Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:


Way too cold for that right now and I'm not photographing my garage

Hopefully next week my tires get in, so I should be able to get some photos then. I've already got two black Star Wars Empire ensignias I plan on putting on the C pillars, and a small white arfcom BFL I'll put in the bottom middle of the rear window I think However as it's not even 10f outside...I'll wait until it's warmer before putting on the vinyl stickers. I'd like them to actually stick

Besides, gotta get rid of these stickers somehow

Now I gotta get used to a hand e-brake again; the 4R was a foot pedal e-brake - and get used to a speedometer that actually tells the truth...the 4R was 2-3mph off so when it hit "65", it was more 63 according to a Garmin nav unit I had pasted to the windshield. I spent the morning driving around with that same Garmin in the windshield of this one, except this time the speedo in the car and the GPS unit matched. Which is both good and bad; I no longer have that baked-in excuse anymore

It's also really weird driving a car that doesn't struggle to get to 65 so The Crosstrek I had before the 4R and the 4R itself both felt like you were bending physics a little to get it above 50, and had to really try to hit 65 - forget getting on the freeway and parking the speedo at 73. The Crosstrek was positively unhappy and while the 4R would do it, you could tell it was a few mph away from really not liking the experience. Driving between MN and NY on 94->80 and both really didn't want to go faster than 75 which pretty much kept me in the right lane all the way through, even in Ohio where LE hates everyone and wants to give you a ticket simply for existing

Originally Posted By Emoto:


It wasn't me. It was TheLASwamp having trouble with wireless connectivity. I am sure he'd like to hear how to fix that. I don't have wireless in my '23 but I would enjoy hearing the fix, too.

Originally Posted By Emoto:


The STi spare is slightly different in diameter, but very different in width; the spare being narrow.

The spare being narrow is what allows the styrofoam trunk floor to fit flat over top of it. A full sized one is taller and protrudes out of the tire well, so the styrofoam trunk floor cannot sit flat next to the neighboring pieces. I'll eat my hat if Subaru has bothered to change the size of the tire well between my 2023 and your new one. They are both the VB generation, so should be identical in that regard.

Specification  Sidewall  Radius  Diameter  Circumference  Revs/Mile  Difference
245/40-18         3.9in  12.9in    25.7in         80.8in        784        0.0%
135/70-18         3.7in  12.7in    25.4in         79.9in        793       -1.1%

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:


Ahh, gotcha! Ok, your table is also assuming a brand new tire both on the road and as a spare. As the road tire wears, it'll get more and more even...unless of course you pop your tire before it's got 5k miles on it

I think all things being equal the size of the donut won't be a huge issue for the time it'll be on before the tire gets fixed, unless you're an 18 year old who just spent all his money on the car and will be eating ramen for every meal for the next 4 or 5 years or as otherwise as equally as poor

Originally Posted By ArGyLe64:

Oh yeah! My bad.

@TheLASwamp

Go to settings in your Android phone. Click on the search magnifying glass and type in "Android Auto". At the bottom of the page, tap on "In-app notification settings" (the Version information at the foot of the page is greyed out). Scroll to the foot of the new page to get to Version information.   Repeatedly tap on the version information until a box comes up "Allow development settings". Tap "OK" (if you are happy with the warning). Tap on the the 3 dots at the top right of the page. Tap on "Developer settings". Un-blue the check box for Wireless AA.

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:
Ahh, gotcha! Ok, your table is also assuming a brand new tire both on the road and as a spare. As the road tire wears, it'll get more and more even...unless of course you pop your tire before it's got 5k miles on it

I think all things being equal the size of the donut won't be a huge issue for the time it'll be on before the tire gets fixed, unless you're an 18 year old who just spent all his money on the car and will be eating ramen for every meal for the next 4 or 5 years or as otherwise as equally as poor

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:
Dunno about Android but it really only wants to talk CarPlay wirelessly, at least 2024...the dealership set up CarPlay wireless, it got "messy" so when I got home I told the car (and the phone) to forget the whole thing. Tried plugging it in...no va - it recognized my iPhone as an MP3 player...but not as a CarPlay device. So, wireless only it is I guess. I don't know if the audio drops/random reassignment of audio output happens because of a bug in the head unit (would NOT shock me; Subaru seems to get it's tech secondhand from other JDM car manufacturers after they cancel it and move on to something better ), or if it's because Apple and Apple reasons.

I'm also not super sure of if it wants to talk to my phone via WiFi or Bluetooth. When the phone's connected, WiFi seems "taken", like something's already connected to it. When I turn off WiFi, the phone disconnects/Carplay disconnects.

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:
Also, just found this:

https://modernspare.com/

They make/sell spare tires for vehicles that don't come with one (or yours got stolen, or...whatever)

No need to get on eBay and hope what you're being sent is what they advertised...

https://modernspare.com/product/2018-2024-subaru-wrx-and-wrx-sti-spare-tire-kit-options/ <-- direct link to tires for the 2024 WRX


Edit:

Also if you want to keep it all Subaru - the Subaru part number for the factory T135/70 D18 18" spare wheel assembly is 28121VA120

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
I'll go grab my phone. I'll edit once I get the settings dialed in.

ETA:  Okay, it's done. The wireless AA is now unchecked. Wouldn't that prevent AA from connecting wirelessly? What's happening that's causing the connection instability, if you know?

The head unit fusses if it tries to connect to the phone AA wirelessly and can't. Will the phone only connect via cable with the AA wireless option turned off?

Originally Posted By Emoto:
Ooh! Can you please share details on the trunk light mod?

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
Indeed I will, my friend.

As you know, the sole light in the trunk area is a single 194-size bulb. The factory bulb is so dim, you can barely tell the light is even on, even in the dark. You can replace it with a 194 LED, which I did, which does help some. However, I read about a mod on Reddit that really lights up the trunk. I'd like to post some pics when I finish the project. Anyone know a good place to host pics? I don't think I can just post them here without an external URL to the images. Until then, I will post links below to the parts.

So, we have the single 194 bulb socket. Remove the bulb in it and replace it with one of these:

194 Male Bulb with + and- leads

The red/black wire leads from that 194 plug in are going to use these connectors to attach to an LED 12v light strip:

LED Strip Connector

What you are connecting to is the LED light strip:

LED Light Strip

What I plan to do is connect everything and then run the LED strip lighting around the interior underside of the steel dash deck. I have some 3M double-sided tape I can use to secure the LED strip. I will run the LED strip around the edge of the underside of the rear deck and then curve it around and run a strip right across the middle of the deck. Because it's connected to the 194 socket in the trunk, it should turn on and off when you open and close the trunk lid.  

This is the look I'm going for. Thoughts?

https://i.redd.it/norvy9dqvs681.jpg

Originally Posted By Emoto:


That looks really good. If you do it, I will be very interested in how it works out. I'm all about having lots of light where I need it and the stock trunk light is marginal at best. I might opt for zip ties rather than tape.

There are a number of free photo hosting sites you can use. I use smugmug but it is a pay site. If you want to email me your pictures, I'll put them up for you then send you a gallery link so you can share them as needed. PM me for my email.

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
Despite the unpleasant temps here, I installed the cp-e pitch stop today. It wasn't too tricky to install. You have to remove the intercooler to get to the pitch stop. Then it's just two bolts to remove to swap out the part. I didn't take the car out for a drive yet but I did start the engine. It's a bit startling when you hear it for the first time but it's not an unpleasant sound in my opinion. There's no hiding the change in sound, though. I wanted to install the catch can but decided to wait until next weekend when I have more time and the AMS TMIC arrives. Plus, it's supposed to be a bit warmer, if rainy.

Originally Posted By TripleC:

Yes, you can hear the starter very well.

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:
So in my previous vehicle I had a Vantrue N4 Pro dash cam mounted; TrailGridPro had a great adapter/dongle that siphoned power off the powered rear view mirror so no real wiring; just pop off the plastic cover over the mirror stalk attached to the windshield, plug in the dongle, plug everything else back in, and presto - all there. The "problem" was that it didn't have power on when the engine was off, so the dashcam's "parking mode" wouldn't work. I also didn't install the rear camera because there just wasn't really a place to do so - my 4Runner had a sliding rear window that you could roll down and...not great for sticking a camera to. You could mount something to the headliner on the inside and etc but it was a giant pain in the ass.

Poking around I found some actually good videos on doing installs in Subarus in particular, as well as finally a video using Vantrue's own hardwire kit...and actually on a Subaru, to boot. So I just ordered all the parts and kits I'll need to knock that out. Hard wiring it in seems pretty simple when it's not freezing out, and running wires around down to the fusebox, connecting to ground, and then running a cable to the rear of the car for the rear camera doesn't seem like as much of a pain as it could be otherwise. Parking mode is basically the camera is "on" but has like a 30 second rolling loop that continually overwrites itself, unless something bumps the car or similar - it then writes the 30 seconds up to that action out to the memory card, and continues recording from there. I don't know if sound is recording in that pre-loop...I should probably read the docs. It's also got a voltage cutoff where if the car battery drops below a set voltage (12, or like 11.6 - the recommendation is to use 12), parking mode is disabled. So if you haven't gotten in and started the car in a few days, it won't drain the battery.

Sadly it's also going to be in the negatives for temps for most of next week (and probably a while frankly)...so I'm basically making a big pile of things to do when it warms up enough for adhesives to actually stick, and enough so I probably won't break any clips or plastics inside the car when I go to pop covers off. The Perrin shift stop kit, the dash cam stuff, and a set of RokBlokz mud flaps as well. I've had sets of those on both the Crosstreks I've had and they're great, especially on the half gravel half dirt farm roads out here. I was kind of toying with the idea of getting a quickjack or some other kind of portable car lift to make rotating tires and other stuff easier...but I think I'll just get some jackstands and low-tech it. It'll take like a half hour longer to do everything that way, but whatever - less expensive than a quickjack, even if it is more annoying.

Of course I'll need to sweep out the garage so I can actually get on the ground without literally rolling around in dirt, mud, and old leaves

Originally Posted By Emoto:
@TheLASwamp

Cool!

I look forward to seeing how it came out and your thoughts when in the dark. My photo hosting offer stands if you haven't resolved that yet.

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
I really appreciate it. I don't have any hosting capability. I do have a Synology server in the lab but I have no idea how to set it up for something like hosting images, although I think it can be configured that way.

Originally Posted By Emoto:


I'm very interested in your installation as I hope to put in a dashcam sometime.
Was this the video you found?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMjOWwhz_tg

Originally Posted By Emoto:


I can't advise you on web servers, but people used to like Apache, which IIRC used to be free.

Originally Posted By Emoto:
Looks good!

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:
So some pro tips:

If you decide to install the Perrin Shift Stop/Super Shift Stop...when you get to step 11:

Put. a. fucking. rag. underneath. where. the. two. little. nuts. are.

And wear fucking nitrile gloves, preferably with a grippy surface molded into them.

The shifter is covered in grease, as are the 10mm nuts that the instructions have you remove first and discard - at least they were covered in grease on mine.

Getting to step 11 (use a 7mm wrench, remove two small nuts) - they both slipped right out of my fingers. I got one out fine; the 2nd slipped straight out. I lost two of the washers they gave me; one in the same area as the first nut (left side of the transmission tunnel, in between the tunnel and the carpeting - they're basically gone - I would need to remove the driver's seat and cut a slit in the carpet to get them back), and another washer into the right side, in the linkage. That one I can see but I can't get it out; I would need a magnet about 7 or 8 inches long and thinner than a very thin phillips head screwdriver, like you'd use when assembling some of the small screws in a PC.

Perrin doesn't give you any assembly or part numbers, so I have no idea what the size of the nut is. There's no mention of them anywhere on Subaru parts sites; I can't even find a diagram of the shifter assembly that lists them as existing, let alone shows them on a diagram...

Had the directions said "stuff a shop rag under there first", or had I thought of it, this would have been entirely avoided - I never would have lost a nut (it would have been caught by the rag where I could have easily used a magnet to get it), I wouldn't have gotten frustrated trying to slide a washer on, wouldn't have been reaching over with another washer just for it to slip out of my fingers on the right side on top of the linkage....sigh.

I ordered a couple of telescoping magnets; one of them really small. I might be able to retrieve the one washer in the linkage. If I can find the size or part number of the little nut, I can get another one (or three) of those and reassemble the thing. The lost nut and washer, I might wind up cutting a slit in the carpet and see if I can fish them out with the magnets too, but...either way. Just really annoyed right now. Fortunately I don't really need to drive anywhere so I can wait until the Amazon shit shows up on Tuesday.

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
I went with the Cobb shift stop. I like that it allowed for independent setting of the 5-6 gear factory-installed shift stop bracket. It's a bit more expensive, but that feature was worth it to me.

@Evil_Ed, do you have an aftermarket shifter bushing installed? If you do, what did you go with?

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:


The Perrin also allows independently setting the 5-6 factory shift stop...they both use the same screw but both can be changed independently.

Nope, factory bushing. I don't have a garage, I don't have a lift, and it's utterly freezing out...IIRC you need to drop something underneath the car to get at it, right? I'm not in any position to do that..

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
I had to drive about an hour this morning during Snowmageddon 2025 to get home. Even with all wheel drive, it was a bear of a drive. I was sliding all over the place. A moron idiot guy in a truck in front of me stopped in the middle of a banked curve. I slid down to the base of the curve and got stuck. I ended up almost hitting redline in first gear to get up and out of the curve. I could smell rubber burning through the heater intake, which I think was the tires catching a grip and pulling me out of the bottom of the curve. At least I hope it was that and not something more exotic. I've never seen snow like this in my part of the country. I wasn't able to get out of second gear the entire drive home. It was brutal. Luckily, I didn't hit anything, although I did panic a bit when I realized I was stuck and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get out of it. Next time, I am staying home.

Originally Posted By Emoto:


What tires are you running?

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
Stock tires.

Originally Posted By Emoto:


Oh. Yeah, summer tires are incredibly bad in snow. I swapped mine out for Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons before I even had 100 miles on the car.

Originally Posted By TheLASwamp:
The drive home was the worst white knuckle drive I've every experienced. It was frightening. When I smelled that burning smell, it scared the hell out of me. I think it was just the front tires catching some asphalt.

Originally Posted By Emoto:


Oh. Yeah, summer tires are incredibly bad in snow. I swapped mine out for Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons before I even had 100 miles on the car.

Originally Posted By Evil_Ed:
To be fair...they don't usually need winter tires in Louisiana

Originally Posted By Emoto:
Probably a chunk of ice or other debris flew up and knocked the wire loose when you were getting unstuck. Hopefully an easy fix.