Project Gen 3STi: Testing the COBB Down Pipe and Exhaust
By Wes Dumalski
When last we left off we were singing the praises of AMS and the Cobb AccessPORT, what we left out was the fact that on the way home from AMS we were already making phone calls for more go fast parts. Yes, I had been in the car for all of 10 minutes enjoying the new found power only to realize that more power was just a phone call away. HMM what should I do next? Easy, free up horsepower through less exhaust restriction. The call was to Cobb and it was to discuss the downpipe in particular. I honestly had no plans to replace the stock exhaust as I am a stick in the mud when it comes to loud street cars and quite frankly every Boxer engine with a fart can sounds like Project 200SX with a blown head gasket... (No really they do).
Project Gen 3 STi: Testing the COBB AccessPORT
As it turns out owning a project car is not easy! First and foremost these are real cars owned by real people that pay for them with their own money. Life as well as vehicle practicality and reliability have ways of getting in the way of project car progress and/or completion. Take our Gen 3 GR STi project for example... We had had the car repainted, put back to stock all just so we could start fresh. OK so that is a total lie, the real story is that the previous project car was sold by the owner after blowing up it's totally stock motor on more than one occasion...
By Mike Kojima
The old engineers joke that “speed doesn’t kill, rapid deceleration does” applies to all vehicles capable of attaining dangerous velocities. Since we have been concentrating on improving project STi’s acceleration and handling, we have definitely achieved the ability to reach deadly velocity on the track. In our first foray onto the grounds of Willow Springs raceway we noted that perhaps we were starting to drive beyond the capabilities of the stock brakes due to the higher speeds that we were able to attain on the straights.
To read the rest about Project Subaru WRX STI click here!
In our last segment of Project Subaru WRX STi we tackled the car’s weakest area, its handling, and made significant improvements by installing Whiteline’s basic handling pack suspension kit. Although we were very favorably impressed with the kit’s enhancement of Project STi, we needed more. We wanted more than just a better handling car; we wanted one that had the potential to put the hurt on the competition in time attack events as well as a decent street ride because this car also serves as a daily driver.
To see the other articles in this series, click here!
When researching suspension modifications for the STi, we came upon the name of the Australian company Whiteline several times and when studying their website found quite a few unique and innovative suspension products available for the STi and many other cars as well. With this information in hand, we sought them out at the SEMA show and met Jim Gurieff, Whiteline’s General Director. Over Dinner we had quite an interesting conversation on the technical aspects of suspension turning
In this project we are going to improve on the STi's strong point, acquiring more torque and power but still keeping it street and road race friendly. A lot of attention will be given the cars weak points, handling and braking. Project STi's goals will be to be able to keep its easy streetability while being able to rip the ¼mile in the 11's in drag racing while winning a Time Attack on a road course, opposing yet possible goals.
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