Performance Car DEC Issue WRX-GLDDGR

38
FEATURE CAR
Gold
Digging
It may have taken 10 years, but
Troy Moon has finally fulfilled
his teenage dream Words: Marcus Gibson Photos: Adam Croy
E
With a large amount of gold pearl mixed into the green, the matte paint
changes quite intensely under differing lighting conditions. Originally
Troy had wanted a completely different colour, but is glad the boys at GT
Refinishers twisted his arm into doing something a little different
very year thousands of young Kiwis skip the ditch to chase the dream of dust
money in Western Australia. The allure of decent pay packets, and plenty of time
off to spend them, makes working in Australia an offer too good for many to pass up.
For Troy Moon, an electrician from Kerikeri, it was a no-brainer. Troy moved to Oz,
and then to a mine in Indonesia later on, and spent most of his spare time travelling
the world. The one problem was that seeing the world and living abroad meant Troy
was resigned to driving a commuter appliance, unlike in his younger days when he
had always had modified cars in his garage — as did most of his mates. That didn’t
mean he was over building cars though, and there was one particular WRX owned
by a friend which still played on his mind all those years later. In fact that car was the
catalyst for the build you see in front of you.
Troy explained to NZPC: “My mate Ian had a pretty wild WRX when we were
teenagers; he had done it up pretty heavily. I remember driving it and thinking how fast
it was, making the decision right then and there that I would one day own one.” At the
time Troy probably didn’t think it would take 10 years to get there. It was in 2010, while
he was visiting Japan for a holiday, that he decided it was time, and jumped on Trade
Me. “I started searching and found an immaculate WRX Spec C Limited Edition — one
of only 500 ever built — in Wellington. It was basically stock and in great condition. After
a few emails back and forth working out a deal with the owner, I had the car shipped
from Wellington — sight unseen — directly to Torque Performance Tuning in Auckland,
and told them to go nuts. It was always pretty nerve-racking having to do all the deals
via email and phone, but I had faith in the boys; we got off on the right foot and had
the same goals and ideals. I wanted a powerful street/track car that I wouldn’t have to
rebuild every six months, and they wanted to use quality parts and do things right. So
it was always going to work out well.”
40
FEATURE CAR
To control the engine there’s a plugand-play WRX Link G4. Using an ECU
like this removed the need for wiring
in a new loom, and it simply replaced
the stock ECU and allows full control
over the mapping
Fitted with Darton cylinder liners, CP forged
pistons, Argo forged connecting rods, and an STI
crankshaft, the EJ25 block is as insane as street
engines come. The heads received a good dose of
porting, machined chambers, Kelford cams, and
steel head gaskets sandwiched together with ARP
hardware
Sure, this isn’t the usual way to go about buying or building a car, but when you’re halfway around the world there is little
option. It would be another nine months or so until Troy would get to see his new purchase in the flesh, or get behind the wheel
for the first time. In fact for the first four years of ownership he would barely see the car at all, and his dad would put on more
kilometres driving it to the golf club than Troy would.
Stage one of the build saw the WRX strapped on the dyno at Torque to get a benchmark figure, which saw it spun up
200 kilowatts at all four wheels. “I had them pull the engine and start from scratch with a new 2.5-litre short block. It would
receive Darton sleeves, CP forged pistons, Argo forged connecting rods, and an STI crank. While off, the heads spent time
on the workbench getting a heavy port job, and the combustion chambers were reworked. A new set of Kelford cams was
also installed. To clean the engine bay up as much as possible the guys also flipped the intake manifold, and installed a Trust
front-mount intercooler. With a new set of injectors, a Garrett GT35R .70 turbo and a WRX Link G4, David from Torque dialled
up 303kW at all four wheels.
The first time Troy would lay eyes on the car would be later that year, some nine months after purchasing it. It was the
fastest thing he had ever driven, and during those few days of enjoyment before flying back to work he fell in love, and the
modifying bug took hold. Each night would be spent on the internet, researching the next swag of modifications, and firing off
emails to companies like Auckland-based Fortyone Automotive. Soon the Spec C was sporting a set of Bride Zeta II carbon/
Kevlar fixed-back seats, a matching Bride re-trimmed rear seat, Ganador carbon mirrors and boot, a carbon VIS bonnet, and
full front and rear carbon diffusers. In addition, a full line-up of Defi gauges was installed to keep an eye on the vitals.
Troy had also been talking to Torque about pushing things a little further with the engine work, and on a trip back to New
Zealand at the start of 2013 he dropped it off to undergo the next round of engine modifications. “I wanted 400kW at the wheels,
but after talking to David at Torque he explained the extensive modifications that the block would require to have any hopes of
handling the amount of boost necessary. We settled on retuning it to 340kW. It was going to be another $10,000 to gain only
60kW; I had to draw the line somewhere.”
tuningmenu
2003 Version 8 Subaru WRX Spec C LTD Edition (GC8)
ICAR
I MODEL HERE
I2.5-LITRE
I
FLAT-FOUR
I4WD
I
ISINGLE-TURBO
I
Heart
IENGINE:
I
Subaru EJ25, 2500cc, four cylinder
IBLOCK:
I
Darton cylinder liners, CP forged pistons, Argo forged
connecting rods, STI crankshaft, Hyperflow high-capacity sump
IHEAD:
I
Kelford camshafts, ported heads, machined chambers, steelshim head gaskets, ARP head studs
IINTAKE:
I
Modified factory intake manifold (flipped), custom pipework,
K&N air filter, Trust intercooler
IEXHAUST:
I
Trust stainless manifold, three-inch pro-coated downpipe,
three-inch Trust stainless-steel system
ITURBO:
I
Garrett GT35R .70
IWASTEGATE:
I
TiAL MV-R 44mm
IBOV:
I TiAL Q50
IFUEL:
I Walbro intake pre-pump, custom surge tank, Bosch 044 main
pump, ID1000 injectors, billet fuel rail, braided lines throughout
IIGNITION:
I
Factory
IECU:
I WRX Link G4
ICOOLING:
I
Large aluminium radiator, Setrab oil cooler, gearbox cooler,
Spec C 12-litre intercooler sprayer, braided lines
IEXTRA:
I
Custom oil catch can and fluid reservoirs, Odyssey battery
Drive
IGEARBOX:
I
Factory STI six-speed, Go Fast Bits short-shift kit
ICLUTCH:
I
Modified clutch cover, Kevlar friction plate
IFLYWHEEL:
I
Lightweight billet
IDIFFS:
I
Factory LSDs
Support
ISTRUTS:
I
Tein Super Street coilovers, EDFC system
IBRAKES:
I
Factory Brembo calipers, EBC pads, braided brake lines
IEXTRA:
I
Tein strut braces, Cusco front lower subframe brace
Shoes
IWHEELS:
I
18x9.5-inch Rota D2EX with custom Candy Gold centres /
18x9.5-inch Rota Grid custom matte black and metallic gold
ITYRES:
I
245/35R18 Falken FK452
Exterior
IPAINT:
I
Custom matte green with metallic gold by GT Refinishers
IENHANCEMENTS:
I
Ganador carbon boot, VIS carbon bonnet, Ganador
carbon super mirrors, carbon canards, carbon lower lip, ARP carbon
front splitter, full rear carbon diffuser, smoked LED tail lights, angel-eye
LED headlights, tinted windows
Interior
ISEATS:
I
(F) Bride Zeta II carbon/Kevlar, (R) re-trimmed in matching
Bride material
ISTEERING
I
WHEEL: STI
IINSTRUMENTATION:
I
Defi boost, oil-pressure, oil-temp, water-temp,
fuel-pressure, and exhaust-temp gauges; Defi ZD electronic display unit
IICE:
I Pioneer head unit, Pioneer four- and six-inch speakers, Pioneer
12-inch sub, Pioneer 300-Watt amp
Performance
IPOWER:
I
340kW (456hp) at the wheels on 98 octane
Control the flow
Tein’s Electronic Damping Force Controller
system, commonly known as an ‘EDFC’
system, consists of four small servos, one
mounted on each coilover and controlled
through a small in-cabin unit. Damping
adjustments are made via the hydraulic fluid
within the coilover. Increasing flow resistance
firms up the ride and slows the shock’s travel,
while less resistance softens it and allows the
shock to compress and decompress faster.
Adjustments are made via a valve that opens
and closes to control the flow of fluid inside
the compression tube.
A full three-inch Trust exhaust
barks a violent raspy tone on idle,
which only gets better the further the
right pedal is pushed into the floor.
Trust also supplied the turbo manifold
When it came to wheel selection Troy couldn’t decide, so rather than force a choice between his two options he purchased two sets of
wheels, and had both custom painted by the team at GT Refinishers. The set fitted for the shoot are 18x9.5-inch Rota D2EX wheels with
custom Candy Gold centres. The spare set are Rota Grids measuring 18x9.5 inches and custom painted in matte black and gold metallic
42
Keeping things cool under the VIS carbon
bonnet is a Trust intercooler, aluminium
radiator, Setrab oil cooler, and gearbox
cooler. Pop the boot and you will also
spot a Spec C 12-litre intercooler
sprayer unit. Once the intake
reaches a certain temperature
the ECU sprays a fine mist of
water onto the intercooler,
dropping intake temps
FEATURE CAR
believe it or
not, the first
drive was en
route to the
photo shoot
Fortyone Automotive sourced
many of the carbon pieces,
including a Ganador boot,
Ganador mirrors, and a VIS
bonnet. There are also carbon
front canards and carbon front
and rear diffusers. There are
still a few more carbon pieces
en route from Japan that didn’t
get here in time for the shoot
Troy Moon
IAge:
I 30
ILocation:
I
New Zealand / Indonesia
IOccupation:
I
Electrical general foreman
IBuild
I
time: Three years
ILength
I
of ownership: Three years
IThanks:
I
David Wallace at Torque
Performance Tuning (ph. 09 828 7054),
Grant at GT Refinishers, James at Rota
Wheels, Michael Clarke at Fortyone
Automotive, all my awesome family and
friends for the support and help
Following the new tune the WRX was shipped across town to GT Refinishers for a fresh
paint job. Originally the plan had been to repaint it white with a gold pearl laid over the top, but
after a few emails with Grant from GT it was decided to go a little more extreme. After hours
and hours of internet searching and emails back and forth, the decision was made to go with
a custom matte green with gold pearl. The plan was to spray the car inside and out, and just
around the engine, to avoid having to remove the fresh block. But while stripping the engine
bay it was found the turbo had given up. This meant the engine had to come out to be stripped
to ensure nothing internally had been damaged. Thankfully all was well inside the engine, but
having it out meant the bay could be painted properly. The end result is something that is 10
times better than what it would have looked like had the motor not been removed.
The GT boys had the car finished just in time for Troy to return to New Zealand, and believe
it or not, the first drive was en route to the photo shoot for NZPC. But you can bet Troy isn’t about
to let cobwebs collect on the WRX. Now with his home base back in New Zealand and flying to
Indo for work, he will be able to enjoy the car a lot more than the 1000km (most not by Troy) that
the odometer has collected in the past four years. The plan is to do a few shows this coming
summer and get in as many road Ks as work commitments will allow, before stripping out the
interior, welding in a roll cage, and hitting the track.
This won’t be the final chapter in the build, and it looks as if things will get very exciting in
the near future: with a decent suspension package planned and plenty of power, this street car
should cut some seriously fast lap times.
The fact Troy has managed to piece together such a car from behind a computer screen and
with a cell phone is a testament to those he placed his full trust in from halfway around the world. It
may not be the traditional way to build a car, but neverless the result is nothing short of amazing. ■
One thing NZPC
loved about riding
in the WRX was the
carbon/Kevlar Bride seat
set-up Troy imported from
Japan. They’re tight fitting and
oh-so good-looking. Bride hit the
nail on the head with these. When
importing the seats Troy also brought in
the matching Bride material, and had the
rear set re-trimmed to match