For those of you with washable air filters, go clean them.

I waited a year. Wow, that was DIRTY.

I got the bits together, the weather was nice, I found some vinyl to cover up the holes and it just seemed like the right time.

Click the picture for the gallery…

I dig it!

I got super lucky and found a SYMS spoiler for my car from SPO Motorsports on their clearance page. I saw this on their show car at SEMA in 2000, but didn’t ever think I’d find one.

I’m having a friend paint and clear it for me. Not sure how long it’ll take to get the paint and all done, but I can’t wait. The lip spoiler is the look I like on these kind of cars if they’re not wingless. It’ll be nice to have the better visibility and the unique look too.

I sold my Rota Formels to a friend with an 05 WRX. He’s going to grab a fourth wheel and get some tires in a bit. I’ve finally got him craving aftermarket parts now that he’s not driving a boring A4 2.8.

I’m also selling a set of WRX brakes from an 03. $125 plus shipping in the US.

Finally, I have a TWE Equal-Length header coming my way. It’s almost new and should make a good replacement for my aging Borlas. The sound is going to be a bit different, but I think it’ll be good, especially since I should have better power too.

I got a copy of the 1993 World Rally Championship review years back and ripped it to a Quicktime movie. I had no good way to share it at the time, but much has changed in the intervening years. YouTube lets anyone upload almost anything and let people all around the world view this stuff.

Here’s some footage I cut together of the Legacy and Impreza from the 1993 WRC season.

First off, I was able to find some JDM taillights from a member on NASIOC’s Legacy forum. There are some small differences, but the important thing is that they are completely plug and bolt compatible:

The color is darker, there’s no amber lenses (clear lenses with amber bulbs) and the center section says “LEGACY” instead of “SUBARU” now. It’s a nice change, though a bit on the pricey side.

The second change is that one of my Rota Formels was bent, but instead of replacing one old wheel, I decided to look for another set of wheels. I found a set of 17×7.5″ Rota SDRs from a local guy and am now using them for snow wheels instead of the Formels:

You can see both the new wheels and the JDM taillights installed in this picture.

No more wobbling or tire noise now. I was afraid that the wheels would be too dark, but the finish is glossy enough that it picks up light pretty well.

I had some overheating problems in the last two weeks but I seem to have been able to solve the problem by replacing the thermostat. I was fearing another radiator clogging or headgasket failure. Thankfully the new thermostat seems to have fixed the problem for now.

I had my Hankook Ice Bears installed on the Rotas last weekend, and swapped the Prodrive/Falken combo for them. Unfortunately, a silly mistake of mine last year at a local 7-11 might have actually bent one of the rims. I had a wobble in the steering at speeds over 45MPH with the old Falkens, but noticed that it went away when I switched the tires front to back. That same wobble is back with completely different tires, so I guess it’s the wheel. I am disappointed that the tire place didn’t mention it, because there’s no way it could have been balanced properly.The Prodrives are back on until I can get those wheels checked and get a replacement wheel.For the past two or three months, I’d had an intermittent CEL, which I’d mentioned in the last post. This kept me from registering my car, because I didn’t seem to be able to find the time to get it diagnosed. Reseting the ECU will clear the light, but the car must be driven a certain number of miles in certain conditions to make sure that the OBDII system is working, and that might well have resulted in the return of the CEL.Yesterday the CEL was gone, and remained that way as I drove towards a local shop that does the OBDII tests. Pass or fail, I was going to see. My luck, the CEL stayed off and nothing in it’s memory prevented the check from passing. Excellent.I was finally able to get some JDM taillights, and they’ll be showing up soon. Very excited for this stuff.Finally, I’ve got a Subaru OE under-seat sub that I’ve half installed. The wiring needs to be run under the carpet and the sub mounted to the seat rail, but it’s in and working. Not a lot of extra bass, but it does fill in the sound nicely on a lot of music.

It’s that time of year when I have to think about inspection and making sure that I don’t have any check engine lights. I do have a CEL, and it’s probably related to my high-flow cat, but I’m going to reset the ECU, drive it for a while and see if it will stay away. Hopefully it’s nothing else.

I did have a HUGE crack in my windshield, from the top and around to the bottom, but that was taken care of this afternoon by a local place that does it mobile. 20 minutes was all it took to get a new one installed.

I like the Falkens even more now. I got a chance to do some brief canyon driving this weekend and chased a 911 around in some nice sweeping bends. It was good fun and pretty safe, and the tires were grippy and quiet. I’m still amazed at how well this suspension corners.

Last Saturday I finally got around to putting those big 05 LGT brakes on the car. It took me a few hours, and with a little help, I was able to get the lines bled. The biggest difference is in the look, as they fill my wheels up a lot more than the old WRX setup did. The feel isn’t much different, but I know now that I have enough braking to reliably stop a significantly faster car with similar weight. Confidence is nice.

Hot on the heels of the new brakes came a deal I passed up initially, but decided to go for anyways. I found a seller in Colorado of some 18″ Prodrive/OZ P-WRC1 wheels. I’d shopped for larger wheels two months or so ago, but decided against it. This deal gave me the opportunity to get new tires, which I needed anyway, and get a look that I really was looking for. I decided on some Falken FK-452 tires in 225/40-18 for summer/spring/fall duty, while the Rotas will be kept with some all-season or snow tires for the rest of the year.

The LGT brakes look good under the new wheels as well. So far I like them a lot, and everyone seems pleased at the color and style.

My mom has been bugging me to mention her new car. Fine. She got a slightly-used PT Cruiser GT convertible. It’s…fast in a straight line. Not bad for a convertible, but just don’t drive it over bumps. Fun at stop lights with the traction control off and 220HP, courtesy of a turbo, no LSD and FWD. Happy mom?

I haven’t got around to putting those HUGE LGT front brakes on yet. Swapping calipers involves at least some brake bleeding, which I’ve done only once or twice before. It’s mildly intimidating.

I did get that rear Cusco brace installed. As I suspected, it made little to no difference, but it’s a nice present for my car and looks cool on a mod list. Lets be honest, sometimes that’s important. Besides, the car was made in Indiana, and the more Japanese stuff on it, the better. I’m trying to get some JDM taillights…one step at a time.