I know a shop that builds rally cars in Squamish BC, they de-stroke all of the STi, I think the shorter stroke obviously helps to rev higher but with the decreased rod angles it reduces stress making them more reliable. They also use the JDM 2.0L heads if I am not mistaken. One of friends has a WRX wagon built by them....it's crazy quick I likely didn't pay as much attention to his build list as I should have...
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X5M, Eisenmann exhaust, 22" HRE wheels, catless down pipes, Stage II tune/X5 Diesel, Lowered & Tuned