2006 JDM Impreza WRX STI A-Line
Discussion
Due to minor demand, here's a reader's car thread on my newest JDM acquisition, a 2006 WRX STI "A-line" ltd edition Impreza, in urban grey metallic.
This is my fourth JDM car, and the addiction is very much alive!
599 of these were built, and are essentially the JDM equivelent of the the spec-D discreet option that was offered here in the UK.
It's effectively a full-fat WRX STI widetrack mechanically, with all the extra toys like DCCD, intercooler spray, AC, folding mirrors. Where it differs visually is the small lip spoiler where a big wing usually sits, no rear window roof spoiler, and black brembos. Interior wise you get black half leather seats.
I've wanted something quicker in the stable for a while now, the Toyota bB is fantastic, but I missed the engagement and pure fun factor of my old DC5. Around December last year I decided I wanted to scratch this itch, with an Evo being the first choice.
After a chat with Darren at Torque GT, it became apparent that my budget was about 3 years behind current Evo prices, so a WRX STI seemed like the next logical choice for a weekend car thats just impractical enough to justify also keeping the bB for daily duties.
The search began in earnest in January, and within 3 weeks this A-Line popped up, not at auction but at Fuji Cars Japan. Fortunately Torque can also buy through dealers, so a deal was struck.
I hadn't initially wanted an A-line specifically, was just after a blob or hawk STI, with the best condition in my budget... but the more I looked at the more minimalist looks, unusual for an STI, the more I started to fall for it. This particular one was pretty much standard aside from Tein coilovers and a 5zigen backbox... and in generally tidy condition, with a very reasonable 67k miles.
Fast forward 6 long months of watching shipping trackers, and I collected the car a couple weeks back. I had Torque do a whole raft of servicing and prep work, including but not limited to-
-Alloys refurbed anthracite grey, 4 new Michelin PS4s
-Uprated fuel pump and STI air filter
-Remapped for UK fuel @ enginetuner - Making 310bhp at the fly and about 305 ft lbs of torque
-bit of paint on the front wing
-full kitchen sink service
-Android car play head unit (omg how have i lived without one of these until now?!)
Here's how it sits now (photos courtesy of and credited to Torque GT)-
Overall, I'm really happy with the car, and the attention Torque paid through the whole import process. There's a few little things on the to-do list but the main priority at the moment is to get out and drive it before the winter stops play.
of course, it's a hoot to drive, the twinscroll turbo has very little lag, and the power is immediately there in any gear. I'm surprised at how small and compact the car feels to drive, and also lighter feeling than its 1500kg weight. I've not really dug deep into its capabilities yet, but the grip and ride are fantastic, I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the Teins ride...although the front splitter is pretty close to the floor at the current ride height!
Heading off to my underseal guy in a couple weeks for some clear dinitrol, will get some decent pics then of how clean it is underneath!
This is my fourth JDM car, and the addiction is very much alive!
599 of these were built, and are essentially the JDM equivelent of the the spec-D discreet option that was offered here in the UK.
It's effectively a full-fat WRX STI widetrack mechanically, with all the extra toys like DCCD, intercooler spray, AC, folding mirrors. Where it differs visually is the small lip spoiler where a big wing usually sits, no rear window roof spoiler, and black brembos. Interior wise you get black half leather seats.
I've wanted something quicker in the stable for a while now, the Toyota bB is fantastic, but I missed the engagement and pure fun factor of my old DC5. Around December last year I decided I wanted to scratch this itch, with an Evo being the first choice.
After a chat with Darren at Torque GT, it became apparent that my budget was about 3 years behind current Evo prices, so a WRX STI seemed like the next logical choice for a weekend car thats just impractical enough to justify also keeping the bB for daily duties.
The search began in earnest in January, and within 3 weeks this A-Line popped up, not at auction but at Fuji Cars Japan. Fortunately Torque can also buy through dealers, so a deal was struck.
I hadn't initially wanted an A-line specifically, was just after a blob or hawk STI, with the best condition in my budget... but the more I looked at the more minimalist looks, unusual for an STI, the more I started to fall for it. This particular one was pretty much standard aside from Tein coilovers and a 5zigen backbox... and in generally tidy condition, with a very reasonable 67k miles.
Fast forward 6 long months of watching shipping trackers, and I collected the car a couple weeks back. I had Torque do a whole raft of servicing and prep work, including but not limited to-
-Alloys refurbed anthracite grey, 4 new Michelin PS4s
-Uprated fuel pump and STI air filter
-Remapped for UK fuel @ enginetuner - Making 310bhp at the fly and about 305 ft lbs of torque
-bit of paint on the front wing
-full kitchen sink service
-Android car play head unit (omg how have i lived without one of these until now?!)
Here's how it sits now (photos courtesy of and credited to Torque GT)-
Overall, I'm really happy with the car, and the attention Torque paid through the whole import process. There's a few little things on the to-do list but the main priority at the moment is to get out and drive it before the winter stops play.
of course, it's a hoot to drive, the twinscroll turbo has very little lag, and the power is immediately there in any gear. I'm surprised at how small and compact the car feels to drive, and also lighter feeling than its 1500kg weight. I've not really dug deep into its capabilities yet, but the grip and ride are fantastic, I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the Teins ride...although the front splitter is pretty close to the floor at the current ride height!
Heading off to my underseal guy in a couple weeks for some clear dinitrol, will get some decent pics then of how clean it is underneath!
MDMA . said:
Looks really nice. I thought all A-Lines were “A”utomatic? Or was that just the later ones?
Available in both manual and auto 
https://legacypic.uk/car/specs.php?id=1761
trails said:
interesting that the 06 and 07 models were fitted with different manual boxes, didn't know that!designforlife said:
trails said:
interesting that the 06 and 07 models were fitted with different manual boxes, didn't know that!Interesting BH weekend with the car on a trip down to Newbury to see some friends.
Arrived at my mates place, and the first words out of his mouth as I pulled up were - "there's something hanging off the bottom of the car"
Just what every Subaru owner wants to hear! Upon inspection it turned out to be the smaller plastic undertray that sits behind the main one, between the front wheels, ish. It was hanging forward so the wind was pushing it down even more I suppose.
Thursday night, stuff hanging off the car... couldn't get under it due to lack of a proper jack and a level surface, so I called Subaru4you in Newbury first thing on Friday and they were fantastic, allowed me to bring the car straight down early doors, stuck it on the ramp and replaced the clip that was AWOL, and another missing screw on the undertray. Lovely little family run specialist, and they refused to charge me anything... shall definately be using (and paying) them in future.
Since i've had the car, i've loved how it looks in terms of the ride height on the Tein coilovers, but I've not loved the impracticality. I've had issues with scraping the front splitter on drop kerbs and slight inclines, and caught the underside of the car here and there (nothing drastic but no one wants to hear those noises, makes me wince). The final straw came on my drive home yesterday, was giving it the beans on a smaller (empty) roundabout, and a combo of the loading on the outside of the car, the camber of the road and turning right produced the lovely sound of tyre liberally meeting arch liner as I rounded the bend. Later on in the journey one of the humps on the A34 caught me out and tyre met the top of the front arch liners again.
The car is currently sat at 330mm front and 330mm rear hub to arch, and the standard ride height is something around 395mm front and 375mm rear... so it's running a pretty hefty drop, no wonder i'm having issues up front when pushing on or trying to get over stuff.
Have booked the car in with my usual garage down in Enfield to have it raised up a touch and a 4 wheel alignment done, I'm thinking 10-15mm will probably do the trick, 345mm all round or so.
Arrived at my mates place, and the first words out of his mouth as I pulled up were - "there's something hanging off the bottom of the car"
Just what every Subaru owner wants to hear! Upon inspection it turned out to be the smaller plastic undertray that sits behind the main one, between the front wheels, ish. It was hanging forward so the wind was pushing it down even more I suppose.
Thursday night, stuff hanging off the car... couldn't get under it due to lack of a proper jack and a level surface, so I called Subaru4you in Newbury first thing on Friday and they were fantastic, allowed me to bring the car straight down early doors, stuck it on the ramp and replaced the clip that was AWOL, and another missing screw on the undertray. Lovely little family run specialist, and they refused to charge me anything... shall definately be using (and paying) them in future.
Since i've had the car, i've loved how it looks in terms of the ride height on the Tein coilovers, but I've not loved the impracticality. I've had issues with scraping the front splitter on drop kerbs and slight inclines, and caught the underside of the car here and there (nothing drastic but no one wants to hear those noises, makes me wince). The final straw came on my drive home yesterday, was giving it the beans on a smaller (empty) roundabout, and a combo of the loading on the outside of the car, the camber of the road and turning right produced the lovely sound of tyre liberally meeting arch liner as I rounded the bend. Later on in the journey one of the humps on the A34 caught me out and tyre met the top of the front arch liners again.
The car is currently sat at 330mm front and 330mm rear hub to arch, and the standard ride height is something around 395mm front and 375mm rear... so it's running a pretty hefty drop, no wonder i'm having issues up front when pushing on or trying to get over stuff.
Have booked the car in with my usual garage down in Enfield to have it raised up a touch and a 4 wheel alignment done, I'm thinking 10-15mm will probably do the trick, 345mm all round or so.
designforlife said:
Interesting BH weekend with the car on a trip down to Newbury to see some friends.
Arrived at my mates place, and the first words out of his mouth as I pulled up were - "there's something hanging off the bottom of the car"
Just what every Subaru owner wants to hear! Upon inspection it turned out to be the smaller plastic undertray that sits behind the main one, between the front wheels, ish. It was hanging forward so the wind was pushing it down even more I suppose.
Thursday night, stuff hanging off the car... couldn't get under it due to lack of a proper jack and a level surface, so I called Subaru4you in Newbury first thing on Friday and they were fantastic, allowed me to bring the car straight down early doors, stuck it on the ramp and replaced the clip that was AWOL, and another missing screw on the undertray. Lovely little family run specialist, and they refused to charge me anything... shall definately be using (and paying) them in future.
Since i've had the car, i've loved how it looks in terms of the ride height on the Tein coilovers, but I've not loved the impracticality. I've had issues with scraping the front splitter on drop kerbs and slight inclines, and caught the underside of the car here and there (nothing drastic but no one wants to hear those noises, makes me wince). The final straw came on my drive home yesterday, was giving it the beans on a smaller (empty) roundabout, and a combo of the loading on the outside of the car, the camber of the road and turning right produced the lovely sound of tyre liberally meeting arch liner as I rounded the bend. Later on in the journey one of the humps on the A34 caught me out and tyre met the top of the front arch liners again.
The car is currently sat at 330mm front and 330mm rear hub to arch, and the standard ride height is something around 395mm front and 375mm rear... so it's running a pretty hefty drop, no wonder i'm having issues up front when pushing on or trying to get over stuff.
Have booked the car in with my usual garage down in Enfield to have it raised up a touch and a 4 wheel alignment done, I'm thinking 10-15mm will probably do the trick, 345mm all round or so.
Probably worth checking to see if a roll centre correction kit has been installed if it's that much lower than OE.Arrived at my mates place, and the first words out of his mouth as I pulled up were - "there's something hanging off the bottom of the car"
Just what every Subaru owner wants to hear! Upon inspection it turned out to be the smaller plastic undertray that sits behind the main one, between the front wheels, ish. It was hanging forward so the wind was pushing it down even more I suppose.
Thursday night, stuff hanging off the car... couldn't get under it due to lack of a proper jack and a level surface, so I called Subaru4you in Newbury first thing on Friday and they were fantastic, allowed me to bring the car straight down early doors, stuck it on the ramp and replaced the clip that was AWOL, and another missing screw on the undertray. Lovely little family run specialist, and they refused to charge me anything... shall definately be using (and paying) them in future.
Since i've had the car, i've loved how it looks in terms of the ride height on the Tein coilovers, but I've not loved the impracticality. I've had issues with scraping the front splitter on drop kerbs and slight inclines, and caught the underside of the car here and there (nothing drastic but no one wants to hear those noises, makes me wince). The final straw came on my drive home yesterday, was giving it the beans on a smaller (empty) roundabout, and a combo of the loading on the outside of the car, the camber of the road and turning right produced the lovely sound of tyre liberally meeting arch liner as I rounded the bend. Later on in the journey one of the humps on the A34 caught me out and tyre met the top of the front arch liners again.
The car is currently sat at 330mm front and 330mm rear hub to arch, and the standard ride height is something around 395mm front and 375mm rear... so it's running a pretty hefty drop, no wonder i'm having issues up front when pushing on or trying to get over stuff.
Have booked the car in with my usual garage down in Enfield to have it raised up a touch and a 4 wheel alignment done, I'm thinking 10-15mm will probably do the trick, 345mm all round or so.
https://ukwhitelineperformance.com/collections/all...
designforlife said:
All looks pretty standard under there, wishbones are about parallel.
I'll look into that roll centre kit, easy/quick to install whilst the other stuff is being done?
Lower balljoints can be an ass, but shouldn't be too bad on a rust free JDM car. The other bits are very straightforward...worth a geo check afterwards though.I'll look into that roll centre kit, easy/quick to install whilst the other stuff is being done?
Bit of a result, found the serial numbers of the coilovers (sticker intact and a bit of crawling around, good job I'm skinny)... turns out they are Tein Mono Sport, which as I understand it are one of the better Tein offerings...about £1500 worth.
In conversation at the moment with Chevron motorsport to get a full alignment done and the coilovers set up properly at a useable height.
First off though, it's off to CSK automotive for a full underseal on Saturday...I'll get some before and after pics.
In conversation at the moment with Chevron motorsport to get a full alignment done and the coilovers set up properly at a useable height.
First off though, it's off to CSK automotive for a full underseal on Saturday...I'll get some before and after pics.
That’s fantastic OP lovely car. Not seen a JDM spec similar to our spec D before.
I’d love a 2.0 JDM Hawkeye STI, with or without wing like yours. Dream would be a S204 (for the seats alone) or a RA-R but alas they are big money now.
Fell for the power delivery first in a UK WR1 Blobeye then when test driving a RB320, I wasn’t really aware of the 2.5 issues then, would have to be a JDM car now.
Dintrol treatment is a must, recommend South West Rust proofing.
I’d love a 2.0 JDM Hawkeye STI, with or without wing like yours. Dream would be a S204 (for the seats alone) or a RA-R but alas they are big money now.
Fell for the power delivery first in a UK WR1 Blobeye then when test driving a RB320, I wasn’t really aware of the 2.5 issues then, would have to be a JDM car now.
Dintrol treatment is a must, recommend South West Rust proofing.
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