RS Grant

Sounds like the 'known' fault, with the pin/bolt coming out to me... however, I'm pretty sure it requires a strip down to rectify so you might as well poke around and re-new anything else that needs it at the time, including a new clutch and flywheel unless its had one in recent times. Cheers, Grant

Yup, as far as I understand it.. (depending on displacement and supporting mods) the stock TD04 is good for c280bhp, the Hybrid TD04 will hit between 300-310bhp and the VF34/35 will produce 330-350. If you are doing road miles without giving it really stressful treatment, then I wouldn't see a problem running a VF34/35 or a TD05 16g and will probably do so without too much of a headache... but I'd be putting my car on track, doing 1/4 miles and giving it the odd 'proper' run in the countryside too, so I think that the transmission would grumble a bit sooner at the higher bhp/torque level than its likely to at c300bhp. Cheers, Grant

I'd be throwing on a Hybrid TD04 from AndyF if I was on a 5-spd equipped car... since I dont think the transmission would appreciate the higher figures brought by a TD05/VF35 with the kind of use that I'd subject it to. Crail, Knockhill, Squiggle SIDC Runs etc... Cheers, Grant

Running without a d/v = big grins all round, thats the way to do it!! Cheers, Grant

Pretty sure the last STi to have any type of 'forged' internals was the Blobeye STi mate.. the Hawkeye STi comes with w***y internals too, unless you go for the JDM version which comes with the 2.0 rather than the 2.5 USDM block in the UK/EU STi. That was part of the reason why I never stuck a 20g onto the SpecG when I was having it mapped, was a little bit of a grey area on the reliability of the internals and I didn't want to push things to the limit. Cheers, Grant

Yowzers... that could have been a fair bit worse!! Cheers, Grant

Browneye? IIRC its the ECU map which is the problem on the Browneye, goes lean up top, which is why there have been so many failures after such small mileages. Cheers, Grant

Going by the "starting last, then 3rd after one lap" comment I'd say its gotta be Andys Focus. Could be a Bright Green Focus Cosworth though?? Thats pretty special too... Cheers, Grant

Try get a spec list off the guy, then we'll tell you what sort of power it should/could be. Looks tidy from the pics though. Cheers, Grant

JayDubya... as you know, I owned a similar (slightly faster ) Hawkeye for 2 years, which I sold a few months ago. It was my 5th Impreza, and I miss it, a LOT. Even the knowledge that it was sitting in the driveway was enough, but to know that I can't just jump into it for a blast isn't a nice feeling at all...... think VERY carefully before you make a decision, specially since you've ploughed a lot of wonga into the JW340. I get to drive my friends re-mapped Hawkeye STi from time to time and the performance is mega, drove it at the weekend and was stretching its legs on the dualer and forgotten how hard these cars pull in EVERY gear, 1st to 6th produces meaningful progress, something I'm not used to in my current steed. While I'm not in the market to buy another toy at the moment, it hasn't stopped me looking around and trying to compose a short list. But, even though I see things like E39 M5, EVOs, Monaros, Focus RS' etc etc... I find it hard to ignore the option of another Impreza. As much as I found the Hawkeye a severely talented all-rounder and the 2.5 Turbo a tower of torque which my previous Classic 2.0 Turbos couldn't match, it irritates me when I think of the running costs that the government have imposed and with the tax price being what it is (and rising..) I think that I'll go for another Classic if I return to the fold. I only managed 6k miles a year in the SpecG and that was using it quite a lot in the 1st year of ownership, so can't really justify the purchase/tax/insurance prices of a Newage STi if its going to sit being a toy and do 3-4k miles per year. Cheers, Grant

*cough*WherearethepicsPedro*cough* Cheers, Grant

159k... WOW, that car looks like its REALLY been well taken care of.. and with the P1-spec suspension and a few whiteline bits then you'll be blown away by the handling. I just had the Prodrive Handling Pack (Bilstein Shock/Eibach Spring) on my first Scoob and its been the best handling one I've owned. Cheers, Grant

Lovely looking cars, someone has robbed the Prodrive Rear Spoiler from it though... not surprising as they're like hens teeth and look spot on. If I could find a low mileage WR Sport then it might tempt me back into a Classic Scoob, I'm sure you'll love it. Cheers, Grant

Sent an email to Mark about them both ages ago buddy.... assumed he was on holiday or having too much fun to get back to me. Theres not a night goes by that I dont hear the distant sound of a grinding disk buzzing closer, closer, closer... then I wake up. Cheers, Grant

Yep, that sounds about right... highest I ever saw on my Defis was 115deg after a *squiggy style assault on my fav local back road. Cheers, Grant * Combination of Squiggle/Higgy because I couldnt decide who max attacks back roads the hardest.

I'd go for the EVO mate... being a WRX, your Impreza will cause problems once you start to tune it and with the money you spend on a new gearbox and associated items to try and keep it 'reliable', you could have a stonking EVO running an easy 400/400 without any hassle apart from having to buy an expensive clutch to handle the power. M3 is grown up and a class above the jap stuff, however, on backroads the E46 is meant to be a bit unsettled according to John Banks (who knows what he's talking about) and I can see where he's coming from going by the dynamics of my old dears 330d M-Sport which seems to crash over bumps and doesnt feel at home pushing on down the twisties. Cheers, Grant

Nice one Jim... knew you couldn't resist!! Cheers, Grant

Hahaha, brilliant video, it sounds mean as hell... like you say... for the brief bit of WOT, he must have felt like he'd got a bargain. Cheers, Grant

........the Civic TypeR didn't last long then mate?! Hope you get it running well, cause that will go like a missile with the spec list. Might be worth booking it in with Andy for a check-over and make sure its all mapped properly and safely?? Cheers, Grant

On warmer days, or after being stuck in traffic for a while.. the car isn't likely to hit the level of boost its meant to, so theoretically could be quieter and less aggressive on spool up as the ECU knocks things back a bit due to the higher ACTs? Cheers, Grant

I thought the Hawkeye STi book power was c280bhp... mine put out 302bhp @ Wallace with just a backbox and green panel filter. Even standard, the 2.5 STi is a really powerful car... and makes a brilliant base for mods. Edit: lol @ the bag of crisps comment. Cheers, Grant

Trade in price on a Type UK STi would be c10-11k I reckon.. and selling privately, to actually GET a sale at the moment, I would say that you should stick it in around 13k. Just my opinion, not sure how the EU Import thing would effect things with a trade-in as some dealers are a bit wary of these... however I think it'd make little or no difference to a private sale. I think that Westra is looking for a Hawkeye STi and has an Audi A3 3.2 Quattro at the moment which your dealer might prefer as a part exchange, if you're still fancying a B7 RS4.. Cheers, Grant

Would that have been when the car was used in Getaway in Glasgow?? Haha... I jest, however CB radios does kinda conjour up those images for me. Cheers, Grant

If faced with a choice of them holding a knife/bat, standing at my bedside, demanding keys at 4am... or just breaking in and taking them then I'd choose the latter. End of the day its crap, but at least they were in and out without disturbing you or other members of your family which would have made things far worse and harder to deal with. I also hope you dont get to see the car again, as I said on PF, it'll be in a sorry state once they've finished with it. Cheers, Grant

Yea I agree.. car is lovely, but looks like the price will be 15500... to be honest, I'd pay 14700-14800 for it tops. Any more and you're into T20, Import STi money which are a little more special. Cheers, Grant