Matt's Levorg (Photo Heavy!)

[Supafly_NZ]

Hi all, from NZ.
Here's my Levorg as I received it, bone-stock, fresh off the boat from Japan:

Aims are to keep it as comfortable yet sporty as possible. "OEM+" is the term best used here.
I drive about 400km a week so emphasis is most certainly on comfort, yet I want it to remain exciting enough so as not to fall asleep.

I already own a ~600HP '08 STi hatch which serves as my track/weekend hack hence no need/desire to chase any records in the 'vorg.
It's been a refreshing change as far as planning modifications go, I've already spent one weekend ripping sound deadening out of one vehicle, while installing new deadening into the other.

STi:

I'm a couple of months into ownership now so am retrospectively adding the mods already made in the next few posts.

 

[Supafly_NZ]

I'd first found a wrecked WRX here in Auckland that I scouted and purchased some parts from. First to go was the weird trim that Subaru opted to put on the Levorg to make it.. different? I was surprised to find under the large plastic Levorg trim panel, a standard WRX recess, so on went the OEM carbon style panel from the WRX :

Again, not a fan of the white interior so swapped out the front A-pillar trim for the black WRX item:

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Next up was the exhaust. I have early starts (4.30AM) and live in a relatively quiet neighbourhood so goal here was to have something that had a nice tone but didn't lower eyebrows.

I opted to try out an STi system since these OEM exhausts are a dime-a-dozen on Facebook marketplace here in NZ:

Of course, the rear STi tips would not fit under the factory bumper (and important to note here: they also don't extend out anywhere near as far as the single-tip Levorg one does).
Cue the "Quattlo Muffler Garnish" from Shining Speed Japan and a bit of work with the angle grinder and dremel:

Now, these garnishes are originally designed to go together with a "single to dual", sleeved exhaust tip conversion which is unfortunately discontinued and I was wanting to use the STi tips anyway for the extra sound, so end result meant that the tips sit a little inside the rear bumper since the OEM tips are non-adjustable.

I also scored a genuine STi Levorg rear diffuser so that went on at same time:

Back under we go with the angle grinder:

The chrome tips come off nicely, as they are only spot welded in a couple of places, leaving a metal sleeve which will later house a clamp-on style exhaust tip (4x) from AliExpress:

I took sound clips with a few variations of the exhaust :
- OEM Levorg midpipe / Levorg tailpipes (The levorg as we all know it, quiet)
- STi midpipe / Levorg tailpipes (Extremely mild increase in exhaust note, barely noticable)
- STi midpipe / STi tailpipes (Marginal increase in sound, however brings a very annoying "booming" drone from 1,200-1,500 RPM with the CVT transmission, purely because the pipes sit right under the rear bumper (EDIT: Confirmed after removing stock tip garnishes and replacing with longer ones above: 30/11/23)

I believe the drone is partly to do with the fact the tail pipes are currently 50-60mm short of where they should ideally be on the bumper.
But also the rear sound-deadening in the Levorg is awful. A trip to Jaycar saw me with some butyl, foam and mass loaded vinyl to help reduce some of this drone coming into the cabin. A work-in-progress pic:

This is currently where I've left things. The two side, flat panels just with butyl have helped TREMENDOUSLY. If you remove your rear trim and give these a tap (I have a video of mine) you will notice how these sound like the side of a tin shed. Why Subaru left these un-deadened is beyond me.

I will get back in soon and update this post with the foam added and finally the mass-loaded vinyl over top.
Of course, once the exhaust tips arrive from AliExpress and move the exit back another 50mm, this will also help.

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Another trip back to the wreckers, this time to grab some fenders and sideskirts from a 2015+ WRX in black.
The fenders and skirts are a bolt-on job to the Levorg:

I am however short one RH fender as the other had damage, so I am currently half WRX (LH) half Levorg (RH).

I also opted to pull the rear chrome garnish and give it a paint.
Posting these pics as I believe there's not really any documentation on the process online since most opt to wrap or plasti-dip in-situ:
Rear hatch plastics must be removed, there are about eight nuts that run along the rear of the boot and the entire garnish pops off after giving it a firm tug to free the plastic pop rivets. Care must be taken to remove the rear door button and reverse camera looms first!

The chrome trim separates with a few screws along the garnish.
All painted and back on, I will give it a cut/polish once fully cured.

(I have removed the exhaust garnishes in the above photo for a bit of a touch-up I was doing at same time on bumper)

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Another trip to buy a used bumper that popped up cheap and in my colour. I was hanging out for a 2018+ style bumper but this was too cheap to pass up, especially since I didn't have to have it repainted too...

I had already ordered some LED upgrades for the indicators and switchback (yellow/white) fog lights from AliExpress so was stoked that these were a direct-fit into the 2015 STi bumper also :

Not bad, but desperately needs a front-lip so I have one on order from Ebay.
I'll update this post once it arrives.

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Found some STi shocks to replace the horrible B6 Bilsteins.
Again, these were found cheap-as-chips on Marketplace:

Before/After:

The ride is so much improved over the Bilsteins in every way. Acceleration is smoother, braking doesn't nose-dive the car and entry into corners doesn't feel like you're going about to do a barrel-roll.

I was tossing up between WRX and STi shocks but after hearing reports the WRX shocks still bottomed-out on big bumps, I went for the STi.
Conversely, I had also read that the STi shocks were almost "too" stiff amongst owners of the WRX/STi platform so this was a bit of a gamble but it has worked in my opinion. I can respect that they might not be to everyone's taste for ride quality, they are stiffer of course but far from unbearable.

STI front spring rates 5.8 kg/mm STI rear spring rates 5.3kg/mm.
Again, they're not far off what most coilovers would feel like (Coils usually start around 6kg/mm F & 6kg/mm R and up to 7 or even 8kg/mm), I have Ohlins in my track STi and these are not far off the softer side of those.
It does take some getting used to, coming from the noodles that were in there prior but after deflating the tyre pressures a bit (these were at 39psi!), I've come to really like them.

Car sticks to the road really nicely. I think larger rear sway bar would benefit the car immensely if you wanted to give it a little more attack on cornering. I'm probably at a fork in the road now as far as pushing the Levorg to become a bit more capable on road or try to ease it back for more comfort. Id still like to lower the car with aftermarket springs but don't really want to have to put higher spring rates in there so will keep looking at options there.

RSR make both a 10-15mm lowering kit with 5.42/6.43kg/mm (F/R) RSR and a 5.87/6.43 Ti2000 set while the ever-popular RCE yellows are about 6.5/6.4. The RSR 5.42kg/mm front and 6.43kg rear springs would probably be the sweet spot here for a daily I reckon.

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Cusco paddle extensions:

Wanted something a bit more subtle and OEM looking than most other options available.

 

[lerroy]

Love it great progress...your sti is hotness

I really need to get on marketplace

 

[Daniel03]

Found some STi shocks to replace the horrible B6 Bilsteins.
Again, these were found cheap-as-chips on Marketplace:

Before/After:

The ride is so much improved over the Bilsteins in every way. Acceleration is smoother, braking doesn't nose-dive the car and entry into corners doesn't feel like you're going about to do a barrel-roll.

I was tossing up between WRX and STi shocks but after hearing reports the WRX shocks still bottomed-out on big bumps, I went for the STi.
Conversely, I had also read that the STi shocks were almost "too" stiff amongst owners of the WRX/STi platform so this was a bit of a gamble but it has worked in my opinion. I can respect that they might not be to everyone's taste for ride quality, they are stiffer of course but far from unbearable.

STI front spring rates 5.8 kg/mm STI rear spring rates 5.3kg/mm.
Again, they're not far off what most coilovers would feel like (Coils usually start around 6kg/mm F & 6kg/mm R and up to 7 or even 8kg/mm), I have Ohlins in my track STi and these are not far off the softer side of those.
It does take some getting used to, coming from the noodles that were in there prior but after deflating the tyre pressures a bit (these were at 39psi!), I've come to really like them.

Car sticks to the road really nicely. I think larger rear sway bar would benefit the car immensely if you wanted to give it a little more attack on cornering. I'm probably at a fork in the road now as far as pushing the Levorg to become a bit more capable on road or try to ease it back for more comfort. Id still like to lower the car with aftermarket springs but don't really want to have to put higher spring rates in there so will keep looking at options there.

RSR make both a 10-15mm lowering kit with 5.42/6.43kg/mm (F/R) RSR and a 5.87/6.43 Ti2000 set while the ever-popular RCE yellows are about 6.5/6.4. The RSR 5.42kg/mm front and 6.43kg rear springs would probably be the sweet spot here for a daily I reckon.

Great Job!!! Wish I had the time to make those mods too... But right now I'm focused on the suspension.

What's the year of the STI where you took those struts?

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Great Job!!! Wish I had the time to make those mods too... But right now I'm focused on the suspension.

What's the year of the STI where you took those struts?

STi shocks are out of a 2016.

For the 2016 and 2017 base model WRX, Subaru uses the same suspension as the 2015 WRX with the non-inverted front strut. These are a little firm, but not quite as firm as the STI. Rear again is the same as STI.

The 2016 and 2017 Premium and Limited WRX, Subaru uses their newer inverted front struts and a different rear shock. These are different front and rear than the base model and the STI. These are the softest option from the factory.

The 2015 to 2017 STI uses the same suspension for all 3 model years. The fronts are unique to STI, and the rears should be similar to 2015 WRX and 2016/2017 base WRX (but may have different part numbers). The front STI dampers are the stiffest option from Subaru.

I believe the 2017+ STi shocks are a little softer still, yet to find confirmed spring rates for these.

 

[robo498]

Is that the idoing stereo? And did you change the factory speakers? Looks great cuz!
P.s. I would almost bet that the stereo control wires are in the steering wheel if you remove that blank cover, bet you could get them from the wreckers and they can be programed to work with the idoing stereo.....

 

[BARBERIS]

Respect

 

[Robsyuk]

Greetings thread. Couple of questions,

Replacing the wings with sti, you say are direct bolt on. Are they simple enough yo line up? What about the arch liner, no issues?

Also, on the front bumper, the lower plastic grill in the middle of the levorg bumper, do you know if it's easy to remove?

 

[robo498]

Greetings thread. Couple of questions,

Replacing the wings with sti, you say are direct bolt on. Are they simple enough yo line up? What about the arch liner, no issues?

Also, on the front bumper, the lower plastic grill in the middle of the levorg bumper, do you know if it's easy to remove?

Template for the rear sti upper wing, lower wing you have to remove the bumper and bolt it to the mounts. As for the front I'm not sure what you mean? If you mean the grill that let the air go the radiator then again best to remove the bumper, then easy to replace it, I think you could remove it with our removing the bumper but it will be hard.....

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Greetings thread. Couple of questions,

Replacing the wings with sti, you say are direct bolt on. Are they simple enough yo line up? What about the arch liner, no issues?

Also, on the front bumper, the lower plastic grill in the middle of the levorg bumper, do you know if it's easy to remove?

When you say wings, you are referring to front guards (fenders) I presume.
These swapped across perfectly, no need for changed plastic arch liners.

RE: Front bumper lower plastic grill. I am not sure how easy the grill is to remove but I can check tonight when I am home as I have the old Levorg bumper sitting in the garage still. (I used nothing from the old bumper on the new bumper, they are completely different shapes).

 

[Robsyuk]

Yeah, the fenders. In the UK we call them wings .

The Sti levorg has a different front bumper which I think is the same as the wrx.

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Yeah, the fenders. In the UK we call them wings .

The Sti levorg has a different front bumper which I think is the same as the wrx.

That is the Levorg STi Concept bumper. You can buy it aftermarket from here.
It is unique to the Levorg, i.e, it did not come out on any other models and is different to the WRX/STi bumper.

 

[Robsyuk]

That is the Levorg STi Concept bumper. You can buy it aftermarket from here.
It is unique to the Levorg, i.e, it did not come out on any other models and is different to the WRX/STi bumper.

Thank you for the clarity, do you know if anyone has changed the lower grills to mesh?

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Thank you for the clarity, do you know if anyone has changed the lower grills to mesh?

Zunsport make a mesh grille set for the WRX/STi but the lower grill on the Levorg STi is a different shape so likely won't fit.

Update on STi exhaust swap:
My 4x exhaust tips have arrived from AliExpress and they look great.
Most importantly, they sit further out past the rear of the bumper which has FIXED the boom/drone issue I was getting at low RPM.
I'll take some photos once I've washed the car and re-fitted the garnishes.

This has taken the exhaust upgrade from a 2/10 to a 8/10. Would still have liked to have a little bit more growl when you put the foot down but for the money spent/unique-factor I really like it. I would consider perhaps changing the downpipe at a later date for something that was very slightly more free-flowing to gain a bit more sound.

Next up is some wheels.

 

[Supafly_NZ]

Doubled up on the PF01's, seemed too novel an idea not to have two matching Subaru's in team colours.

18x9.0 +35 (9.1kg) on the hatch and 18x8.5+48 (8.3kg!) on the wagon.
May look to add spacers in future but am loving the feel of these light wheels on the STi suspension now, totally transformed the drive. Making me want to bite and throw a cheeky intake and tune on it...

Going to look to add a bit more sound deadening in the front soon while I wait for the android headunit to arrive.

Exhaust tip shots also, I will do the garnishes this weekend, keep forgetting to add those back on.
Pup is stoked not to have the annoying drone in the rear any longer...