Marino's WRB 2005 WRX!

[Marino]

Looks awesome!

Definitely continues to get better and better looking! That eBay strut bar does look perfect in there. The red matches the other red accents really nicely.

Thanks! That's what I was going for, red accents here and there. I was actually surprised how well it fit too. Only thing I did was move the AC line bracket on the driver's side down a notch and now it doesn't hit the strut bar at all.

It's getting there, slowly. I have no plans to ever get rid of it so it'll continue to slowly improve over the years

Thanks for the comments!

 

[IBratmanI]

If these lines are close at all, it's not a bad idea to wrap them with some rubber hose and zip tie them on.

 

[Marino]

If these lines are close at all, it's not a bad idea to wrap them with some rubber hose and zip tie them on.

That's a great idea, I'll definitely keep an eye on it and do that if need be. Thanks!

 

[Visonik]

How's the quality on that strut bar? I was considering one but read they're a waste of time. Do you notice any difference in handling?

 

[Marino]

How's the quality on that strut bar? I was considering one but read they're a waste of time. Do you notice any difference in handling?

Not too bad to be honest. I'm happy. I mean, for $30 I went in not expecting a whole lot but was pleasantly surprised. I haven't really noticed much of a difference, maybe a tiny bit of improvement, or maybe it's in my head haha. But I'm not gonna lie, I got primarily for looks.

I will say this though, I bought one of these exact same strut bars from the same seller back last October. Got it, fitment was terrible, couldn't muscle it on at all. Sent it back and got my money back and figured I'd give it another go this time (figuring it was most likely a bad batch). Fitment was perfect this time around!

 

[Marino]

I have put, I don't even know how many hours into prepping these wheels for a fresh coat of paint. Almost there. There's a layer of black on these in between a million other layers that is very hard to remove. Aircraft remover is amazing by the way, but I had to buy another can because I've had to use so much. Stings like crazy if you get it on you!

And just another random pic as I walk back to the car. Loving it..... 

I know some don't care for the style, but eventually I want to go with a "hellaflush" look with this. Wider/larger wheels/tires, lower offset, etc. We'll see 

 

[Visonik]

I care for that style! Get some flares and run 18 x 11 et22 wheels and slap some 315/35 tires on em!

 

[Marino]

Nothing major, but awhile ago I had bought some reverse light vinyl overlays from Premium auto styling. Wasn't sure if I'd really like them or not and then they somehow ended up being thrown out  

 

 So I bought another pair and put them on. Turns out I really love how they look. Install wasn't perfect as I don't have much experience with this stuff, but nothing too noticeable. 

Looking at this picture makes me want to re-dip my badges black

 

[Marino]

Stumbled upon some gold the other day.

I've always kicked myself because SOMEHOW, I barely have ANY pictures of when I first got this car, in complete stock form. I think when I switched phones I must have lost a lot of pictures. Anyway, my grandparents have been visiting from Florida and little did I know, they actually took quite a few photos of the WRX the very day I bought it. Here's a few... I don't want to think about the $ I've put into this but it's cool to think I've created it to be exactly what I wanted

(My old Jetta in the background

)

 

[Marino]

I finally installed the rear aprons that I attempted a while ago. If anyone's curious or wondering for future reference reading this, these aprons are from BaysonR. I have to say that the fitment was NOT very good, but not a deal breaker. Everything else I have from BaysonR (aero guards, strakes) fit like a dream. What I did though, after reading a little online of others installing these, is to leave them out in the sun for an hour or so. That way the they heat up and are able to mold to the shape of bumper. That helped A LOT, one side fit perfect. The other needed a little help. I had to layer some extra 3m tape and really force the end of the apron where it meets the bumper (hard to explain lol). I thought it came out really good though

Oh!! and I finally finished up the Rota's I've been working on forever. They came out GREAT, I'm so happy. Just goes to show the amount of prep makes the world of a difference. Just need to get some tires mounted on these and then decide whether they're going on the rex or the hawkeye

My painting set up was a bar stool and a piece of wood with the wheel on top. work out PERFECT being able to freely rotate it and paint every part of the wheel

I absolutely love this color of gold, so much more so than the Sparco's I have now

 

[IBratmanI]

Looks awesome! Nice work on the wheels too! 

 

[Marino]

Been a while since I updated this. Probably because I haven't done much

Well, I became victim to some rice...

I got one of those DDM Tuning HID kits. Actually got it quite a few months ago (unsure if I really wanted to go through with it) but I just installed them today and disabled the DRL's. I went with 35w 6000k, and it's plenty bright enough... I really like how it looks, has a slight hint of blue but not much, hoping it doesn't blind anyone though. 

I mounted the ballasts with some high strength velcro, it's not going anywhere unless I decide to take them out (inspection?) in which case they will come off with ease. Pretty slick if I say so. I was really scared when I first turned on my headlights and nothing lit up. But all it turned out to be was that I had mixed up the power and ground wire spade connectors. Switched them around and it was mint. Also wasn't a fan of drilling a hole in my dust covers but the rubber grommet that was provided seems to seal it pretty well.

Also while I had the headlights out I finally put in new parking light bulbs. I think they've been burnt out for years.

Oh, I finally waxed this too. Needed it bad but she shines up nice.

Very soon...

 

[Marino]

That tread though! beautiful. If anyone's wondering what gold paint I used, it's just the duplicolor gold. I am in love with how it looks, especially in the sun. 

and on the car at last:

It's really not much different looks wise than the other Sparco wheels. But after 2+ years with those wheels I was up for a change.

Also, I found a gas station (within 30 minutes from my commute) AT LAST that has 93 octane!!!!!!! Sunoco across from IGA in Randolph (formerly Webb's) just got it about 3 weeks ago. About to download a 93 map and make the switch! Yes!

 

[Marino]

The other day I found about a dozen of these stupid things crawling out of the crevice between the fender and hood

Didn't think much of it, maybe they had fallen from the tree I park under each day, but last few days even at my house I still see them coming out of the woodwork. I guess I'll be peeling back the fender liner this weekend and see if I can find anything. ahhhh this should be fun

 

[Jamey]

That's it .. burn it

 

[Marino]

That's it .. burn it

lol

 

[injulen]

You can drop it off at my house, I'll take care of the burning so you don't have to..

 

[Marino]

Lurking..... 

Very close to putting this away for the season. Gonna miss it like crazy. 

I got brand new UR Rally Armor flaps with blue lettering.

Other than that haven't done too much. Added a good size "Importgram" decal centered on the back, I like it

Cobb 93 stg2 ots tune is nice, butt dyno feels a bit smoother all around from 91 but maybe it's just me.

Oh and I found my camera that I lost like 2 years ago. I thought for sure it was stolen but it turned up the other day. Not the best but still nicer than my cell camera for sure!

 

[Marino]

Well, she's done for the season. 

I'm glad to have gotten a few extra weeks in compared to last year.

Here are a few pictures I snapped after being washed and then filling the tank before it went under cover. People always staring at me when taking pics...

Until next time... peace.

 

[IBratmanI]

It's nice having the car wash so close to home!