Everyone has a few skeletons in his closet. A pile of old bones better left in the past. Things he'd rather not make common knowledge.
The man who owns this 2004 WRX STi is Gregg Vandermark. Gregg has the dream job of Manager of Performance Events and Activities for Toyo Tires and admits he built this Subaru as a promotion vehicle for his employer. But Gregg's closet isn't a bone-free zone. This guy has a past, a pushrod past.
In fact, his roll of previously owned vehicles sounds like a list of cars you'll find in the staging lanes of Maple Grove Raceway. On a Wednesday night. In 1988. The list includes a 1978 Chevrolet Camaro LT, a 1984 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, a 1985 IROC Camaro and a 1993 5.0-liter Notchback Mustang.
It was only after he joined Toyo in January 1999 that Gregg realized his evil ways. Soon after, he bought a new 2000 VW Golf GTI with the 1.8-liter turbo motor and built the bejeezus out of it. Since then he's had a built '02 WRX, an '05 EVO RS, which he still owns, and this very wicked and very sweet STi.
This is one of those special cars that can be driven daily, take home the gold at car shows and lay it down at any dragstrip or road course in the country. It was built with the help of Brainstorm Performance in west Los Angeles, which has been tinkering, modifying and servicing Miatas since it opened in 1991.
Recently, Brainstorm branched out into tuning Subarus, EVOs and 350Zs, and the company is serious about it. It has even invested in a state-of-the-art Dynamic Test Systems four-wheel-drive chassis dyno, which Brainstorm says can measure up to 1,500 hp in all-wheel-drive mode and is one of two in the entire United States.
Before he hooked up with Brainstorm, however, Gregg began the buildup with the chassis and suspension. First, he stiffened the Subaru's structure with a Do-Luck six-point assist bar (a suspension brace that ties together front suspension pickup points), a GReddy front strut tower bar and a Cusco rear strut bar. Then he lowered the car with height-adjustable Vogtland coil-overs from Germany and added a thicker 22mm Cusco rear anti-roll bar.
Although Gregg says he has more than 20-grand in the STi, not counting the cost of the car, he didn't spend cash foolishly. A perfect example of this are the brakes, which are basically stock. Remember, they're Brembos right from the factory. But Gregg did spring for a set of SBS (Scandinavian Brake Systems) pads from STaSIS to improve bite and heat resistance, and a set of stainless brake lines from Russell to improve pedal feel.
Bolted to those brakes are Speed Star D5R Gold wheels measuring 18x8.5 inches all around with a 48mm offset. And they're wrapped in a special set of tires, 245/40-18 Toyo's Proxes R888, which is an R-compound only sold in Japan and Europe. Hey, every job has its perks.
Toyo calls the R888 a new competition radial for racing enthusiasts, and sells it in three different compound options for applications ranging from Gymkhana to circuit racing. And although it's road legal in Japan and Europe, Toyo says it was developed only for maximum dry handling and quick lap times.