Author: Jay

Although a genuine STi model, my Impreza was unfortunately missing the most important visual thing – in my opinion – that the STi variants feature. That huge high-rise rear wing STi spoiler. Here I finally get my hands on one. When I purchased my Impreza it was perfect in my eyes, except for one thing. This HUGE replica of a WRC rear wing! Definitely an acquired taste. Although the novelty of having such a huge rear wing was certainly a talking point, it just didn’t suit the relatively stock styling of the rest of the car. Sure, if I...

The Winter weather and many cold starts have really taken its toll on my old standard battery. Being such a vital part of a car, why skimp on cheap battery? I bought myself a Bosch S4 024 battery to really bring the Impreza to life. Coming with my delivery from CarParts4Less along with my Aerotwin wiper blades this battery is a serious bit of kit! Being coloured blue is just a nice little added bonus! Fitted in place with minimal effort, my car has never started so easy! The high ratings of this battery are more than enough to...

The Winter weather finally took its toll on my poor old wiper blades, so I decided to fit a set of fancy Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades to the Impreza. Bought along with the new Bosch battery from CarParts4Less, I opted for a 22″ blade for the driver side and 17″ blade for the passenger side – Bosch items AR22U and AR17U. Here you can see the damage to the original blades – well overdue a...

Always a fan of Osram branded bulbs, I decided to swap over my old tired headlight bulbs to a set of new H1 Osram Nightbreakers. As with most cars, fitting bulbs is always a little tricky. But the difference between these Nightbreaker’s and my old standard bulbs is very clear. I’ve no comparison pictures I’m afraid, but the simple task of swapping over these H1 size bulbs is well worth the...

New Uniroyal Rainsport 3 tyres; quite an expense, but one of the most important features of a car. Tyres are the only thing that provide contact with the road, so you need to make sure you’ve got good quality rubber at all times – especially on a 4WD Subaru Impreza. Update: 1 November 2016 Two years on from fitting my first set of Rainsport 3’s, I’ve decided to invest in another set. This was a slight premature change as I had a serious tracking issue on the two front wheels leading to really fast wear. The tracking has since...

I’m a huge fan of expensive sound systems. Unfortunately I’m not able to afford multi-thousand-pound systems, so I aspire to get somewhat decent sound on a budget and by self-installing. In 2014 I decided to begin my audio project in the Impreza. If you’ve ever heard the standard speakers in a Subaru Impreza, you’ll understand why it needs an upgrade. First, let’s talk tech. This install is an ongoing project, and I’ll be revising it as time progresses. I’ll be opting for a basic Headunit, Front Components, Rear Subwoofer and one 4 Channel Amplifier setup. My initial equipment spec...

New car parts! This time it’s a set of Genuine Subaru Wind Deflectors, or ‘Side Visors’ as they’re officially called. Let’s get them installed: Bought from a Subaru dealer here in the UK for approx £90, it’s a pricely sum to pay for a couple of strips of plastic. But they’re quite rare – you certainly don’t see them on every Impreza of this era. And they’re genuine Subaru optional parts – so why not fit them? Let’s see what’s in the box: Product code E3610FE000 Installing Impreza Wind Deflectors The first thing the instructions call for is removing...

The inevitable has happened. Not too long after fitting my HT Autos splitter, I’ve only gone and broken it! With a horrible snapping sound heard clearly from inside the car, I knew exactly what I’d done. During my visit to the Prodrive HQ I made the mistake of getting a little too close to a rather high kerb. And that was the end of my splitter! Or it would have been, if I hadn’t decided to attempt to fix it. Let’s take a look at the damage: Split into three pieces. Time to get the trusty Tiger Seal out!...