Mike's Rex

Anyone that knows me knows that the current love of my life is my car... a 2002 Subaru WRX Sport Wagon in World Rally Blue. I currently enjoy modding it, avoiding idiotic Bostonites with it, and competing in Solo II events with it.

Anyways, here is the story with my car:

My favorite mod had to the tires... the Azenis are amazing. I love the way my wheels look, but if I had to do it all again I probably would have just put the Azenis on the stock rims.... oh, well, good excuse for a big brake kit. The engine and tranny mounts were another excellent mod... recommended to me by Mark over at Quantum Racing. Great guy to deal with, and the mod was exactly what I was looking for... much improved feel in the car. The strut bar seems nice so far... the car is more communicative and it feels like the rear suspension is helping out the front more. The shifter bushings might be good or might not... to be honest I don't think it did anything with the weak stock tranny mounts, but I would bet they are part of the improved feel I have with the mounts on now. The only real disappointing mod was the front endlinks... These came with a larger lower dowel pin then fit my chassis mount... disappointing. They also buckle occasionally while in parking lots (low speed/high steering angle). The Scoobysport exhaust bits are also amazing. The sound is wonderful, and the car pulls much better now with the turbo at full boost as low as 2750. The biggest thing is the turbo response, this mod totatlly killed the feeling that I was driving a 2.0L 8.0:1 compression ratio four cylinder during autocrosses. It is still possible to be in the wrong gear on the street, and it is still definetly a turbo car, but this made things a lot better. Getting the uppipe replaced made this job just barely within my ability. It took a full weekend and two weeknights! Many thanks to Sam because I don't think i could have finished this job if it weren't for his help.

Oh, and be sure to check out my photo gallerys (thanks to Ledbetter and Steve for the pics).

If you own an Subaru, be sure to check out NASIOC. It is the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, and I have learned a lot from the people there.

I also have to plug NER. I started autocrossing with them, and am amazed at how nice and helpful everyone is. The courses we run are incredibly safe and challenging... I wouldn't have it any other way. Other fun things I have done was going to Team O'Neil's winter safety school. Learning to drive safely when its slippery is fun! That is why I went to the Rallycross that they hosted, link to the pictures is above. Lastly, the Boston BMWCCA is a great organization, I just joined today! I went to one of their ice races, and plan to go to more. I also hope to go autocrossing with them when NER isn't running.

Last Modified: Mon May 17 12:19:35 EDT 2004