Owner: Mike Warfield
TP: So Mike, how did you guys come to own your Subaru Impreza? Were you campaigning another vehicle before this one?
MW: The 1996 Subaru L we currently campaign was a daily driver of mine about 5 years ago, prior to this car we didn't campaign any of our own cars but worked as part of other teams programs such as MPME, ESX Motorsports etc.
TP: Oh, very cool. So is there a story behind your purchase of this car? Were there other cars that you were considering when you bought this one? What made this particular platform stand out for you?
MW: Well we didn't really go looking for a car the whole thing just kind of came together, I was working a side job around 5-6 years ago managing a small project for a company in Seattle which I finished early, while surfing one of the Subaru forums I came across what looked like a reasonable deal for a AWD Subaru which happened to be located around 20 miles away from my hotel so I contacted the seller and brought the car on site that night and drove it home to the Bay Area overnight.
Four years ago we decided to have a go at the NASA 25 hour's event and the little Impreza seemed like a decent platform to start from.
TP: How long have you guys been working on this particular car? What were some major milestones during the development process?
MW: We finished the car I think about 3 hours prior to the start of the 2006 NASA 25 Hours, we had some issues during that event (nothing new for a freshly built untested car) and with the Time Attack scene starting to grow we decided to develop the car into a Unlimited class AWD car for the Redline Time Attack and Superlap Battle series.
I think following our first year campaigning the car we started to make leaps and bounds with the chassis and power train, one of the biggest overall milestones would be working with the fantastic drivers we have been fortunate to work with who have brought with them vast experience which in turn has greatly improved the car, drivers such as Gary Sheehan and our current driver the notorious G-Stig have really been huge in bringing the car to where it is today!
TP: What do you think sets your vehicle apart from similar Impreza's?
MW: Well honestly it's hard to say I think what truly sets the car apart is that 90% of every modification has been custom made in house by not only our own hard working staff (in their spare time, this car is not worked on during shop hours) but also our friends that offer their time to us week in and week out, it's hard to buy anything for the older chassis's like ours other than the standard bolt on parts so everything from the hood, widebody to custom spacers and geometry pieces is made and tested by us.
TP: What was your original plan for the vehicle buildup?
MW: The original plan for the buildup was based on building the car for a endurance format of racing so we planned to keep the power fairly low and easy to maintain, obviously we failed miserably with that plan as to date we have never seen a 4 cylinder on our in house Mustang dyno produce the kind of power this car can.
TP: How did those plans change along the way?
MW: Well once the Time Attack bug kicked in we started designing and testing different motor and turbo packages to keep up with the ever developing unlimited class, from there we started working on the chassis and aero of the car which is where we currently sit right now.
TP: So what do you have planned next? Are there plans to further enhance your Impreza?
MW: We're continuing to work on the chassis setup and aero, we have a new transmission setup we plan to have in the car pretty soon and then over Christmas break we have some fairly big plans that until we firm up we're not able to divulge at this time.
TP: What have been some of the high points and low points with the car?
MW: I think all of the wins at the Modified Magazine shootout (3 years back to back) and the overall win at Fontana were some of the high points. Low points I think from a team perspective would be the 2009 RTA Fontana event and the 2010 Buttonwillow event, the first one we had a cracked cylinder head which kept us from turning a lap when we had a very good car that day and the second one we had a series of events which ultimately led to melting a cylinder head again when we had a very good car.
TP: Tell us about the racing that you do with this car? What motivates you guys to work on it day-in and day-out, often with very little sleep?
MW: We currently race the car in the Super Modified AWD class of Redline and unlimited AWD class of the Super Lap Battle events.
I think the motivation from the team stems from everyone wanting to see the car go faster and faster every time the car hits the track, this leads us to changing a lot of things between events to keep making the car faster and faster. We also know that all of our competitors are doing much of the same so there is no time for standing still, there's always something that can shave a tenth or more it just gets harder and more time to consuming to find them
TP: What have been some achievements you've made with the vehicle?
MW: We have managed to repeat 3 successive back to back wins at the Modified Magazine tuner shootout event spanning since 2007, this season we won the overall Redline events at Las Vegas and Willow Springs.
TP: What enhancements made the biggest contribution towards these achievements?
MW: I think the chassis enhancements we have been doing through both aero and suspension with the aid of our superb drivers has brought us to where we are today and set the preface for where we're going with the car.
TP: Are there any other unique things to your car that you would like to tell us about? Anything else that you want to include that may be of interest to our readers?
MW: I think we may have just about one of if not the widest body Subaru out there; the car can accommodate 355 series rubber with the right wheel offset although we also have widened the track of the car some 1.5 inches per corner which in itself is a little unique.
TP: Well Mike, we'd like to thank you for sitting down with us. Any last words before we wrap things up?
MW: Yes I really would like to send a huge thank you to all of our sponsors that have continued to help us through thick and thin with the project to date, they are all terrific companies with terrific products: Hankook Tires, Cosworth USA, Brian Crower Inc, Wheeldude.com, Kognition Designs, Cobb Tuning, ATP turbo, AFI Turbo, Full Race.
I would also like to make mention to the fantastic crew we have that keep the car rolling sometimes in trying conditions and most if not all the time on their own time.
Tommy, Mert, Earl, Paul, Jeff, Keith, and Anissa you folks all rock and have brought the car to where it is today.
Lastly in closing my wife Dionne for putting up with hardly seeing me during racing season and supporting us with racing and the general business!
Car Year: 1996
Car Make: Subaru
Car Model: Impreza L
Car Color: Black/White/Grey
Modifications:
Engine & Drivetrain:
Cosworth Cylinder Head
Brian Crower Crank
Brian Crower Camshafts
JE Pistons 9:1 Compression Pistons
Oliver Lightweight Long Rods
GST Motorsports Custom T3 Turbo Kit using Equal Length Headers and GT3586HTA Turbo
GST Motorsports Custom "TIG" V-Mount Intercooler and Radiator Setup
6-SP Transmission with Carbonetics Front and Rear Differentials
Electronics:
Hydra Nemesis ECU
AIM Sports Pro MXL dash linked to GPS and AIM Smartycam
Suspension & Brakes:
JRZ Motorsports Triple Adjustable Coilovers (Custom Valved)
Swift Race Springs
Whiteline Sway Bars
Whiteline End Links
6 Gun Ball Joint Extenders
Alcon Mono-block Front Brakes
Brembo Rear Brakes with Girodisk 2-piece Rotors
Wheels & Tires:
Various Rota Wheels: 18x10 +15
Hankook Ventus Z214 C91 275/35/18
Exterior & Interior:
Custom GST Motorsports widebody (4.5" per corner wider than OEM)
Kognition Designs custom 74" Wing and Uprights
GST Motorsports Custom Hood
GST Motorsports Custom Front Bumper Panels with Integrated Canards
RaceTech seat
OMP Steering Wheel
Full Competition Cage
Photo & Video credits belong to Official TunerPlayground Featured Car Photographers: Jeff Cabacungan and Staff from Photoshootmycar.com
Posted by Mark W (Emperor MS)
on Sep 7, 2010 12:50:42 AM Reply
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Posted by SubieGirl
on Sep 7, 2010 12:56:06 PM Reply
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