2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI - The State Of Stance

Aggressive wheel fitment sure has taken the import tuning community by storm in the last couple of years. There is such a huge following among enthusiasts who are into all things “stance”-related that they’ve developed their own automotive sub-culture. Low offset wheels on cars lowered beyond possible comprehension are so popular today that there are websites and online forums strictly devoted to just that. It’s crazy to think just how quickly it’s become a mainstay in the import community. You know that a particular style has “made it” when there are an equal amount of people that absolutely hate it. There are guys now who are devoted to all-things wheel fitment-related—and there are guys who devote their time to following them around just to tell them how ridiculous it is. Websites such as HellaFlush and Canibeat have become household names based on cars that feature aggressively-sized wheels and ride height lowered to the extreme. It’s quite a phenomenon if you think about it. It’s so simple; you take wheels that hardly fit your ride, attempt to make them fit, and then adjust your ride height to minimally clear rotational mass—on paper, it’s so simple. In reality however, it’s actually quite a task. Often times cutting and reshaping of fenders are required, and with that comes more bodywork. There are even a select few who acquire wheels and then build the car around it, just to make them fit.

The “haters” if you will, cry foul at aggressive wheel fitment mainly because of safety issues related to running smaller-than-adequate tires for clearance and looks. These people just find it totally unnecessary to sacrifice safety at the expense of style. There are also the one-uppers, who recognize this particularly popular style and try to take it to the next level, often yielding preposterous results. Aggressive wheel fitment than becomes an aberration and these cars just look cartoonish and undrivable. One of the biggest criticisms of the whole “stance” movement is that it leads to people taking short cuts with their cars and only building for style over substance. The guys/gals who care only for fitment and ride height will sometimes ignore every other important aspect that comes with building a well-rounded, fully-functional vehicle. If this short-sighted behavior continues, many fear that the entire import automotive culture will be relegated to having crappy cars with nice wheels. Of course, someone will cry diplomacy and shout-out the ever popular “to each their own” statement, but people will continue to see a growing divide between those who are strictly stance-fanatics and those who care more for building complete, well-rounded vehicles.

With that said, we as enthusiasts can breathe a collective sigh of relief because there are guys like Dennis Kongvongsai; who are a part of the stance sub-culture and use aggressive wheel fitment as a central theme while also allocating their time to building the rest of the car. You don’t know Mr. Kongvongsai and that’s okay. All you need to know about him is that he is responsible for this 2005 Subaru STI. The most obvious and noticeable modification to his ride that should immediately pop out at you are the 18x9.5-inch Volk RE30s. The forged aluminum wheels stand out not only because of the Volk Racing signature “Mag Blue” colorway, but also because of their relative proximity to the outer wheel wells of the STI. The negative camber in the rear indicates that clearance is minimal and the hammered ride height leaves the rare, Japanese-produced Mature diffuser millimeters away from making contact with the pavement at any given time. It may look as if this is just your everyday run-of-the-mill “stanced-out” Subaru—but your initial indications are definitely incorrect. Kongvongsai’s STI actually hosts quite a bit of extensive modifications; he just happens to be a very big fan of the stance movement.