2015 WRX Project Northstar – Kartboy Shifter Arm & IAG AOS

Well it’s been a few months since the last update and I haven’t had a lot of time to get stuff done on the car. The shop has been running on all cylinders but we found a little time to get some smaller things done. Previously I had installed the TiC shifter bearing and didn’t notice a huge change in the shifter feel, likely due to the fact the bushing it replaces is very small and was almost new. I was actually waiting for Kartboy to finish and release their short shifter arm which was released last year and so we took some time to install it. The factory shifter feel is actually not too bad, however the throw is pretty long and I’ve always liked having a shorter throw. The installation of the arm is pretty straight forward replacing the original arm assembly underneath the car. We recently made a before and after video showing the throw of the shifter on a 2016 WRX which is below. Having driven my own car for months with the Kartboy short shifter I actually was surprised at the feel and length of the throw in the 2016 WRX we used in the video below. It is such a drastic difference and I don’t think I would ever go back to the factory set-up.

Next up I took some time to get the IAG Performance Street Air/Oil Separator installed that I had been meaning to install over the summer. With the direction injection system of the 2015+ WRX and 2014+ Forester XT it is an important upgrade to help reduce the build up around the intake ports/valves of the cylinder head. Without the port injection of the previous EJ motors there’s nothing to clean the ports or valves of the oil residue so having an AOS capture the contaminants before getting into the intake system is a good idea. The IAG AOS is my personal favourite system and comes with everything needed to install and the hoses are all cut to length and the instructions are very clear. I chose to go with their dark grey powder coated version for a clean look in the engine bay. Secondly we installed the IAG EGR Delete plates which are another important modification to preventing the build up on the valves. From the installation I would say the larger problem seems to lie with the EGR system as there was only a very very small amount of oil in the TMIC and turbo to intercooler pipe. The EGR pipe however was definitely worse although much better then I’ve seen from others which I attribute likely to the fact I drove the car very hard this summer and it got a lot hotter then most. The EGR delete does require some codes to be turned off via the COBB AccessPORT where-as the AOS can be installed without any tuning changes. I’ll still be pulling the intake manifold to do some walnut shell blasting every once in awhile to keep the engine running it’s best and making maximum power.

Lastly I had a beautiful Grimmspeed lightweight crank pulley to install which we threw on at the same time. The engine is definitely easier to blip/rev up making rev matching on downshifts easier. The Grimmspeed pulley is about 1/4 the weight of the factory pulley.

Thanks to these companies that are helping with this Project
COBB Tuning – COBB AccessPORT and COBB Cat-Back
Mad Graphics – Full Vehicle Vinyl Wrap and Side Graphics
Grimmspeed – License Plate Relocation Kit, Lightweight Crank Pulley
Turn In Concepts – Shifter Bearing and TGV Deletes
Killer B Motorsports – J-Pipe
OnPoint Dyno – Dyno Tuning and Testing
Uni-Body Collision – Paint Work (Emblems, Lip, Trunk Spoiler)
StopTech – Front Big Brake Kit
IAG Performance – Street Air/Oil Separator
Kartboy – Short Shifter Arm