2002 WRX Wagon - Reborn as STi Wagon
 

[b][u]CURRENT DYNO SHEET[/b][/u]

[img]http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=509986[/img]



[img]http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=315572[/img]

[b][u]ENGINE MODS[/b][/u]
2004 EJ25/FXT 2.5L Long Block Engine
VF-30 Turbocharger
Gruppe-S Headers
Walbro Fuel Pump
Perrin Fuel Rails
STI Injectors
STI TMIC w/ Samco Hoses
Vishnu Lightened Pulleys
Gruppe-S Tuned Ecutek ECU
Stealth Silencer Mod
Exedy Street Clutch/Flywheel
Vishnu Uppipe
Helix Downpipe
Borla Hush Catless Dual-Tip Exhaust
STI Group N Engine Mounts
ISR SS Oil Pressure Line Kit
Futumo Oil Drain Valve
Kartboy Short Shifter w/Bushings

[img]http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=315565[/img]


[b][u]WHEELS/BRAKES/SUSPENSION[/b][/u]
17” Silver Prodrive P7 Rims
Yokahama ES-100 215/45-17 Tires *new*
StopTech Big Brake Kit (red) w/ Slotted Rotors
Apexi NI Inverted Coilovers
Perrin Solid Front and Rear Endlinks *new*
Perrin Adjustable Rear Sway Bar and Mounting Bracket
Whiteline Anti Lift Kit
Whiteline Rear Adjustable Control Arms

[b][u]BODY MODS[/b][/u]
Invinca-Shield Clear Body Protection
OEM Painted Sideskirts
OEM Splashguards (DIY modded front/back)
OEM AU Lexican Clear Fog Light Covers
OEM/JDM White Sidemarkers w/orange bulbs
STi Hood Scoop
JDM “IMPREZA” Rear Deck Badging
Liberal Grille and Blue "i" badge *new*


[img] http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=315609[/img]

[b][u]INTERIOR MODS[/b][/u]
Llumar 30% Tint (back 5 windows)
- Kartboy Knuckleball (red on black)
- Dug-e-Fresh's "Dead-On" Dead Pedal
- OEM Gauge Pod w/ Derres Catalano custom face plate
.... Autometer Z-Series Boost/Vac
.... Autometer Z-Series Analog Clock
.... Autometer Z-Series Electronic Oil Pressure

In the Beginning...
 

[b][u]In the Beginning...[/b][/u]

I purchased my ’02 Wagon back in August of 2001 after my cherry 1991 Honda Civic Si was on the receiving end of an unplanned meeting with a Ford F-250 pickup truck. Weeks prior to that fateful day, I had begun exploring the possibility of modifying my Civic. But once I purchased my WRX wagon I was immediately introduced to the Subaru community and thrust into the world of i-Club and the BAIC.

[img]http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=312964[/img]

[b][u]Let the Modifying Begin[/b][/u]
I eventually met up with local Suby enthusiasts through the board which led me to the driveways of shops throughout the Bay Area that were just starting out – Chris and Bill (I-Speed), Shiv and Brett (Vishnu), Gino, (RedStar), Mike (MPJ) and Joe (Scooby Dude), just to name a few.

As in most car modifications, I started out small (rims, tires, side makers, de-badging). After taking a ride along in M2 Performance’s Stage 2 car, I was immediately bitten by the “power bug”. At the time, there were just two local tuners, M2 and Vishnu. I eventually went with Vishnu beginning with Vishnu Stage 1 (UniChip) and finally ending up running with an Ecutek Stage 2 from 2002-2004.

I had no aspirations of weekend autocross or drag racing, but just wanted to realize the full potential of my car. With 249.0 whp under my belt, I figured I would eventually get some track time maybe once or twice a year.

2002 WRX Wagon Version 2.0... or should I say... 2.5L
 

About a month ago, my car started coming up with a lot CELs. I brought my car to Mike at Gruppe-S to have him pull the code and check out the problem. The CEL was a “Misfire on Cylinder 1”. The compression test that followed revealed the worst case possible... a blown piston. :mad:

Having just 41.5K miles, never having raced the car (except for the occasional spirited romp), regular maintenance and oil changes this situation came out of left field. It even took Mike a little by surprise. What I was left with, was an expensive paperweight and a bit of a dilemma... “Where do I go from here?”

[img]http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=313002[/img]

BTW, If the picture looks familiar, it was a topic of a quiz posted on i-club a couple of months ago. (I think we figured out what happened... update at link below):

[url]https://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87059&page=1&pp=20[/url]


After considering all of the time, effort and to say the least money already invested into this car and some serious discussions, I opted to go ahead and replace the engine outright and while the engine was already of the car, we might was well throw in a new clutch/flywheel for good measure.

There was no point in spending the money to replace the exact EJ20T engine back into the car when there were other options that were reasonably more bang for the buck. What we ended up installing was an new [b][u]EJ25FXT[/b][/u] engine and re-installing all of the previous mods on top of it.

After a month of breaking in the engine, I returned the car to Mike at Gruppe-S for tuning this past weekend. The new engine along with the existing mods, consistently generated a respectable [b]262whp[/b] with [b]283 Ft-Lb[/b] of torque.

[img]http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=315517[/img]

With that all said and done, I want to sincerely thank Mike, Dev, Tommah and Doa-Mai and the rest of the guys at Gruppe-S for all of hard work and professionalism (most of the time) for such a successful engine swap and tune.

Last but not least I want to thank all of my fellow BAIC’ers that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the years and look forward to many more years of camaraderie and general screwing around. :D

Stan

The Car and Mod List
 

Here is my car as it currently looks. Visited the wine country this past weekend and it was a good opportunity to take some photos.

[img] http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=315587[/img]

[img] http://www.imagehosting.us/imagehosting/showimg.jpg/?id=315606[/img]
“Chateau WRX”

What’s Coming Up Next
 

Lack of funds and patience on the part of my wife have left me with little desire to modify my car any further. BUT a Suby Enthusiast needs to keep his options open...

- 5MT Transmission with RA Gear Seats or 6MT Swap (very unlikely)
- JDM Folding Mirrors

That’s all I’m willing to do.... No really.... I’m not kidding.....

that is some nice torque!



[color=lime][size=1]aloha from the summit of *-^-mauna Kea-^-*[/color][/size]

I've been milking this baby so that my tranny could last long enough for me to save up with the RA gearset.

great numbers stan! cant wait until i get a ride in her.

are you still interested in the next drive?

Stan, still one of my all time favorite imprezas. :) Now you got a 2.5 XT engine in there?! Man, you are the epitome of the BAIC Wagon Clique.

[QUOTE=OwlBoogie]Stan, still one of my all time favorite imprezas. :) Now you got a 2.5 XT engine in there?! Man, you are the epitome of the BAIC Wagon Clique.[/QUOTE]

Looking forward to your build-up as well, Marc... makes me a little misty eyed thinking about "RALLYWAG1".

sweet wagon stan...my car is still sitting on the eibachs but will soon be swapped with some teins

nice wagon, i have an 03 myself and have plans in the works for some custom sub boxes made by my friend and some speakers. just need to liquidate some funds in order to finance the plans.
-Nick
p.s. where in wine country were you? that is my neck of the woods since i live in sonoma county.

Awesome numbers. And a totally non-revealing look to the car.
Met you Saturday. I was there bright and early with the family in the WRB Wagon.

sick wagon dood, I will be looking for you at mt. hami. ;)
Thanks again for to wifi card, it works great, just still having issues with bridging it with an ethernet interface in openbsd. ;x

[QUOTE=garziniwrx]p.s. where in wine country were you? that is my neck of the woods since i live in sonoma county.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the kind words guys. We were at Chateau Domaine Chandon. Great afternoon of champagne and caviar. Beautiful day. We typically keep along the 12/121 corridor in Sonoma. My wife and I got married at Gloria Ferrier so we're up there alot.

Stan.