Unique Motorsports

I have had LED Footwell lights in the Aveo for a while, but they were a little too green and the light was a little too focused. I prefer more of a glow and while I wasn’t able to find teal, I could find some lights that are capable of teal. As an added benefit, they are also able to pulse to the beat.

The install was pretty straight forward, I simply unplugged the power for the old lights and hooked up the new using the same relay. Since they are attached to the controller, it’s a little more difficult to run the wires.

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Subaru power steering pumps always seem to leak after a few years. On my original Impreza I just let it leak until it got so bad I replaced the pump. If I knew I could fix it for $20, I probably would not have picked up that used replacement.

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What started out as a long day which would include a new clutch, finishing up a gutted stock up pipe and installing a turbo back exhaust turned into a long day, but no clutch install.

Gutting a stock Up Pipe:

Gutting a stock WRX Up Pipe is not easy, but should not be this hard. I have done a couple now and this was more difficult than the first. I no longer have a long air hammer attachment which is able to go all the way through the Catted part so I cut one that’s close and lengthened it by adding some 1/2” angle arm. Well, the cat is stronger than the steel so it took a few different “versions” of the extension, some beating on it with some large screwdrivers and a few hours of work to get this done. Luckily Darin was there to help tag team this as it took a fair amount of time. The end result is a clear path in the up pipe which fits as good as stock and retains the heat properties of the stock piece. As such, it’s unlikely to leak or have any other issues. One other thing to note is I like to weld the egt port shut as it would just through a CEL anyway. A 2.2K OHM resister goes into the plug to resolve the CEL.

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This article actually got started a few weeks prior when my wife was rear ended at a red light. The damage is not too bad, but since the car is new, we would like to replace all the parts to get it back to “like new” condition.

With that said, let’s get to it!

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Pretty much any car designed for the masses is going to be somewhat neutral in many aspects. Suspension is a great example of this as the average person doesn’t want a firm ride or the worry of breaking the front bumper cover off when getting just a little to snug to a curb. Automotive enthusiasts however, are a slightly different breed. We notice that split second gab between turning the wheel and the car following along. We are ok with a little more noise, we want the car to be firm and responsive.

Springs vs Coilovers – The debate will continue. Personally I say springs. You can get a nice firm responsive whip without being overly jaring. Coilovers really limit the amount of suspension travel you have. For example, you might need to jack up your car 4 inches before the tire leaves the ground. With coilovers, it’s only going to be about an inch. The nice thing about coilovers such as installed here, are the advantages of setting ride height, spring rate and shock firmness.

This install is about coilovers. The install is pretty much the same as a regular spring install with a few key differences.

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