P1

[Lefty]

Bought last month for £4k:




Andy Forrest remap
Front-mount cooler
2.5" turbo-back exhaust although I've already replaced the cheap chavvy 5" tailpipe and minuscule backbox with an oem p1 silencer and tailpipe

Dynoed at 342bhp back in 2008.

It's got a VTA turbosmart dump valve which is ridiculously noisy so I really want a decent recirc valve. Running ok, a little bit laggy though.

Just had a thorough service including timing belt, 4 pulleys and tensioner.

Edited by Lefty on Friday 22 February 12:51

[p4cks]

£4k is a total bargain! I approve.

[Lefty]

Badly in need of TLC but I'm still pretty pleased.

Going in to a local body shop next week to get the rear arches sorted and front splitter repaired (it's in a hell of a mess).

Drives well though, lovely ride, very direct, very grippy.

[Lefty]

Nasty

[falkster]

I do like P1s - almost bought one before the Evo. Probably would feel the same as I did about the Evo.

[Lefty]

I do have an itch for an Evo v or vi but, to be honest, the roads around here are in such bad condition something as hard as an evo really puts me off. The p1 is very supple, body control is great but it's really quote softly sprung which is great on buggered tarmac.

My mkv r32 was much firmer and that was often the limiting factor on back road hooning...

I've had a couple of quick-ish cars before (vx220 turbo probably the quickest) but the p1 feels a hell of a lot of quicker. Not been on track yet but I'll hopefully get down to knockhill in the new year.

Cheers
Lefty

Edited by Lefty on Saturday 3rd November 20:57

[RB Will]

Hello from another P1 driver. Absolute bargain you got there! You have the Alcon brakes too which are brilliant. Didn't have them on mine but had them on an older Scoob. Just upgrading mine to APs.
I would relocate your number plate as it is restricting the inter cooler a bit.
I'm no expert but not sure how a remap will help with the lag. Think that is mainly down to the turbo and exhaust, inter cooler setup. Mine has proper lag lol it's pretty undrivable below 4500rpm but on boost pulls like mad to 8,000rpm. Mine is on a MD321h turbo with a front mount and full roger Clark exhaust(roughly 400bhp). Got a mate who had one mapped by the same guy but with a smaller turbo and top mount. He was running 330bhp but the car was so responsive and drivable.
If you want to replace rather than respray the splitter It is cheaper to buy a carbon one than a normal one + spraying.
Front end of mine is covered in stone chips, don't worry about the looks too much just get out and enjoy driving it

[MrMoonyMan]

That is a huge amount of car for the money.

Great work. A little bit envious..

[Mastodon2]

Shame about the exhaust change and the splitter, otherwise a nice car.

[Lefty]

You should have seen the wheels it came on!

First purchase was a set of genuine 17" prodrive oz alloys(which, admittedly, could do with a refurb)

Also got a set of white oz supertourismo for winter tyres.

And the exhaust is much better now with the proper p1 backbox and tailpipe, it at least looks standard. It was ridiculously loud before and is now just nicely burbly, IMHO of course.

[Mastodon2]

Lefty said:

You should have seen the wheels it came on!

First purchase was a set of genuine 17" prodrive oz alloys(which, admittedly, could do with a refurb)

Also got a set of white oz supertourismo for winter tyres.

And the exhaust is much better now with the proper p1 backbox and tailpipe, it at least looks standard. It was ridiculously loud before and is now just nicely burbly, IMHO of course.

Any before and after pics of the exhaust? I'm in the camp that thinks that Imprezas look and sound better with a proper N1 exhaust rather than the standard peashooters, and sound a lot better for it too. One of my friends had a Hawkeye WRX with a Blitz Nur Spec system that was absolutely heavenly.

[the stigs dad]

How does it compare to the golf r32?

[Lefty]

Mastodon2 said:

Lefty said:

You should have seen the wheels it came on!

First purchase was a set of genuine 17" prodrive oz alloys(which, admittedly, could do with a refurb)

Also got a set of white oz supertourismo for winter tyres.

And the exhaust is much better now with the proper p1 backbox and tailpipe, it at least looks standard. It was ridiculously loud before and is now just nicely burbly, IMHO of course.

Any before and after pics of the exhaust? I'm in the camp that thinks that Imprezas look and sound better with a proper N1 exhaust rather than the standard peashooters, and sound a lot better for it too. One of my friends had a Hawkeye WRX with a Blitz Nur Spec system that was absolutely heavenly.

Hmmm, no pic of the car with the old exhaust on but it was a 5" pipe exiting at an angle - really not my cup of tea at all. I'll take a pic tomorrow of the new system.

[Lefty]

the stigs dad said:

How does it compare to the golf r32?

Not really comparable to be honest.

P1 much faster, grippier, pointier, adjustable.

Golf much more refined, subtle, better equipped and slightly more economical.

Sold the Golf for 12k, got some spare beer tokens to spend on the Subaru!

[the stigs dad]

Lefty said:

Not really comparable to be honest.

P1 much faster, grippier, pointier, adjustable.

Golf much more refined, subtle, better equipped and slightly more economical.

Sold the Golf for 12k, got some spare beer tokens to spend on the Subaru!

Thanks for the reply. Had you upgraded the haldex on your r32? The scoob is a great car, would love one soon.

[Jibber Jabber]

Would be interested to hear how you get on with the P1.

I'm looking at one to replace the old merc.

I was also looking at the R32, albeit the mk IV. I'm guessing the P1 is more fragile but would you say there is a big drop in quality of fittings etc?

Hows the drive compared to the VX?

Did you look at many before your picked yours up? Whats the general condition of the ones you looked at?

Apologies for the barrage of questions but I'm thinking about biting the bullet fairly soon and would like some feedback, especially someone with a similar car history to mine.

Edited by Jibber Jabber on Tuesday 30th April 14:50

[RobCrezz]

Looks great! I was considering these and Impreza Type R but ended up with a evo VI.

When you say laggy, is there a big delay between putting your foot down and getting boost (even when in the power band)? Or do you mean not much below a certain amount of revs?

I would check for boost leaks.

[DanDC5]

Absolute bargain even needing TLC. Top purchase sir.

[Lefty]

RobCrezz said:

Looks great! I was considering these and Impreza Type R but ended up with a evo VI.

When you say laggy, is there a big delay between putting your foot down and getting boost (even when in the power band)? Or do you mean not much below a certain amount of revs?

I would check for boost leaks.

Interesting you mention that, i just got it back from a service and he replaced a turbo hose! Not had a chance to drive it properly yet... will report back

[Lefty]

Jibber Jabber said:

Would be interested to hear how you get on with the P1.

I'm looking at one to replace the old merc.

I was also looking at the R32, albeit the mk IV. I'm guessing the P1 is more fragile but would you say there is a big drop in quality of fittings etc?

Yes, indeed the p1 does feel more fragile although the seats are great and ergonomics bang-on (for me, anyway). The quality of plastics is very poor, even for a '90's car to be honest. It really doesn't bother me but it's nowhere close to a mk4 golf.

Jibber Jabber said:

Hows the drive compared to the VX? My VX was probably the most fun I've had in a car but not sure I can live with defrosting the interior before every drive anymore, so am looking for something more practical.

Been a while since I drove a VXT. Straight-line they are close, the p1 is probably quicker. VX much more raw, faster steering but also harder. On a bumpy wet road the p1 would destroy it, on a dry track...who knows.

Jibber Jabber said:

Did you look at many before your picked yours up? Whats the general condition of the ones you looked at?

Not at all, in fact I was looking for an rb5 but saw a badly worded advert with a crappy photograph for a car so went to look at it. First p1 I'd seen and I bought it there and then (after a test drive). Previous owner was a nice lad, had a big pile of receipts to prove he's always used 99 fuel but he couldn't afford to run it.

[quoteJibber Jabber]


Apologies for the barrage of questions but I'm thinking about biting the bullet fairly soon and would like some feedback, especially someone with a similar car history to mine.

No problem. I love it so far - I'd had a '99 Impreza UK2000 Turbo a few years back and loved it. It does have some negative image issues but, again, that doesn't bother me.