Subaru Impreza P1

oHUTCHYo

oHUTCHYo

oHUTCHYo

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After many previous posts about Scoobys, Evos and M3s, Im 99.9% certain I want an Impreza P1. Theyre the best looking "old shape" Scoob, they sound fantastic and are relatively cheap for the performance they offer.

Any advice on the P1s? After a short amount of reading they seem liable to need their engines rebuilding within 50K-70K miles, I can only assume this is down to them being so highly tuned. Most of the ads Ive seen are stating theyve had a rebuild.

Am I right in saying the P1 is the highest spec model in this date range of Scooby?

Heres some currently for sale: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?s=822%2C179%2C821&dist=100&pc=ts25&min=4999&max=8501&y1=&y2=&txt=p1&px=&filter=TP&o=p&Submit=Search
 
Bloody hell they've gone cheap :eek:

The reason for the rebuild is IIRC supposably because the P1 is based on the Sti v5 Type R, which is JDM and they weren't remapped well enough for the inferior fuel we have here.

The 22B would be the highest spec classic subaru, but you pay for the privilege.
 
Cheers gents, any ideas on the primary differences on the P1 and 22B? If its a case of the fuel mapping, I wonder if a chip and sticking to a high RON fuel will delay any issues?

EDIT: Prices have plummited havent they!
 
22B is a very rare special edition 2.2l widebodied 2 door car, most were JDM, and the few UK ones command big money.

You should only run any Subaru on the highest RON fuel you can. "Chipping" isn't recommended, if your going to do it, get a proper mapper to do a remap, but that usually means a new ECU too.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
I always fall on the Evo side of this argument by default.....but the 22B is such a good car you'd have to be crazy not to want one IMHO.
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And rich to buy one - the going rate is about £25k+ ATM. Mind you, it was £45k+ not that long ago. And as a car it's not that great, it's just the kudos of the rarity.


M
 
sticking a generic remap and upping power is something that most of the euro cars (like audis, vws, vauxhalls, fords etc..) do without issue.

But this is definately not recommended on subarus.

Dont think you'll find anybody on the main subaru forums (SIDC and scoobynet) who run one.
 
G4ORCE said:
Cheers gents, any ideas on the primary differences on the P1 and 22B? If its a case of the fuel mapping, I wonder if a chip and sticking to a high RON fuel will delay any issues?

EDIT: Prices have plummited havent they!
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Yes, the P1 market collapsed about three years ago. The P1 is mapped for 98 RON fuel because it was an official UK car, and that's one of the things Prodrive did, as well as fiddling with the suspension etc. But the older version of the 2 litre boxer engine did not supply oil properly to number three cylinder. In turn, number three cylinder was the hottest, as it's closest to the turbo. Result: melted number three piston. This was common(ish) on un-remapped imported classics as they tended to run lean (classic ECUs did not adjust properly), but also happened to other classic STIs, even if remapped.


M
 
The_Dark_Side said:
^^^
I couldn't remember for the life of me what it was that caused number 3 to fail.
What do "they" do to rectify the issue?
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Redesigned the engine, which is why newages don't have the issue. I don't think it was as issue on cars running standard power on remapped engines, but if either of those was not true - bang. Or more accurately: crunch, rind, grind.


M
 
Meridian said:
Redesigned the engine, which is why newages don't have the issue. I don't think it was as issue on cars running standard power on remapped engines, but if either of those was not true - bang. Or more accurately: crunch, rind, grind.


M
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No, you misundertand me.
I mean if you have an early car and it goes pop, what can you do to prevent the same thing happening?
 
Sorry...


Rebuild the engine with stronger pistons is the usual thing if it already has gone bang. I believe it might be possible to fiddle with the oil supply as well, but that I'm less sure of - I went off classics quite early so never really looked into them. I only know about the chocolate pistons because it's a running joke amongst classic owners.

If you're running extra power, most sensible people fit a knock detector, as det is the enemy here.


M
 
Superb knowledge there Meridian, enough to make me s**it my pants however. Do you think I should avoid a P1 then? :(
 
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G4ORCE said:
Superb knowledge there Meridian, enough to make me s**it my pants however. Do you think I should avoid a P1 then? :(
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My own opinion is that they are a over-rated, but as I said, I prefer newages to classics. If you're going to get a classic, it's probably the one to get. Just make sure it really is a P1, not just a two-door import with badges. Don't let the "piston-melting" thing put you off: AFAIK this is mostly a grey import thing. But even with the Prodrive tweaks, it's not as settled as a newages on the road. It will feel faster than a newage STI, and probably is a little faster.


M
 
Meridian said:
And rich to buy one - the going rate is about £25k+ ATM. Mind you, it was £45k+ not that long ago. And as a car it's not that great, it's just the kudos of the rarity.


M
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Ouch, our MD bought a mint (less than 3k miles) 22B 2 years ago for ~£45k.
 
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