06 Subaru WRX Stancewagon

[flat4wagon]

This should serve as a nice jumping off point for the next iteration of my wagon. I'm a wheel whore and I switch things up on a fairly regular basis, but this spring should be the start of a new phase in my wagon's life.

Quick Mod list:

Driveline:
Injen CAI
Invidia DP
ANSA Silverline catback
South Bend Stage 2 daily clutch
ACT Streetlite Flywheel
Kartboy Short Shifter
DBA 4000 slotted rotors
Hawk HPS pads
Technafit SS brake lines

Suspension:
BC Racing BR series coilovers w/ 10k/9k springs, not quite maxed out
Whiteline 24MM F&R swaybars with Whiteline HD Endlinks
Whiteline Roll Center Correction Kit

Exterior Mods:
Sedan fenders/bumper
Seibon carbon fiber front lip
Satin black vinyl wrapped roof
Yakima roof rack and accessories - Basket, Snowboard Rack, Bike Tray, sticker bombed fairings for all the scene points
Curt hitch kit

Underhood bling:
Grimmspeed AOS
Grimmspeed alternator cover
Grimmspeed radiator shroud

Interior Mods:
Pioneer AVH-P2400BT Headunit
Trust/Greddy aluminum shift knob
STi front seats
Custom black suede door cards (now faded to purpleish)
Schroth Rallye4 Harnesses

Wheels:
Past Wheels
18x8.5 +48 Rays 57U custom white powdercoat
18x9.5 +38 Rota MXR also white
17x9 +30 Fifteen52 Tarmac also white

Current Wheel Project:
18x8 +51 Work VS-XX that are being completely redone
2 stage blood red over silver metallic powdercoated faces
3 and 3.5" polished lips to make the wheels an 18x9.5 +32

Other upcoming mods:
Matte white metallic vinyl wrap (if money allows)
Prosport Evo series oil pressure gauge (just need to install it)
Prosport carbon fiber hood dampers (just need to install)

And now for some pictures

The day I brought it home and threw on the Rays at stock height


Lowered a bit on the Rays (I used to think this was low)


Lowered even more on the bRotas


Dumped (by Subaru standards) on the Fifteen52s


Engine bay shot (bonus lip shot)


Sedan Front end activated on stock suspension

[flat4wagon]

Now on to the wheel build thread.

My current wheel collection


TSW Max 17x8 +35 that I'm selling
Drag DR-34 18x8.5 +35 that are going on my fiancee's car when I get them refinished
Work VS-XX 18x8 +51 that I'm rebuilding for my wagon
3SDM 0.05 18x9.5 +35 that I was going to run this year, but changed my plans when I got a steal on the Works

The Works were in rough condition when I got them, but the deal was too good for a wheel whore like myself to pass up on a set of 3 piece wheels. Curbs had eaten the two front lips, the finish is chipped in quite a few places, and the barrels have sludge (it's more than just brake dust, it's something sticky and black) in them. Luckily they weren't wide enough for my liking and I was planning on redoing the lips anyway. The conditions of the barrels was disappointing, but other than one being bent, I think some solvent and elbow grease should fix the others.

The disassembly


The barrel condition. This is the bent one with a little attempt at cleaning the crap out of it with no solvents. It's a sticky mess, so I'll need some sort of solution to clean it up. I'm going to start with an ultrasonic bath with dish soap and see if I need a more powerful solvent. Any suggestions would be helpful.


Where the project stands right now:

The disks are currently out for refinishing and powdercoat in blood red over metallic silver base

The barrels and hardware will be getting an ultrasonic bath to clean as much of the crap off of them as possible.

3" and 3.5" polished reverse lips are on order from wheelflip.com. Their customer service is awesome. I accidentally order four 3.5" lips because I'm an idiot and didn't measure all of my wheel parts before ordering, and they changed my order same day. Not sure how far in the process of polishing and cutting the slot they were, but still awesome service.

Also picking up a couple used barrels from another member here because one of mine was bent and I'd like to have an extra barrel lying around in case the shitty roads I drive on decide to claim another.

I'll be updating this post as I get more pictures and more updates on the refinishing process.

[thathalfginger]

Yeee another wrx wagon on stanceworks. Your car looks like its coming along pretty well. Can't wait to see some updates

[Dremetos]

Nice collection.

[puzzlemaster94]

I love these wagons, quite the nice wheel collection happening there

[flat4wagon]

Thanks everyone. I'm on stock suspension for the winter, so that I could clean up my coils and throw on some stiffer springs (8k/6k to 10k/9k) to hopefully get lower without rubbing. When I was on 18x9.5s before, I had 235/35 tires and they rubbed on big bumps, so I'm going with 225/40s this time around hoping that a little more stretch will avoid the rubbing.

[flat4wagon]

Quick update from the powdercoat guy. The wheels are stripped down and should be coated and ready for pick up this weekend.

[SliPsY]

Wow you really are a wheel whore :p Nice build man.

[flat4wagon]

Pictures just don't do this color justice. It's a deep maroon in low light or a bright candy apple red in bright light, and flash just can't capture the amount of flake. They look phenomenal in sunlight.

Flash on, mocked up with the original lips while I wait on the new ones to get here


Flash off to show off the maroon

[flat4wagon]

Lots of updates coming in now.

Got the all the parts in. The lips turned out great. I had seen mixed reviews about WheelFlip, but I'm very happy with how it worked out. I got a few phone calls with updates throughout the process and got everything in plenty of time to put them together. They probably could have gone a little bit more fine on the polish job, but overall, they're great.

The ultrasonic wash ended up falling through so I went to town with Barkeepers Friend and Scotchbrite pads to clean up the barrels. Also took 0000 steel wool to all 160 nuts and bolts by hand. It was a huge pain, but I'm glad that I took the time. I probably would have ***** myself if I had put the wheels back together with dirty hardware.

And the assembly process. I followed Thatcher's walkthrough that I found here on Stanceworks and it worked out perfectly.

Polished the center caps with a headlight restoration kit. Here's a side by side.


Bolted everything together and torqued all the bolts to 18ft./lbs before taping off the barrel and lip.


Ran the silicone, smoothed it out, and removed the tape. Leaves a beautifully professional line.


Finished product


And who doesn't get excited about some sweet wheels


Next comes the fitment. I decided to go aggressive with an 18x10 +25 and a 225/40 tire.

I maxed out the rear camber plates and pulled the fenders a lot more. It doesn't rub static, but any bump causes issues. I've got some camber bolts on the way that should finish up the fitment and I can clean everything up. If they don't do the trick, I'll be switching to either a 215 or a 35 sidewall.

This is where the bumper mounts to the fender.


I cut it where the fender lip meets the bumper mounting area and folded that flat. Cutting it loose gave me about a half inch more pull. I pushed the mounting holes out so the bumper still kind of matches up and shaved the bumper even with the fender.


And the fitment that still rubs. Another degree of camber should fix it.