msgsti217's journal (updated!)

[msgsti217]

So I thought it was about time to make myself a journal.

I got my '06 STI on October 28, 2006 and it was the last Aspen white STI left in California at the time. I got it over at Renick Subaru/Cadillac, which has pretty amazing customer service I might add. Anyway, here is a picture of her when she was new.



The story about how I ended up in an STI is actually quite tragic. Not really, but I'm trying to be dramatic. My previous car had been a '05 Dodge SRT-4 Commemorative Edition #6 of 200, pictured below.



I had got the car September 4, 2005, and a little more than a year later on October 23, 2006, this happened:



I used the insurance money I got from the SRT-4 to pay it off and put a down payment on the STI. You'd be surprised how much I got for that FWD monster Anyway, I fell in love with my STI from the moment I sat down in the driver's seat. Of course I went through the whole break-in procedure, which was quite the *****, but I'm glad I did. The car was amazing when I was able to open it up. I couldn't believe the massive difference of the AWD over the FWD, it was simply incredible how much more grip the STI had over the burnout machine SRT-4.





STI Compilation: YouTube - STI Compilation

Now onto the mods. The first mod I made was actually a Christmas present from a few of my friends: a Magnaflow muffler with actuator delete, done at a local exhaust shop. This made the car sound much throatier and meaner, but I was always kind of embarrassed to say I just had a muffler for my exhaust mods

Exhaust: YouTube - STI exhaust knocks over bottle

A few months later, I installed the SPT intake, which seemed to free up the car a little and made that cool woosh sound



I was content with these mods for a few months, but in december of 07, I bought a Cobb AccessPort and went stage 1 since I was still using the stock downpipe. I also installed some Rally Armor UR mud flaps and Rally Armor 3/16" skid plate because I had caught the offroad bug. Yes, I am one of the few morons who takes their STI into the dirt and mud.

Offroading Compilation: YouTube - Gettin Dirty











El Mirage Madness: YouTube - El Mirage Madness

I have also taken my car to its top speed out on the lakebed:



Top Speed Run: YouTube - Top Speed in STI - 154 mph

But, the offroading comes at a price (obviously). One time when I was down at the El Mirage Dry Lakebed, where most of the above shots were taken, I hit a soft patch of dirt and when I reached the end, I hit a steep lip and was projected into the air and came down on the left side of my front bumper. It cracked, but nothing had ripped off. After continued offroading and a few other miscellaneous offroading incidents, the crack became quite large. So, i decided to take a reciprocating saw and cut it off.



Boy, did I ever get **** for that. But thats ok; I know of at least 2 other subies that have shaved bumpers from offroading accidents

Anyway, back to mods. In July of this year, I finally manned up and went stage 2 with the Turbo XS turbo back exhaust system with 4" downpipe. The performance difference was moderate, but enough to make a difference in the butt dyno .



Other miscellaneous mods include the red JDM hazard button, Valentine V1 radar detector (which has saved me from quite a few tickets), Spec C/RA Nurburgring sticker above the Subaru emblem on the trunk, an extra set of Gold BBS rims for offroading, and SocalSubies stickers on both sides of the wing



Electronic modifications include a Pioneer AVIC N3 head unit with navigation, DVD, and iPod hookup, DLS speakers, and a 450 watt 4 channel JL amp.

Future plans include:

Within the near future

-Whiteline front and rear adjustable sway bars
-Whiteline front and rear endlinks

Within the next year

-Blouch Dominator 4.0 with supporting mods
-RCE Tarmac 2 Coilovers

Thanks for reading about my car



Oh, and now we have another AWD monster in the family




Update:

Now I have a bumper