New member intro: Irish44j (09 WRX)

[irish44j]

New here!
Name: Josh
Location: Burke, VA
Car: 2009 WRX Sedan OBP (black)
Current performance mods: Cobb 25mm FSB, Perrin 22mm RSB, Rota SDRs for track use in the spring. More to come.

New to subarus, and only previous AWD car was my '89 Lancia Delta Integrale HF that I owned when I lived in Italy about 15 years ago (it was a rally-spec car and was drivin by me in a couple low-level rally events). These days I'm mostly into autocross and will setup the WRX probably for STU. In the last 5-7 years I've run mostly with CDC, AI, and Philly SCCA but will probably join up with WDCR SCCA this year since Philly doesn't run at Ripken anymore. Anyhow, hope to see you guys around. Btw, I'm also a moderator on Maxima.org, for what it's worth

My ride (currently setup for winter...snow tires, RA flaps, roof rack)



My other projects that you might see me driving around in occasionally
My XJ, the old Maxima (sold), and wife's 4Runner


My 1970 Triumph GT6, which I spent the last year restoring frame-up (it still has a ways to go)


And a few of you may have seen my DSP/EP Maxima at autocrosses over the last 5 years, getting its butt kicked by much faster cars, lol

[chicken n waffles]

welcome to the boards! nice lineup of toys. how do you like the 09 wrx so far? any issues with it? i've been following a disturbing thread on nasioc about the 09's spinning bearings and having to get new motors under warranty. hopefully it's just a limited run of faulty parts and won't affect many more folks.

anyway, hope to see you at a meet soon.

[Mr Kleen]

welcome aboard! got any pix of the Lancia?

[moxnix]

And a few of you may have seen my DSP/EP Maxima at autocrosses over the last 5 years, getting its butt kicked by much faster cars, lol

I recognize that car.

[drwrx]

That GT6 takes me back. I had a 67' Spitfire that I put a huge amount of work into before it got totaled.
Are you sure it's a 1970? It looks like the Mk2 (dubed GT6+ in the US) which had the raised bumper and a better swing-axle set-up. I thought the 1970 had the redesigned front and rear sections. It looks like you've done some suspension mods as well. I've known some who replaced the swing-axle with the later swing-spring design, or even went with a rear from the TR4/TR5/TR6 or even the Stag.

Anyway, welcome aboard, and hope to see you at a meet.

Any power mods planned for the WRX? If your looking for guidance, we can help.

[Katya4me]

Welcome aboard. Always happy to see another autoxer and the DC region has a fun group in STU to play with.

[wrxSIN]

hai2u. ive seen you around on nasioc.

[irish44j]

welcome to the boards! nice lineup of toys. how do you like the 09 wrx so far? any issues with it? i've been following a disturbing thread on nasioc about the 09's spinning bearings and having to get new motors under warranty. hopefully it's just a limited run of faulty parts and won't affect many more folks.

anyway, hope to see you at a meet soon.

yeah, I think that's a bit overblown. I've only heard of 2, maybe 3 people with that issue....and we all know how some people thrash their cars and don't break-in properly. And no matter what car you have there are always some issues (on the maxima forums, there were a handfull of guys who had to have their vaunted VQ35's replaced for a manufacturing tolerance flaw as well...and that's a Wards Top-10 engine! I'm personally not worried about it. If it happens, hey...I have a warranty!

Liking the 09, though still getting used to turbo and awd (I've been FWD for years, and recently with torquey v6's, so it's an adjustment). I have a long "review" of the car on NASIOC - if you want to read it, I'll find a link.

[irish44j]

welcome aboard! got any pix of the Lancia?

I wish...those were the days before digital pics, and the few wet-film photos I have of it disappeared during one of many moves we did over the years (military). Everytime I go to my parents house I dig around in drawers looking for them, lol.

It looked more or less identical to this one, except more beat-up

[irish44j]

That GT6 takes me back. I had a 67' Spitfire that I put a huge amount of work into before it got totaled.
Are you sure it's a 1970? It looks like the Mk2 (dubed GT6+ in the US) which had the raised bumper and a better swing-axle set-up. I thought the 1970 had the redesigned front and rear sections. It looks like you've done some suspension mods as well. I've known some who replaced the swing-axle with the later swing-spring design, or even went with a rear from the TR4/TR5/TR6 or even the Stag.

Anyway, welcome aboard, and hope to see you at a meet.

Any power mods planned for the WRX? If your looking for guidance, we can help.

Definitely a '70...its been in the family since new. The Mk2/+ was late '68 to late '70 models and did have the raised bumper compared to the Mk1 (mine just aren't on the car right now). Actually , the swing-axle was on the Mk3. The Mk2/+ have a fixed leaf and the rotoflex axles, and are generally considered the best-handling of all the GT6s (the Mk3 with swing swing/axles was more of a cost-cutting move by Triumph).

mine has Spax adjustable-height shocks, an uprated rear leaf, uprated/lower front coils, all poly bushings, beefed-up front swaybar, SU 1.75's (replacing the stromberg 1.50 carbs), bored IM, header, full exhaust, pertronix ignition, etc etc). I still have a long way to go to sort out the handling....just happy to have it driving again. It looked like this a year ago:





As to the WRX, I plan to do suspension/chassis/wheels/tires first and eventually get to power. The only power upgrade I'm planning to do during 2009 is a Cobb AP with a stage 1 tune. I'm not into drag and much more interested in handling/braking then I am in crazy power. Plus I don't want to mess with the engine too much while it's under warranty! So far for handling all I have are swaybars. Looking around for a set of track wheels and tires. Need a new harness and helmet too (mine are now out of spec for SCCA)...

[irish44j]

Welcome aboard. Always happy to see another autoxer and the DC region has a fun group in STU to play with.

yeah, I can't wait to get my ass kicked, lol. I have alot to learn about how to drive this car near the limit...I freely admit it.

I actually ran STU with philly for a year or two before the maxima's frame bracing and brakes up-classed me to DSP and then EP.... Had a few top-5 finishes and actually beat a handfull of STis and Evos in STU (and lost to alot more), but was never very competitive since a car like that has major limitations.

respect the total cheesyness

[zaxrex]

Definitely a '70...its been in the family since new. The Mk2/+ was late '68 to late '70 models and did have the raised bumper compared to the Mk1 (mine just aren't on the car right now). Actually , the swing-axle was on the Mk3. The Mk2/+ have a fixed leaf and the rotoflex axles, and are generally considered the best-handling of all the GT6s (the Mk3 with swing swing/axles was more of a cost-cutting move by Triumph).

mine has Spax adjustable-height shocks, an uprated rear leaf, uprated/lower front coils, all poly bushings, beefed-up front swaybar, SU 1.75's (replacing the stromberg 1.50 carbs), bored IM, header, full exhaust, pertronix ignition, etc etc). I still have a long way to go to sort out the handling....just happy to have it driving again. It looked like this a year ago:

Watch out dude! With all that Triumph talk, you might just find yourself a stalker in drwrx. Thanks for stopping over here. And if you ever find yourself spending cash unnecessarily on Subaru upgrades, count me in for a wrench turner...
Like The street sign, BTW.

[irish44j]

That GT6 takes me back. I had a 67' Spitfire that I put a huge amount of work into before it got totaled.
Are you sure it's a 1970? It looks like the Mk2 (dubed GT6+ in the US) which had the raised bumper and a better swing-axle set-up. I thought the 1970 had the redesigned front and rear sections. It looks like you've done some suspension mods as well. I've known some who replaced the swing-axle with the later swing-spring design, or even went with a rear from the TR4/TR5/TR6 or even the Stag.

Anyway, welcome aboard, and hope to see you at a meet.

Any power mods planned for the WRX? If your looking for guidance, we can help.

Definitely a '70...its been in the family since new. The Mk2/+ was late '68 to late '70 models and did have the raised bumper compared to the Mk1 (mine just aren't on the car right now). Actually , the swing-axle was on the Mk3. The Mk2/+ have a fixed leaf and the rotoflex axles, and are generally considered the best-handling of all the GT6s (the Mk3 with swing swing/axles was more of a cost-cutting move by Triumph).

mine has Spax adjustable-height shocks, an uprated rear leaf, uprated/lower front coils, all poly bushings, beefed-up front swaybar, SU 1.75's (replacing the stromberg 1.50 carbs), bored IM, header, full exhaust, pertronix ignition, etc etc). I still have a long way to go to sort out the handling....just happy to have it driving again. It looked like this a year ago:

Watch out dude! With all that Triumph talk, you might just find yourself a stalker in drwrx. Thanks for stopping over here. And if you ever find yourself spending cash unnecessarily on Subaru upgrades, count me in for a wrench turner...

lol, I'm sure I'll spend far too much cash unnecessarily on Subaru upgrades. There are so damn many of them compared to the Maxima community (I had damn near every "mod" out there aside from boost/nitrous.....had about 6 different suspension setup, about 4 different brake setups, too many wheels, too many "custom" suspension parts, welded-on frame bracing..ugh). I actually wince when I think of how much I spent on that car over 5 years and 120,000 miles only to sell it off for a pittance when I bought the wrx. Thank God I do all my own work instead of having shop do it...otherwise would have gotten REALLY expensive

Hopefully the triumph will be setup for at least alittle CDC autocross or something this summer...we'll see!

[complacent]

Absolutely rad collection of rides you have there. Welcome to the boards.

[zaxrex]

If you need help other than basic encouragement, let us know. Best of luck, and hope to see some good results.
Z

[chicken n waffles]

Liking the 09, though still getting used to turbo and awd (I've been FWD for years, and recently with torquey v6's, so it's an adjustment). I have a long "review" of the car on NASIOC - if you want to read it, I'll find a link.

yes, i would def. like that

[irish44j]

I can't seem to find it...I think it got merged into another thread on NASIOC

Anyhow, I also posted it on my "home" forum Maxima.org, so here's a link to the review there.

http://forums.maxima.org/other-cars/576 ... eview.html

[schvin]

welcome!

nice xj!

[Sabre]

Wow, you've hit on almost all of my favorite cars (Jeeps, Subaru's and a GT6 to boot!) Welcome to the boards, hope to see you at a meet soon!

[Katya4me]

Welcome aboard. Always happy to see another autoxer and the DC region has a fun group in STU to play with.

yeah, I can't wait to get my ass kicked, lol. I have alot to learn about how to drive this car near the limit...I freely admit it.

I actually ran STU with philly for a year or two before the maxima's frame bracing and brakes up-classed me to DSP and then EP.... Had a few top-5 finishes and actually beat a handfull of STis and Evos in STU (and lost to alot more), but was never very competitive since a car like that has major limitations.

respect the total cheesyness

LOL, where's the mini F?

If you're interested, the season subscription for DC SCCA just opened.

[drwrx]

mine has Spax adjustable-height shocks, an uprated rear leaf, uprated/lower front coils, all poly bushings, beefed-up front swaybar, SU 1.75's (replacing the stromberg 1.50 carbs), bored IM, header, full exhaust, pertronix ignition, etc etc). I still have a long way to go to sort out the handling....just happy to have it driving again. Hopefully the triumph will be setup for at least alittle CDC autocross or something this summer...we'll see!

Ah that takes me back. It sounds like you've really put some thought into it. I'd love to see it some time.

I could never keep my old SU carbs in good working order, one was always rich while the other was always lean. I could never get the adjustment quite right. In the end, a buddy and I matched-up a set of twin webers. Man I loved those! They were from his "project" 74' 1500 that never panned out and he wanted to put them on mine. Since they were the 1493cc models we had to do a lot of adjustment to get them to work right. But once they did, they were brilliant. I also installed a racing cam, a custom made exhaust (it was loud, perhaps a bit too much so). I had also put on super stiff shocks to reduce "tuck-in" and snap oversteer from the swing-axle, but it made it a very harsh ride.

Oh and lets not forget swapping every Lucas part with it's Bosch equivalent. I actually had a manual that had every Lucas part name and number with it's Bosch counterpart's part number for every Triumph. Best $10 I ever spent! I sat on the phone with the Bosch regional importer for the east coast for almost an hour.

Watch out dude! With all that Triumph talk, you might just find yourself a stalker in drwrx.

I'm wearing my stalking cap as we speak.

lol, I'm sure I'll spend far too much cash unnecessarily on Subaru upgrades.

That need not be the case. Let those of us who have gone before you illuminate your path. There is little that can be done to a WRX that one or more of us haven't tried. We here try to live by the great Brock Yates axiom "There is a great difference between having an opinion and having an informed opinion." We strive to be the later (at least I do).

[irish44j]

LOL, where's the mini F?

If you're interested, the season subscription for DC SCCA just opened.

yeah, will sign up....my SCCA has lapsed anyhow since I took last season off. Explain the comment of "mini F" - not following you

That need not be the case. Let those of us who have gone before you illuminate your path. There is little that can be done to a WRX that one or more of us haven't tried. We here try to live by the great Brock Yates axiom "There is a great difference between having an opinion and having an informed opinion." We strive to be the later (at least I do).

Point taken, and I'm not one to run out and buy the fanciest/most expensive stuff just to have it...I do tons of research before buying and opinions of those who have used products/various setups are definitely invaluable. I plan to do alot of talking to Karen Kraus from WDCR who runs WRXs, as well as her co-driver Gabe Dunn, who used to autocross Maximas with me!

I could never keep my old SU carbs in good working order, one was always rich while the other was always lean. I could never get the adjustment quite right. In the end, a buddy and I matched-up a set of twin webers. Man I loved those! They were from his "project" 74' 1500 that never panned out and he wanted to put them on mine. Since they were the 1493cc models we had to do a lot of adjustment to get them to work right. But once they did, they were brilliant. I also installed a of racing cam, a custom made exhaust (it was loud, perhaps a bit too much so). I had also put on super stiff shocks to reduce "tuck-in" and snap oversteer from the swing-axle, but it made it a very harsh ride.

next winter will be the engine build (I have a NOS head still inthe wax paper waiting to be milled to bump compression)....I want to sort out the suspension first since that's more important than power! Thankfully, I don't have to deal with tuck-in since the Rotoflex setup has LCAs! Actually, I've found the SU 1.75s to be a breeze to sync, especially in comparison with the nightmare that was the twin Stromberg 1.50s! Wish I could afford a triple Weber setup (and wish I could find the needed "dropdown" manifold for them on the GT6), but that's not in the GT6 budget at this time, especially if I want to play with the subie!

ninja edit for quote format

[Katya4me]

LOL, where's the mini F?

If you're interested, the season subscription for DC SCCA just opened.

yeah, will sign up....my SCCA has lapsed anyhow since I took last season off. Explain the comment of "mini F" - not following you
ninja edit for quote format

STfU There was a Philly guy a few years back who ran that on his STi. He sold that and I think got an Elise? Or was talking along those lines...

[irish44j]

LOL, where's the mini F?

If you're interested, the season subscription for DC SCCA just opened.

yeah, will sign up....my SCCA has lapsed anyhow since I took last season off. Explain the comment of "mini F" - not following you
ninja edit for quote format

STfU There was a Philly guy a few years back who ran that on his STi. He sold that and I think got an Elise? Or was talking along those lines...

I do remember that now that you mention it, lol.

And of course there was Team WTF? also