Showing posts with label Nii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nii. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Chassis Rigidity is God

Tired of a soft, uncommunicative, and unresponsive rear end, I finally caved and bought the rear strut brace I wanted for my '98 Legacy wagon.  I could have gone with a sedan brace from eBay intended for the rear of a second generation Impreza since the bolt pattern is the same and the price is right, but opted for the pricier Whiteline unit for its rigid bracket design and quick-release option (also intended for the Impreza since it was easier to find cheaper than the Legacy version; can't imagine what's different).

Clean install, took about an hour.


I had forgotten the reduction and body roll and improvement in steering precision I felt when I installed my front strut brace a while ago.  The difference the rear brace made was astonishing--to think chassis flex alone was causing all my problems blew my mind.  The rear no longer lurches to the outside of the corner slowly telling me nothing about traction; I now have an idea where the rear wheels are to a few inches, rather than guessing in terms of feet.  For must-have mods, Chassis Rigidity is God.

Discrete, and all my junk still fits.

What Friends Are For

(11:17:15 AM) Nii: Still thinking of locking down the subframe, but I'm thinking of doing it right.
(11:17:23 AM) Squarebush: good
(11:17:54 AM) Nii: oh, did Yint torque those bushings on ramps here?
(11:18:32 AM) Squarebush: um... no.
(11:18:51 AM) Squarebush: they may have torqued them on the ground...?
(11:19:04 AM) Nii: so all you did here is drink my alcohol?
(11:19:12 AM) Squarebush: yes
(11:19:16 AM) Squarebush: exactly.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Pictures... Pictures, Pictures.

Lets get some before and afters going...

Yint's before...

After. We will get some serious actions shots, right after a good solid tune.

Two more after the break...

Slammed - Excerpt.1

Wishing to believe I have some influence over Squarebush's mod path, I insisted on installing the steering rack bushings first.  I had done these in my own Subaru (an identical year/make/model), and although the perceivable difference is small, the amount of confidence the increase in feedback grants the driver is phenomenal.

I installed the steering rack bushings three nights ago.  It was a pain and took forever, but at least I didn't break anything this time (the bolts rust badly; I broke the captive nut inside the crossmember free on my car).  Best mod for the money, but just go slow getting the bolts out.  I had to go back and forth a few times with each one, using a lot of penetrating lubricant.  Because It's so easy to break these bolts I left the impact gun in its drawer.

Two nights ago, we installed the Ground Control height adjustable spring kit and put in the camber bolts.  It went well, the car handles, and it's dropped hysterically low.  It's 45° out and I'm sitting on the ground outside laughing, looking at Squarebush's car next to mine.  At least that's what I thought after three cocktails, which I'm getting better at making.

Bushwacker:
1/2 oz. coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
1/2 oz. amaretto
1/2 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. Irish cream liqueur
2 oz. light cream
Pour in that order into an iced filled glass. I prefer to stir. I made mine a double the other night.

I was next going to make a gin and tonic, but poured the gin and couldn't find any tonic (one of the many hazards of not living alone).  I found some 'birch beer' in the fridge and tried that instead.  It was amazing!  Tasted like wintergreen.

DRINK RESPONSIBLY.  DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.  SHUT UP, I WASN'T DRIVING, SQUAREBUSH WAS.  OH, AND DON'T LIKE, DRINK A BIT TOO MUCH, THEN LOOSE A FINGER TO AN ANGLE GRINDER.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Slammed - Pt.2

Here you go... The moment you may not even know you were waiting for.

Nii trimming the strut for new collars, the rest after... the... break... :-P

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Nii - Part.1

Nii, reporting in. Late. What was this a homework assignment? More widely known as Soul Shinobi on almost every Subaru forum (and just about everyplace else on the net since I was 12), offline I'm J. Nicholas "Nick" Sarris, or more affectionately, Nii (said nee).

With a passion for driving feel and the pleasant sensations associated, I frown on heavy aesthetic and even more function modification (if not everything). I started off lowly, driving my father's Mercury Mountaineer, and not to let any vehicle live below its potential I'd gladly pull U-turns over medians in the snow, and get it stuck off road, and get the truck I was trying to rescue it with stuck, and putting off telling my father until the next day, and having to pay a tow company $300 to nearly get their trucks stuck. What were we talking about?

Well then, my first real car, a 1992 Subaru Legacy L AWD 5MT purchased from a friend's family for the cost of the brake work that it needed. With no rear stabilizer bar to speak of, I could still get it to oversteer with just strut tower braces (eBay special) and weight shift technique the car so thoughtfully taught me. It certainly had more guts than the Mercury, and has been responsibly for at least two snow/mud rescues of squarebush (in a Mercedes Diesel wagon, and no less than a 2003 Subaru Legacy Outback). Like every car I've owned since, I fell in love with it, because I'm just naïve like that. I'd like to tell you it's still with me, and if I had the room it would be. I know it tried its best, it really did, but fate was cruel to it, and our home owner's association crueler still.

Lovingly adorned with fiberglass and body filler, as well as the cheapest fog lights money could buy.


The grounding kit helped, I swear. Notice the recess where an ABS unit should be. This car was a fine learning experience.



Detailed with q-tips and toothpicks. I rebuilt the tan vents by hand, as individual blades would break loose.