Impreza WRX

The GDA Impreza WRX

The second-generation Impreza WRX saloon, code GDA, went on sale in Japan on 23 August 2000, two months before the STi. It keeps a turbocharged 2.0-litre EJ20 flat-four, rated at 250 PS and 333 Nm, and drives all four wheels through a five-speed manual. The WRX is the GDA; the more powerful WRX STi is the GDB, with its own six-speed gearbox, so the two take different parts in many places.

Owners name the GDA by its face. Round headlights mark the cars of 2000 to 2002, often called bug-eye; the November 2002 update brought the teardrop or blob-eye front; and the June 2005 update the sharper hawk-eye front, which lasted until the third-generation Impreza replaced it in June 2007.

What GDA owners upgrade

The intake takes a large share of orders: pod filters, induction piping, intakes and ducts and replacement filters, with Gruppe M among the makers. Engine pulleys from the engine range, replacement alternators from Advance Alternator and radiator caps keep older cars healthy, and exhaust systems from HKS and Kakimoto Racing are common.

LSD upgrade kits and clutch kits are the main drivetrain orders, and owners add strut braces from the handling range and pads from the brakes range. Cusco, Tomei, Project Mu and Launsport are among the other names GDA owners choose.

Genuine parts

On any GDA, look for oil leaks at the cam covers and sump, and listen for whine or clunks from the rear differential. Rear struts can stick as their rod seals dry out, and the front radiator support rusts; on hawk-eye cars, look behind the undertrays as well. The timing belt is due every 100,000 km under Subaru's schedule, sooner under severe use. Seals, gaskets and body parts are in our genuine Subaru parts catalogue.

Wheels

Unlike the later STi, the GDA has five studs on a 100 mm PCD, with M12 x 1.25 nuts. Factory wheels are 16x6.5 +55 and 17x7 +55. Larger sizes are listed under wheels that fit the GDA.