INTRO

First post! Well… a little about me! Where I have come from and well the plans!

I am a little nuts. a touch of undiagnosed A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) with some O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and a work ethic that is driven to succeed! = one wacky dude!

I was in sales for 9 years and drove a wonderfully reliable econo-box 2001 VW Golf TDI GLS! It served its purpose for getting me around 24/7/365 without any muss or fuss. I sometimes miss the mad torque of the diesel and 1000km/tank. Gladly it found a new home with a close friend that takes much better care of it than I ever did.

When I started a job where I hardly traveled I thought it was a good time for a “Toy”. I did a bit of research.. test drove a 06 WRX limited and fell in love! Picked it up from Vella Autosport in Concord, ON in April 2007.

Now, before this WRX, I had never owned a tuner, never done any wrenching on my own car at and it never thought of MODIFYING a car. Such a newb! I didn’t even change my own oil or air filters!

Unfortunately, my ignorance caused me to buy a car that was already violated! I had no clue that the Greddy exhaust would cause the problems I experienced.

Boost creep + WOT = CEL and a trip to the dealership.

I found out quickly the car had been modified, the stealership mechanic continued to explain that these parts are going to continue to cause CEL issues and would void my remaining warrantee! Apparently the previous owner had installed a Perrin up pipe and turbo back Greddy exhaust system.

Mechanic recommended replacing with stock off the shelf Subaru parts he just happened to have in stock!

I was lost.. didn’t know what to do. Drove out of the Stealership, looking for a second opinion and some time to think it over. Shortly after I found the solution! Cobb! Quickly ordered up a Accessport to tame the beast!. Phew. Things were all fixed.

I was a newbie’s newbie. When I found NASIOC, IWSTI and shortly after the TSC (Toronto Subaru Club) I was impressed with the “DIY guides” and the Technical Forums! I then got more and more interested in what potential the little 4 banger could do! I started reading and asking/posting questions. Thankfully questions were answered with great detail! Links to HOW TO’s with instructions and photos I was amazed at the friendly help. This sharing of information in the local scene and online forums was a great!

Well that was it for me once the COBB access port came in the mail, flashed ecu with stage 2 and I was hooked! The power, response and my god the torque!

I got infected with the “bug”

Well 07 was a blur between spending hours reading and chatting on the forums talking to local shops and spending time in Tim Horton’s parking lots hunched over engine bays!… the quest was on for that custom ride!

And it came in a flurry! Cobb CAI, Perrin Rad shroud, Tein Sways, Perrin Front and rear sways & endlinks, Tein SS Coilovers, Hawk pads Greddy lip, tint, tail light film.. phew! OOH grounding kit hehehe. I had a blast doing all the installs myself and enjoying every tweak of the setup along the way!

Winter 07/08 came and the quest for more power! I planned my turbo upgrade! Perrin FMIC, 18g, 740DW’s and a Wally fuel pump + protune! With the US and Canadian Dollar at part it was the right time to pull the trigger! I found the perfect shop! After doing some phone interviews with the local tuners and getting blown off… I found a thread on Innovative Tuning. Called up and spoke to the owner (Mr. Mike McGinnis) and ended up chatting for an hour! He took the fear out of going to this next step and took the time to answer my questions and offer suggestions on things to avoid. Great hands on shop with great customer service http://www.innovativetuning.com/.

Engine bay at in the spring of 08!