Scooby-Doo, where are you? Thien Tran may not look like Shaggy but you can bet that this Scooby is certainly his best friend. Not that Thien has always been fending for Scooby Snacks; like most Subaru owners it becomes an acquired taste. Tran was your standard Honda and Acura kind of guy until one fateful day two years ago. One minute he was happily driving his 1995 Acura Integra to work and the next minute he is standing on the side of the freeway cursing at it and kicking the tires. Unfortunately, buying used cars with sketchy odometers have a way of doing that to you. Long story short, everything pretty much went to hell and to add to the hurt, he had only owned the damn thing for a mere six months. Tran decided he wouldn't take any more and made up his mind that his next car would be brand new and fresh off the dealership floor. But what new ride should he pick up with all the possibilities out there? Having owned various front-wheel-drive Hondas since he was 16, Tran decided that he wanted something different, unique and not front wheel drive! Then, at the Los Angeles International Auto Salon, he saw a lonely silver Impreza WRX sitting at Subaru's booth without fanfare or bright lights. Wow! Is it true that we are finally getting the JDM goodies that we have been denied for so many years from the U.S. market? Tran ran towards the Scooby like a kid finding his lost dog and proceeded to familiarize himself with this new breed of machinery. He sat in the seats, played with the shifter, drooled at the flat-four turbocharged engine and dazzled at the relatively low MSRP. Tran knew at that moment that he'd have to grab this opportunity to own a JDM turbocharged all-wheel-drive rally machine. It had been a while since he was this excited about a new car introduction and he'd figured it would be a refreshing start after the Hondas he has owned. From that fateful day, Tran threw himself into the Subaru world and since then his diet has consisted of Scooby Snacks, that is, high-powered Scooby Snacks.
With his Integra freshly detailed to get a good trade-in price, Tran headed to the nearest Subaru dealership. After haggling for three hours he was handed the keys to his own 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, World Rally Blue, in June 2001. Being a newbie to the Subie world, Tran hopped on the Internet to do some research on the WRX He discovered I-Club.com where a wealth of information was to be read and digested. It was there he found parts from Japan, England and Australia, where the WRX has enjoyed immense popularity since it was introduced back in the early 1990s.
Tran was also exposed to what a real car "meet" was all about-a group of car owners getting together to discuss and introduce themselves to this new and relatively unknown class of automobile. To his surprise, Tran found all the Subie owners to be very cool, with everyone wanting to share ideas and stories about their own experiences with the vehicle and its many modifications. It was like welcoming yourself not only into a community of owners, but to a family that Tran feels he still has a great relationship with to this day. Don't you just feel warm and fuzzy all over? Those Subie owners are all about da love.
Enough of the touching story already, let's get down to the good stuff! Tran started out his WRX modifications going for the European Rally look with French Morettes headlights, an Australian 22B replica rally-style rear wing, Danish A'PEXi coilovers and Italian Speedline wheels. At that stage the only thing that was a Japanese part on the vehicle was the Subaru OEM Aero kit and JDM side skirts. Those mods satisfied Tran for only six months when decided he needed more, as all car enthusiasts can understand, and he dove into modifying the engine.
The first engine modification was adding an HKS high-power cat-back exhaust system purchased from Turbo Evolution where Tran met T.E.'s co-owners, Tony Lin and Ryan Go. They started a conversation that lead to a sponsorship deal (if only it was always that easy!) of the WRX with only one catch: the future modifications would be geared towards the JDM style. Subsequently, the Morettes gave way to Subaru STU projectors with Phillips HID, the Speedlines were dumped for STI RS-Zero 18 x 7.5-in. wheels (with Toyo Proxes for rubber), the rally wing was replaced by a new FlatFours Performance carbon-fiber GT Wing, and A'PEXi swapped in favor of TEIN suspension. Tran's WRX also picked up a Kaminari fiberglass reverse-vented hood and a C-West V2 front grille to set off his new vehicle's new guise.
Initially, Tran was a bit of a suspension junkie that manifested itself into various Cusco suspension parts like Cusco front and rear strut bars, front V2 Underbrace, 21mm front and adjustable 20-, 22-, 24mm rear anti-sway bars and rear V-Bar brace. Rounding out the suspension goodies are TEIN type flex coilovers with TEIN EDFC and STi Pink lateral link and trailing arms set up by West End Alignment of Torrance, Calif. Then came the braking system, which consisted of front Subaru four-pot calipers with an AEM big brake kit for both the front (340mm x 24mm) and rear (290mm x 10mm) and Goodridge stainless steel lines. You can bet that this suspension setup was helpful to Tran at the 2001 Rim of the World Rally and 2001 Treeline Rally at which the WRX ran. Now that the suspension and brakes are done, the engine go-fast parts needed to be added.
By Jasper Chan
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