Murcie's Garage - R51 Pathfinder Ti - Almost Everything is Done! (20/02/2020)

[MaliciousMD]

Good info there MD, also just note if you are going to an aftermarket MLS get the appropriate thickness for the compression you want.

Increased thickness should also be used to account for any material removed from the block and head. Gasket bore will effect the compression as well since it obviously alters the volume. I think EJ205 stock thickness is pretty thin. Something like .027" (about 0.7mm) compressed thickness.

Thread related note, I like your rims. Me too

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Hey. Nice choice. Also thanks for that, I have no idea on head gaskets to be brutally frank let alone the aftermarket.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Update of sorts:

- I'm not going to sell the WRX. I've been playing the proposition of selling it and saving to get a newer vehicle but I'm more than happy with it, and it's far too intoxicating to look at and drive.

- More mods will be on the cards for it. I've ordered the Ultrex front lip, and am in the process of planning a trip to S&J Automotive in Adelaide to get the rear muffler and tips changed to MRT Rally pieces. The thought of coilovers has also crossed my mind but I don't reckon I'll be doing that until mid-next year. I don't want to be going terribly low, just adding a bit more of a stance to it over the Enkeis.

- I've been given a chance to sample the WRX RS40 Limited Edition:


1290096_10200366169748082_227113246_n by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr

It will be registered on Monday and ready for me to give it a spin first one to drive it since it's gotten off the truck.

Technically the Tangerine-coated Club Spec 11/S-Edition is the CSE4's true grandson, but they don't have one of those The RS40 is a similar recipe to the CSE4: take one WRX, add STi bits and pieces. Gold wheels, STi rear spoiler and front lip, black-leather seats with blue Alcantara inserts, short shifter kit, STi tower strut brace, and some RS40 motifs.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

So it was a fairly wet and slightly cold spring afternoon, but a great afternoon nonetheless:


GOPR0028 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr

Got to drive the WRX RS40, hot off the press. I didn't exactly get a chance to do a photoshoot with it and SIC EM but I thought a quick snap of the two together would whet appetites.

Up until this point I've never driven a widebody GE WRX but after having a go, I came away pretty impressed. I have driven an MY08 pre-widebody and that was a wallowy pile of detuned misery but this feels much, much better. It's a brand new car that has only done 20kms but they let me give it a little bit on the B-roads, nothing too risky obviously as it's a limited edition model but enough to give me a really good taste of what it's about.

The torque was especially appetising. The extra half a litre displacement makes it a much better day-to-day driver than SIC EM does, and the ride is a fair bit less harsh too. Little bit more body roll but still well controlled and it's got some serious guts.

The RS40 pack contains blue alcantara Recaros with black leather bolsters.

Great seats, a lot more supportive than the GC8's but I reckon it'd quickly become a chore getting out of them especially. Oh well, just live in the car It had a great driving position too; you sit a bit higher than in the GC8 but still a great sporty position to it, everything fell easily into the hands and feet.

The gearbox was a revelation too, it may still be the old 5-speed manual but it's a pretty tight 'box now and with the short-shifter kit it felt a lot better than the MY08. The clutch had plenty of feel to it as well but it was significantly lighter than SIC EM's.

http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/dealer/147966845.jpg

Would I have the RS40? I would, but with the new WRX coming next year I'd find it difficult to swallow spending $48k on this now with that in the back of my mind. Nonetheless, it's a great car, I love it.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

SIC EM was getting a tad too dirty for my liking:


DSC_0296 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0297 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0298 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr

So I gave her a clean up and then took her for a quick run down to the coast


DSC_0300 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0301 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0302 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0308 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0309 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0310 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0314 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0315 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0316 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


DSC_0318 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr

 

[SPhilli911]

Love it! Where is the Go-Pro footage??

Also, have you ever ripped down the Great Ocean Road in that thing? You close Victoria at all? (Then again, I feel like any roads along the southern coast are fun...)

 

[Murcie_LP640]

I've been down the GOR a couple of times but only for trips to and from Melbourne where I had time to take the "scenic route" lol, didn't have my GoPros or DSLR with me. I will make an effort to do that sometime in the coming months.

Love it! Where is the Go-Pro footage??

I'm a slow editor I'm afraid lol.

 

[GTSuchiiyaSan]

Nice GC8 dude! I really love it!
BTW mightycarmods its awesome xD

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Thanks dude, and yeah Marty and Moog are pretty cool fellows haha, I've gotten a few MCM stickers for the Sube as stickers are one of my sort of weird fetishes when it comes to personalisation. Recently got another sticker as well for a tribute to Paul Walker, hopefully it'll be in sometime next week. Have you seen Marty's new ride yet? Cracking 11s in that is going to be difficult but I'll be eager to see the build, might even give me some ideas for the Rexy

Thanks to the holiday season I don't think much will be happening to SIC EM this month, just gonna keep her running tip top. The "scary" 200,000km service is coming up soon too.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

For S'&G's:

SIC EM if she was a 22B. Forza 5 doesn't have the GTC01s so I went with RPF1s. Other than that...there is a verrrry obvious difference in the quality of the cars between that of actual racing and Forza 5's ForzaVista. Still, looks pretty neat.

 

[SPhilli911]

I gotta get that game.

 

[TouringBubble]

Man, that is a beautiful car ... I wish we got the GC8 WRXs here.

 

[Punknoodle]

Wow I'm really unimpressed with Forza 5's photo mode based on those pics!

 

[Murcie_LP640]

So had my first meet with the MightyCarMods Adelaide group:



Rather annoyingly this is one of those times where the one thing I couldn't find was going to be the one truly special piece: an SD card for my GoPro.

However, I did get a fair few shots of some sweet (and the more "questionable" lol) rides:

 

[Murcie_LP640]

So a mild update, I've been having to fix a few electrical niggles on the WRX, nothing life threatening just a fuse had blown for the electric mirrors and a wire had come loose for the cigarette lighter, and the stereo which is having an issue either with the amp or the head unit as sound is currently coming out of only one speaker and the sub.

The big thing though is I've ordered a set of these lights:

There are a few manufacturers of angel eye headlights running for the GC8 but I preferred the design of these ones over the other main ones (Ultrex):

Should be here tomorrow or Friday hopefully.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

So a mild update, I've been having to fix a few electrical niggles on the WRX, nothing life threatening just a fuse had blown for the electric mirrors and a wire had come loose for the cigarette lighter, and the stereo which is having an issue either with the amp or the head unit as sound is currently coming out of only one speaker and the sub.

The big thing though is I've ordered a set of these lights:

Should be here tomorrow or Friday hopefully.

Those will look great on your car. I also agree that the design you picked is way better than the other design available. I honestly don't like the look of the 2nd design at all that's on the silver car.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Snapchat-20140620055135 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr


Snapchat-20140620055057 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr

The lights will be done shortly and hopefully I'll get a tripod setup for some nice long exposure pics.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Been a while since I've had an update on this but I guess now is the time.

A fair few things have happened/gone wrong with SIC EM since I put the lights in.

A few months ago I had to have the radiator replaced, unfortunately this is a common problem and the main problem with plastic parts enduring endless heat from the engine bay and 15 years of Australian summers; an inch-long crack formed in the radiator housing and it was spewing alien blood on the ground. Careful driving to the suburb of Lonsdale and a day at the radiator doctors later and SIC EM was as good as new.

Then when I was heading back to my hometown from where I now live, a bolt holding the alternator sheared and I lost all power. Simple fix but was more a problem because it was on the hard shoulder of the freeway out of Adelaide. The Rex's first ever tow.

Now my main two problems are rear struts, which are going to be replaced sometime this week hopefully, and a few unfortunate dents because some lovely caring person left a rogue shopping trolley near the car out in 70km/h winds.

And then it's just a matter of waiting to see if the missus and I are going to have a baby and if so, SIC EM will unfortunately have to go.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

So it happened, finally. Since I had started a new job back in 2017 which didn't require a car to commute unfortunately the WRX had been sitting around doing bugger all. Last Sunday I made a listing and then on Friday the old boy was gone. So it is time for a new chapter:

This is our 2008 Nissan Pathfinder Ti (dCi) that we're going to be doing up as a light off-roading, mostly touring vehicle for the next 5-10 years. Leather interior, sunroof, rear seat entertainment, electric everything, it's by far the newest car that either myself or my fiancé have owned and it's going to be a massive change for us.

On the to-do list:

- Change the stereo, as I have done on all of my cars. We've already bought a Pioneer AVH-A205BT head unit, Pioneer RCAMAVIC reversing camera kit to complement the (very sensitive) reversing sensors, steering wheel control harness and patch lead. I eventually want to change out the speakers because while the stereo is decent enough for stock speakers, especially compared to the Subarus we've had previously, they're not really to my tastes. And then an active subwoofer if possible - but we're going to be using all seven seats so I will have to see if I can fit one under one of the front seats.

- Fit a steel bull bar and driving lights. We're planning on doing a regular trip to see our friends in south-west Queensland which means going through roo country, and of course the aesthetic appeal. Plus we're going to Tasmania early next year which will mean finding some trails to tackle. The Pathie doesn't have quite as much ground clearance as something like a Prado or an LC100 but its 4WD system is more than up to the task.

- Get at least some all-terrains on it. The dealer we bought it through had obviously needed to replace the tyres at some stage but they're cheap highway-terrains which are going to be pretty useless for what we're planning to do.

- Get it dyno tuned/chipped. Potentially a DPF delete if it starts to cause problems (knock on wood). The YD25DDTi is a nice engine and it pulls hard compared to the other half's 1998 Forester (to be fair, a lot of cars would feel more spritely than that) but surprisingly enough even the missus wants it tuned for more power and better economy.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

4 months into ownership and every bit on that initial list has been done.

First thing was getting the stereo and reversing camera installed which was hassle-free and works exactly as it should, nothing really to report there.

Next was tyres and as much as I wanted to go a size or two higher in profile, ultimately they wouldn't have fit without doing suspension work which isn't realistically going to happen for a long time yet. Ended up with Falken Wildpeak AT3W which are much more aggressive in tread than most all-terrains, crucially have an off-road warranty and they had a 4 for 3 deal going so they were exceptional value for money.

After a lot of research we ended up getting the Pathfinder tuned with a well-respected company in Adelaide that has done over 100 of these engines in Pathfinders and Navaras alike. The economy through normal use hasn't improved but considering the massive increase in response and reduction in turbo lag I'm still pretty chuffed with it - we have recently come back from Tasmania and the tune absolutely helped with the hills in that area particularly on the west coast. The gains were about 20kW of power and 120Nm of torque, and it still retains its DPF.

Finally, a couple of weeks before we were due to get on the Spirit of Tasmania, we got the bull bar and driving lights sorted. A Dobinsons 4x4 steel bull bar with chrome finish hoops, LED DRLs and fog lamps, Adventure Kings 7" Domin8rX LED driving lights and 20" slim line LED light bar. Eventually the suspension will need to be refreshed if it starts to sag but surprisingly enough it only went down at the front by a couple of millimetres and the Pathie has taken it like a champ.

This is the "finished product," so to speak. Nothing is ever truly finished when it comes to cars though, obviously!