Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 - (Page 39)

FUTURE SHOCK ypically, every automotive manufacturer is leery of doing a complete redesign on a signature product. Miss the mark with fans of an icon like the Impreza WRX STI, and the trickle-down effect might harm sales throughout the entire line-up. Subaru has bravely rolled the dice and come up with what looks like a winner. It’s both shorter and a little lighter than the STI it replaces, but can the new STI deliver a healthy continuation of the modified goodness we’ve come to expect from the old STI? Dan Harman, of Harman Motive in Torrance, Calif., thinks so, and has offered up this blindingly-white variant as proof. Now we know you’re all waiting anxiously for the numbers, so we’ll dispense with the hyperbole and feed your need for boost first. On 91 octane lame-duck gasoline, Dan has managed to draw out 350 horsepower, at the wheels, with 330 foot pounds of torque. Bumping the octane to 100 will allow you to run all day at 420 wheel horsepower and torque. Forget the horsepower wars being bandied about by the luxury brands and their new V-8 rear-wheel drive sports cars; this dog’s going to put a serious hurtin’ on them at the track. So what’s the Harman Motive crew T offering? Boost, served up from a Garret GT3076R turbocharger. Moving air and fuel is the name of the game, and starting with an AEM Dryflow filter, they’ve rotated the turbo for a nearly straight shot into the inlet side of the snail. The boosted air leaves through a customfabricated aluminum piping kit, under the left-hand intake plenum runners, and heads for the nose. Awaiting it there is a serious-looking Harman Motive 28-inch bar-and-plate intercooler, nestled sweetly into the OEM bumper like Subaru possibly intended, followed by more mandrel-bent piping leading back to the intake plenum. Deatschwerks 740cc injectors feed the stock internals a healthy dose of fuel, courtesy of a HM-tuned Cobb Accessport reflash. Exiting the cylinders, energy-rich exhaust gas travels through a new uppipe equipped with a Tial 44mm wastegate and through the turbo, where it creates boost; 20 or 25psi depending on the octane and map used. The spent fuel then blasts towards sunlight through a 3-inch V-band equipped down- pipe and catalytic converter. Farther downstream, Harman Motive’s Quad-Tip exhaust system provides a fitting basso profundo note. All this sound and fury fitting pleasantly reminds the driver that, indeed, his STI is effectively converting air and liquid into power. An AVO fuel pump fills the lines while HM’s Air/Oil separator ensures the necessary lubricating properties are maintained while you thrash seamlessly towards “350 horsepower, at the wheels.” the red line. The application of power is severely limited without grip. To ensure that all four paws stay on the ground, Harman Motive went with a proven product: KW. The Robispec/KW Club Sport coilover system features double-adjustable suspension with threaded-body shocks and struts, and unique molded plastic perches. Dan had his guys create a 22mm rear swaybar in order to tame the lean from an STI he claims is “a little softer than the previous models.” Call it what you like, it’s more like a scalpel in the handling department now. On top of an excellent SUBIESPORT MAGAZINE 39

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008

Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 Contents Travis Geny Letters Readers' Rides Subaru News Wicked in White Pink Rules Harman Motive Nouveau Tuning the 2008 STI 2008 Rally Guide Alcan 5000 Rally Alcan Unleashed WRC Rally Monte Carlo WRC Rally Sweden WRC Rally Mexico 100 Acre Wood Kumakubo! D1 Drifting Where to Buy Subiesport 2008 Impreza WRX 2007 Legacy GT 1993 Impreza Wagon Fueled Up Ad Directory Spotted!

Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008

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