Braille O2 racing seats for your Subaru WRX STI

Braille Auto Development has released the Oxygen Racing Seat for the Subaru WRX STI. The new seats were developed in collaboration with doctors and physical therapists to make the seat more comfortable and put less stress on the human body during long drives and race driving.

The new Braille Oxygen Racing Seats for the Subaru WRX STI offers many advantages over the stock seats, notably:

• Better spine support
• More comfort
• Increased hip and leg room
• Thicker padding
• Ergonomic memory foam
• Lighter seats (you save 35 pounds over the stock seats). Nothing a good diet can’t do!

The seats are made of a fiberglass reinforced plastic shell, which makes them the lightest full-sized racing seats in the world without sacrificing safety. One seat weights a mere 16 pounds and you can buy one for $899 from Braille’s web site.

While these new racing seats won’t gain you any HPs on your Subaru WRX, they sure look comfy!

Via: HSPN

Subaru has announced a new special edition Impreza WRX STI in memory of rally hero Richard Burns who died in November last year of cancer.

Called the RB320, the new car features around £6,000 worth of extra equipment including the 320 PS Prodrive Performance Pack, yet costs £29,995 on-the-road – an increase of only £3,500.

The SPT Performance Exhaust replaces the stock intermediate pipe and muffler with a larger, 3-inch stainless-steel system for better sound and performance. The SPT High Flow Air Intakes are made of cast aluminum and come with an anti-vibration mounting system. The SPT Heat Shield cools intake air to reduce power loss.

Prodrive says its version of the 2.5-litre, turbocharged boxer engine delivers 185kW and 360Nm, the standard engine 169kW and 320Nm. Subaru SA says the car will sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.7sec and top out at an electronically limited 210km/h.

There’s a review of the 2006 Subaru WRX TR (Tuner Ready) for you to read at Subaru WRX TR (2006). Here’s a small excerpt:

All in all, the WRX TR is a nice car, but it feels kind of “cheap” given its $25,000 price tag. The interior is very economy car-like, the doors and trunk feel thin (though that may be by design — you know, to reduce weight and all), and there aren’t a whole lot of amenities. With the base price of the TR being just $500 less than the standard WRX, it doesn’t seem like a that great of a deal to us. For just $500 more, one gets a factory aero kit, a nicer interior and cooler-looking (and more aggressive) seats.

Subaru recognized that enthusiasts — whether those looking for a sport compact for the street or a modified car for autocrosses, rallies or track days — are likely to install their own aftermarket audio/entertainment/navigation systems as well as custom seats and event-specific tires, and that they also will go to the aftermarket for things such as aerodynamic body kits and wings, so the TR was created to make such conversion easier and less expensive.

Subaru has launched three new Prodrive Performance Packs for selected 2006 model-year Impreza and Forester models. The kits are available from Subaru dealers for 1700 including VAT and fitting, and do not affect the cars’ standard warranty arrangements. They also pass full UK Type Approval regulations for noise and emissions.

Each kit consists of a reprogrammed ECU and a new exhaust system which replaces the standard rear catalyst with a high-flow version and adds a sports silencer. In the case of the Impreza WRX STi, a new high-flow fuel pump is also added.

The results are dramatic. An Impreza WRX STi fitted with the Pack gets a power boost to 316bhp, while maximum torque improves from 289lb/ft to 332lb/ft. The power peak occurs 400rpm higher up the rev range at 6000rpm, but it’s the other way round with torque - down 300rpm to 3700rpm.

In terms of standing-start acceleration, nothing much changes. The STi’s 0-60mph time drops from 5.0 to 4.8 seconds, and there’s a 0.3s improvement in the 0-100mph time to 12.2 seconds. But mid-range acceleration is more important in the real world, and this is where the Prodrive Packs truly score. The run from 30-50mph in fourth gear comes down from 4.8 to 4.3 seconds, while the 50-70mph time in fifth also improves to 4.3 seconds from the standard 5.1.

The Impreza WRX gains similar benefits from its Pack. Maximum power goes up to 266bhp, while torque rockets up by 74lb/ft to 310lb/ft. The other car to get its own Pack is the Forester 2.5 XT manual, which gets a power boost to 256bhp. Interestingly, Subaru quotes 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds and 0-100mph in 13.9 seconds for both cars, though the mid-range figures for the Impreza are slightly better than they are for the Forester.

The car that really surprised us was a current MY06 Subaru WRX equipped with a relatively mild MRT power-up kit. Nothing particularly groundbreaking in terms of mods but, jeez, the result was brilliant. Forget typically laggy Subaru turbo engines, this engine had the punch of a late-model Saab or Audi at low revs and continued to make good power to around 7000 rpm. It was responsive, wonderfully flexible and damn fast in the cut-and-thrust of normal driving. A great example of effective turbo matching and an intelligent engine tune.

“Leisure-seeking motorists preparing for the spring holiday season are being targeted by Subaru which has just has launched a high-value accessory campaign focussing on towbars and electrics plus roof bars and attachments.

For example, Subaru Forester customers buying a detachable or fixed swan-neck tow-bar will receive a free-of-charge “plug and play” 12N wiring kit worth �49.95.

This avoids fiddly connectors, clips and soldering and drastically reduces installation time for the towcar electrics.

Meanwhile, owners planning outdoor pursuits such as mountain-bikers, skiers and campers will all benefit from Subaru’s new “Raise The Quality Bar” campaign.

Anyone buying a load carrier and attachment such as a cycle carrier, ski carrier or transport box will receive a 10 per cent discount on both items.

The “Raise The Quality Bar” campaign on genuine Subaru accessories is available from all participating dealers with all items enjoying a full and comprehensive three-year warranty.”

Since the Subaru Impreza WRX appeared in Australia more than a decade ago we’ve seen countless workshops getting stuck into modification. But few, if any, are as impressive as the Middleton Rally Team (MRT) XB power-up kit for the newly released MY06 WRX.

Forget entering debates on other upgrades that might offer more top-end power, this baby will blow most other Rexes to the side of the road before they’ve hit boost! The typically laggy and soft bottom-end performance of the previous models is now just a distant memory, the MRT enhanced MY06 WRX is a torque monster!