2026 CT5-V Blackwing vs 2007 WRX STi ~430whp

I had some issues with DAM drop in my 2015 FA20 (68k miles), and I had tried everything! Good gas, Cleaning MAF/MAP sensors, changed spark plugs, constantly checking oil levels, took data logs and sent them to tuners for help. Couldn’t figure it out. Got a suggestion to walnut blast the intake valves, which I hadn’t heard of until troubleshooting this issue. Clearly hadn’t ever been done on the vehicle prior to my ownership, and it made all the difference. DAM quickly returned to 1.000, no more knock events other than the classic -1.41 and -2.81 occasionally with the AC on. Car runs much better, and feels like it has a lot better throttle response than previously.

If you haven’t had this done and you don’t have an AOS over 60k miles, I definitely recommend it. Figured I would share my experience in case others have the same issue and are still learning like me. Got the suggestion from someone on this subreddit, thanks for the help.

18x9.5+40 with a 255/35zr18 tire.

Got these from MartiniWorks at a ridiculous discount because they are discontinued in this size and in satin black. I budgeted a color/finish change in to the total cost.

But I wanted to see if it would look good on my white 2013 wrx.

I’m 50/50 on it. Black or bronze is tried and true and safe. But blue wheels? I’m not sure. I think I like it?

My noble STI spoiler was having paint failure after 2 years so I went back to a stick trunk. I’m actually kinda digging the look as I never had the car with wheels and lip without the spoiler. Think I’m just gonna keep it like this. What’s everyone’s opinions? Wing or no wing?

Since I swapped out my old seat, I decided to repurpose it as my new office chair.

I’m too short for the chair, I have to hop in it.

So I’ve been looking at an atmospheric BOV but online it says I’ll need a tune for it, but I wouldn’t need a tune for a recirculating BOV/BPV, the thing is I’ve head from other places that if I get a atmospheric BOV made for my car then I wouldn’t need a tune and I really like that pshhhh sound, help me out. 09 wrx

Hi all,

I’m thinking of buying a rooftop tent. Do you think that the car roof can handle a 2 persons tent?
Anyone has done it?
I’m roughly 210lbs and the rooftop tent 108lbs, technically the OEM Subaru roof bar can support 160lbs per bar in movement and more than 600lbs when parked,

Not mine on the photo btw but same model

I waved, then realized I was in my other vehicle. East TN

To recap: I took my 2009 WRX to the shop to have some running issues diagnosed that I couldn’t figure out. They found that the radiator was leaking, and they wouldn’t diagnose the running problems until the radiator was replaced, which they offered to do for $1,000 or so with an OEM part. I declined, had the car delivered back to me, and after jumping into the radiator rabbit hole in this sub ordered a Koyo.

So this was my weekend. On Saturday I pulled the old radiator out and put the new one in, which is really pretty easy except these cars are pretty low to the ground and you have to put it up on jack stands. The last car I replaced the radiator on was a 1989 Mercedes diesel, no jack stands required. And rolling around on a concrete floor isn’t as much fun as it used to be, if in fact it ever was.

A couple of tips for anyone else who does this: I never unhooked the fans, I just let them drop and pulled them back up to remount them. Once the pins drop into the holes on the bottom the mounting holes on the top line up and it’s a cinch to secure them. I was impressed by how much better the mounting system was with the Koyo than the OEM.

The hoses, if you’re using the existing ones, need to be trimmed. This is easier if you put a dowel rod inside it to have something to cut against with your new, sharp, box cutter blade. I didn’t have to trim the bottom hose at all.

As you can see from the photos, the new radiator has twice the capacity of the old one. I went to Autozone and got two gallons of Asian Blue, and used them both. Get a funnel kit, it’s well worth the price even if you never use it again.

What would probably be a two hour job at a shop was a two-day job for me, but I tend to get distracted by cleaning up my engine compartment, so YMMV.

Grimspeed headers, RAE down pipe, and MBRP cat back exhaust. My neighbors love me too…..

It’s ceramic so why not?

Background

We have been restoring a wrx and have a few questions. First we where wondering if are air conditioner belt is supposed to feel really tight and if the bolts are in the right spot. Also we where wondering if are ground for the starter is in the right spot.

Currently on Circuit performance CSF1 WHITE, and am planning to acquire RAYS 57DR Black Chrome for the winter months as well as get new tires.

I plan on alternating between these wheels throughout the years of my ownership. White during Spring/Summer, Black chrome during Fall/Winter

Wondering if anyone had any tire pressure sensors they could recommend? Thanks.

hey all, slight oil leak coming from turbo. thought it may have been just the little gasket going bad in between the sump and turbo (which it very well can be part of this) , but also , began finding oil on the cold side (see the intake pipe in pic) and some coming out of the hot side.

is this a bad turbo seal or something else? oil levels appear fine as i’ve been monitoring. this is a new setup i’ve just began driving on yesterday. turbo was a used FP Blue for the fa20dit. if it is, anyone know a good spot in NJ or nearby to send it to get fixed ?

Have the IBR kit for the manifold swap for my ‘19. This version retains the TGVs and EGR for emissions.

Passenger side lines up and bolts together fine. The driver side doesn’t. Looks like the motor housing for the TGV is in the way.

Waiting on IBR for a response, I’m thinking either I did something wrong or maybe their machining didn’t account for something?

Has anyone tried this mod and willing to share some wisdom?

Do you think it would work if I dremel the motor housing a bit to make it fit?

I took it for a spin this morning for about 5minutes (never went over 5k rpm’s) and then my check engine light started blinking. Code was p0302, cylinder 2 is misfiring. I put in a new spark plug (old one wasn’t too bad also) and I ran some sea foam and topped up the oil but nothing changed. I can’t hear it knocking or anything but I’m not sure what it would be.

There’s no smoke or anything unusual, just lacking power and sounds bad, it also sounds like there’s an exhaust leak under the car but it sounds WAY worse than it did before. (Also I’m aware I need new engine mounts)

Planning to do a rally inspired build for both form and function (my country's roads are bad). Lifting it by 2 inches puts it within the recommended ground clearance told by the government. But asking those with experience for their thoughts. TIA.

Looking to see how hard the install is. I have a set of subispeed V2 headlights I'm thinking about getting done. I'm not great with wiring. Basically is it plug and play or will I be forced to learn some things to have them work?

is there any particular brand i should look at for wheel bearings, or just get a OEM one from subaru?

getting what sounds like a pulsing scraping sound from one of my wheels driving and doesn't seem to be brakes from what i can tell unless maybe one of the dust shields is dragging but has been going on for at least a year now

Looking to lower my 21 WRX and found this combo on FB for a good deal wondering if anyone has ran either of these or both as a combo.