Written by Dave Pankew | Photos by Edwin Villanueva
Nothing really influences the younger generations today more than pop culture. How they act, what they wear and, most vital for the health of the economy, what they buy is all determined by what is popular on TV, YouTube or has gone viral. Being relevant in this way was an important consideration for Scosche Industries to showcase their premium Realm Audio brand when they decided to put together their latest audio build. Rather than pick whatever platform was available, they settled on the Subaru STi, a fiery 4-banger that has been burned into pop culture with videos produced by Rally Drivers Ken Block and Travis Pastrana. There isn’t a hotter car in the viral video market these days and Realm wanted in on the action.
With no real intention on improving the performance of a car already blessed with many abilities, most of the upgrades are standard on the STi version of the Impreza. Under the hood, the mechanics are all STi but they did do some upgrades in the footwork department.
A Set of Tenzo Racing Sports Cuzco Version 1s in White/Red were selected in 18x8-inch on all four corners. The rollers were wrapped in Nitto NT555 tires in 245/40R18 sizing. Beyond that, the 5-door was dumped on a set of H&R Sport springs for a more aggressive look.
Built entirely in-house by Scosche, the company had full control over how the project would develop. When projects like these are subcontracted, chances are there will be elements that need to be reworked since the job wasn’t done to spec the first time. Since this vehicle would be used for tradeshows and dealer events to show off the REALM line to potential buyers, it had to be an ultra-clean install and the sound fidelity had to impress even the most discerning car audiophile.
The job started with the entire interior being gutted and all of the trim and fasteners labeled for reassembly. The entire car was Dynamat’ed to keep the road noise out and the sound waves in. All of the Scosche EFX 0-gauge power cabling was laid throughout the car linked to Scosche EFX D-Block distribution blocks and a Scosche EFX fuse box. All of the proper grounding points were made with Scosche EFX cable for crisp, clean signals with no interference. With the power and ground in place, the STi was fitted with shielded Scosche EFX interconnects to carry noise-free signals to the amps to ramp up the volume.
Up front is the venerable Eclipse AVN-6620 LCD headunit to control the system. This 7-inch touchscreen unit features CD/MP3 and DVD playback as well as navigation and optional satellite radio. The signals output by the Eclipse head toward a Rockford 3SIXTY.1 signal processor for fine tuning the application. The lows head to a Realm Audio D1100.1 mono amplifier which drives a pair of Realm Audio LFT12 12-inch subs in a unique enclosure. Housed in the trunk, the sub box is completely constructed of 1-inch thick clear Plexiglas. The ultra-strong material is light yet extremely strong and showcases these shallow design subs from every angle.
The mids and highs are amplified by the Realm Audio A300.2 and A500.2 2-channel amps to drive the components found around the car. Up front, Realm Audio LS6c 6.75-inch speakers are sunk into the doors for proper sound staging. In the back, the rear fill speakers are Realm LS6cx 6.5-inch units, which are also mounted in solid locations in the doors. Beyond all of the audio hardware, Scosche added their BlueFusion Eclipse Bluetooth interface to handle all of their calls and commands hands-free.
With all of the right performance tweaks and some vinyl for sponsor love, the Scosche / Realm STi gets noticed. But it’s really all about how it sounds because the audio crowd has demanding tastes and will accept noting less than perfection. Without having a chance to listen to this project, we can only go by secondhand accounts which described the experience as absolutely stunning.
THE ESSENTIALS
Owner: Scosche Industries
Location: Oxnard, CA
Vehicle: 2009 Subaru STi
Engine: Subaru 2.5L EJ25 Boxer-4
WHEELS, TIRES & SUSPENSION
Tenzo Racing Sports Cuzco Version 1 18x8-inch
Nitto NT555 245/40R18 tires
H&R Sport springs
AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA
Scosche EFX 0-gauge power cable
Scosche EFX D-Block distribution block
Scosche EFX fuse box
Scosche EFX ground cabling
Scosche EFX interconnects
Eclipse AVN-6620 LCD headunit
Rockford 3SIXTY.1 signal processor
Realm Audio D1100.1 mono amplifier
Realm Audio LFT12 12-inch subwoofers x2
Custom 1-inch thick clear Plexiglas enclosure
Realm Audio A300.2 2-channel amp
Realm Audio A500.2 2-channel amp
Realm Audio LS6c 6.75-inch speakers
Realm Audio LS6cx 6.5-inch speakers
Scosche BlueFusion Eclipse Bluetooth interface
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