SP Rides: Natural Progression

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Hugo Sanchez likes cars.  At the relatively young age of 25, he has already been through several, including an Eclipse, two Lexus, three or four Hondas, a Jetta, an Evolution, and the 2006 Subaru STi that graces this page.  And like all of us car aficionados, he’s slowly evolved his taste in a natural progression for the automotive form.

Hugo admits that viewing the original Fast & Furious  at the age of thirteen is what set off his current love for tuning.  If you’re a performance -minded enthusiast I imagine you’re already stifling a groan at the mention, but the F&F series has done a great deal towards introducing aftermarket tuning to the new generation.  What started off as a taste for Lamborghini doors, tons of LCDs, and a flashy bodykit has slowly become a passion for Hugo…and that passion’s name is performance.

With support from his father, Hugo set out to purchase a Mitsubishi Evolution…and ended up with an STi.  With a more affordable sticker price and arguably comparable performance, he really couldn’t go wrong with his choice.  Like most new turbo owners, Hugo’s first modification was a blow-off valve…the addictive auditory rush one receives on every lift of the throttle was an obvious choice for him at the time.  However, when it comes to automotive tuning, one thing always leads to another.

“I never expected to go this far.  I wasn’t planning on going for this full motor build” Hugo comments.  Intent on enjoying the car in a relatively stock form, he drove the car for over 14,000 miles before being convinced by a friend to purchase parts at the same time in order to save shipping costs.  With little apprehension, he jumped in with both feet, ripped the engine out, tore it apart, sent it off to Snyders Machine Works for boring, and then put it all back together within the span of a month’s time frame with upgraded components.

For his first time in pulling an engine, Hugo was fearless in attacking the build.  “We actually labeled everything…every screw we took out, we put them in zip-loc bags, just in case.” he says.  Once he had the engine together and back in the bay, Hugo had it tuned by Chris Black of AMS Performance. AMS is a renowned mainland tuning shop and with Chris’ tune the STi put down a whopping 450HP.  Monitoring all of this madness is a sweet set of Defi 60mm boost, oil pressure, and EGT gauges, a HKS turbo timer, and a Turbo XS knock sensor light.

With the go, Hugo wanted a little show for the exterior and opted for a carbon fiber setup.  He fit a full set of Seibon carbon fiber fenders, hood, and  full lip kit with a one-off 2003 rear bumper conversion and diffuser.  Mike Quering, aka DJ Wish, provided custom pin-striping for the Junkshop Pros painted front fenders while accenting the underlying carbon fiber layer for a unique look.

Hugo isn’t done with the car, and hopes that construction of a racetrack will allow him to concentrate more on setting the suspension for time attack.  Currently, Tein Flex Coilovers linked to 18×9 Advan RS’ wrapped in Bridgestones keep the car glued to the ground while gripping local pavement .

Behind every build is a solid foundation; Hugo thanks his friends, family,  and his wife for their support.  He might not live his life a quarter mile at a time…but with this beast of an STi, he certainly could.  That’s what I call “natural progression”.

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