru exhaust rumble. 

Gotta love the shiny new bits...

First the intercooler comes out...

The dump pipe bolts would have to be the hardest bolts to remove in the entire install

Second item to be installed was an AEM Cold Air intake system.

The oversized filter sits in the guard for that stealthy look...

I forgot to take an actual pic of my intake in the guard....however the above is pretty much it!

And finally a Walbro 225 fuel pump was installed and the car started first time perfectly without a hitch. 

The car was driven (off boost) to Springy Motors for a Dyno Tune. This is the first vehicle I've owned that I've taken in for a tune, so I was quite nervous. But thankfully Danny did an excellent job and with a conservative tune managed 200KW's ATW. 

My main goals is to maintain reliability, gain a little power while keeping the car as stealth as possible. And so far it seems to be working.

A BIG thank-you to Cambs for helping me install the parts! It's great to be learning so much from an experienced DIY'er!