mystery machine

I did mean to comment that the Racebox does sound quite nice in those clips, just hard to judge the volume Thanks again

The H&S looks nice, very like the standard tailpipe, which I like. How did it sound compared to the Prodrive then? 05WRX – thanks for the clips. TBH, it's hard to tell how those back boxes would sound against the engine, road noise, etc... actually the most useful clips I find are those where the car is filmed driving past the camera. Cheers folks

Cheers mate. I thought that the 2.5" bore only became restrictive when pushing above 350bhp (or 400bhp according to some sources)? I'm shooting for 320-340ish. TBH, I was leaning towards 2.5" all the way through as that's supposed to produce less cabin noise. However, I had considered that I might go for 3" on the downpipe and centre section, and wondered if I could bolt my standard STI BB onto that until I find a suitable replacement BB (hence the question about mis-matched bore sizes).

Also, might sound like a daft question, but as I know f-all about exhaust fittings... Do all the sections of the exhaust have to have the same bore size? E.g. can a 3" bore centre section be bolted straight onto a 2.5" bore back box? Thanks.

Hi folks, I plan to replace my exhaust from the turbo back, prior to ECU remapping. I've more-or-less decided on a Cobrasport decat downpipe and resonated centre section, just not too sure what to do about a back box... Actually pretty happy with the quiet standard STI box that's on the car at the mo', but it's looking a bit rusty around the edges, so this would seem like a good time to replace it with a nice shiny stainless steel item I've ruled out the Cobrasport BB after listening to the clips on their site – too loud and ratty for me. Had a listen to some YouTube vids of other backboxes and actually the Prodrive is probably about as loud as I'd want to go! Can anyone suggest where I might source a Prodrive backbox, or recommend an (as quiet) alternative? Many thanks again

Aye, that's the point I was trying to get across

I did get you mixed up with someone else – thought you were Derek (Strike), who also has a white hatch in his avatar and also posted in this thread. My apologies to you and Deek for that! Erm – do me a favour, mate and don't act like the 'on topic' police – I answered his question about engine performance and I make no apology for making an honest suggestion in good faith about a cheap handling mod. I stand by everything I posted, thanks.

When you had a regular STI hatch, I seem to remember at one point you were seriously considering spending the best part of £2K on KW coilovers... Anyway, no need for you hatch guys to go on the defensive over my comments, just telling the OP what I wish someone had told me way back! (the uprated rear ARB) SK08BYT – did you get any further with your engine performance mods?

My Hawkeye was bog standard when I bought it and I was quite happy with it for a time, before I began to feel that it was a bit detached, vague and uninvolving to drive quickly – I guess that's what I meant by 'spongy'. BTW, I'm not the first to level that criticism at a newage Impreza – and from everything I've read, the hatch WRXes/STIs are at least as 'bad'. Although I'm quite happy to admit that I've never driven one Coilovers, ALK, uprated rear ARB and poly ARB bushes have made my car miles more involving to drive, much more responsive to steering inputs, feel more connected to the road, more stable, more controlled, flatter, etc, etc... I'm not suggesting that everyone ought to go out and spend thousands of pounds on their Impreza's handling, and if you're perfectly happy with yours then good for you... however, I would say that for the sake of about £150, an updated rear ARB is an very effective handling mod that most any Scooby driver would appreciate (apart from those who own one of the few models that came from the factory with a more balanced ARB setup). As far as I'm concerned, I'd be doing the OP a disservice not to mention this – some wise people on this very forum tried to tell me the same thing way back, and I wish I'd listened to them earlier YMMV

Welcome! I'd say you're wasting your money not doing something about the spongy handling first, but hey everyone has their own priorities WRT exhausts, seems that the real gains in power and response are to be had by replacing both the catted downpipe and the lower cat pipe with a single 'sports cat' downpipe. You'll probably also want to replace the fuel pump with an uprated item at the same time to prevent under-fueling. This seems to be very much the tried-and-tested route to 15%-25% torque/power gains. Not had my Hawkeye STI remapped yet (despite having had the car for almost two years), but Andy Forrest has long been a favourite around here, but also this guy has been gaining favourable reports for his service and competitive pricing: http://www.trackhound.co.uk/

That's depressing. Remember to write to whoever's 'responsible' for the A70 about that. Fecking shambles, this country...

Funnily enough, I just tried that and the cheapest to come up was... TA–DA! "Admiral"

Not being from Glasweedgieshire, I had never heard of this place, so I looked it up... Can you believe that they knocked this down to make way for the filling station?! http://www.flickr.com/photos/7622517@N05/2048294050/ I suppose it might explain a lot...

You can always find a cheaper quote, but watch out for those crazy excesses that some of the cheaper policies have attached to them

As long as it's no' "Bar L" Deek, we can aw sleep the night

Aye, I guess I was thinking of the handling balance, the standard Scoobs like many a modern car often being a bit more roly-poly at the back than they are at the front (hence the popular rear ARB upgrade). I was chatting to someone the other day who maintained that the recent Mondeos aren't quite the drivers' cars that the older models were. I've never driven one, so I wouldn't know, but yours certainly looks the part and obviously has a great spec!

Cheers Alastair

Will you be using the same tyres all year round? I just had Bridgestone Potenza RE070s fitted. The almost semi-slick tread gives tremendous dry grip and the stiff sidewalls great steering feedback and accuracy. However, they're not so great when it's cold and damp at the same time (certainly when the tyres themselves are still cold). I'd certainly recommend them as a summer tyre, but certainly not as an all-seasons tyre. I'll be using something else come next winter, even though I don't take the Scoob out in slush/snow!

Mine went down this year, not sure why though – umpteen years NCB just like last year and no other notable changes to circumstances... Gift horse, mouth, etc...

Sorry you had to pack it in, Joe Do you really get much in the way of car thievery on the Isle of Bute? All the best, mate

Is the F150 not the thing with the 8.0L supercharged engine and the brakes from a Fiesta?

Blimmin' 'eck! That's a fairly unanimous verdict! Suppose I'll have to try one now – thanks for all the comments and links, fantastic! Dare I ask which brand of bar people prefer?

Anyone here used one? I was thinking of giving it a go. Just a wee bit wary of scratching the paintwork as the bar collects dirt/grit during use. Also not quite sure how worthwhile it'll be if it's merely removing a layer of dirt that I didn't notice anyway ...do they remove tar spots? Cheers

A truly great-looking Scoob

Welcome – sounds like a nice Scoob you have there