I was happy like that for a while but soon the need for a bit more power got the better of me....
I searched about for a while to find the recommended route for the sort of power I was after. I decided on a VF35. This was joined by an STI 8 TMIC, 550cc injectors, 3 port boost solenoid and a Apexi PFC. It was then off to see Simon @ Jolly Green Monster for a remap. The change to the car was awesome. This was backed up by my next trip to see Charlie where the car made 289bhp/270lbft. I was pleased with the results but thought there was a chance it should have gone a bit better. Simon agreed so it was back on the rollers for a tweak to the map. This saw power up to 294bhp and torque jumped to 291lbft. Much better on the torque front but still not quite where we wanted the power. This was put down to boost tailing off very slightly more than it should at higher rpm, so the search was on to findout why.
This extra power required an upgrade to the brakes. This came in the way of some 99 Spec 4 pot calipers, Mintex Extreme Pads and new grooved discs from Godspeed.
While I was looking for the missing few ponies I thought I'd just finish of the looks of the car so a new front splitter was added and after a failed wheel refurb some new rims.
A few months later I managed to find time to go back to the rollers again (having tidied up a few things (Like replacing turbo gaskets etc) for Simon to take another look at the map. It did 312.9bhp / 313lbft.
Soon after that I finally found a set of Crystal Fog Lights to finish off the look of the front of the car a few months ago. I couldn't believe the difference they have made to how the car looks.
The chance to get hold of a Roger Clark fettled Blitz Nur Spec R 3" Turbo Back exhaust was to good an opportunity to turn down so yet again the exhaust was changed... Only the 4th one I've had on the car... But I think I'm happy now!
So with the power, stopping and styling just about sorted it was time to turn my attention back to the handling again... This was pretty much the first thing that had been looked at on the car but since then everything else had moved on a bit so it was about time for an upgrade.
The first job was to fit a set of Whiteline solid droplinks to replace the soggy plastic items Subaru see fit to install. These were joined by a Whiteline 22mm ARB to stiffen up the rear end... All I can say is WOW, what a difference!! I'd been starting to think my old Prodrive Shocks/Springs were starting to get a bit tired! (As it happens they were but I'll get to that in a minute!) To cut a long story short while I was deciding which dirrection to go I came across a Coilover setup from BC Racing. They were getting rave reviews from lots of Impreza owners including a mate of mine. I got him to take me out for a ride and to say I liked them would be an understatement! As luck would have it, on the night I got back from our little test drive a guy on Scoobynet had started a thread to arrange a group buy on the very kit I was now looking for! Obviously my name was added straight away and after a few chats with Bren at Apex my order was placed and the wait was on for the slow boat from Japan!....
So after 7 weeks on a boat....
