just new what subaru to buy please help?

[strapper]

Hi folks I'm just new on here, I am currently on the hunt for a scoobie after ownership of celica gt4's for the past few years. The subaru I have in mind is a 2 door version 5 sti type r or the version 6 type r but I don't know anything about them can I get as much info about good and bad points about owning one and running one? I have been emailing fonzy of here about his it looks great and I would love to own it but I have heard too many horror stories about these cars.

The other car I had in mind which I like is the uk300 bug eyed model can someone give me some info on these? Or anyone that is selling there's?

Thanks Scott

[Daniel-s]

Get these books first of

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...9390574-8290840

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...9390574-8290840

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...9390574-8290840

[strapper]

Cheers I will look into it

[4Hero]

Welcome to SIDC mate [] I'm sure more technical folk will be able to help you on your choice. All I can say is buy one.

Good luck!

[dave_morgan]

Welcome to the forum,

I've had an Sti 5 Type R, and I loved it. The only things I'd say to be aware of are :

- It's a jap import, so you will need to be very careful with it's fuelling. Jap cars run on higher octance fuel, so if you run it on standard UK fuel, it is possible you'll have detonation (pre-ignition) problems.  However, if you run it on Optimax and add some octane booster, you should be fine.

- Buy a knocklink. This will tell you if there is detonation happening inside your engine, which is what kills some sti engines. You get good and bad tanks of optimax, and having a knocklink will tell you when you've got a bad one! If you get a bad one, add more octance booster and drive less aggressivley till you fill up again.

- If you decat your car, I'd strongly advise getting a remap to cope with it. My opinion is that the sti 5's are sailing quite close to the wind as they come from the factory, and decat'ing a jap car and then running it on UK fuel could be expensive!

- The Type R has pretty low gearing. Great for accelertaion, but not so good for long 'cruising' trips.

- There is no ABS on the Type R - you get a water spray intercooler instead.

- The Type R is predominently rear wheel drive. Do not drive it like a 4wd drive car in the wet, otherwise you'll get a shock first time you boot it out of a roundabout or sharp corner in the wet. It is great fun, but only if you're expecting it! The rear biase can be adjusted from insite the car though, so don't let this put you off. See the FAQ page on this website for details of the adjustable centre diff.

 

Please don't let any of this put you off. I loved the car and sold it to change to a P1, which is effectively an sti6 with a few UK tweaks. In all reality the P1 is actually a slightly lower spec car than the sti, but gains a more useful gear ration (in my opinion), ABS and a UK warranty (sometimes!!!). It loses some comforts such as folding mirrors, electronic climate and the intercooler spray though! []  Horses for courses !

The sti 6 is very similar to the sti 5 as far as I know.

I can't comment on the UK300, but make sure you drive both the classic shape and the newer shape before deciding. The newer shape will feel more comfortable and probably have a nicer, less basic interior, but will lose some of the raw subaru "basicness" (that I personlally like). Try them both and see what you prefer.

All my opinion, but drive as many subarus as you can before you make up your mind aseveryone taste is obviously different!

HTH,

Dave

[Daniel-s]

Nice review mate

[strapper]

Thank you bud that is quite helpful. Am i right in saying that the v-ltd models have got a longer final drive to make them do 150mph+?

I also heard that the big end bearings go on the sti engine all the time but don't know if this is gospel?

[dave_morgan]

I'm not sure if the big end bearings go on their own to be honest.  Mine did go, but I think it was because the piston had a chunk out of it and was consequently dragging badly in the bore, thus causing the BE bearing extra stress. Hard to tell after the event really.

Anyone else got an opinion here? I'm only going on my own experiences.

Dave

p.s. I was to blame for my sti5 going pop! I was running on just super unleaded at the time, with a full decat and no octane booster! This was before the time of Scoobynet, Scottish Scoobies and other useful refernece sites. Optimax hadn't even been released yet! Hind sight is a wonderful thing! [:'(]

 

[vicki]

Hello Strapper (where did you get that nick name from!!)

Before I bought my scooby, all I heard were good reports about these cars from people who owned them, they were reliable, "nippy" and nothing really ever went wrong with them.

I would recommend you buy one cos I still believe the above is true.

It is the best car I have bought so far and when the time comes will probably trade it in for another []

(This is about the extent of my scooby knowledge) [^o)]

[RS Grant]

Hi Strapper... Welcome over here!! []

IMO, if a car has been looked after, there is less chance of the BE going.. but you can NEVER tell, its a bit of a gamble. We had a member that needed a rebuild with a car that had been run gently all its life and had only done c30k miles.

Ideally, to cut down the risk you'll want either a fresh import or a car that has been re-mapped to use only Optimax with a stack of history from an enthusiast. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to look at a few shabby examples before finding a minter.

Here is an absolute stunner.

Cheers,

Grant

[dan_jess]

Vicki - he got the name because of his love for all things long and rubber! And am not talkin bout giant elastic bands or the huge old stadtler rubbers u used to get at John Menzies! []

Only kiddin Scott, bout time u got over here anyway!

Any luck with selling the chicken tikka! []