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.

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 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

The post Not Built For Soccer Practice Runs – Joel Hernando’s Overland Prepped Subaru Outback appeared first on MFortyFive.

I’ve been looking forward to the day I get to write about my own car.  I know it’s incredibly cliché, but it’s a love/hate relationship.  I’ll just say a lot has happened to it and with it these past three and a half years.  Dozens of road trips; Indiana to Florida, Florida to Maryland (a few times), South Carolina, Virginia, a few trips to North Carolina/Tennessee (for the Tail of the Dragon, of course) and all throughout Florida for car shows.  I’m quite proud of it, especially in the current state.  It’s taken a lot of time and effort to get it where it is now, and I’m glad I can finally get the wagon some attention and show it off.

My wagon’s predecessor was an Obsidian Black Pearl 2007 Impreza 2.5i sedan that I still miss dearly.  It was my first car that I drove, abused, worked on, rallied, stanced and enjoyed, and I would certainly not have my WRX without owning that Impreza first.  That car is what sucked me into the Subaru world and culture.  The funny thing is, selling it hadn’t even crossed my mind until the night I saw my WRX for sale on Craigslist.  Less than three weeks before I got the wagon, I bought a 1981 Volvo 242 as a project car due to boredom with the Impreza, so I had absolutely no plans to get another car.

My old 2.5i in its prime, Fall 2014.

I frequently go on Craigslist just to see what’s out there – it’s just fun for me.  I like looking at cars.  I remember very clearly how it all went from the night I found the ad for the WRX to the night I drove it home about a week later.  It was early January 2015, and I was living in Fishers, Indiana at the time.  In the back of my mind, I was interested in owning a WRX wagon for a while – which led to me searching every now and then to see if any popped up.  On that fateful night I found this mint 2006 Impreza WRX Limited Wagon with only 82,000 miles that was posted just hours before I found it.  I still wish I had the screenshots from the ad, but the car looked great.  Bone stock of course, black leather interior, sunroof, cold weather package, and basically every single other option you could get from the dealer back then.  I texted the owner on impulse, excited to see where this would go.

The night I drove the wagon home.  This was the very first fuel fill-up.

We ended up meeting the next morning at a Starbucks on my side of town.  It was a very cold morning with snow and ice still on the ground, and I headed out of the house with a smile on my face.  It turns out the owner of the car was an older gentleman who bought it for his wife brand new back in late 2005 from a dealer in Chicago.  I test drove the car and looked over every inch of it before we parted ways.  I was in love, and I knew it was the one.  After our meetup, I scheduled an appointment to have a dealer do a mechanical inspection, since my knowledge at the time was very limited.  During the inspection, the owner handed me a folder that had to be at least two inches thick, full of maintenance records and information.  I love old people owned cars – this guy had record of every single oil change the car had ever had, among other more significant things as well.  The inspection went well, and there was nothing at all wrong or needing attention.  That sealed the deal, it was time to bring my dream car home.

What a fun commuter car!  Parked safely in a corner at my school’s parking garage, downtown Indianapolis, IN.

I left the car stock and untouched for about a month.  After a few days though I ripped off those protective hard plastic strips around the edges of the doors and fenders, if that counts as “touching” it.  Basically, the first month or so of driving the car around I learned what a manual, turbo, AWD car felt like.  I learned how to shift it properly, what RPM range was the most fun, how it handled snow (amazingly), and just spent the time enjoying such a drastically different car than my last.

My unstoppable winter setup – beefy snow tires on ’04-’05 WRX wheels.

I remember my first modification on it was my SPT intake, a part my good friend Drew recommended.  I was new to the turbo life, and he was the only friend I had with a turbo Subaru, (a blobeye wagon actually) so we became better friends pretty quickly.  After that, I remember I had some ‘04-‘05 WRX wheels with some beefy snow tires on them in my garage, so I plastidipped them black and put them on the wagon.  It was such a blast in snow, I really miss those days.  Next up, I put the coilovers I had on my Impreza onto the wagon and attempted to do the front brakes.  Things were starting to happen!  I had a set of 3SDM 0.06’s that were ready to go on the wagon from the Impreza as well, and I ended up keeping this setup for over a year.

Aired out on my Rotiform SPF’s at H2oi 2016, Ocean City, MD.  Photo by Eli Mullen – @elijah.mullen

Aired out at the Florida Subaru Mega Meet, December 2017.

Our second trip to the Tail of the Dragon, photo from the TougeFest article, November 2017.

Throughout the years, I’ve had probably five sets of wheels on the car, three sets of coilovers and an air suspension kit, three exhausts and several different exterior modifications.  Currently, my favorite exterior modification would probably be my rear flares with my roof rail delete being a close second.  I give CJ credit for the reason I even got these flares.  He showed me them online and it got me thinking.  I eventually saw a WRX sedan with them and my mind was set.  I had the typical quarter panel rust on both sides, so I figured it would be a good time to get that cut out and replaced with fresh metal with the flares molded on top.  A local body shop did all the work and did an outstanding job molding them and color-matching them.  It’s a shame I’ll end up cutting out the quarters again for the sedan widebody conversion though… More on that later!

Other notable exterior mods of mine include my APR carbon fiber exhaust heat shield, my HT Autos side skirt extensions and rear valences, my JDM tail lights (although it bothers the hell out of me that the rear fog light is on the wrong side for a LHD car), and my bright white Work CR Kiwami’s.

I originally bought these wheels when I was bagged with stretched tires.  It was for a new stance-y style, coming from Rotiform SPF’s.  I went from running a 215/40 tire on the 18” x 9.5” +30 wheels to a 265/35 tire – a massive difference.  How on Earth could I fit 265’s on a [kind of] stock-body wagon?  A LOT of camber and height adjustments.  I’m running about -4 degrees of camber up front and around -3 degrees in the rear.  I have camber plates on the coilovers, adjustable lateral links in the back and two sets of camber bolts up front to achieve this.  Yeah, the car flops all over the road with this much camber and tire, but it sure looks good.  One of the reasons I left air suspension for Fortune Auto 500 coilovers was to be able to run wider tires and have a more firm and stress-free suspension setup.  I love bags, don’t get me wrong, but it just makes more sense for coilovers with the direction I plan on going.

I didn’t really get into the performance side of modifying the car until early 2017.  At this point I had only gone as far as a Cobb OTS Stage 2 map with an exhaust, downpipe and intake.  The single insignificant event that led to a mountain of work and parts was my secondary air pump valves failing and throwing that pesky CEL.  (F.Y.I. my check engine light has probably been on more than off in the past year – just Subaru things.)  Since doing an air pump delete with block off plates seemed a bit more involved than I was prepared for, I took the car over to Circuit Motorsports in Orlando to get that taken care of, along with getting the car protuned.  While it was there, I learned my stock TD04 had bad shaft play.  Awesome – time to throw it out and do something cool.  I bought a round of parts consisting of a low mileage VF48, a Grimmspeed TMIC, ID1000’s, a Walbro 255 fuel pump, a new intake and a few other things and then got the car tuned.  With all these new parts, I’m at a nice, fun, and safe 320whp/330ft-lbs.  I haven’t done much else to increase power since then, but I do plan on doing flex fuel, equal-length headers and maybe even a front-mount intercooler setup someday in the future.

Whenever I would start getting bored with the car, I ordered a round of parts.  One of the most exciting rounds of parts to me would be all of the chassis-stiffening parts I’ve installed.  Whiteline sway bars front and rear, endlinks, strut bars, Cusco subframe brace, Megan racing H-brace, etc.  These parts really made a difference in the handling of the car, and paired with the new coilovers, it feels like it’s on rails.  I jokingly tell people I built my car for touge runs on the Tail of the Dragon, but honestly, it’s starting to seem like that’s true.  Each time I come back from that area, I know what needs improvement on the car, and I take care of these needs before the next trip and feel my hard work pay off.

Inside the car, I haven’t done anything drastic.  I’ve done a Whiteline rear strut bar, which definitely helped the chassis rigidity and makes the rear end much more tight in corners.  Perhaps my favorite interior piece is my very-hard-to-find Audio Integrations subwoofer enclosure.  Such a small detail to most, but for me it’s quite a big deal.  For nearly three years I drove the car around with a 10″ subwoofer and box falling all over my cargo area.  I finally got tired of it and used a bungee cord to strap it down.  It looked terrible but did the job.  One day, after quite a long time of searching, I came across someone selling their enclosure.  I texted him immediately and offered full asking price.  It’s a perfect fit and doesn’t move around one bit, even on the Tail of the Dragon.  It’s a shame Audio Integrations doesn’t make them anymore, but I am glad I was able to snag one.  Up front, I have a fire extinguisher bracket made to bolt to the front of the passenger seat rails.  This fine piece was made by Dakotah at Endless Horizon Fabrication out of Southern California.  I love my Limited interior too much to gut the car, but I have entertained the idea of getting black leather aftermarket seats at some point, as long as they look similar enough to the rest of the interior.

The title of trying to make it all work is a commonly used phrase of mine when talking about the car.  I learned firsthand that not all sedan things work on wagons.  It may not sound like a big deal to most, but when the parts you want aren’t made for your car it can be frustrating.  My flares and skirt extensions are sedan parts of course, but even when it comes to the OEM wagon parts I still struggle.  For example, trying to fit any wheel wider than 8.5” or 9” wide.  I managed to use as much camber as I could to get my wheels and tires to fit thankfully, but it’s not easy.  The fenders on the wagons are so narrow and boring compared to the sedans that come “flared” from the factory.  This is why I’ve decided to do not only the sedan front end conversion, a common swap among wagon owners, but also the rear quarter panel transplant.  It’s definitely a job for my local body shop, but I’m very eager to start this project.  I’ve always loved the sedans more than the wagons, so I feel like this conversion is a good middle ground.  Aggressive sedan styling with wagon functionality and uniqueness.

I’m starting to get an idea of the craziness the future holds for this car if it doesn’t blow up or get wrecked.  I bought a full STi drivetrain off a local friend along with his sedan quarter panels for my conversion.  ’06 STi transmission, Brembos, axles, knuckles, driveshaft, all of it.  This is it right here, the dream becoming the reality!  An STi Wagon!  In the next year I hope to have the drivetrain swap done and working properly, and the sedan widebody finished.  I’ve been thinking about finally taking it out on a track, too.  My current end goal I think would be to have a very fun, reliable street car I can take on road trips to the Tail of the Dragon and out onto racetracks on weekends.  My end goal often changes though, but this one is a pretty strong one.

Despite my audacious plans with the car, I’m very happy with how it sits now.  It has been reliable enough to drive daily the past few months and it always puts a smile on my face.  Sure, it’s unpleasant, loud and uncomfortable, but I don’t mind anymore.  It means a lot to me and deep down I don’t think I could ever let it go.  I’ve put about 51k miles (currently at 133k miles) on it since I brought it home in January 2015, spent countless long nights fixing and modifying things, and spent countless hours driving it all over the Southeast over the past few years, and I can say it’s been an awesome experience.  Without this car I literally would not have met CJ or Zach, and MFortyFive likely would have never been started.  A lot of people who have bought Subarus after coming from other cars agree when saying the Subaru community is different from any other, and some can even probably describe it as more of a “cult.”  I’m unsure of how this strong worldwide bond started, but it’s definitely responsible for some of my best friendships.  Lastly, a huge thank you to all of the friends who have helped me build up this car over the years to what it is now, especially CJ and Zach, who are always there to lend a hand.

By Ethan Pfab – @supwagon

Ethan’s Full Build List:

Engine/Performance:

VF48 turbo

ID 1000’s injectors

Walbro 255 fuel pump

TGV deletes

IAG block plates (related to air pump delete)

Air pump delete

Cobb SF Box intake

Cobb Post-MAF hose

Tomei turbo inlet

Grimmspeed thermal coated TMIC

SPT turbo heat shield

Cobb EBCS

Grimmspeed AOS

Fumoto oil drain valve

Invidia catless bellmouth downpipe

Tomei Expreme-Ti Titanium catback exhaust

PTP turbo blanket Lava

Grimmspeed alternator cover

Cobb V2 AccessPort

Protune from Circuit Motorsports @ 320whp/330ft-lbs

Suspension/Chassis

Fortune Auto 500 series coilovers w/ radial bearing mount upgrade

9k/7k Swift springs

Oswald Performance lightweight aluminum front bumper beam w/ tow hook

Whiteline 22mm adjustable front sway bar

Whiteline 24mm adjustable rear sway bar

Whiteline front sway bar endlinks

Truhart rear sway bar endlinks

Truhart rear lateral links

Cusco rear subframe brace

Whiteline front strut tower bar

Whiteline rear strut tower bar

Megan racing H brace

Whiteline front roll center kit

Megan racing motor mounts, rear pitch stop and transmission mount

Aftermarket poly shifter bushings

Brakes/Wheels:

R1 Concepts ceramic brake pads

R1 Concepts slotted rotors

Stainless steel brake lines

Grimmspeed master cylinder brace

Work CR Kiwami wheels, Gloss White, 18×9.5 +30

Hankook Ventus V12 tires, 265/35/r18

Muteki SR35 titanium lug nuts

Interior:

STi airbag

STi Momo 5-speed shift knob

STi floor mats

JDM red hazard button

ProSport dead pedal

Kartboy short throw shifter

Audio Integrations 10″ subwoofer box w/ 10″ Kicker subwoofer

Pioneer head unit

Endless Horizon Fab fire extinguisher mount bracket & fire extinguisher

Exterior:

OEM STi rear diffuser

Roof rail delete

APR carbon fiber exhaust tip heat shield

HT Autos side skirt extensions & rear valences

eBay front lip

JDM tail lights

20% window tint

Grimmspeed hood struts

STi front grille badge

STi rear badge

RPG body-molded custom rear flares

The post Trying to Make It All Work – Ethan Pfab’s 2006 WRX Limited Wagon appeared first on MFortyFive.

I first laid eyes on this beautiful example of an STi at the Florida Subaru Mega Meet back in December.  I saw CJ off in the distance taking photos of it and talking to Wigberto, the owner.  Back then the car was static and still was as attention-grabbing as ever.  After Mega Meet, I was hoping we’d meet up again with Wigberto for a full Limelight feature.  I loved his car and wanted to see more of it, so we drove over to Orlando recently to meet up!

When we go out to shoot features, it sort of feels more like we’re hanging out with the owners rather than showing up for a photoshoot and leaving when we’re done.  We often spend more time talking than actually shooting or interviewing.  This feature started off with us standing around in Wigberto’s driveway admiring his STi and his newly-acquired WRB 2008 Forester XT Sports.  It’s his daily, and what a perfect daily that would be.  He was nice enough to let us use it as the camera car for the shoot too!

Our shoot location this time was an unfinished neighborhood entrance.  The long straight road was lined with light posts and had little traffic, so it worked out nicely.  Wigberto parked and aired out right in the middle, and CJ got busy shooting.

Wigberto is no new-comer to Subarus – he’s owned nine other Subarus in the past.  In fact, our second Limelight feature last fall, Michael’s WRB STi hatch, was previously owned by Wigberto!  Despite all of the Subarus he’s owned over the years, this STi is his favorite.  “I chose this one because it’s my favorite year and favorite color, Satin White Pearl.”  He’s had the car for nearly two years now and has done a pretty good amount of work to it.  When he bought it, he mainly took care of the maintenance the car needed and eventually started on some appearance mods, like wheels and suspension.

Wigberto’s STi looks amazing in my opinion.  The wheel fitment with his Karlton flares is perfect.  To get this kind of fitment on a flared sedan, you need some pretty wide wheels.  Like 11” wide.  The car is on 18” x 11” +10 MST Suzuka wheels with 295/30r18 Pirelli P Zero tires.  Yes, 295s.  And I thought my 265s were wide.  The car is on air of course, sporting Airlift Performance’s V2 system with a wood floor trunk setup in the rear.  Wigberto wanted to switch to air after being convinced by Marc (one of our previous Limelight features) to pull the trigger on them.  He chose bags mainly because the car was his daily and he liked the fact that he can just raise it up on rough roads to drive over comfortably.

Wigberto told me that he bought the car with a blown headgasket.  While getting that repaired, he decided on getting the bottom end built and getting some Wiseco pistons, Manley turbo tuff rods, and ARP head studs as well.  Once rebuilt, the car was still having some issues and he even thought about doing a motor swap from something non-Subaru, but in the end he had it fixed up and kept the good old EJ257.  So far, he’s done the basic bolt ons, IAG TGV deletes, a V3 Cobb Accessport, Walbro 255 fuel pump, and a Cobb catback exhaust.  He said the last time he had the car on a dyno, it made 290whp, but he plans on someday building it up to be a 600 hp monster.  For now though, he has been thinking about taking it out on the track as long as he can keep it looking good.

Perhaps Wigberto’s favorite, and the most prominent modification on the car would be his Karlton flares.  These are probably the most popular flares out there for these cars, and for good reason.  He said when he bought the car, the previous owner had hacked up the fenders a little bit and he wanted to fix them.  Wigberto started looking around at flares and fell in love with the Karltons soon after.  He purchased some and found the courage to cut into his fenders for installation.  As you can tell, it all worked out nicely.  Some other exterior mods he’s done are the HT Autos side skirt extensions, rear valences and front lip, along with the Perrin wing stabilizers, and of course, his Vipmotoz C-lights up front.

Inside the car there are some comfy Corbeau seats, suede-wrapped trim pieces, and a nice black headliner that was swapped in.  To complete the all-black interior look, he also swapped in ’05 WRX rear seats.  Once CJ was done with stationary shots, we jumped in the FXT and spent the next 15 minutes going back and forth down that same road for rolling shots.

Like I mentioned earlier, these shoots feel more like meeting up and hanging out with the owners of these cars.  We went out to get some burritos at a spot Wigberto took us to and spent easily an hour and a half sitting around and talking, then standing in front of the cars after eating and talking as well.  His friend with an R32 GTR also came with us, so we spent a good amount of time admiring it and asking questions about that as well.

Part of the reason we love doing what we do is the connections we make.  We’ve made several friends just from reaching out and asking if they want a photoshoot and article written about them.  A photoshoot turns into going out to eat and hanging out, telling stories and talking about cars and car parts.  It’s amazing what can happen by just sharing the same interest in a car, after all, it’s how we got our start.

Thank you to Wigberto for meeting up with us!  Check out more of his car on Instagram @stinkeyewrb!

By Ethan Pfab – @supwagon

Wigberto’s Full Build List

Engine/Performance:

Cobb intake

Cobb downpipe

Cobb catback exhaust

Manley turbo tuff rods

Wiseco pistons

ARP head studs

IAG TGV deletes

Exedy stage 1 clutch

Cobb AccessPort V3

Walbro 255 fuel pump

Protune by Mike Botti @290whp/290 ft/lbs

Wheels/Suspension:

MST Suzuka 18” x 11” +10

Pirelli P Zero tires 295/30r18

Airlift Performance air struts w/ V2 management

Exterior:

Karlton fender flares

HT Autos side skirt extensions, rear valences and front lip

Perrin wing stabilizers

Vipmotoz headlights

Interior:

Corbeau seats

’05 WRX rear seats

Black headliner

Suede-wrapped trim pieces

HKS turbo timer

Kartboy short throw shifter

Wood floor trunk

The post Dedication to the Brand – Wigberto Figueroa’s 2007 STi appeared first on MFortyFive.

In the N/A Subaru world, turbochargers are the go-to option of the forced induction category. Only the few and brave have decided to dabble in supercharging a Subaru. “There are plenty of turbocharged Subarus out there. If you want to have a fast Subaru, just snag a WRX or STi! Why would you even bother supercharging?” Why? It goes against the grain, the norm, the typical! From my perspective, there isn’t anything wrong with a little bit of supercharger whine, especially coming out of a car you’d least expect.

In 2014, Miss Staci Towne was in the market for some new wheels. Driving an Acura Integra that had been on it’s last leg for quite some time, she figured it was time for something more “grown-up“. Exploring her options and with the help of her niece, they looked between a couple different sedans. After doing research into her picks; the Legacy 3.6R was the winning car. Packing Subaru’s signature Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and a beefy 3.6L Flat 6-Cylinder, Staci was sure to have a car ready for any weather the Pacific Northwest would throw at her, along with having the power of a WRX without all the hassles that came with a turbocharged Subaru. However, it was only a matter of time before the Legacy started receiving modifications.

Like I mentioned earlier, Subarus are no stranger to turbochargers. On the contrary, with superchargers, they are. Very few owners have dabbled with them – and Staci is one of those owners. Up until the past few months, the Legacy had some very mild mods throughout her ownership. 19″ x 8″ TSW Nurburgrings on some 225/40R19 Bridgestone tires fill the wheel wells while the car sits on some nicely seated lowering springs, along with a set of classic UR Rally Armor flaps to help protect the paint. Local wrap & vinyl specialists, Wu Wraps, added on some well-placed carbon fiber wrap & clear smoked tint on various trim pieces throughout the Legacy. These include window trim, grille, tail lights and fog light bezels. The exhaust had been modified as well with Kooks high-flow racing cats, a Magnaflow 30″ resonator and Nameless axle-back muffler deletes to give the Legacy some grunt. For a long time, that is how the car rolled. Then Staci was bitten with the mod bug once again, this time in search for more power.

Comparing all the options, she noticed many had traveled down the turbocharger road. This was a very doable option, but Staci was not ready to settle just yet. She had come across a built 5th gen Legacy packing the same 3.6L Flat 6-Cylinder engine her car has – this build in particular was different from the rest. This Legacy was gripping onto a supercharger system specifically designed for the 5th gen Legacies (also know as Liberties in Australia & New Zealand) by Australian-based company, Raptor Superchargers. This is what the car had been missing, but it would not be an easy road to getting the system in the car and running properly. It was now on to finding a local shop that would take on this special project.

Running into the obstacle of convincing a performance shop to shove a supercharger system into a car that looks like only your parents would drive was a feat in itself. Staci was now accustomed to being questioned as to why she was even wanting to do this project in the first place. Being told countless times to go buy a WRX or STi if she was wanting to make power, she trudged through the Negative Nellies and had found success with teaming up with Xtreme Racing Tuning to get the forced induction project underway. Starting out, the Legacy ran the Raptor supercharger with upgraded STi 565cc injectors, a Takeda air intake and Raptor H6 headers. Several tunes were done on the Legacy to dial in all the power just right, however the car was running just a tad too hot for their liking. a fully custom front-mount intercooler system was built for the Legacy and resides right behind the front bumper lower opening. A Greddy blow-off valve was added onto the intercooler piping to allow any extra boost to exit from the system, in turn also adding the sweet chirp when you let off the throttle. Through various setbacks ranging from small tweaks to necessary modifications to ensure the car’s longevity (like adding an external transmission cooler along with a real-time data logger in the form of a tablet to keep an eye on the engine management) the Legacy is now running better than ever, thanks to the continuous support of Xtreme Racing Tuning and Raptor Superchargers. While making small improvements over time, Staci is able to enjoy the sweet and instantaneous power that the supercharger has to offer, while remaining low-key to any others passing by; unless you’re sitting still at idle listening to the car’s noticeable whine.

The Legacy has not set tire on a dyno just yet, but given the countless bits of information given by data logging and multiple tuning adjustments, along with the classic butt dyno, the car has a projected power output of somewhere around 310-320 horsepower running on only a mere 3lbs of boost. Very true does it stand that you could make that number, if not more, in horsepower with a turbocharger system, or even the highly suggested WRX & STi route. Ultimately, those options held no weight for Staci. She told me: “I could have went down any of those routes. My only complaint I had with those ideas was the fact that it was the typical thing to do, but I wanted something different, even if it was gonna be a ton of work!” This build wasn’t about making a ton of power or going the easy way. It was taking an interesting twist on a car that is too often overlooked. Nowadays, it’s hard not to take a peek if you get the chance. The supercharger isn’t the only thing that draws people’s attention. Raptor Superchargers has only sold two 5th gen Legacy 3.6R kits in the world. Staci is one of two in the world to own a supercharged 5th gen Legacy 3.6R. As if that title alone wasn’t enough; Staci drives the only lady-driven and owned supercharged Legacy 3.6R in the world. An honorable title to hold that has been well earned and fought for. The Legacy continues to be daily driven everyday, bringing a smile to Staci’s face and utter confusion to the drivers that are politely shocked as this sleeper sedan pulls away and continually solidifies the car’s nickname The Lead-foot Legacy: Supercharged.

By Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony

Staci’s Full Build List:

Engine/Performance

C-Mod grill
Anzo headlights
RallyArmor mud flaps
Chrome delete w/CF wrap
TSW Nurburgring wheels in 19″ x 8″
Quad Hella horns; Super and Sharptones

Interior

Wood trim wrapped to graphite grey
Brushed aluminum trim wrapped to CF
Tablet to run gauges

The post Sleeping Beauty – Staci Towne’s 2014 Legacy 3.6R appeared first on MFortyFive.

Caleb Wilson discovered his Ebony Mica Black 1994 SVX in 100% original condition with the exception of wheels. At the time, he was not planning on even buying a second car. “I knew I wanted to eventually pick up a second car to work on, I just wasn’t sure what or when that would be.” Caleb says. Going through a phase that many car enthusiasts know, he was sifting through car sale listings when he found the SVX, and after contacting the seller and learning more about the car, it was a done deal. Once the car made it home, Caleb took care of some of the maintenance items that the car lacked. After a couple hiccups with old coolant lines blowing, plus some oil leaks here & there, the flat 6-cylinder sports car was rocking & rolling!

There were many things that made the SVX stand out from the Boxer four-cylinder crowd. Unlike most of its family members, the SVX was powered by a 3.3L flat six-cylinder engine that produced 230 horsepower – more than the Japanese-market WRX was pumping out in it’s time. With this engine choice, the car has a vast amount of torque that you could use in just about any area in the RPM range. Many high-performance styling cues of the 90’s were incorporated into the car’s design. One of the key features the SVX’s have are Giugiaro-styled half windows – originally designed to assist in lowering the aerodynamic drag. When you initially get into the car, it takes some time getting used to the window design, but after a while you can start to see the appeal they have. These differences from the traditional Subaru made the car unique, however these same items steered many away. The SVX can be described as an “acquired taste,” yet when properly modified can appeal to anyone willing to take a second look. When looking at the car in its stock form, you don’t think much about it looking good lowered with some wheels, but once you start to put more thought into it, the possibilities become endless for a truly unique build.

Slowly but surely, Caleb has been chipping away at the SVX with it’s modifications. TSP coilovers and sway bar endlinks help even out the handling a bit, and also help bring the car down to fill some of the wheel gap. Doing away with the tacky aftermarket wheels, 17×8 Enkei RPF1s and 215/45R17 tires take their place along with 25mm spacers to give the Enkeis just the right offset.

A few subtle body parts have been switched and modified; one in particular being the relocation of the rear spoiler an inch & a half back from the stock location. A subtle, yet effective touch to keep the back end clean cut.

One of my favorite features about the SVX is the modified exhaust. Caleb got in touch with Art Welding (local to the PNW) to make a fully custom cat-back exhaust with a Carven muffler and polished Flowmaster quad tips. It is unbelievable how many crackles and pops come out, but I can assure you it leaves nothing but smiles all day long as you blast through town.

As far as the interior goes, not much has changed. An NRG steering wheel & hub give you something nicer to hang on to, as well as a nice touchscreen radio so he can jam out to all his favorite music on night drives with his friends. Other visual changes include window tint, aftermarket mesh grille to replace the stock bar grille, and a nice front lip to make the car that much more aggressive driving down the road.

Like I mentioned earlier, the SVX is not the normal Subaru choice, however for Caleb, that was part of the appeal. “Even though I own one of the most popular Subaru Chassis available, the SVX is in its own class. It isn’t the most popular but it is unique and that is what makes it awesome to own.” For Caleb, it’s the car’s own personal style that makes it a thrill to own. Simply put, it doesn’t look like anything on the road from it’s time. While many dabble in Imprezas, Legacies, and other Subaru models, I hope that there are the few that will keep these interesting cars on the road for all of us to see. It isn’t the conventional Subaru, but that is what makes it so special.

By Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony

Caleb’s Full Mod List

Engine/Performance:

Custom Exhaust with Carven Performance Muffler

Suspension/Wheels:

TSP Coilovers

TSP Swaybar Endlinks

Enkei RPF1 wheels with 25mm spacers

Bridgestone Potenza 215/45/R17 Tires

Exterior:

Small Car SVX Grill

’01 Mustang Front Lip

Interior:

NRG Steering Wheel/Hub

The post Sleek & Stealthy – Caleb Wilson’s 1994 SVX appeared first on MFortyFive.

Justin Chapman bought his Tangerine Orange Pearl 2013 Crosstrek 4 years ago with approximately 32,000 miles on it. With racking the odometer up to just over 100,000 miles now; the car has seen some drastic changes in its time. At first, Justin explained to me that he enjoyed being able to go off-road with the car, but ultimately it was not what he wanted to do with it. Starting out on WRX struts and lowering springs along with white Rota SVN-Rs, the car stayed fairly subtle for a bit. It was a clean, put-together car but not over-the-top bold… yet. A couple months passed and the orange Crosstrek started to really stand out from the crowd of normal Subarus. Like the way of many enthusiasts, lowering springs were switched out for coilovers, one set of wheels were switched out for another set and more subtle changes appeared over time. At the same time this was all happening, Justin was in the middle of another large project. By implementing his original hexagon flow pattern down the side of the car to give it some fun and interesting visuals, this layout helped set the tone for Justin’s newly established brand that would assist bringing custom vinyl layouts (some even DIY) to local enthusiasts – Atypical Designs. After this is where the Crosstrek would take hold of the idea and concept of being atypical. 

Justin has never been a stranger to going outside the box with modifying cars. If you’ve seen his past car, a San Remo Red 2004 WRX, he and with the help of some friends developed a custom rear diffuser, along with doing what was presumed to be the first center-exit exhaust done on a GD Chassis Impreza. Years ago, and a close friend had created a car group called “Atypical”, and the phrase and name has stayed close to him ever since. It was a simple word that represents the idea of embracing originality, no matter what form that came it. “No matter what people think or say, at the end of the day, you can’t be afraid to be different.” He told me. This mindset is what has made Justin’s Crosstrek so unique and original from many other builds. It wasn’t the idea of pleasing anyone, it was doing what he wanted to do regardless of any other outside influence. With that in mind, projects on the orange Subaru took off. 

From both a second perspective and Justin’s, the Crosstrek gives off the vibe of “Time Attack Racecar” meets “stance and show.” Somewhere in the middle of those two completely different categories is where this car resides. He knew what he wanted the car to look like, but one of the biggest challenges he had came from the lack of aftermarket support for the newer Impreza chassis cars, so Justin had to get creative with many of the pieces and modifications. Starting with putting together a new center-exit exhaust to give the car a bit more volume out of the stock FA20, more and more custom pieces appeared. Sporting a newer 2016 front bumper, an aero kit was fabricated that consists of front splitters, side skirts and a large rear diffuser. This takes care of the lower portion of the car, but it is impossible to overlook the massive chassis-mount wing made by Battle Aero planted out back. Through cross-referencing and matching up part numbers, it was figured out that an 08-14 Impreza chassis-mount wing would bolt right up to the car. Most would think “Well, there is no way you can open the hatch now.” WRONG! Although it may seem like there isn’t any way to open the rear hatch fully, the wing will actually tilt back away from the car, giving the rear hatch access to fully open.

The trunk area is where the air tank and compressors for his Airlift V3 air suspension system resides that the Crosstrek now currently rides on. Along with the air system allowing the car to drop all the way to the ground, bright white Enkei RPF1s on 275/35R18 Continental tires tuck nice and neatly up in the wheel wells. Over time, the intricate vinyl layouts have been changed over to a special-designed lower side banner incorporating the Atypical Designs logo has been added. For upgraded lighting, dual-beam projectors were fitted into the stock headlights in addition to an upgraded C-Light system to give the car a more aggressive light setup, while the stock rear tail lights have been switched out with more modern Helix tail lights. Inside the Crosstrek, the basic stock seats have been pulled for a pair of black leather BRAUM racing adjustable bucket seats that have a nice orange stitching to match the car’s bright orange exterior. Adding to that, updated 2016 interior bits have been included in the revamp. Other interior modifications consist of upgraded speakers along with an upgraded Pioneer touchscreen head unit and subwoofer in the trunk area, white painted accent trim to match the white Enkeis and a digital controller for the bags mounted to the left of the steering wheel.  

These are just some of the details that make the orange Crosstrek unique. One of Justin’s favorite things about the car he said had to be the wing, due to the fact it catches so many eyes. “Some people love it, some people hate it. It’s fun seeing the reactions people have, there isn’t very much of a middle ground.” As far as I am concerned, I believe the chassis-mount wing helps amplify the persona this Crosstrek has taken on of having the styling cues of a Time Attack Racecar. I remember a fair share of times visiting him at home and seeing in his garage a multitude of photos of different car concepts that showed their design roots in big, large and aggressive aerodynamic schemes. Having all the inspiration around him while building the car up to what it has become now has had a definitive influence in the car’s changes and will continue to in the future. 

What is next for this loud n’ proud Subaru? Justin and I had discussed a few of the things that he plans to change on the Crosstrek and to put it simply – you will just have to wait and see. However, I guarantee the wait will be worth it! The amount of effort and detail that has gone into this build thus far is amazing. Putting together something that beyond all measure, it is something he can look at and appreciate every single day knowing it was put together by him, for him. Despite his choices not being some people’s cup of tea, that does not matter in the end. I certainly believe Justin and his Crosstrek are a strong, yet humble reminder that there is nothing wrong with being a little bit atypical.

By Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony

Justin’s full build list:

Exterior
2016 Crosstrek Front bumper swap
Custom aero endplates
Custom side skirt extensions
Custom rear diffuser
2012 Impreza front lip
Battle Aero chassis mount wing
Bi-Xenon Projector Retrofit w/LED C lights
Roof rail delete
Gloss black roof wrap
Subaru OEM sport mesh grill
Subaru OEM rain guards
ATYPICAL Designs Side Banners
Helix Taillights
Perrin stubby antenna
15% window tint
De-badged
Hella Supertone horns
GrimmSpeed bro-tie bracket

Engine
Center exit shotgun blast pipes
GrimmSpeed Alternator cover
GrimmSpeed battery Tie-down
GrimmSpeed lightweight crank pulley

Suspension/Wheels
Airlift Performance 3P
Adjustable LCAs (PC’d metallic purple)
Enkei RPF1 18×9.5 +38
Continental Control Contacts (275/35/18)
Muteki black locking lug nuts (12×1.25)

Interior/Sound
Braum Racing ELITE front seats
Planted Technology Seat Brackets
Full 2016 Crosstrek interior swap
Alpine ilx-007 head unit
Infinity speakers
Alpine amp
JBL 10″ sub/box
White painted center console/dash trim pieces
Hardwood laminate trunk flooring

Lighting
5000k HID low beam
5000k LED fog lights
Interior LED replacement bulbs
Multicolor wireless underglow kit

Brakes
R1 Concepts Slotted and drilled rotors with Ceramic Pads

The post Embracing Originality – Justin Chapman’s XV Crosstrek appeared first on MFortyFive.