So after talking with Ryan and Drake last night about my power goals and what I use the car for, they've convinced me that a 20g is the way for me to go with my car. That way I give up basically nothing for spool and get the topend I'd like without it dying off like my 39 does.
Ryan and Drake took my car for a spin on the DD settings that I tinkered with on my T2's and the comments from them had to make me feel great about this entire build so far. Ryan said the handling was insane and the car is a handling monster. Some concern over the twitchiness of the setup with the big front swaybar.
Drake came back and asked who tuned the car because it was the hardest hitting VF39 he's driven. The handling was beyond what he could do on the street and said the steering was really twitchy too.
haha, so I thought about it and I think I know why it's so twitchy to them:
X-Brace, 500/400 spring rates, ALK, RCA, and the Vorshlag plates. My caster is 6.3 degrees as well. Plus, the STi comes with a quicker rack than the WRX did too. Maybe that all conspired to make the car overly reactive to their steering inputs beyond what they're used to. (Here I am considering a Q-Rack so I was a bit surprised when they both said that).
The wideband showed my car hitting 14.6-14.7:1 under part throttle, dipping down to 13.6:1 under partial boost, and going from 10.6:1-10.8:1 to 11.2:1 under WOT. So the AFRs are very healthy. A retune could clean it up some I suppose and with timing and AVCS work, could probably get more power out of it, but I'm happy with it as is.
The car torque steers to the left under WOT, which makes me giggle.
The header coating smells better than the turbo wrap I put on the car a long time ago. Still smells. The Cobb heatshield rattles ( I really should replace it with a Cusco).
After talking about my car use and goals, Ryan and Drake both felt a 20g was the way to go for me. I trust Ryan with my car. Therefore, 20g it is. I plan on the following:
-Spearco TMIC
-Blouch TD06 8cm 20g
-EWG
-TGV deletes
-DW 850cc injectors
-APS 70mm CAI
Still unsure of what up-pipe to run for the EWG with so many cracking, having bad EWG designs, or having a flex section. I'll have to run that by Ryan.
Oh...about the Perrin header. Sound-wise it's a radical departure from the boxer rumble. There is a lot less bass from my exhaust system which I actually like since it was overpowering at times. Ryan says the car sounds like a cross between a 2 liter and an EVO. It sounds pissed off! I kind of like it, but I will miss the burble. ah well. Power-wise, its no contest. It feels like a cork was popped off, very smooth midrange delivery now. When I romp on it, the car accelerates in the midrange a lot quicker than before. I'm going to need better tires to keep this power down at the track.
Well worth it.