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.

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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..

The first thing you have to do is check your vacuum routing. On the underside of your hood there should be a vacuum diagram. If there isn’t a diagram under there, there is one in a Helms, Chilton’s, or Haynes manual for your car (If you don’t have one already, it is suggested that you buy one before beginning). Remember, ANY extra air will confuse the ECU. Check for cracked or bad vacuum hoses. If in doubt, just replace the damage hose; they aren’t very expensive. The PCV valve could also be the culprit. Take it out and examine it. If it is cracked it could be causing a vacuum leak. Replace the piece if you aren’t completely sure that it’s okay (the Helms / Chilton’s / Haynes manuals tell you how to check it).

Next, check to see that your throttle plate is closed all the way. Take your intake off at the TB and check to see that nothing is blocking the plate. If nothing is in the way and it isn’t closed all the way, loosen your throttle cable. Check to see if the nuts holding the TB and the IM on are tight, this was the source of my idle problem. If they are loose, tighten them. After that, check the idle screw. It’s on the top of the TB right next to the red vacuum line in the first picture. It’s a flat-tip screw and most TB’s have it epoxied over. If your screw is not epoxied over try adjusting it. Some air bubbles may throw the FITV off and keep the valve open, so bleed your coolant by draining small amounts and pouring more in

Take the 3 10mm bolts out of the FITV (you don’t have to take off the coolant lines). Then take off the two 8mm bolts from the plate on the back of the FITV. Once the plate is off you will see a white plastic thing, screw that all the way in. This causes a lot of people’s hunting idle problems (it’s a source of a vacuum leak). Put the FITV back on and start the car up. If it still idles badly continue onto the next step.

Here is a write-up on the FITV. Clean the IACV screen(s). See Oz’s write up on G2IC. Make sure your car is completely warmed up. With it running, take the intake off the TB. There are 2 holes right in front of the throttle plate; these are the holes that feed the IACV (top hole) and the FITV (bottom hole). With your finger, cover up the bottom hole (there should not be any suction if your car is at operating temperature). If the idle goes down, the FITV is to blame; either get a new one or take it apart and screw the valve completely closed (I have only read of people doing this, so I don’t know exactly how). Also, you will have to keep the engine speed up yourself when the car is cold.

Next cover both holes up with your fingers. The car should sputter and die (or almost die). If it does then the source of your faulty idle is the IACV. Replace it. If you want you can test the IACV. Shut the car off and put Positive battery voltage to the black/yellow terminal (on the valve) and momentarily touch ground to the blue/yellow side. When doing this the valve should click, if it doesn’t, replace it. If when covering both holes the car still has a high idle, you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Again check the IM and TB nuts. You can spray carburetor ******* around those areas and if any gets sucked in (the engine will rev) you have found your leak. Another source of vacuum leaks are where the FITV and IACV connect to the IM. Either replace the gaskets or use silicone gasket sealant. If nothing has worked you should test your TPS. Probe the middle wire on the TPS plug (with the key on but not running, and the plug still connected to the sensor) with the positive probe on the voltmeter, and the negative probe to ground. You should have .5v with a fully closed throttle plate and 4.8v with it wide open. If the TPS is off, replace it. If, still, nothing has worked you might want to try a new ECU. This also is very unlikely, but worth a try. So now, if it still idles badly, go through the steps again.

It is very unlikely that you will end up needing to do all of these steps, you will usually have your problem fixed within the first few steps, but these are all of the possible causes to your problem. Remember, if you have problems with all of these abbreviations then search online, the best place to look is www.honda-tech.com, I’ve found most of the abbreviations in Helms and Chilton manuals before, so you can look there also.

Tools Required:
Soldering Iron
Solder
Needle Nose Pliers
Cigarette Lighter
Scissors
Heatshield material
Zip ties
Double stick tape
Electrical tape
Duct tape

Step 1: Disconnect and remove the bulbs you already have in there. This is typically an easy task on most cars, but some don’t give you much room, you may find yourself having to move things around a bit which is beyond the scope of this DIY.

Disconnect and remove exisiting bulbs

Step 2: Your kit will most likely come with some connectors and some wires (red and black), these wires then go into some metal prongs that then slide into the connector that fits your stock socket (i.e. 9006, H1, 9005, etc…). What you’ll need to is solder those wires to the metal tabs, this insures a good connection and will help against flickering or short circuiting. Take your time here this can be a delicate process.

Solder wires to the connectors

Step 3: Now slide those soldered metal ends into the connector, you’ll want to uses some needle nose pliers to grab the other end and pull it until it gently pops into place. Now, wrap the end of the connector to the wires with electrical tape, this again helps with short circuiting and/or shorting out. It also helps keep things in place.

Insert prongs into connector

Step 4: Now mount your ballasts someplace where there wont be much or any water intrusion and as far away from heat as possible. Use zip ties for this instead of drilling into anything because you want to relocate these at another time.

Attach ballasts

Step 5: Connect the ignitor module and locate it someplace just like the ballast, as little heat and water as possible. Insert your HID bulbs into your headlights being careful not to touch the bulbs with your bare hands (if you do wipe them down with rubbing alcohol and a q-tip).

Plug in the ignitor

Step 6: Connect the plugs and turn on your headlights, if they work hooray! if they don’t try again. Remember it’s not good to run HID’s on just battery power alone, if you want to stare into the light start the car up. Just be sure you have proper ventilation!

Step 7: Now if you’re like me when I did this you couldn’t find a good spot to mount the ballasts away from a lot of heat. So here’s where some heat wrap comes into play. What I used was a starter heat shield from Summit Racing. Measure the dimensions of your ballast then trace those dimensions onto your heat wrap, get out the scissors and start cutting.

Heat wrap cutouts

Step 8: Cut several squares of double stick tape and place them onto the ballasts then stick your cuts outs to those squares. Then wrap the edges where the different layers meet with duct tape (alot like wrapping a gift). That’s it, now your ballasts can withstand some serious heat for those hot summer days idling at a light.

Wrap with heat wrap

I hope you found this DIY helpful! If you did please forward it on to your friends or simply use the bookmarks below! Thanks!