Impreza wanted for track days.
Discussion
My mate has an Impreza and it seems to be an amazing track car for the money but i know nothing about them. I was hoping you guys could tell me which type of Impreza i should start looking at. I've looked on auto trader and can see you have turbo's, sti's, wrx's and im sure theres alot more. Im looking to spend around the 5-6 mark.
Anyway thanks for your help.
Anyway thanks for your help.
WRX and WRX STi are different animals. For more info check out SIDC's FAQ for help on the myriad of models
www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm
www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm
The later STI Type Ra are the lightest and most powerful at 280bhp that's on Jap fuel, so will be a little down on that on UK pump fuel + octane boost. There are just so many different types. But you would be best looking at the STI's, as they have stronger boxes and forged internals. Also I would go for one with a DCCD centre diff fitted as you have the option to make the power split of the diff more in favour of the rear wheels. This will make it more entertaining on track. The standard viscous diffs are locked to a 50/50 power split. So is more of a neutral handling car. You can get the back end to step out but you have to be quite brutal. They are more likely to under steer with a 50/50 power split.
I took my UK turbo on a track day and it was fast around the track, but just not that much fun. They have huge amounts of grip, but there not the best balanced (handling) car like say a Lotus Elise or something along those lines.
If I was going for a track toy I would go for something light and well balanced. I did a Palmer race day last year and by far the best car I drove was the Caterham, you feel so much more part of the experience. I preferred that to the Nissan 350Z, Mits Evo 5 and the JP1 Jaguar race car. The Clio Cup with a crash box was close but still not as much fun as the Caterham. If you want stupid power to weight ratio what about a Dax Rush with a 400bhp Cosworth turbo engine. That would be a nice 700BHp per ton. But thats going to go over your £6K budget
>> Edited by tvr tommy on Wednesday 26th April 15:40
I took my UK turbo on a track day and it was fast around the track, but just not that much fun. They have huge amounts of grip, but there not the best balanced (handling) car like say a Lotus Elise or something along those lines.
If I was going for a track toy I would go for something light and well balanced. I did a Palmer race day last year and by far the best car I drove was the Caterham, you feel so much more part of the experience. I preferred that to the Nissan 350Z, Mits Evo 5 and the JP1 Jaguar race car. The Clio Cup with a crash box was close but still not as much fun as the Caterham. If you want stupid power to weight ratio what about a Dax Rush with a 400bhp Cosworth turbo engine. That would be a nice 700BHp per ton. But thats going to go over your £6K budget
>> Edited by tvr tommy on Wednesday 26th April 15:40
tvr tommy said:
The later STI Type Ra are the lightest and most powerful at 280bhp that's on Jap fuel, so will be a little down on that on UK pump fuel + octane boost. There are just so many different types. But you would be best looking at the STI's, as they have stronger boxes and forged internals. Also I would go for one with a DCCD centre diff fitted as you have the option to make the power split of the diff more in favour of the rear wheels. This will make it more entertaining on track. The standard viscous diffs are locked to a 50/50 power split. So is more of a neutral handling car. You can get the back end to step out but you have to be quite brutal. They are more likely to under steer with a 50/50 power split.
I took my UK turbo on a track day and it was fast around the track, but just not that much fun. They have huge amounts of grip, but there not the best balanced (handling) car like say a Lotus Elise or something along those lines.
If I was going for a track toy I would go for something light and well balanced. I did a Palmer race day last year and by far the best car I drove was the Caterham, you feel so much more part of the experience. I preferred that to the Nissan 350Z, Mits Evo 5 and the JP1 Jaguar race car. The Clio Cup with a crash box was close but still not as much fun as the Caterham. If you want stupid power to weight ratio what about a Dax Rush with a 400bhp Cosworth turbo engine. That would be a nice 700BHp per ton. But thats going to go over your £6K budget
>> Edited by tvr tommy on Wednesday 26th April 15:40
I was thinking about a cat 7 but its going to be a pain to drive to some of the far tracks plus i wont get a good one with 6k. Thanks for your help ill start looking for one(non turbo).
>> Edited by bund on Wednesday 26th April 15:42
I've gone from the Impreza to a Mazda RX7. The RX7 is a superb car and would make a great track toy. You can easily pick one up for less than 6K. You should be able to get one with a resent rebuild for your budget. They have 50 50 weight distribution so the handling is excellent and they have a limited slip diff. They come in at just over a ton and the jap imports are around 280BHp.
The horror storys about the engines being fragile, aren't as bad as everyone makes out as long as there looked after and not run hot then they will easily get to 60,000+ miles without a rebuild. As your going to be running it as a track toy, your not going to put that many mile on it so you should be fine. MPG is bad on the other hand.
>> Edited by tvr tommy on Wednesday 26th April 15:59
The horror storys about the engines being fragile, aren't as bad as everyone makes out as long as there looked after and not run hot then they will easily get to 60,000+ miles without a rebuild. As your going to be running it as a track toy, your not going to put that many mile on it so you should be fine. MPG is bad on the other hand.
>> Edited by tvr tommy on Wednesday 26th April 15:59
hmmm another car gets thrown into the broth, ill have a look at the rx7 as well. As for mpg i dout its as bad my car now.
Iv seen a few
this one looks good www.pistonheads.com/sales/68228.htm
and this ra, www.pistonheads.com/sales/70361.htm.
What should i look for?
>> Edited by BUND on Wednesday 26th April 19:58
>> Edited by bund on Thursday 27th April 07:23
Iv seen a few
this one looks good www.pistonheads.com/sales/68228.htm
and this ra, www.pistonheads.com/sales/70361.htm.
What should i look for?
>> Edited by BUND on Wednesday 26th April 19:58
>> Edited by bund on Thursday 27th April 07:23
tvr tommy said:
I've gone from the Impreza to a Mazda RX7. The RX7 is a superb car and would make a great track toy. You can easily pick one up for less than 6K. You should be able to get one with a resent rebuild for your budget. They have 50 50 weight distribution so the handling is excellent and they have a limited slip diff. They come in at just over a ton and the jap imports are around 280BHp.
The horror storys about the engines being fragile, aren't as bad as everyone makes out as long as there looked after and not run hot then they will easily get to 60,000+ miles without a rebuild. As your going to be running it as a track toy, your not going to put that many mile on it so you should be fine. MPG is bad on the other hand.
Track use will significantly reduce the engine life and some carful thought needs applying to modifications for track use.
Take a standard 7 and, for track work I'd modify:
Front disks and pads, rear pads.
Braided break lines.
Decent tyres (i.e. not the jap rubber they tend to come with!)
Significantly uprate the radiator and fit lower temp thermostat (e.g. mx5 one).
Get a proper water and oil temp gauge and monitor temps.
Have the car rolling-roaded to ensure there's no risk of running lean on track.
A stock 4rd gen will provide more thrills than you can shake a stick at for a novice driver and introduce you to RWD heaven.
The scoob is also a really capable car though as is the Mitsi Evo. Both are consistantly quick around the track. The Celica GT4 (ST205 model) is worth a look but needs a power hike from stock imo.
None are a pretty as the RX though
I like the look of this one, white one sorry. www.colourfulimportcentre.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=9119&pageid=1
Sounds like a clean car, I think the price seems about right and i was hoping to get it a bit lower for cash. Seems to have everything i needed in a track car apart from its not a closed block engine.
>> Edited by bund on Thursday 27th April 14:43
Sounds like a clean car, I think the price seems about right and i was hoping to get it a bit lower for cash. Seems to have everything i needed in a track car apart from its not a closed block engine.
>> Edited by bund on Thursday 27th April 14:43
andyb_WRX said:
Seems to have everything i needed in a track car apart from its not a closed block engine. 
Do you mean closed deck? AFAIK all the STI engines are closed deck.
>> Edited by andyb_WRX on Thursday 27th April 15:36
Ok got you, my mate looked at the spec and said great but shame it doesnt have a closed block(i take it he meant deck) he obviously doesnt know a great deal about them either
.andyb_WRX said:
Seems to have everything i needed in a track car apart from its not a closed block engine.
Do you mean closed deck? AFAIK all the STI engines are closed deck.
>> Edited by andyb_WRX on Thursday 27th April 15:36
Afaik They where only closed deck until the sti 2 or 3, not after that..
Power Junkie said:
Seems to have everything i needed in a track car apart from its not a closed block engine.
Do you mean closed deck? AFAIK all the STI engines are closed deck.
>> Edited by andyb_WRX on Thursday 27th April 15:36
Afaik They where only closed deck until the sti 2 or 3, not after that..
How can i tell as iv asked the dealer and he doesnt know, he said it was like 3.5(thought there would be just a 3 and 4) as has some new bits but not sure what he really meant.
Power Junkie said:
Seems to have everything i needed in a track car apart from its not a closed block engine.
Do you mean closed deck? AFAIK all the STI engines are closed deck.
>> Edited by andyb_WRX on Thursday 27th April 15:36
Afaik They where only closed deck until the sti 2 or 3, not after that..
Spot on, my mistake!
Subaru must have been confident enough the headgaskets could take it, so I wouldn't discount a car on the bases of not having a closed deck. The 3.5 is do with the facelift, I think thats where the front bumper and bonnet where restyled
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