JFReturn's Hawkeye WRX Wagon

[JFReturns]

Righto PH'ers. It is finally time for me to grow up and get a sensible car, as my VX220 was no longer practical and was making my bones fall apart into dust. Amazing car though.

Anyway, I've got an evergrowing puppy and in an attempt to convince SWMBO that Impreza's can be sensible, I got a Hawkeye WRX Wagon. For the budget I could not think of a better rounded car.

Here are some pics:





Impressions so far - comfortable, rapid, practical. My only only plans are to save for a Prodrive Performance Pack and give it a proper detail.



Really miss my VX though! Oh and I need to keep this car for at least a year else I'm dead meat

[JFReturns]

Thanks for all the positive replies chaps, your opinions are appreciated. It seems the PPP is universally condemned so I'll rethink my performance mods when the time comes.

Really happy with the car so far - practical and very comfortable. Obviously this comfort means the handling could be sharper, but overall I'm satisfied with the compromise. The performance is also very strong, considering it has 'only' ~230bhp.

So, today was the first chance I got to clean Mable (yes, I know, silly name) and evaluate the paint work. Took a while due to this lovely British summer of ours



Got her clean eventually, and overall I'm very happy with the paintwork - it has a very subtle metallic finish that only reveals the flake in direct sunlight.



However, on closer inspection, there is a lot of work required to get the paintwork to my standards.

Swirl marks:


Haze:


And back in the garage under strip lights, scratches:


Paint correction starts tomorrow, one panel at a time!

[JFReturns]

Indeed, though the clay comes first

[JFReturns]

Scoobie, in your opinion and experience, how do the Hawkeye 2.5 WRX engines stand up to mild tuning in terms of reliability?

[JFReturns]

Pffft, this detailing business is hard work. Managed a grand total of one panel (boot) today! Pretty pleased though, I guess I've achieved something like 60% correction. Whatever, it looks inky black.

Sneak peek:



Back to work tomorrow so I'll try to finish the rest of the car at the weekend....

[JFReturns]

Evil.soup said:

That is very impresive!

I am considering getting to work on mine as close up I can see quite a few swirls and light scratches. The only saving grace is the colour seems to hide a multitude of sins so you really need to look close to see how bad the surface actually is.

Are you experienced in detailing or is this your first go? I have always used clay, polish etc but never tried mopping and I am a little nervous about it!

I've machined a few cars before but it is my first on a black car. My advice would be to give it a go! If you take precautions you will be fine with a machine polisher, and it is so much easier than polishing by hand.

There is a wealth of information and guides on Detailing World which you should read up on. However, instead of buying a rotary polisher I would start off with a DA (dual action) like mine (I think it is a DAS-6 or similar). As the name implies, a rotary polisher rotates in one direction whereas a dual action moves in several directions. As a consequence, the DA builds up less heat and you are less likely to burn through your paint work. If possible, practice on an old car or panel to get your technique right.

[JFReturns]

Gigsy said:

Wow... took me a while to realize that's a reflection and not a fisheye lens!!!!

Wagons FTW, by the way!

Thanks, and agreed

[JFReturns]

Give me a shout if you have any questions.

[JFReturns]

Fellas, my coolant needs topping up. I've got some decent Honda coolant left over from my S2000, can I use this or is it a bad idea to mix coolants?

[JFReturns]

ScoobieWRX said:

If it's Red/Pink and OTA you should be fine.

Cheers Scoob, I had a feeling you might be first to reply. Your knowledge is appreciated

Ved said:

Lovely car! I'm yearning for another Impreza and this is high on the list, even more so as I have a puppy now.

Can you tell me how many miles you're seeing from a full tank? I used to get 300 to the light in my STI Hawkeye.

Thanks! Well, I've not yet done a full tank, but.... it is juicy. 120 miles and just off half a tank

To be fair, it is mostly urban commuting and I might have been using full throttle a few times.

[JFReturns]

Ved said:

Lovely car! I'm yearning for another Impreza and this is high on the list, even more so as I have a puppy now.

Can you tell me how many miles you're seeing from a full tank? I used to get 300 to the light in my STI Hawkeye.

Oh and in case you don't follow the dog thread, here is a pic of my puppy in Mable. Plenty of room

[JFReturns]

Hah, he was going to get some 'doggles' if he didn't get too big for my VX

The polishing is going slowly but surely, I've finally finished the rear bumper and tailgate. Only the roof, bonnet and doors to go! Pic:



Picked up some coolant from my local Scooby main dealer, cost £25 for five litres and I've used all of 25ml to top up

Had to stop and look at the GT86 on display, WANT! Still really happy with Mable - economy is much better than my old STi, I'm on 180 odd miles with over a quarter tank left. Never got near that it in SUBO!

Edited by JFReturns on Tuesday 24th July 22:19

[JFReturns]

Thanks Mr. Soup! I have done a few friends cars in exchange for beer tokens, but I wouldn't want to do it for real as it is very competitive and you don't get much money for the effort exerted!

Talking of effort exerted, some more progress on the paint work today - Mable's roof is now shiny.

Before:


A few afters







Not perfect, but much better. Now only doors, bonnet and front bumper to go!

[JFReturns]

ScoobieWRX said:

That looks better than showroom and it's not a new car. Awesome bit of polishing that!!

Fancy doing my truck

If you were to drop a box of San Miguel on my door step, sure!

[JFReturns]

[JFReturns]

Mr Fix It said:

Nice car, my wife has exactly the same colour wagon.. Only issue I have with it is the brakes. They are not good. I did have some braided hoses and blue stuff pads on my type r a few years ago and that worked well, and i bet the calipers and disk diameters are similar on the last wagons as those older type r's, so I would recommend doing that upgrade as it should give the same effect. Apart from that, they are great!

Not noticed them being a problem tbh, but I don't drive it that hard. It is more of a 'GT' car - not in the classical sense but compared to my VX220 it is limo like

[JFReturns]

Ved said:

Lovely car! I'm yearning for another Impreza and this is high on the list, even more so as I have a puppy now.

Can you tell me how many miles you're seeing from a full tank? I used to get 300 to the light in my STI Hawkeye.

Righto, I've run the car as far as I dare without filling up:



Actually since I took that picture I drove home and the low fuel light still hasn't come on, now on around 315 miles.

I'm quite pleased with that, as it has been mostly urban driving with a couple of days of air con on full blast. Works out about 25/26 mpg, which is close as damn it to what Subaru claims for combined cycle. I think 350 miles could be possible on long motorway runs.

Still really happy with the WRX - really practical, comfortable (keep saying that, I know!) but quick when needed and feels special. Much better than the usual boring estates!

The only thing that annoys me is the naff stereo....

[JFReturns]

ScoobieWRX said:

Anything over 300 miles to a tankful is a bonus. From Northampton i can get over the Scottish border on a tankful of 99RON, fully loaded with two big doggies in the boot, averaging 80mph. That's mapped to around 360.

Sounds like you are extremely happy with your purchase in all ways. Looks good, goes well and is reasonably good on fuel for a giant killer!!

Not a giant killer...yet. Sort of ST / GTi / Astra VXR quick. Shame you are so far north!

[JFReturns]

Corrected by a dual action machine polisher. If you're interested I'll go into more detail when I'm not on my phone, but suffice to say it is possible to achieve that finish by hand (I've done it) but I would seriously not recommend it. Using a machine polisher is easy with practice and far, far less effort.

[JFReturns]

Goldmember1 said:

Hi JFReturns,

Great thread , lovely car , and some amazing polishing there!
I wish I could get mine done as it needs some work done but I don't have a garage .. Only got it a few months ago . I love it! Have had 6 Imprezas over the years and imo the Hawkeye Wagon is one of the nicest they've ever made . Mine does have the Prodrive pack on it but it came with it already fitted The low down torque and usablity of the engine is so good!


Anyway.. Hope I haven't hijacked your thread .. just glad to find a dedicated Subaru section as last time looked all Jap stuff was mixed together

Steve

Yours looks great in silver! Have you driven a non-PPP version? I would be interested to know the difference. I think the advantage of PPP is it would aid resale compared to an after market tuner (at least I presume so?).

You most certainly are not hijacking the thread, it is great to keep the Subaru sub forum busy And I enjoy hearing from other owners. I can't help you with the cornering squeek, I don't get it, but ScoobieWRX seems to have some good suggestions as always.

Just one thing, your profile has the WRX as previously owned...