Subiesport 2008 WRX Project Car

With a new model-year comes a new addition to the Subiesport project fleet. We had our fun with our GD-chassis 2.5RS, and since that car is going back to stock, we needed some fresh blood in our fleet. To that end, we have decided that we need to play around with one of the third-gen Imprezas, in turbocharged form this time. The basic premise of this car is to see what we can do within the frame work of a stock turbo and stock engine.

To see where we starting from, we took the car to Pacific Import Auto in Tacoma, Wash., to get a baseline on their all-wheel-drive, Mustang dynamometer.

The results are pretty much what we expected, about 225lb/ft and 200whp. Not bad at all. What is a little surprising is that boost and power are almost always on tap from about 2,000rpm-on. You can feel this on the road in pretty much any gear. Lay in the gas and the car goes without a hint of lag. This makes the car very tractable and great for slicing through traffic. 

Another point that we found a bit surprising are the air/fuel ratios (AFRs). From 2,000rpm to about 3,500rpm the AFRs are very lean, about 14.7:1, almost stoichiometric fueling, which is also very lean for a turbocharged car. At the open-loop, closed-loop crossover point the AFRs plummet down to a much richer, and safer, 12:1 AFR.

While this makes for great low-end power and helps with emissions, it makes for a somewhat scary tune given that Subarus tend to like to be rich, that and the semi-forged pistons are notoriously fragile and not up to the punishment of lots of knock, a danger in a lean engine. While this shouldn't pose a problem in a completely stock car running premium fuels, any sort of modifications will DEMAND tuning of some sort.

Our plans for the car include an AccessPORT, catted exhaust system, intake, intercooler and of course suspension work. We may go as far as coilovers and maybe we will see if about an STI-style manifold setup and turbo, but we shall see.

If you are wondering what the stickers are all about, this is a marketing car that was shown last summer at X Games 13. As we build the car, we will be showing it at events and enthusiast hang-outs up and down the West Coast, fish decals and all.

The girls in the Subaru marketing department call the car Nemo, so I guess we will let the name stick. The first order of business will be to mount some better wheels and tires, then drop her down a little bit.

Stay tuned to this space as the mods will come quickly and often.