Located on the western edge of North Carolina/eastern edge of Tennessee in Deals Gap, the Tail of the Dragon contains 318 turns in only 11 miles. No intersecting roads, minimal turn-offs, minimal room for error. For someone who has grown up in the mountainous Pacific Northwest, I was no stranger to hard, twisty ascents and descents in adverse weather. It is common practice for myself to go out alone and hit my local driving spots as hard as I can in my cars without falling off the road, regardless of the conditions. I prepared myself months in advance to be able to build up the confidence to take the unfamiliar terrain with an aggressive excitement. Though as prepared as I was; I was not prepared for what was going to come of this adventure. Several months pass and it finally came time for this PNW boy to take off for the east coast.

Waking up Wednesday morning to pack my belongings for an early non-stop flight, I said goodbye to my mom & girlfriend, as this would be the first time I traveled long distance alone, let alone flying by myself for the first time as well. From there, a fairly smooth 5 hour flight from Seattle-Tacoma International to Tampa International Airport proceeded. Never traveling to the east coast, nor to a very hot & humid climate, I was ecstatic for a new surrounding. I arrived in Tampa in the mid-afternoon excited for my chauffeurs to pick me up. The fun had officially begun as I heard a loud rumble flow though the airport loading area, as Ethan & Zach picked me up in Ethan’s WRX Wagon. We quickly packed up the car and exchanged greetings, excited to finally meet in person. 

We headed back to the MFortyFive headquarters, where we found CJ doing some finishing touches on his STi hatch. Not only was I meeting almost everyone for the first time, but this was my first time seeing all of the guys’ Subarus that I have been drooling on social media over all together for the first time. Between Zach’s Impreza 2.5RS, Ethan’s WRX wagon and CJ’s STi hatch, I planned on getting very familiar with these machines in the coming days along with our shop friends Keith, Chris & Mack, with Project Priime’s beefed up Euro rides.

Rested and ready to rock-n-roll, we woke up at the crack of dawn on Thursday to get the whole fleet together. This would include the MFortyFive Subarus, past-Limelight-feature Bruno Rivera & his WRX, Project Priime’s BMW 335i, MK6 Volkswagen GTI and Fiat 500 Abarth, (and later on in the week, North Carolina native and Instagram-friend Wes joined us in Fontana Village.) Once we all had coffee in our systems, we began our 10 hour drive from Bradenton, FL to Fontana Village, NC. One goal I had was to practice performing rolling shots on this trip. Since we would have an enormous amount of highway driving to do, I went to work at getting the goods over the course of the day.

After several stops to either eat, fill up or stretch some legs, we made it to Fontana Village close to around 11pm. Exhausted from the drive, but eager to get out and play on roads that simply do not exist in flat Florida, the boys and I went out for a little quick midnight blast down a leading road called the Moonshiner 28; a piece of road that led to the start of Tail of the Dragon where it intersects with US129. This was going to be my first taste of what these Subarus were capable of. I was not disappointed in the glimpse of the handling capabilities of the cars and the people driving them, however I was vastly surprised.

Waking up early Friday morning, we filled up with some good ole’ homemade breakfast food and began to get the cars ready for a driving filled day – however after breakfast, things got off to a somewhat rough start. Chris’s BMW was having a bit of a runaround with the transmission not wanting to shift gears until it was all warmed up. Along with CJ narrowly avoiding a drainage ditch, the STi did a 2-wheel motion and managed to pop some of the bumper mounts. Like many long distance trips with highly modified cars, we would have some stumbles, yet none would get in the way of us doing what we came to do.

A short time later, we headed off onto the Moonshiner 28 to get to the start of the Dragon, where we were bombarded with a spew of tree leaves freshly cleared off the side of the road; now brought onto the road from park workers. We reached the Killboy shop, the designated beginning of this insane 318-turn highway, and took a moment to get some goodies, take some group photos and make sure everyone was good to go before we embarked of the first of several runs. On my first run I had rode passenger with CJ and his wife, Ashleigh, in the STi. It was time for the boys to put their money where their mouth is.

We crossed the Tennessee line and everyone let it rip. CJ was leading the pack, and immediately I was astonished at how planted the STi was. I drive a GD Impreza, which most know is not really a large car, and to me the GR Imprezas feel much bigger. You could tell the car had a tendency to want to swing a little more weight around, but it wasn’t by any means going anywhere CJ didn’t want it to. Between the massive 275/35R18 Bridgestone RE71Rs on 18×10″ Volk TE37SLs, Fortune Auto coilovers and a plethora of other suspension bits; the STi was super predicable even from a passenger’s perspective. You don’t really get a good idea of just how intense this highway is until you’re carving corners and when precise driving cues scoot you down Tail of the Dragon quite quickly. Though I live in the Pacific Northwest, this road was a whole different beast.

After making it down to the end, we pulled off near the river to take a break, snap some more pictures and enjoy each others’ company. I was able to fill the boys in on my thoughts and how excited I was to get right back out there. On the way back up, I rode with Ethan & his girlfriend, Marybeth, in the WRX wagon. We kept it fairly calm due to other imposing traffic and law enforcement respectfully doing their duty to make sure people are staying safe and having fun reasonably. When we stopped for lunch at Tapoco Lodge I was quite ready for a warm meal. I usually don’t get car sick, but the Dragon definitely tested that; however I was victorious in keeping myself collected and rewarded myself with a tasty burger.

Once back on the road, we headed towards a more scenic route called the Cherohala Skyway. With some rain showers & cloud cover moving into the mountains, visibility became increasingly difficult, yet had a slight edge of fun while adding a challenge. We reached a vantage point closer to the highest point of the Skyway, where we got more awesome photos and some great views – however there was a problem. Over the course of the day, Ethan’s WRX had been starting to leak oil. The guys took some time to look over the wagon and found that the turbo oil feed hard line had cracked at the banjo bolt end, thus dripping oil every few seconds onto the turbo and uppipe. Keeping that in mind but not ready to slow it down, the group headed up the Skyway a little further until we found another vantage point where we rechecked the cars before blasting down the mountainside. This part of the trip came to be one of my favorite parts. CJ, Ethan and Zach were dead-set of sending it down without holding back, so I jumped in shotgun with Keith (one of the Project Priime cinematographers). Rocking his modified VW Golf GTI, he was ready to follow the boys right on down and keep it close. Since I had the camera out; I was able to capture some of my favorite shots I have ever taken in the time I have been doing photography. Keith and I were right behind CJ & Zach and it was nothing short of incredible. CJ’s STi may be turbocharged, newer, and had a massive amount of traction, and Zach’s RS being RWD, lightweight and dialed for cornering and momentum, they surprisingly stayed tight-knit. I watched and photographed the two embracing in the spirit of a mountain battle known as touge, keeping the tension all the way back to the Killboy shop & the beginning of the Moonshiner 28.

The run on the Moonshiner that night was the drive that separated the men from the boys. I was still riding in the GTI with Keith, while Chris & his 400+ whp 335i stepped up to the plate with CJ to duke it out all the way back to Fontana Village, where we were staying. This drive was some of the most precise & close driving I have ever seen up front. This was that next-level driving I didn’t realize the Florida boys had in them, I ended up recording the entire drive and looking back on that video. It was a “you had to be there to get the full experience” type of memory. I looked forward to the next couple days even more after seeing the the action that took place that Thursday.

We knew that outside of all the car action that we would take at least one day to do some sightseeing around North Carolina. The group packed up for the day and we drove a little over two hours east to Asheville. During that time on the drive there, I got to spend some much needed seat time in CJ’s STi. I never had driven a GR chassis Impreza up until that point, and I can gladly say that I am glad I can say CJ’s was my first. It’s a crazy fun car to drive with a whole lot of maneuverability. Meanwhile, remember that oil leak I mentioned earlier that Ethan’s WRX was suffering? We were now at the point of needing to address that issue along the way. Stopping in at a local Advanced Auto Parts; we grabbed rubber cement & exhaust patching, trying to see if we could temporarily stop the oil from seeping out of the turbo feed line. Alas, the quick-fix was not looking too solid. Fortunately for Ethan, he would be able to get into contact with a Subaru shop outside of Asheville that had by some unbelievably lucky chance, one single non-cracked turbo feed line laying around that was pulled off of another Subaru. This job needed to be done ASAP, considering we were on a trip within a trip 500+ miles from home. Yet before the shop visit would conspire, The guys were quite insistent on visiting a wild biscuits & gravy shop known as Biscuit Head – an Asheville delicacy. Hands-down the absolute best meal I had while visiting the east coast by far. I highly recommend this place for anyone visiting the area – they have a plethora of unique biscuit-based meals with all kinds of twists, but I need to remember this is an article about our trip and not our food. Continuing on, we spent the day visiting a couple of different tourist spots along with general sightseeing. Two places we visited highly worth talking about were the Sierra-Nevada brewery and the Wicked Weed Brewery. Up until this point, I never been to a brewery of any sort, so to see how they produce & refine all sorts of beer in the Sierra-Nevada facility was pretty sweet. However, if you love a great hangout spot, Wicked Weed Brewery is an absolute must! Great outdoor ambiance, games and drinks. After a few hours there, we stopped in at a local burger joint downtown where we ate dinner before the drive back to Fontana Village.

Sunday was filled with a whole lot more sightseeing & intense driving near the Tail Of The Dragon. We managed to drive the entire Skyway route this time around, being the fact it was a sunny Saturday versus a dark, rainy scenario like Thursday turned out to be up there. While we drove the Skyway, Ethan let me cruise the wagon. I will fully admit, I was not sure how I was going to like Ethan’s WRX. Between the aggressive fitment of -4 degrees of camber, 265/35R18 Firestone Indy 500 tires, and 18×9.5 Work CR Kiwamis on a stock-body wagon, I was quite unsure how it would handle. However, once I was in and driving; all of that changed. I felt completely at home & in-control. Since my own WRX has an almost identical interior, the car & I didn’t skip a beat. It was comfy and maneuverable like CJ’s STi, but didn’t feel so overbearing and intense, which kept it pleasant for the type of car it is. For me, Ethan’s WRX wagon was my “just-right” car. As Saturday began coming to a close, nearly comparable to the feeling of heading back to work on a Monday morning, it was a subtle reminder that we would be making the 10+ hour drive Sunday morning back to Bradenton, FL. After another Dragon Run; we stopped by the river to get some amazing sunset shots before we went back to the cabins.

After our last dinner of the trip, we were ready to go back out & drive the cars as much as we could before heading in for the night. At this point, all the driving I had done in the cars was on pretty mild roads. I was ready to hit the dragon, this was my time to shine & frankly one of the last possible chances for quite a while. Zach offered to let me ride with him up the Dragon and I would get the chance to drive the RS back down. I may drive a GD Impreza Sedan like Zach, however Zach’s car was nothing like my own WRX back home. I mentioned before that Zach managed to keep right on CJ when we drove the Skyway & the car’s setup explains it all. The RS is only powered by a 165HP 2.5L EJ253; the same one that can be commonly found in the Legacy, Outback & Forester, but this was not the point. Fortune Auto coilovers, rear-wheel-drive converted, sticky 255/40R17 Federal 595 RS-RRs mounted on 17×9 Rays GramLights 57DRs, rocking -3.8 degrees of camber up front and -2 degrees in the rear. These are only some of the modifications on the most modified RS I have ever driven, and definitely one of the most responsive GD chassis Imprezas I have driven as well. We reached an overlook up on the Dragon where, at almost midnight, we could see a sky full of stars that lit up the autumn night. The overlook was packed full of parked touge-ers fascinated by the view, while every few minutes a car went flying by into the dark on a risky night run. We took a little while to admire the view too – it also gave me the chance to reflect on the trip. Time was just about up & we were ready to go back down the Dragon for the last time on this amazing journey.

Zach handed me the keys and I hunkered down into the RS & got myself into a touge mindset. I followed the guys in the back of the pack & gave the Dragon all I had. Immediately I noticed the steering on the RS was much lighter than to the steering in my WRX, mainly due to the lack of CV axles to increase steering resistance. The car went exactly where I wanted to go, yet I couldn’t get over the fact that it felt much more lively from the RWD conversion than I thought it would, (just like Zach commonly mentions). The tight twists and turns had me working constantly. This was a big reason as to why I love this car so much – it kept my attention the entire time. The RS felt uncensored and raw, just how I believe the best mountain cars should feel. They should keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to the bottom of that mountain. By the time we made it to the hypothetical finish line, my adrenaline was pumping at a million miles per hour – I drove the Tail of the Dragon. I hadn’t felt this accomplished after a mountain drive in quite a while, and it was nothing short of refreshing and exhilarating.

Sunday morning came quicker than many of us would have liked it to. It was time to leave this mountainous driver’s paradise to venture back to the southeast corner of the US. We spent some time at the actual Fontana Dam to get some group photos, enjoy nature and to say our goodbyes to the amazing people we were able to visit with before we embarked on the long drive ahead of us. Throughout the drive back to Florida, we encountered getting split up by traffic, weather and mismatched directions, but eventually around 11:30pm we had safely arrived back in Bradenton.

Monday arrived and it was the bittersweet time for myself to finish out the journey home to Washington. The four of us had joined for one last brunch to look back on the trip, what we want to accomplish next trip around, and how the cars would improve before they would meet the North Carolina/Tennessee hills yet again in the Spring. My first trip to the east coast was a experience for the books, and I am absolutely blessed and extremely thankful for the people who made this trip fun, exciting, hilarious and special. Words cannot describe how much fun I had and I cannot wait to come back. I look forward to many more trips with MFortyFive, and hopefully one day soon, maybe the Florida boys and I will take some time to explore & see what the best coast has to offer.

For a truly awesome video recap of the trip, check out what Project Priime made here:

Thank you to everyone who came on the trip and made it as fun as it was! New friends and old, it was a great experience to say the least.

Words by Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony

Give everyone a follow on Instagram if you don’t already!

• @m.fortyfive
• CJ – @tryhardsti
• Ethan – @supwagon
• Zach – @momentum.rs
• Tony – @stiish_tony
• Chris, Keith & Mack – @projectpriime
• Bruno – @bruno_wrx
• Wes – @wesg713

The post A PNW Perspective: Tail Of The Dragon 2018 appeared first on MFortyFive.

It was pretty surreal for me to suddenly realize we were in Ann Arbor, Michigan on a Saturday evening in July, meeting with some guy who had no idea who any of us were, only to have him drive an hour to meet us for a photoshoot of his car.  This is a build I’ve been following for years on the NASIOC forum.  While planning our Subiefest Midwest trip, I realized Joey was from Michigan… and we would be just below him in Indiana…  I HAD to get in touch with him somehow and try to set something up.  Thankfully, Joey was an awesome dude willing to give us a shot and agreed to meet up while we were in the region.

I attempted to make plans about a month before the actual trip, not quite knowing our official timeframe, but it all happened to work out nicely.  We got to Indiana, hung out around the city with friends, drove up to our hotel in Valparaiso (just south of the Michigan border), and shot two features in one day on different sides of the state.  Truly one of our most productive days – we were in total work mode.  After shooting with Mike (one of our previous Limelights) on the western edge of Michigan in the morning, we drove three hours east to Ann Arbor, a cool little college town, home to the University of Michigan.  Joey met us in a tiny gas station parking lot downtown.

It was a long day and we were getting tired from the tight schedules and long hours in the car, but we all lit up the second we pulled into the parking lot and saw this gorgeous wagon sitting there waiting for us.  We parked and eagerly jumped out of the car to introduce ourselves and get to talking with Joey.  Right away, he struck me as the most interesting and knowledgeable Subaru enthusiast we’ve come across thus far.  Seriously, I have never met anyone that has this much random information about Subaru or even just cars in general.  He’s from Detroit, so I guess it comes naturally.  Joey’s also hilarious and a great time to be around, which definitely helped make the feature more entertaining.

Our first shoot location was under a highway overpass along a river.  After several different shots and confused passersby, we headed out to get some rollers on a nice winding road lined with trees.  These were some great rolling shots thanks to the scenery – and obviously the subject.  CJ was laying halfway out the back of our rental Nissan Rouge while holding his camera a foot above the ground.

The story with this one starts in the Spring of 2013.  Joey traveled to Columbus, OH to pick up this 2003 WRX Wagon with 106k miles.  It had minimal modifications like struts and exhaust, and it made for his perfect daily driver for the following two years.  Joey has collected a wide array of parts for his car and has created a masterpiece over the years – would ya just look at it?

The main attraction I have for this car is probably (definitely) the sedan widebody conversion.  Joey’s wagon is one of my biggest inspirations for my own wagon and studying it in person really reassured me of my goals.  The sedan widebody conversion is a huge and expensive project.  Wagon owners go to these lengths to do this conversion because if you haven’t ever noticed before, the wagons don’t have the same “flared” fenders like the sedans do.  This widebody conversion consists of putting sedan front fenders, front bumper, rear doors, swapping rear door glass (the wagons and sedans have slightly different sized rear windows), and most significantly, a quarter panel transplant.  Most wagon people who attempt to widen their cars just do the front end because it’s easy.  Few have done the full conversion, and when they do, it looks incredible.  In my opinion, it’s the perfect “widebody” option for these cars.  Nice, subtle and OEM-styled, just how I like it.

Another quite impressive project Joey has taken on with his wagon would be his EJ207 swap.  It was an S204 engine with only 11,000 miles at the time that was purchased to replace his original EJ205 at around 150,000 miles.  Joey said the main reason for the engine swap was the fact that it was the best stock engine he could get his hands on.  He said it was definitely a bonus that it was out of an S204.  “It’s extremely smooth and has a lot of torque for a two-liter.  Equal length headers change how the car feels.  It’s just a wide powerband.”  After hearing his car while driving behind him, I’m pretty attracted to the equal length noises too.

What really makes me happy about this car is the fact that it is used as intended.  Joey frequents Gingerman Raceway in southwest Michigan and has tons of photos over the years to prove it.  When talking to him, I could tell he cares about results when modifying the car, and how it will perform during track driving.  He built his car for a mixture of track and daily duty, and every part he throws on has a lot of thought put into it.

That brings us to the wheel setup, one of the most prominent pieces of any build.  During the photoshoot, Joey had some gloss white GDB STi RA-R wheels on.  They’re great looking wheels too, which is why he doesn’t use them on the track – his track setup is a set of 17” Mach V Awesomes in gold.  Behind those wheels are some STi Brembos, centric premium rotors and PFC Z-compound brake pads.

Exterior-wise, the most obvious thing about this WRX is the WRC-style livery.  It adds so much flair to the car and looks so exciting racing around the track.  To add to the rally car styling, Joey has a Prodrive front bumper and grille, and a Spec C roof vent too.  He’s done a roof rail delete too, one of the best mods you can do to a WRX wagon, and of course that sedan widebody I mentioned earlier.  What a great looking bugeye, right?

Inside the car, Joey has kept it nice and tame – good for daily driving if needed. He added Evo VIII Recaro seats, an STi shift knob, a Prodrive gauge cluster and a couple Defi gauges.

The next and final shoot spots were outside the University of Michigan.  We positioned the car on the center of this horribly pothole-ridden road lined with trees and got some great shots.  Joey’s wagon is very photogenic, and the livery really pops against his World Rally Blue paint.  We moved the car to a couple other places near the road and rushed to get some final shots in as we quickly lost daylight.  We decided we had enough photos and started planning on where to get some food before our three-hour trek home that night.  Luckily, Joey knew of some good places to go.

We easily spent over an hour, maybe even almost two, just hanging out and talking.  This is usually our ritual after Limelight shoots – it’s nice to hang out and get to know the people we shoot with.  Joey told us all about the local Subaru scene in Michigan and convinced us that we need to get back up there sometime in the future, especially for Gridlife, where Joey puts his wagon to work.

I asked Joey what his inspiration was for his car and the modifications he chose.  It kind of sounded like a snowball effect – pretty much what happens to any enthusiast.  “After putting over 35,000 miles on it in one year I decided that instead of replacing the clutch, I would do a six-speed swap.  That was in the Spring of 2014.  You develop an emotional attachment to it.  It would have been far cheaper to just get a new shell but I fixed it up.  Building the car was to also kinda prove a point – you don’t need stupid low offset wheels, crappy coilovers or eBay aero parts to enjoy a car.”  Although Joey has driven in over twenty track days throughout the years with this wagon, it’s not a serious track car and he doesn’t intend for it to be.  His goal is to keep it a daily-friendly street car that can handle track abuse every now and then.

There are car enthusiasts, and then there are Subaru enthusiasts.  Joey is a true Subaru enthusiast.  He knows more about these cars than anyone I’ve ever met, and sure knows how to build a good one too.  This feature was a great experience for all of us, and it was great to meet Joey as well.  He’s a good guy and an even better source of Subaru knowledge.  His wagon is one of my favorites out there, and I loved getting a chance to see it in person.  Just another reason why we do this whole thing – putting faces to cars we’ve seen online for years and building connections with others like us.

To see more of Joey’s car, build history, updates, and photos of him throwing it around a racetrack, I urge you to check out his blog www.jngarage.com, his extensive NASIOC build thread https://goo.gl/LsY5JA, and of course his Instagram account @jn_garage.  Thank you, Joey, for meeting up with us for this feature, it was an honor!  Check out his current full build list below:

Joey’s 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon Full Build List

Engine/Drivetrain:

• S204 EJ207
• 3 Port EBCS
• Tomikoa downpipe
• Greddy TI-C catback exhaust
• CSF Racing Radiator
• Samco hose kit
• Spec C oil cooler
• Group N Bushings
• Exedy twin plate clutch
• Version 7 R180 suretrac LSD
• Version 7 Limited STi Transmission

Suspension/Brakes:

• Version 7 STi Brembo calipers
• Brembo Rotors
• PFC Z compound street pads
• PFC01 Track pads
• Centric premium blank rotors
• 21mm Front and Rear STi S204/ RA-R Sway bars
• STi Pink trailing arms
• Version 7 STi lateral links
• Ohlins PCV coilovers 7k/5k spring rates
• MSI Front camber plates

Wheels/Tires:

• 18×8.5+53 STi RA-R wheels (street)
• 245/40/r18 Dunlop SP sportmaxx tires (street)
• Mach V Awesome 17×9 +42 (track)
• 255/40/r17 Falken R615K+ (track)

Exterior:

• Sedan widebody conversion
• Prodrive front bumper
• Prodrive grille
• JDM Spec C roof vent
• Cusco tow hook

Interior:

• Custom Evo VIII Recaro seats
• Sti shift knob
• Prodrive gauge cluster
• Defi ZD clubsport
• Defi NS boost gauge
• Valentine 1 radar detector

Words by Ethan Pfab – @supwagon

*some photos taken from Joey’s build thread/website and are used with his permission.

The post It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This – Joey Navarre’s Glorious EJ207-Powered “Troll Wagon” appeared first on MFortyFive.

Many of us to a certain extent know what it is like to put a car (I actually mean project car) together slowly & somewhat steadily. First, you start thinking about what to buy. Next thing you know, your buddy tells you about a car his other buddy has that you might be interested in, however the hook is that you didn’t know what to expect. Then, from there you go buy a car you didn’t plan on buying in the first place, until you start thinking of what it could turn into. To keep the ball rolling, you put a game plan together of what you want to do and you start hunting down parts, doing research, finding some more parts, doing some more research, so on and so forth. All in all, you dive into the build process and from there; the car constantly evolves one piece at a time.

This example I have written out is almost the exact scenario that Miss Aislinn has experienced with her 1995 Subaru Legacy sedan. Looking to replace her 1992 Subaru Loyale, she wasn’t quite sure what was to come next. Low and behold, her friend Clinton-Dale had told her about his friend (along with Aislinn’s future fiancé, Trevor,) was selling a multi-colored, rear-wheel-drive converted Legacy project car with bad headgaskets. Despite the car’s rough features & hurting engine, she fell in love with the second-gen Legacy chassis and went to take a handle on this hot mess (no pun intended.)

Not having a lot to work with after buying the car, in order to drive it somewhat around town, Aislinn popped out the thermostat and ran the original motor for a short period of time. However, that move would be the final nail in the the engine’s coffin. From there, the car had a couple different motor configurations in it before reaching the current power plant. The first engine to tap in was a high compression EJ25/22E for roughly 6 months, then a “hilarious” EJ18/22T Hybrid turbo build for a year and now reaching its current incarnation, a high-compression closed-deck EJ22T block with EJ20R heads.

There was a little more effort that went into the motor this time around. Focusing on a balance between reliability & power, this engine was put together with a jubilee of OEM and aftermarket parts. The shortblock internals consist of the OEM EJ22T crankshaft, STi connecting rods, EJ22E pistons, ACL race bearings, coupled with a Killer B oil pickup system that utilizes an OEM STi oil pan. Keeping the EJ20R heads stock, ARP head studs hold it all together. With the engine’s internal setup being taken care of, a common queue of STi bolt-ons were used for the turbocharger system. IHI VF48 turbocharger & STi top-mount intercooler supply the PSIs and cooling, along with 440cc injectors and Deatschworks DW300C fuel pump, that supplies the fuel needed to make all the witchcraft work together. Packing a full catless exhaust system, air induction goodies and a trick EJ20K STi ECU; this Legacy can bang out it’s rev range all the way out to 8,500RPM – a territory not usually charted for Subaru owners. This advantage can make for good use on the track or for some spirited driving.

I remember having my second-gen Legacies and spending hours figuring out wheel & tire sizes I could run. Whether one size was too small or too big, it was something I constantly critiqued. However, I thought having a 245 wide all-season tire on my wagons was wide; that doesn’t even come close to shoving some beefy 255/40R17 BFGoodrich G-Force Sport Comp-2 summer tires on 17×9 Enkei TFRs with a +45 offset into the somewhat narrow wheel wells of these Legacies. Aislinn wanted to have as much traction as she could get for her car, so the aggressive summer tires with a lightweight wheel was the right choice. Thanks to the Tien Flex Z coilovers and some body bracing throughout the car, it stays completely planted. Now bringing that all to a stop is a set of JDM WRX 4-piston front calipers, slotted front rotors and Legacy SS vented rear brakes.

Just by looking, you’d think this was a Legacy GT – at least that was my first thought. Believe it or not, the car is actually a base model L that had a red front end on it when Aislinn first purchased it. Having some help from a couple good friends, the car received a GT front bumper, GT rear wing, GD STi roof spoiler and an Outback SUS rear bumper. The SUS rear bumper has extra cladding near the bottom to give it a diffuser feel to it – a simple but effective touch. A rare piece Aislinn was able to acquire was the slick big-scooped carbon fiber hood to help capture a little bit more air, not to mention the sheer cool-factor by being a very uncommon part for Legacies here in the states. What pleases me about this car’s exterior is that there have been many subtle additions added on, yet the car retains a somewhat OEM+ look with a few add-ons.

Moving inside, a JDM Subaru Nardi steering wheel mounted to a quick-release system & bucket seats help Aislinn stay in control of the Legacy when driving aggressively. Along with adding her own personal flare to the interior by painting some of the trim a nice silver finish; Aislinn acquired a JDM Legacy center shifter bezel cubby, which in it’s own peculiar way, is one of her favorite pieces on the car. Mr. Wall-E here is just along for the ride.

It’s quite impressive what these cars are able to achieve with the right combination of parts and some backyard mechanics. Pulling several pieces all together to create a fun & functional street car that can put in some serious work at the track all while being, in a way, unsuspecting. Aislinn had mentioned to me that the Legacy has a way of sneaking up on people. “It’s a car that people don’t expect to be fast, but that is half the fun,” she says. I can confidently agree with that statement, one hundred percent. I was given a chance to drive this Legacy, and it is an out-of-body experience being able to rev out so high and to carry that hybrid motor power all the way through. There is still more to be done in all aspects of this Legacy, but as far as I’m concerned, putting together your project one piece at a time and the accumulation of those pieces can one day create something very special.

By Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony

A big thank you to Aislinn for letting us cover her Legacy! Check out her full build list below.

Engine/Drivetrain:
EJ22T short block
STi rods
ACL Race bearings
EJ22E pistons
EJ20R heads
ARP head studs
Killer B oil pickup
Killer B windage tray
STi oil pan
EJ20K (6s) STi ECU w/ ESL daughter board and custom patch harness from ECU to stock Legacy harness
440cc injectors
Deatschworks DW300C fuel pump
TurboSmart BOV, full VTA
STi top mount intercooler
IHI VF48 turbo
UPGR8 silicone turbo inlet
Invidia catless up pipe
Cobb catted bellmouth down pipe
Custom 3″ straight pipe exhaust w/ Cherry Bomb
’00 2.5RS 4.11 manual transmission
4.11 LSD rear differential
Spec Stage 3 6-puck clutch & pressure plate
Kartboy Short Shifter
Group N Trans mount

Suspension/Steering/Braking:
Tein Flex Z coilovers
Enkei TFR wheels 17×9″ +45
BFGoodrich Sport Comp 2’s 255/40r17
’05 STi steering rack
Lightweight power steering pulley
Cusco adjustable rear seat bar
Cusco BD rear strut brace
Kartboy subframe lock down bolts 
WRX 4-pot front brakes
Slotted front rotors
Legacy SS vented rear brakes

Interior:
Nardi Gara 4 steering wheel
NRG quick release hub
Lamco STi boost gauge
Blitz turbo timer
Cobb shift knob
Corbeau A4 front seats
EUDM shifter surround w/ push button storage
18% Tint
JVC head unit
Infinity Reference speakers w/ tweeters
Custom painted graphite trim pieces 
JDM Legacy stainless door sills
WRX pedal covers
Blue LED cluster bulbs
Custom Jersey wrapped door canards and rear deck lid

Exterior:
JDM projector headlights
6000k HIDs
JDM taillights, tinted
JDM clear side markers
Meister R carbon fiber hood
STi roof vane replica
Legacy SUS rear bumper
Legacy GT front bumper w/ fog lights
Zerosports radiator shroud
Zerosports intercooler splitter

The post One Piece at a Time: Aislinn Misener’s 1995 Subaru Legacy Sedan appeared first on MFortyFive.

We exchanged handshakes and talked for a little around Mike’s car, learning a little more about it. I know we say this a lot, but it’s really cool to finally put a face to a car we see on Instagram all the time. I could probably speak for all of us, but is definitely one of our favorite things about doing this whole MFortyFive thing. We drove around and scouted out some shooting spots, but were having trouble finding decent lighting in the park that we paid to get into. The midday lighting was pretty harsh with hardly any clouds so it made it a slight challenge to get pictures that weren’t washed out. We later found a spot outside the park that was decent so we made it work. Mike’s 2006 WRX wagon is one of my favorites I see on social media from time to time.

It’s simple, aggressive, and looks so good from all angles. Mike has done the popular sedan front fenders and the LIC rear flares to fit a meatier tire set up like his 265s which is NOT a common modification on wagons. He’s done a significant amount of work to it.

About fifteen minutes into the shoot we ended up leaving the area to try another location so the photos could be the best they could be. Mike had in mind an abandoned glass factory, which turned out to be quite the spot. It seemed like a location out of Call of Duty or PUBG. We almost spent more time exploring around the abandoned factory than snapping photos and “interviewing” him about the car. Mike knew a good bit about the factory and we were so fascinated at how the workers just left everything there like they would be back the next day – pretty crazy.

Back to the car. One thing that confused me for a while was the color. For the longest time I never really looked closely enough and just assumed it was the typical World Rally Blue with a slightly darker saturation added to the photo.

Little did I know, the car is actually wrapped in 3M Gloss Dark Blue Metallic. Honestly, a great choice in my eyes and Mike did it all himself. I really love a slightly OEM+ color – I might be biased. One thing that really stood out to me on his car is the color matched Greddy Gracer front lip. It’s one of those lips I think is a must for the hawkeye generation – kind of like the Cusco GT lip for the blobeye generation.

For wheels, Mike has 18″ x 9.5″ Rays Gram Lights 57DR wrapped in 265/35 Federal 595 RS-R tires, giving the car much more capable speeds around corners.

For suspension, Mike has done ISC coilovers, Cusco and ISC camber plates, and one of my favorite modifications, the Whiteline adjustable sway bars, just to name a few. Under the hood he has the stock EJ255 power plant on a VF48 turbo. A Grimmspeed AOS, Koyo radiator, STi pink fuel injectors, GFB blow-off valve, and many other bits make this WRX a very lively and fun street car.

His interior hasn’t been left untouched either with bits like a Sparco leather steering wheel, Bride Digo seats, STi gauge cluster, a 2015 STi arm rest, galaxy-wrapped headliner, and much more make it a pleasant place to be.

I asked Mike why he chose a Subaru in the first place, “I’ve always loved rally cars growing up, but something caught my attention with Subarus. The sound and looks of them of them I just loved. I remember seeing a pretty-much-new World Rally Blue bugeye that was modified and that’s really when I started looking into these cars.” Mike got his wagon around January of 2016 just about stock. The car has a come a long way in almost three years. Mike’s favorite thing about the car is the boost, but also loves the handling and all-wheel-drive.

He no longer daily’s the car but when he did, he had a blast doing so, especially in the Midwest winters. His favorite modification to the car as of right now would be the discontinued LIC Motorsports rear flares. A very popular fender upgrade, which you don’t see them on wagons too often, but it works quite well to flow with the rest for the car. Mike is actually at 154k miles on the original block as of now, which leads me into his future plans. A closed-deck set up and STi drivetrain is in Mike’s future as well to make things a little more exciting and interesting. We had a blast hanging with Mike. We ended our shoot with him by doing some rollers in our usual fashion.

I really started enjoying rollers and learning through CJ how to properly shoot a car in motion. Huge thanks to Mike for agreeing to meet up with us, grab some photos, and exchange stories about our lives with the cars we enjoy so much. To keep up with Mike’s WRX wagon and all of his shenanigans give him a follow at @aayyy_wrx on Instagram. Can’t wait to get back up the Midwest and hang with everyone sometime in the future!

By Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs

Mike’s Full Build List:

Engine/Performance:

Stock EJ255 with VF48
Grimmspeed AOS
Koyo Radiator
Mishimoto Racing Thermostat
STi Top Mount Intercooler
STi Pink Fuel Injectors
Perrin Cold Air Intake
Grimmspeed EBC
Subtle Solutions Turbo cChimney
GFB BOV
Killer Bee Oil Pickup and Baffle

Wheels/Suspension:

Rays Gram Lights 57DR 18×9.5
Federal 595 RS-R 265/35r18
ISC Coilovers
Cusco Front Camber Plates
ISC Rear Camber Plates
Whiteline Front & Rear Adjustable Sway Bars
Whiteline Endlinks
Cusco Front Strut Bar
Whiteline Rear Strut Bar
Subframe Lock Down
Whiteline Differential Bushings
Whiteline Anti-lift Kit

Exterior:

3M Dark Blue Metallic Wrap
LIC Motorsports Rear Flares
OEM Sedan Front End
LED C Headlights
JDM STi Side Skirts
Rear Wiper Delete
STi Rear Diffuser
APR Carbon Plate Surround
Greddy Gracer Front Lip

Interior:

STi Gauge Cluster
Cobb V3 Accessport
ATI Triple Gauge Pod
Subtle Solutions Gauge Pod
Cobb Short Shifter
VMS Carbon Shift Knob
JDM Red LED HVAC Controls
JDM Hazard Button
NRG Hub & Quick Release
Sparco Leather Steering Wheel
Bride Digo Seats
STi Floor Mats
2015 STi Arm Rest
Galaxy Headliner Wrap

The post A Car Meant to be Driven: Mike Myers’ 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon appeared first on MFortyFive.

Over the last month or so my car has been under the knife getting some changes done. Since getting a warehouse/office space with @projectpriime I’ve been seeing more and learning more about vehicle wraps and the positives and negatives. My paint was in pretty rough shape believe it or not. News flash, anything can look great over Instagram. I had swirl marks everywhere, dents, and a bunch of imperfections. To get a proper detail it was a lot of money… a lot of money. One day I traded my RS hood for a silver WRX hood which is how all of this started. I talked to the guys about wrapping my hood black temporarily until I decide to paint it and/or wrap the whole car. We talked and I came to the realization that a full vehicle wrap was the route I needed to take if I wanted my car to truly start looking better. I personally am not the biggest fan of wraps. When I hear about or see a wrap, I immediately think of an “internet build” – crazy flashy color, 3 piece wheels, bags, etc. I’m not hating… it’s just not my taste. We settled on the @averydennison Gloss White. White goes with any color wheels and looks so good all the time. I learned about the benefits of wrap and the negatives (honestly not really any negatives). I told the guys they could take their time with the car since they have a crazy busy schedule shooting commercials, event coverage, etc. Here we are over a month later. The depth and color looks just like paint without the headaches of owning a freshly painted car. I could not be happier. During the wrap I ended up swapping out my red Recaro seats for one Bride Zeta 2 as well. I was really itching for a fixed back and have heard great things from fellow Zeta 2 owners. I also had the rear half cage and Hella horns powder coated a silver diamond which is perfect to accommodate the white. I also sold my SBC Enkei RPF1s and just ordered new wheels through @thomsonsss at @systemmotorsports which should be here in a month or so. So excited for this change. Still so much to do before the big Tail of the Dragon trip as well as Simply Clean and/or Subaru Mega Meet. Huge thanks to everyone who has been involved #MFortyFive

Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs

The post MFortyFive Journal Entry – Zach appeared first on MFortyFive.

I met Jake through mutual friends, probably back in mid-2014.  We lived in neighboring towns on the north side of Indianapolis, and I would see his car at meets frequently.  I remember when he first got this hatch too.  It was silver and slammed on Rotas and had a ton of performance mods that I didn’t understand at the time.  I would watch him three-wheel the car while pulling into the meets and see everyone turn and stare at it.  I didn’t know him well, but I could tell his hatch was pretty serious.

A couple years passed, and I found myself living in south Florida.  Jake lived in the Jacksonville area and I assumed I would eventually run into him at a show somewhere.  I did.  Seeing the car again after it was wrapped and had some more work done was pretty cool, since I remember what it looked like in the beginning, before the wrap and most of the major modifications.

I’ll admit I was very excited to meet up with Jake in Indiana to finally shoot his car for the blog.  He was always a good option in the back of my mind since we started the blog, but ended up moving away before we got a chance to shoot.  It ended up working out nicely for this photoshoot though!  We met up in his area and followed him to a nice shoot location under a bridge next to a river.  It was our first full day in town, and we were all loving the Midwestern climate much more than the miserable heat and humidity of a south Florida summer day.  During the shoot, Zach and I talked to Jake and got some closer looks of his wild WRX.

Clearly this hatch has a lot going on.  When looking at cars though, my attention is always drawn to wheels first.  Jake’s car rolls around on some new 18×10.5” -10 BC Forged LE10’s, with some nice 265/35 Nitto Invo tires.  To ease the headaches of fitting such wide, low offset wheels, Jake has a set of HT Autos fender flares – probably my favorite style flares out there for the GR.  Hiding behind those wheels are some STi Brembos with DBA 5000 Series 2-piece drilled/slotted front rotors and DBA 4000 Series drilled/slotted rear rotors, ready to handle any intense braking after some quick pulls.  Jake has a sponsorship with BC Racing and proudly runs the BR Series coilovers from them as well as those gorgeous BC Forged wheels.

Under the hood is where things get serious.  This WRX has an extensive list of mods as you can tell.  IAG Performance Stage 4 Extreme block, ETS Rotated Turbo Kit, Precision 6266 Gen2 Turbo, and the Johnson Tuning flex-fuel kit, to name a few.  He even made use of the factory hood scoop after switching to a front-mount intercooler setup by mounting the oil cooler up top.  Just barely poking out of the hood you’ll see the external wastegate dump pipe he fabricated himself, surrounded by a precisely cut piece of carbon fiber.  The car was tuned by Corbin Johnson at Johnson Tuning, a well-known name out of the Midwest.  Thanks to him, the car makes an astounding 700 AWHP/597 AWTQ at 38 psi on E85, and 545 AWHP/471 AWTQ at 24 psi on 93 octane fuel.  Insane.  Getting to this point was not a very easy task from what Jake told me.  In fact, he hit some pretty big hold ups along the way.

“I bought this car January 2nd of 2014 as a full-bolt-on car with a Blouch 2.5 on E85.  I was not very happy with a few items when I purchased the car, such as the tune.  After doing my research, I had Corbin Johnson tune my car.  After we were done tuning, the car made 430 AWHP and 430 AWTQ.  After getting the car running correctly and at a power level I was content with, I decided to sell the Rota wheels that came on the car and purchase a set of Rays Gramlights 57Xtremes.  This changed the whole look of the car.  I then continued to powdercoat my engine bay components, add a lip kit and make other changes.  Later that year in August due to oil consumption issues, I cracked two ringlands on cylinder two.  After a lot of consulting with my tuner, Corbin (Johnson Tuning), I pulled the trigger on my goal of 650 AWHP.  I went with a closed-deck block and rotated Precision 6266 Gen 2 turbo.  After about a year of anticipation I drove the car home from Six Star Motorsports, whom assembled the car.  After break-in we got the car on the dyno, and after lots of help from Corbin and Fathouse Fabrications working out small kinks and numerous adjustments, the car made 700 AWHP and 597 AWTQ with target boost set at 40 psi.  I was very stoked to have slightly surpassed the goal I wanted to reach, and I have many more plans for this car in the future.”

Obviously Jake could never sustain that power level with the factory 5-speed transmission, which is why the ever-popular ‘08+ STi 6-speed was swapped in.  Jake also threw in the ‘08+ STi R180 rear differential, a custom aluminum driveshaft, a Competition Clutch Stage 4 clutch and lightweight flywheel for a huge upgrade from stock.  The list of mods goes on forever it seems, but you’ll find that at the end of this feature.

The exterior of the car has an aggressive tone and gives off a vibe that says it will put bus lengths on you if you try to line up.  To name a few style mods, he’s got some Downwind Customs side skirt splitter extensions and rear spats, a Liberal Aero Carbon Fiber Front Lip, Bayson R Carbon Fiber side skirt extensions, a Blacktop Aero rear Carbon Fiber diffuser, and a painted Seibon Carbon Fiber hood.  Inside the car are some Sparco Fighter fixed-back seats, some AEM gauges and a GT Spec D-shaped steering wheel, to name a few things.  Another thing I noticed while checking out the car during the shoot was the front splitter.  Jake custom-made it himself and welded it to the chassis to ensure it would never get ripped off or bent.  Having the skills to do your own fabrication work is definitely a good advantage when it comes to modifying a car.

After the still shots were taken care of, we headed over to a quiet road in a business park for some rollers.  Luckily for us, we had a rental Nissan Rogue with plenty of room for CJ to hang out of the cargo area, dangling the camera inches above the road.  Jake’s car looks pretty menacing from the front, and you can definitely hear it coming.  After several passes, we parked and ended up talking for at least half an hour.  That’s one of the things I love about these features – meeting and hanging out with different/new people with each photoshoot.

This feature was a lot of fun for us.  I got to show CJ and Zach around my hometown and shoot with a few friends and some new people as well.  Despite Jake’s car running a little rough and burning oil that day, he eagerly came out to meet us for a photoshoot and led us to a few cool spots he knew.  It was nice to meet up in Indiana this time instead of Florida, and it was cool to see the car out on the street, since I have only seen it parked at shows the past couple years.  We appreciate it, Jake – and thanks for letting us feature your car!  To see more of Jake’s wild WRX hatch, check him out on Instagram @jakefromvaded.

By Ethan Pfab – @supwagon

Jake’s Full Build List:

Sponsors – BC Racing, BC Forged, Johnson Tuning

SUSPENSION/DRIVETRAIN:
BC Racing coilovers
Noname Adjustable Lower Control Arms
Whiteline Toe Arms
Whiteline Front and Rear Sway Bars
SPT Strut Tower Brace
SPT Sub Frame Brace
Whiteline Rear Lateral Braces
Whiteline Rear Diff Cradle Bushings
Perrin Spherical Rear End Links
’08+ STI 6 Speed Transmission
’08+ STI R180 Rear Differential
DCCDPro Center Diff Controller
Custom Made Aluminum Drive Shaft
Competition Clutch Lightweight Flywheel
Competition Clutch Stage 4 Clutch
Torque Solutions Solid Pitch Stop
Perrin Motor Mounts
Cusco Transmission Mount
Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings

WHEELS/BRAKES:
BC Forged LE10 18×10.5 -10
Nitto Invo Tires 265/35/18
Project Kics R40 Iconix Lugs
STi Brembo Calipers
DBA 5000 Series 2 Piece Drilled/Slotted Front Rotors
DBA 4000 Series Drilled/Slotted Rear Rotors
Project Mu NS400 Front Pads
Project Mu NS400 Rear Pads
Goodridge Stainless Brake Lines
Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace

MOTOR:
IAG Performance Stage 4 Extreme block
Outfront Porting, Polishing, and Bowl Blending
Supertech Dual Spring Valve Kit
Supertech +1mm Inconel Exhaust Valves
Supertech +1mm SS Nitride Intake Valves
GSC S2 Cams
ARP Custom 14mm Head Studs
OEM 11mm Oil Pump
Mishimoto Oil Cooler
Mishimoto Thermostatic Oil Sandwhich Plate
SixStar Motorsports Custom Top Mount Oil Cooler Bracket
Koyorad Radiator
Radium Engineering Catch Can
Aluminum Overflow Tank
Killer B Oil Pan Baffle
Killer B Oil Pickup

TURBO KIT/EXHAUST:
ETS Rotated Turbo Kit
Precision 6266 Gen2 Turbo
ETS Front Mount Intercooler Kit with 4 Inch Core
Tial MV-R 44mm Waste Gate
Custom hood dump fabbed by me
Tial Q Blow Off Valve
Grimmspeed 3 Port Boost Controller
Nameless Performance Catback 5″ mufflers/4″staggered double wall tips

FUEL SYSTEM:
Custom Return Style Fuel system
Radium Fuel Pump Hanger Assembly
Walbro 255 Fuel Pump in Radium Assembly
Radium Engineering Internal Pump Surge Tank
Twin Walbro 450 Surge Tank Pumps Each On a Separate Breaker
-8 Feed Fuel Line
-6 Return Fuel Line
IAG Fuel Rails
Injector Dynamics ID2000 Injectors
Dual Fuelab 6-Micron Fuel Filters
Aeromotive Fuel Pressure Regulator

TUNING:
Cobb V3 Accessport Tuned on Speed Density
Johnson Tuning flexfuel kit
Tuning Done by Corbin Johnson/Johnson Tuning
Tuned On The Fathouse Fabrications AWD Dynojet Dyno
700 AWHP/597 AWTQ @38 psi E85
545 AWHP/471 AWTQ @24 psi 93 Octane

EXTERIOR MODIFICATIONS:
Downwind Customs side skirt splitter extensions
Downwind Customs rear spats
Liberal Aero Carbon Fiber Front Lip
Bayson R Carbon Fiber Side skirt Extensions
Blacktop Aero Rear Carbon Fiber Diffuser
Seibon Carbon Fiber Hood Painted
Taillight Red Overlays
Perrin Wing Risers
AVS sleek Rain Visors
Tinted Windows 5% Rear Windows and 15% Driver and Passenger Windows
Matte Black Roof Wrap by B Wrapped
Arlon Matte Navy Midnight Metallic by B Wrapped
Carbon Creations License Plate Surround
Rolled and Pulled Fenders
Engine Bay Powder Coating Done by Shane Marshall @ PCT Coating
Password JDM Fuse Box Cover
Password JDM Alternator Cover
C-light headlights LED
Carbon fiber headlight eyebrows
HID lows, highs, and fogs
Carbon Fiber Front Bumper Side Vents
HTAutos Grill Painted
HTAutos ’08-’14 flares
Aeroflow Dynamics V4 canards
Verus engineering ’15+ STi splitter
Custom chassis mount splitter fabbed by me.
Verus engineering splitter rods

INTERIOR:
Sparco Fighter Seats
Sparco Seat Mount Brackets
AEM 50 psi Boost Gauge
AEM Wideband Gauge
AEM Oil Pressure Gauge
GT Spec D-spec Steering Wheel
Pioneer AVH3500BT Head Unit
SMY Gauge Pod Cobb Mount
Alpine Type X Subwoofer
Kenwood Amp
Pioneer Door Speakers
Custom Leather E-Brake Boot
Custom Leather Wrapped Cluster Surround
Suede shift boot
LED Interior Lighting
Viper Alarm with Tilt Sensor, GPS Locating, iPhone Controls
Downwind Customs shift knob
ATI Center Gauge Pod

The post Going All Out – Jake Fisher’s 2011 WRX Limited Hatch appeared first on MFortyFive.

We arrived at the Vancouver, WA Airbnb around five o’clock in the afternoon. A driveway full of Subarus and a house full of friends; we kicked back, relaxed for a bit before we washed up the cars and went on the search for food. After a big meal graciously paid for by an unknown guest at a local Red Robin, we headed back to settle in for the night. Minimal sleep & a lack of coffee lead to a snoozy morning. Nonetheless, we were all pumped to get to the show early at 7:00am. Like many years before, Big Northwest Subaru Meet is held at Portland International Raceway. The majority of us had entered into the car show, so getting in was fairly quick for the most part. This year around, the car show participants were placed down the drag strip, making for a nice backdrop for the massive amount of Subarus to arrive. From there, we were staging up and preparing for the all-day party to begin.

For some, BNW is the show where all the long-term projects, race cars and show cars come out of the woodwork. This is the type of show where you are bound to see something you really love – this year was not about to disappoint. A multitude of heavy-hitter companies came out to join the fun and show off what they had to offer. After my friends & I parked for the show and cleaned up, we went ahead to go look at some of the booths. One of my favorites is the Perrin Performance booth. Between sweet engine displays and showroom cars; they do a fantastic job at showing off their products. One of their cars was easily my favorite BRZ at the show! On top of the licence plate reading out “PEAR-N” (clever, right?), these Volk-Rays TE37SL’s with highlighter yellow decals really completed this car for me! Clean and simple, to the point.

Over at the Grimmspeed booth, along with previous Limelight feature Justin Chapman and the big-winged Crosstrek, is another show favorite for me; a built 2004 Blobeye STi decked-out with Grimmspeed goodies and many other track-ready bits. Seeing this monster motivates me beyond belief to clean up the Impreza that much more, along with finish up my STi headlights I have sitting in my garage. On top of that, the meaty track tires and wing hanging out in the back establish that this car means buisness!

IAG Performance had also made an appearance with a wild-colored 2016 WRX rocking a MASSIVE front mount intercooler hiding behind the front bumper. Next over, a full STi-swapped & bagged 2004 Forester XT that floats between form & function while still keeping clean.

Cobb Tuning & Surgeline packed some heat on their lineup. Fully converted Sedan-body and built to the nines, a 2005 WRX wagon with a full Surgeline vinyl wrap sits proud next to an insanely well-put-together WRX Hatch, with some awesome red accents to compliment the red big brake kit and flat grey metallic vinyl wrap.

On the other side of the Cobb Tuning & Surgeline booths, Oregon Subaru Club had a GC Impreza track car as well as other end of the spectrum; a lifted Forester on all-terrain tires, Anderson Design & Fabrication lift and had an entire camping tent that pops out off the roof! It makes me wish I would have had one of those when I owned my lifted Outback.

Subaru of America had put out an announcement a little while ago saying that they were going to bring out a Subaru even more rare then the 22B that would be at BNW. With what has to be the longest model name; the Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec-C Type RA-R has come out to show its stuff. Well-equipped from the factory with Brembo 6-piston calipers, white 18″ Enkei’s, a special interior including Recaro bucket seats, body additions with lips, along with a spoiler and roof vent, and every STi suspension upgrade in the catalog; this Impreza is the full package. Right next to the RA-R, the iconic widebody WRC street car that is the gem of the brand for many enthusiasts; the Subaru Impreza STi 22B. Kept in prime condition by Subaru Technica International, the car looks as good as it did back in 1998. It is a car to commemorate a rally legend and Subaru’s back to back wins in the mid 90’s in the World Rally Championship.

After I picked up my jaw from the Subaru Technica International booth, I walked over to the other side of the event where some more local tuning, performance and service shop booths were located. One car I have been dying to see in person is Horizontal Motorsports Steve Hamann’s Legacy SS drag car. Big turbo, drag slicks, a bottle of NOS in the back and ready to hurt some feelings. One thing I enjoy about this car is in the interior, the old square dashboard has been swapped out for a more modern GD STi dashboard. This car holds a certain presence just parked, I can only imagine what its like when it is ramped up and ready to go.

I took some more time looking around, spotting a blobeye STi track car that Colonel Red Racing brought to BNW. Another local group, Mountain Roo, brought a lifted Forester on what looked to be 33″ to 35″ tall tires propped up on some boulders, showing off just how much flex this off-road rig had! Quite badass, if I say so myself.

After having some time for the car show to fill in, I headed back over to see who had arrived and was representing their builds. You look down the rows and see all sorts of various builds, leveling in track, show, off-road, classic, you name it!

When my friends and I were heading into the show originally, I had spotted a build that wasn’t like anything I had seen in person before. I came across what was a Colin McRae WRC Tribute Car build and it left me absolutely speechless; especially seeing on the display boards that this beefed-up Impreza started out as a crunched-up 1997 Impreza L! I had talked to the owner, Jordan Shaw, for a brief moment and learned that this car had a Compound Bi-Turbo engine setup that gave it an immense amount of power all the way through the rev range. Making somewhere in the area of 425-450 whp, I had scooped up his info to be able to look more into this beast later. I couldn’t possibly get all the details then and there, but this will surely not be the last we see of this car.

Making my way down the show, I took some time to visit with Chris Porter and his wildly-bright and show-ready 2003 WRX. I remember meeting Chris back in 2016 at BNW when the WRX had recently finished up getting its bodywork redone with a freshly painted Sonic Yellow body and fitted flares. Needless to say, the car has had some serious changes since the last time I saw it two years before.

After I had some walk around time looking at the rest of the amazing car show entrees, I was able to check out the autocross event they had going as well and was able to snap a couple action shots of Subies dodging some cones!

All in all, Big Northwest Subaru Meet was a success in my eyes. Between all the awesome cars, talking with various owners and enveloping in the community; it’s these times that I will remember and look back on for years to come. I look forward to what is to come next year, as with time, cars and other builds will evolve to the next level. I have faith that the next BNW will be even better and that the Pacific Northwest will continue to show why it is the Subaru Wonderland.

By Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony

The post Big Northwest Subaru Meet 2018 – Subaru Wonderland appeared first on MFortyFive.

So as most of you know my car has looked a little wack lately and you might be asking why or saying nothing but “sweet 240RS” – I couldn’t agree more. I recently acquired a WRX hood which is aluminum instead of the factory steel hood that is actually a pretty significant weight difference. I ordered a KSTech vent instead of the factory hood scoop – better ventilation and looks sweet. The car will be getting disassembled for a color change starting Monday of next week by my good friends at @projectpriime. I love Regal Blue Pearl but it needs a serious amount of work to bring it back to it’s full life. The half cage will be going to powder coating during the wrap as well. My Recaro Speed seats are sold and I’ve gone with a more simple fixed back seat I’ve wanted for a long time. So much more to come in preparation for Tail of the Dragon and @iamsimplyclean Daytona. Be sure to follow the progress at @momentum.rs

Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs

The post MFortyFive Journal Entry – Zach appeared first on MFortyFive.

After 5 Home Depot trips for miscellaneous hardware bits and patiently waiting for my Recaro Pole Position and seat accessories to arrive from 3 different parts vendors, I finally installed it (Only took like a month lol). I sit maybe 5-10mm lower compared to the OEM seat, which is good because I dislike how low @momentum.rs ‘s seats are, just personal preference. I might lower it one notch after some more seat time, and obviously I don’t slide side to side anymore because of the more aggressive bolsters. The shoulder bolsters are semi aggressive too, to the point where it’s uncomfortable keeping your right hand/arm on the center arm rest. It’s more comfortable keeping both hands on the steering wheel and/or the shifter. I feel more engaged with the car, and based on the seating position/angle, the shifter is now in the perfect location for my hand to reach. Also, I now have a better feel for the pedals, because of how the seat shapes the lower part of your torso and legs. My rev-matching is now easier than before, and it’s easier to do it more consistently. I don’t have a need to recline the seat back or forward, and I feel my core working now. Oddly enough, it’s a very comfortable seating angle at the same time. Just overall, it improves my posture, shifting, and improves the driving aspect of the car. 10/10 would buy again.

CJ Kiser – @tryhardsti

The post MFortyFive Journal Entry – CJ appeared first on MFortyFive.

We got to the beginning of the trail and CJ got all situated in the back of the Element, ready for some off-road rollers. I really enjoy driving off-road so I was having a blast. We stopped a few times for some still shots with the wild Florida background and to chat about some of the key parts that make this crazy Outback into what he has envisioned it to be. Joel explained he has an Anderson Design Fabrication 2” lift with Front King and RalliTek overload springs to get the ground clearance he needs on more advanced and technical trails. Usually you see the popular Method Race wheels on most off-road Subarus these days but he went with an OEM+ route – 2016 WRX wheels with 245/65/17 Falken Wildpeak A/T tires which give it another 1” lift as well.

The whole underbody is equipped with Primitive Racing triple armor plating which covers the front, mid, and rear differential to protect the underbody from rocks or anything he may come across on his overland adventures. As we started getting further into the trail, Joel radioed us informing of an optional water crossing. As expected, he showed off his trail-baru going through a pretty deep spot of water. He made it look effortless with it being the 2.5 flat-4 with the other variant being the more powerful 3.6L H6.

My personal favorite modification Joel has done would have to be his rack set up. Mounted to the factory Thule crossbars, he has a Yakima MegaWarrior Basket with a spare tire mount, custom fabricated attachments for his ARB 2000 Awning that not only has the awning itself, but Joel upgraded to the Deluxe Room which turns an awning into a little living space. Unfortunately it was too windy for Joel to pull it out so we could get a picture but man, are they ever cool.

8.5 miles in, we ended up making our way to a small lake with nothing but algae and lily pads on top. Apparently it’s an extremely popular alligator breeding ground and all you could hear were alligators grunting and thunder in the distance. Not to mention see a bunch of alligators cruising around in the water.

A typical afternoon thunderstorm was closing in on us and we were, as I said, 8.5 miles in on the trail. We decided it would be a good idea to start heading back to the main road since we had a front-wheel drive Honda Element that would probably get stuck in some of the lower spots if it were to downpour.

We stopped at a few more neat spots for some still shots but our stomachs were starting to growl, as were the Florida skies. Joel had one more stop in mind on Lake Okeechobee where you could see a great portion of the lake on top of a big hill. CJ quickly grabbed some shots of the Outback so he or us wouldn’t get eaten alive by the mosquitos, which are a big problem down in the Okeechobee area.

Roughly 20 minutes later, we made it to a local restaurant for some brews and burgers. Over dinner we learned Joel has had 2 other Subarus before his current Outback, one of them being a 2012 STi and the other a 2009 WRX. We were curious why he’d rather have an Outback over the more exciting and/or typical WRX or STi’s. He said, “It’s utilitarian for everyday lifestyles. You can throw anything at it, especially for my work – load it up with aircraft stuff and travel farther than a WRX/STi.”

“It’s very fuel efficient as well – another reason it’s super adaptive to any terrain once you slap a lift kit, all-terrain tires, and other modifications that are included on my build. This heavily-modified overland Subaru gets 22-24mpg on the highway, compared to a lifted Jeep Wrangler which gets 15-18mpg.” Joel and I bonded over our love for the Toyota Tacoma’s and 4Runner’s talking about how bad we both want some. Joel says he’d love to do an overland build on a Toyota 4×4 but he said it’s so hard to justify spending another $10k on something that doesn’t get as good of gas mileage and is just as capable as his Outback – he’s right. Joel has a good bit of future plans for the Outback as well.

He mentioned a new custom stainless catback exhuast, an upgraded set of bigger brakes, a dual battery setup for more power supply needs for things like a travel fridge, HAM radio, and outside surveillance lighting. After a solid day of off-road adventures and fun, I was dreading the long drive back home in the now dirty Honda Element. We had a blast of a day driving through the southern Florida terrain. It definitely makes me want to do more coverage on off-road prepped Subarus in the future. Huge thanks to Joel for meeting up with us and taking the afternoon to hang out. Check him out on Instagram at @fl4tout772 to see and learn more about his overland prepped Subaru Outback.

By Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs

Joel’s Full Build List:

Wheels/Suspension:

Anderson Design Fabrication 2” Lift Kit

2016 Subaru WRX Wheels

Falken Wildpeak All-Terrain Tires 245/65/17 – 1” Lift

Front King Overload Springs – .75” Lift

Rear RalliTEK Overload Springs – .75” Lift

Exterior:

SSD Rally Lightbar Bracket

Yakima MegaWarrior Roof Basket with Spare Tire Mount

ARB 2000 Awning with Deluxe Room and custom attachments

Aviation Radio Base Antenna

Round 8” LED Light Pods – 4

JDM Grill

Trailer Hitch with 1UP Super Duty Bike Rack

OPT7 LED Low Beam and Fogs

Partially Smoked Taillights

Primitive Racing Triple Armor Plating Package – underbody with SnoShield cover

5% Tint – Rear

15% Tint – Front

Miscellaneous:

SPT Oil Cap

Optima Redtop Battery

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