These Rays wheels are cursed.

At long last, we’ve reached the final installment of the Willow Springs trilogy. To be honest, part of the day was kind of a sore subject for me and I was reluctant to talk about it, hence the delay. Before I even got to the track, I had a bolt that holds my brake bracket back out on me, on the freeway, at 80 miles per hour. Actually I didn’t even know that part of my very nice, brand new, shiny, expensive, 6-piston brake caliper was partly dragging on the inside barrel of my wheel, until it was already too late.

FML. I cried inside, a little.

I saw a shiny piece of metal go flying out on the freeway too but didn’t connect the dots. I thought I’d just run over something and my tire might’ve kicked it out into the air. Little did I know, sad face. Honestly, I thought I was going driving home that day in the EVO to pick up the spare bolt in my living room, just to get the STi home. Vince was nice enough to get my car in the air for me, pull off the wheel, and evaluate the damage. Out of the lot of us, I’d vote Vince as best mechanic; he’s so clever and he’s quick at wrenching.

Ferdie's war chest.

As it turns out, there was hope, a ray of light from above! I’d thought the bolts in the caliper were the ones I’d lost, but we’d discovered I was only missing one bolt that goes on the bottom of the bracket. Here’s where it gets good; the bolt I need is actually kind of common. I didn’t know Ferdie carries a little pot of Subaru gold with him to the track; all these little miscellaneous spare bolts, nuts, washers, screws, you name it. Random crap, and I do mean crap.

Our little camp.

We found the bolt I needed, somehow. There was only one from what I could tell; that’s just how lucky/unlucky I was that day. Lucky in the sense that we’re going to fix this sucker, unlucky in the sense that we have to fix it to begin with. That’s racing for you! I actually ended up pulling off the other 3 wheels to check each bracket, now that I had very good reason to be suspicious. What the hell, all the other 3 corners were fine! FML.

Another angle of our base.

Well, we got my car up and running and it was a great day after that, for me anyway. Ferdie’s car had an issue with his control arm the day before so he was out for the count. Jon lifted his headgasket and had coolant pushing out of the overflow tank like it was Christmas. Looks like he’s going to have to pull the heads, get a new headgasket, ARP head studs, deck the heads, you know the drill. He’s smarter than I though; his solution will not involve a new engine.

Vince's car sitting at turn 2.

That’s not all! Ferdie lent his GPS data acquisition device to a fellow Subaru road racer, Cassie. This is maybe the second or third time we’ve seen her at a Speedtrial event, driving Gushi’s GC Impreza with a WRX swap. It’s a full on rally car, weighing in at only 2500 pounds packing over 300 to the wheels. Ferdie got a ride with her and says she has insane car control, demonstrated by drifting every corner. I’m very interested to get a ride with her if I see her again. Drifting is not really something any of us do, so I’d love to see that, not to mention get a ride in a 2500 pound car.

With our luck and all, the magnet that holds the GPS whatever you call it flew off in turn 2. After the event, Ferdie, Vince and I hopped into Vince’s car and walked turn 1 and 2 looking for the device. It was nowhere to be found, but we ended up walking turn 3, 5, 8 and 9. Perhaps not really walking, more like getting out of the car, looking at the road surface and surrounding area, then driving off. It was a good way to end a day that started horribly, I think.

Eating breakfast next to the track.

It’s Saturday morning, 5AM, and Yim is at the door. Time to go! We head back over to the shop to pick up our cars. It’s not even 6AM and Ferdie is quick detailing his car; no comment. We’re all sorted and hit the road. Maybe 40 minutes later, we’re at the Chevron in Rosamond, only 2-3 miles away from Willow Springs, maybe longer, I don’t know. Let’s just say 5 minutes away. We all stop to eat breakfast at Jack In The Box and Andrew happens to show up at the perfect time to join us.

I think I had some sort of burrito, something like that. We go to the driver’s meeting, pass through tech inspection, and prep our cars before the first session of the day. You always want to check your oil, torque down your lugs, adjust your tire pressures, and empty your interior. I have Schroth Profi III 6-point harnesses, so I usually have to spend a minute or two to get my anti-sub straps ready since I don’t use my harnesses in daily driving. I also brought my video camera mount in hopes of learning from my mistakes.

Vince tore his RE-01R to shreds.

The first session wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. You’re never going to set your fastest laps in the first session; warm up your engine, your tires, and your wits. You’re not going to be going into turn 8 flat out your first lap, at least I hope not. But the second session, Vince tore up one of his tires pretty good. I was having cooling issues again and just as I was exiting the track, I saw Vince push out on 9 when he got on the throttle. I didn’t realize how scary that was until I saw it on video. Nuts.

EVO X, GRB STi, GRB STi, Legacy, GRB STi, EVO 9, GRB STi, GRB STi.

It’s a good thing he pulled off before anything real bad could happen. He ended up having to throw Ferdie’s spare Enkeis in the rear and moving his CE28 rear to the front. It’s a damn good thing we’re starting to bring real spares instead of those donuts they throw in your trunk. Vince ended up having to go all the way home to pick up his Toyo R1Rs he bought from Dusty at NNI Racing and mounting them the same day. He didn’t make it back until 6PM later that day.

Legacy, GRB STi, EVO 9, GRB STi, GRB STi.

Meanwhile, my brakes were acting kind of funny. I felt like they were faded or the rotors were warped, getting a lot of modulation under semi-hard braking. I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, but don’t worry, I later found out, the hard way. Ouch. My coilovers were also making weird noises, I guess from the heat expanding the metal. Fortunately nothing bad happened there. Still severe cooling issues, which we later concluded was a result of bubbles in the system. Too bad we didn’t get them out until last night (Monday)!

Amy, Andrew and Yim at basecamp.

Andrew was absolutely dominating me in his stock EVO 9. I’m absolutely confident that he could’ve took first place in Redine Time Attack for Big Willow if he had a fresh set of tires, some KW coilovers, and TBE. Hell, even with just tires, he might be able to do it. I was so impressed with his driving ability. Watching Andrew and Randy drive is seriously encouraging me to get into autox in the very near future, once I get some scheduling sorted out.

Well, all in all, it wasn’t too bad of a track day, although half the team walked away with mechanical issues. I’ll talk about what went wrong in all of our cars next time. That’s racing for you; the best of the times and the worst of times.

Parking my car in YimiSport for the night.

Track days are always such a pain, sometimes it’s a wonder why we keep on going. On Wednesday, Jon came over to help me bleed my brakes, only to discover that I had a couple lugs fused with the wheel studs (4 to be exact). I call Ferdie up in a hurry and he happens to still be at the shop, so he brings me 7 wheel studs (just in case). I hobble over to YimiSport after dinner and leave my car for my tune; fast forward to Friday night, slightly before 11PM, and I’m putting down around mid 350whp and 390wtq. Same as before the Cosworth engine, but less timing; great!

Hella flush! Just kidding.

Little did I know that would be the least of my worries this weekend, freakin’ car! Racing can eat at you sometimes, but it can also make you forget about all your troubles too. Well, it was getting late, almost 1AM, so Ferdie, Amy and I head over to Yim’s house for a nap. We’re supposed to get up at 5AM to get back to the shop, pick up a few things and then head on over to the track. I passed the hell out, I was tired and we weren’t even at the hard part yet.

When I checked, it was putting down around 400whp.

Meanwhile, Ferdie’s car was still on the dyno. Paul Leung was tuning the damn thing until who knows what time. But all I know is, when we woke up, the car was magically ready. That’s why if you want it done right, you take it to YimiSport! That thing is a beast now, with an output of over 400whp. Stay tuned for more!

Westend Alignment is the best, the end.

After you’ve sunk thousands of dollars into your adjustable coilover suspension (at least 2-way), you’ll need to get an alignment to uncap the potential that now lies within your car. If you’ve got a car that requires additional parts for camber adjustment in the rear, I would recommend you get those parts too and get it all setup at the same time. For us Subaru GR STi owners, Cusco makes lateral links to adjust camber in the rear up to -3 degrees. Darin would prefer to work with lateral links as opposed to the Whiteline Rear Camber Bushing Kit.

Don’t cheap out and use band aid solutions; get the real thing, if you’re serious about performance. Once you know you’re ready, give Darin a call and schedule your appointment two weeks in advance. Two weeks you ask? If you absolutely have to get aligned before hand, I’d take it somewhere else; but if you can wait two weeks, your car will handle like Hades’ chariot of death when all is said and done. Do yourself a favor, wait the two weeks, and thank all parties involved. That’s just how good he is!

When you make an appointment, you better be prepared to bet your life on that appointment and make sure you get there early. Darin aligns every single car himself because he’s a perfectionist and can’t stand the thought of even one car making it out of his shop not perfect. His shop is actually a good size and he could easily hire another guy to go through twice the cars and make more money, but again, if one car isn’t perfect, he can’t bear the thought. That’s the kind of guy you want working on your suspension!

I’ve tried Robispec as well as Firestone alignments; Robispec was above average, however I still think Darin’s alignment is superior. Oh that reminds me, make sure you get corner balanced too; it makes a difference. Now I bet you’re wondering, so how does my car handle now? Handling is so sick, it’s confidence inspiring. When I get on the throttle the rear just keeps on rotating and my understeer problems are a distant memory. Turn-in is significantly improved, and I’m still yet to turn on the track settings.

Darin knows I go to the track often and what he decided to have me do is when I get to the track, max out my camber plates to -4, which will also give me a little toe out in the front. He said it’d be my little secret to shave that extra 3/4 of a second to beat my friends. When the track day is over I can go back to my normal setting and preserve the tires, bringing the toe back to 0. How cool is that? No one does it better.

Westend Alignment
18008 S Vermont Ave
Gardena, CA 90248
(310) 808-9233

Paris Hotel, Las Vegas.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I was so busy this past week meeting client deadlines and at the same time, prepping my car for the track. To finish the Vegas story, we were basically eating dinner at a Pho restaurant in Westminster; I completely forgot the name. It honestly wasn’t spectacular enough for me to remember, but while we were eating, I realized I wouldn’t have enough time to break in my motor and get tuned before the track.

Next thing you know, Vegas Vance is on the phone booking a hotel room for us at Paris Hotel. I think it was like 8 or 9PM and we’d decided to leave for Vegas, in my semi-race Subaru, with full stiff coilover suspension. Nice! I think by 9:30 PM or so we were on the road and only hit traffic on the 91; it’s always the bloody 91 that gets you! I drove the whole way, loaded with Monster Hitman Energy Shot and a little NOS while the team rested up for the adventure to come.

We were so out of it we accidentally parked in the Planet Hollywood parking structure and then ended up walking around for a good 15 minutes before we finally decided to get back in the car and park in the right building. Vegas Vance checks into our complimentary suite, which turned out to be a huge penthouse on the 31st floor; I guess there’s perks to be had when you’re a compulsive gambler (just kidding Vegas Vance). Ferdie goes to bed thinking he’s going to wake up in an hour to hit the tables (har har).

Long story short, Vegas Vance got massacred so we went for a couple drinks to drown away the sorrow. Ferdie finally makes it down at like 6AM and starts drinking/playing, winning around $250. I can’t believe he started drinking at 6AM, wow. In any case, Ferdie drives us back just in time for the X Games and before you know it, I’ve got a total of a little over 900 miles on my Cosworth motor. What a crazy weekend.

Amy standing next to rally gaint, Ken Block.

I had the craziest weekend! On Saturday, Amy and I woke up bright and early for Subaru’s WRX Games at The Fairplex in Pomona. We were both tired as hell, but our buddy Ferdie runs the parts department at South Coast Subaru and we were helping out. All the dealers were having booths for the festivities and selling the DC Shoes/Subaru product collaboration apparel/accessories line. It doesn’t really matter what it’s called; all that junk sells like hotcakes and you could tell because a good majority of the Subaru owners at the event were wearing that stuff.

Amy and I at the SCS booth.

Anyway, we were at the SCS booth hanging out and while I wish I could say I was helping sell product, it was basically Amy doing all the selling. Besides, females are better suited for this kind of selling (Amy was able to sell a lot more product than our buddy Jon). Don’t be hurt Jon, it’s only natural that a Subaru owner would prefer to buy from a woman. Let me say that only at a Subaru event have I witnessed a bikini contest won by a man (that’s the sort of demographic you’re dealing with here).

Honestly not too was going on at the event and the highlight was getting to romp on the 2010 Subaru Legacy GT, which is a great car, just not one that I’d ever buy. I was able to pull 1.07g on their mini-autox course. Seeing some action from Ken Block’s gymkhana car was also pretty neat, but other than that, I’ve had better days. What happened after is when all the fun started: we went to eat pho for dinner in Westminster and shortly after dinner, I realized I wouldn’t have enough time to break in my new motor before the track days this weekend at WSIR.

Amy randomly threw out the idea for Vegas and the next thing you know, we’re figuring out which hotel we’re going to be staying at. Too bad we didn’t start planning all this until 8PM. Stay tuned to find out what happened in Vegas.

Click image above to view video.

A couple months back, Amy and I got casted in a commercial for the new Subaru 2010 Legacy. I don’t know how else to put this: basically they were going to pay us all a good amount of cash to stand around as if we were at a typical Subaru meet. I guess the marketing folks at Subaru have a thing for the whole community aspect of owning a Subaru; kind of cool I guess. We each walked away $1200 less poor after 2 nights of standing around and eating free food somewhere in Long Beach.

I'd bent all 4 Advan wheels and was rolling on stock BBS for a while.

Honestly, I was stoked considering I’d just bent all of my wheels at Streets of Willow maybe a month prior and hadn’t located new wheels yet. This was before I’d upgraded to a Project Mu big brake kit, so I could still fit the stock wheels. Later on after the big brake kit, I could no longer fit stock wheels in the rear, but that’s another story. Anyway, Subaru made this YouTube video called “AWD For Life” and I happen to be in it here and there.

I’m the guy who says “With these cars they’re quick out of the box and if you want to make them even faster, it doesn’t take a lot.” At the time, I was still rocking Stage 2 (turboback exhaust and intake) but still managing a healthy 90whp gain over the factory. Since then I think I’m at 130 over the factory output and almost pushing 400wtq? Yeah, it’s quick alright! I think I’m past the “it doesn’t take a lot” though, oops. I can’t wait to get casted in another commercial or even a movie.

Aside from the fancy livery and Prodrive wing, it looks stock.

It’s hard to tell with the loud graphics and overly large $4000 carbon Prodrive wing, but Ken Block’s 08 STi is for the most part, stock, on the outside. Sure you’ve got that roof vent and rally mirrors; the bumpers, side skirts, fenders, that’s all from the factory though. For weight savings, it looks like the hatch and hood have been switched out for carbon, but they both retain the factory appearance. Apparently the roof is carbon as well. It’s really in the details that make this car rather amazing, at least to me anyway. There’s more I’ve missed, you get the idea; it’s light as can be.

I love that Prodrive carbon wing.

Actually, I have to mention the carbon door panels from Syms! I didn’t even know Syms had carbon door panels. But anyway, the custom Volk TE37s with the neon yellow Brembo big brake kit; very cool! I’m curious about that Tein SRC setup with custom valving. I’ve heard Tein is very supportive and makes sure you get the real deal if you’re actually serious in racing. They’re certainly more affordable than JRZs, but if you’re an average joe like myself, I doubt you’ll get the same sort of treatment.

You're looking at a gold mine.

I know this engine is stroked, I know it has a forged crank, but what I really like is that setup with the air oil separator and I guess what they call a “fuel swirl pot.” I asked my buddy Vince about it who’s more of an expert on this sort of stuff; he says it’s a surge tank with a fuel pump next to it. I wonder if Crawford would be interested in selling something like that. I’d just have to get rid of my Cusco strut bar to make room. Supposedly the chassis on the new STi is very stiff as is, having no need for a strut bar.

Look I'm not the only one that likes to sit ultra low.

You know what I noticed; the serious guys sit in Recaros with Motec dashes. Not all, but a lot of them do just like the STi Nurburgring car. You can get a closer look at the carbon on those Syms door panels; very cool. I guess I know what I’ll be dreaming about tonight, except in my dreams, the engine bay will have an HKS rotated turbo kit instead, with Cosworth heads!

I got it bad.

I have so much great Subaru content to post; I’ve been excited all day just thinking about when I’d finally finish all my deadlines so I could get to it! Last month, Jon and I were at the Spocom show in Long Beach checking out the HKS booth, chatting with Mike at HKS about how much I appreciated having to buy an HKS downpipe because their exhaust doesn’t fit with any other downpipe. Well I wasn’t too sore about it; the HKS piece was a lot higher quality than my Invidia and I recently upgraded my turbo to a stock location ATP 3071 anyway. It all sort of worked out, kind of, not really.

But anyway, HKS had a 08 STi on display sporting a prototype rotated turbo kit and front mount intercooler (not prototype anymore!). We were drooling for days on that setup. It’s an external wastegate turbo (50mm), basically the HKS version of the GT30R (rotated baby yeah!) that dumps to the downpipe and it’s v-band. Comes with the uppipe, downpipe (great, I need to buy a new one, again), bypass pipe, chamber pipe, suction pipe, water lines, oil lines; everything you need, except for the intake and exhaust manifold.

I want!

The front mount intercooler requires a smaller battery and is flanged for the infamous HKS SSQV blow off valve, you know, the one that goes “pew pew.” If you’re not familiar, watch Fast and the Furious or watch this video for reference. I don’t have a problem with a smaller battery; I was actually planning on doing it anyway. You can probably shave a good 30 pounds just by switching to a small battery.

How ricers let themselves be known.

I’m a little hesitant on that blow off valve though. You see, the HKS SSQV is world renowned for being the mark of the ricer. It has a distinct 3 fin fitting where the air is released, creating this unique whistling (pew pew) that ricers seem to love. On the other hand, there’s something amusing about being mistaken for a ricer when you’re putting down 400 horsepower to the wheels! I mean I guess you could remove that and your BOV would sound normal, but what fun is that? Alright, maybe I’m a little ricey, just a tad.

I’m set on getting this kit, I must have it! I have a built motor ready to handle the power and put the smack down on the circuit. The only problem is, after I add up the cost of the intake and exhaust manifold, I’m looking at $8830 list price. I get a significant discount, but still, we’re talking a good amount of money here. I still need to get some aero modifications along with new coilovers too. If you know anybody who needs web work, send them over to so they can help support my new turbo kit fundraiser!

August 1, 2009 at the Pomona Raceway - WRX Games

The other day I got a call from Subaru of America’s marketing department. Apparently there’s a Subaru owner’s day event being held on the 1st of August at Pomona Raceway. It starts at 10 AM for the public and will have professional driving demonstrations (whatever that means), along with free food and drinks. They’re also giving away free product (Subaru Rally Team Gear, X Games tickets) and will be giving away Subie bucks to whoever enters their car show.

Supposedly Ken Block might be there, but it’s tentative and not really a sure a thing. It’s also been said that you’ll be able to drive a new 2010 Legacy 2.5GT on some sort of autocross like course and I think that’s definitely worth the trip; but I’m just speculating. I hope my new engine is broken in and tuned by then! I’ll keep my fingers crossed.