Hey, I'm currently deployed overseas with the Air National Guard but I have a 2002 WRX at home in PA. I've saved alot of cash and I'll have around $2,500 or so to spend on mods. Here's my current situation with my rex.

2002 WRX 5sp (Sedona Red, w00t)
New tranny/center diff as of two months ago.
Borla Catback
Catless Helix DP & UP still sitting in their box

I'm more about go-fast then handling. Aka light-to-light, highway racing, etc. I'm not looking to push a crap load of HP through my stock internals engine. So what parts should I go with?

So far I'm thinking

IHI VF34 turbo with supporting mods (pinks and fuel pump)
Cobb Accessport
Gauges (Boost, EGT, etc)
Short Shifter (Kartboy?)
Obivously install my UP/DP

Any thoughts from prior experience, anything I'm missing or I should/shouldn't buy?

 

You need suspension, tires and brake mods to handle that kind of power; you'll be way outside of factory tolerances in those areas. Springs, rear swaybar, high-performance pads & rotors, SS brakelines, perhaps steering rack bushings and a set of high-performance summer tires will make a bigger difference in the car than that catback ever did.

 

despite what meilers states, if your goal is to kick up the power level, your listed mods will do it just fine. the short shifter is pretty optional though.

consider a custom cobb protune which will give you another 20hp or so over the basemap, and it will run better to boot.

 

good plan, although I would get a custom ecutek dyno tune, that way your mods are tuned for your car so it's safer and more powerfull than a generic map made for everyone.

if you still have the stock tires, I would get new ones before doing any power mods.

 

You missed my point. The WRX and STI come from the factory with an extraordinary balance of power, handling and overall road fitness. If you do power mods and fail to support them with appropriate handling and safety mods, you throw off that balance and risk turning a very safe car into a rolling deathtrap. What is the point of power without traction? You still end up in the ditch, whether you have 250hp or 450hp.

As for a "highway racer," the WRX is an incredibly poor choice. You've got a small-displacement engine which has about 110 hp when it is off boost and which generates little or no torque off boost, and you've got the parasitic drag of AWD (which is no darn good going in a dead straight line at speed). You've also got extremely "tall" 4rth and 5th gears which keep you in the 2800-3500 RPM range at highway speeds -- and you need to be 5500 RPM to generate any power! I spend a full hour on the highway every day, and there are a LOT of cars which can hand it to a WRX on the highway with minimal effort -- and they cost a lot less and have less horsepower. As a straight-line, top-speed car, the WRX is the wrong choice.