The plan is to move JDMLove off of wordpress and onto Tumblr. I want to try and set it up as a community site where fellow tumblr (and maybe non-tumblr members) can simply post a picture with a brief caption. Tumblr has a wonderfully simple and intuitive authoring interface which members can post straight from their iPhone! So if it all works out like I plan, contributors can simply snap a photo with their iPhone at a meet and post it immediately.

Tumblr also supports various forms of posting from text posts to audio posts. With such a wide variety of post mediums I hope the page will stay fresh and provide the content I was hoping the blog would.

I’ll post up designs on here as I go and those who do read or visit are free to comment on them. I’d also like to give a very special and sincere thanks to the authors who did contribute here, it wouldn’t have been even worth it without you! And thank you to the readers, I hope you follow the progress as we move over to Tumblr!

- Chris

As my first post here, I thought I might as well introduce myself and my JDM Subaru.

I first got into japanese cars when I sold my truck and got an old 1987 Toyota Celica from my Dad to commute to work. It was amazing how fun that car was on the turns, and even on the gravel roads and hills. Right at the same time, the 2002 WRX’s started showing up in dealers and I knew I had to get a hold of one of these. I bought a ‘02 WRX Wagon and have been a certified subaru fanatic since then. I am now on my 5th Subaru, and the first one that is pretty unique due to being a JDM car.

This car was brought over from Japan in 2 halves, the front and back from the same car. A donor USDM 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS was sourced, that had a great body, and was stripped completely and the parts were sold off. Every single nut and bolt, and glass and trim was transferred to the USDM shell. Even the rare JDM rear wiper, power folding mirrors, flat fuel door with the cable release and power retractable antenna were brought over. A few new OEM parts were added to improve on some body panels that had seen better days such as the hood and rear doors. Jeremy in NH did all the work as his personal car and did a great job. I purchased the car after he had it sitting in his garage for a couple years. When I bought the car, it had around 45,000 original kms on the whole car (besides the miles on the donor chassis).

Since purchasing the car, I have added a few bits and pieces here and there, but my goal is to keep it as close to JDM-stock as possible. The stock JDM Version 5 came with the 2.0 Liter EJ207 motor with a VF-28 twin-scroll turbo. This one is a 5-speed Manual, since the 6-speeds only came in the Type R/RA models that year. Later in 2001 or so when the version 7s came out, 6-speed became standard on all STI’s worldwide.

The car has the following mods as of today:

• APEX’i Power FC with Commander
• 3″ Custom SS Turbo–back Exhaust
• 3″ Vibrant Cat
• Stromung Axle–back
• IXIZ AOSEP
• JIC FLT–>A2 Coilovers
• Rear swaybar – Whiteline Adjustable 22–24mm
• Rear swaybar endlinks – Whiteline
• Subaru Heavy–duty rear swaybar mounts
• Subaru JDM V7 wheels
• SS Brake lines
• Brembo Rotors
• H6 Rear vented rotors
• UK–sourced Lamco (Subaru OEM) White–faced Triple Gauges
• Kartboy short shifter and bushings
• MOMO alum/leather Shift knob
• WRX pedals
• V6 front spoiler and spats
• JDM aero ‘mudguards’
• Cusco center rearend brace

Driving Impressions:

The first time I drove the car it took a little getting used to. The second time I drove the car it was when I bought it in New Hampshire and drove 10 hours in the snow to Virginia. The car was extremely fast, around 310 HP on the JDM ECU. Shifting with the other had took a little while to get used to (like 2 hours or so), as well as lane positioning. The car handles great and loves to rev. The EJ207 has a 8000-rpm redline, which is a little higher than the US model WRXs or 2.5 liter USDM STIs. The twin-scroll turbo spools quickly and runs about 19.5 psi or so. Acceleration is very good in the car. Of course, the all-wheel drive helps grab the road, but the car’s 400-odd lbs weight savings over the USDM GD-chassis STIs helps quite a bit as well.

I have tuned the car with the APEX’i Power FC to be able to run 93 octane gas safely. My main goal in tuning the car was to get a safe tune to keep the engine healthy for a long time.

I have also dialed in the handling a bit with the rear sway bar, endlinks, and most recently, the JIC coilovers. The car handles corners amazingly. I am still debating putting the STI V5 struts back on with some V6 STI Type R Springs I picked up from Ryan in Japan. I will continue to dial in the handling over the next few months to get ready for a few track days and some spirited driving in the scenic mountains we have out east in the Appalachians.

I will be doing some product reviews and updates as time goes on. The most fun is seeing people’s reactions when they notice this is no ordinary Subaru Impreza. I never knew Subaru fanatics were so nuts about JDM parts!! After spending the last year driving this car up and down the east coast, I can definatly see why. I hope to spread the JDM love by taking it to as many track days, meets, and events as possible in 2010. Enjoy the pictures and see you on the road!

Clunky and Loud

While the KSports’ offer a great price to ride ratio they tend to be a bit loud in the cabin. I could drive over a pebble and the thump inside the cabin was more like hitting a 3 inch deep pot hole. Granted the suspension is stiff making the springs hard to flex and the frame was taking most of the impact which would explain the harsh noises. However; those running Tein Flex which is also very stiff have no complaints of obtrusive cabin noise. The Flex also comes with Tein’s "silencing rubber" between the tightest coils which they claim reduces that cabin noise. None the less, Tein Flex is nearly twice as expensive as the Kontrol Pro’s.

Aggressively Stiff

The Kontrol Pro’s are incredibly stiff which is great for track driving or hitting the back roads, but for the daily commute a softer ride is always a welcome luxury. You can get custom spring rates straight from the factory, however; that seems counter intuitive. By the time you pay for your custom springs on your KSports you had might as well picked up some Buddy Club N+ or Tein CS. If you’re looking to run stiff on the track and back roads then the KSports are the coil overs for you.

Lock Rings Seized Up

Ah, the real reason why I ditched the KSports. Not that long ago I had to pick up a set of new tires. Being new, these tires had a lot more tread which lead to having to raise the car back up a bit to prevent rubbing. When I went to pop the lock ring in the back it wouldn’t come loose. I hit it with a screw driver, a mallet, the "keys," I heated them with a torch, I cooled them with ice. I shot them with PB Blaster, silicon spray and WD–40, nothing worked.

I can’t entirely blame this on the coil over. Living in Oregon the DOT sprays the roads with de-icer during the winter which can have very negative side effects on almost all of your cars moving parts, including lock rings. With a little more preventative maintenance this could have possibly been avoided. However; one side of me feels that the part should have been made with enough quality to not require any kind of maintenance. I have to remember that all aftermarket parts for vehicles are intended for "off-road purposes only" meaning that they are intended for track conditions and fair weather.

Conclusion

I ended up pulling the KSports off and putting my OEM struts with Tein H–Tech springs back on. Granted I am about an inch higher off the ground now I could not be more satisfied. The ride is much softer, no more clunks and thumps and the car drives more like a it did from the factory. The Tein’s offer a nice compromise between performance and comfort, the next step would just be adding some Koni Yellows for additional adjustments.

User Link Feed

Now our users can add content to the site without being authors! That’s right, no need to become and author to contribute to the site. With the user link feed you as the user can post your link or a link to a site you feel is relevant to JDM and a short description about that page which will appear in the sidebar. Now anyone can contribute to JDMLove and help the site get bigger!

New Navigation

The navigation has been overhauled and cleaned up. Instead of seeing all of the categories we are making use of subcategories and an elegant drop down menu. This cleans up our navigation and make it easier to use.

Drag To Share

When you’re viewing any single post you can click on the main image (the image at the top of the page) and drag it to your favorite share site! This is an entirely new approach to social networking and we’re excited to deploy it on JDMLove!

Take A Look Around

Take some time out of your day and check out the new features on JDMLove, feel free to leave feedback!

• Links to useful resources or inspiration
• Links to your site or other sites that share the same passion for the JDM scene
• Please keep your descriptions to 500 characters or less

You can submit your links using the form below. Approval can take up to 48 hours

Anyways, you’ll need a good wax job to really take advantage of this trick, however even poorly waxed cars can benefit. Happy washing!

In order to make use of my fix-a-ticket I need to get my license renewed which means I need to make a trip to the dreaded DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). I step into the DMV at about 10:15 a.m figuring that most people were at work and the line would be short, WRONG! Line was of course a mile long and as I watched my lunch break fly by I was getting nervous. Finally I hear “next” and to my disbelief I was actually next! Up to the counter I go and “what can I do for you?” well, I said, I need to have my license renewed.

Apparently as of 2008 in the State Of Oregon you can no longer receive a new or renewed drivers license without, a valid social security card, proof of live birth (your birth certificate), state identificatin (old license, temporary state issued I.D), and a utility bill sent to your current address. Me being foolish figured that my expired Oregon drivers license, some credit cards, and my social security card would be enough proof of my identity, but apparently not.

Oregon claims these new harsher rules are to combat “terrorism” and “illegal immigration” however, if you are a terrorist would be willfully in the DMV to get a drivers license? Probably not, if you’re an illegal immigrant and the DMV denies you a drivers license are you really going to just leave your vehicle in the parking lot? Probably not. This just seems like another way to make hard working, tax paying American’s jump through one more hoop in their daily lives and a way for the State to extract another $59.00 from our pockets.

So the moral of the story is that the DMV is an insidious vice that we all must deal with, regardless in what state your currently living in. If you’re in the State Of Oregon be sure to bring in you social security card, birth certificate, utility bill, your old or current I.D, $59.00 in cash or check (no debit or credit), and a blood sample…ok maybe not a blood sample, but everything else is true!

Click here to read Monopoly Man’s post on swapping a H22 engine into a 90 – 93 Accord.

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First off you will need a either a crank pulley remover (which is a 50 mm size) or a strong impact gun.. atleast 1200 lbs.. you will also need a good pry bar and long extentions.

first thing you will wanna do is remove your passanger side tire
once removed you will need to remove the cover

I circled the tabs that need to be removed in red

once tabs are removed you can pull down the cover just enough to get out of the way to see the crank pulley.

I would first start with loosening that nut first (19 mm bolt)
once loosen you will need to move on to removing the belt out of the way
in order to do so you will need to loosen the pulley tentioner

I circled in red the tentioner area you need to loose.. DO NOT REMOVE THE BOLT!! only loosen it up alittle
once loose the circle area in blue is the actual tentioner, what i did is use a 14 mm wrench and the small bar that slid over it to pull it down like a lever the arrow shows that the tentioner is to go up in that direction so you will be pulling downward.. ( hope that makes sense )
once removed begin removing the crank pulley bolt make sure not to loose the key that is in it (its a triangle looking thing inside the crank pulley hole where the nut was located)
once removed you can place your new pulley in you will need to place the key in at the same time it may not slide in very easy so alittle trick is to get it on as much as possible then place the nut back in and start tightening it.. ( it should be easy to tighten up if it is really difficult then you didnt get the key in correctly of its binding up somewhere)
once its tighten enough without the crank pulley rotating the engine
install the belt.. make sure you install it correctly (may be a good time to replace it with a new one)
once belt is installed tight the tentioner nut that was loosen earlier.. it should be around 30 ft lbs if you want to get technical.. but just tight will work (spark plug tight)
now you will want to move back down to the crank pulley.. here you will want to tighten the bolt to 181 ft lbs.. ( if you have a impact gun it will work perfect ) reason why i say that is most aftermarket crank pulleys dont have an area to lock it in place to tighten it up ( unless you have a manual trany which makes it alot easier all together)

now you can sit back and enjoy a quicker engine response.. stay tuned for the power steering and altenator pulley installs..