ok heres the deal...i just sold my montero sport and picked up a 01 impreza rs 2dr...was wanting a wrx but was kinda short on $$$....now im not really the mechanic type cuz i couldnt really soup up my suv too much..but i know a lot can be done to the scooby...i was just wondering where would be a good starting place from bone stock...should i go right for some performance mods or are there other things to change out first..any help would be appreciated cuz i really want to get this car lookin and runnin real sweet

 

i totally agree with this one. what's the point in having a fast car when you can't controll it. When i bought my WRX the first thing i did was suspension.

 

lessee.....let me see what this n00b can gather from what he's read in the forums so far (I'm talking about myself here b4 you flame )

1. Suspension
2. CAI or Ram Air
3. Exhaust
4. ECM
5. Engine Internals, if you wanna go there: Cams/Springs/Heads/even the Block.

What have I left out?

 

That's Right!

Stickers! I forgot about Stickers!

littleredscoobie, I'd highly recommend BruceLee for any guidance you need on sticker selection and placement.

 

On the subject of stickers and decals, Is it possible to get a set of the WRC decals made in black to put on a silver WRX, I don't think that yellow decals will fly. Help me BruceLee!!!! Thanks.

~Joe

 

Wow... I can't believe everyone else skipped right over this:

#1 - Tires. They will make the largest single performance difference $ for $ on the RS. Right now you might want to look at snow tires, but come spring a quality set of tires should be you first purchase.

After that on the RS, most people swap out the rear sway and end links. Try that for a while and see what you think. A proper set of coil-overs are going to be expensive.

Then on to the intake, some decent improvement to be found there. Also a short-shifter and bushings. You could change the exhaust, but don't expect much extra hp – mostly just an ear-to-ear grin from hearing the sweet sound of that flat four. Swapping out your front brakes for ones from a WRX will make significant improvement and can be done for ~$200 if you pick up some used ones from someone who has done a big-brake conversion. After that your mods start getting expensive, and it depends a bit on what specifically you have planned for the car. Hope that helps.

 

^I agree. Tires first, suspension second. Rear sway bar is first thing you should change on the RS (if not already done). After that, it depends on what your using the car for. If you plan to auto-x/track it, then coilovers are proper. However, if it's just a daily "fun" driver, then the stock suspension might be fine for you or just a susupensionkit (I have the Prodrive Bilstein/Eibach kit and it's perfect for me with long commutes). There's not much you can do about power without cams/heads, but an exhaust is a lot of fun. Have fun, I'm sure you'll love the car even not being a WRX. I love mine.

 

I agree with cwhalgren also. As far as suspention goes there are a lot of different strut and spring setups out there for the RS. You may want to check out rs25.com also if you havent already. Oh yeah STI engine and tranny mounts are a good bang for the buck mod also.

 

FatJoe- www.ninosautoaccesories.com. Get phone # from web site and call. Any color you want, with or without shadows, lead time about 1 week