TD's 1993 Legacy SS

[wtdash]

Manual Seat Belt Install

I couldn't justify the $200 people were asking for the Canadian seat belts, and I'd read that the manual belts from a '95+ could be made to work, so decided to give it a shot.

Also got inspiration and the idea to do a 'hybrid' setup from Josh's POST HERE.

I found a '98 Legacy GT set from a part-out on LegacyGT.com that were $25, spent about $20 more @ the local Pull-n-Save, and <$10 for hardware @ local hardware store. I decided to buy a set of the auto belt rails that I cut up (in case I sell the car and the new owner wants the 'stock pieces' for whatever reason), and the plastic 'B' pillar pieces from a '97 Legacy, just to see if they'd fit - THEY DON'T.

LGT belt 'kit':


I cut the rail on both sides as the headliner/trim snaps into it. Make sure to keep the 3 mounting points intact - front (A pillar) and the 2 near where the OShit handle would be on the driver's side and where the passenger's OS handle bolts into, too.:


I drilled a hole in the stock 'B' pillar trim and used a 7/16-20 (yea - non-metric) 2 1/2" long (IIRC) bolt for the upper anchor (yep, the threaded hole is already there). Although my '93 has the bolt holes for the adjustable height belt, I decided not to bother . But could have just cut a longer opening in the trim piece to fit them (interestingly, the '98's upper and lower anchor bolt threads for the height adjustment were different than my '93 - but the spacing is the same, so I'd just need different bolts).

Here's the final product:


I was able to reuse the stock bottom trim piece. One end tucks into a slot on the trim behind the carpet and instead of screwing it back in (as it was attached on the stock piece) I used a zip tie thru the original hole and back around the seat belt bracket inside the door pillar. The little cap still snapped into place.



Here's the gap from where the auto belts would run along the window - noticeable but not bad IMHO. Also, see the upper anchor mount. I used a small bronze bushing that fits in the anchor's hole w/a couple of washers on either end - it needs to have some 'wiggle' room to move w/the seat, not bind against the trim piece and so the plastic cover will fit properly:


On the bottom anchor (part marked w/the yellow 'R' in the 1st pic above) it has a 10mm bolt on top and the bottom is a 14mm. The top bolt took some persuasion to get it in. I had to use an extra long (2"?) bolt to reach the hole on the B pillar and had to bend it to fit around where the frame stuck out a bit. I didn't bend the actual ratcheting mechanism - just the top mount point.

The only wiring changes I made were to unplug the connectors that are under the A pillar's trim piece and scotch-lok the 2 wires together. I have no extra lights on for the seat belts - everything works fine. The '98's driver's side belt buckle had the sensor, which I just plugged into the stock one which still works fine.


More Notes: Although I did this on warm (70's) day, the plastic is still brittle and a couple of the tabs broke off. Not sure if it'd help but using a heat gun/hair dryer to heat up the plastic ON LOW!! might mitigate the breakage???

As noted on other installs, I just bent the tabs up that would normally be used to 'locate/align' the belt anchors. They could be removed, but bending them out of the way means I can go back in and drill the appropriate holes and still use them if needed .

Also, on the SS or other sunroof-equipped cars I removed the rubber/plastic molding/trim piece that attaches to the headliner and holds it to the sunroof assembly. It just pulls off and stayed in one piece. I was then able to get much more working room to get @ those pesky rail bolts - esp. those that hold on the OS handles on the pass. side! Once done, I was able to just push the molding back into place....oh, you'll have to remove the visors, too.
TD

[free5ty1e]

That... is excellent. I believe I shall duplicate for my '92 SS! Thank you for the writeup and photos!!

Bookmarked!

[wtdash]

Deck/Head Unit/Stereo/Speakers

For the front Alpine 6.5 Type R speakers I used the '1993-2007 Subaru Impreza WRX RS STI Speaker Adapters Brackets Front Spacers' from "Autoware302" on Ebay. They worked well. Better then the Crutchfield version, from what I read online.

The rear speakers were in tatters:


I had an extra set of Subaru speakers I put in the rear deck for now. I'm not a music aficionado, so not that picky, but still sounds good, IMHO. May get an under-seat sub in the future.

The Pioneer deck has Bluetooth, which I decided is a necessity for driving a stick and talking on the phone (I don't have a BT ear piece). I mounted the remote mic on the headliner - near the rear-view mirror. It also eliminates a cable to charge my iPhone, since the USB can do that. Side-note - when using Pandora thru the Bluetooth (cool feature), I get ads like I do normally; but if I connect thru the iPhone's USB cable I rarely if ever get commercials....WTH??

As I rarely use the radio, I don't need/want the antenna going up, but want it avl. if traveling. I put in an off/on switch between the power antenna lead and the deck so I can still turn it on. Mounted in the back of the 1.5 DIN pocket I had in my stash (replaced the single DIN).

Notes: I used a Scosche Su02B Wiring Harness For 1989-1993 to solder to the Pioneer's harness, so it was 99% plug-n-play when installing. Also used a Scosche AXT18 Antenna Extension Cable to reach as the Pioneer's antenna plug is in the upper left vs. the stocker's lower right (as looking @ from the back of the deck).

[Legacy777]

Todd,

Nice work on the seat belt conversion.

The rear speakers in my Imprza look like yours. I need to replace them....they rattle and make a lot of racket.

[wtdash]

Looks to be in awesome condition. Good find!

Wow, for sure got a good deal there.

Great work so far!

Looking awesome. Look forward to seeing more updates.

That... is excellent. I believe I shall duplicate for my '92 SS! Thank you for the writeup and photos!!

Bookmarked!

Nice work on the seat belt conversion.

The rear speakers in my Imprza look like yours. I need to replace them....they rattle and make a lot of racket.

Thanks for the + comments! And glad if this is useful to others. This site has saved my arse more times that I can count!

[ericahearn]

Hey todd..been awhile since I was on here. Did'nt know you got rid of your xt. I still have your old wagon..its still going although have a random cel. Keep in touch..would like to see your new ride.

Eric

[wtdash]

Installed an RS hood scoop - Posted HERE.

[wtdash]

Edit: Turned out to be the down pipe rubbing. After installing the TD05 it moved the DP just enough to cause it to rub.

Weird noise started coming from the left front of the car a couple of weeks ago. It's a grinding/metallic noise that happens when I turn to the right and accelerate. It is somewhat noticeable when I accelerate hard in a straight line.

I took my Subaru tech for a ride and he said it sounded like a wheel bearing. I removed the hub, bought the bearing kit from the local Subie dealer (w/my tech's di$count still $70) and had it pressed in by a local machine shop for $50.
Did NOT F'ing fix it.

Neither the tech nor I know what's next for sure, but I bought a CV axle to install. The front left boot is cracking, but not all the way thru, so it's probably original (140k). And w/my upgrades there's been more stress on all the car's components, so not terribly surprised that both items may be worn out.....but it'd be nice if this fixes it....

[wtdash]

Date:12/4/2013
Weather:32F degrees at ~sea level in Seattle
Dyno: Mustang at R & H garage
Stock STI on this dyno: 220HP / 220 ft-lbs

Horsepower: 183 @ 5251 RPM - weather corrected (wcf) / 193 max
Torque: 234 @ 3527 RPM -Wcf / 246 max

Setup:
Stock EJ22T and heads
TMIC
"550" STI injectors (525cc)
TD05H (with 90 degree inlet from '93-'96 wrx/STI)
3" bellmouth down pipe
STI Fuel Pump
Rob Tune EJ20G ecu and ignition converter
JECS "green label" MAF
Snorkus removed


I'm pretty happy with the results overall. The tuner suggested I go one step colder (7 for ngk's) on the plugs and tighten up even more on the gap. I'm at .030" and he suggested all the way down to .024". Also need to get rid of the stock exhaust behind my aftermarket down pipe.

Graphs show a bumpy curve after 4k RPM which is why the tuner suggested the colder plugs. Also runs rich -around 11.0 AFR, but likely due to needing different plugs / gap to burn the fuel.

--MBC set to ~18 psi; pull done in 4th gear.

Graph:



Edit: 5-23-14 - Updated Dyno info:

Weather: 65F degrees at ~sea level in Redmond
Dyno: Mustang at Dyno Authority
Stock STI on this dyno: 240HP / 240 ft-lbs



Run 1
HP: 229 HP
Torque: 309 ft-lbs

Run 2
HP: 219 HP
Torque: 287 ft-lbs

Setup:
Stock EJ22T and heads
TMIC
"550" STI injectors (525cc)
TD05H (with 90 degree inlet from '93-'96 wrx/STI)
3" bellmouth down pipe - NEW: 3" all the way back - added a resonator and Dynomax VT muffler
STI Fuel Pump
Rob Tune EJ20G ecu and ignition converter
JECS "green label" MAF
Snorkus removed
NEW: Mopar (Neon, etc.) coil pack and newer-style EJ22 wires.
NEW: Stock BRK6E plugs gapped to .028

--MBC set to ~18.5 psi; pull done in 4th gear.

After updating my ignition system w/the Mopar coil pack and getting a full 3" TBE installed I went back to Seattle for another Dyno pull (or 2). Unfortunately, R & H garage is 'in transition' and sold their Mustang, so my original goal of getting runs on the same dyno after the updates is unobtainable. I found another Mustang Dyno shop - Dyno Authority in Redmond, WA. It's owned by Marco Yaya. He was very methodical about the process. Spent 20 minutes checking out my car, followed by 2 "Parasitic Loss / Coast Down" tests to get the most accurate results.

The car is running very well, w/the only issue the continued 'cold-start EJ20G phenomenon' that I have yet to fix. The car starts on the 2nd or 3rd try and then runs normally, and the car is fun to drive. On the trip over and back from Seattle, it cruised well and even had fun over the Pass playing catch-up w/a Shelby 500 and R8 (so damn cool).

However, I wasn't prepared for these results! The #'s are hard to believe, as their improvement was never felt in my butt-dyno.

Using the MAX values above (not the weather-corrected), the HP increase was 36 on the 1st run; 26 on the 2nd. The ft-lbs went up a whopping 63 on the 1st run; 41 on the 2nd.

As noted above, this dyno does make slightly higher #'s for a stock STI 240/240 vs. 220/220, per Marco. If I take that into account, and subtract 20, then the #'s are probably closer to reality and comparable. I was also running about ~.5 more boost, which is worth a few.

Marco also suggested a cooler plug. I mentioned I'd tried the one-step colder 7's and the plugs were a scary (to me) white color, but he stated that wasn't the true measure; check the AFRs. I recently bought a WB, so I may play w/that but really the car is running so well - why bother??? Also, he thought the AFR's were fine on the two runs @ his shop.

Run 1:


Run 2:

[mike-tracy]

R&h garage eh? Hunter.and Ken were at my house a couple week's back dropping off an engine.

[wtdash]

.....dropping off an engine.

Yeah...they had a 'few' of those around.

[wtdash]

I decided to install the Daniel Stern (DS) Headlamp relay kit due to the stock headlights' crappy illumination of the road.

I asked DS a few questions and added the Osram 70/65w H4 bulbs.

I'm NOT a electrical/wiring gifted modder, so this wasn't as easy as I hoped it'd be, but got it done.

After getting it installed it's definitely an improvement. Both low and high beams are much brighter.

So, I ended up getting:
RIK-2 kit for two sealed beam or H4 headlamps: $49
Osram 70/65w H4, $21.59/ea = $43.18
Shipping: $13.18 (although it only cost $5.50 to actually ship )

A halogen 'gotcha' that I didn't know about:
The Osrams being a brighter bulb don't last very long. My Low beams died after 3 months. This 'little tidbit' wasn't relayed to me when I bought this setup, so I was surprised. I initially thought it was related to the wiring, but after researching online and on Osram's site, I found these lights only have a 100-200 hour LIFESPAN. Wow...that sucks. And since I drive w/my lights on @ all times, they got used up pretty quickly. A standard halogen bulb should last ~1000+ hours. This LINK describes the (inverse) relationship between heat/ voltage and lifespan of the halogen (which is still an incandescent bulb).


Edit - per DS:

Subaru's switching arrangement gives you the option of leaving the headlight switch on all the time and having the lights go on and off with the engine. That's convenient, but very deleterious to bulb life -- the filaments get hammered hard every time you start the engine and every time you stop it.

DS also offers a Daytime Running Light (DRL) option that uses the existing turn signals. I might look into this as the brighter bulbs are nice to have, but I want them to last longer than 3 months.

DS appears to be a one-man shop, so don't expect immediate responses to emails and I had to request instructions 3x b4 they were emailed (were 'sposed to be w/the kit, but were MIA).

What I rec'd:


Relay kit component identification:

-Red wire "bracelet": Fuseholder. Simply snip the wire to give two wire ends
(one from each side of the actual fuse receptacle).

-Cubical devices with metal pins: Relays.

-Metal chain : String of terminals for wire ends. Simply twist/bend each
terminal off the chain as you need to use it. Install terminals on the
ends of all wires that will go to the relays.

-Black hollow plastic devices with mounting tabs: Relay holder/terminal
blocks. After installing the terminals on the wire ends, push each wire
end into its correct relay holder slot from below. It will snap lock into
place. Then the relay can simply be plugged onto the relay holder.

-White ceramic object with black rubber boot and three terminals ("H4CF"):
New high-heat headlamp sockets. Terminals can be secured to wires by
crimping and/or soldering. When working with H4 bulbs, terminal
configuration is as follows (as you're looking at the bulb's terminals,
glass pointing away from you):

Left vertical pin = Common ground
Top horizontal pin = Low beam Feed
Right vertical pin = High beam Feed

-Ivory plastic object packaged with three brass terminals ("H4CM"): Male
plugs to connect your harness to the vehicle's original headlamp circuit
without cutting wires. Crimp or crimp/solder the terminals onto the ends
of your relay trigger wires, max 14 gauge, push the wires terminal-first
into the plastic shells, where they'll snap-lock in place, and then snap
the shells onto the vehicle's existing headlamp sockets. This gives you
individual wires to work with, to trigger your relays, without cutting off
the vehicle's original headlamp sockets. If your kit contains two of
these, it is so that one can be used for low beam and common ground, and
the other can be used for high beam and common ground.

Install Notes:

H4CM snaps onto the vehicle's original headlamp socket to give you individual wires to work with. Use low + common to trigger your low-beam relay, and high + common to trigger your high-beam relay.

H4CF, that's your new headlamp socket. As you look at the back of the headlight bulb, with the glass pointing away from you, the bulb's terminal pins are:

Left vertical: Common
Top horizontal: Low beam
Right vertical: High beam

So as you look at the headlight socket, slots facing you, the slots are:

Left vertical: High beam
Top horizontal: Low beam
Right vertical: Common

Other install notes:

I used 12 gauge wiring for most of this. I'd recommend using 14 gauge as it's easier to work with. Also, the ceramic headlamp adapters are BRITTLE, so be careful w/those. Per JC/Legacy777:

As for the wiring, I would suggest using 16-12 gauge wiring for all your high current wiring. You could use 12 from the battery to the relay and then once you split into two separate runs, you could use 16 if you wanted. The high current wiring would be the wire from the battery to the relay, to the bulbs, and then to ground.

A cool feature is that this requires NO CUTTING of the stock headlight wiring, as the stock headlight plugs connect to the adapters 'as is'. When my Low beams died, I just unplugged the adapters and plugged the stock plugs back in test that the Low beams were indeed dead and it wasn't my wiring.

Stock headlight wiring (thanks to Mr. FSM - Josh/Legacy777) - Big PIC LINK:

[CFK]

Lookin Good and some awesome #'s

Full TBE and those plugs should really make a difference.

I really need to relay my headlights to. I drive around with highbeams at night cause mine must be pointed down and are super weak. Never been flashed !

[wtdash]

Lookin Good and some awesome #'s

Full TBE and those plugs should really make a difference.

I really need to relay my headlights to. I drive around with highbeams at night cause mine must be pointed down and are super weak. Never been flashed !

Yeah I aimed my lights too. Helped as well. Still working on getting a Tbe. Thanks.

[Legacy777]

I used DS's relay kit as well. It's good quality and works pretty well.

[CFK]

Ya your Dyno #'s are higher than mine and I have the 220 Delaya cams , and a full exhaust

My oil seals just blew out on my TD05, but the bearing had no play ! I wonder what's up with that

I was looking at maybe upgrading to a Bigger TD05, but I'm not sure what the RobTune can handle, not to mention all the TD05 turbos don't have the 90 inlet. And I don't like the looks of that silicone 90 on the VF24 !

Was the VF24 physically the same size as the TD05 ? And I assume that was a Short Radius silicone 90 ?

I'm worried about buying a new Blouch or Kinugawa TD05 and it just being to big to work !

Sorry for the thread Jack , thanks !

[wtdash]

Hi,


Scroll down my old post HERE that compares the two turbos.

I'd do some research on what the bigger turbos do to the MAF level.....but I think the TD05H you and I have is about the max the JECS/AUTECS MAF can handle @ 19 PSI. I know others (mikeymeyagi) made a bunch more HP w/DOHC + turbo cams, and a bit more torque>> ~300 w/the Rob Tune. Mikey used a VF23 which should be similar to the TD05H.

I'm (still) not familiar enough w/bigger turbos' boost maps to understand if you can just turn the boost down so you don't max out the MAF?

If you ever have plans to run a different EM (standalone) or Rob comes up w/a tune that works w/the Nissan Z32 MAF (don't hold your breath - he's a busy guy) then the bigger turbo will benefit you. But I don't think for the added LAG bigger turbos generally have it's a good trade-off. Remember, the stock SOHC heads are probably the bigger restriction than the MAF.

It wasn't called a 'short radius' 90° elbow, although I've seen those...just the tightest I saw when I bought it off Ebait.

I wouldn't worry about the silicone elbow. Get a better quality one, ensure the hard pipe used to connect the elbow to the stock 90° inlet hose (the one w/connections for the breather/PVC/BPV/etc.) is fully inserted into the elbow, and I don't see how it can collapse.

Many people on here are running the TD04 (and other front-entry turbos) w/that setup and seems to work. I had no issues w/mine. And on my previous '90 Legacy project using the Revtronix chip I made 170/220 w/the TD04 and 440's....but that wasn't a Mustang Dyno (Dynojet, IIRC @ Racing Greed near you) so not a direct comparison to my recent dyno run w/the '93 SS.

I bought a no-name TD05H-18G turbo and it also fit...see the above link for more info and pics.

TD

[CFK]

Perfect, that's an Awesome thread !

Ya I pretty much decided to just get it rebuilt then. Hopefully my motor lasts, if not I will go for an upgrade when I do full internals and DOHC. But for now I like the low end torque of the SOHC.

When you seen my Dyno plot the TD05 Spooled way later than it should, so hopefully a rebuild will rectify that !

Thanks again for the help

[CFK]

Hey Todd, did you ever switch to the colder 7 plugs ?

My cars just started spuddering , sounds like its running on 3 Cylinders, no CEL's .
Figured all that oil from the blown turbo migh have fouled the plugs.

Haven't inspected them yet, cars been running good for probably 700 miles on the new turbo, but I was thinking about trying to run the 7's as well, my set-up is very similar to yours

[wtdash]

Hi,
No...I tried 'em for 30 miles and they looked Lean, I pulled 'em out.


Plus, Rob told me I shouldn't need them.

Unless you have ignition component problems, I don't agree with the step to colder plugs, and certainly not that low of a gap (.024"). If you coil or leads are suspect, that would be the more likely place to start.

You can't effectively read plugs unless you view them right after the condition you want to check. This basically means that you need to give a WOT run, then pull the plugs immediately after. This of course has practical limitations. The most common method I have heard is to do your WOT down a long deserted road, and right after, get over to the shoulder, kill the engine and pull a plug right there. Also you can't necessarily tell AFR, but rather correct heat range behavior.

If you feel hesitation that you think is ignition related, you can walk the gap down until it goes away. If it does improve and you are running less than 0.030", I would say your ignition system is inadequate for whatever reason or perhaps an overall grounding problem, but certainly not a spark plug issue.

Just for reference, with the GD coils and the same tune as on your car, I can run 0.033" gap at 19psi without a hint of ignition break-up. That is also with a higher static compression ratio of 8.5:1.

However, it IS possible if I RESET THE ECU and started w/the 7's installed the ECU would adjust...but don't want to risk it.

I just installed a different Diamond coil pack, which I think 'perked' things up a bit. AND I bought some new plugs (6's) and re-gapped them to .028". I had them @ .024" per the Tuner from my Dyno time in December - too tight.

I also will be trying the Mopar coil pack (more volts).

Td

[CFK]

Ok, Good to know ! Thats what I thought, it was just masking another problem.

They say to go a step colder when 100 HP over factory. Not sure exactly what a stock EJ22T puts down on a DynaPack, but I ain't over it

Well I just bought the factory 6 spec, NGK Iridiums. My Denso Iridiums really ain't old, just figured they maybe fouled since I have a brand new MSD Coilpack and 8mm Wires. But only time will tell.

Thanks yet again for the

[Legacy777]

Don't use colder plugs!

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 76#p420976

[wtdash]

They say to go a step colder when 100 HP over factory. Not sure exactly what a stock EJ22T puts down on a DynaPack, but I ain't over it

Yeah...I read that too somewhere.....

The DynaPacks read higher than most - per THIS POST. So, I'd guess around 140/160.


Found this from BSOD2600's dyno day - on a Mustang (generally read the lowest)- note the boost is set above stock, which is probably worth 15-20+.

HP: 136 (red line)
Torque: 147 (blue line)
Boost: 10.7 (yellow line)

TD