Vin Macaro - technical advisor and manager of BGT Service Centre - is no stranger to Subaru's cult-car Impreza WRX. On the company's in-house 4WD chassis dyno, he's performed tune-ups and power pulls on God knows how many Rexies. Hundreds. You may also remember the feature we did on his very own blue wagon a while back. Well, that blue wagon - which ended up cracking the very low 12s - was sold a while back to make room for this equally spectacular looking MY00 wagon. Why another wagon you ask? Simple. Vin "likes to go against the eight ball" and own something a little different - and the WRX wagon's weight penalty is only minimal anyway.
Fair enough.
Vin tells us that the car is presently just dawning upon a major development program - to turn it into a full-on kick-arse circuit sprinter. At present, the car's about half way there. Under the bonnet there's a "two steps up" IHI roller bearing turbo (which is still slightly smaller overall than the very first model WRX's turbocharger!), A'PEXi air filter element, A'PEXi Power FC adjustable ECU and an A'PEXi AVCR boost controller (set to around 18 psi). There's lots of A'PEXi gear fitted, in case you don't notice! Interestingly, Vin didn't use the Power FC unit's in-built boost control function, as the separate AVCR possesses way better resolution - allowing fine adjustment in 500-rpm bands. "You can set your own boost curve," says Vin, "instead of just having the turbo's natural boost curve". This makes a huge difference to the car's on-track driveability.
The exhaust system has also recently been changed from the photographed A'PEXi RS system (which was a very good street system) to a higher flowing N1 set-up. However, the dump off the turbo has one of Vin's personal touches - a beautiful mandrel bent main pipe with a separate wastegate tube. Splendid. At present, the rest of the driveline is yet to be touched. However, there is a close-ratio box and a shorter rear diff ratio just waiting to go on. And while we're on the topic, Vin informs us that his previous blue WRX only chewed through one gearbox and clutch during about 50,000 hard-charging kilometres. The 'box went at around 30,000 and the clutch at 42,000 - that's a lot further than some WRX owners get!
With the full intention of going circuit sprinting, it's no shock that the car's suspension has already been given a major lift in specs - starting with a blank slate. Each corner now rides around 40mm lower thanks to a full set of A'PEXi WS adjustable coil-over struts. These are teamed with carbon fibre strut braces and hollow GAB front and rear swaybars, which - Vin says - are remarkably lightweight. The result is extremely neutral handling, with much less of the WRX's characteristic understeer trait.
Vin's new wagon also has the biggest set of brakes we've ever heard of in a local Aussie WRX. Aggressive looking Winner Power 310mm ventilated, drilled and slotted discs reside at both ends, each squeezed by massive 6-piston calipers. Still, Vin says the key to achieving success is making sure that you select the right pads. He uses Pagid RS12s and - not surprisingly - ends up with a truly monumental increase in braking performance over the stock set-up. We don't think that much more work will need to go into the braking department!
With the current ride height - which is apparently fine for going over speed humps, etc - Vin runs a slinky looking set of 18-inch GP Turismo rims and extra low profile Toyo 215/35 rubber. But it sure is a close call in terms of clearance and ride quality... Don't be surprised to see a set of - perhaps - 17 inchers and some stickier rubber going on for competitive driving events. Externally, the new Rex has as much "A'PEXi" as there is under the bonnet! Small A'PEXi stickers cover the entire front of the car, while a chunky BGT graphic spans across the front and rear doors. It's a visual statement that's hard to miss! The yellow paint, by the way, is factory - with colour coding applied to the side skirts and mirrors. Dark window tint also protects the interior.
And what of the interior? Well, Vin's realised there's no need to chuck out the factory's already highly supportive seats. Instead he's given them new life with a black/yellow suede re-trim - which looks absolutely grouse. To match, there's even a yellow suede gearshift boot and a silver coloured cluster panel. The driver's side A-pillar is also dressed up with an A'PEXi 2.5 Bar boost gauge and a sequential, high-intensity LED shift light.
Like his previous WRX, the cargo area of Vin's new wagon is also decked out with a dual 12-inch Pioneer sub-woofer box, plus a pair of Diamond splits in the front. A double-DIN TV/CD/cassette/tuner and a pair of Kicker Pro amps provide the necessary audio signals to properly wake their cones up. Needless to say, it's all nice gear.
As we said before, Vin is only part of the way through his new project - which has to be completed by January 2001. January is when it's supposed to make its all-important big track debut. It'll be a tight squeeze though - coz still to come is a huge A'PEXi RX5 turbo, a front-mount air-to-air intercooler ands some fine tuning on the Power FC. Then it'll be set.
So - having just bought an "old shape" MY00 Rexie to race - what does Vin (the WRX man that he is) think of the newly released "bug-eye" model? Wisely, he prefers to make no comment. It's like he says, the last shape Impreza wasn't seen as a real hot looker back when it was first released - but its look soon grew on him (and apparently, everyone else!). He has also had a bit of a fiddle with images of the new model on his computer - fitting new wheels and stuff. Apparently the virtual cars look absolutely sensational...
So the big question is; will he be one of the first people to go mental on the new model WRX as well as the yellow wagon?
"Hmm, we're talking about it...".
Stay tuned!
Contact:
BGT Performance Centre
+61 3 9874 8866
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