Burke’s Subaru STI

Photography by Khris H. | Words by Andy Carter

I’ll be honest.  When I see a Subaru, I want to see it dirty.  I want mud clumps, rock chips, and cracked aero.  Since the days of Gran Turismo, I think we’ve all come to expect to see a rally demon with that iconic blue paintjob, those standard gold wheels, and the Pleiades star cluster emblazoned along the side.  Stephen’s STI isn’t like that.  At all.

Most obviously, Stephen has set his STI apart from tradition with an outstanding stance.  A set of Helix DNA coilovers has laid the former rally car wheel gap to waste, creating a perfect frame for a classic set of Enkei NT03+M’s 18×9.5 (+27ET) wrapped in 235/40/18 Nitto NeoGen’s.  The exterior has been spruced up with a Cusco front lip, several OEM and JDM pieces, and a healthy de-badging.  The overall effect is subtle and effective, giving the car that perfect OEM+ vibe.

True to it’s roots, this STI still packs a performance punch.  Stephen has completely opened up the intake and exhaust systems with a Cobb Tuning intake and piping from HKS, Bellmouth, and Agency Power.  The whole thing ends with an insane 3 inch axleback straight pipe created by Mainstream Performance.  I think we should start including sound clips on these features, because that has to sound awesome.

So we have no gold wheels, no constellation stickers, and unless you’ve got a better eye than me, no rock chips; a rebel to the Subaru purist.  But we do have an incredibly clean, well put together car with top shelf parts.  Stephen has created an out-of-the-box car, while still exercising proper and mature restraint.  Call me crazy, but I can get behind that.

Full Mod List

Interior:
Pioneer Avic D3
Boston Acoustic’s 2-ways in front doors
JL Audio 3-way in rear doors
Passport Escort 9500ix radar
HKS Turbo timer
Recaro Speed seats
Speedware Motorsports low seat rails & sliders
Takata 4pt. Harness’s
ARC Titan shift knob
25% window tint

Exterior:
Subaru oem 1 piece window visors
Cusco GT front lip
Subaru JDM spec front fogs
WRX side skirts
debadged rear trunk & side doors

Suspension:
Helix DNA coilovers w/ front camber plates
Eibach rear camber bolts
Whiteline front strut bar
Whiteline 24mm Fr & 22mm Rr adjustable sway bars
Whiteline Heavy duty endlinks F&R
Upgraded Alum. lateral links

Brakes:
Hawk street pads
Goodridge Stainless steel lines

Wheels:
Enkei NT03+M 18×9.5 5-114.3 +27ET
235/40/18 Nitto NeoGen
Project Kics Neo-chro lugs w/ locks