Photography by Caleb Perez (@baesic_mediaofficial)
The love for modifying cars is hereditary in Johnathan Valenzuela’s family, and he says the love for cars in general was a result of his own father, who was always tinkering with trucks. These days, he and his siblings are all car enthusiasts thanks to their old man.
When Valenzuela and his wife were expecting their first child, he knew he had to give up his old 2-door car to make room for a family. Not wanting to stray too far from his roots, however, he managed to convince his wife to be okay with the 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STI because of its safety and practicality as a family vehicle. He also convinced her that the only things he would do to the car would be window tints and fog lights, but that is long past the point of no return these days.
Two and a half years into ownership has changed the WRX STI drastically from its factory form, with numerous one-off custom modifications, as well as a healthy bump in power output. Despite all of the modifications inside and out, Valenzuela manages to keep his car family-friendly with a custom Recaro baby seat, ensuring that his original intentions for the car remained intact. This is fatherhood the enthusiast way!
ESSENTIALS
Owner: Johnathan Valenzuela
Location: Grand Prairie, TX
Vehicle: 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Engine: Subaru EJ257 2.5L H4
Horsepower: 500 whp
SOCIAL
Facebook: /jonhathan.valenzuela
Instagram: @naaasti_subie
Tuner Battlegrounds
Event: Tuned Originals
Location: Sneaky Pete's Texas. Lewisville, TX
Popular Vote: 80%
ENGINE
- Front-mount intercooler w/ custom pipes
- TGV delete
- Rotated manifold
- Full Race (headers, turbo upgrade)
- Custom (Intake, up-pipe, downpipe for rotated turbo setup, power steering and coolant tanks, alternator cover, radiator coolant pipe)
- Turbo blanket
- Air and fuel regulator
- 1100cc injectors
- E85 fuel pump
- Cobb (Accessport V3, pro-tune)
- Custom painted hardware
- Engine bay dress-up bolts
EXHAUST
- GReddy Evo3 cat-back exhaust
DRIVETRAIN
- Kartboy (shifter, bushings)
WHEELS / TIRES / BRAKES
- Work Meister S1 wheels - 18x10 (f/r)
- Nitto NT555 G2 tires
- Volk Racing lug nuts
- DBA 5000 2-piece rotors
- Hawk Performance ceramic front brake pads
CHASSIS / SUSPENSION
- Air Lift Performance V2 air suspension system
- Megan Racing (control arms, camber kits)
- Whiteline rear adjustable toe arms
- Cusco rear camber arms
- Perrin strut bar
EXTERIOR
- 3M clear bra
- STI (front delete plates, custom painted front lip and side skirts)
- Front splitter w/ wheel face color-matching rods
- Hella horns
- JDM (high beams, rear fogs converted to LED)
- Wing and roof wrapped in black
- Roof vortex generator
- Shark fin antenna
- Custom painted (window visors, rear diffuser)
- Chrome door molding painted black
- Black STI side emblems
- Recaro rear tow hook
- Custom (LED tail lights w/ show mode, black headlights w/ demon eyes and etched lenses, retrofit projector fogs w/ demon eyes)
INTERIOR
- Recaro (SR4 Wildcat red seats, baby car seat)
- Bride seat brackets
- Takata rally harnesses
- Interior plastic trims wrapped in black brushed vinyl
- Suede black w/ red stitching (shift boot, e-brake boot)
AUDIO / MOBILE ELECTRONICS
- Pioneer 7-inch double-DIN head unit
- Nemesis Audio (4000 W subwoofer amplifier, 1600 W speaker amplifier, 6.5-inch door speakers)
- 10-inch subwoofers (2)
- Custom enclosure
SPONSORS
- AudioZoneDFW
- dariobdesign.com
PHOTO GALLERY
Related Articles
Why Can't an Orange Car Ever Win Tuner Battlegrounds?
A Phoenix Risen: Luke Skalisius' 2004 Subaru WRX STi
Subaru Rear Adjustable Control Arms V3 by ISC Suspension
Proper Execution: Max Caroca’s 2007 BMW 335i
A Cinderella Story: Raymond Tsang's 1993 Mazda RX-7
Back in the Scene: Adrian Javier's 2022 Volkswagen GTI Performance
