Mikku

Yes, I bit the bullet and junked the 17 year old, stock suspension and replaced it with an HKS Hipermax set of coilovers!! Man, what a difference!! I can actually feel the struts doing their job and the car now handles like a sports car rather than a bouncy sofa. With its lower stance, it also looks better too! Very happy!! 😁

Well...I finally got round to fitting this. Then gave up!! I couldn't get it to fit, either exactly where I wanted it (the bottom right of the grill) or securely enough. I did take some mock up pics of it in a central position, to see what it looked like, but I don't want to obstruct air flow to the radiator. I still like the basic idea though, so will figure out a Plan B and have another go! Pauper spec indeed! 🤪

Haven't fitted any of that yet BUT did finally get round to fitting the Genome strut brace! And the sharp-eyed will have noticed something else under the bonnet!!

Haven't got round to fitting the strut brace yet but have received my box of goodies from the States, as well as some rally-esque mudflaps from Blighty! 😎

Am still waiting on my delivery from the US (some of the goodies were out of stock), so I picked up this STi Genome strut brace/bar to keep me going! I've read about clearance problems with a/c lines, so after I've cleaned it up I'll have a go at fitting it, possibly this weekend. 👍

Some 5 months later, this has just arrived in the post! Will hopefully get round to fitting it this weekend. 👍

Have ordered a few parts from FastWRX in the US. Pics to follow as and when the box arrives! 👍 In the meantime, here's a couple of pics of my favourite two toys! 😍

Thanks for the reply. Thankfully (if that's the right word) all of the damaged area is plastic, so I'll see what I can find over here to tidy it up a little. 👍 In other news, I've just ordered a box of goodies from FastWRX! 😁

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'd prefer to play safe and give my hard-earned cash to one of the main players. The Perrin endlinks look good, as do the Whiteline ones but I hear nothing but good things about the KartBoy links, so am going to pull the trigger on a set of those. 👍

A few cherry blossom snaps! 🌸

Anyone here had any experience with US brand Truhart? I've just spotted some sway bar end links of theirs that I like the look of but have never heard of them before.

Nice one! Need to get myself down there one day. 👍

Grazed a lamppost!! 😭 😡 😭 😡

Had to park in Tokyo the other week and wouldn't you know it, the only space left was next to a younger, longer, heavier relative! 😁

Look forward to seeing those. 👍

Yeah, very nice! 😎 So you're in Gunma Prefecture Dusty? I'm over in Fukui. 👋

Also replaced the incomprehensible Japanese navi/audio system for a slightly more understandable head unit. This has given me more storage space and I can also change the display colour to match the red of the instrument panel and dials. Sorted! 👍

Hey Dusty, I'm another Brit in Japan, with an older EJ20-engined Impreza. Whereabouts are you?

I have now put about 500 miles on the Kartboy shifter/WC Lathe Werks combo and I flippin' love it. The new shifter has bedded in, if that’s the right expression, so is now smoother and less notchy than when first fitted. I love the shorter throws, particularly between 2nd and 3rd gears. One thing I’ve had to do was modify the base plate to avoid contact when engaging first gear. I didn’t want to cut or bend the plate, so removed it then filed the underside where it was being hit by the shifting rod. As you can see from the pic, it’s not very pretty but it's smooth enough and is obviously out of sight, so I'm okay with that. When I refitted it I was also able to move the plate forward and to the left by a couple of millimetres. As a result of one or both of those mods, the contact has all but gone. I may do a bit more filing on it when I get home and/or slightly widen the 4 retaining bolt holes but for the moment, I’m enjoying the smoother shifts. 😎 When the centre console was off I also took the opportunity to tighten the handbrake adjuster to lower the handbrake lever a bit. 👍

After a few "issues", I managed to fit the Kartboy short shifter today. Only had time for a quick drive but it feels great with the Lathe Werks knob, which is now a little lower than before. 😎

Success! Bought a pack of M12 x 1.25 nuts and swapped out the rubber mallet for something more substantial. The shifter went in on the third or fourth hit! 👍 I put the stock knob on there to begin with and tbh, was a bit disappointed as I was expecting more of a shorter throw plus it was a bit "squelchy", probably due to all the grease I had used. However, after a few miles, I put on the WC Lathe Werks knob and that felt much better. Am going away for a long weekend tomorrow, so will have the chance to give the new set-up a good run out 😎

I thought you had to release the circlip before removing the white, plastic socket/cup thing with the shifter in situ? In any case I'd prefer to avoid buying some special pliers just for this, so will try the other options before resorting to that. Grrr! 😣

Tried to install the Kartboy shifter yesterday but failed! 😭 Removing the OEM shifter was fine but getting the KB in was indeed a PITA, to put it mildly! I don't have any suitable pliers to remove the c-clip, not that I see it anyway. That left me with the ol' rubber mallet option but after an hour or so of swinging and swearing, I gave up. I tried inserting it at different angles and even resorted to a block of wood and metal hammer at one point, but decided to stop after the wood split into two! I did, however, manage to mallet the stock shifter back in, so could at least drive the car today. I have a couple more ideas to try tomorrow, including using the linkage to lever the shifter in and putting some nuts onto the top of the shifter so I can whack it with a metal hammer without damaging the threads. 🙄 Onwards and upwards!!

Fitted the WC Lathe Werks knob to the stock shifter, just to see how it feels and... I flippin' love it! Looks great, fits the hand well and even seems to have improved the shifting feel a little, despite being lighter than the stock knob. Can't wait to see how it feels with the Kartboy short shifter! 👍

Thanks man! 👍 Fitted a WC Lathe Werks gear knob today. Looks and feels great! 😎