| Copped its fair
share of criticism from punters, potential buyers, past owners and critics
alike, has the now generation WRX. The much-lauded ‘bug eye’ MY01-model
has been branded paunchy, amongst other things, with the hard-core following
deeming it underdone in terms of the precedent set by the original ram
raider. Clearly, there’s some room for improvement.
The mere mention
of a new incarnation of the model a few years ago had Australian turbo
specialists APS (APS Engineering) scrambling to the local dealer to place
an order, deposit in hand. An incredibly effective marketing tool,
is a specially-souped current model WRX, and there are few better vehicles
to promote cutting edge engine performance technology than the most easily
recognizable hi-po, all bells-and-whistles Japanese cult car of the era.
But as the story
often goes with concepts conceived south of the border, the APS WRX’s intentions
are not outwardly open. On the contrary, the unassuming, introverted
approach to exterior enhancement affords the owner the anonymity he oft’
desires. With the “oi-check-me-out” mentality uncultured in most
Melbournites, the emphasis is left to performance. Here here!
Thus apart from the tell-tale front mounted intercooler, discreetly disguised
in black, a set of coil overs and OZ Prodrive 18 x 7 ½ inch gun-metal
grey alloys wrapped in 235/40/18 P Zeros serve as the only indication there
is much more to this Rex than meets the retina.
The subject mule
pictured received the comprehensively-developed and recently released APS
RT-Spec MYO1 turbo kit. It comes complete with the components necessary
for the induction system overhaul, and is fitted and individually mapped
and dyno-tuned to suit the particular vehicle with 48-hour drive in/drive
out service.
The RT-Spec kit consists
a 250kW ball-bearing turbo, broad R-series front-mount intercooler in alloy
or incognito (black), high-flow air intake system, high-flow turbine outlet
and high output 3-inch to 2 ½ inch exhaust system. A Unichip
engine management piggy-backs the Suby ECU, assisted by a Unichip boost
mapping module and a high-vol dual vent APS blow-off valve, giving the
modded Rex some audible street cred. APS tunes-in the system at each
interval in the rev range, therefore tailoring maximum output to each individual
engine’s characteristics and supplies before and after power graphs to
demonstrate the level of improvement.
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