Win or learn is part of our DNA.
The AFR Shop Car “RH9 WRX” is testament to this philosophy.
The car is being continuously developed as a test bed for the products we support and is used to prove our capability with the Subaru platform.
Tuning, racing, and modifying this car has helped us to test the reliability of specific parts, head gasket sealing options, etc… all at varying different power levels and use cases.
This 1995 WRX is a “GC8” chassis car which has been modified for increase power and performance. The car has undergone a number of iterations, from bolt ons to 10 second street car, to now shooting for an 8 second quarter mile. The cars current best pass is 9.13 at 162mph. This makes the car the quickest 4 cylinder car in Alberta, and the second fastest Subaru in Canada (by only 1 mph). This has been accomplished while running a stock 6 speed transmission, and no major chassis modifications besides the 8.50 cert safety cage.
Making somewhere near 1000whp on 50psi of boost, the short block is a standard off the shelf Outfront Motorsports – Long Rod - V4 Racer block. The D25 cylinder heads are filled with Kelford R-199-D camshafts, and are sporting our own CNC porting to maximize flow. The RCM 4 stage dry sump system helps to ensure proper lubrication for the engine at all times.
The turbo setup on the car is a Precision Gen 2 7675 Turbo with a Black Sheep Industries Inc wastegate and BOV combination. The intercooler is a custom built 6” air to air setup which helps keep charge temperatures cool. The exhaust manifold is a custom AFR built unit, which allows for clearance of the dry sump system. The intake manifold is a modified 2.5i intake manifold with a large throttle body which has been ported. We chose to run the “short runner” 2.5i manifold as it will allow us to run 8 injectors should we choose to down the road.
The fuel system is comprised of a FueLab brushless fuel pump setup, which is now being replaced by a mechanical pump setup to allow for even higher boost pressures and to ensure reliability of the fuel system. Injectors are ID2600X x 4 injectors with Radium Fuel Rails. Fuel is filtered through an Injector Dynamics fuel filter setup.
The ECU on the car is still the Link WRX2X unit installed when the car was stock. It has been working extremely well, with internal logging, fuel pressure compensation, and all the safeties you could ask for. The car is equipped with some extra sensors, including coolant pressure, oil pressure, exhaust back pressure, fuel pressure, a Link Can-Lambda, as well as running the AVCS cylinder heads. AVCS helps the 76mm turbo spool about 400rpm earlier. The car is currently being fitted with individual cylinder EGTs for the 2025 season to help with tuning, safety, and diagnostics. The ECU also controls the center differential in the transmission, and can be controlled via the Link CAN switch panel. This can be handy for burnouts and ensuring the best launch possible.
The power supply for critical electrical components is handled by a Link Razor PDM, which allows for a high level of control and reliability for critical electrical functions, as well as easy communication and configuration of these functions via CAN.
The Link ECU transmits its data to the Motec C125 dash display which gives the driver warnings should there be anything of concern, as well as notifies the driver of shift points. The dash also notifies the driver if the car is in burnout mode or not, to ensure the center diff is not left unlocked at launch. On board GPS and time slip data can be overlaid with i2 Pro analysis to review passes and see where improvements can be made.
The driveline on the car is largely factory Subaru. The only three modifications to the entire driveline is upgraded shifter bushings and a short throw shifter, Tomioka 1000hp rear axles, and a COMP triple plate clutch. Power is transmitted to the ground via Hoosier Quick Time Pro bias ply radials on factory wheels. Brakes are factory 4-pot/2-pot brakes with endless pads and rotors. Helping slow it down is the required simpson parachute as the car is well past the 150mph limit in the ¼ mile.
Steering and suspension is relatively stock, with factory control arms, subframes, etc... The only suspension modifications are a set of very budget coilovers. One of the plans with the car for 2025 is to swap these units out for a set of coilovers with dampening adjustment to help control the launch and 2nd gear wheelies.
Goals for 2025 are to finally break in to the 8s in the ¼ mile and continue to win or learn as we grow with this car.