The face of high-performance motoring has been changed massively by Subaru's all-conquering WRX. Equally, the amount of aftermarket development that's occurred over the last five-or-so years has been remarkable. Back in the early days of Rex (pre-MY97), just a basic air intake, exhaust, blow-off valve and boost transformed the Subie into a near-unbeatable street weapon - that might seem a bit pathetic these days, but there were few genuine street cars that could challenge such a car's traffic light performance.
Inevitably - as a growing flock of people switched to Rexes - the spirit of one-upmanship saw the li'l EJ20 block strained harder and harder in the search for more power. After the air intake, exhaust, BOV and boost lift stage, it was considered 'extreme' to have a front-mount air-to-air intercooler and a high-flowed turbo. These extra mods typically lifted the 2-litre four's output to up to approximately 300hp.
A couple of years on, however, we've well and truly graduated from that level of performance. Those mods are already old-hat.
If you want to cut any cred in today's WRX scene, you need programmable management, a turbo big enough to fit your fist in and - with that level of power - you automatically must have one of those whining, temperamental dog boxes. Standard Subaru gearboxes simply cannot stand the torque loads.
Owned by Steven Damevski, this MY00 (2000 model) Rex is a prime example of what you'll find at the zenith of Australian aftermarket mod scene. Starting off with just an A'PEXi exhaust, K&N pod filter, A'PEXi twin chamber blow-off valve and around 18 psi boost, Steve says the car spooled up hard - but its top-end go was definitely lacking (a characteristic common to post-MY96 WRXs still running the standard sized turbo).
With a hip pocket full of spare cash, he then decided to "send it off its face"...
Melbourne's JPC walked into the car's life offering a fair swag of bolt-ons - a 450hp Garrett ball-bearing turbocharger and PSR 45mm external wastegate (mounted on a custom top section of exhaust manifold), a giant front-mount air-to-air intercooler (which required slight modification of the front bar) and an oil catch can. In order to give fuel and ignition support for such an onslaught of induction air, the standard injectors were replaced by Bosch 363s, a Bosch Motorsport fuel pump was thrown into the tank and a programmable management system was plugged in. It's a Link unit, mapped and tuned by JPC.
The driveline was upgraded to a ceramic button clutch and - initially - a semi-dog (cross breed?) gearbox. Dog engagement was used only for the lower gears at this stage.
The result of these bolt-ons? An impressive eleven-seventy at the local drag strip. It was a short-lived success though, as the factory-sealed engine soon started losing compression through one cylinder.
Recognising how well the sturdy little boxer engine had so far held out, JPC rebuilt her with just a set of SPS forgies (delivering a 7.5:1 static compression ratio), a linished crank and shot-peened and polished rods. Camshafts were left standard and the 16-valve heads were merely tidied up - they don't need much porting if you've got the right turbo hardware.
With the engine put back together and burbling 'round the 'burbs, the durability of the semi-dog 'box showed up as a definite weak link; it's recently been upgraded to full dog spec. Woof woof.
Traction is never usually a problem in the all-wheel-drive WRX, but Steve says he can get his example to torque-steer under power - even in second gear! Certainly, those 17-inch Momos and 215/45 Goodyear Eagle F1s look sensational, but a set of road-legal slicks would help give max grip (in the dry, at least).
Styling wise, Steve's car carries the standard MY00 body kit - it is, however, brought down closer to the bitumen using Koni shocks and springs. Further aiding handling is a STi carbon fibre front strut brace, and - due to apparent body flex - Steve claims he's fitted body braces all the way along the underside.
How did Steve pick this body flex, you ask? He tells us the factory sunroof started sticking and generally playing up; a sure sign of something t-w-i-s-t-i-n-g!
Rays from that sunroof beam down upon a sea of Momo interior accessories. Put your sunnies on to look at the red/yellow Momo race seats and harnesses, Momo gear knob and matching boot, Momo pedals and - of course - factory Momo airbag steering wheel.
Other interior trick gear includes A-pillar mounted Autometer boost and water temperature gauges and an Alpine tuner/CD/MD combo that puts sounds to the four standard Subaru speakers. Steve says he will eventually go ape with a stereo system, but he first wants to run some good track times with the new motor.
So what times will she run? Well, guided by other similarly equipped WRXs, we'd guess - with enough boost - low 11s/high 10s. Tens are definitely Steve's goal - and he's prepared to run up to 36 psi (along with ultra high octane VP race fuel) to get there! Despite its 10-second potential, however, this vehicle is driven almost every weekend and racks up its fair number of street kilometres. We pity anyone that attempts to duel this WRX - "nothing ever comes close", says Steve.
Just 'another' potential 10-second streeter. What could possibly come next for the evolution of the Rex?
Contact:
JPC (Johnson's Performance Centre)
+61 3 9469 2566
