My new 2016 STI

[Ferd]

Today I fitted some ArmorRally mudflaps I picked up on my trip back to the UK at the weekend. Were pretty easy to fit, the fronts were harder than the rears and could be done by just turning the wheels to one side, the rears were easier but really needed me to remove the wheels to be sure I could tighten up the one screw that's required. I took some pictures here but the lighting isn't very good and my camera phone didn't get great shots.

[Rdlangy1]

Looking smart

[NL03Scooby]

Looking good, quite discreet too, good job!

[alfa male]

Do like a decent set of Flaps!!

[Frenchie]

They do look nice and as said earlier,very discreet.When you have time could you email me a few more pics showing the whole car, thanks.

[Garyskisplym]

Looks good. Missing mine now

[Ferd]

Just had these fitted today, ready for whatever the winter decides to throw at us this season. Will get better pictures and maybe some video (I just acquired a fancy new GoPro 5) once I have figured it out.





They look better in the daylight, plus I'll include some more details - as always in Luxembourg, it wasn't at all straightforward to get new wheels.

[Frenchie]

Looking good.Do other people switch to winter tyres? and if yes which make.

[Ferd]

So it's finally 10,000km time - boy did that go quick, and probably the most distance I've done in one year for a very very long time. Well......it's an STI.

Last week I finally could revert back to the summer wheels and tyres - the winters were great for grip, performance, comfort but were extremely noisy. I'd rather have the slightly harder ride of the summer's than the noise.

I still love the car, that is when I get to drive it - it's not a daily driver as it makes no sense when the bus to work is far more economical, though I make sure to drive to work mid-week, then of course when I can at the weekends.

I'm not planning any further modifications, though as and when I see minor things I can improve I will do so, for example I have a replacement fuse-box over as the one below/to the side of the steering wheel isn't a coin-box. For some inexplicable reason Subaru didn't fit them and it's a costly part for something so small. So I'm getting a much cheaper Chinese knock-off which I hope will do the job. I'm also getting a tray that fits inside the arm-rest to make better use of the space and some seat space fillers as I keep dropping things down beside the seat/handbrake and it's getting on my nerves - they're quite narrow and not easy to reach down when driving.

[Ferd]

Finally got myself a coin holder replacement for the fuse-panel, not sure why Subaru left this out as well:



It was a cheap one from China but surprisingly good quality, it even has Subaru stamped into it. The only thing missing is the fuse layout sticker, which I have taken a photo of and will fabricate a replacement sticker.

Also, as a way to get free delivery from AliExpress, I ordered a couple of other small bits:



Got fed up of losing things down the side of the seats and having to wait until I stopped to struggle to retrieve things - the seats much tighter against the centre-tunnel than my old WRX was which made it easier to fetch things back.

Lastly, something to cover up the door catches:

[muziqaz]

Looking good. My coin holder had fuse schematics, but it was older revision than mine, though I bought it from Subispeed. And those plastic covers in the doors look much nicer than metal shiny ones
Between seat and center consoles I am planning to get a pocket for phone or something else.
Hm, your seats are different.

[Ferd]

Originally Posted by muziqaz

Hm, your seats are different.

They're the full leather ones that came as part of the "sport premium" model, an upgrade from the part leather part alcantara of the standard "sport".

[muziqaz]

Originally Posted by Taomyn

They're the full leather ones that came as part of the "sport premium" model, an upgrade from the part leather part alcantara of the standard "sport".

I don't know about yours, but my leather parts are the least favorite thing in my car Alcantara so far looks very nice,while leather side supports are aging very badly and its been only half a year :/

[Irontusk86]

Lovely looking bit of kit this! They are some seriously bright reverse LEDs! Where did you get them from?

Also, are you batman? Or do you just have a bat cave?

[Ferd]

Originally Posted by Irontusk86

Lovely looking bit of kit this! They are some seriously bright reverse LEDs! Where did you get them from?

Also, are you batman? Or do you just have a bat cave?

Thanks. I get my bulbs either from eBay or AliExpress for a few of the more difficult ones. Yes, I was really pleased with the new reverse LEDs, really handy and helps the reversing camera see a whole lot better.

Batcave, hee hee. It's a bit like that, the car park of my apartment block is underground so the lighting isn't very good and makes things look brighter than the are outside.

[Ferd]

First service completed, 10,600km. New oil, they put 0w30 (Total Evolution Full Synthetic) into it again so I'm assuming they know what they're doing, new filters (oil and cabin), inspection and test drive. And they cleaned the windows

Total cost: €267 or £226 in your worthless currency

[muziqaz]

Originally Posted by Taomyn

First service completed, 10,600km. New oil, they put 0w30 (Total Evolution Full Synthetic) into it again so I'm assuming they know what they're doing, new filters (oil and cabin), inspection and test drive. And they cleaned the windows

Total cost: €267 or £226 in your worthless currency

They went with big print in the manual with 0w30. There is a smaller print of different viscosity oil, which is kinda better if you chose premium brand, but dealers ignore that bit
Regarding the price, I pay monthly fees of £35 to dealer to have headache less service and I bring the oil myself

[Ferd]

My manual shows only 5w30 recommended, with 5w40 being temporary for short term if the 5w30 isn't available (and replaced as soon as), no mention of 0w30. My investigations into 0w30 when they used it last year at 1,500km did say it was definitely fine and would be better for low temp starts (it can get to -20 in the winter sometimes here, although that's rare and I park underground).

[muziqaz]

Originally Posted by Taomyn

My manual shows only 5w30 recommended, with 5w40 being temporary for short term if the 5w30 isn't available (and replaced as soon as), no mention of 0w30. My investigations into 0w30 when they used it last year at 1,500km did say it was definitely fine and would be better for low temp starts (it can get to -20 in the winter sometimes here, although that's rare and I park underground).

Sorry I mixed it up. 5w30 is recommended and 40 is mentioned as well. I have 5w40 as main oil, and many high performance Subaru owners use 5w40.
Mine was Castrol Titanium I think, though next time I will get Shell equivalent
and yes 5w30 is better for cold weather starts while 5w40 is better for hot water running. So if you know that you start our car at reasonable temps you might as well consider 5w40. I'm not oil expert, but have no idea what's that 0w30 deal is all about Dealers usually stick to manuals and recommendations of the manufacturers due to warranty claims.

[Frenchie]

I have my latest free Subaru magazine, french of course, and they have a full page stating why you should use Motul 5W-30.

[Ferd]

This is what I wrote in a previous post last year:

"The various versions of the 2016 WRX/WRX STI manuals, which includes US/Canada, Australia, Japan (English), Benelux (French) all say the standard oil for the STI should be 5W30, with use of 5W40 only for a short time and flushed out as soon as possible.

Having said that, when I hunted around looking for 0W30 many sites say it an alternative for 5W30 for lower temperature climates, but I didn't see anyone saying it would be bad for the car. The "0W" being more fluid and hence better lubricating on cold starts. The extremely important figure is the "30" and how it behaves when the engine is at normal temperature.

My feeling is that I don't think it's a problem, but I will contact the garage on Monday and just confirm things with them."

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

[Frenchie]

Hi Fernando, I will be very interested to hear what your garage says. Mine is now due for its first free inspection so I will ask my garage about oil type.

[Ferd]

Originally Posted by Frenchie

Hi Fernando, I will be very interested to hear what your garage says. Mine is now due for its first free inspection so I will ask my garage about oil type.

My free inspection was part of the service - saw them take it out for a spin and they drove it into their bay where they do the checks for the yearly control (checks on brakes, tyres, lights).

At the time they said it was fine and just as I suspected that the important figure was the "30" (and matched the Subaru recommendation) and that the "0" was for the lower temps we tend to get through the winter. Many of their customers go away at the winter skiing so having better cold protection was important, if a little bit more expensive. However if I was a regular track-day user, I'd be looking to get a "w40" but that'll never be me.

At the end of the day, I'm relying on the dealer who have been very good to me for the last decade and if they screw up it will be them that have to rectify the problem.

[Ferd]

Spot the difference

[muziqaz]

Nice. PlastiDip?

[Ferd]

Originally Posted by muziqaz

Nice. PlastiDip?

Nope



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Ferd]

It's been a while but another small mod for the STI, this time switching out the side emblems from silver/pink to black/blue:

[IBenjieI]

This is literally the sexiest thing I've ever seen. (Don't tell my wife...)