While I was driving through a small pass to the Willow Springs raceway, I passed through a small town called Mojave. It literally took till Sunday morning for it to really strike me that Mojave - and Willow Springs raceway, the site of Subiefest - was in the Mojave Desert. You hear about these places, but you never think you will actually be there.

Well, we were. We all were. And, woah, Toto, we aren't in the Pacific Northwest anymore! Sunday morning wasn't too bad, but once it hit noon, somebody added a lot more lighter fluid to the bbq! Some car were literally smoking! Ah, wait, that's from their engines letting go... 

Bug removal time!

One thing we quickly learned about Bakersfield was to not get breakfast in Bakersfield. So we just lit out of there, went up route 58 to Mojave, and finally arrived at Willowsprings Raceway.  

Our travels actually started back at the office in Seattle, Washington, not far from the Subie magazine office. Well, relatively closer than the rest of you, being a mere 20 minute drive away. Ross Wilson (AVO Japan) and I (Paul, AVO USA) started off with a trip down to Rallitek in Portland, Oregon on Thursday morning. This leg of the trip was a mere 200 miles or so, a 3 hour drive in relative comfort. We went to Rallitek to pick up Sean Sexton's 08 WRX, which is sporting a smattering of AVO and Rallitek parts, along with a very nice Liberal bodykit from Japan.

Once we did arrive at Rallitek, we spent a bit of time installing some new parts on the car (newly redesigned BOV, some new silicone piping), fitted an AVO catback, and had Sean flash his car with the Accessport. Well, its not that it had not been flashed before, but that setup was for the high-octane available in Oregon. Now that we would be heading into the gasoline hellpit known as California, so we needed a map that would work down there.

We've redesigned our high-performance blow-off valves for the Legacy GT, Outback XT, 08+ WRX, and new Forester XT! The first thing you will notice is the new colors, as they now come in anodized Blue, Red, and Black, along with the previous silver finish. This is not the biggest change, however, as we have changed the internals by quite a bit! Listening to feedback from our customers, we've changed how our BOV works, and for the better!

New valving and a stronger seat pressure improves the performance, along with more throw, giving it a better ability to deal with higher boost levels. A softer spring has also been utilized to decrease the chance of compressor surge. You may notice a little more noise when it vents to atmosphere because of these changes.

The Pacific Northwest's combination of rampant rain, mist, fog, and more rain makes it one of the favorite places to own a Subaru. The event of the year for all these Subaru fans is the West Coast Subaru Show, which celebrates it's 10th year of existence with this event! It was held this year in Astoria, Oregon at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds. You have to admire a city that's forward thinking enough to allow in so many car fans! The weather was very atypical for the PNW, as it was sunny and incredibly hot over the weekend.