Modification advice for a noob

[Choppermaan]

Hi everyone.  I decided a few months ago that I wanted to get into car modifying for a hobby, and thought an Impreza would be a good car to work with, so I've just bought my first ever Subaru.  It's a 2005 WRX Blobeye with the PPP fitted, so it's already pretty fast.  Except for the silver Zunsport grille (top and bottom), it's standard.  Only problem is, I know absolutely NOTHING about car modifying, so that's why I've specifically joined this forum.  Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

The first thing I want to do is replace my WRX boot spoiler with a higher STI one.  Where are the best places to try, and what would be a decent price, painted or unpainted?

 

Next, my sound system is pretty poor.  Would a decent radio/CD player (eg. Pioneer) and a set of speakers do the job, or do I need more, like a boom-box/sub-woofer?  And how much do I need to spend to put together a good system?  I've been looking online at Halfords products, but any other suggestions are welcome!

 

Next, I actually prefer the look of the standard black grilles to my silver Zunsport ones, so should I get these resprayed black or just remove them altogether?  I think if I remove the top one (behind the badge) I will need to buy another original one to replace it, but from the looks of it, I think I can just remove the lower one and it'll be back to normal, right!?

 

I think I'll leave it there for now.  In the next few months, I want to: refurb the alloys and get them resprayed gold; I've read that Whiteline anti-roll bars improve handling significantly; I like the look of the angel eye headlights and STI fog light covers; and I'll be looking to improve performance over the summer.  I've already started researching this (Stage 1 remap, perhaps) - Jolly Green Monster and Greenwood Racing Developments seem to get mentioned a lot.

 

Like I said, I'm a complete novice in this field, so any insightful information on any of the above areas are welcomed.

 

Cheers,

Chops

[Gambit]

for the spoiler best bet is either eBay or any Subaru breakers, some people will replace the full boot lid so it has the stronger arms to support it. I changed mine about 4 years ago on the blobeye granted it wasn't a genuine sti spoiler but looks just as good and unless you know what to look for I doubt many people would even know but it wa the same colour as mine. And I just bolted it to the boot lid I had and fitted fine and had no problems. 

 

With the CD players I guess it depends on what you want to spend on it. but anything will be better than the standard setup :)

 

 

And you can speak to the guy on here about mapping but to use someone in the UK I would say Jolly Green Monster myself everytime :) 

 

Hope that helps some what I'm off to start a bbq now be back later ;) 

[Tlag]

The modifications you mention are all quite subtle and a great place to start.

 

The advice from Gambit on the spoiler  is spot on. Any mods you do are totally personal choice so changing from silver to black grills should just be a quick paint job.

 

Stereo: Again, completely subjective and personal choice. Its not a field I know a lot about to be honest. I prefer the exhaust music.  Although, I know you can spend anything from a couple of hundred, right up into the thousands for competition grade stuff. Has to be said though, stock Subaru stuff is usually not that good, so any upgrade will be a bonus :)

[Choppermaan]

Thanks for your replies.  I went to Halfords earlier and bought a Pioneer radio/CD with iPod connectivity, and a pair of 6" Fli speakers to replace the two standard ones in the front door panels.  There were some deals on so I think I got it all for a pretty good price - £105 instead of about £130.  Hopefully, it should sound pretty good.  Like you said, Gambit, I guess it can't be worse than the standard kit.  One question: the standard Impreza radio is quite big, so when I replace it with my new, slimmer radio, what should I do about the gap?  Are there fascias available to buy for this?

 

Tlag - yes, the sound of the Prodrive exhaust is very good indeed; a nice deep rumble.  Pedestrians turn around to see what's coming down the road!

 

I contacted a dealer and he said he could sell me an STI spoiler for £300 painted.  From looking around, I think this sounds about right!?

 

Oh, and I forgot to say before - I also want a bigger STI bonnet scoop!

 

So generally with mods like these, am I best to buy the stuff and then get my local garage to fit it for me.  And with the grilles, get a paintshop to do it?  I know the best thing would be to save labour costs by doing it all myself, but apart from BHP and 0-60mph stats, I'm not too knowledgeable about the mechanics/technical side of cars.

[stants]

Hello and welcome :-) as you can see it's a slippery slope, Stereo wise you can buy a single din cubby box to fit below the head unit which will sort the problem of having a hole and give you somewhere to put stuff .

As for the grill if your handy with some rattle cans you could prob do it for a lot less than a paint shop would charge as you'd have to take them off before sending them to the shop.

Can't help with the spoiler I'm afraid as I've not looked into it. But if it's painted in your colour already it sounds reasonable.

Larger scoops are on eBay all the time so if you don't mind it being non genuine part can pick them up ready for paint for about sixty quid.

Dunno if gambit's asked you already but get a load of pics while your at it :-) we always like to see peoples individual take one their cars

[BoozyDave]

welcome to the club

 

personally, I would only go for a genuine blobeye spoiler (vertical, not slanted) £300 painted is a good price. 2nd hand they are usually £300, then it would probably need respraying as well. if you can buy one already attached it would be easier. the low level is held on with 4 bolts, but the sti has about 20! try to get the stronger spring bars too to stop the boot slamming shut

 

you can get facia covers and a little cubby hole will fit in the gap too

 

bigger scoops can be bought on eBay for about £60, but will need painting as well

[Choppermaan]

Thanks Stanton and BoozyDave.  The cubbyhole under the new radio sounds good, as I'll be able to put my iphone in there if I'm playing my music through my USB port.

 

I've looked on eBay but I'm just a bit dubious of some of the stuff.  I know you can check sellers' feedback, but I want to make sure that any parts I buy come with all the correct fixtures and fittings.  Should I expect an STI spoiler or bonnet scoop to come with all the necessary screws, etc.?  I'm not bothered if the parts aren't authentic Subaru parts, as long as they look OK and are decent quality.  I've looked on Scoobyparts and Scoobyworld, but I'm guessing these sites charge a premium for new parts, as they're fairly official, right?  Do people buy stuff from these sites or do more experienced modifiers use alternative, secret, cheaper sources?

 

Next, I don't mind my standard alloys, but was looking into some 10-spoke, like the STI ones.  However, all the ones I was looking at are like a grand; I don't like them that much!!!  Again, I guessing I could probably source some from eBay!?  How much would a second-hand set of alloys like these usually go for?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but like I said, I'm totally new to this world... but very eager to learn, ha!  I reckon I could really get into this and end up spending thousands...

[BoozyDave]

an original spoiler or scoop should come with screws and fittings, but non genuine stuff probably won't

 

I used to have an aftermarket boot spoiler (hollow fibreglass), it ended up getting cracks in it and filled up with water, ended up paying for a genuine one anyway (fibreglass with rigid foam inside)

 

are you happy to drill extra holes in your boot lid to get extra fixings???

 

if you are looking at blobeye sti alloys, be careful with the PCD. the 05 reg onwards has a different PCD and won't fit. all up to 05 reg were 100x5, 05 sti onwards is 114.3x5

 

put a pic up of the ones you like and I'm sure someone will be able to point you towards some very similar and a lot cheaper

[stants]

The scoop won't need any fixings you just remove the ones from your old one and re use them, there are a couple of plastic clips that may perish but thse can be bought from subaru for about a quid each.

Agian with the spoiler it depends on where it comes from and how it's advertised.

alloys range from a little to alot. Don't forget to factor in he cost for new tyres if you change rim size.

Scooby world are a bit pricy in my opinion I've used both for little bits, there are literally hundreds of sites for subaru parts and sometimes stuff from overseas can be a cheaper buy.

[Jay762]

Wotcha and welcome - all great advice above wrt the wheels we have had some come through the site for sale section and good genuine used come up on eBay if you are willing to hold on for a bit until the right ones come along

[Choppermaan]

Stanton - Sure, I'll get some pics soon.  Like I said, the car is pretty standard at the moment, so not exactly a jaw-dropper, but I like to think it's a nice, fairly clean example.  I washed it on Friday, and the blue is looking good in all this sun we're getting!  And cheers for the scoop advice!

 

BoozyDave - No, I don't mind drilling extra holes in my boot lid.  When it eventually came to reselling the car, I think an STI spoiler would make it more appealing (to most buyers) than the standard WRX spoiler, so I wouldn't remove it after I'd fitted it.  Oh, and what's PCD???

 

I've just tried pasting a link, but it wouldn't let me.  On autotrader, there's a blue STI (£8,500) with some nice gold 10-spoke wheels (not sure if these are standard STI wheels), but I actually prefer the 7-spoke Prodrive wheels on a silver WR1 that's on there (£12,000).  I wonder how much some of these would set me back?!

 

Jay - Cheers.  I'm in no rush to get new wheels, so I definitely don't mind holding out for the right set at the right price.  On my "mod to-do" list, wheels are pretty far down, and for now, I may just get my standard WRX ones refurbed and resprayed gold.  Personally, the sound system (which is in the process of being sorted!) and a big, lairy spoiler are top of the list.  My life will become more enriched once I've addressed these two issues :-)

[Gambit]

If you see anything on eBay and unsure feel free to link it we can have a look at it if that helps :) 

[BoozyDave]

PCD Is pitch circle diameter, 100 is the diameter to the center of the studs and 5 is how many studs, if you Google it there will be some diagrams