SUBARU WRX
Building a community. When speaking to Carlo of Legit Society, it’s one of the recurring themes that come up. In addition to helping build the team (which has been around since 2014), he’s also built one of Edmonton’s standout Subaru’s. We caught up with Carlo to chat about his Subaru, Legit Society, and his thoughts on what it takes to run a car club. Name: Carlo Basilan Car Make and model: 2015 Subaru WRX Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Sponsors: None Years current project worked on: 2.5 Car Specs: click here First off, we love your Subaru! What’s the year? “It’ a 2015 WRX. I wanted to go for the STI, but the engine on this one is a bit better. A lot of people ask me why I didn’t get an STI haha.” You like the engine better on this one? “Well, it’s not that the engine itself is better, actually STI's come with a better engine to begin with, but this engine is just newer. It’s the newest tech Subaru has so I wanted to go with the newer engine base. It’s a 2.0, perfect fit for a turbo, so I knew it was what I wanted to build off.” How long have you been working on this project? “It’s been just over two years now! It was bone stock when I bought it, just like every ordinary Subaru out there. I was really excited to start working on it!”
So what were the first mods? “Just like in all my vehicles, I dropped it first. I love when it’s dropped, it helps the car seem like it’s loaded even before anything else is upgraded. You really get the attention and stand out that way. In my opinion, dropping your car is always a good investment” “After that I bought some rims – a new set of Burning Red TE37RT's. Red on red. Followed that up with an OEM lip kit, and a GT wing. This year I upgraded to some wider T37 SLs, new Bride Seats, Seibon CF Hood, custom headlights and a Varis Aero lip kit. It’s one of only two Subaru’s in Canada to have that kit installed, so it’s very unique.” As you were working on this project what was your inspiration? “You want your car to be an extension of yourself. It’s a way of expressing yourself, it’s an art. At the end of the day, car guys are just artists. So my main focus was to make sure it represented me to the fullest” So what’s done in the engine? “Right now I just tuned it up a bit and have a Tomei exhaust. “
Tell us more about Legit Society “We’ve been around for a while, we actually started as a group of friends back in 2014. Maybe even earlier, I think 2014 was when we named ourselves Legit Society – so we could rep ourselves at the car shows we were going to. It grew fast, and we started making it into a community of sorts. I wouldn’t even call it just a car club, or crew, its more of a society. That’s our vision. If people want to rep us it’s simple – just grab a decal and follow the movement, we want to keep it very chilled.” “The first show we went to as a crew was driven 2015 in Calgary. There was about 15 of us who went at that time. We just wanted to help other people show off their rides. It can be hard to go to a car show if you don’t know many people, so we opened our doors for people to join us. For Driven 2016 we kept that tradition and invited even more people. It’s been great to see team legit grow in that spirit.” “And the vibe in our team is very positive, at the end of the day we believe a car is just an accessory, what it’s all about your attitude and who you are as a person. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.” So what’s your advice for people looking to start their own club? “Just be humble, and don’t always obsess about being the best. There will always be a car or club better than yours, and if you only try for that, you’ll never be fulfilled. And the car club scene is a small community, so respect matters. You must be willing to support other clubs and other people in the scene to succeed. Without each other, none of us would be here.”
Catch us live at most carshows in Alberta including DrivenShow, Illmotion, and at RevUp Edmonton held at the Alberta Aviation Museum on July 29. Legit Society fundraiser show dates will be released soon. Follow Legit Society: Facebook | Instagram