I remember periodically visiting the dealership my grandfather worked at when I was younger. I loved sitting in the STi’s with gold wheels and pretend I was Travis Pastrana behind the wheel on the showroom floor. That’s kind of where my love for these cars began. After I started having some problems with my 2004 Honda Civic, I wasn’t intrigued with the idea of putting more money into the car – I was in the market for a Subaru. Originally, I was looking for a clean, lower mileage, manual, minimal rust, WRX – but couldn’t find anything that really made me feel like it was “the one”. After a few weeks of searching I came across my car, a 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS sedan, located a few hours away down in West Palm Beach. After calling the dealership to make sure it was there, my dad and I headed down that afternoon to go check it out. I found it immediately after pulling in and parking in the dealership lot. A few hours and smiles later, we were driving home in my new (to me) Impreza with the Honda traded in.

After acquiring the car, I started doing your “typical” Subaru modifications – Hella horns, Rally Armor mud flaps, and a few other small things. A couple months later, I ended up with some 11-14 WRX wheels that I loved. I ran those for a solid year, and eventually plasti-dipping them vintage gold (I regretted that). I still wasn’t sure on the direction I wanted to go with the car yet. I really enjoyed whipping it around dirt roads and going exploring, but I was getting eager and inspired to lower the car. A few of my 240SX friends had coilovers and kept pushing me to pull the trigger on some. Doing the suspension was, and probably still is, my favorite modification yet just because of the massive difference it had on the appearance and handling.

After the new year of 2017, I got my hands on a set of OEM gold 5×100 BBS STi wheels from a good friend of mine. I was really digging the OEM-plus look and started thinking that would be the direction I’d go – staying moderate and simple.

April rolls around and we have already launched MFortyFive and booked our stay in Fontana Village, NC for Boxer Takeover 2017 at the Tail of the Dragon. The rest is history… That trip last year made me realize where these naturally-aspirated Subarus thrive – mountain driving.

So here we are a little over a year later from the first trip with my car in the Great Smoky Mountains. What have I done to it since then? Well, I got a set of the lightweight Enkei RPF1 wheels, among other things. I have always wanted a set of these wheels but slowly started getting turned away by the popularity of them – I didn’t want to blend in with a lot of the Subarus on the internet. But one day, CJ (@tryhardsti) came across a guy on NASIOC a few hours away selling a set with tires in the SBC (Special Brilliant Coating) finish, which was a limited run and my favorite color they were offered in.

The wheel specs are 17×9 +45, and the tires are Firestone Firehawk Indy500’s in a 255/40 which ended up being perfect. After eagerly picking them up and test fitting them that evening, I was blown away at how good the SBC finish worked with Regal Blue Pearl. I could not be happier with the color combination, but we’ll see how long that lasts.

I’m currently running Ichibia 25mm hub-centric spacers up front with -3 degrees of camber. In the rear, I’m running 5mm spacers at -1.8 degrees. I wanted a somewhat more aggressive alignment for better turn in and max grip before this past trip to the mountains, (thanks Josh). As for the rest of the exterior of the car, I’ve kept it pretty simple so far.

My favorite exterior part I have done would be the paint matched “Cusco” front lip. I have wanted that lip for years until one day I stumbled across the replica company that was once making these lips, and it turns out they started making them again, praise the Lord! I also had my front license plate mount shaved along with the whole bumper repainted to clean up the front end. I even found some STi fog covers, which I think complement the Cusco lip best instead of the factory USDM fog lights.

Speaking of USDM, I was getting really tired of the factory headlights. I was searching for some JDM crystal headlights but really didn’t want to spend a lot of money for crappy old headlights that might show up worse. I resorted to the NASIOC thread of “how to clear my 04+ headlights” and the result was perfect. In addition to clearing them out, I got the headlights cleaned up and a Florida UV-protected coating applied, so hopefully the harsh Florida sun doesn’t ruin them again. This was by far my favorite free modification I have done.

To complement the lip, I got the front side skirt spats color-matched as well to add a little more flair to the side of the car. I’ve also added a vortex generator, which I’m still on the fence about keeping, but was more of a test to see if I’d like to get a legit one. Not much else to mention about the exterior besides my authentic tsurikawa hanging from my rear tow hook. I’m still hoarding some parts that I’m waiting to put on in addition to a few other things I want to do to the exterior.


For me, the interior is a place that gets overlooked a lot. I really wanted to do some interior bits, but it all had to serve a purpose. I ended up finding a TC Design Fabrication 4-point half cage on NASIOC. Most half cages you see in the Subaru community are Autopower, and this cage was custom built by TC Design Fab out of Campbell, California who does lots of fab work in the world of time attack-prepped E46 BMW’s.

After installing the cage, I noticed a tremendous amount of chassis rigidity which was something I wanted. My favorite interior upgrade I have done are my Recaro Speed seats, since my factory seats and position weren’t the most comfortable with the cage. I got to talking to a friend at a meet one night and he mentioned these stashed away in his garage for a few years and said, “come check them out, give me a price and they’re yours” – and that I did. My first choice for seats isn’t red, but it has definitely grown on me and adds a nice contrast, especially for them being real Recaro’s.

I’d really like to get some Bride’s or East Bear Prodrive’s next year, but who knows. To finish off the interior, I’ve added a custom rear division plate made by @con10der8, which will allow me to pass inspection for certain future track days and helps with the cabin noise. My Night Runner International shift knob with a 1320 racing adjustable extender is one of my favorite shifter combos so far. A CAE is definitely in my future someday.


Moving on to the engine/performance stuff. Well, let me be the first to tell you it’s not very exciting. As you may know my car has the factory EJ253 in it and you’re probably thinking by now, “Are going to swap it? Boost it? Supercharge it? Anything?” The answer is yes, and no.

I actually love this engine (please excuse how dirty it is right now, I promise it was clean before our trip). When I got the car it had 56k on the odometer. At around 85k on the clock of April 2017, right before our first Tail of the Dragon trip, my “local” Subaru shop (Meticulous Motors of Pinellas Park, FL) found metal shavings from my driveshaft in the rear differential fluid. So with that happening, I sourced another RS rear diff, got a new lightweight aluminum driveshaft, in addition to doing headgaskets, Gates water pump/timing belt, Exedy clutch, and a resurfaced flywheel to get it all done and out of the way. I honestly have no plans in the future for swapping this motor at the moment – it’s reliable, sounds good, gets decent gas mileage, and super fun in the mountains! I’ve got no turbo lag, and momentum is my best friend when touge-ing with Ethan (@supwagon) and CJ (@tryhardsti). For the exhaust, I currently have Tsudo UEL headers with a custom 2.5” straight pipe, Magnaflow high-flow resonator, and ASPEC blast pipes (which is about to be replaced with a turndown tip).

It’s loud but it’s the perfect sound for the EJ253 power plant. Suspension – my favorite. For coilovers, I have the Prime series by Fortune Auto, which are no longer in production. They have 8k spring rates all around with 24-way dampening adjustments. I love them, but I’m really itching for the new BC Racing DS series coilovers. I also have Whiteline sway bars with a non-adjustable 22mm front and 3-way adjustable 24mm rear. This was easily one of the best mods I have done, I know I say that a lot. I’ve also replaced some of the factory suspension bushings to the more durable polyurethane ones in addition to motor mounts, a transmission mount, and a pitch stop mount – poly everything.

To tighten up the chassis a little more, I threw on some front and rear strut tower braces to help with the notorious chassis flex in hard turns. For brakes, I have R1Concepts slotted zinc-coated rotors and their ceramic pads, which seem to be holding up very well. I also have StopTech stainless steel brake lines, ATE Type200 brake fluid, and a Cusco master cylinder brace to add a little more stiffness to the brake pedal.


My future plans with this car are never ending. The biggest and most significant plan I have, as of right now, is doing a rear-wheel-drive conversion with an R200 rear differential. As to when this will happen, I have no clue. I’ve been doing a good bit of research and talking with some RWD Subaru owners, and it makes me giddy just thinking about all the fun I could have. A better power to weight ratio and some skids are in my future. I just want to have fun, and that is all!

By Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs

 

Zach’s Full Mod List:

 

Engine/Drivetrain:

K&N Air Filter

Custom 2.5” Straight Pipe Exhaust with Tsudo UEL headers, Magnaflow Hi-Flow Resonator and ASPEC Blast Pipes

Exedy Clutch

2-Piece Aluminum Driveshaft

 

Wheels/Suspension/Brakes:

17×9 Enkei RPF1 in SBC on Firestone Firehawk Indy500 255/40/17 Tires

Ichibia 25mm spacers (front), eBay 5mm (rear)

Fortune Auto Prime Coilovers, 24-way dampening

Whiteline Swaybars with Kartboy/Whiteline Endlinks (22mm front, 24mm rear)

Front and Rear Strut Tower Braces

Cusco Master Cylinder Brace

R1 Concepts Slotted Rotors/Ceramic Pads

StopTech Stainless Steel Lines

ATE Type200 Brake Fluid

 

Interior:

Custom TC Design Fabrication Half Cage

Authentic Recaro Speed Seats

Endless Horizon Fabrication Custom Fire Extinguisher Cage Mount

Broadway Mirror

Night Runner International Shift Knob

Custom @Con10der8 Division Plate

Cobb Short Shifter

 

Exterior:

OEM STi Fog Covers

S2 Auto Designs (Cusco Style) Front Lip (color matched) with shaved plate on bumper

Color Matched Side Spats

Muteki SR48 Open-Ended Lug Nuts

Vortex Generator

Custom Painted Hella Supertones

JDM Tsurikawa

JDM LED Taillight Mod

Cleared OEM Headlights

Thule Roof Rack/Yakima Carbonate SkyBox (sometimes)