New Guy...Looking For A Scooby Potentially...

[Kenny-MR2]

Hey Guys!

New to the forum a fella from the MR2OC Pointed me in this direction when i expressed my interest in a scooby.

Currently drive a Rev3 MK2 MR2 Turbo, Live in Ayrshire, Just sort of fancy a change.

I really like the STi Type R, in fact i have to say i really DON'T want a 4 door as they are so common.

My MR2 is quite heavily modified, and i'd need to strip it back to

nearer standard to get reasonable money for the car and sell the mods

seperate, it was last RR'd at 260hp, however since then i've uprated

the intercooler, fixed the fuelling, running a new map so i'd like to

think its nearer 280hp now

Anyways...I've always liked the responsiveness and noise from the 280hp

scoobies, with all the work i've done to my MR2 it still feels a little

like it doesn't want to know about going fast until around 3000rpm then

its a little laggy, and its something i've never found an issue with

the scoobies!

But i'm rather badly educated on the scoobies in terms of ownership

So hopefully someone can answer me some questions?

- Fuel, Day to Day, can i expect it to be much worse than my MR2, cause

i gotta say my MR2 is terrible, currently getting around 17mpg average!

- Motorway Driving?, i've heard that the STi Type R is terrible on the

motorway and sits at very high RPM at 70mph, is this true?

Running Costs - Servicing, what is reliability like, do these cars like to break? Common Faults?

Engine Strength?, at what point when tuning a STi would i need to start opening the engine up and beefing things up?

ALSO -  BUYING...

What to look for?, as i've already been to view an STi Type R in

Glasgow, but it was at first choise cars and the poor thing looked like

it had been abused all its days and then refused to start. However

viewing it did let me sit in one and see what the driving position is

like e.c.t., from that i now know that the Type R instrument cluster is

really nice compared to the classic uk and wrx ones, also the gearshift

is very nice, and in general its on par with the MR2 interior in most

fronts or better, where i felt i really didn't like the classic

interior on the UK and WRX's (Maybe just me?)

Just generally trying to get an insight into these cars, as i've wanted

a scooby since before i could drive (but also before everyone wanted

one)

Cheers Guys -

Sorry for the late post, hope i didn't wake anyone lol

[Todd]

Do you ever sleep []

Happy hunting Kenny, sure the guys on here will keep you right, even if it is an ugly 2 door your after []

[4Hero]

Hi Kenny, commoner here []

Don't know much about the Type R/mechanics but I'm sure someone will be along to help you out real soon [Y]

Welcome to SIDC!

[drb5]

Hi Kenny.

What it all comes down to, is what you want at the end of the day.

If it's defo a 2 door model you want, you'll be paying 8.5k+ for a decent one. First Choice cars have been discussed on here and the general consenssus, was they sold dogs, but i'm not sure myself.

STi's uprated internals and they *should* get over 400hp if taken care of.

Fuel is the tricky thing. Till you get it remapped, it could be bad, or it could already be pretty good. Depends on current mods and how the car is. They seem to vary a bit, you get good and bad standard cars, as you can any other motor. []

If you look in For Sale, Ross is selling his Type-R at the moment.

[Fee]

2 door is definitely the way to go....either the Type R or the P1

You're right about the motorway driving...it can be a bit of a pain in the arse as it sits at high RPM because of the short ratio gear box.....you do get over this though...it doesn't bother me that much at all (I think just because I love the car so much) but it does bug the hell out of Adam!

Petrol wise, I wouldnt say it's as bad as people make out, but obviously not as economic as your bog standard run of the mill car. I haven't had mine remapped so use optimax and octaine booster and find that I can do about 270ish miles to a tank (£50 of Optimax)

Servicing....parts can be a bit more expensive than on other cars...oil is about £50, spark plugs about the same. I used to service my last car myself but found it near impossible to get into the spark plugs on the impreza!!! so have only had them changed by garages which obviously bumps the bill up though. I guess if you're a bit more patient than me though it can all be done yourself.

Mine's near standard and puts out 290BHP

check on here...it has heaps of handy information about the cars

http://www.iwoc.co.uk/contents.html

and just to show off....here's mine []

[Kenny-MR2]

he he love the commoner comment

no todd mate i don't really sleep in actual fact i had 2hours sleep

last night, from 5:30AM to 7:30AM then went back out to work, was

working from 8AM to 1:30AM yesterday but with a brief stop to go to the

pub quiz for 2 hours lol!

i didn't really want to be the one to say it but that garage looked a

bit shady, i really just wanted a test drive in the STi Type R

my MR2 i think had a 40 or 45 litre tank i can force it by filling to

the brim to take near £50 or optimax and i get *cough* 200miles a tank,

but my car does amuse everyone on the MR2 with its constant flames

Quite like the idea of the scooby but in an ideal world i'd keep my MR2

also, however my master plan was to give the MR2 to the girl when the

time came to upgrade the car, but that went a little pear shaped when

we broke up lol!

i think the answer will lie in the test drive, i spoke to a fellow

recently that had an EVO 5 and used to have an MR2 the exact same as

mine, he's now going back to an MR2 cause the evo was "boaring" so test

drive will tell i think?

[dave_morgan]

 

Hi Kenny,

You'll enjoy scooby ownership, but look around for a good one. Here are a few opinions based on my experience. I've had an sti 5 type R, a P1 and a UK classic wagon so have had a chance to get intimate with most classic shapes scoobs!

The Sti Type R is a great car, the only downsides in my opinion are :

- It is pretty low geared, so has great acceleration, but sits at pretty high revs if you're motoway cruising a lot.

- Because it's a Jap import, you have to run Optimax AND octane booster to be safe. Obviously this isn't the case if you have it remapped though.

- No ABS. Not really a big issue as the brakes have a good feel anyway, and you can normally anticipate lockups well before they happen. If you do a lot of wet or snow driving, it may be more of an issues I guess. The advantage is you get an intercooler water spray bottle where the ABS pump should be ! []

All the above comments relate to the V5 or V6 models, as that's all I really know about and none of them are entirely negative at the end of the day! There's a silver lining in 2 of the items at least ! The only thing that got on my nerves a little was the high revs when motorway cruising. Not a huge issue, but a combination of decat and high revs can get quite tiring on along trip. I compromised, sold the Type R and bought a P1 ! The P1 is effectively an Sti 6 Type R, with a few UK 'tweaks' - namely :

- It has ABS, (but no IC water spray)

- It has more sensitive knock detection on the ECU, so octane booster isn't as important (but buy a knocklink to check just in case)

- It has 17" OZ wheels, rather than the 5 spoke 16" ers.

- They are always Sonic Blue

- They have AC rather than climate control []

- They don't have the adjustable centre diff, so are more neutral handling (the Type R has a stronger rear wheel bias so feels more like a RWD car- particularly in the wet)

- The P1 has a deeper front splitter than the Jap Type R

- The clock layout inside is very slightly different

- The Jap Type R's have electric folding mirrors, while the P1 just has electric 'fixed' mirrors.

I love the P1, as it answered the gearing problem, and the things I lost didn't bother me too much. It might be up for sale soon if you're interested, but it's likely to be more expensive than a similar age Type R. 

To answer a few of your questions :

- MPG - you should get at least as much as the MR2, probably slightly better. It obviously depends on how you drive it. I saw near 30mph on mine a few times, and the P1 is slightly better.

- In general Subarus are very reliable. Servicing isn't overly expensive for the level of power, and parts are getting cheaper all the time, as second hand parts are more readily available all the time. You should service at least every 6000 miles though - bear that in mind. Obviously the more mods you do, the more chance somethng will go wrong. If you're looking for BIG power, go for a Skyline !! []

- Not really any common faults as such. Don't be shocked if some of the ones you look at are on their second engine. A lot of people have run their Type R's with no octane booster or on bad fuel, which can lead to a melted piston and dead big end! Get a knocklink, and you should be able to avoid that one! (only £100, and can save you £000's !!)

- The STi engine has various upgrade internally, so is a good engine to upgrade. Just make sure you get all the correct monitorring so you can keep an eye on things though.

- Buying is the same story as any car. Take a look at quite a few before you buy one so you can get a feel for what they should look like and drive like. Unfortunately the type of car they are, they're likely to have had a it of a hard life, but if you can find a lowish mileage one with a sensible owner, you should be ok. Common sense stuff really!

Best get back to work !!! Hope that Helps !

Dave

[dave_morgan]

......the evo was "boaring" ....

Aye.... LOL !! []

[Fee]

I went just to test drive mine whilst considering importing one from japan personally....and then ended up buying it!

[Kenny-MR2]

Well i WAS also considering importing one but not sure.

How much money would be in your P1 when the time comes, i'm beginning to think perhaps its a better bet?

i doubt i will be tuning it, generally i'll "try anything once" and i

had a show car Astra which was me trying my hand at styling, also had a

massive ICE install i built myself and so i also did ICE in that car

too, the MR2 was about suttle styling and make it GO! Done that rather

well and thinking, maybe just get a car that does it for me on all

levels as standard?

Anyone got a picture of the P1 Interior?

Cheers

[dave_morgan]

I've no idea how much I'll be asking to be honest. I've also not 100% decided whether to sell or not.

Here are a few pics of Coxy's car (one of the guys on the p1 owners site)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010053.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010056.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010060.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010006.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010003.jpg

 

Dave

[Kenny-MR2]

I've no idea how much I'll be asking to be honest. I've also not 100% decided whether to sell or not.

Here are a few pics of Coxy's car (one of the guys on the p1 owners site)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010053.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010056.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010060.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010006.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/tonyjcox/P1010003.jpg

 

Dave

OH right its like that then?, i'm not sure i'm gonna sell you it but

here's some pics of a P1 in the mean time to make you cry lol

[Hepy]

Why does everbodys elses P1 always look cleaner than mine?[]

Right I'm of to get some polish.[]

If you fancy a P1 there's quite a few on Pistonheads, including mine.[]

[Kenny-MR2]

Man i love the P1's

I've heard they need an engine rebuild every 60K miles, any such truth to this?

Mate of mine is going to arrange me a test drive in a P1 hopefully this

week, still not sure if i should go the P1 route or the STi Type R route

Was quite set on the STi Type R, but now i really fancy the P1 again.

[Guest]

im in the same dilema as you kenny. i preferably would like a 3dr due to their rarety

but as it would be my every day car the gearing may be a pain.

im also concerned about the fact that u hear about so many p1's/type-r's blowing up which is rather off putting.

[dave_morgan]

 

The P1 is less likely to go pop than the Type R, but if you fit a knocklink and are sensible with your mods, you'll be fine. If you decat, get a remap!

Dave

[dave_morgan]

p.s. I know quite a few P1's that are at the 80k-90k mileage mark, and are still on their first engine. They do have a bit of a reputation, but if looked after, they're fine. Use good oil, change it regularly, use Optimax and keep an eye on your knocklink lights!

[Guest]

well will probs be a type-r just to be even more exclusive plus it

is possible to to get a minted one for the price of a medioker (spelling) P1

im also lucky to have a good mate called pete who works at AWD and happens

to have learnt a thing or 2 about impreza's so im sure he will keep me right

[Kenny-MR2]

As i've discussed previously with friends and such.

the scary issue is that i've had my MR2 for just under 2 years, i've

serviced it regularly and always warmed it up, but i've also given it a

lot of stick in that time, the late engine comes with a triple layer

steel headgasket which is basically a fit and forget item and it seems

to be true as i run a lot of boost, the car gets driven on boost a lot

and has never broken down once or given me any grief!

I'm quite worred to sell a car with a known strong engine to end up

buying a potential breakdown wagon, do these engines blow up as much as

i'm thinking they do?

When i guy a car i generally modify for reliability before i go for power

[dave_morgan]

As I said, as long as you're sensible, you'll be fine. Don't run a dawes device wide open with no boost guage, fuel it properly and service it properly and you'll be fine. If they were that unreliable, no-body would keep them!! I've had mine for 4 years and still love it. I just need a hatchback so am looking to change. Can't beat the looks of the P1 though if you ask me! I love 2 door scoobs!

Dave