A couple of months ago a good friend of mine, and local Houston photographer Chris Reno approached me about a couple of cars he had shot over the past year. Chris (Chreeno) is a local ricer as well and has some great taste in cars, so when we talked about a bit of collaboration I got pretty excited. One of the cars in discussion was Tyler Calhoun’s WRX, an ultra clean, tastefully modded street style beast that, when seen in person makes you break your neck. We like cars like this. Though we at Mayday Garage enjoy “over the top” barely street legal, ricer engaged wild builds, we know a clean car when we see one and Tyler’s Subie fits the bill.

Tyler:

“I bought this car new in June of 2004 while I was in college. My obsession for the WRX goes back to late in middle school when I began growing an interest for import car performance, specifically turbocharged cars. A couple of my buddies had Subarus in high school and I was constantly researching their potential. There was no doubt in my mind that my first car purchase would be a white WRX. I drove this car as a daily all through college until February of 2008. I knew I didn’t want to go crazy with the car while it was still a DD (plus a car payment), but desire for better performance and my obsession with the cars’ looks made that tough. Some think Subarus are ugly but I was hooked and suppose I still am. I knew I wanted to track my car after college and do a full build but really had no idea when it would actually happen.

By the end of 2004 I had installed a full exhaust system and tinkered with ways to make the stock turbo breathe a bit better. I then went through the usual fixation with wanting to drop my car. I suppose it was the cool thing to do and at the time was not ready for coilovers. After springs on stock struts came a series of different wheel set-ups. Painted stockers, 2 sets of 17’s and now I am on my third set of 18’s. From 2005-2006 I experimented with ways to make more hp using the stock turbo. ECU reflashes and tuning did the trick for some added grins but then the twisty roads of West Austin near Lake Travis became my only hobby.

In 2006 my car made quite a few strides. I installed almost all of my suspension parts that year starting with coilovers and sway bars along with other supporting mods (braces, bushings etc.). Some friends and I would consistently make trips to West Austin late at night to hit our favorite roads. Those nights usually proved to be interesting and some of them didn’t go as planned. Seeing 2 friends slide off of roads and narrowly escaping arrest on a couple nights (3 friends not as lucky) woke me up a bit. Not that it scared me away but made me realize I needed to upgrade my brakes!

In 2007 I upgraded my entire brake system and went ahead and swapped my stock turbo for something a little more exciting. With the EVOIII 16g turbo came better fuel rails, larger injectors, a higher flow pump and the decision was made to beef up the transmission/clutch. The car made good power after tuning (~275 awhp, 270 ft/lb tq)and was a lot of fun to drive on the street. I graduated from school in December of 2007 and moved back to Houston to work full-time as an engineer. I bought a daily driver in February-2008 and then I began plotting the next stage for the WRX now that it sat in the garage.

In mid-2008 I moved to South Texas to work in the oil field and left the car in Houston. This gave me all the time I needed to figure out my build project and save some cash. I kept the car clean when I was gone, upgrading wheels to my current set-up of 18×9.5” Works and adding some cosmetics to the front and rear-ends of the car. Other than that, the car was not driven and I was itching to do something wild with it. I wanted my engine build to be unique but functional. Not something that is impossible to drive on the streets because that is something that I love to do. I wanted the motor to be capable of high revs and great hp. I was willing to sacrifice some power for more revs. I’ve always been inspired by JDM 2.0L engines which rev high as hell. The sound of a high revving turbo engine is amazing when properly built and I knew it would be a challenge. From the oiling system to the heads and turbo, I knew it all had to be changed. I went back and forth on different set-ups with high flow and revs being the main goal.

The build process took nearly 7 months with parts coming from all over the place and more fabrication than I could have imagined. The result is a 2.35L engine which should rev past 8500 rpm. The main components to the build are a sleeved/pinned 2.5L Subaru block using a JDM 2.0L crank. This set-up with proper supporting modifications and parts allows for efficient cooling/oiling so as to safely reach high RPM. Custom pistons were ordered to accommodate for a shorter stroke in the motor. Subaru EJ257 heads (USDM STi) with tons of porting and modification allow the air flow needed to reach my goals. Loads of detail and thought went into every aspect of my build. I wanted the final product to be right, that meant no shortcuts whatsoever.

Next up for the car is a full tune after the motor if fully broken-in, followed by beefy axles and diffs. The car is already making more HP than my previous set-up at 5500 RPM – I cannot wait to see the range of this engine. A special thanks goes out to Chris and Brad at EngineLogics for all of their time, ingenuity, support and friendship. They helped my ideas and dreams for this car become real. It is a big relief to see this motor finished and I look forward to every moment behind the wheel.”

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Right after Tyler sent me the story of his whip, he got his car tuned and it churned out 420 AWHP @ 22PSI. For those that haven’t been in a 400++ hp Subaru, that is balls fast!

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Modification List

Suspension/Brakes/Wheels:

Megan Racing Coilovers w/ adjustable camber plates
GTSpec Rear Strut Bar
Cusco Front Strut Bar
Helix Rear Sway Bar
Whiteline Heavy-Duty Rear Sway Mounts
Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit
Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings
Megan Racing H-Brace
AutoPower 6 Point Roll Cage w/ modified door bars – Custom painted teal blue
JDM Subaru 4-pot Front Calipers
Stoptech Slotted Rotors (front and rear)
Cobb Performance Brake Pads (front and rear)
Work Emotion CR-Kai – 18×9.5 5×100 +38 – Custom polish finish by Atlas Plating
ARP Extended Studs (not in pictures)
5 mm front wheel spacers (not in pictures)

Drivetrain:

Transmission – Stock Box w/ PPG Straight Cut Gears (1-4, OEM 5th)
Cusco Transmission Mount
Agency Power Transmission Pitch Mount
Exedy Twin Plate Clutch w/ Lightened Flywheel
COBB Double-Adjustable Shifter
Custom Billet Shift Knob Riser
Kartboy Hardened Shifter Bushings

Engine:

EngineLogics Custom 2.35 Destroke kit
Subaru EJ257 Block w/ Darton 99.5mm Bore Sleeves; Line Bored/Pinned/Modified Oil Passages
JDM Subaru EJ207 Crank
Pauter Forged Connecting Rods
EngineLogics Custom Forged CP Pistons
ACL Race Bearings
JDM Subaru 12mm Oil Pump – Modified
OEM Subaru STi Oil Pan
EngineLogics Ported and Polished Subaru EJ257 Heads
EngineLogics Custom AVCS Delete
BC Racing Cams 272 with 10.5mm lift Intake and 10.2mm lift Exhaust
Modified Cam Gear Brackets for WRX drivetrain
1mm oversized valves
Shimless Bucket conversion
EngineLogics TGV Deletes
Gates Performance Timing Belt
Cusco Motor Mounts
EngineLogics Custom Fuel System – Fuel Lab 1000Hp Fuel Pump and Filter
EngineLogics Custom Fuel Surge Tank
Walbro 255 lph Fuel Pump
Fuel Lab Fuel Pressure Regulator
Braided Stainless Fuel Lines
EngineLogics Custom Billet Fuel Rails
Injector Dynamics 1000 cc
EngineLogics Custom Reversed Intake Manifold – Powder Coated Kandy White w/ Gold Flake
AC Delete
EngineLogics Custom Intercooler Piping
Garrett FMIC Core
EngineLogics Custom 4” Intake / Turbo Inlet
Perrin Rotated Mount GT35R Turbo (.82)
GM Boost Solenoid
Perrin External Wastegate w/ Custom Dump Tube by EngineLogics
Forge BOV
Synic Equal-Length Header w/ wrap
Perrin Rotated Mount Uppipe w/ wrap
Perring Rotated Mount Downpipe w/ wrap
Greddy SP2 Muffler w/ Custom Piping and Flanges
Battery Relocated to Trunk

ECU/Tuning:

Link G4 ECU – Relocated in Dash
Custom Wiring Harness w/ quick disconnects
Tuning by Brad @ EngineLogics

Interior/Electronics:

Status Ring Front Seats – Carbon Fiber, Black
Recaro Rails and Sliders
Rear Seat Delete
Rear Seat Belts Delete
Nardi Deepcorn 350 mm Steering Wheel
NRG Short Hub – Black
NRG Quick Release v. 2.5 – Black
Defi Gauge Set-up – Boost, EGT, Oil Pressure (White light-up, metric – 60 mm)
Defi Control Unit
Buddy Club Spec B Shift Knob
RS*R Carbon Fiber Shifter Trim
Premier MP3 Deck
Infiniti Reference Door Speakers
Apex’i TT

Exterior:

OEM Subaru STi Front Bumper w/ fog covers
OEM Subaru STi Front Splitters
Polyurethane V-limited Front Lip
OEM Subaru STi Hood Scoop
OEM Subaru WRX side skirts

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All Pictures taken by Chris Reno aka Chreeno!

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— JohnP