PROJECT WRX

PPOOWWEERR EENNGGIINNEEEERRIINNGGwww.powerengineering.co.uk +44 (0)1895 255699EENNDDUURRIINNGG SSOOLLUUTTIIOONNSS ((EESSLL))www.enduringsolutions.comCCOOBBRRAA SSPPOORRTTwww.cobrasport.comTTHHEERRMMAALL VVEELLOOCCIITTYYwww.thermalvelocity.co.ukWWOOLLFFRRAACCEEwww.wolfrace.co.ukCCOOMMPPEETTIITTIIOONN CCLLUUTTCCHHwww.competitionclutch.co.ukSSCCOOOOBBYYWWOORRLLDDwww.scoobyworld.co.ukMMRR CCLLUUTTCCHH www.mrclutch.comCrawley – 01293 471624AA11PPHHAA RREECCOOVVEERRYYMatt:07739 352405EEXXHHAAUUSSTTSSUUKKwww.exhaustsuk.comKKEEIITTHH MMIICCHHAAEELLSS IINNSSUURRAANNCCEEwww.keithmichaels.co.ukJJAAPP PPEERRFFOORRMMAANNCCEE PPAARRTTSSwww.japperformanceparts.co.ukRRAACCIINNGG LLOOGGIICCwww.racing-logic.comYYOOKKOOHHAAMMAAwww.yokohama.co.ukKK&&NN FFIILLTTEERRSSwww.knfilters.co.ukAALLLLEEYY MMOOTTOORRSSPPOORRTTwww.alleymotorsport.co.ukCCDDFF RRAACCIINNGGwww.cdfracing.co.ukDDEEAATTSSCCHH WWEERRKKSSwww.deatschwerks.comCCOORRBBEEAAUUwww.corbeau-seats.co.ukPPOOLLYYBBUUSSHHwww.polybush.co.uk

Contacts

PROJECT

TRACK

WRXClick on the

websites to beredirected to

their site

WRX.qxp:JP 1/11/11 11:57 Page 113

+the garage

114 www.japaneseperformancemagazine.co.uk

This month sees another car join the Japfleet. We have had such success andgreat feedback from ProjectScuberwagon that we thought we’d tryanother Impreza – but this time an early

WRX saloon version. The ideas for this onecouldn’t be further away from the wagon though.This time the plan is to build it into a road-legaltrack weapon, stripping the weight and getting ithandling perfectly – along with some crackingengine mods.The car we found is a little tired, as it has been

sitting around for a good few years and is goingto need lots of help getting it back up to fightingfitness. After departing with the deposit for thecar, we needed to source a clutch, as it wasgoing nowhere with the original one, which wasslipping badly (plus the car had no MOT or tax!).As our plans are to ‘track’ the car, we wanted

to get a suitable clutch to handle the strain. After

a little searching around we settled on a Stage 2Competition Clutch and lightweight flywheel.Perfect. We ordered the set-up from ScoobyWorld(www.scoobyworld.com), and on receiving theclutch we had high hopes as the quality lookedbrilliant – now to find a fitter.As the car was not driveable, the fitter needed

to be somewhere local, and after a quick look onthe internet, the details for Mr Clutch popped up.They have numerous workshops across thecountry and luckily for us, one which was just 1.4miles away. A quick call to book the car in, andwe were all set to get the car going.Not knowing much about Mr Clutch, we were

a little apprehensive. After all, we were towing thecar there, so had no option to go anywhere else.Luckily, our worries were eased when we turnedup to be welcomed by the helpful staff and animmaculate workshop with about eight car bays.Phew – the Impreza was in safe hands!

Project WRX You can have all thepower in the world,but if your clutch isn’tup to the job, you’ll begoing nowhere

Words & Pics Joel Mitchell

NEW BLOOD

Removing the old clutch, it became obviousthat a replacement was long overdue, but with thenew performance clutch fitted, we are happy toplan the engine mods to pump up the power.The clutch was a fairly simple but

time-consuming job for the technicians, taking thebest part of the day to fit. Unfortunately, we didn’thave a chance to test the new clutch as the car

was still not roadworthy, so we booked Matt fromA1pha Recovery Ltd. to collect the car and deliverit back to our off-road storage.We’ll hopefully have the car more sorted this

time next month, so we will let you know how weget on with the new clutch and flywheel in action.There’s still a long road ahead for the WRX, butwe’re looking forward to the ride. �

115www.japaneseperformancemagazine.co.uk

+the garage

ContactsCompetition Clutch

www.competitionclutch.co.uk01327 226134ScoobyWorld

www.scoobyworld.co.uk01509 266 400

Mr Clutchwww.mrclutch.com

0800 67 67 67Crawley – 01293 471624

A1PHA RECOVERYMatt:07739 352405


+the garage

A quick update on the WRX. As the plan is to get this babyon the track, we’re putting the project on a strict diet. Rearseats, door cards, speakers and carpet are the first to go,along with all the plastic trim. The only thing that’s beensaved is the dash and the two front seats, which willhopefully be replaced with some lighter versions, with fullharnesses in the coming months.Also this month we’ve started looking forward to engine

mods and have bought this awesome 3in Cobra track-ready exhaust with manifold and downpipe from ExhaustsUK. More next month...

Project WRXPROJECT WRX GOES ON THEAUTOMOTIVE EQUIVALENT OFTHE ATKINS DIET

NEXT month...project wrx gets someshiney new pipes fromexhaustsuk

joel put in hours ofresearch at local stripclubs to make surestripping project wrxwent smoothly

CONTACTS

ExhaustsUKwww.exhaustsuk.com

0800 048 0754

Words & Pics Joel Mitchell

subaru impreza wrx

WWW.COBRASPORT. COM. COM. COMNEW WEBSITE NOW OPEN

ALL MAJOR BRANDS IN STOCK INCLUDINGAFTERBURNER, BLITZ, HKS, RACEBOX, NINJA AND

HAYWARD & SCOTT. CALL FOR DETAILS.

GAUGES, PANEL FILTERS, INDUCTION KITS, TURBO CHARGERS, CAR COVERS, TURBO TIMERS,

FLYWHEELS, CLUTCHES, PULLEYS, OILS, DUMP VALVES, MUDFLAPS, SPOILERS,

WHEELS AND TYRES

All major payment cards accepted.

Fully installed for power runs, mapping and club rolling road days.

BL TZ

ADVANCED ECU TECHNOLOGY

Custom remap of your Impreza ECU using EcuTek software, for more power and torque

Fast insured courier delivery throughout the UK and Europe or collect from our shop

+projects


+the garage


This month we’ve been looking into the future... We’ve beenpurchasing a few goodies to get the WRX how we want it. Mostimportantly, a new battery was top of the list, as the last one gaveup the ghost recently. Being local and convenient, Halfords wasthe obvious choice for a replacement. We’ve also bought a FMICfrom Scoobyworld, ordered a set of Racing Logic coilovers (heardgreat things about these, so fingers crossed), and a PlasmaBooster from www.plasmaprojects.com which boosts the sparkplug’s energy. We’ve also just ordered a set of DeatschWerksinjectors along with an uprated fuel pump from part-box.com.Also, after a quick search on eBay, we’ve found a later MAPsensor (V3 Scooby, ’97 onwards). The original unit runs out ofheadroom at 1.2bar, whereas the later one allows up to 1.72bar,which should be plenty for what wehave planned. We’ve also been incontact with the boys from ESL(Enduring Solutions Limited) to sortthe custom ECU. They’ve been agreat help with our shopping list andadvice and we can’t wait to get all theparts on and see what ESL can dowith it. Hopefully, we’ll be looking ataround 330bhp, which is not massive,but with the lightened shell, it shouldgo pretty well.

Lookswise, we’re going back tobasics – we’ve snapped up an earlynon-turbo bumper (without thefoglights) and a de-scooped flatbonnet. The hardest bits to find werethe indicators – one of which wemanaged to find on eBay and theother we’ll repair to get good again.All spoilers have also been removedto give a cleaner ‘stealthier’ look.

Project WRXJoel’s been busy maxing-out his creditcard to get the Scooby up to scratch

impreza wrx

the plasmaprojectsplasmaboosteramplifies thecurrent toTHE plugs toensure astronGerspark

CONTACTS

Plasma Projects www.plasmaprojects.com

Halfordswww.halfords.com

ESL www.enduringsolutions.com

Racing Logic www.racing-logic.com

Scoobyworld www.scoobyworld.co.uk

DeatschWerks www.deatschwerks.com

PartBoxwww.part-box.com

Co-ordSportwww.coordsport.com

Exhausts UKwww.exhaustsuk.com

Millers Oilswww.millersoils.co.uk

So far, project wrx has had moreparts removed than it has added,but not for long though...

scoobyworld front-mountintercooler should help keepcharge temps down

racing logic coilovers arean unknown, but we’veheard good things and willGIVE a full verdict soon

114JAP126.qxd:JP 6/1/11 4:10 PM Page 114

+the garage


Project WAGON - sold!The Scooby wagon gets sold to givethe WRX a much-needed cash injection

impreza wrx

project wrx is getting used to beingchauffered around on the back oftrailers - not much longer though

Wheels, tyres,seats andsuspension. Bythe end ofthe project,there’s notgoing to bemany subaruparts left!

In a desperate bid to raisesome funds for our track-destined WRX, this month seesProject Wagon move to thesunny island of Malta. The planwas never to sell the wagon,but being driven as a dailydriver was costing a smallfortune. It was also being slowlybeaten to death on our bumpyand potholed British roads, so adirty diesel has replaced it, andthe remaining funds have goneto buy some more goodies forthe stripped out WRX. In theend, the 2000 wagon wassnapped up quickly by KennethBonello from Malta. So, with themoney wired to the bankaccount, the only thing to dowas drop it off at the shippers innorth London for it to begin itsepic journey across Europe toMalta. Then it was just a case ofcrossing our fingers and hopingthat it would arrive safely andthe new owner would be happywith it. Luckily, he’s already akeen reader, and had beenfollowing the build-up processin the mag. Once it arrived, heloved it, and, as he is also theowner of a modified Mazda RX-

7, he was keen to send ussome photos of his growingperformance stable.

But back to our track car.The original plan for the ‘93Impreza was to lighten it asmuch as possible, get a front-mount intercooler and upratedexhaust, map it, and have somefun. But as with most projects,the WRX has got a little carriedaway. As mentioned in the lastreport, Enduring Solutions topman, Andy Stevens, had givenus a shopping list to get the fullpotential out of their MAFlessECU. Since then we’ve alsosorted out some interiorgoodies, including a pair ofCorbeau’s brand new recliners,the Sportline RRB, partnered upwith some Luke four-pointharnesses. We’re now alsopondering the idea of a biggerturbo, but that would meanstrengthening the engine andgearbox... If only we hadanother car to sell off!

So, after collecting a pile ofnew pieces for Project WRX, thecar has been moved to its newtemporary home, PowerEngineering in Uxbridge. As the

car isn’t road legal yet, it wastransported by the RAC on theback of a spanking new truck.

Once it arrived at thegarage, Dan, Ian and Zach weredesperate to get their teeth intothe car. First on the list was toget the suspension, wheels andtyres on, then move on to theengine. So look out for nextmonth’s instalment. Hopefullyover the next few months we’llsee this budget sports car turninto a true track monster.

Only a badass rx-7 couldmake the sill-scrapingscooby look so practical

CONTACTS

RACwww.rac.co.uk

Power Engineeringwww.powerengineering.co.uk

+44 (0) 1895 255699ESL

www.enduringsolutions.comRacing Logic

www.racing-logic.comWolfrace

www.wolfrace.co.ukYokohama

www.yokohama.co.uk

114JAP128.qxd:JP 7/28/11 10:47 AM Page 114

Yokohama HPT LtdDawson Road, Mount Farm

Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK1 1AH

Sizes from13” to 16”


T: 01908 625 601 / 01908 625 603E: [email protected]: www.yokohama.co.uk



.driveA tyre for all reasons

As soon as we dropped the caroff at Power Engineering’s HQin Uxbridge, the boys got stuck-in straight away. The first thingto do was get the car rolling onthe new Wolfrace Ultra Litewheels. Designed with the trackin mind, the split five-spoke rimis available in numerous sizes,offsets and widths and isavailable in three colours withprices starting from as little as£89.95. We opted for a set of17in rims finished in moodysatin black.

Of course we then needed towrap the alloys in some suitablerubber and, as the car is beingbuilt to undertake some serioustrack time, we chose somesticky Yokohama Advan NeovaAD08s in a 215/45/17 size.

As mentioned in previousreports, we’ve opted for RacingLogic Hyper Street coilovers totake care of the ride. Being thebrand’s entry-level kit means it’s

totally affordable – with pricesstarting at £699 – but stillfeatures the kind of spec youwould expect to find on muchmore expensive kit. Things suchas 32-step damper adjustment,alloy reinforced adjustable topmounts, body-length and heightadjustable damper bodies anda comprehensive one yearwarranty on the dampers.

We purchased ours fromTegiwa Imports and received agreat service.

On to the fitting process.The old suspension came offreasonably well, although somebolts needed a little persuasionfrom some WD40 and a lot ofelbow grease, as rust hadlocked the nuts on solid.However, once off, the newcoilover system fitted straightinto place and was bolted-upeasily. The adjustable topmounts allowed us to dial in adecent amount of camber to

get the front nice and low, buton the back, some Eibachcamber bolts were needed totempt the wheels into the arch.Although sitting too low fortrack work at present, it doeslook great, and just means thatwe’ll need to raise it up againbefore hitting the race circuit.

So far we haven’t been able

+the garage


getting down and dirtyThe Scooby gets slammed thanks to a set ofRacing Logic coilovers and Eibach camber bolts

impreza wrx

the wrx looks great sittingin the weeds but is probablytoo low to make mincemeatof a circuit. we will beraising up the coiloverswhen she gets usedproperly in anger!

adjustable top mounts mean thatthe front camber can be adjustedto deck the wrx without scraping

Racing logic’s hyper streetcoilovers are at the entrylevel of the range but stillpack top-spec features

114JAP129.qxd:JP 1/9/11 15:27 Page 114

to test the suspension properly,as the car’s not road legal yet,but keep a lookout in futureissues as we’ll be carrying outa full test on the handling sideof things soon. Hopefully we’llget some anti-roll bars and strutbraces to help out too.

The whole fitting procedurehad taken its toll on the brandnew Ultra Lites and a goodclean was in order... OK theyweren't that dirty, we justwanted to try out Autoglym’s

custom wheel cleaning kit.Being a fan of the original‘wheel cleaner’ we had highexpectations.

Coming in a box with twobrushes, the non-acidic cleaneris suitable for cleaning allaftermarket wheels. Finishingoff with the Instant Tyre Shine, Ithink you’ll agree the setuplooks great. Next month, weget serious with the enginetuning. Hopefully fitting thefront-mount intercooler andCobra Track exhaust.


CAMBER BOLTS...They make the fineadjustment of camber onMacPherson strut equippedcars (such as the Impreza)much easier and more precisethan a conventional nut andbolt. When you have theperfect camber measurementshowing on your alignmentmachine, nine times out of 10,when you go to finallytighten a conventional nutand bolt, the rotating frictioncauses the camber to changetoo (i.e. the damper footbracket moves on the hub).However, eibach’s camber boltshave a special keyed washer,that means you simply turn thebolt head until the correctcamber is achieved and thentighten the nut - with nomovement of the damper foot.The bolts themselves provide'additional' camber adjustment(up to 1.75Degrees), so ifyou havelowered yourcar beyondthe capabilityof the OEadjustment, orjust want torun morecamber thanthe 'compromised'OE setting, butcrucially don'twant to forkout for anadjustable topmount, theseare £16.00 well spent!

lightweight track rims andsticky yokohama tyres meanthe first part of thehandling puzzle is now sorted

CONTACTS

Power Engineeringwww.power

engineering.co.uk +44 (0) 1895 255699

Eibach www.eibach.com

Racing Logic www.racing-logic.co.uk

Wolfracewww.wolfrace.co.uk

Yokohamawww.yokohama.co.uk

check out last month’ssuspension guide oncoilovers and this month’schassis tuning tech for amore Technical insight

114JAP129.qxd:JP 1/9/11 15:32 Page 115

Finally, the performancemodifications have started.Most people can tell thatScooby growl from a distanceand the best way to enhancethat awesome sound (andperformamce) is to upgrade theexhaust system to an upratedlarger bore system.

We’ve chosen Cobra Sport’s

track friendly system (see morein our exhaust guide on page86), which should keep thenoise to a more sensible level.We’ve chosen to have a sportscat, rather than a full decat, aswe want the car to be able topass the MoT, as it’s still to beused on the road. But even withthe decat pipe the noise level

keeps under 95dB, which is thenoise limit for many tracks inthe UK. The SCO4 system fitsall 1993 to 2000 modelImprezas and comes in a 3inbore made in T304 gradestainless steel. All bends aremandrel bent for the best flowand the joins TIG welded, whichnot only looks great, but also

+the garage


exhausting workThe Impreza gets its breathing sorted with a full ‘trackfriendly’ system from exhaust specialists Cobra Sport

impreza wrx

if you thought it was a simple jobto replace an impreza exhaust, welljust take a gander at these pics -still look easy to you?

downpipe, centre section andbackbox (right to left) istrack friendly to meet thestrict noise regulations

CONTACTS

Power Engineeringwww.power

engineering.co.uk+44 (0)1895 255699

Cobra Sportwww.cobrasport.com

Thermal Velocitywww.thermalvelocity.co.uk

114JAP130.qxp:JP 1/11/11 11:06 Page 114

allows a smooth flow tomaximize power gains.

We’ve also chosen to upratethe manifold and up-pipe toCobra’s own version too.

Before fitting the system wewere advised by the guys atPower Engineering to get themanifold wrapped, as it ends uppretty close to the wiring loomand should also help withextracting more power.

After a little seaching wefound Thermal Velocity, awebsite that produces manyperformance wraps including‘Magna Wrap’, a highperformance wrap with theappearance of carbon fibre.The wrap is engineered fromaerospace grade yarnsmanufactured from volcaniclava fibres which can withstandup to 980oC direct heat and1370oC radiant heat.

We ordered 30 metres of thewrap, which was plenty to notonly wrap the manifold but alsothe up-pipe and downpipe.

Zak at Power Engineeringskilfully applied the wrap andthen had the job of fitting theexhaust.

But while fitting an exhaust isa relatively simple job, nine-times out of ten, removing theold exhaust is usually twice ashard. To make his life easier,Zak sprayed the rusty old bolts

in WD40, which, after a goodsoak, allowed them to come offrelatively easily. Of course, thisis all made easier if the car isup on a ramp. The new system,complete with all necessarygaskets, was fitted up prettyquickly and slotted into placelike a dream.

Time to give the keys a turnto hear the output, and yes, itsounded awesome. It wouldn’t

be right to test the system onthe dyno yet as the car’s notrunning at its best and couldgive inaccurate figues. We’vealso not changed the cambeltyet, so could run into troublerevving the car too much. Ofcourse this system will giveinstant results on a standard car,but its main quality is that the3in bore will be able to handlethe future engine modifications

planned. Talking of future plans,we’ve just taken delivery of acambelt kit from AlleyMotorsport and lightweightpulleys from CDF Racing.Hopefully this will all get on thecar soon, along with the ESLECU, DeatschWerks injectorsand fuel pump, Autobahnintercooler and the PlasmaProjects Plasma Booster.

We can’t wait!


Cobra Sport is owned and managed by the brotherand sister team of Pete and Rachel Jarvis. The pairhave continued building upon the successful businesswhich their parents enjoyed in the exhaust industrysince the early 1970s

The production facilities at Cobra Sport enables themto produce exhausts in high volume and havingworked with clients such as Subaru UK, Isuzu UK andGinetta Cars, to name but a few, they are able tocater for any size of project including bespoke 'oneoff'/prototype designs

awesome cobra sportmanifold and up-pipebefore it got the Thermalvelocity treatment

coming soon....

114JAP130.qxp:JP 1/11/11 11:07 Page 115

After the Cobra Sport trackexhaust the next thing to tick offthe list at Power Engineeringwas the intercooler. We’d takendelivery of an Autobahn88system from ScoobyWorld awhile back, and it’s been sittingpatiently waiting to cool theturbocharged air of our bigboost engine. Fitting theintercooler is generally an easyjob, but sometimes it can be alittle more tricky, in this instanceit was the latter... The front unit

bolted up easily, then the guysworked their magic to fit all thepipes into place. Most pipeswere fine but one needed to becut and re-welded to fit, a jobthe boys at Power Engineeringlove getting involved with.

Although this system washarder to fit than some, theprice tag is very appealing atonly £337, so it’s maybe worththe extra effort to save cash.

The intercooler does comewith an induction kit too, but we

decided to uprate it to a K&N57i unit. Never have we had aproblem with the K&N filters andhave always gained goodresults from them, so thisproject had to have one too.

All connected up, the systemcertainly looks the part pokingthrough the 1.6 bumper.

We haven’t had time to testthe cooling properties yet, aswe still need a couple more bitsbefore running it, but thissystem along with the 3in Cobra

exhaust, is certainly going theright way to handle the 320bhpthat we’re looking for.

Also, the last couple ofmonths we’ve become addictedto the website ‘StanceNation’and are now obsessed with theheight/stance of the project. Weneeded to go lower. There wasno more room to lower the caron the wheels and tyres we’dchosen, but we were megahappy with the Wolfrace UltraLites, so chose to get some

+the garage


just chillin’Proper cooling is a consideration for any car, but chuck anuprated turbo into the mix and it becomes a serious issue

impreza wrx

the intercooler needed a littlemodification to fit properly, but atjust £337 for the ‘cooler, plusinduction kit, it’s still a bargain

the front-mount cooler has addedsome extra shiny bits to themotor - which is always nice

CONTACTS

Power Engineeringwww.powerengineering.co.uk

+44 (0) 1895 255699Yokohama

www.yokohama.co.ukK&N Filters

www.knfilters.co.ukCobra Sport

www.cobrasport.comScoobyWorld

www.scoobyworld.co.uk

114JAP131.qxp:JP 1/11/11 10:43 Page 114


lower profile tyres to get a littlemore clearance. Lookingaround, one of the lowest 17swe could find were Yokohama’sS Drive 195/40/17s – we didfind some 195/35s, but not in abrand we’d like to run on thisproject. Running the tyres overto Dan at Power Engineering,he was so excited to get the caron the floor he got to changingthem straight away. You cansee from the pics above thedifference from the 215/45s,

which we have kept for whenthe Scoob is let loose on thetrack. Fitting the 17s back ontothe car with the new rubbermade us all pretty happy. Theback sat perfectly with enoughclearance and the front looksgreat, but we’re going to wind itdown a little more to get it spoton. I know this isn’t toeveryone’s taste but we’re justloving it at the moment!

decked on the 17s and with thatsubtle front bumper the imprezais really starting to take shape

195/40/17s....

the swap to lower profilerubber has given us more archclearance to get the car low

SPECIALIST CARINSURANCE

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH

0845 618 5355www.keithmichaels.co.uk

KEITHICHAELSM

INSURANCE PLC

Competitive quotes forIMPORT CARSSports - modified - 4x4 - MPVsYoung drivers 2I+Convictions, club discountsOwnership discounts available

Keith Michaels Plc, Central House, 1-15 Central Road, Worcester Park, Surrey KT4 8EG

M

M

M

M

M

local rate

114JAP131.qxp:JP 1/11/11 10:44 Page 115

CALL: 01392 811601 | WWW.HELCARKITS.CO.UK

WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS TO GINETTA SUPERCARS

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS TO THE ASTON MARTIN

ONE-77 PROJECT

STAINLESS STEEL BRAKE LINE KITS

*Whether you drive a practical performance car;

or a supercar.

*

008JAP131 10/26/11 2:55 PM Page 8

PROJECT WRX

Documents

mr clutch

old clutch

competition clutch

clutch isntup

suitable clutch

car bays

thenew performance clutch

werea little apprehensive