impreza what 1 for £6k

[iaiin]

Hi guys am looking to by an impreza (was looking at evo,s but think subarus are better on reiliabilty)i have £ 6k what would be the best i can afford, i do like the "bug eyed" ones but i dont think i can afford? Is the uk or import a big diffrence to price & is that just because of insurance or is it also to do with serviceing? Also if i get an import do you get service history??Also what are good mods to look for as i am up for performance but i dont what to risk over stressing the engine as i drive cars quite hard?
I am not keen on dump valves (whoooooosh) as i am 40 years old not 20!! If anyone wants a px with a 1965 dodge mopar i can afford to get dearer one but cant sell my car untill summer (really a cruising car with a big block 7200cc)cheers guys

[craggers]

iaiin said:

Hi guys am looking to by an impreza (was looking at evo,s but think subarus are better on reiliabilty)i have £ 6k what would be the best i can afford, i do like the "bug eyed" ones but i dont think i can afford? Is the uk or import a big diffrence to price & is that just because of insurance or is it also to do with serviceing? Also if i get an import do you get service history??Also what are good mods to look for as i am up for performance but i dont what to risk over stressing the engine as i drive cars quite hard?
I am not keen on dump valves (whoooooosh) as i am 40 years old not 20!! If anyone wants a px with a 1965 dodge mopar i can afford to get dearer one but cant sell my car untill summer (really a cruising car with a big block 7200cc)cheers guys

Most Import wouldn't have service history with the car. Some do but will be in Japanese !!

Insurance will be big difference on UK and JDM car (usually £200 more for JDM than UK), servicing will be same as the component is same for both. If you do get JDM, make sure it is re-mapped correctly to take UK fuel (if not, use RON98 or higher). JDM have higher power over UK's spec on standard (275bhp v 215).

Got soft spot for STi Type RA (Race-Alterned lightweight car) as it do what you want. For £6k should get you around '96-'97 RA.

Have fun searching for one.

[cpas]

Hi.
I looked at a 'Y' plate Scoob 5-door for 6k a year ago (96k miles though) and eventually bought ax 'X' plate late classic for £6250 with 65k miles. I kept this for 9 months and sold it and the current owner is now selling for 5k, so they are reasonably cheap.

[rustybin]

What are you looking to do with it i.e. track days or just public road exotica baiting? four of five door required?

[Turbo T]

There was a very nicely prepared/spec trackaday STi 4, 2.5 conversion, AP's, coilovers etc, for £6.5k

[iaiin]

rustybin said:

What are you looking to do with it i.e. track days or just public road exotica baiting? four of five door required?

4 door just road use!

[rustybin]

The big choice for me then would be an earlier RA or similar to get the benefit of the rearward bias or a newer and more civilised STI which will be more understeery (which is not such a bad thing on the road). I feel the handling on a non DCCD car is still fine for the road as you really do have to be travelling at lunatic speeds before anything gets interesting. The shorter gearing that normally goes with DCCD and imports also makes motorway journeys less appealing. So there we go I have talked myself into you buying the latest UK spec STI you can get (with prodrive obviously). Hope that helps

[iaiin]

rustybin said:

The big choice for me then would be an earlier RA or similar to get the benefit of the rearward bias or a newer and more civilised STI which will be more understeery (which is not such a bad thing on the road). I feel the handling on a non DCCD car is still fine for the road as you really do have to be travelling at lunatic speeds before anything gets interesting. The shorter gearing that normally goes with DCCD and imports also makes motorway journeys less appealing. So there we go I have talked myself into you buying the latest UK spec STI you can get (with prodrive obviously). Hope that helps

what is dccd??I have seen a couple of bug eyed 2001 (is this the first year of that shape)for my money,are they not rated that much? Only when they come out a hated them but now i love the shape!!Are any of the models 6 speed??

[rustybin]

iaiin said:

rustybin said:

The big choice for me then would be an earlier RA or similar to get the benefit of the rearward bias or a newer and more civilised STI which will be more understeery (which is not such a bad thing on the road). I feel the handling on a non DCCD car is still fine for the road as you really do have to be travelling at lunatic speeds before anything gets interesting. The shorter gearing that normally goes with DCCD and imports also makes motorway journeys less appealing. So there we go I have talked myself into you buying the latest UK spec STI you can get (with prodrive obviously). Hope that helps

what is dccd??I have seen a couple of bug eyed 2001 (is this the first year of that shape)for my money,are they not rated that much? Only when they come out a hated them but now i love the shape!!Are any of the models 6 speed??

DCCD is Driver Controllable Centre Diff it allows the driver to adjust the lockedness and bias of the centre diff. Cars without (STI, WRX and UK standard models) are 60/40 front to rear torque biased. The DCCD allows is the opposite and allows the ratio to be varied. I think 2001 was the first model year for the bugeye. I don't belive they are regarded as having anything wrong with them other than the asethetics though like you I feel less put off by them than I used to be. 6 speeds are generally R/RA and C Spec I believe. I am sure that if my beer fuelled memory has deceived me I shall be corrected.

[MrFlibbles]

You should've bought mine!

[GravelBen]

rustybin said:

DCCD is Driver Controllable Centre Diff it allows the driver to adjust the lockedness and bias of the centre diff. Cars without (STI, WRX and UK standard models) are 60/40 front to rear torque biased. The DCCD allows is the opposite and allows the ratio to be varied.

Close, cars without DCCD are 50/50 static torque split, the DCCD lets you adjust the centre diff from open (with 64R/36F split) gradually up to fully locked (so both axles turn at same rate rather than having a specific torque split - good for gravel/snow but better to leave diff open on sealed roads). Any STi Type-R or RA classic will have it, and some newer (JDM only I think) regular STi's as well as newer Type RA and Spec-C models. It really does transform the car. The close-ratio 'box is incredibly sweet to use but very low geared, though the RA V-ltd versions had a longer 5th from the regular STi for better cruising than the normal RA which was basically a grp-N homologation car.

rustybin said:

6 speeds are generally R/RA and C Spec I believe. I am sure that if my beer fuelled memory has deceived me I shall be corrected.

I think all STi's from bugeye onwards may have been 6-speed, not just the special ones. Could be wrong on that though, might not have been til MY02 or 03 that the normal STi's had the 6-speed.

Edited by GravelBen on Saturday 24th February 12:16

[iaiin]

MrFlibbles said:

You should've bought mine!

what car did you have?

[iaiin]

GravelBen said:

rustybin said:

DCCD is Driver Controllable Centre Diff it allows the driver to adjust the lockedness and bias of the centre diff. Cars without (STI, WRX and UK standard models) are 60/40 front to rear torque biased. The DCCD allows is the opposite and allows the ratio to be varied.

Close, cars without DCCD are 50/50 static torque split, the DCCD lets you adjust the centre diff from open (with 64R/36F split) gradually up to fully locked (so both axles turn at same rate rather than having a specific torque split - good for gravel/snow but better to leave diff open on sealed roads). Any STi Type-R or RA classic will have it, and some newer (JDM only I think) regular STi's as well as newer Type RA and Spec-C models. It really does transform the car. The close-ratio 'box is incredibly sweet to use but very low geared, though the RA V-ltd versions had a longer 5th from the regular STi for better cruising than the normal RA which was basically a grp-N homologation car.

rustybin said:

6 speeds are generally R/RA and C Spec I believe. I am sure that if my beer fuelled memory has deceived me I shall be corrected.

I think all STi's from bugeye onwards may have been 6-speed, not just the special ones. Could be wrong on that though, might not have been til MY02 or 03 that the normal STi's had the 6-speed.

Edited by GravelBen on Saturday 24th February 12:16

Are the sti,s that much better than wrx,s? With my budget would an older sti be better than new bug eyed wrx?

[GravelBen]

iaiin said:

Are the sti,s that much better than wrx,s? With my budget would an older sti be better than new bug eyed wrx?

Well I don't know what sort of money they go for in the UK (I'm in NZ) so not sure about budget, but to put it bluntly, Yes.


*disclaimer: May depend on personal preference, STi's are significantly more 'focussed' than WRX's, which means harder suspension etc as well as stronger, more powerful engines and better drivetrains. So if you like soft cushy cars an STi may not be for you.