mystery machine

CDF Racing are offering 15% off KW products

http://bbs.scoobynet.com/trader-announceme...r-from-cdf.html

Cheers Dan.

MM that is a great looking car

Thanks!

I Would worry slightly about the knocking though if I were to get a WRX.

I really like my cars to be perfect with no rattles or knocks which is why I went for a VAG and it hasn't disappointed.

With a limited budget I don't then want to have to spend on coilovers or the likes as I'm sure the standard handling would

be a big improvement like you day over a normal car anyway.

I've only been in Subarus for two years, but as far as I can tell they are generally fairly reliable - the 'knocking struts' issue is an exception, but quite well-documented (on forums and the like - and the dealers don't deny it exists). Remember, although coilovers are currently the only true solution for knocking Hawkeye shocks (and, I think, late Blob STIs), KYB make replacements for earlier WRX/STI models. I gather that they too can eventually knock, but at least they're more in the region of £200 per pair as opposed to around £600 per pair if buying from Subaru! (+fitting). You might want to quiz some Blob WRX owners and ask them how much of a problem knocking shocks have been for them

Incidentally, before I got my WRX I had a VAG - bought from new - and it was the only car I've had in the past ten years to leave me stranded at the side of the road (fingers crossed!).

P.S. Don't know if you've seen this thread, but take a squatch at how great a Blob WRX can look:

http://forums.sidc.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=150636

Yours sounds like a great car MM, are there any piccies?

It is a great car... but of course not because of anything I've done! It's bog-standard apart from the stereo head unit

Having said that, it's very likely that I'll soon be replacing the suspension with KW coilovers. As standard, I don't feel that the handling - as good as it is compared with a 'normal' car - quite lives up to the available levels of grip or engine performance. Also, the shocks on newage Scoobies have a design fault that causes them to 'knock' after only a few thousand miles, requiring replacement or overhaul. On earlier newages it's not too big a deal because you can source cheaper (but the same part as OEM) replacements from KYB, but no such third-party replacements exist for Hawkeye WRXes/STIs or late Blob STIs... hence coilovers and not lowered springs + uprated shocks.

Yours sounds like a great car MM, are there any piccies?

Aye, sure - here it is:

Mine's £435 and I still bought it

F**k 'car tax' and f**k the government - they don't represent me

Sounds a bit too complicated for me. I think I'd be holding on too tight to have time to be fiddling with the torque distribution.

You tend not to adjust it while driving... well, I sometimes press the auto/manual button, but the manual torque dist wheel is always set to 'full rear'.

And even if you never touch it and leave it in 'auto' mode, it's a very worthy addition as it makes for a more neutral, grippier car.

Colin, you never cease to impress and ashame me

Your Blob is an absolute stunner, mate

Is that flecked metallic the original finish then? What happened during fitting of your performance parts that marked the wings?

Oh and if I really decided to blow my budget how about a WR1

Very nice Scoob - particularly as it has the DCCD that featured in all later STIs. The DCCD allows you to adjust torque distribution between front and rear, or switch to auto mode and have the computer do it for you. I have it on my Hawk and love it

Rear wheel drive all the way for me. AWD/FWD with all the diffs and electronic gubbins is so people who cant drive can own a fast car too. Admittedly my old Type R with the diff right back was a handfull

PS I couldnt drive either I only found this out when I bought a RWD

Whilst I don't have much experience with high-performance RWD cars, I do accept that generally more skill is required to drive one on the limit than with 4WD. So I agree with the general point you're making.

But regarding 'all the diffs' (by which I assume you mean the 'limited slip' variety) and electronic gubbins - such driver aids are hardly the preserve of the 4WD car. Most decent high-performance RWD cars will have an LSD (the standard Exige being an exception here), and many Scoobs don't even have a front LSD. Also, I personally tend to use the STI's centre diff in 'open' mode, which negates its function as a discrete driver aid. And when it comes to electronics gubbins... well, they're virtual ubiquitous on modern cars, and your average RWD BMW defaults to having a pretty interventionist traction control system (which can be disabled, to be fair).

But yeah - for the fundamental benefits of increased traction brought about by 4WD - high performance saloons like the Impreza and the EVO are essentially 'easy' cars to drive fast, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it... very safe when driven within reasonable limits, but dangerously confidence-inspiring for the less experienced driver!

Southwest, Sideways article in the latest True Grip. Went down to the Haynes Motor Museum for a day in their RWD Imprezas. Was incredible fun!!!

Ah, "True Grip"... when I read "TG" I thought for a minute you'd made a guest appearance alongside 'The Stig' et al

Sounds like enormous fun though! Is the Haynes Motor Museum worth a look-in then?

could it be the 440 pound a year road tax which could put alot of people off when buying a performance car now

I'm sure you're right in that it does put people off, but then it's nothing particularly new - it was £400+ to tax my '06 WRX when I bought it two years ago.

That was indeed a good time to pick up a motor.

...but between now and last June I'm struggling to see why the demand for Hawkeye STIs would've plummeted...

Anyway, I guess the test is to stick it up for sale in Autotrader at a price you think is both reasonable and worth your while selling for. If the phone rings, great - if not, then drop the price or keep it

Neil, I'd suggest that there isn't as big a demand for heavily-modified WRXes as there is for standard STIs/WRXes.

Certainly took me a bit of travelling to find my standard Hawk STI just over a year ago, and I don't accept that the *rse has fallen out of that market in the space of a fairly uneventful year

John's modded WRX - with all due respect - just ain't everyone's cup of tea, but the right buyer will come along eventually. Still think he needs to ditch the orange wheels first, though

Not really fancy IIRC, some diff welding is involved as is the removal of the front drive shafts. Was told when I did the drift day for TG but I've kinda forgotten now.

As a Sport owner, it's VERY tempting after driving their two Sports with RWD.

What was the "TG drift day", mate? Sounds like fun.

You're saying all the right things, Neil... or all the wrong things, from ma wife's perspective!

Thanks again Craig.

It certainly seems worth the extra £200-odd for the option of damper adjustability... only snag is that the photos I've seen of the V1s appear to show a more conventional 'wider diameter' spring on two units. I'm speculating here, but could that make the V1s more suitable for road use?

Edit: had it confirmed that the V1/V3 spring rates are the same.

What you can't do withe FWD which you can do with AWD and to a certain extent RWD is plant the throttle going round tight bends.

Indeed - and (in the rear-biased STI at least) it's a great cure for mild understeer.

Same here.. I quite fancy a wee roadster or somethign, maybe a MX5.. Even better a S2000

Both great cars, the former of which is often unfairly referred to as a "hairdresser's car"

The Nissan 350Z and 370Z are belters of coupes too

Must admit that if I could afford an M3 the same age and mileage as my Scoob I would have one of those in a shot. Having said that, the STI's rear-biased 4WD works well and I'd surely miss it in the wet!

Manual DCCD and you have the best of both worlds!!

YES

Roll it right back to the big O

Good replies, folks.

I am tempted by RWD but if I did, I would stick with a scoob!

I take it that'd entail some kind of fancy RWD conversion?

Incidentally, I believe there are outfits in the States who convert Scoobies to RWD for competition driving where RWD is mandatory.

been in 4 wheel drive cars since 1996

Blimmin' 'eck Neil, yer legs must be aching!

Just kidding mate, all interesting stuff

ask the welsho

been trying to sell his since end of april

Ah but - at the risk of sounding like an STI snob - his is a WRX...

Albeit a WRX that's half-way to being an STI (and beyond in bhp/lbs-ft!)

Just asking because I've read so many posts from guys on here who've traded their Scoob for a Clio, Civic, Focus or similar and make no mention of the fact they've traded 4WD for front-wheel drive...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the above-mentioned cars are necessarily bad cars just because they're front-wheel drive, or that you can't buy a good FWD performance car, but I thought it might be interesting to hear your opinions about what Scooby 4WD means to you

For me, it was one of the deciding factors when I bought my first Scoob (Hawkeye WRX). I was simply fed-up driving a hot-hatch that scrabbled for traction going up hills and understeered horribly on bends in the wet (despite any half-assed 'traction control'). The 4WD system was once again a deciding factor when I bought the current STI - being rear-biased it has most of the advantages of both 4WD and RWD. Cool!

This sort of stuff is important to me, and as long as I have a choice I won't buy another front-wheel drive car as my 'fun' car (I'd seriously consider RWD, though)

What's your take?

If your car isn't wildly modified then Autotrader online's as good a place as any to get ball park idea of your car's value. Do a search for cars with a similar spec to yours and see what comes up. Try to limit to 100 mile radius because they do get cheaper as you venture further south.

http://www.exe-tc.co.uk/

have a look there, theyre about 2k though i think

Thanks again mate - aye, going a bit outside my budget - but good to know what's out there

Google is your friend..............

Erm, aye - but not much joy searching for "exec tec" (which was all I had to go on!)

or i will just copy the link i had

exe-tc

Cheers, Deek

Welcome - tasteful-looking classic