Thread: My 2005 WRX STi - 6/28/2016 dyno tune update 429 AWHP/377 AWTQ on 93 octane

I dig it.

I need a Porter Cable bad.

I've used Zaino and I am beyond impressed. Meg's entire kit just fits my budget and availability...I'm going to hit the Blue & Silver car with M105 and 205 here soon.

But the Scooby looks great, those comparison pics are always good.

Thanks man. The porter cable is sweet, I love it. If I had time to detail on the side and I could justify it I'd buy a Flex over a PC, but the flex is almost 3x more expensive so the PC works out just fine.

And yeah, Zaino is awesome. I've used Adam's, Pinnacle, Megs and Mothers and Zaino is still my favorite stuff.

Final buffing is done, here's an iPhone picture just to tease some more. Once I apply the Z-CS I'll get some pics with the D300s

dude i need you to work on my vehicles...youre crazy.

drool @ paintz

Holy ****.. I wish my paint looked like that!

Thanks guys! I got a little distracted last night trying to get my fleabay strut braces to fit - the rear worked with some persuasion, the front is going to need some modifications to the bracket. Hopefully the H brace fits without too much struggle. I also need to paint the brackets for the front brace because the pink doesn't even match the STi pink so I have to change the color so it fits with the car.

I did the final Z6 wipedown and I just applied the Z-CS about 30 minutes ago. I have to head to work but that's fine since the stuff has to cure anyhow. Tomorrow it's raining but Sunday is going to be very nice so I'll get good pictures then.

My strut braces and H brace: Functional but not exactly good looking. $80 for all of it, I'm not complaining.


RA UR Mudflaps. The blue logo is going to be changed over to either dark grey or red. Haven't decided yet. I need to pick one damn color for this car and stick with it. Again, I got them on the cheap so I'm okay with the color.

You will like that H-bar, really tightens up car

Lookin' real good kyle

you have any barbie dolls to go with those braces? lol

hope they work out with little problems

i havent seen paint that clean in a long time

No barbies, unfortunately the pink isn't staying. It doesn't even match the STI pink so there's no chance. Probably just going to paint them black.

Alright guys sorry for keeping you waiting. I've had an insanely busy week between work and car troubles (Not the STi, but the STi isn't being driven right now and I've had to do some work on a few other cars). I also puled the STi's headlights apart, cleared them, and painted the charcoal piece inside Obsidian Black Pearl to match the car, and then converted the indicators, brakes lights, parking lights, reverse lights, license plate lights and interior lights to LEDs. I did some stiffening as well, I added front and rear strut braces and subframe a H-brace. I haven't driven the car yet so I can't report on if they actually make a difference or not.

Here's the pictures I promised, they aren't fantastic, the background isn't great but I'll be getting some nicer pictures sometime in the next few weeks. You can still see the differences.

Engine bay before:


After:





Interior before (I actually detailed the interior about 2 months ago and I just haven't had a chance to get pictures yet):


After:



Paint before:








Paint After:




















I've never worked with paint like this to be honest. the clear coat is so soft and at times the paint almost seemed "gummy." I finally got it all sorted out that and I'm fairly happy with the results.

For anyone interested, these are the steps I took in detailing the car:

Interior:
Mats- Resolve and a good scrubdown/spraying off.
Seats- Vacuum and "Tough Stuff" stain remover.
Carpet- Vacuum
Windows- Invisible Glass

Engine Bay:
Cleaning- I covered the alternator with aluminum foil and sprayed everything down with Simple Green, let it soak, scrubbed the more stubborn areas and then rinsed.

Protecting- 303'ed all the rubber and plastic.

Exterior:
Wash- Regular car soap, whatever I had in the garage.
Claybar- Zaino Z-18, Mother's Cali Gold Detail Spray as a Lubricant
Paint Correction- using a Porter Cable 7424 and Lake County CCS orange pads with Zaino ZPC abrasive polish, then a Lake County CCS white pads with 3M Perfect-it III Machine Glaze.
Sealing: (Note: Z5 and Z2 polishes were both activated with Zaino ZFX Flash Cure Additive, and I did a Z6 Gloss Enhancer Spray wipedown after buffing off each layer of Z5 and Z2.) 3 layers of Z5, followed by 3 layers of Z2, followed by ZCS (Clear Seal) and a final Z6 wipedown.

The windows and side mirrors were Rain-X'ed and the wheels were cleaned with generic wheel cleaner. I applied Armor All to the sidewall of the tires.


Headlights- Baked, amber pieces removed, plastic colormatched to the body color and lenses polished.

Before:




After:




Chassis Stiffening- Front and rear strut braces, Subframe H-brace. The pInk was supposed to match the STi pink but it didn't so I painted the stuff that can be seen on the car Obsidian Black Pearl to match the body color.

The STi's new friend:

im jelly of teh sti. keep it up.

i like your baby wheels

Oooooo 03 vette buddy.... nice

loving the car, very very jelly

Originally Posted by Bio248

i like your baby wheels

Some day it'll get something different. I'm gonna paint the stock ones matte black for some contrast I think. I still love gold wheel but the blacked out headlights make me want to black everything else out.

Thanks guys! The 50th is my dad's new toy. I think I can forgive him for buying a V6 G8 now

I really need to get a PC. Those headlights are kickass. Rest of the car looks awesome too. Not sure how I feel about the blue carpet though lol.