NZ Performance Car – October 2019

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2008 SUBARU IMPREZA STI (V11)

DAILY DRIVEN

NZ Performance Car: Hey, Albert. Tell us how you came

to own this STi.

Albert: When I was younger, my first car game was Need for Speed

Underground 2, and, like everybody else who had the game, [I

found] modifying cars pretty cool. Slapping on bodykits, putting

decals all over your car, and driving it around was a good beginning

to getting into real cars. My original plan was to look for a Mitsubishi

Evolution VIII or IX, but, at the time, they were really hard to find. My

second option was to get a Subaru. During the search, I went to a

few dealerships, and I saw this hatch parked out front of one. I liked

the look of it straight away, and it was the perfect colour for what I

was imagining, so I bought it.

What was the plan for it?

I wanted to make it the best-looking STi hatch out [in] east Auckland,

so I tried my best to do that. Went through many different wheel set-

ups, from a track style to a stance look. Just trying out a few things

that I hadn’t seen anyone else doing here yet.

Is that why you chose to go widebody?

Yeah, as time passed and more hatches start[ed] appearing on the

roads, I had to do more to make it stand out. That’s why I decided to

go for the Varis widebody.

Has it been more of an aesthetic build over performance

for you, then?

Yes and no. The plan changed many times, and I was stuck

between modifying the exterior first and modifying the engine to get

more power. Eventually, I decided to do all the exterior stuff first, and

slowly bought bolt-on pieces for the engine to squeeze a bit more

power out of it.

So, next is an engine build?

I plan to wrap the car to make it stand out a bit more, and possibly

install air suspension, but yeah, then I’ll forge the engine with bigger

injectors, bigger fuel pump, bigger turbo, and a front mount —

hopefully enough to push a safe 350kW.

Solid plan, Albert.

NAME: ALBERT LIM // AGE: 22

LOCATION: AUCKLAND

OCCUPATION: SALES REPRESENTATIVE

ENGINE: Subaru EJ207, 1998cc, horizontal-four; VF49 twin-scroll turbo, Redline equal-length headers, NZKW

downpipe, NZKW exhaust, HKS intake, Possum Bourne Motorsport (PBMS) baffled sump

DRIVELINE: Six-speed manual, all-wheel drive

INTERIOR: Factory

EXTERIOR: Varis widebody, aftermarket headlights, Varis rear wing, rear tail-light overlays

WHEELS/TYRES: 18x9.5-inch (+22), 265/25/18 semi

SUSPENSION: BC Gold coilovers

POWER: 230kW on 21psi

FUEL TYPE: 98 octane

TUNER: PBMS