Weighing in at  2932 LB, and equipped with 316 heart pounding BHP, the Subaru s202 is definitely in a class of its own! Subaru took the already potent track going  RA Spec C and ever so slightly refined it for daily use, including adding back in Air Conditioning, Power Locks, Power Windows,  and ABS. What they created was the ultimate Subaru daily driver.

So how is it that iA Performance worked with a s202?

One of our Phoenix based customers was lucky enough to find #387, of 400, and had it imported directly from Japan to Arizona.  What’s more exciting is they approached iA Performance with the idea of swapping the mangled s202 into a US 2002 WRX.  Although this was a new type of project for us, we eagerly agreed to the project knowing this was history in the making.

As with all legal imports, this battered beauty arrived to the United States as a half cut car. The cutting process is done to ensure the vehicle cannot be put back on the roads in a form that does not meet DOT standards. Thankfully, the US and Japan chassis versions are very similar, although we had our fair share of fabrication in the weeks ahead.

So where does a project like this start? The logical first step was to strip the donor s202 down to the bare chassis. The tear down was  interesting on so many levels ranging from: cutting the roof off (first for us) to finding new-to-us gadgets throughout the car.

Next up, the initial stripping process of the 2002 US WRX chassis. The pile of parts were a bit daunting, but not overwhelming due to our mountainous notes and countless photos.

More progress of Project s202 to follow in our next installment, including: fabrication of the upper firewall and Left Hand Drive (LHD) to Right Hand Drive steering swap.

Here lies a story with a twist. Or should I say, twisted metal… Roughly 1 year ago the smashed Garage Queen entered the iA Performance stables (shop car).  Over the course of this year it went through an extensive repair process, to say the least. The end result is a car that delivers an unforgettable driving experience plus it turns quite a few heads in the process.

Below are a few photos from the beginning up through the rebirth. Looking back over the photos I nearly forgot how many hours went into repairing this beauty. The body work was performed at Vanderpools Auto Refinishing, Tucson, AZ. As always, their work was flawless and this project was no exception. Although the damage looked quite intense it turned out to not be too bad. The first 10″ of the right side frame rail was bent upwards which was corrected after a short visit on the frame machine. In addition, a 2005/6 s2000 front clip was purchased for replacement fame rail segments (first 10-12″) plus sheet metal, fenders, and headlights.  The project really started to take shape once the new clip items were installed. From there the body work was hung and checked for gaps, they are perfect I must ad. After a complete wax job the car was finally ready to hit the streets for the first time.

First impressions… Despite the car’s size, I quickly realized what fellow s2000 owners relish, true roadster performance.  Not only did it have decent acceleration, but the steering response was also very predictable at both high and low speed corning situations.  Overall, I’m very happy with how the project turned out, plus the wife likes it too

Note: As shocking as it may sound, the s2000 was restored back to stock without the implementation of any performance parts, although they were a tough temptation at times.

widebody rear quarter

iA Performance was fortunate enough to take this 2004 WRX to a whole new level. Not just a new level for our shop, or Tucson, or Arizona, but for most of the Subaru community nation wide!  Come on, when is the last time you saw a wide body WRX with a customized drivetrain/motor? Probably not very often…

The Back Story: we were lucky enough to have the owner walk through our door in late 2005.  At that time the car had a stock drive train / motor, yet it sported this killer wide stance.   Sadly, he had been give the ‘run around’ by a shop in Phoenix, since out of business, for  a JDM ver7 STi motor. Money had exchanged hands, yet 6 months later there was no motor to be seen. Luckily a full refund was tendered by the ’shady shop’ (cough…kingpin) and in that very same week we just received a large JDM container with (5) Sti motors. We wanted to step things above the customer’s previous experiences and in doing so had the new motor installed before that week was up! He was ecstatic with a grin ear to ear. Finally the car had power behind its looks. We thought this was the last power level for the car, or so we thought…

Flash forward to May of 2006 when the car rolled through our shop for yet another motor change. This time the owner had plans for bigger power. This included: CP pistons, GT3076 turbo, 800cc injectors, rotated intake manifold, front mount intercooler, and on and on. This time the turn around was not quite 1-2 days, but the end result was definitely head turning. Here is a brief run down of what all was done:

Widebody Polished Engine Bay

Rotating assembly / Fueling

• JDM ver7 ‘Big Port’ cylinder heads were mounted via ARP Headstuds and Cometic headgaskets to a brand new Axis Racing ej257 short block touting Swaintech coated CP pistons. Unfortunately, Axis Racing has since left the Subaru community, but we have other great builders to turn to.
• Power Enterprise 800cc injectors
• Walbro fuel pump

Turbo / inter cooler / manifold

• Customer supplied Garrett gt3076 rotated turbo kit consisting of: up-pipe, down pipe, turbo.
• Perrin Front Mount inter cooler
• Custom iA Performance TIG welded aluminum tubing to connect the 2
• Mirror Polished and reversed intake manifold

Drivetrain / Braking

• StopTech 355mm brakes up front
• JDM Brembo Rear brakes
• JDM STi axles / hubs
• Stoptech SS lines
• JDM ver7 nonDCCD SURETRAC transmission
• JDM sti r180 rear differential
• motul brake fluid

Miscellaneous

• Polished A/C, Alternator, P/S housings
• Coolant reservoir relocation (customer supplied kit)
• Cusco Motor / Transmission mounts
• Heat wrap A/C lines and line firewall around turbo
• Hydra Nemesis ECU

widebody transmission swap

As time progressed the drive train and engine bay started to flow with the wide body appearance. In the end this was one unique machine! Contenders at Hot Import Nights stood no chance as this beast took top honors for Subaru.  Further steps were planned for the WRX including:

• Cobb tuning accessPORT w/ a blow thru MAF housing (the Hydra was found to be a faulty unit)
• Suspension and handling enhancements
• More engine bay work

Sadly, it met a sudden demise on a cold icy morning. The occupants were safe, but the wide body project finally came to an end.  Or so we thought! The bare rolling chassis was sold to a gentleman in Canada who rebuilt the WRX from the ground up using what type of donor you ask??? If you guessed JDM then you were right! This car went full circle and ended up with a JDM ver8 STi complete drive train / motor and a fresh face lift with a 06/07 front end (the wide body fenders were removed). We still can’t believe the journey this magnificent car has experienced.

Unfortunately, I do not know too much about the body kit, but the car’s owner also owns the mold cavities for anyone looking to replicate this look.  Feel free to drop us a line via phone (520.882.2821) or email if you wish to reach him.

Widebody WRX Engine Bay

Widebody Hood with Insert

Widebody Side View

100% Stock

After months of anxiously waiting, our customer finally received their 2011 BMW 328ix. The first item on the agenda was suspension. This is where KW Suspension came into play with their Varient 1 series coilovers. Their coilover system allows for a smooth & comfortable ride in addition to height adjustments.

Once the dust settled iA Performance had installed and  lowered the vehicle by roughly 2″ in the front and 1″ in the rear. The overall change is quite noticeable, especially once the wheels were installed. They are Advan RS 19×8.5 et32s Front and 19×9.5 et35s rear. The tires are Conti Extreme Contact DW 235/35/19 and 275/30/19s.  With less than a 1,000 original miles this car has definitely gone through a transformation.

Front and Rear Coilovers Installed

KW Suspension components fit perfectly at each mounting point.  There are no points where it binds, nor were any modifications needed to fit these.

Once the test drive was completed it was time to fine tune the ride height.

With coilovers and Advans installed

Front wheel photo