For some guys, locating rare JDM pieces is a lifelong ambition. Their search leads them to the holy grail, and it comes in any color you want, as long as it's pink. Some JDM fans would be hiding these parts under a new coat of paint, but not De La Rosa; he knows the reason behind the color. Dominating the interior of the car is a rarely-seen-in-the-U.S. six-point roll cage produced by STi of Japan. Attached to the cage is a set of Sabelt harnesses wrapped around a pair of blood red Bride Brix seats. The view from the pilot's seat could be mistaken for a fighter jet as an incredible assortment of instrumentation awaits passengers. Controlling engine parameters is a HKS EVC EZ boost controller and a BEE-R Power Builder rev limiter. Monitoring engine parameters is a HKS turbo timer, A'PEXi rev/speed meter, and a collection of A'PEXi EL gauges, including: 60mm boost, exhaust gas temperature, oil temp, water temp, and shift light. With an interior redone in World Rally Blue Pearl, a pink roll cage, and carbon-fiber paneling done by LNR, De La Rosa couldn't be a bigger Subaru fan.
De La Rosa's suspension upgrade list is shorter than other areas, but he switched out the parts that count the most. A pair of Circuit Sports strut tower bars in the front and rear combine with a Cusco rear 22mm sway bar to help rotate the car. Dampers and springs were changed in favor of a Tanabe Sustec Pro S-0C coil-over system with Tein upper strut mounts. A Circuit Sports anti-lift bushing kit was also added, giving increased caster, steering response, and increased traction by decreasing the amount of weight shifting off the front tires (although more brake dive could be an issue).
An employee of Rotora, De La Rosa used some of the pieces that the brake pros thought up. A Rotora 330mm front big brake kit was added, which utilizes 330mm x 30mm one-piece cross-drilled and slotted brake rotors and four-piston brake calipers. Stainless-steel braided brake lines and rear Axxis Ultimate brake pads finish up the brake job. Helping add some stick to increase the threshold before brake lock is a set of Yokohama ES100 235/40R-17 tires wrapped around a set of 5Zigen FN01R-C titanium bronze 17x8-inch wheels. Adding better brakes and tires is always a good choice when increasing the power of any car; you gotta stop the car sometime.
De La Rosa thanksFranco, Richard and Loren of Team Rotora; Online Showoff; Speed Options; Speed Trial USA; South Coast Subaru; Team Kinetix and PJ Bonifacio. With his project complete and numerous events under his belt, De La Rosa now wants to move on to a new car, possibly an Evolution VIII, but the power of the pink may prove to be too strong.