Impreza Type-R
Discussion
Despite this being, perhaps, the most interesting car I've owned to date, I've never really felt compelled to write a Readers' Cars entry for it...
So, with a PH'er asking in GG did I have a thread - here we go; this is my 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type-R V5;
At the very start of 2014 I found out I was going to be promoted at work and decided the first, most logical thing to do in light of this news, was to buy myself a new car. After pondering a lot of fast GT cars, I took a trip to the 2014 Autosport International and seeing the Type-RA Owners Club stand convinced me that it was in fact, an Impreza that I needed. It was my poster car as a child – granted it’s not in the same league as a Countach/ Diablo etc. But that image of McRae jumping a crest, all four wheels off the road, in one of these things, still sticks with me now…
Anyway, I think I was still on the M40, with the missus driving, by the time I found this in the classifieds. The car was a low-mileage (60,000 miles), no UK-owner, relatively clean example with the added benefit/ slight negative (depending on how you prefer your cars) of having a few performance orientated modifications – mainly on the breathing side of things. I went and viewed the car a few days later, and fell in love there and then. It is very clean in terms of the body; there are a couple of car park dings and the odd stone chip, but most importantly it is very rust free.
Up against the shortlist that I had originally drawn up (XKR etc…) the Impreza is crude, ungainly, obnoxious, anti-social, and all a bit low brow. But I love it. Absolutely, 100% love it and wouldn’t change it for the world.
Since taking ownership the car, I’ve been on a bit of a mission to get it looking as nice up close and in detail as it comes across in the rather flattering images. First thing to go…well, was the engine. Very long (14 month) story short, it ended up being rebuilt by TFS Racing in Aldershot. I can’t recommend Stu and the guys over there enough. For what is a relatively standard block, with the addition of just a stainless exhaust and an air filter it produced a healthy 335hp and 300lb/ft at Surrey Rolling Road, which surprised Stu and myself - I’d have been happy with around 300/310hp.
The car, when supplied, came on D2 coilovers, which appeared to be seized in terms of bound/ rebound adjustment. Add to that the spring rates which were insanely hard, it made fast driving impossible as it would spear off in which ever direction it fancied, every time it ran over a pebble. So these were taken off, and the standard STI Red inverted tube dampers were installed with standard springs. These are much, much better than the coilovers, but if I’m honest, they’re still a little on the firm side. I have tracked down part numbers for the elusive ‘Prodrive/ Bilstein’ dampers, I just need to find a set for sale…
In addition to that, the car came on some tires of questionable quality, so I replaced them with Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R’s in the correct aspect ratio of 205/50 R16, rather than the 55’s that were catching the arches.
The, presumed, ebay-grade FMIC also found its way to the bin – the installation of it looked amateurish at best – the passenger side pipe fouled the battery, so had a small patch of padding cable tied to it to stop it scratching (I presume??). Anyway, that was binned off and an original V5 top mount was installed instead.
I suspected that the car had a corroded filler neck too, as a full tank really didn’t last much more than 200 miles, and it constantly stank of fuel. After resigning myself to the fact it’d be an expensive/ pain in the arse job to do, it turned out to be the seal had gone on the pump. £10 part later and it’s all good!
Inside, the knackered headunit was replaced with a lighter, more modern and most importantly, functioning, one. Integrated Bluetooth makes it theoretically possible to use the phone hands free – although it’s not exactly a Roller in terms of NVH…and conversations to date have been, erm…brief. I also replaced the standard wheel, which Subaru borrowed from a ship I’m presuming, with a 330mm Personal Neo Grinta wheel in red suede…because I’m a bit of a tart and thought it would match the red inserts on the seats well.
(Horn push is still giving me issues in trying to fit - having to have a small spacer ring machined up!)
Hardly setting the world alight in terms of repair work/ modifications I know, but the spec I’m striving for is hardly going to set the world alight either. Just a very, very tidy and fast daily driver.
In terms of long term plans for the car are to continue replacing parts for improved aftermarket bits. The suspension will be getting upgraded/ refurbished soon, as I’m getting sick of the car crashing with quite a force over seemingly innocuous pot holes. Then, having read the Rex on Rails series of Whiteline PDF’s, start picking my way through their catalogue and hopefully improve the handling/ feel of the car down twisty and undulating B-roads as my commute mainly consists of roads like this (albeit a bit wider...);
The ASBO exhaust (as seen above) will also be getting replaced with something more subtle – in terms of both noise and looks. A larger V8 TMIC is on the cards, speaker upgrades, interior tweaks and a few cosmetic repairs to the various stone chips and the like are also planned, albeit much further down the line once the important stuff is sorted!
So, that's my latest car. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! If you've just looked at the pictures - which is what I usually do, hope you like!
So, with a PH'er asking in GG did I have a thread - here we go; this is my 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type-R V5;
At the very start of 2014 I found out I was going to be promoted at work and decided the first, most logical thing to do in light of this news, was to buy myself a new car. After pondering a lot of fast GT cars, I took a trip to the 2014 Autosport International and seeing the Type-RA Owners Club stand convinced me that it was in fact, an Impreza that I needed. It was my poster car as a child – granted it’s not in the same league as a Countach/ Diablo etc. But that image of McRae jumping a crest, all four wheels off the road, in one of these things, still sticks with me now…
Anyway, I think I was still on the M40, with the missus driving, by the time I found this in the classifieds. The car was a low-mileage (60,000 miles), no UK-owner, relatively clean example with the added benefit/ slight negative (depending on how you prefer your cars) of having a few performance orientated modifications – mainly on the breathing side of things. I went and viewed the car a few days later, and fell in love there and then. It is very clean in terms of the body; there are a couple of car park dings and the odd stone chip, but most importantly it is very rust free.
Up against the shortlist that I had originally drawn up (XKR etc…) the Impreza is crude, ungainly, obnoxious, anti-social, and all a bit low brow. But I love it. Absolutely, 100% love it and wouldn’t change it for the world.
Since taking ownership the car, I’ve been on a bit of a mission to get it looking as nice up close and in detail as it comes across in the rather flattering images. First thing to go…well, was the engine. Very long (14 month) story short, it ended up being rebuilt by TFS Racing in Aldershot. I can’t recommend Stu and the guys over there enough. For what is a relatively standard block, with the addition of just a stainless exhaust and an air filter it produced a healthy 335hp and 300lb/ft at Surrey Rolling Road, which surprised Stu and myself - I’d have been happy with around 300/310hp.
The car, when supplied, came on D2 coilovers, which appeared to be seized in terms of bound/ rebound adjustment. Add to that the spring rates which were insanely hard, it made fast driving impossible as it would spear off in which ever direction it fancied, every time it ran over a pebble. So these were taken off, and the standard STI Red inverted tube dampers were installed with standard springs. These are much, much better than the coilovers, but if I’m honest, they’re still a little on the firm side. I have tracked down part numbers for the elusive ‘Prodrive/ Bilstein’ dampers, I just need to find a set for sale…
In addition to that, the car came on some tires of questionable quality, so I replaced them with Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R’s in the correct aspect ratio of 205/50 R16, rather than the 55’s that were catching the arches.
The, presumed, ebay-grade FMIC also found its way to the bin – the installation of it looked amateurish at best – the passenger side pipe fouled the battery, so had a small patch of padding cable tied to it to stop it scratching (I presume??). Anyway, that was binned off and an original V5 top mount was installed instead.
I suspected that the car had a corroded filler neck too, as a full tank really didn’t last much more than 200 miles, and it constantly stank of fuel. After resigning myself to the fact it’d be an expensive/ pain in the arse job to do, it turned out to be the seal had gone on the pump. £10 part later and it’s all good!
Inside, the knackered headunit was replaced with a lighter, more modern and most importantly, functioning, one. Integrated Bluetooth makes it theoretically possible to use the phone hands free – although it’s not exactly a Roller in terms of NVH…and conversations to date have been, erm…brief. I also replaced the standard wheel, which Subaru borrowed from a ship I’m presuming, with a 330mm Personal Neo Grinta wheel in red suede…because I’m a bit of a tart and thought it would match the red inserts on the seats well.
(Horn push is still giving me issues in trying to fit - having to have a small spacer ring machined up!)
Hardly setting the world alight in terms of repair work/ modifications I know, but the spec I’m striving for is hardly going to set the world alight either. Just a very, very tidy and fast daily driver.
In terms of long term plans for the car are to continue replacing parts for improved aftermarket bits. The suspension will be getting upgraded/ refurbished soon, as I’m getting sick of the car crashing with quite a force over seemingly innocuous pot holes. Then, having read the Rex on Rails series of Whiteline PDF’s, start picking my way through their catalogue and hopefully improve the handling/ feel of the car down twisty and undulating B-roads as my commute mainly consists of roads like this (albeit a bit wider...);
The ASBO exhaust (as seen above) will also be getting replaced with something more subtle – in terms of both noise and looks. A larger V8 TMIC is on the cards, speaker upgrades, interior tweaks and a few cosmetic repairs to the various stone chips and the like are also planned, albeit much further down the line once the important stuff is sorted!
So, that's my latest car. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! If you've just looked at the pictures - which is what I usually do, hope you like!
Looks like a fine example, they really suit that cool grey colour as well.
I've had mine for over 10 years now and I've pretty much ruined it by adding far too much power, I'm actually thinking about dialling it down these days. Be smart and keep it sensible especially if it's a daily driver.
I've had mine for over 10 years now and I've pretty much ruined it by adding far too much power, I'm actually thinking about dialling it down these days. Be smart and keep it sensible especially if it's a daily driver.
Cheers for putting a thread up, looks great. I've always had a massive soft spot for these after going for a passenger ride in a relatives one. His was pretty much the same as yours and was stupidly quick. Close ratio gearbox and that trick diff made for some daft acceleration and hilarious cornering ability. They are on my to own list but clean ones have risen in value over the past year. Not surprising given that there were only 1000 of them and 1000 of the RA in V5 guise.
king mint.JohnoVR6 said:
So these were taken off, and the standard STI Red inverted tube dampers were installed with standard springs. These are much, much better than the coilovers, but if I’m honest, they’re still a little on the firm side. I have tracked down part numbers for the elusive ‘Prodrive/ Bilstein’ dampers, I just need to find a set for sale…
There's a group buy on ScoobyNet for newly-manufactured P1 springs (or P1 spec springs with an additional 6mm drop at the front to be precise). Even without the Bilsteins you will find these massive step forward on the road.Many thanks for the kind comments chaps, it's much appreciated! It's been a labour of love up to this point, but it's finally starting to take shape!
The latter TMIC's from what I've read, require slight modification to the brake reservoir and custom brackets being made up, but they do look to be worth the effort when installed!
Do you have any pics/ thread for yours?
I had been meaning to start a thread for a while, but never really got round to it! I had noticed that prices had crept up since I got this one, which makes a change for me! Although, I have already been warned by the OH that this one isn't to be sold!
Out of interest, does anyone have experience with the KYB adjustable dampers? They're seemingly crept up in price since I last looked, and was wondering whether they were worth investing in now?
rb5er said:
Lovely car.
Who would put an exhaust like that on though?
Is an sti8 tmic a straight swap?
The exhaust is the last thorn in my side of this car! My inner chav secretly loves it, as it sounds gloriously raspy above 6,500rpm...but in the real world, it's a nuisance and far, far too loud for a daily car. I doubt it'd make it on to any tracks either - not that this will ever see a circuit in my ownership mind, but it'd be nice to know it wouldn't fail at the first hurdle should I ever change my mind!Who would put an exhaust like that on though?
Is an sti8 tmic a straight swap?
The latter TMIC's from what I've read, require slight modification to the brake reservoir and custom brackets being made up, but they do look to be worth the effort when installed!
Playsatan said:
Looks like a fine example, they really suit that cool grey colour as well.
I've had mine for over 10 years now and I've pretty much ruined it by adding far too much power, I'm actually thinking about dialling it down these days. Be smart and keep it sensible especially if it's a daily driver.
Thanks very much! When the engine let go, one of the hardest decisions I had was to either rebuild it back to reliable stock, or have the spec put in for a big power build at a later date. But the reality is, big power would be wasted on my commute. For every day that I have a traffic free journey in to work, there's four or five days where I'm sat at the back of a six/ seven car train behind some old duffer who doesn't know what the NSL sign means...I've had mine for over 10 years now and I've pretty much ruined it by adding far too much power, I'm actually thinking about dialling it down these days. Be smart and keep it sensible especially if it's a daily driver.
Do you have any pics/ thread for yours?
giblet said:
Cheers for putting a thread up, looks great. I've always had a massive soft spot for these after going for a passenger ride in a relatives one. His was pretty much the same as yours and was stupidly quick. Close ratio gearbox and that trick diff made for some daft acceleration and hilarious cornering ability. They are on my to own list but clean ones have risen in value over the past year. Not surprising given that there were only 1000 of them and 1000 of the RA in V5 guise.
Not a problem at all I had been meaning to start a thread for a while, but never really got round to it! I had noticed that prices had crept up since I got this one, which makes a change for me! Although, I have already been warned by the OH that this one isn't to be sold!plenty said:
There's a group buy on ScoobyNet for newly-manufactured P1 springs (or P1 spec springs with an additional 6mm drop at the front to be precise). Even without the Bilsteins you will find these massive step forward on the road.
Interesting - I've just found that thread saved somewhere in my favourites, from when I picked the car up. I didn't expect it to be still running! Thanks for the heads up though, I think that may be the next purchase sorted...Out of interest, does anyone have experience with the KYB adjustable dampers? They're seemingly crept up in price since I last looked, and was wondering whether they were worth investing in now?
Beautiful. I've just got my first blob eye WRX and am really enjoying it; I can imagine the Type R is a whole other thing again. Will hopefully own one at some point.
Be good to see lots more pics of it, can never have too many
I like the steering wheel, individual but really suits!
subcribed
Be good to see lots more pics of it, can never have too many
I like the steering wheel, individual but really suits!
subcribed
JohnoVR6 said:
Do you have any pics/ thread for yours?
No thread and no recent pictures as it's been moth balled for the last 4 or 5 years. Here's a couple of ancient pictures though.
It's got about 550bhp which was quite a lot at that time but the game has moved on since then. I really need to get it back on the road but time is always against me.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff