*2012 STI BUILD* Looking for tips and directions

Goat

New member
Greetings,

I am relatively new to the Subaru scene, I've had my 2012 STI for just a little over 2 years now.

When I got the car, I immediately did the most Subaru thing & put a full turbo-back exhaust on & the COBB SF cold air intake. Until recently, I've done a fair amount of overboosting due to the catless downpipe & have hit 102% Injection Duty Cycle & about 27 PSI on a stock block and pump gas. I know, extremely bad. Whatcha gonna do about it, it's already too late.

Anyways, I wanted to get my car into a healthier state, so I went ahead and ordered a bunch of parts and reached out to a local tuner & got the sign off on all the parts. The only thing is, I got 2 months to install all the parts & I do NOT know anything about engine modifications, or any of the parts I will be installing. So I am turning to the Subaru community to give me pointers, things to look out for, if I run into something, some good tips and tricks to get a grasp of what's really gonna happen.


My current modlist that I ordered;

  • Getadom Cylinder 4 Cooling Mod
  • PTP Turbo Blanket
  • IAG Street Series Air Oil Separator
  • Aeromotive A1000 Adjustable Fuel Regulator
  • COBB Tuning EBCS 1/4 inch EWG Fitting Kit
  • GrimmSpeed Subaru VF Series Turbo Wastegate Bracket
  • COBB Flex Fuel Package
  • DW300C Series Fuel Pump
  • GrimmSpeed 38mm V-Band EWG Uppipe Kit
  • IAG Braided Fuel Line & Fitting Kit
  • IAG Black CNC Top Feed TGV Housing
  • IAG V3 Top Feed Fuel Rails
  • Koyo Radiator Hyper V-Series


Ultimately looking for the best routes of doing the modifications. I am open to any suggestions, please anything is helpful! I have some mechanical knowledge, but I'm really looking to learn on this build. Thank you!
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Welcome to IGOTASTI!!! You're going to absolutely love it here!! Post some pictures of the ride!!

These people should be able to point you in the right direction:
@IGOTASTi @Batmobile_Engage @Grinder34 [MENTION=1868]Boogieman98[/MENTION] @Doppelganger @Eagleye
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Jeez dude... I would love to help you, and I'm sure we'll all get you pointed in the right direction, but I think you need to reconsider your two month deadline. If you have to move somewhere and make a long drive in 60 days, I don't think I would dive into this.

Also... 27 psi? Is that even possible on the factory (MY2012) turbo..?

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Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Next I'd say, group a few of these mods together and accomplish them at the same time due to the labor you're already going to put in on other mods.

For example, when you do the TGVs, fuel system components and so forth, do those all together. At the same time, you'll already have the intake mainfold removed, which will give you access to the PCV port in the block and more room around the turbo. So this is the time to do the air-oil-separator, the turbo blanket, up pipe/waategate/boost control system work, etc.

A number of these mods are going to require tuning support. You could probably limp the car a short distance if you know what you are doing or have a safe base map. But otherwise, I'd nail down an appt with a tuner before you get this stuff installed. Then find a safe way to get the car there.

One place I probably should have started is a compression test. Its a good idea to do this at a minimum, to check health of the pistons before you spend all this time and money on mods, only to blow the engine up.

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Grinder34

Track Monkey
Mirroring some other replies... If you're going in with no experience you may quickly find yourself in over your head.

1) How did you come up with this particular list?

2) Do you have any budget to get a shop to install these for you?

3) If "no" to #2 , maybe return some of the parts to free up budget.

Looking at the list, none of the items seem that hard on their own--but i've spent a lot of time in the engine bay and under my car.

IF you decide to do this yourself...TAKE PICTURES. Use plenty of tape that you can label to mark each connection. Like blue painters tape with #1 on each end. That way when you reassemble you start with the highest number and work backwards. You'll also have a ton of pictures at each stage to refer back to if anything is confusing. If you're going to be doing this over a few weeks you'll forget where things go and how it looked before, i pretty much guarantee it. The pictures will be a life saver.
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
IF you decide to do this yourself...TAKE PICTURES. Use plenty of tape that you can label to mark each connection. Like blue painters tape with #1 on each end. That way when you reassemble you start with the highest number and work backwards. You'll also have a ton of pictures at each stage to refer back to if anything is confusing. If you're going to be doing this over a few weeks you'll forget where things go and how it looked before, i pretty much guarantee it. The pictures will be a life saver.

If you only take one piece of advice, let it be this one. ^

- Put tape on hose/connector/fitting
- Mark tape with #
- In a notebook, write down number and short description
- Take photo with the tape and number clearly visible
- Disconnect said item
- Take 2nd photo with item removed

Lastly, a few of these mods strike me as unnecessary...at least at this point in your build. Can you tell us more about your future plans? Bigger turbo, etc...? Because depending on those plans, you may want to wait on, or not install some of these parts at all.
 
Last edited:
No block In that list. Don?t go to crazy. Like mentioned above pictures pictures and more pictures!!! Mark everything. If you do have a shop do the work make sure they are very reliable. Yes what are future plans??


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Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Any update on that 27 psi boost reading?


I'm pretty curious to hear if anyone else thinks that's possible on the factory turbo...and if so, how?

It's still a VF39 on the 2012's, right?
 
Hey there. What is your power goal on the stock turbo and do you extend on upgrading to an external waste gate? Also, what items still need to be installed?
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Any update on that 27 psi boost reading?


I'm pretty curious to hear if anyone else thinks that's possible on the factory turbo...and if so, how?

It's still a VF39 on the 2012's, right?

It shouldn't be possible from my experience, unless it was a millisecond spike, but even then... that's an obscenely high number even for overboost.

I believe the layout is as follows:

2004-2006 STi = VF39
2007 STi = VF43
2008+ STi = VF48

Edit:
Looks like I was correct:
https://www.igotasti.com/vBforum/th...-of-the-Changes-Over-the-Years-(2004-Present)
 

Batmobile_Engage

Squirrel Meat Aficionado.
Staff member
Yeah, I probably should have checked ^ that ^ thread. But even then, I'm not that familiar with IHI VF-turbos outside of the 39. :unsure:

What device were you using that displayed 27 psi, [MENTION=7521]Goat[/MENTION]?
 
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