Hello all. I update this post over the course of my ownership. Last updated: May 2026.

Originally bought: Sep 2020
Sold: June 2021
Bought: September 2021
Sold: November 2022
Bought: August 2025
Sold: May 2026

Enjoy the write up.
The current mods

Engine:
Owen Developments HTA71 Turbo (Supplied and Fitted at Chevron Motorsport)
ID 1050cc Injectors
Xtreme Clutch
Roger Clark Motorsport Induction Kit
Omni 4 Bar Map sensor
Gravity Performance Front Mount Intercooler
Upgraded Hoses
Braided brake lines
3 Port Boost Solenoid
Lightened Flywheel
3 Inch exhaust with Afterburner Raptor backbox

Brakes:
Godspeed Grooved Brake Disks
Fuji Racing Pads

Wheels/Drivetrain
XXR 527 18's ET30 Wheels
Toyo Tires
Cusco Coilovers

Extra:
Front and Rear Strut Brace
JDM Wind Deflectors
JDM Rear Plate
Front Splitter
Side Skirt Extensions

Mapped by Duncan at Surrey Rolling Road in 2021 (430.1bhp)

RESPRAYED BITS
Bonnet x2 - First time after removing carbon wrap, second time after I messed up patching in a stone chip.
Scoop x1 - Resprayed with the bonnet
Wings x1- Resprayed with the bonnet and scoop the first time
Front Bumper x1 - With bonnet, scoop and wings
Rear bumper x2 - First time when having arches cut out and replaced, second time in September 2022 when I scratched it on a fence.
Wing Mirrors x1 - Resprayed in September 2022 with the rear bumper


September 2020
I had driven 122 Miles to Yeovil from Aldershot to look at a black one, I liked it but ideally I wanted blue, On my way home this one popped up on Facebook Marketplace In Salisbury. I was not keen on the Carbon Wrap but I knew I could just change it back.

This was the picture on the night of me driving home and giving its first tank of fuel from my wallet.



NOVEMBER 2020

Went in for a cambelt, waterpump etc and i didnt realise it had already been changed 8k miles before, however peace of mind. It smelt of fuel and found I had I think it was split fuel hoses or something and that cost be about £1k overall with cambelt etc. Car was running all good and no fuel smell ever since.

DECEMBER 2020

Removed the Wrap with a heater and this still happened, ruined my paintwork and paid around £450 for a full bonnet, wing and scoop respray. Was not happy as already spent almost £2k in 2 months of ownership.



FEBRUARY 2021

Really didn't like the wheels as you can imagine, so after seeing photos with people with XXR 527's I had to have a set and then picked up some uniroyal rain sport 5 tyres.


It also decided to blow a hole in the radiator and that needed replacing, luckily TFS racing in Aldershot was able to help and £270 all in new radiator was fitted.




APRIL 2021

The HELLA horns it had on it had clearly seen better days, I took them apart and cleaned them up. Also the front badge really needed replacing. I sprayed the Aircon pipe black so you cannot really see it, looks smarter.








JUNE 2021

I had wanted to buy a splitter for a while but never did get around to it, finally I took the plunge and with help from my dad got it all fitted up.
First one I ordered was HT Autos off eBay and the fit was not all that great, had to drill one or two mounting holes myself. Second one I used AeroD Autos and the price was £40 cheaper, seemed to be a better fit and stronger.






Top Splitter is HTAutos and bottom is AeroD Autos

Bottom one as you can see is suited to fit much better than the top one which you can see I had to drill my own hole as there was a mounting bolt in the middle, just no hole in splitter.



AUGUST 2021

Love or hate it I fitted the Toyo Tires Sunstrip and I fitted the new front badge. It stands out from the rest and I quite like it.
I cant remember what month but I had managed to Facebook Marketplace a Afterburner Raptor exhaust and had that slip joint fitted at TFS Racing.



NOVEMBER 2021

I purchased a Gravity Performance front mount Intercooler Kit in Black and fitted this literally hours before this post with help from friends. I also just purchased some Cusco Coilovers in great condition off eBay for
a bargain, imported off a JDM STI the guy is putting it back to standard.

Took the car down to Surrey Rolling Road and had it on the Dyno where we managed 419bhp. Duncan recommended a 3 bar map sensor.
Fortunately the next customer had one in his boot as a spare so I bought that straight off him and we fitted the sensor and a 3 port boost solenoid, then we are now running Mafless.

430.8BHP

December 2021
After messing up the bonnet paint with touch up paint after having it painted, I had to get it done again!
I had the front bumper, Winglets, Fog Covers, Bonnet all resprayed again and now it looks brand new and not a mark on the front of the car.
I had paintless dent removal done on the car which did all four doors and now there is not a single parking dent on the car. I just had the Cusco Coilovers fitted and tracking done for a fast road setup at Subaru4You.
I also just collected some Wind deflectors off an Impreza being broken and now will hopefully get them fitted this week.

FEBRUARY 2022

I have done a few things over the last couple of months. Changed to a rear JDM size plate, had paintless dent removal done to remove all the little dings and had the arches replaced. Little bit of rust has been bugging me for the last year and a bit and I have finally bit
the bullet to have them cut out and replaced properly. Expensive to do but now they car is in absolute MINT condition.

Car now also has the JDM wind deflectors on.

MARCH 2022

Car was running a bit rubbish and felt like it was misfiring and only noticeable when under boost. Replaced spark plugs with NGK PFR7B Spark Plugs supplied from ScoobyWorx, then replaced the coil packs just in case and then it was back to running great again.

Also had Paintless Dent removal (Third time) done to remove the parking dings, £120 well spent for all 4 doors and rear arch.


APRIL 2022

Took my car in and I had a full oil change service. Replaced Engine oil and filter, Gearbox Oil and Differential Oil. Been too a couple different car shows the last month and have someone's prom end of June as they wanted me to take their son so wanted the car in tip top shape.

It was also my wedding car this month and it was looking gleaming.




JUNE 2022
Replaced spark plugs with some NGK PFR7B plugs (Again) Did only about 30 miles this month as I was moving house and changing jobs. I removed the mudflaps as they were starting to show their age.

September 2022
I reversed into my fence at home and scratched my bumper! Upset, I booked my car in on a Friday and dropped it off Monday, where I had the rear bumper resprayed as well as the wing mirrors as they had never been done in my ownership and had a few stone chips.
Car is back looking MINT! After removing the mudflaps last month it left a few bolt holes in the rear bumper sides, when they redid my bumper they have now fixed and reinforced the bumper if we were ever wanting to fit the mudflaps again.
Big thanks to Chris at C&T Automotive.
Engine code P-0134 came on a week or so ago which is showing as a 02 Sensor, replaced it with a new one from import car parts. The original one has a male head and the new ones have female, we had to cut and solder the old head onto the new sensor, heat shrunk it all for perfection.
Took it for a afternoon drive to get my haircut and went to the local Surrey Subaru Meet.



October 2022
I do not get out in the car much, usually garage it on a Sunday and it does not come out until the following Friday or Saturday. The tracker or alarm has been causing the car to have a flat battery, I think it deserved a new battery as it is the same one since I bought it.
Now its been replaced with a new Lion Battery from Euro Car Parts.

Car was SOLD in October 2022, I imported a Toyota Chaser. In Hindsight I should not have sold the Subaru.

Day it was sold.

The replacement.



August 2025
I bought it back ..

It was actually sold from the guy I sold it too and then the guy who owned got in contact with me on Facebook, from this forum post and all the paperwork with it.
Came to a deal and here we are.

Afterburner Raptor exhaust had been removed and replaced with a Miltek, quieter to be fair but became a parent since selling it so it being quieter is not too much of an issue.

It had been lowered at the front, to the point its far too low and catching the arches when turning.

It was booked in for Friday 8th August to be raised up and get a geo alignment. which was completed.

Topped up engine coolant and water.
Engine oil topped up

October 2025

Alternator belt was knackered, had this replaced with a genuine Subaru one from Importcarparts.



November 2025

Ready for winter, I paid for a proper detail for the car. Inside and out, car looked gleaming and I bought an external car cover that was linen lined in inside. Car was started every week or so to warm up to temperature, driven for 3-5 miles every 2 weeks to keep it ticking over and not seizing up.

The rear boot seal was leaking and looked like it had never been replaced, so I bought a new boot seal and replaced the gammy old one.


February 2026

Mileage: 115,000

I want the car ready for 2026! Needed a little work to bring it back to 100%. Dropped the car off with Dan at Surrey Subaru Specialist's in his new Unit.
Asked for a full service, complete check over of everything, if there are any other small issues he rang me and gave me an honest opinion and didnt push for any extra work.

100% Recommend Surrey Subaru Specialist, maybe more but this is off the top of my head.

Cambelt/Timing Belt kilt
New Passenger front wheel arch lining
New Fuji Racing Front Pads
Gearbox Oil
Engine Oil
Diff Oil
Fuel Filter
Pollen Filter
Oil Filter
Radiator Coolant
New Spark Plugs
New Header Tank (Swapping metal for new plastic one)
New exhaust gaskets
Install 3 inch exhaust system with Afterburner Raptor backbox

Dan has also moved the oil pressure sensor, moved the radiator overflow bottle, adjusted some other bits.




May 2026

The engine finally gave up, after running 430bhp for 5 years it sent a rod out of the block.

I bought a new engine from a lower mileage WR1 STI with 84k miles on it.

I also had to source a new crossover pipe as the rods had destroyed the old one, the new engine had a slightly different one to my existing but I was able to source the correct one.

Then, as the engine was back in and I went to do a road test, the clutch went, which is typical, but it had been in the car since 2020, running that power I was impressed.

So, I bought a new Xtreme Clutch Kit good for up to 570nm, same one that had lasted years already.











I sold the car in May 2026

New owner wants to update the thread.
















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With a buddy at Black Swan Monthly Meet

 

looking good buddy

 

This was my old Impreza, I did the cambelt, water pump etc.
Brought it in 2015 and sold it in 2018.

 

 

haha no watch what do you drive now? Did you fit the Hawkeye steering wheel?

 

IMO the rear never gets old. This "newage" generation, no matter bug / blob / hawkeyes it has, the rear end is the business end

 

agreed!

 

Lovely car mate and good thread 👍👍

shame you’re selling it but good luck 👍

 

Is it advertised??

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175123579499

 

You know what to do mate I know you're itching to come back, forget the germans.

 

Yeah I put it on ebay and after receiving a deposit the geezer messaged me telling me he couldnt insure it or something. I think he was 20 or 21, kept his deposit and didnt get it back on ebay as you deal with some right messers offering 8k lol

 

Hopefully you keep checking this to see how good it is still looking!

 

Very nice indeed