1 Year Ownership of My 2006 Subaru WRX/STI

This car has been such a joy to own and I wouldn't take it back for a second. There are still plenty of videos to come, especially when I graduate! I hope you guys enjoyed the video and had a great Christmas!
Trip to California: • Flying To California B...
Tomei Exhaust Install: • Best Exhaust For A Sub...

[@Mike_44]

Keep up with oil changes every 3K miles, remove all the banjo bolts filters (about 4 in the whole car), upgrade the oil pickup tube to a killer B or Moroso one, do a Cylinder 4 cooling mod, install a new up pipe O2 sensor and keep it stock, power wise. Do those things, don't abuse it and will last a really long time! Really a great car, but people mod and abuse the heck out of them!

[@boostfeed_]

Thanks for the advice! To my knowledge the car actually has a killer b oil pick up. The previous said he had one installed and that the car currently has it. I also just ordered a cylinder 4 cooling mod and an air to oil separator which will be here soon and will be the next video!

[@JaredTuominen]

👍

[@vinnyc7738]

Had my 06 sti for almost 3 years now. Such a great and fun car to own. Do everything right, don't cut corners, and I'm sure she'll treat you right! Best of luck and happy new year man!

[@boostfeed_]

Thank you my man you as well! Glad to hear she’s treated you good!

[@vihreelinja4743]

my 05 Forester 2l na has 401.000km on the engine.. Keep on trucking :D

[@boostfeed_]

@@vihreelinja4743 that’s awesome!

[@AutoExpectations]

As an STI owner and owner of these cars for over 20 years. Save your money on all these little things and buy an intake and Cobb access port. It is 1000% worth it. Super easy to install and will legit be the biggiest gain in power you will see, more importantly it makes the car run proper shift proper all the above.

[@boostfeed_]

How has the Cobb tune for you?

[@daturbo4life711]

I’ve had my 2006 RB STI 7 years now, experienced no issues with the car. Absolutely love it to death. Nice Hawkeye you have there 😎

[@boostfeed_]

Why thank you😎. Glad to hear your keeping the the older STI’s out there alive!

[@CarimboHanky]

i have owned 1 for little over a month, it broke the timing belt the other day, tomorrow im taking it to the subaru specialty shop to have it fully rebuild. how eye is my dream car, ill do everything to keep it running for the rest of my life.

[@boostfeed_]

I’m sorry to hear about your timing belt! I’m sure it’s gonna be better than ever what’s it’s rebuilt!

[@phillm156]

I had an 07 STI for 5 yrs, I had a lot of fun upgrading my Hawkeye. You are on the right path. I did the full silicone turbo inlet hose inlet with the Y-pipe going to the inter-cooler. Much, much easier to get it thru the intake runner than a hard pipe. I also did a full Kartboy shift kit. Best upgrade for the money. Another you might want to do to tighten up the driveline is the mounts. I did whiteline mounts to the engine, transmission, rear differential & steering rack. The whole car feels more solid. No more slop and better steering feel. I added a set of H&R sway bars to improve the cars cornering weight balance but not make it harsh. I left the stock catback Bosal exhaust too. For power I added a Perrin topmount intercooler, a Fujitsubo uppipe, catted downpipe with fully divorced wastegate, Along with a cat-less midpipe. It was dyno-tuned on a dynodynamics dyno. With stock injectors and cat-back exhaust, it put down 302hp at the wheel, and 380 Tq. A real quiet monster sleeper! One big mistake I did was putting stainless unequal headers on it. It made too much drone at anything above 50mph even on the stock catbacks. It was a deep bass drone that you get tired. I even put dynamat on all the interior panels (doors, floor pan, trunk). It still didn’t help with the bass drone. Not worth it just for better midrange and another 15 WHP. Don’t make the same mistake I did with Headers unless you’re doing a track monster. I’m not sure about the 06 but the STI motors had heating issues on the #3 piston because that’s where the turbo is. On 07 the heads was redisigned for better cooling. That and you might want to upgrade the timing belt to a stronger Kevlar type. Good to know if you’re going high boost. Love to hear about your plans for it. Good luck with your build.

[@boostfeed_]

Hey thanks for the advice! I bet your STI was a monster to drive. My plans for the moment are to put a catless downpipe on (mainly because I have one sitting in my garage and that way I won’t have to buy a whole new catted downpipe) and then a catless up pipe and an e tune. In terms of the motor for now that’s about it. I’m real worried about the reliability of the motor, mainly because I’m about to graduate college and I don’t have the money to fix it if things go wrong I have yet to do any suspension work to the car but want to! The car needs coilovers due to the struts being pretty much shot on the car at the moment. I bought the car that way and just haven’t gotten around to replacing them. I just bought a cylinder 4 cooling mod and an air oil separator. I know Subarus have issues with oil and air mixing so I’m hoping this helps keep the motor healthy for quite a bit longer. Once I get a steady job and some time and space to work on the car, i will be so much more willing to dive deep into making it a super fun car!

[@phillm156]

@@boostfeed_ thanks, I think you're doing the right thing in keeping it mostly original. I fell into the tuning rabbit hole. Take your time, sort out the maintenance first then methodically and mist importantly, tastefully tune it. I personally would put a stock exhaust in and work on improving the intake and driveline integrity. Goodluck.

[@boostfeed_]

@@phillm156 ok cool thanks!

[@MrSaturn7085]

"07 the heads was redisigned for better cooling" not at all true; the turbo/AVCS oil pipe on the RH side was changed. The 07 wiring/motor was a bit of a weird hybrid between 06 USDM and 08 global design and parts and FHI went cheap on a few things (07 STI had a number of cheaper WRX suspension arms, etc.). In terms of a GD-chassis in the USA, the 2006 was about as good as you can get.

[@boostfeed_]

@@MrSaturn7085 that’s cool I didn’t know any of that!!

[@momoknows]

As an STI Owner Great video and good to see you keep that Subie dooby doo .. Love going ..

[@boostfeed_]

Haha thank you! 🫶🏻

[@taelee347]

Had my 06 STI since 2006, over 160K miles original owner and now I'm 40 and also I'm in Colorado. Hope you enjoy the car. The paint on my car's roof and front are all trashed this having served as my ski vehicle for several years, but I still love this car. If you haven't already get some clear mask for surfaces that get beat on by the intense CO sunlight. Mine burns a bit over 1 qt of oil over 1k miles, I will probably put a new short block in at some point. If you do get it tuned, make sure you have a lot of head room. I was stage 2 since 10K miles, with street protune @ 40K miles until around 105K miles when I went back to stock power levels after doing some track days at HPR.. The non-consumable things / non-routine maintenance items that went bad for me are -Turbo inlet; went at like 10K miles -Radiator at 100K miles; make sure to change out all the hoses too -Valve cover gasket leak at 110k -All suspension struts at 120K, but I bet they were gone at around 90K already -Power steering pump at 130k -Turbo up-pipe at 140k -Cyl #2 exhaust valve at 150k. Replaced spark plug/injector all that but ended up being the exhaust valve. Yours probably will be more reliable if you don't track the car. I did get a couple CEL at the track due to high heat combined with the protune and this is also the only time I've ever seen the coolant temp gauge rise to the middle (above the default temp range). Never had issue with OTS Cobb stage 2 map or stock maps at the track though. Which is why I mentioned if you get it protuned make sure there is a lot of room. You might be able to squeeze extra 20-30 HP over OTS map but track conditions mean you have less margin.

[@boostfeed_]

Thank you for the advice! I’ve heard a lot of bad things about the cob OTS tunes, and then I’ve also heard a lot of good things, so I’m not really sure where I stand on it. If I were to get it, tuned, I would definitely get a protein or an E tune. I’ve heard a lot of good things about e tunes

[@jamesdimarzio3181]

Definitely cool you brought your ma along. Lifetime experience 😊

[@boostfeed_]

Definitely a good experience for the both of us ☺️

[@xf0r54k3n]

You can run a SPT intake and not worry about tuning it. I run one and if you can’t find the heatshield just buy the Cobb SF box and just takes a small amount of cutting and it will fit with the SPT intake.

[@boostfeed_]

Awesome thanks for the advice!

[@xf0r54k3n]

@@boostfeed_ no problem. It will increase the turbo noise and the MAF can scale it so you won’t have to worry about an Accessport or anything. The SPT heat shield is very hard to find but it was open so I opted for the SF box.

[@Ratboycure]

8 years w 2004 sti @238000 never had issues. I feel obligated to encourage you to tune if you are messing with any airflow including your exhaust.

[@boostfeed_]

Awesome thanks! Do you recommend a pro tune or would something like an e tune be better?

[@Ratboycure]

@@boostfeed_ i think ideally a protune. i live in the booneys so would have to e tune and maybe you would as well. mine came tuned from a guy who does such things. he sat me down and gave me some hearfelt advice about how fussy these things can get when you start fiddling with airflow and fuel and that if i do fiddle make sure i let the car know about what has beeen done.

[@boostfeed_]

@@Ratboycure I have heard the same thing before as well. I want to get the car pro tuned it e tuned as soon as possible but am just tight on money right now. I’m also moving to Idaho soon so that’s a big expense that’s taking up a lot of my focus

[@erics2506]

Might try the K&N air filter it replaces the stock filter in the stock filter box definitely hear more turbo ask about tuning we have the Accessport and the OTS was giving us issues with overboosting on cold days here in New England as the Cobb OTS tune was developed in Texas Hope this helps and yes the rumble of a flat four is a head turner. Driving never gets dull always gets us smiling

[@boostfeed_]

Thanks I’ll look into the air filter! I’ve heard so many mixed things about the accessport that I’ve decided to skip that and will most Likely be going for an e tune or a dyno tune

[@joshdugan7563]

I think you are going about things the right way and feeling out what you want to do with the car. A cobb acessport and a pro tune from a shop is expensive but makes a world of difference if its available.

[@boostfeed_]

Yea I’ve heard it would make the car so much better. I have a downpipe ready to put in I just can’t afford a tune yet

[@joshdugan7563]

@@boostfeed_ that's the right way to do it.

[@BCyyGaming]

@@boostfeed_yup take your time man. i got a stage 2 sti. i saved up and got injectors, pump, fpr, intake , accessport. all at same time. don’t rush anything with mods .. also i would think the turbo inlet would require a tune, as you are changing the flow of air into the turbo. DO NOT run these cars lean!!!!

[@BCyyGaming]

Dmann Tuning is by far the best e tune you could get by the way ! :)

[@boostfeed_]

@@BCyyGaming thank you man I appreciate the recommendation!

[@NinoVigil]

Thats a lovely car bro. Big ups . Have super fun there great cars 😊

[@boostfeed_]

Thank you brotha!

[@ICARUSBNCLAN]

It’s a greatcar. I’m the 6th owner and have had it for 5 years

[@boostfeed_]

Glad to hear you’re keeping these Subies alive!

[@PeterHernandez-lg2eh]

70 retired lineman diyer. I enjoy driving it, but fuel is expensive and more maintenance needed compared to my other vehicles. 98 Honda prelude, 99 Toyota rav4, especially the 2011 Lexus is250

[@Craiggg12345]

Stock turbo upgrade, catback, equal headers and suspension. Thats how mine is set up.

[@boostfeed_]

How do you like it?

[@34pimpdog]

If i ever pick up an sti or wrx(04-07 sti) (06-07wrx) again to keep The mod list id do to be a perfect daily to me is Blouch 16gxt turbo Turbo back exhaust (tomei) Link g4x plug and play ecu with can lambda Flex fuel sensor Cams gsc s1 or bc 272 Inlet Front mount intercooler Cyl 4 cooling "Stage" clutch (whateevr is good to about 500tq. Probably an act street series Dom tune I listed about 7k in mods if you do it yourself (minus tune)and make about another 130 wheel over stock and will still drive like stock

[@boostfeed_]

That would be such a fun Subaru to drive!

[@Z32_Daddy]

bro i did the opposite. I got my wrx just recently. flew down to houston and drove it all the way back to vegas. i understand the travel. at least your check engine light didn't come on 13 hours in lol.

[@boostfeed_]

Thankfully that did not happen haha. Did you ever find out the reason yours came on?

[@Z32_Daddy]

not yet. idk if it's a boost leak, plugs, or maf sensor. @@boostfeed_

[@mcsqueegee81]

Next time to do a turbo inlet, remove the intake manifold. May as well change out the injectors, upgrade the fuel system.. it will be a limiting factor. Also stock turbo should upgrade + downpipe

[@boostfeed_]

Thanks for the advice! Removing the intake manifold was always a possibility but I was trying my best to do with without removing it. A downpipe will be coming soon ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@mcsqueegee81]

@@boostfeed_ its not a bad thing to do & makes installing the inlet way smoother. You have to take the manifold off anyways to upgrade the fuel system. Which you want to do when upgrading the turbo, along with the downpipe. If you're going to do downpipe soon, may as well include turbo & fuel system upgrades. Then it'll all come together & have more power, more sounds etc. And get a pro tune or at least an E tune, so the car can run right with those parts!

[@boostfeed_]

@@mcsqueegee81 a new turbo and all that would be awesome! I’ve been worried about reliability so I probably won’t do bigger turbo for a while due to the fact that if the motor blew I wouldn’t have the money to replace it and all. Once I get more time and Money I’d love to push the motor and see what it can do!

[@roninlaw9824]

Good stuff Mom!

[@Wordsanall]

The reverse pin was a nightmare to do alone!

[@boostfeed_]

I bet it was!!

[@Paulfromwish]

If you are thinking about buying one of these today, its gonna be unreliable as a daily, mine cost me 20k and then 20k to restore and get it where i wanted to be. And even then its still an old car. I dont use mine as a daily and i have just about had everything replaced including the entire engine bay and suspension and it still has electrical issues. Fuzes blowing, grounding issues, load, shorts, decayed wiring, headlights failing, dashlights dimming, new fuel pumps blowing. The time has been and gone where these can be enjoyed for cheap. yeah you can get one and it will run but wont be what you wanted it to be without a crap load of cash probably ending up with buyers remorse. but luckily i am able to finance it and use it as a weekend car and its by far my favorite, but also my most extensively repaired. If i didnt have the money to completely fix everything on the car it probably would have been my most regretfull purchase. The worst thing about the Hawkeye especially is the steering ratio, theres just about no feedback and it turns like a bus steering wheel always crossing your arms on small turns. The gearing is all completely whack as well 3rd is too short and 4th is way to tall so you cant cruise at the speed limit at acceptable revs. i fixed this with a WRC 12.1 steering ratio down from 14.5 and its completely fixed it but at a cost of 3k with cars approaching 20 to 25 years old my general rule is always double the purchase price before you budget for it because thats what its gonna cost you. My point was its not 2013 anymore, people forget how old these cars are now and if you use it as a daily be prepare for the anxiety of never being able to get it home, and maybe never being able to afford to fix it when it goes wrong if you dont have the money to restore it going in.

[@boostfeed_]

Wow these things can definitely be expensive for sure. 3k for that steering ratio is wild but I bet it made the car feel great!!

[@Paulfromwish]

@@boostfeed_ turned the car from sell to keep forever!

[@qwazzic]

my 2005 sti has never had a single issue while still being my daily driver and its at 164k miles. these cars can be expensive, if you do not take care of them and are not on top with the maintenance. still on original motor and has had a completely bone stock it's entire life, absolutely nothing done to it at all. only things i'm looking to do right now is a cylinder 4 cooling mod, and a killer b oil pickup tube for reliable measures as the previous 2 owners didn't do those things during their ownership. even at 164k miles its so insanely clean for how many miles it has. no sun fade on the paint, only a few tiny scuffs and dents along the body which are minor and can't see unless you're looking for them. the interior is in immaculate condition as well.

[@Paulfromwish]

@ the saying doing basic maintenance and you won’t have an issue is simply not true, practically every generation of the EJ was plagued with head gasket issues on completely stock cars, maintenance has nothing to do with this but driving style certainly would, but similar cars in the same category never had similar issues. The cylinder walls and connecting rods were also a known weak point. Saying you are planning to do a cylinder cooling mod is kind of an acknowledgment of its poor engineering Great cars none the less

[@qwazzic]

@@Paulfromwish yeah sure but given that the cylinder 4 cooling mod is only $80 and helps with reliability i have no complaints. also i've never really heard of bone stock sti's being unreliable, only when people put poor tunes and cheap parts sure they can be unreliable. when you want an sti with more power you can't cheap out by getting less expensive parts, you have to save up and do it the right way (same with a tune). EJ's can be reliable so long as you don't redline them constantly and don't cheap out when wanting performance mods. unfortunate that you had to spend 20k to fix yours but i think you just got unlucky with the sti you bought.

[@leroysirois7040]

Beautiful car man. Been doing this Subaru thing for a long time especially with the EJ. Just buy a downpipe, IAG AOS, and an etune. It'll be reliable and quick enough as a daily

[@boostfeed_]

Cool thanks for the advice! I’ve looked around for an e tune but haven’t had much luck finding what I’m looking for? Do you know where I could find a good tuner for an e tune?

[@leroysirois7040]

@@boostfeed_ Google torqued performance!

[@boostfeed_]

@@leroysirois7040 awesome thank you! ✌🏻

[@lucian7182]

I’m tuned through Shinji tuned, have been tuned by them twice and have been happy the last couple years.

[@self.reflect]

Yes! Eric from Torqued Performance is amazing been running one of his tunes going on 3 years now. Car is still happy as could be, highly recommend Torqued Performance!

[@ryguy3360]

Obviously you can bite the bullet and go all in on coilovers, but cheaper options like raceland coils are still amazing alternatives, especially for them being so much cheaper

[@boostfeed_]

Definitely. I’ve heard coilovers like Raceland are actually not too bad

[@joshdugan7563]

The koni inserts are actually pretty affordable and perform really well without having to do full coilovers.

[@mbrule02]

That dirt lot is in my area, I have a 2007, I'll keep my eyes peeled for you✌

[@boostfeed_]

Awesome!

[@shockranger8918]

Where’s the wing?

[@Hakiri27]

The oem airbox has a silencer box to muffle intake noises from my understanding.

[@boostfeed_]

I could see that. There is almost no turbo noise whatsoever

[@inam7904]

1st tuning under your hood - cooling caps are mixed up. Put them back as they should be, if you don't want to rebuild your engine because of overheat. Thank me later.

[@boostfeed_]

Yea a few people have mentioned that. I took it to a shop to get the axels fixed and I know they topped off the coolant so it was definitely the shop that did that

[@inam7904]

@@boostfeed_ If you want more turbo noises for free, there are 2 things to do: delete intake resonator from filter airbox and delete all ribs in airbox. And you will hear everything like never before.

[@inam7904]

@@boostfeed_ Coilovers are shit. If your ride is bumpy, your oem rear sti shocks are bad. Spring is good, just shock is bad. Replace them with wrx shocks (not sti), they are much better. You will be surprised how much better your sti handles. ;)

[@boostfeed_]

@@inam7904 cool thanks for the advice!

[@boostfeed_]

@@inam7904 haha definitely never thought of that!

[@newfoundcars]

How much better are the STI’s? I can’t afford one lol. I’m looking at a ‘06 WRX bugeye as a first car. Are they still fun to drive? And do tall people fit in it well? I heard they had decent headroom. I don’t think I’ll be able to fit in a RSX type s because I’m 6’6, so the subie was my second choice as a first car 😅

[@boostfeed_]

Dang I think you’d fit ok! I love the bugeye so much. The 2.0 engine that comes in it has so much character and personality. You’d love a bugeye!

[@newfoundcars]

@@boostfeed_ Amazing thank you bro! I’m really excited to get one.

[@PeterHernandez-lg2eh]

Get the type r much more reliable than the sti with the ej257 engine

[@JTmovingweight99]

I’m from C. springs, been had mine since 2018. It’s a good car but a money pit if you want to mod it

[@boostfeed_]

I have heard that from lots of people. Makes me nervous to do stuff to it. In terms of the engine, I’ll probably leave it at an upgraded downpipe and a tune and that’ll be it

[@shb9641]

It isn't necessary to have a tune with a intake system. I bought my 06 in 06 and still have it

[@boostfeed_]

Like a Cobb air intake?

[@eyecontrol4900]

Looks great! what kind of gas mileage you getting, and have you thought about tuning it for e85? I used to get 27 on the highway, 16-17 in the city on my old 2005 STI, only on 93octane. You looking to get more horsepower?

[@boostfeed_]

I’ve thought about e85 and I might down the road but I don’t really have the money at the moment so for now I’m just trying to make it sound real good and handle great

[@boostfeed_]

And for gas mileage I think I get around 20-25 mpg

[@martinssau]

Nice sti😮‍💨

[@chucknorris9511]

If you ever get rid of your stock intake with guide I will buy it. I am looking for one.

[@boostfeed_]

Sounds good I’ll let you know!

[@cullen5419]

so sick dude

[@mickeygarcia6213]

How many miles did it have when you picked it up? if you don’t mind me asking!

[@boostfeed_]

It had 133,000 and now has a little under 140,000

[@PeterHernandez-lg2eh]

Stock with spt add ons

[@boostfeed_]

How has your car ran with the spt parts?

[@PeterHernandez-lg2eh]

More maintenance than on a Toyota or Honda

[@cryxbaby2250]

Subarus dont just blow up.

[@boostfeed_]

I think they blow up from not being treated properly

[@twinturbo3470]

I really want to buy an 05 WRB STI but they are all rusty and destroyed in Ontario Ca. All over priced . I’ve long thought of heading south of the border and looking for one. Even one that needed Mechanic work

[@boostfeed_]

A wrb sti would be sweet! It’s definitely worth flying somewhere to pick up a car you find at a good deal. It’s a great experience!

[@twinturbo3470]

@@boostfeed_ I’d love to find somthing that needed an engine rebuild with a great body……all I can get here is mint condition models that are priced to the moon or rust buckets that are still over priced. Nobody sells a car that needs mechanical work unless its needs body work as well lol

[@boostfeed_]

@@twinturbo3470 yeah, that is unfortunate. If you keep a lookout, I’m sure you’ll come across a good one at some point!

[@Birdvado]

Glad to see you're enjoying the car. This is also my dream car and I'm on the market for one right now but I'm trying to better understand the market for them right now, How much did you pay for yours, and do you remember the exact milage on it when you purchased it?

[@boostfeed_]

Yea for sure the one I bought was the best deal I could find for one. I paid 15k with 133,000 miles on it. Owner took good care of it too and came completely stock

[@Birdvado]

@boostfeed_ wow from what I've seen so far thats an absolute steal. what did you use to find the car? (marketplace, Craigslist, bat, ect?)

[@boostfeed_]

@@Birdvado yea it was a bargain I couldn’t pass up haha. I found it in Sacramento California on face book market place

[@vihreelinja4743]

Subarus are made to be driven. Buy a ferrari if you wanna keep it in the garage. Subaru is at it's best on gravel and snow.

[@boostfeed_]

I totally agree 💪🏻

[@Vonte603]

2 to 3 weeks on a turbo inlet ouch

[@boostfeed_]

I was also in Italy for two of those weeks

[@scott-wright]

That car needs a wing asap

[@DodgerBlue909]

Put that wing on! It’s looks naked!

[@boostfeed_]

Haha I definitely need to!

[@jorgetellez7969]

if that was difficult get a honda!! lol sorry but subies are the easiest cars i have ever worked on!!

[@TimberWulfIsHere]

"keep it stock and it will be fine" Lol. Lmao even. Runs better with proper mods. Still spent the cost of the car to keep it running.

[@superroo_sti3351]

With my experience with literally the same exact car is the keeping oem with small upgrades is not worth at all I’m currently running a sti type ra short block stock heads and full bolt on tuned by the god himself baderbuilt running 400 hp for 2 years strong when I was younger and only had the stock motor Maby I would get 2 years out of it before it would throw a bearing look the channel tho my guys keep up the work ps if you wanna make a lot of money from the channel keep the videos coming and many do a build series I know guys making 20-100k a month from KZbin…

[@boostfeed_]

Heck yea man that’s the goal! It’s always been a dream of mine to make Money just making video with my friends and building my cars. It’s frustrating because I get momentum with my videos and then I have to go back to school and the videos stop until I get back. I’m going into my last semester and then I plan to do KZbin nearly full time!

[@taza5196]

Get a rear wing on it 😆 🤣 😂

[@boostfeed_]

Gotta admit she looks good still ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)