At some point we've all sat around wondering what the purpose of our life is. Whether it's figuring out what sort of job we should be working or where we should be living, we're constantly questioning our decisions and are unsure if we're doing what we were truly meant to do. We're not here to get all philosophical in a car magazine, so what am I leading to? Simple, when Toyota first came up with the Scion line its purpose was clearly defined: customization. Scion was to become an affordable and attractive car that was manufactured to be customized. Stephen Do may not know what he'll be doing three years from now, but lucky for his '06 Scion tC, its purpose in life was to set the tone for many Scion tCs around the world.
Straight off the lot, the Scion tC is a fantastic bang for its buck. Priced at less than $20,000, the tC offers great performance and good looks, but there's always room for improvement. Stephen wanted to build a complete car from bumper to bumper and it shows. No bolt was left undone in order for Stephen to accomplish his goal. To keep the exterior conservative and clean, Stephen opted to do things a little differently without screaming for attention. We've all seen those Scions that were customized the wrong way, and Stephen clearly took notes on what not to do.
He opted for the factory OEM lip kit to accentuate the Flint Mica body lines while lightening the load with a fine collection of carbon-fiber products from Seibon. The hatch, hood and doors have all been replaced with lighter counterparts. Subtle lighting changes were also made-after all, it's the details that make the difference. Mobile HIDs (8000K) light up the street while the third brake light has been tinted red.
Freeing up unnecessary weight should hint toward Stephen's true intentions with his build. A performance-inspired project, Stephen went with plenty of suspension modifications to tighten the handling in anticipation of tackling the track. Megan Racing's street series coilover kit offers plenty of adjustability to go along with the stiffened chassis. Every bar imaginable has been swapped out with aftermarket pieces, with GReddy providing the strut bar while Hotchkis' sway bars make this tC built for cornering. There's also no missing the six-point Autopower rollcage that was further modified by The Shop to fit Stephen's needs. What is amazingly eye-catchy is the unique orange powdercoat that has covered the cage. It also hints at a continued orange theme that brings us to the wheel and tire setup. "Track-inspired" means lightweight, so Enkei's RPF-1 wheels were a perfect fit. Mounted on Kumho Ecsta AST tires, these 18x8-inch wheels with a +35 offset have also been powdercoated the signature orange.
Under the hood, Stephen's 2.4-liter engine packs quite the solid punch. While most tC owners are content with just mild bolt-ons, Stephen desired so much more than just a few dozen horsepower. Opening up the GReddy catalog, Stephen ordered a full bolt-on turbo kit that includes a TD-05H 18G turbo, an eManage Ultimate with 440cc injectors, a turbo manifold, a downpipe and a massive front-mount intercooler Along with GReddy's bolt-on turbo kit, Megan Racing's mid-pipe and S-pipe connect out to an HKS high-power axle-back exhaust system. The shrilling sound of the HKS blow-off valve is unmistakable, even miles away. To keep things reliable, Stephen wisely swapped out the factory fuel pump for a Walbro 255-lph in-tank while AEM's water/methanol injection kit is always a great add-on to any forced induction setup. Controlling boost (and aiding Bobby at Performance Race to tune the car), is a TurboSmart manual boost controller. All of these pieces work beautifully together to produce 293 whp with 365 wtq at a conservative 8 psi.