And the title says it all…today Lucian Streets brings to you, The Infamous One Pipe.
It is safe to say that Subaru has become the dominating preferred sports car manufacturer on the streets of Saint Lucia. I mean let’s face the facts, it is the only brand of vehicle that has supplied the same level of performance in all categories of vehicles such as SUVs, sedans, coupes and wagons to name a few. No other vehicle manufacturer has yet to raise the bar. No doubt about it that the engineers of Subaru had everyone in mind when they developed this variation of sports car. For the SUV lovers, the Forester, for wagon lovers, the Touring wagon, for the coupe lovers, the GC8 and let’s not forget the sedan lovers, the Legacy.
Meet JR, owner of this beautiful machine to his side. This is a 2003 Subaru Legacy GT Spec B! Yes we have seen Legacy’s, yes we have seen the Spec B’s, but fellow enthusiasts, we have seen none like this. This distinctive Subaru Legacy cannot be mistaken for any other. This is, the only single-exhaust turbo Legacy in Saint Lucia; One Pipe. Can you dare to be different? To many this car is taboo, to JR it is simply a masterpiece!
One Pipe, no exaggeration is one of the best breathing Subaru legacies that you can find in Saint Lucia hands down. Yes, this single exit exhaust breathes better than those manufactured with the twin exhaust from Subaru themselves. How you ask?
JR made it clear that the single exhaust is not all about the looks and the loudness. This car has a 3” diameter exhaust which runs from the downpipe, all the way down to the tip. They (JR and mechanic) carefully calibrated and tuned the car to optimize the best airflow output for improved performance from the car. “She breathes perfectly,” quoted from JR himself.
In addition to the carefully thought out exhaust, there are other components to compliment this amazing build. Although the engine, believe it or not is still stock, he said that it is stock at its peak! Got you thinking, right? Okay let us analyse. Why upgrade your engine to something bigger and better and you have not even seen the maximum potential of what you already have? Which I agree is very well said. Well with that said, installed under the bonnet are light-weight pulleys, a 3″ airflow pipe to the filter, K&N air filter, silicone hoses and ACL race bearings just to tickle your curiosity.
Although the package all sits on an automatic transmission, his tune and light-weight pulleys allow the beast to shift and operate like a manual transmission itself because of its semi-manual feature.
Let’s carry our attention to the outskirts of this vehicle for a moment. White HIDs + crystal fog lights setup in blue, 18″ original Spec B rims coated in pink, Prodrive front lip attachment, wire mesh front grill with Subaru badge, Vortex generator air diffuser shark fins on the roof, oh, and let’s not forget that massive 4″ canon to the back. But wait, there’s more! I’m sure we all love the look and colors of our gauges staring us blatantly in the eye at night. I’m sure JR loves staring at his boost gauge all day and to tie in with it his oil temperature and oil pressure gauges. All in all as a fellow enthusiast myself, I could tell you that I don’t know of any car owner who doesn’t look back at least twice at their baby after parking. Guilty a few of us are, right? But that is totally fine in my books.
Lucian Streets also had the opportunity to have an interview with the owner of One Pipe himself, JR. A series of structured questions were asked and this is what he had to say.
Before we go into the Q&A segment of the article, I would like to say to our followers and fellow car enthusiasts that Lucian Streets does not agree with or condone any of the behavior which may be discussed and engaged in below. This article is for entertainment purposes only and we encourage everyone to drive safely and obey all road laws of our country. Enjoy.
Q&A
Being that you are a car enthusiast and familiar with all the possible brands out there when it comes to performance sports cars, why choose a Subaru?
I chose a Subaru because the look of a Subaru is very enticing. Enticing in the fact that it turns you on basically, straight! And it’s so sensitive in the fact that they are very delicate and need a back to back maintenance scheme. So I didn’t want a car where you just throw it around. I wanted a car that I could bond with.
Since you had your mind made up and wanted to go full out sports car with a Subaru Legacy, why an automatic transmission?
Chuckles. I would rather a manual transmission, hands down! Hands down in the fact that you can manipulate your gears how you want to. But, it being my very first car at a very young age, I wanted to try my hands off an automatic Subaru Legacy.
From factory we know that the turbo version of the B4 Legacy has a twin exhaust setup. Why have you opted to be extraordinary and convert the factory setup to a single exhaust setup?
Short answer, the LOUDNESS! I like to be going hard, loud and fast. But from a technical perspective, it gives more flow. We opted and manipulated the car’s tune so that the single, one pipe exit is a little better than the twin exit. So it’s not just the one pipe, it’s a little more technical than that and it has purpose!
Apart from modifications to the car’s exhaust, what else have you done to the car to improve performance?
Well yes I have installed light-weight pulleys, K&N air filter, boost, oil pressure and oil temperature gauges and race bearings to name a few. The car is still basically stock. I have not spent much money in it like those other guys just doing upgrades. I spent money to ensure that the car breathes well and to ensure it runs at its peak of a stock engine.
There are countless Subaru sports cars on island which are quite finely tuned and maintained. Are any of these Subaru owners an idol or inspiration to you and your build? If yes, who and why?
I look at every Subaru with an open heart. Every Subaru which passes me I get something to like/admire about the car. So I’d say every Subaru I’ve seen on the road has inspired me to make my car what it is. Looks wise, performance wise, loud wise. So I thank every Subaru driver on island for making me see my car in a different light.
I noticed that you have an interesting sticker on your car which reads “Ride or Die“. Do you live by that code? Because it’s believed that you have a particular driving technique which is questionable by many car enthusiasts in Saint Lucia.
I live by the code Ride or Die. Ride or Die means that I am down for whoever, whenever, however the situation ends out or plays out. Ride or die on my car to me means that I have a bond with my car. That what I feel the car feels, how I drive the car drives. It might look like madness on the road to other drivers but it’s not, it’s very calculated.
Are you satisfied with your car and its performance or do you have plans for a better build? I’ve heard that the car is up for grabs on the market.
Um, I have reached the peak of a 5-speed automatic Subaru and I’m looking to go into something a little more fun. When I say fun I know all manual drivers will give a little smile for that. But I’m looking to go into something within the Subaru range of a WRX or an STI class. My car wise, I have reached the peak and I have enjoyed the journey here, but it’s time to move on to something bigger, better and faster!
Do you have any interest whatsoever to participate in Dexterity or any of the local drag events, or do you plan to stick to the streets?
I get down to the streets. I wouldn’t mind doing a little Dexterity to improve my handling of the car or learning stuff or how the car reacts in a closed environment that I wouldn’t learn on the streets so I could prevent anything bad from happening on the streets. But I believe that the streets are for faster drivers and The Base is for fast cars. I don’t believe that I have the fastest Legacy out there, but I do know that I am a damn good driver on the streets so I will stick to what I know.
Any light words for all of your “One Pipe” fans or to our fellow enthusiasts out there?
I’d like to say thank you to everyone for admiring my car in the light that I admire my car. Every day I start and every day I park I just have to be like, “Wow damn, she’s sexy”. I think that, in fact I KNOW that if you stick to having a set goal of getting a car you will get there. It may not be the next day or the following week, but if you stick to a set mindset to achieve it you will. I achieved my Subaru Legacy and I will achieve more. And finally I believe that wherever you are, starting or finishing just set a goal and you will get there.
