Who here owns a Subaru?

There are a couple of lovely white Spec C hawks on SNet at the moment.

Quite tempted.

Also got an offer emailed to me to import a sonic blue Impreza STI RA, that was also tempting :D
 
I'm now in the market for an 04 WRX and one things I've found a few potential good cars is that they claim to have a full service history but only have stamps (up to date) but no paperwork/invoices to backup what has been done on the service intervals. The intervals where the clutch or cambelt has been stamped but that's about as detailed as it gets.

To me a full service history would consist of every receipt for the car, as the ones I've seen that look great done have proof of frequent oil changes etc.

Am I being super picky about lack of paperwork or would you do the same with the Impreza as oil changes etc are vital on these engines?

Cheers guys!
 
That's an interesting one, when i sold mine i had a huge stack of receipts. It wouldn't be a deal breaker but i'd really have to have had a good vibe off the seller and be fairly confident in my mind that it has been looked after properly just someone never thought to keep the receipts for anything.. As you say these engines really do rely on good regular servicing.

This was my my history file for my 2005 STi for comparison :p

2014-08-05
 
See, that's what I was hoping this one to have :)! Thanks for the input! This is what I've done with every car I've owned.

I do think this seller is genuine and the car is sound, but the things that bother me are that there are no service stamps in the book for the first 20k and no paperwork to show when oil has been changed etc. There is virtually no history as such to prove what has been done on the engine. On an engine like these I'd be changing the oil every 4k miles or so, but there isn't anything to say when this has been done etc.

I think I better play it safe and hang tight for one with every receipt from new? It's a tough shout!
 
EddScott said:
There are a couple of lovely white Spec C hawks on SNet at the moment.

Quite tempted.

Also got an offer emailed to me to import a sonic blue Impreza STI RA, that was also tempting :D
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where is the best site/place to import m8y i may go done this road next year when i get mine :) and also is a cheaper way of doing things :confused:

cheers
 
Finally found a nice WRX after about an 8 week search! It's a blobeye WRX SL.



API Engine Performance bought it off a customer, gave it cambelt/clutch change along with new discs/pad/fluids/filters, drop links and drop gear bearings... It's got 137k on the clock, but is in awesome shape! Can't wait to collect from API on Wednesday :).
 
I suppose that would depend on the life it's had, service history etc as opposed to a general rule?

API have advised that this shouldn't have any problems being at a higher mileage, no mention of a potential rebuild required. This one has been particularly well cared for with Subaru service history throughout, all papers for oil changes etc too. It's had a gentle life from what I can gather.
 
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mattbill said:
I suppose that would depend on the life it's had, service history etc as opposed to a general rule?
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+1

My guess is that an Impreza is generally going to get driven harder than your average car and as such, will have more wear and tear on its bearings and whatnot.

I'd be astounded if a modern engine, if treated properly, is any more prone to wear due to its cylinder configuration.

I remember seeing some post on here saying that "turbos on Imprezas are not like other turbos. They need replacing at 100k". A turbo is a turbo, regardless of manufacturer or application. They use the same bearing technology and the same oil feed/drain system. Again, it's more likely to them having a harder life than if fitted to a 'normal' car which would contribute to an early failure.
 
Unless you plan a lot of track days, 24mm is excessive - 22mm will be fine.

Also, WTF are you getting an oil cooler? Again, unless you plan to properly race the thing an oil cooler is just a whole series of problems that you don't want, and no actual use.

Strut braces will be good for bragging rights to people who know nothing about suspension. The body of that car is plenty stiff enough, and they will do nothing.
 
Thanks for the reply :) Will take your comments on board and keep reading up on it.

I'll probably be doing 1 or 2 track days per month - the recommendation for the oil cooler came from another Subaru owner with a track car, said it'd be needed for the bigger tracks such as Donington.
 
agw_01 said:
+1

My guess is that an Impreza is generally going to get driven harder than your average car and as such, will have more wear and tear on its bearings and whatnot.

I'd be astounded if a modern engine, if treated properly, is any more prone to wear due to its cylinder configuration.

I remember seeing some post on here saying that "turbos on Imprezas are not like other turbos. They need replacing at 100k". A turbo is a turbo, regardless of manufacturer or application. They use the same bearing technology and the same oil feed/drain system. Again, it's more likely to them having a harder life than if fitted to a 'normal' car which would contribute to an early failure.
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Mine had bottom end failure at 129k due to oil starvation and got rebuilt, still on original turbo coming up 160k. Exactly the same spec as the above wrx sl but a 2003 :)
 
Archeum said:
Thanks for the reply :) Will take your comments on board and keep reading up on it.

I'll probably be doing 1 or 2 track days per month - the recommendation for the oil cooler came from another Subaru owner with a track car, said it'd be needed for the bigger tracks such as Donington.
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If you really are serious about tracking, then 24mm might be worth it - but set it at soft first, then try the other settings. I'd still hold off from the oil cooler unless you actually get boiling oil - as I said, they create more problems than all other mods put together. But I stick with what I said about strut braces. Better coilovers will help racing (and break your spine on public roads) but only the classic scoobs needed bracing. There was a great post on ScoobyNet some years ago from the chief suspension engineer at Prodrive, explaining why the newages don't. I might try to find it again.
 
Finally got round to replacing the crap std bugeye lights with sti projectors using the harnesses I bought from Lightwerkz in the US. Then replaced the std 501 sidelights with cool temp bright LEDS offa the bay.
20150918_194434.jpg
Then found this.... ffs. I now know what this month's disposable income is going on.
20150909_183219_edit_1442760667629.jpg
 
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nicRob said:
Surprised that they don't have an oil cooler as standard, my car does and only 220bhp from factory
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A more important question is why any car which isn't a racing car would have one. As I said, for normal driving, no matter how aggressively, you don't need one - even on a turbo-charged car. They are forever going wrong, so there's at least two reasons not to fit one. h
 
Meridian said:
If you really are serious about tracking, then 24mm might be worth it - but set it at soft first, then try the other settings. I'd still hold off from the oil cooler unless you actually get boiling oil - as I said, they create more problems than all other mods put together. But I stick with what I said about strut braces. Better coilovers will help racing (and break your spine on public roads) but only the classic scoobs needed bracing. There was a great post on ScoobyNet some years ago from the chief suspension engineer at Prodrive, explaining why the newages don't. I might try to find it again.
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I'll definitely be taking it on a track 1-2 a month, for sure. I'll keep researching before I buy anything. Your advice is much appreciated. Think I will stay off the oil cooler unless it comes apparent I need one.

I'm not too bothered about public road comfort unless they really are that bad (will try to get a ride in one with a coilover setup first).

Rear ARB is a definite then?

Went on the 3 Sisters Track today at Wigan and had some great fun and learnt a bit more about the car (bearing in mind I've owned it 3 weeks and my previous car was a Civic Type R). Only a couple of mishaps but entirely my fault pushing it too hard and expecting something from it. Came away undamaged and didn't get close to being overtaken when I started first out of ten cars so there's a positive :p I do have some videos but not sure I'm brave enough to post them yet!

Seems quite weird, not sure if it was actually happening or not, but it seemed I could power out of initial understeer by putting my foot down more (diff was set to Auto- so a little favoured towards the rear). In other words - if I let off the power and wait for traction then it would understeer further than if I put on the power when its about to understeer.
 
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