Feature: Impressive Impreza

How do you improve the already impressive Subaru Impreza? Do as Evan Younker did; trade it in for it's badass brother, the Impreza WRX.

"Growing up I wasn't crazy about cars" says Evan. Hard to imagine when you see this stunning and immaculate Platinum Silver Metallic 2004 WRX. "My first car was an 06 Impreza 2.5i. After researching power mods I decided I needed a turbo car, and upgrading to a WRX was the safest route." Evan had joined NASIOC forums prior to owning his WRX, and was bitten hard by the mod bug. He needed a turbo, and he needed it fast.

Evan was no stranger to his current WRX however, having been owned by a fellow paintballer, he was informed when it had been put for sale at a local car lot. "I had always loved that car. One of my friends had said it's for sale, so I went and looked at it and decided I had to have it. It had a stage 2 upgrade, version 1 Accessport, turboback exhaust, and some heavy 18x8 wheels."

With his new found love in his possesion, Evan had begun the modding process. His first mod (and favorite), had been passed down from his 2.5i in the form of a Kartboy short shifter. Soon after was a set of KYB struts and Prodrive lowering springs for a nice stance, which were soon swapped out for his current setup consisting of JiC FLT-FAS coilovers (5k/7k). Filling in the fenders, and keeping this rex rolling are a set of gunmetal Rota G-Force's sized in 18x9 with a healthy +35 offset, while covered in 245/40/18 BFGoodrich G-Force KDW tires. Stopping this might rex is handled by Wilwood 4 piston front and rear calipers stuffed with Wilwood street brake pads fed through Wilwood stainless brake lines. Evan then went on to continue turning his WRX into visual eye candy by means of an STI hood scoop, intercooler bellows, and front splitters. He finished off the front with retrofitted TSX projectors, V-Limited front lip, and his favorite aesthetic mod, JDM foglights.

With the WRX looking poised, it was time to add some more go to the show. "From then on I started buying power mods and learning how the engine worked. I finally got around to swapping out turbos and originally swapped in a stock 05 STI turbo, but soon after upgraded to my current Forced Performance td05 16g." Getting air to the turbo is an STI topmount intercooler, and a K&N typoon intake, keeping throttle response crisp, and the factory ecu happy. Maintaing the true boxer rumble is a set of Maddad unequal length headers and catless up-pipe. On the downside of things, a Perrin 3" divorced wastegate catless downpipe sends spent exhaust gasses through a 3” Espelir JGT500 catback exhaust. All This sucking and blowing requires some relief, in which case a Forge blow off valve comes to the rescue to vent off the excess pressure, while being controlled by a GrimmSpeed 3 port electronic boost controller.

The fuel delivery was enhanced by the industry standard Walbro 255 fuel pump, and a custom set of oem injectors modded, and balanced to 820cc's. A Turbo XS Utec controls the fuel and timing duties, while being OEM ecu friendly, keeping the drivability stock like...with a bit more punch. With the Injectors, and fuel rails siting on the sides of the motor, a simple injector swap isn't possible. "Where do I start" says Evan, "The injectors are originally under these crazy brackets. They are a bitch to get off, these brackets." Nobody said building a car was all cookies and milk, Evan's got blood, sweat, and tears poured into this beauty!

Moving to the inside resides an AEM wideband, coupled with a set of Prosport boost, EGT, oil pressure, and oil temp gauges, as well as a custom LED cluster and matching interior control switches, resembling the cockpit of a fighter jet. Keeping Evan and his lucky passenger in place are a set of Bride Gias Low max seats, bolted to a set of NZKW seat brackets, and to top it all off, a matching Bride shift boot. The beauty and attention to detail doesn't stop here though. Opening up the trunk reveals the treasure chest it really is; a 12” JL Audio W3V3-4 sitting in a custom fiberglass enclosure where the spare tire used to live prior to its eviction. A 500w/1ch JL Audio amplifier spreads it's love back into the car through the Pioneer 6.5" speakers, and back up to Evans fingertips in the form of a AVIC-UBT310. This WRX sounds just as good inside as it does outside.

As perfect as this car looks, sits, and sounds, Evan plans to upgrade it with a fully built motor, rotated turbo setup, and a beefier STI 6 speed transmission. He also plans on picking up a Toyota Supra in the near future, and seeing the work he's done to his WRX, were sure his Supra is going to be a monster.

Evan would also like to thank the help he's gotten over at NASOIC, which taught him everything he knows, his friend Logan who had gotten into the Subaru game with him (and owns an 08 STI) as well as his parents for "even allowing me to get that crazy with the car" says Evan. Mind that all this was done on Evans own budget, without the help of sponsors. Investing this much without the help of sponsors is mind boggling, and Evan like the rest of us, wouldn't mind the help of a few sponsors (chime in here!).

Now that we have the perfect recipe, it's just a matter of gathering the ingredients, and following in Evan's footsteps for a truly Impressive Impreza.