First announced back in 1992, the Subaru Impreza quickly gained a cult following thanks to its real-world performance and success at the highest levels of World Rally.
Subaru won their first World Rally Championship in 1995 at the hands of rallying legend Colin McRae, which cemented the Impreza’s appeal.
The Impreza was one of the first accessible cars to offer supercar rivalling performance.
The engine and powertrain have been developed and significantly improved over the years and there are a host of performance bolt-ons and tuning options to further improve this already awesome car’s potential.
Brakes
The WRX model is notorious for suffering with poor brakes. You can upgrade pads, discs and fit braided lines but the problem is the caliper and the size of the disc. The most effective upgrade is to fit a set of Brembo brakes from an STi. Those with more budget can consider fitting a new set of Alcons.
The STi setup works well from the factory but can also be improved with a good quality set of Brembo high carbon rotors with the correct choice of upgrade pad. This will give you a cost-effective braking improvement.
Suspension & Handling
From the factory the Impreza is designed to cater for a variety of applications from town work to fast road. Owners looking to improve the car’s performance for fast road driving look to stiffen the suspension and reduce the roll and flex from the chassis.
When provoked many of these models are prone to understeer and this can be easily rectified with a few choice modifications.
Common upgrades are anti-roll bars, lowering springs or coilovers, poly-bushing. Many of the big players in suspension, such as Eibach, Whiteline and Bilstein have well-proven packages and we can advise on the best package for your budget and fit and setup it up to work for you.
Read more about our Wheel Alignment Services here
ECU
Tuning the ECU is essential to get the best safe performance from your engine, especially if you have carried out any mechanical modifications.
The standard ECU is very capable and can be reprogrammed to suit any modifications such as larger injectors, different air intakes.
Read more about our Impreza ECU remapping services here.
Engines
The Impreza’s flat-four engine is at the heart of its success and loyal following. The two main variants are the 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre capacities with different variations of each.
See our Impreza engine rebuild services here
Exhaust
A common upgrade is to fit a cat-back system. Many people opt for the performance increase of a full decat, which while not road legal, offers the best gains.
There are various sports cats on the market. We can advise you on the best options, supply and fit parts and tune your ECU to work with your exhaust.
Gearbox
The standard WRX gearbox can be an Achilles heal. The later revisions (2006 – onwards) are stronger but the gearbox can be a limiting factor when it comes to WRX tuning.
The STi comes with a 6-speed gearbox, which is significantly stronger and capable of handling in excess of 600bhp. Some of the earlier models are known to have synchro issues but other than that they’re well-engineered.
A common upgrade is a 6-speed conversion, which is a plug and play solution for all WRX models.
Turbos
Turbo technology has advanced hugely over recent years, with billet compressor wheel design and ball-bearing cores, much of which has trickled down from motorsport.
These modern hybrid turbos enable you to increase power without introducing lag, which caused high-power cars to be less drivable in real-world situations.
Servicing
We offer a complete range of servicing options for your Impreza. From an oil change to a new cambelt or a clutch replacement. We will service your Impreza using only the best quality parts.
For road cars we recommend following the manufacturer’s service schedule, sometimes at closer intervals, depending on the state of tune and driving history.
Heavily modified and track-focused cars may require a higher level of maintenance with an aftermarket parts health check.
For more information see our Impreza Servicing page.
Common Upgrade Paths
With years of experience helping customers get the best from their Impreza, we know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t.
Below is a list of our recommended upgrade options for each model.
WRX
1999 Subaru Impreza WRX –