Subaru Impreza RSTI: Project Ethanol TrackWhore

Subaru Impreza RSTI: Project Ethanol TrackWhore – The Beginning

1998_subaru_impreza_rs_9

This project began with the idea of building a cheap track worthy car that was fast and fun. Once I started, however, I realized there needed to be something different about this car. Originally the car was going to run on 93 – 100 octane, but with the launch of Green-Racer.com, I really wanted to live alternative fueled performance using this car. Why a Subaru Impreza 2.5rs? It mostly has to do with this article: Old School Rules – Subaru Impreza vs Mitsubishi Evolution . I was completely shocked at what this car was capable of within a budget. So I decided to pull the trigger and build myself a “TrackWhore” fueled by Ethanol. Definition of a “TrackWhore” : A car used/beaten on a race track on a consistent basis.

My goal for this car is to put it on track but also have an ultra responsive daily driver that doesn’t need much to serve double duty, not to mention excellent mpg (miles per gallon). I also wanted to keep this entire project build under $14,000 (including the price of the car). In order to get the job done I needed to find a completely stock 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS at a really good price, which I did thankfully. After a few months of searching I was able to find a 1998 2.5RS with 115,000 miles with a clean carfax report.

As you can see, there were a few minor issues with the paint/body, but overall not a bad car for $3,400.

Now that I have the car, the next step is to develop a list of parts to get for the car. Here’s version 1 of the master list:

Engine

Version 8 JDM STI 2 liter motor with twinscroll turbo: Having a high redline stock and a ultra responsive turbo would be perferct for the street and track
JDM Stock ECU: Great for emissions and easy to flash
Top Mount Intercooler
Radiator
Exhaust

DriveTrain