Junior year I drove a 2013 Ford Focus ST that my grandma bought for me. It was an awesome car. Turbocharged inline-4 making 252 hp to the front wheels. Paired to a very nice 6-speed manual transmission, this car was really fun to drive. However, I live in a place where it snows in the winter and front wheel drive wasn’t really going to cut it.
In spring of 2014, I was obsessed with the 2015 Subaru WRX STI. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I wanted it really bad. The thing that made it worse was when we went to test drive cars, we drove the standard impreza, which was too slow for our taste, and the salesman wouldn’t let us drive the WRX without running a credit check so we bailed. The thought of having a chance to drive that car but lost it is what really fueled the fire. For months, I lusted over the STI. I did a bunch of calculations to figure out how much I could sell my car for and how long it would be to pay off the STI with a part-time job. My dad made me some deals but my mom wasn’t going to let me get a new car.
Fast forward to fall of 2014, my senior year. My dad I and were talking about it with my mom and they decided that a used WRX would be more reasonable. I immediately got online and searched for one that was a hatchback. We found 2 cars. Neither of which were close to us. A silver WRX in Sacramento, and a black WRX in Modesto. We discussed the deal and the car, and on November 3rd, my dad drove the Focus ST out to Modesto to pick up a black WRX. He got home at about 1 in the morning. When I got up the next day I was ecstatic. I ran straight to the garage to check it out and I was blown away at how awesome it looked. I fell in love immediately and I hopped in to drive it. As soon as I got home, I got to work peeling off the stupid Carmax decals that they put on it. I still have a carmax license plate frame but I spray painted it so it’s a little less obvious.
Finally, I got the car I was obsessing over for almost a year. It was finally mine and I had something to work for. In the end I owe my dad about $10,000 but its worth it. Theres not much that I want to buy so any money I make from a job will go straight to that car. Hopefully I will pay it off by the summer of 2016 so I can take it to college and start modifying it to a greater extent.
Subaru WRX Specs:
- Turbocharged EJ255 flat 4
- 265 hp
- 244 lb/ft torque
- 5-speed manual transmission
- Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive
Since I got it, I have done a few simple modifications. The first of which was plastidipping my badges. My friends and I all got some plastidip and we went to work on our badges. I think it turned out pretty well and it makes subtle changes to the appearance.
One day, I parked a little too far forward and the bumper scraped in the curb. When I backed up it cracked the bumper and I was pissed. I looked up how much it would cost to fix it and if I could do it myself. Then I found drift stitching. I had zip ties and a drill so I went to work. I stitched up the crack and it looked really good in my opinion. It cost me $0 and it held my bumper together really well. I also got the chance to remove the bumper so I learned a little about working on cars.
The third mod I did was tail light overlays. I wasn’t a fan of the standard clear chrome tail lights so I wanted to add some color to make it look a little better. I bought tail light overlays from Premium Auto Styling and installed them myself. It didn’t turn out that great but I wasn’t willing to give up and lose $30 so I stuck with it and made sure it looked alright. There are some creases and bubbles but I can always buy more and re apply them if I want to.
InFocus clothing makes shift boot covers for the WRX and STI. They add a little bit of color to your interior. I wanted some but I wasn’t willing to pay $25 for one so I made my own. I found and old Superman t-shirt while cleaning out my closet and decided to use that. I used my moms sewing machine and created my own shift boot cover. It looks pretty good for something I did myself and it adds a little bit of flair to my interior.
The last mod I have done is bumper and fender quick releases. I bought these because I wanted a little mod that will look good and keep my bumper from falling off if it gets pulled on from curbs or something. I actually installed them the morning of this writing.
Recently, I created a list on RallySportDirect.com with all of the mods that I want to get and install on my car. Currently, the list is totaled at $13,469.72. Here is the list with links to all of the parts.
- Invidia Q300 Catback Exhaust
- COBB Tuning SF Intake
- COBB AccesPORT
- Enkei PF01 Wheels
- Gorilla Small Diameter Blue Lug Nuts
- GrimmSpeed Oil Cap
- COBB Tuning Battery Tie Down
- COBB Tuning Downpipe
- Hella Supertone Horn Kit
- Perrin Mounting Bracket for Hella Horns
- COBB Tuning Short Throw Shifter
- COBB Tuning Shift Knob
- COBB Tuning Shifter Bushings
- BC Racing BR Coilovers
- SMY Cluster Maker Dual Gauge Pod
- Defi White Racer Boost Gauge
- AEM Oil Pressure Gauge
- Perrin Front Mount Intercooler
- Mishimoto Performance Radiator
- Perrin Lightweight Crank Pulley
- Brembo Gran Turismo 6 Piston Brake Kit
- Sparco Fighter Seat Black
- Takata Race 4-Point Harness
- ACT StreetLite Flywheel
- Exedy Stage 4 Heavy Duty Twin Metallic Disc Clutch Kit
I would like to get most of these parts. The flywheel and clutch kit will probably be installed at a pro shop if I ever do an engine build. The rest of the parts I can probably install myself with some friends and some YouTube videos.
I don’t think I will ever sell this car. If it breaks down I’ll do an engine swap to keep it running. My goal is to push around 400 wheel hp out of it. I’ll probably end up getting the engine built with things like forged pistons to make this happen. Bigger turbos, better fuel injectors, all that stuff. I’ll keep this car for as long as I can and hopefully it will be a bigger beast than it already is.
If you guys want a review of this or the Focus ST let me know and I’ll write one up.
Project Innovator 
