Category: WRX

One of the cleanest 2013 Subaru WRX’s we’ve seen just left the shop with a new lease on life! With only 200 of these Tangerine Orange editions produced that year, you can say it was definitely worth saving! While the original engine succumbed to rod knock at 115,000 miles, Olivia took this opportunity to revive her WRX with a built engine!

With the old engine out, a new Stage 1 EJ257 short block was ordered from IAG Performance, and the stock EJ255 heads were pulled and refreshed. While the engine was out, Alex installed a WRX STI 11mm oil pump, oil cooler and associated components, AVCS components, oil pan, timing components from Gates, fasteners from ARP, V2 oil pick tube from IAG Performance, Street Series air/oil separator from IAG Performance, down-pipe from Invidia Exhaust, an HDSS clutch setup from Advanced Clutch Technology, and all the miscellaneous OEM and aftermarket components to bring it all together. With the engine back in the car, a GrimmSpeed top-mount intercooler was installed along with a COBB Tuning 3-port electronic boost control solenoid and Alex finished it all off with a short-shift kit from All Wheel Engineering,llc Kartboy.com.

With the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, Matt strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom calibration via COBB Tuning Accessport. With 93 octane in the tank, Vlad was able to increase the EJ257’s output to 314.24awhp & 337.91lbft!

When it comes to Bugeye WRX power plants, it really is hard to top the EJ207: out-of-the-box 8,000RPM+ redline, semi-closed deck block, AVCS intake camshafts, no TGVs, and in the case of the Version 8, a rumble-eliminating header feeding a twin-scroll IHI VF37 turbocharger good for 300awhp+ — in short, it’s one seriously fun package! And that’s exactly what Blake brought us his 2002 Subaru WRX to have done!

With the engine in-shop from J-Spec Auto Sports Inc., Alex got to work performing the swap including a twin-scroll specific down-pipe from Tomioka Racing, timing components from Subaru and Gates Racing, OEM STi Group N engine mounts, an EXEDY USA clutch & Fidanza Performance 9.5lb aluminum flywheel, necessary wiring modifications to enable AVCS, along with all the miscellaneous OEM Subaru gaskets, seals, fasteners, and components to complete the work.

From there, Matt strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom calibration via EcuFlash (open source). With 93 octane in the tank, Vlad increased the EJ207’s output to 306.99awhp & 309.40lbft, a peak increase of 104.42awhp & 87.36lbft over the baseline of 205.52awhp & 222.04lbft, with gains of over 160awhp in the upper end of the curve! It’s easy to see why the EJ207 is a go-to solution for GDA/GGA chassis WRX owners looking to turn the wick up.

Jorge brought us his 2016 Subaru WRX STI to get the engine built and ready for the next steps in power!

Up first in the shop, starting with a Stage 2 short block from IAG Performance, John rebuilt the EJ257 with brand new OEM Subaru gaskets & seals, WRX STI 11mm oil pump, V2 oil pump pickup tube from IAG Performance, OEM Subaru timing components with a Blue racing belt from Gates, fasteners from ARP, cylinder 4 chamber cooling system from Getadomtune, Street Series air/oil separator from IAG Performance, HDSS clutch kit and Streetlite flywheel from Advanced Clutch Technology, all working perfectly with the existing modifications from COBB Tuning, including a TD05H-20G-8 turbocharger, front-mount intercooler system, SF air-intake system, down-pipe, and 3-port electronic boost control solenoid.

With the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, Matt strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom Pro Tune via COBB Tuning‘s V3 Accessport. With 93 octane in the tank and the 20G turbocharger delivering 20psi, Vlad increased the EJ257’s output to 348.43awhp & 353.45lbft! Stay tuned for E85 numbers to come!

After sitting with the engine removed for quite some time, Josh brought us his 2013 Subaru WRX to have it brought back to life and made better than ever!

Up first in the shop, starting off with a new long block from IAG Performance featuring a Magnum Closed Deck short block and Stage 2 CNC pocket ported cylinder heads loaded with valve train components from GSC Power-Division, we rebuilt the EJ255 with brand new OEM Subaru gaskets & seals, WRX STI 11mm oil pump, OEM Subaru oil cooler and associated components, OEM Subaru AVCS components, S2 272°/272° camshafts from GSC Power-Division, oil pan and pickup tube from Killer B Motorsport, cylinder 4 chamber cooling system from Getadomtune, fasteners from ARP, equal-length header from Killer B Motorsport, stock location XR ZERO 86HTZ turbocharger from Forced Performance Turbochargers, 84mm turbocharger inlet tube from Forced Performance Turbochargers, MV-R wastegate from TiAL Sport, 50mm Q blow-off valve from TiAL Sport, complete fuel system featuring ID1300x fuel injectors from Injector Dynamics and components from Radium Engineering, IAG Performance, Aeromotive Fuel Systems, and iWire Wiring Services, Flex Fuel conversion from COBB Tuning, Street Series air/oil separator from IAG Performance, along with all the miscellaneous OEM and aftermarket components to bring it all together, all working well with the existing modifications, including a twin-disc clutch from Competition Clutch, an SF air-intake system from COBB Tuning, top-mount intercooler from GrimmSpeed, turbocharger-back exhaust system, and 3-port electronic boost control solenoid.

With the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, John strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom speed-density Pro Tune via COBB Tuning‘s V3 Accessport. With 93 octane in the tank, and the XR ZERO turbocharger delivering ~20psi, Vlad increased the EJ255’s output to 399.55awhp & 343.43lbft! After the break-in period, we’re looking forward to seeing this GH back for the Flex Fuel calibration, and for much more steam!

Manny made the trip up from Georgia with his 2013 Subaru WRX to have the EJ255 built for his long term power goals!

Up first in the shop, starting with a Stage 2 short block from IAG Performance, John rebuilt the EJ255 with brand new OEM Subaru gaskets & seals, WRX STI 11mm oil pump, fasteners from ARP, timing components from Gates, Street Series air/oil separator from IAG Performance, all working perfectly with the existing modifications, including an air-intake system from GrimmSpeed, turbocharger inlet tube from PERRIN Performance, down-pipe from COBB Tuning (connected to the OEM exhaust), Verticooler from Process West, and 3-port electronic boost control solenoid from COBB Tuning.

With the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, Matt strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom Pro Tune via COBB Tuning‘s V3 Accessport. With the OEM VF52 turbocharger delivering 18psi, Vlad increased the EJ255’s output to 330.42awhp & 368.92lbft! Great results from the stock turbocharger. We’re looking forward to seeing more from this GH in the future!

After experiencing a connecting rod bearing failure with his 2014 Subaru WRX, Chris decided to take the opportunity to build the EJ255 for improved performance, resilience, and reliability for the long run!

Up first in the shop, we removed the EJ255 to determine the extent of the failure and identify which components required replacing, then starting with a Stage 2 built short block from IAG Performance, we rebuilt the engine with brand new OEM Subaru gaskets & seals, WRX STI 11mm oil pump, oil cooler and associated components, AVCS components, oil pan, timing components from Gates, fasteners from ARP, V2 oil pick tube from IAG Performance, Street Series air/oil separator from IAG Performance, down-pipe from Invidia Exhaust, SF air-intake system from COBB Tuning, an HDSS clutch setup from Advanced Clutch Technology, along with all the miscellaneous OEM and aftermarket components to bring it all together.

With the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, John strapped her down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom Pro Tune via COBB Tuning‘s V3 Accessport. While elevated intake air temperatures did hold us back a bit, Vlad was still able to increase the EJ255’s output to 290.80awhp & 315.82lbft! An upgraded intercooler down the line would really top this setup off nicely!

Casey brought us his 2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA, 1 of only 500 produced, for the first round of modifications! Up first, Matt performed some baseline dyno pulls to establish a starting point, coming in at a healthy 287.09awhp & 293.31lbft. Up next, Alex installed an SF intake system from COBB Tuning, a Street Series air-oil separator from IAG Performance, all topped off with a turbocharger-back exhaust system from COBB Tuning.

With the mechanical work wrapped in the shop, Matt strapped her back down to the rollers for Vlad to perform a custom Pro Tune via COBB Tuning’s Accessport. With 93 octane in the tank, Vlad increased the EJ257’s output to 323.76awhp & 360.62lbft, picking up 36.67awhp & 67.31lbft at peak, and 60.03awhp & 81.82lbft in the mid-range! That’s definitely a difference Casey will notice, and should keep him entertained (for a while). It’s great to see a Type RA being thoroughly enjoyed as a modified daily driver.