The same can be said for many of the goodies found in the glimmering engine bay-an HKS Twin Power DLI II ignition system complements Denso Iridium spark plugs to combust fuel provided by a Walbro 255lph pump. Keeping the bling at an acceptable level is key at car shows when you're trying to draw people out of a crowd. Rivals GReddy and HKS compete for attention with an oil catch can and D1 oil fill cap, adding some shine under the hood.
We're guessing the guys at ssIX were having too much fun driving the STI, though, because there are a few areas in which it strays from the rigid "all show" mission statement. They didn't have to add an ACT clutch and pressure plate-or the lightweight flywheel and a short shifter from B&M, either.
Sure, there's a need to get that wheel-well gap taken care of when you're showing off your new wheels, but HKS Hypermax coilovers are good for just a little bit more than show. They come with adjustable pillow ball mounts, which as we all know, are good for nothing more than maxing out camber and attacking the track. The front strut tower bar from Carbing is perhaps the only piece of suspension that serves as much a purpose at Hot Import Nights as it does at Sebring International Raceway.
In an effort to showcase as much of the ssIX P521 as possible, the driver side is equipped with the Galaxy Black variation of it, and the passenger side has Rally Gold 18x8.5 metal showing. The Rally Gold wheels are unique to the STI, while Satin Bronze wheel fitments are for the Evo only. On either side, the offset is 40 and they're wrapped around Bridgestone's RE050A rubber in 235/40/18. ssIX wanted to be sure they created as much of a dish as possible, while still clearing the big Brembo brakes that come stock on both the STI and the Evo. Owner Anthony Chow says, "Most wheels that have a driveshaft behind them tend to sacrifice the dish on all-wheel-drive cars. We worked closely with RH to ensure this was not the case with the Project P521."
With the car properly lowered on multi-colored wheels, attention was turned to bringing the body closer to the road. Chargespeed's carbon-fiber front and rear lips were installed in conjunction with their carbon-fiber side skirts. The result is a car that sits poised on its haunches with just the right amount of ground clearance to look aggressive, but not over the top.
Inside is a different story. You could easily mistake the cockpit of the ssIX STI for missile control at an army base-there are more gauges than you'd need to dive in a nuclear submarine. Housed in a Defi center-mounted triple gauge cluster and an ATI ePod steering wheel gauge mount are HKS RS DB Boost, oil temp, water temp, oil pressure and EGT. Upping the ante in the bling department are Takata harnesses and an HKS D1 shift knob. Adding to the electric light parade are HKS EVC EZ and Type-1 Black boost controllers.
However stiff the competition may be, ssIX seems determined to continue introducing new wheels. We hope they'll all be as application specific as the P521 and as unique as their '06 STI.
By Bradford Elsinore
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