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Sounds like the clutch... It may be just temporary or it could be knackered. If its been abused a bit in the past then you may have given it just enough to kill it. In normal conditions it should be able to take the sort of treatment you have given it but if you do it on a regular basis (the high rev standing starts) expect to keep replacing clutches. If you want to pull away quickly get the car moving with low revs before booting it, after a bit of practice its just as quick. Its that initial missmatch between stationary wheels and a fast reving engine that wears it out the most.

Classic WRX's are imports so its going to be way more expensive to insure and most companies wont insure under 25's on imports (i know a few do but not many). I would go for a UK turbo if you want lower insurance the power is 210-220 for standard uk turbos depending on year and 240 for models with the PPP. WRX's are 240-280bhp depending on model year. This all applies to classics not new age.

No more then £4,000 unfortunately in my opinion. They dont sell well.... especially with high miles.

Yeah thats why things are so much cheaper outside the UK.... Dont you just love this country!

Expect around 22%. Yes its only VAT (17.5) technically but the courier will pay this on your behalf and then charge you for the fact they have shelled out as well as the original amount. Usually having the item labled "Gift" gets you away with no tax and the other trick is to have the value put down as far lower then it really is. However.... For such a large expensive purchase these aren't a very good idea.

I agree something had to be done to improve the WRC results but arn't most of the recent problems linked to driver mistakes or even more so reliability? I dont see how changing the shape will make the car more reliable... The current car is fairly quick when everything comes together (not very often i admit) but the drivers dont seem quite on the same level and the reliability always seems to let them down. It seems a bit like a last ditch hope that if they change to a hatch back like everyone else it might just work when nothing else they have tried has done it... I'm not trying to wind anybody up and if you like the new style good luck to you. I hated the blob eye and it has slowly grown on me along with a lot of new cars so maybe I will like it one day too. I do agree tho that I have wanted a scooby since back in 1996 when I was only 12 years old watching the WRC. And at 21 I finally got the car I had been watching on tv (a blue classic UK turbo) so if this does do well then im sure the following will grow and grow. Good luck to Subaru I will still be supporting them and hoping for good results.

Did RC get back to you mate? Im interested in these things too (might be convinced to get a decat if i can pop one of these in to pass the MOT).

With sensors mate your never going to be sure they are ok unless you buy a new one from Subaru. I would never go for taking somebodies word on ebay that its ok...

Just for info a non visible whiplash injury with no absence from work and just a few weeks of "intermitent" pain followed by a quicky trip to see the doctor netted me £1350. I dont condone conning people but I lost out big time when an idiot wrote off my last car and I made sure I got as much as i could out of his insurence. The car payment was sorted in about 4weeks but the personal injury took a further 12 months to settle but was worth it as it just paid this years insurence.

No sorry I just came accross them the other day and they looked quite usefull if you can just pop it in once a year.

Just my opinion but if i didnt know the supplier and hadnt heard of any of there work then I wouldnt trust them at all. With an engine they can lie about the mileage and it may never have been rebuilt or even opened up... or could have been rebuilt badly/on the cheap. I know its not what you want to hear but I would only trust a used engine from a well known supplier.

Sports cat will need remap to get the most from it. Especially if its been mapped for a full decat. What about those universal cats you can fit into your pipe? Just for the MOT day i mean. If that works then just drive it off boost to the MOT test and back to avoid remap issues. Have a look on here under impreza exhausts http://www.rogerclarkmotorsport.co.uk/gene...ntrancehome.asp

Is there a visible leak? If not there may be a small leak that is landing on something hot and burning off (meaning you wont see any pools of coolant). If you definately have no leaks then its almost 100% certainly a head gasket... which isnt cheap. . Open the expansion tank when cold, start the car and watch for bubbles in the coolant. If there are some then its likely to be the head gasket. Check all pipes and fittings for wetness and cracks.

Cool should be fine then.

Seem to be fairly well established http://www.nissens.dk/uk/index.htm

Has anybody got any experience with these? Subaru want £208 for a standard rad and I can get a Nissens Ali one for £125. Just wondering if these are any good quality wise?

No the standard spec of the car is taken at flywheel not at the wheels. So this is a good result.

Well your looking at 25mpg if your sensible and 20mpg if you drive fairly hard so thats one expense to think about. Most people also like running them on high Ron fuel so its going to be an extra 5p a litre if you do that. Insurance is another issue as it tends to be high as most Imprezas are group 17. Its a performance car at the end of the day so they tend to go through service items a bit quicker then your average mondeo. If you drive quite hard you will be doing tyres and brakes a fair bit more often then a "normal" car. Service wise you are looing at an oil change every 10,000 miles on a newer car and every 7,500 on the classics. Other fluids every 30,000 miles and a cambelt every 45,000. Clutch's depend completely on how hard you drive them. As far as im concerned if you get a sensible insurance qoute and dont drive that many miles a day they are not that expensive to run at all. It just tends to add up if you use it for a long comute every day.

No experience other then what I have read in Jap Performance Magazine. Maybe they were refering to agresive rally style anti lag systems.

If it does actually have anit-lag then its a system where fuel is sprayed into the exhaust side of the turbo keeping it spinning so you get power instantly and there is no.... wel no lag i guess, hence the name anti lag. As the turbine is constantly spinning at high speed it doesnt need to speed up when you put your foot down. Sounds great.... looks great..... but you will go through manifolds and turbos like service items. Or it may just be a flamer kit which is the cheeper way of doing it but gives no performance gain at all.

Go for it and if they dont wave back just keep doing it. It will pay off!

Correct me if im wrong but isnt the uk turbo and wrx block the same? Just the STI that is different? I just thought the WRX had a TDO5 rather then an 04 and a different ECU.

I love it, and i know what you mean by a warm feeling inside. I sometimes get the hazards flash or quick left right indicators if they are infront or behind too [] I would say 75% wave back and i have had waves from classics to hawk eyes so its all good. I hate it when i accidentally miss a wave too!

WRX ecu's are mapped for 100ron jap fuel so in theory yes you could swap turbos and ecus to get wrx power but you would need an octane booster really. You may get away with running 99ron UK fuel but i wouldn't risk it. The power of the WRX's changed by year too so some were neared 240bhp some 260 and some near 280.

I wouldnt bother with a camera mate. Just get a good looking fake one and security light. Any pics you get will be useless unless they are crystal clear and even then its not worth much unless the police or you happen to know the person. Believe me i deal with criminal damage daily (not my own car thank god).