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Replacing my Jeep Cherokee was a 2002 Subaru WRX. I had considered a large number of cars and decided to just take the WRX out for a test drive for the fun of it. They were brand new in the USA and I had longingly looked at pictures and videos of them in foreign lands for years. A new Subaru dealership had opened and I figured it would be out of my price range but I went anyway. Surprisingly I could get one if I got a bone stock model with no options. That worked out for me because almost all of the options were just performance parts that I’d likely replace anyway.

I had wanted the car in either a Bright Red or Gray, and I wanted a sunroof. They didn’t offer the car in either of those colors and there was no factory sunroof option. So I got it in Midnight Black Pearl.

The first day I had it home I washed an waxed it and removed that lame dealership sticker they slap on there to remind you where you bought it. After waxing around the text on the trunk I decided that de-badging it would be a fantastic idea. So I did that. About a week later after some research I had removed the Daytime running Light module and ordered a replacement grill that got rid of the grill mounted Subaru logo in the front.

I did a lot of modifications.

Engine/Performance:

• HKS Hi-Power Cat Back
• HKS Ceramic Coated Down Pipe
• MRT RamAir Intake with K&N Pannel Filter eventually replace with the stock Airbox with a K&N Air Filter but with the silencer removed
• Custom Grounding kit
• Cobb Stage 2 Reflash
• Custom O2 Sensor Hack

Suspension/Handling:

• Eibach Springs
• Sti Strut Tower Braces Front and Rear
• Sub Frame Locking Kit
• Kartboy Endlinks
• Cobb Tuning Swaybars Front and Rear
• Bronze 17×8 Rota Torque Wheels

Exterior

• Completely Debadged
• Clear Corner Markers
• Corner marker/Blinker Mod
• Replica JUN Eyelids
• Type-S Grill eventually replaced with a replica JDM STi Grill
• Rear Fog Lights
• Fog Light anytime Mod

Interior Controls

• Kartboy Short Shifter
• Kartboy Shift Bushings
• Kastle’s s202 Replica Dead Pedal
• JDM STi Key
• Momo Type-S Shift Knob
• Complete Blue LED Interior Light Swap Gauges eventually swapped back to bulbs with Red covers.
• HKS Type 1 Turbo Timer
• Keyless Door Lock while Running Mod
• One Push All Door Unlock Mod
• Silent Keyless Lock/Unlock Mod

In Car Entertainment

• Alpine Head Unit
• Alpine V12 500W Amp
• 2 12″ Rockford Fosgate Subs in a Sealed box
• 6.5″ Alpine Type R Speakers in Front
• 5.5″ Alpine Type R Speakers in Rear
• Completely Rewired with monster Power and Speaker Lines and HugFen 4X Shielded Pre-Amp Lines
• Custom Dashboard Head Unit mount

I eventually Sold the WRX after College because while it was a great all-season car I really didn’t like the All Wheel Drive in the summer and sill preferred the feel of a genuine rear wheel drive car.

I also reached a point in the modifications where it became a “go big or go home” scenario. Most people I talked to said that while you could put a big turbo setup on the engine the internals really couldn’t handle it and if you wanted reliability doing a complete STi Drive Train Swap was the best option. Putting in a bigger turbo meant you’d need bigger injectors and a bigger fuel pump, if you did that you’d blow the #3 cylinder unless you put on a massive intercooler (and even then you still might) At that point you’d likely blow the clutch and after replacing the clutch you’d either warp the transmission case or blow the Center Differential. And of course if you’re making more go power you need more stop power. And hence the reason it was best to do a whole STi drive train swap.

I decided that if I was going to do a Swap it needed to be the kind of swap that would produce a car that you couldn’t readily buy that way, even beyond performance modifications I had never really liked the way the car looked. Aside from the cool bolsters and nice paint the bug eyes and 4 doors didn’t really do it for me, nor were there any aero kits that improved the cars looks to my liking.

So I bought a Pickup as a winter beater and sold my WRX with enough cash on the side to buy something comparable in a cool looking, 2-door, rear wheel drive package.