Next, I had to address those grandma wheels. A set of gold 2.5 RS wheels from a model year (MY) 98 were purchased on Ebay, and the tires I bought from an I-clubber with only 4000 miles on them. While the stock Bridgestones aren't popular with the RS crowd, for Tina's daily commute they will be fine. I purchased new chrome lug nuts from my local supplier, as the oem lug nuts were $1.95 each. What I figured out on my own after the fact was the old Subys like my GL use the same lug nuts on the white spoker wheels. The junkyards are full of them and the wheel nuts too. Live and learn. I also bought a set of McGard locking lugs so the wheels don't disappear.
At a track event with my Audi, I met a fellow Impreza owner who wanted to sell a used Brospeed muffler. This is the one sold by Subaru through their performance catalog. It is stainless steel with a single large tip. The tip has "2.5RS" etched into it but when it's on the car the bumper hides this (so why did they bother?). It's a very simple installation, only two bolts hold it on. You'll need a new gasket, about $8 from Subaru. There are three rubber hangers, these can be tough to get the muffler in and out of. A little WD-40 or dishwashing soap will make the task very easy. Plan on having to butcher the two nuts/bolts if they are the least bit rusty.
There is no performance advantage to these mufflers, maybe a hp or two if you also change the mid-pipe (I didn't yet). Oh, be sure to fire it up before you install the new muffler...sounds really good! I opted for the Brospeed because it was reported to be not very loud so the wife wouldn't tire of it. Well, it's almost disappointingly quiet. You really can't tell much of a difference inside the car. If you're looking for sound, don't get this muffler. Honestly, I think I gained more sound from the airbox mod. The Stromung seems to be the muffler of choice, though it would have cost three times what I paid for this one. It was worth it in respect of the quality; this one looks like it will last a long time, whereas the stock muffler was already starting to look a little rusty. Appearance, of course, is improved. (image below) I am, however, considering doing to the Suby what I did to my Audi and have a system custom made to my specs.
The 2.5RS was, until the arrival of the WRX, the sportiest model available here in the USA. The 2.5 RS is a cosmetic rip-off of the successful FIA world rally cars. It's a pretty car, has a bigger 165hp engine shared with the Forester and Legacy GT, larger wheels, sporty seats and the obligatory wing. I like the RS, but it's no WRX. At the time we bought the green 'L' model, even a used RS was going for about $15,000. Our 110,000 mile (at purchase) car cost us $4790. It had some stone chips, a couple door dings and a missing radio knob, but leaked no oil, was quiet and had functioning a/c. I'll admit we did get a super price on it, due to some desperation on the dealer's part to move it. We owned it two years before it depreciated to what we paid for it. The downside, of course, is it IS just an 'L' model, and a '96 at that, which has the old boring grille and bumper. Luckily, all is correctable. The wonderful thing about Subarus is they are all nearly identical under the skin.
The next thing I did was remove the air filter muffler (snorkus). This thing resides in the passenger fenderwell and is designed to keep induction noise down. Who the heck needs that? It also limits the air flowing into the air cleaner box, a potential performance negative. I considered briefly getting one of the many K&N type ram pipe induction systems as there is plenty of room in the engine bay for one. The problem with them is, they suck in mostly hot air from the engine compartment, which is not the best idea. Subaru had the right idea, drawing cool air in from the isolated fender well, but strangled the system with the muffler. The muffler is easily removed by taking off two nuts (after the fender liner is removed; a PITA), but there is a gap left between the inner apron and the air filter box that would allow hot engine comparment air to get pulled in. Not to worry! Properly dissected as shown in the photos, the muffler yields a handy elbow complete with mounting bolt that fills the gap nicely, and takes all the intake air directly from the fender- well as before. I also cut it in a way that if I would ever want to put it back together, I could do so with a short piece of hose and some clamps. Always plan ahead, even if you don't think you'll ever need to do something.
Why didn't I make the tube longer? I didn't want it pointing too far down as it would increase the potential to pull in water while driving on a flooded street, which occasionally happens around here.
The end result? A noticeable "whooooomm" sound upon hard acceleration. Did it make the car faster? Probably not, but then I didn't spend $125+ on a silly piece of aluminum tubing with a decal on it either.
Around the same time I also installed a Momo shift knob to replace the rubbery thing the car came with. I can't say enough about this simple mod; it really makes the car so much more pleasant to drive.
I also gave Tina the much needed ohshit handle for the passenger side. This was pulled from a earlier model Brighton in the junkyard. Simply remove the plugs in the headliner (they will break, trust me) and the threaded holes for the attaching screws are already there. Why Subaru deleted these is beyond me.
Links
Just a couple for now. I haven't really had a chance to search for much yet.
All About Imprezas--use this site to get data on older Imprezas, model year changes, equipment packages, etc. Very useful site.
NASIOC--I think this is the best online community for owners of Imprezas and other Subys (Foresters, Legacys, SVX). Lots of technical info, and a great place to study up on turbo conversions if you're considering the ultimate mod.
Twin piston Single piston 'L' rotor Legacy rotor
Which leaves us with drum brakes on the rear. I'll try to upgrade those as parts become available; there were a few Legacy Outbacks at the U-Pull-It that have most of the needed pieces.
2.2RS
Remember in the beginning I said I loved my wife? Well, bless her little heart, she really, really wanted her car to look like an RS. So did I, badly! The actual body conversion is simple; it's getting the parts that is hard.
Subaru absolutely rapes you when it comes to the RS/OBS hood. The hood itself is expensive, then you need to buy the two vents (expensive) and the scoop (really, really expensive). Then don't forget the rain pans inside these parts (absurdly expensive for stamped pieces of metal) plus all the hardware including the non-reusable hood pad clips that are $2.81 each (you need 9). No wonder they cost so much...they are individually bagged! This is all you need for a 97-up Impreza. For a '96 and older, you also need to get a pair of headlamps (due to the hood shape) and grille. Well, if you add up what new parts cost, you won't do it.
Ever the cheapskate, I collected all the parts used, but it took awhile. The hood came from one I-clubber, the vents another, the rain trays yet another, the grille from a wreck at a body shop, and the headlamps from two different cars. (Note: there are two different styles of headlamp, clear and fluted lens. You'll want them to match). I was able to pull a small favor with one of my body shops and get them painted inexpensively off the car. Very fortunately, 307 green has only one variance, so the parts actually match just by painting. About the same time, I also had painted an 'L' spoiler I bought on Ebay for $40 (with 3rd brake light, templates and instructions!). Looks close enough to a RS sedan spoiler to suit me. The trunk spoiler went on first, and by itself made a huge difference. But the different hood and grille configuration really transformed the car.
Subaru Impreza 2.2 RS
July 2008
With 225,000 miles, we bid goodbye to the Impreza. Details at page bottom.
The main text was written during the 1st few years.
I love my wife...she's a great woman. Lets me do pretty much what I want when it comes to cars. when it's HER car, though, she can be tough. She was absolutely in love with her Jetta GLI 16v. A car she bought and had no idea how to drive (stick shift), but it taught her what I always knew...cars can and should be fun. Goodbye, slushbox Cavalier--hello close ratio gearbox VW. It was a reasonably dependable car, though I cursed it's intermittent power windows and difficult to remove oil filter on a regular basis. The red paint simply wouldn't stay shiny no matter what you did, and the windshield frame started to rust. With a quart of oil disappearing every 1500 miles (and I couldn't tell where) I decided it was time to move on at 164,000 miles.
.
The replacement process was surprisingly easy, after the difficult part of convincing her it was over for the GLI. We considered (briefly) a Mazda 626, but neither us was wowed by it. The second car we looked at we bought, which was the Impreza you see below. It was her favorite color, didn't have power windows to fail, had as much power as the GLI and awd for those snowy roads. A match made in heaven.
What impressed (imprezed?) me was how far Subarus had come since my trusty but archaic '84 GL 4x4 hatchback. Overhead cams and fuel injection are wonderful things. The 2.2 engine in the Impreza for '96 had 135 hp. It could kick the Jetta's butt.
Not exactly exciting to look at, is it?
First mod! A new front plate
Actually, the first mod was to replace the suspension. Though there was nothing noticeably wrong with the stock components, I figured at 110,000 replacement wouldn't hurt. The first of many purchases via the I-club, I bought a lightly used set of RS springs and struts and had them installed. Normally I would have done it myself, but I simply didn't have the time. While I was disappointed the car didn't appear to be any lower, the ride improved greatly. Firm, but not abusive.
At the same time I tried to install some fog lamps I had, but the bumper design doesn't lend itself to just bolting something on. I'd have to make long metal brackets to reach the steel reinforcement behind the cover, so decided to hold off.
A brief recap of the Mongrel Motorsports way of building interesting cars for very little money:
1996 Impreza L awd, 110,000 miles .............................................................$4790
German replica license plate ............................................................................20
Turpike tolls to pick up wheels ..........................................................................10
New lug nuts/locks/mounting/balancing ..............................................................57
Bridgestone tires (used) + FedEx from Florida ..................................................200
2 color pinstripe to replace fugly car lot striping ..................................................12
Total investment .........................................................................................$5772
Avg retail value of 1998 2.5RS (used, 2001) ...............................................$15000
Mongrel Motorsports can save you over $9000!
The Project Continues
Repair: the first thing to break on the Suby! At around 140,000 the car would sometimes refuse to start. This usually occurred when the engine was warm, and was symptomatic of an electrical problem as it was very intermittent. With the help of an OBD-II scan tool, we pulled the code for a crank sensor. These are sold in a pair with the cam sensor by Subaru, but I found an independent shop that splits the box as needed. Cost = $35 and five minutes of my time.
Legacy Front brakes: purchased from an I-Club member, the brake calipers are two piston vs. the original single piston type. You'll need the mounting brackets, pads and rotors to complete the swap. All the hardware and mounting points on the knuckle are identical. The dust shields seem to be fine also. This swap is simple, requiring only a few wrenches and bleeding of the brakes when you're through. The original rotors were in horrible shape, with the pads contacting far less than the complete rotor, possibly explaining the horrendously bad brakes we had. The upgrade is not a dramatic improvement, but it brings the car's braking up to where it should be and also opens up better possibilities for special pads should you do track days and the like. Cost of the used calipers was around $125 (with pads!). I got Brembo rotors locally from KAM Specialties (610-777-9702).
So far, so good. Starting to look like an actual enthusiast car.
At last, the car was worthy of new badging. An Impreza pal of mine who does vinyl made up the "2.2RS" decals at the top of the page for our cars. We just tell people it is a rare Canadian only model.
What's next?
Rear disc brakes would be sweet. A rear sway bar would be nice. I'm still not happy with the muffler.
Awww c'mon, what about real performance?
Well, sorry to say, but it isn't really feasible. You can spend big bucks on headers, cams, different heads, etc. but the Subaru engine is unfortunately limited in what can be done with it. Turbo kits are difficult due to the high compression ratio, but are probably the best solution. The newer Imprezas, much to my dismay, have a significant horsepower increase thanks to a new head design and electronics. Until this engine blows, it's not gonna happen. This car runs really well as-is, and a good driver can make it do amazing things. If you want to persue something, though, I recommend you spend hours reading the NASIOC archives. There is so much information there it's staggering.
Update 12/4/06
Well, after almost 7 years of ownership we added another 90,000 miles to it. This may replace my much loved Ford Fiesta as the best car I've ever "owned". What a great car. Very likely we will replace it with another Subaru...how could we not?
Final Update 7/08
With just over 225,000 miles on the odometer, we've made the decision to move on. The car still runs like a champ though it does use some oil between changes. The clearcoat is failing on the roof and the a/c expansion valve clogged up so we have no air. Instead of spending more money on it and realizing we needed a wagon instead of a sedan the time had come. 9 years is a long time to own a car, though not the longest I've had one. We couldn't be more pleased with the service it gave us and it absolutely owes us nothing. I may even be able to get a third or more of it's original cost back when I sell it, which is unbelievable. We are sold on Subarus. Yeah, the frameless windows suck and the interiors are a bit cheap, but it's been fun to drive, dependable, rust free and a great value. This page will remain up indefinately as it may still be useful to others. At some point it will be rewritten or deleted depending on the number of hits it receives.
Coming soon...our 'new' 2002 Forester with only 104,000 miles!
