Carl Davey

John, nice to hear a genuinely open and unbiased report about WP. [H] Nobody's perfect but it makes a refreshing change from those who like to jump on the bandwagon without first understanding the facts. I bet it feels great to have your car firing on all cylinders again. With any luck i'll be heading there with 10 other Cav Turbos in October. []

Stop mincing and get your name down here. [][]

Andy, whereabouts in rural Aberdeenshire? Both my father and I are into engingeering in a similar way to what it seems your own father was and we stay in Cuminestown and Turriff respectively. I'm sure between us we could clear some of the stuff out of the barn and at least help you identify the rest of the parts and estimate their value for you. I'm sorry to hear about your fathers stroke, my grandfather had one a few years back but by all accounts he got off lightly compared to your father. []

As above the smart money is on a V3 STi to be honest Ciaran. It has the most agressive valve train and doesn't come with an engine notorious for failure. Go V4 if you want the nice dashboard etc - i did hence how i ended up with mine. I doubt any Impreza you buy will be as quick all round as the FQ320. My standard V4 STi made over 300bhp at the RR Day in Ellon last month, a V3 with only a de-cat and filter made over 330bhp IIRC. No other classics could touch Kevins Version 3 on a mods per power basis that day as far as i can remember. The V5/6 undoubtedly looks nicer which is why i said to get it out of your system, if you want the best chance of keeping up with your mates get a V4 Type R. It still has the three door looks but has more of the pedigree to help you keep up with the Evo. Grantyboy up here in Aberdeen was selling a nice one not long ago, unfortunately you just missed Seans (the car i would've bought had i not decided to go RA). You may live to regret buying standard when you add up what the mods have cost you! []

Yeah i like it, much less bling this time. [H] Finally getting to the end of 'going through the motions' fitting the Defi's, Knocklink etc. Hopefully get the wheels on soon which will make a big difference with fresh rubber. Then some brakes perhaps!?

Get the Type R out of your system while you're young... ...then get the RA. [] That said i personally wouldn't go out and spend 12k on one. Seans black V4 Type R (see for sale) just sold recently for a lot less than that and IMO was a stunner of a car. As has been said there's plenty of great cars out there practiaclly being given away. If you're going to spend mega-bucks find something that has already had the big-money taken out of it, i.e. AP's, de-cat, nice ECU etc because you WILL mod it. [] [H]

I could easily imagine that to be the case Brian. The best discs i had on my 4-pots and currently have on my new car are Tar-Ox ones. I'd imagine these discs with suitable pads on 2-pots vs standard discs/pads on 4-pots to be fairly similarly matched. Even with the Tar-Ox discs and braided hoses the 4-pots on the RA are just far too marginal for the cars performance, hence why i said the first big money i'd spend on it would be on AP's. To be honest i've probably got a bit to gain just by changing the fluid but while i'm down there i may as well changed the calipers, discs, bells, pads etc. []

You're right. But if you fitted the 4-pots i'd wholly expect you to be entirely underwhelmed with the difference. Colin, my fingers are crossed here too. I'll break the bank for them lol.

Have registered my interest Colin. [] I agree i'm not expecting discount hand over fist but always said these would be the first serious mod on the RA as i quickly remembered how bad the OEM 4-pots are after buying it. []

I agree, in my mind the weld should be the strongest part. It was done by a pro who does this sort of thing for a living so it should be fine. Although as an extra precaution it will be going on the back. Unfortunately it may be a while before they get rubbered up as a long overdue holiday is really the priority now. Best to call (01467 621907) for prices etc as i paid for other stuff to be done at the same time so not sure how much the wheels alone cost.

Having had the OEM wheels on my last car refurbished there before i sold it i knew they'd do a decent job of the OZ Superturismos i bought a few months back. When i picked them up i discovered one of them was cracked, so first stop was Julian at Turriff Tyres who had the wheel welded and straightened out the flat spots. From there it was off to PPS who gave them a nice coat of anthracite. From this... To this... I think the finish in the picture speaks volumes. As well as the crack the wheels also had some light kerb marks and these have now disappeared. I dropped off a box of odds and sods to be powder coated along with the wheels and they were turned around to the same high standard. The wheels themselves around 3kg heavier than the ultra-light OZ Superleggeras but they're the exact wheels i wanted and now they're in lovely condition too. I just hope the weld holds out once i've saved up to put some sticky tyres on!

My fridge did 260bhp twice with a full de-cat and absolutely no map what so ever. It also blew up within that period lol. [] Seriously, i'd go ahead and fit it. I'd only have it mapped if i'd changed injectors/turbo/ECU or gone to a vastly different intercooler. £550 for your ECUTek licence + map makes it a very expensive downpipe!

Hi Euan, didn't realise you stayed in Foggie (i'm just along the road in Turriff). I may have a set of used 2-pot pads in my Dads garage, they came off the car they were on nearly three years ago now though. [] Did the postman bring you a present this morning then?

I have actually Photoshopped a stickered up version, just don't want to get busted for advertising. I agree that it would look better with red skirts too but i spent long enough looking for an RA without all the dead weight that there's no chance i'll be retro-fitting them. Painting the sides is completely out of the question, far too permanent. The Fridge V1 looked nice but the RA doesn't lend itself to big spoilers and 18" wheels - i bought it to get away from all that. MY00 bodywork with STi 5/6 spoiler and P1 splitter is now engraved in the "How to make your classic Scooby look good" stone... no-one has done this before AFAIK. The Evo above looks fantastic IMO and proves the car doesn't need to be stripped out, caged and have full rally livery to pull it off. I agree it could look a bit 1.6GL with turbo bits stuck on but that may just add to the fun! If i get time tonight i may try Photoshopping it from a similar angle as the Evo above.

...have spotted this one a couple of times too. []

That second paragraph is just words to me Russ. [] If it helps the main flywheel graph is power versus speed (mph) with AFRs overlaid.

Those who were at the RR Day in Ellon this weekend may have spotted the GTi-R sitting in the workshop (three along from my car in the photo), well i quite liked it's paintwork so i Photoshopped my RA into something similar yesterday. I should have some lightweight anthracite 17's going on soon and reckon the red bits still tie in pretty well. I'm seriously thinking of doing this if i found the right bumpers cheap enough. It's a bit different and i don't think it's too OTT, the car isn't my daily driver so i don't mind being a bit silly with it! [H] What do you think? Do i need my head checked or am i heading on the right lines? []

Catch up LOL Map would take care of that now as it is LOL [] Craig PMSL... before my de-cat whips it out from under you again! [] I'd be interested to see just how much difference a map on its own would make to your car.

Russ, torque readings weren't taken because i believe Simon isn't happy with how accurately they can be recorded on a RR. He believes the senders they clip on to the HT lead to get an rpm reading are prone to interferance and as such he doesn't believe they provide a figure that can be quoted as accurate. On the day (if you asked him) he gave you a print out of your torque curve but minus figures. This curve was calculated based on speed and (i think) accelerative force at the wheels, mine peaks at something like 1600Lb's. Definitely not an indication of peak engine torque lol but apparently the shape of the curve is correct.

Perhaps have to have another mini-session later on in the year? I'll be decatting mine soon not to mention the fact i still have an AVC-R sitting here doing nothing... [] Is this a full-on 400bhp plan then Craig or will you still be playing catch-up to my little old battle barge? []

RA95, i didn't realise that was you in the red car until now. [:$] I'd have come over and said hi but was struggling to put usernames to faces on Sat. Ken, spotted you today up at Altens, was in Emmas Clio but still gave you a big wave! [] Craig, did Paula not catch the moment when the rattle left the pram? That would've made a far more entertaining picture!! [] Just kidding - you're a big fella. []

My favourite picture courtesy of Paula... 302.5bhp - standard [] STi RA.

Thanks to Craig for organising the event, Emma and i really enjoyed ourselves. Nice to meet a few new faces while i was there. Here's a couple of pictures i took. And my standard 302.5bhp V4 STi RA. The only mods being a swap from Phase 1 440cc injectors to Phase 2's and a paralell fuel rail mod - nothing that should increase the power and Simon even commented the fuelling was spot on so i'm delighted. [H] Off out now for a curry and a pint! []

Apparently there isn't so looks as though i'm going in via BOD. ASDA, BRIDGE OF DEE @ 0915 FOR 0930 1, Craig Mac 05 STi WR Blue Y***AM 2, Kloon 00 DBM Turbo (W*** NST) 3, Dean STI8 White (SJ** FTO) 4, rossyboy 93 WRX Silver (B2 RD*) 5, Rossco 2000 type R grey (X*** WFX) 6, Gogsie 04 jdm sti 7, 360ste Blue Bugeye STi MM***CW 8, Philip_w 9, Charlie, redscoobydoo 10, Ali M, Blue classic wagon (R***DJS) BRIDGE OF DON ESSO STATION @ 0940ish<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /> 1, Pete (yes it's a 1.6) Silver WRX, K*** EJB 2, Carl Davey - MY98 STi RA (XDV **X) MEETING US THERE 1, Butcher Boy 2, Ken 555 - MY95 Sti (N *** KGR) 3, Euan 4, Infiltrator2 5, Ali37 - 05 STi WR Blue (S***FAK) 6, Foz01 TVR Tuscan 7. RA95 - MY95 WRX RA (M*** JGA) 8, Rob (Lock stock) STi 9 WR Blue (R**NGL) (Just going along for the entertainment,won't be doing the rollers) LIST TO DATE ADDITIONS PLEASE COPY AND PASTE ADD YOUR DETAILS ETC

Well the RA is back together in time and running. Does anyone know if there's a Shell garage in or around Ellon?