Hyper Blue gets some Weave

I'm usually not a fan of unpainted carbon fiber parts on a car.  Unless it's a black or dark-colored car, the contrast between the carbon fiber and the car itself just isn't something I like, especially in the case of larger parts like a hood or a trunk.  I know there are others who do like that but it's just not usually something I'd go for.  I'm especially against the look of an unpainted hood on the 2015-2019 WRX and WRX STI because of the panel of paint between the hood and the grille itself.  It looks odd to me, so I had pretty much ruled out the idea entirely for my Hyper Blue STI.

The idea of hood vents, no matter how functional or useful they might be, had always been something I wanted to add to my car at some point.  However, the only two ways I had seen this achieved was with either a carbon fiber hood or cutting holes in the stock hood.  Neither option really seemed desirable until I saw what a fellow Hyper Blue STI owner had done with his.  He had painted the entire hood to match and left the vents on either side in carbon fiber.  A hint of weave showing through with the rest dressed to impress.  I loved the idea, found a hood, and got to work!

Paint-matching the factory Hyper Blue color was easy.  This car isn't that old so there's really no fade to worry about.  Plus the M3Y paint doesn't have any tricky metallic or pearl coat to mess around with so the only tough part was the vents.  The paint line around the vents after masking them off would've been easy to spot and feel if it wasn't done properly, so we sanded them down to have a nice finish when the clear coat was applied.  The end result was a crisp line between Hyper Blue and Carbon Fiber while maintaining a smooth glossy texture along those lines.

I'm incredibly happy with how this hood turned out.  The larger hood scoop is much more obvious and the side vents add some contrast and detail to the car.  Once I've finished building the new air dam to feed my top mount intercooler, it'll be even better.  For now, I'm just happy with how this aggressive hood has transformed the look of my car.

2018 WRX STI Changes

The 2018 WRX STI, hitting showrooms in July of 2017, has a few changes for it's following of enthusiasts to enjoy before the complete redesign in 2020.  Built on the platform that came out as a 2015 model, the new 2018 brings some extra bits to make this the best of the "last dinosaur": the EJ257.

Factory Recaro front seats (optional on the base STI and standard on the Limited) bring some stiffer bolstering to the cabin, along with more Piano Black accents all around.  A new top 5.9 inch screen reads out vehicle information (boost, fuel economy, etc) and combines it with the climate control display that was previously separate.

In keeping with the "Best performing STI ever" claims, this latest version features 6-Piston Brembo front calipers and drilled brake disks bring more stopping power to the STI, along with a revised inverted strut suspension all around.  These calipers are surrounded by massive 19-inch wheels wrapped in Yokohama Advan Summer Performance Tires.  Power remains the same, although a Type RA version coming later has a slight bump to 310 horses.

An odd omission to the 2018 STI is Fog Lights.  These have been standard on the STI for awhile, but earlier models did leave these out in favor of "covers" on the front bumper.  Much like the styling of the Focus RS and the Civic Si and Type R, the 2018 WRX STI has large vents or "intakes" covering these spots.

While these have been claimed to be "brake cooling" ducts, this is likely not the case.  Most of the vent is purely cosmetic, with only the lower corner of each actually has an opening with small duct work that pushes air up into the inside of the bumper cover.  The space the air is being pushed through is where the bumper would've had Fog Lights on it.  There aren't any changes inside the wheel well or engine compartment to make use of this air being funneled in to make use of these ducts, either.  Because there are no openings within the wheel well that could channel air from these ducts to the brakes, there's no chance for them to do any sort of cooling for the 6-Piston Brembo brakes.

The new LED Headlights also have the High-Beam function built within them unlike the Halogen High Beams having a separate housing on the previous version.  The Turn Signal now occupies the area where the High Beam once was, giving the front end a cleaner, more aggressive look.

As I've mentioned before, this new STI is the last time we'll see the older engine under the hood.  The next revision for the STI will come riding on the new Subaru Global Platform and the FA-series Direct-Injected Boxer engine.  The 2018 and 2019 WRX STI is the last of the EJ-breed.