I have known Ashlie for about 2 years by now.  Ashlie plays a huge part in bringing our local Subaru group together and socializing within it.  She is always the most communicative in organizing events, meet ups, and everything in between.  She does nothing but good, so we decided it was time to share her passion with others and write an article on her, her car, and of course, her journey.

It was a warm fall November afternoon in southwest Florida.  We met up with Ashlie at one of our local go-to gas stations to create a game plan of where we wanted to go.  CJ had a public parking garage just 30 minutes away in downtown Sarasota in mind for the shoot.  It’s a great place for “urban-style” pictures as long as security cooperates with us.




Ashlie, being the dog lover she is, asked us if she could bring her pup, Freya, along for the afternoon.  Of course we said yes, the more legs the better!  After Freya got hydrated, we were on our way from the gas station to our first photoshoot location.  After dealing with a little bit of “holiday traffic” we finally made it with plenty of time.  CJ worked on getting her car into position so he could start taking pictures, meanwhile Ethan and myself chatted with Ashlie about her beloved 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX sedan.

Ashlie purchased the car about 3 years ago, but this isn’t her first Subaru.  Previously she had a ’98 RS, ’04 Outback Sport, and an ’02 WRX wagon.  She still has the WRX wagon around her everyday, which her boyfriend Frank now owns and keeps running strong.  Ashlie is from Vermont, and as you can imagine, Subarus are extremely popular up there for all the reasons one could think of.  The winters are very harsh with deep snow, mud, and combining that with hills and rough roads, it can really challenge most cars’ capabilities.  Subarus for her were the best thing to get the job done while having fun and being practical.  She never had good experiences with her previous non-Subaru vehicles.  She even mentioned her having to plow their driveway with 4 feet of snow in the bugeye wagon.  Impressive to say the least, but I’m not surprised it was able to do so.  After moving down to Florida, she picked up her 2013 WRX.  She was ready to get into a newer Subaru and wanted something safe, fun, and reliable.  The bugeye had a huge impact on her decision in getting into another Subaru, and she really wanted to start tinkering with one and make it her own, so she did.  Ashlie wanted to keep the car daily-friendly and practical, and I’d say she has done just that.  Once she had acquired the car, she threw on the OEM STi wing with stabilizers to give it a slightly more aggressive, OEM-plus look.  In addition to aesthetics, she’s done a Boosted Beauties rear diffuser, which had to be custom-fitted by her boyfriend since it was made for the ’15 and up model year WRX/STi’s.  She also has a new front lip she recently put on, since her carbon lip got ripped off during a tropical storm this past summer.




Ashlie has also swapped out the stock wheels for a slightly more aggressive setup that suits the look she’s going for.  They are custom powdercoated Miro 365 wheels in 18×9.5 +34, wrapped in 255/45/18 Kumho tires.  The wheels were coated in matte black with a magnetic blue sparkle – a pretty killer color that pairs awesomely with the Ice Silver Metallic paint.  It’s always refreshing to see something different and unique.




To add on to the custom factor, Ashlie and her boyfriend have done a lot of other custom paint work all throughout the car.  Probably the most significant thing would be her headlights.  She baked open her OEM headlights, painted them, put in some aftermarket projectors, and added the Morimoto HID’s and Halos which can change to up to 13 different colors.

For suspension, Ashlie has the stock springs/struts on the car.  I always forget she’s on the stock suspension even though it looks slightly lowered.  She likes the practicality of staying stock for now, but has considered lowering it a little bit and improving the handling.  For now, she has installed a set of the front and rear Whiteline adjustable swaybars, a couple things that really make a world of a difference in the GR chassis.




Now to the performance goodies!  To keep the power healthy and fun, she wanted to stay reasonable.  To start, she has an Invidia N1 exhaust with the Invidia catless downpipe, giving it such a distinct tone.  You really can’t go wrong with it.  Once opening the hood, you will see a variety of eye-appealing colors popping out at you.  Whether it’s her custom painted Perrin radiator/alternator shroud or the gold heat wrap, it all works together and looks great.  For peace of mind, she added the Perrin Air-Oil Separator – a worthy investment to trap oil from the crank case vents before it enters the intake.  It usually results in better intercooler efficiency and reduces the chances of detonation.  So basically, it’s a great preventative mod you can do for your boxer engine.  To add on to the performance list, Ashlie has also done the Perrin top-mount intercooler, Grimmspeed electronic boost control solenoid, Mishimoto inlet, and all the tuning done by Eric at Torque Performance.




The car hasn’t been dyno’d quite yet so Ashlie isn’t totally sure what the numbers are, but that will change soon.  She still has to put on the 1050 injectors and AEM 320 fuel pump, which should add a little something for sure.  For brakes, she upgraded her rotors and pads to the Power Stop Evolution series.  A small, yet efficient upgrade to give her some more confidence out on those spirited drives.  Lastly, the place she spends most of her time – the interior.  She has kept it pretty simple with a few paint-matched trim pieces.  She has a fancy Billetworkz shift knob, along with the Go Fast Bits short shifter kit.  We can’t forget the most crucial part of any WRX owner’s the interior though, the Cobb Accessport.  It’s the best way to monitor anything and everything going on with your engine performance.

Ashlie couldn’t think of what her favorite part of the car is.  She said, “I love the body lines, the power, and the safety for my family.”  We can’t argue with that.  Ashlie is more than just a Subaru enthusiast.  Her lifestyle reflects the brand in every way possible.  Ashlie, being a Subaru Ambassador, loves serving the community in any way she can.




As I said before, she is a very passionate animal lover.  She is a major advocate and donor to groups like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).  Subaru themselves have donated many of their vehicles to transport animals from overcrowded shelters to find loving families, which really shows how much they care.  We at MFortyFive also love what they have done for the community.  We have a major soft spot for our pups and cats, so that’s why we support the ASPCA and make donations as well.  The happier the animals the better!  Ashlie will also start fostering dogs in the near future.  As a matter of fact, her Pit bull, Freya, a very sweet dog to say the least, was her first experiment with training a dog that came from an abusive home and lifestyle.

If only Subaru of America would put Ashlie in one of their commercials!  She is the perfect example of everything a passionate Subaru owner is.  Ashlie reminded of this quote that really resonates with me: “I came for the cars, but stayed for the people.”  That quote couldn’t be more on point with myself and so much of the Subaru community.  To end the day, we went to our second and last photo shoot location out in the country.  A favorite spot of ours to get some rollers, since traffic is pretty minimal and the way the sun hits the area makes for incredible shots during golden hour.  CJ hung out the back of our camera vehicle, while I went live on our MFortyFive Instagram and held CJ by the ankle from flying out the back since he’s a nervous nelly.




He showed us a few of the raw photos after the shoot, and it’s amazing what golden hour can do for just a simple shot.  It was the perfect lighting to really show off Ashlie’s pride and joy and a great way to end the day.  Check out her Instagram account (@bc_rallycar) to see more of her 2013 WRX!  Thanks again to Ashlie for taking the time to hang out, chat, and talk all things Subaru with us.  You rock.

By Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs