Craig got in touch with Enginetuner in Plymouth after his good friend Craig (spooky, right?) recommended that he get ‘the Enginetuner touch’.  Craig’s Hawkeye STi was supposedly running 500 BHP (we hear that a lot!), but he suspected that a few ponies may have left the stable a bit early. He never really trusted the previous rebuild and the noisy push converted clutch kit wasn’t helping fill Craig with confidence, either. After discussing with Craig what he would like from his Subaru; a road car that can be driven to the shops, that can kill supercars out on the street and a car fit for a track day, we formulated a plan – one that included converting the car back to a factory pull-style clutch.

After taking delivery of the car all the way from Scotland, we removed the engine and stripped it down to assess what we were working with. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a previously built forged EJ25. We then started all the bespoke machining of the EJ22 block required to make it handle some decent power. Craig really liked the look of the Process West intake manifold, so we added one in for good measure. They’re a great upgrade when going north of 600 BHP.

Once the engine was assembled and installed in the car, we started the bespoke fabrication work required for a high power Impreza build.  We replaced the swirl pot and fuel lines in the boot to a larger pot and dual AEM fuel pumps to feed the ASNU injectors ready for the power that was to come. With everything in place and checked, we started the 2.35L stroker engine that would breathe new life into this Japanese icon.

With Craig at the other end of the country he asked us to run-in the new engine. Initial running-in underway, we knew immediately that the set-up could be far better. There was something missing. The STi came to us with an out & out race ECU in the form of a Syvecs. Being this car is a road and track car, we proposed to Craig that the car would drive much better on a Link ECU due to having more map resolution and better strategies for road driving conditions. Craig put his trust in us and we installed a G4X ECU. Instantly the car was much more driver-friendly and the rest of the running-in was a pleasant breeze.

Another request from Craig was that we install a Tomei Extreme Ti titanium cat back exhaust. Admittedly, this wouldn’t have been our first choice, but we can see why Craig opted for the Tomei to save some weight. While we were at it, Craig also commissioned us to install a Haltech IC7 Dashboard and a JT Innovations Toucan screen to help keep all the engine’s vitals monitored alongside the safety features programmed within the Link ECU itself. 

With 1,000 miles under its belt and the final engine oil and filter service complete, Martyn took to the helm and created a monster with his expert mapping and calibration work. With 660 BHP and 520 LBFT Torque on 99 octane pump fuel, the results speak for themselves! After demonstrating the STi to Craig, he was left speechless. However, we do remember him eventually saying something about needing some new underwear!