RE: One-owner Subaru Impreza RB5 for sale
Discussion
They used a 22B type UK, which had prodrive developed Bilstein suspension and taller gearing via its 3.9 diff ratio amongst the differences to a JDM version which uses 4.4 diffs.
What tyres they used would affect the times on the test venue, especially that one being the MIRA wet handling track.
They also used the WRX STi which has VC centre diff, had they used an STi type R or RA they would have been quicker and benefitted from the better handling balance, RA in particular with its front LSD and quickrack and thinner glass.
At the time there was a lot of myths around how to use the DCCD fitted to the 22B, i ended up writing about that, i very much doubt the 22B at MIRA had the diff dialed in correctly, most journalists left it in fully open all the time.
I remember at the time people commenting on the RB5 not having a stock ride height and not using the production suspension, but its ages ago now.
I drove both 22B back in the day, UK gearing was more suited to motorway driving, not as quick cross country, as you would expect. Best of the bunch as a drivers car was what i owned, the STi 5 Type RA.
What tyres they used would affect the times on the test venue, especially that one being the MIRA wet handling track.
They also used the WRX STi which has VC centre diff, had they used an STi type R or RA they would have been quicker and benefitted from the better handling balance, RA in particular with its front LSD and quickrack and thinner glass.
At the time there was a lot of myths around how to use the DCCD fitted to the 22B, i ended up writing about that, i very much doubt the 22B at MIRA had the diff dialed in correctly, most journalists left it in fully open all the time.
I remember at the time people commenting on the RB5 not having a stock ride height and not using the production suspension, but its ages ago now.
I drove both 22B back in the day, UK gearing was more suited to motorway driving, not as quick cross country, as you would expect. Best of the bunch as a drivers car was what i owned, the STi 5 Type RA.
Elatino1 said:
I found on UK roads that the RB5 with about 270bhp and standard suspension was a nicer drive than the v6 STi by some margin.
The v5/v6 JDM spring rates are too harsh for UK roads. UK cars were more compliant. Best of all was the P1, the Prodrive-made springs for which were a work of magic and are highly coveted today.jsf said:
They used a 22B type UK, which had prodrive developed Bilstein suspension and taller gearing via its 3.9 diff ratio amongst the differences to a JDM version which uses 4.4 diffs.
What tyres they used would affect the times on the test venue, especially that one being the MIRA wet handling track.
They also used the WRX STi which has VC centre diff, had they used an STi type R or RA they would have been quicker and benefitted from the better handling balance, RA in particular with its front LSD and quickrack and thinner glass.
At the time there was a lot of myths around how to use the DCCD fitted to the 22B, i ended up writing about that, i very much doubt the 22B at MIRA had the diff dialed in correctly, most journalists left it in fully open all the time.
I remember at the time people commenting on the RB5 not having a stock ride height and not using the production suspension, but its ages ago now.
I drove both 22B back in the day, UK gearing was more suited to motorway driving, not as quick cross country, as you would expect. Best of the bunch as a drivers car was what i owned, the STi 5 Type RA.
If you are who I think you are I brought your custom ‘quiet’ back box from your RA when you sold the car What tyres they used would affect the times on the test venue, especially that one being the MIRA wet handling track.
They also used the WRX STi which has VC centre diff, had they used an STi type R or RA they would have been quicker and benefitted from the better handling balance, RA in particular with its front LSD and quickrack and thinner glass.
At the time there was a lot of myths around how to use the DCCD fitted to the 22B, i ended up writing about that, i very much doubt the 22B at MIRA had the diff dialed in correctly, most journalists left it in fully open all the time.
I remember at the time people commenting on the RB5 not having a stock ride height and not using the production suspension, but its ages ago now.
I drove both 22B back in the day, UK gearing was more suited to motorway driving, not as quick cross country, as you would expect. Best of the bunch as a drivers car was what i owned, the STi 5 Type RA.
Days Like These said:
I was laughed at when years ago I said that these sorts of cars (Evo, Impreza, Skyline...) would be collectible.
Great competition history, fun to drive, aesthetic in their own way, special engineering
I said some time back that when they start gaining proper ground they'll make things like sporting RWD Escorts look cheap. Doesn't seem so long ago I was looking at Impreza's such as a beautiful 2 door Type R that was way under £10k and a super mint, super plain 4 door RA with wind up windows, cage, no rear spoiler etc at £5.5k. Prices are heading one way for sure. Great competition history, fun to drive, aesthetic in their own way, special engineering
trails said:
If you are who I think you are I brought your custom ‘quiet’ back box from your RA when you sold the car
Indeed, i never liked noisy cars so had that made bespoke by the guy who made my racecar systems, that was off my second WRX STi5 Type RA 555 WRC Limited. 
That car was killed not long after I sold it sadly, my first one is still going strong, has over 180K miles on it now.plenty said:
The v5/v6 JDM spring rates are too harsh for UK roads. UK cars were more compliant. Best of all was the P1, the Prodrive-made springs for which were a work of magic and are highly coveted today.
I never found the JDM spring rates too harsh but i do like a fairly precise setup rather than a floating boat on these type of cars, the worst thing about the P1 was the Pirelli tyres they fitted, absolute garbage, i put a set on my RA for a day from a P1 a friend had, shocking. Their choice of using a brake pad compound that put metal into the paint was also daft. Tyres really made a difference, the Bridgestone S02 PP was the hot ticket back then. Pity they were replaced by the S03 PP, which was not a good tyre compared to the predecessor.jsf said:
Indeed, i never liked noisy cars so had that made bespoke by the guy who made my racecar systems, that was off my second WRX STi5 Type RA 555 WRC Limited. That car was killed not long after I sold it sadly, my first one is still going strong, has over 180K miles on it now.
I remember when you had it fabricated, was pretty left-field at the time…looks even better on a wagon That car was killed not long after I sold it sadly, my first one is still going strong, has over 180K miles on it now.
180k is way below average miles for its age
trails said:
I remember when you had it fabricated, was pretty left-field at the time…looks even better on a wagon
180k is way below average miles for its age
It's still being used, good stuff.180k is way below average miles for its age
My first RA spent half its first life on the Nürburgring.
It went to a proper enthusiast, which was a nice thing, great car.My current JDM STi has 136K on it, had that one nearly 13 years now.
Geeze that’s some coin, even accounting for the RB link it’s still a relatively standard GC8 underneath as I read it. As previous posters have mentioned, the unquestionable superiority of the engine, gearbox, transmission in a JDM V5/6 STi Type RA/R make this seem poor value. But I’m not British so perhaps don’t appreciate the significance of the RB link.
That said, market forces are different in different countries (perfect example being your £15k manual 996 is AUD 80k here sadly) and perhaps this is a special car for a British rally fan
That said, market forces are different in different countries (perfect example being your £15k manual 996 is AUD 80k here sadly) and perhaps this is a special car for a British rally fan
jsf said:
It's still being used, good stuff.
My first RA spent half its first life on the Nürburgring. It went to a proper enthusiast, which was a nice thing, great car.
My current JDM STi has 136K on it, had that one nearly 13 years now.
I was going to ask if you still had it...must be one of the longest owned and hardest driven in the UK My first RA spent half its first life on the Nürburgring.
It went to a proper enthusiast, which was a nice thing, great car.My current JDM STi has 136K on it, had that one nearly 13 years now.
jsf said:
It's still being used, good stuff.
My first RA spent half its first life on the Nürburgring. It went to a proper enthusiast, which was a nice thing, great car.
My current JDM STi has 136K on it, had that one nearly 13 years now.
My first RA spent half its first life on the Nürburgring.
It went to a proper enthusiast, which was a nice thing, great car.My current JDM STi has 136K on it, had that one nearly 13 years now.
Just ticked over to 186 k miles
19 years ownership
Fun fact.
When we were all attending rolling road days in our shiny new Imprezas, the UK PPP cars we’re putting out almost the same torque numbers as boggo standard 276bhp P1’s and STI 5/6’s.
It represented a good gain, for an exhaust, ECU and intercooler intake pipe.
When we were all attending rolling road days in our shiny new Imprezas, the UK PPP cars we’re putting out almost the same torque numbers as boggo standard 276bhp P1’s and STI 5/6’s.
It represented a good gain, for an exhaust, ECU and intercooler intake pipe.
Edited by Hol on Monday 29th November 17:27
Hol said:
Fun fact.
When we were all attending rolling road days in our shiny new Imprezas, the UK PPP cars we’re putting out almost the same torque numbers as boggo standard 276bhp P1’s and STI 5/6’s.
It represented a good gain, for an exhaust, ECU and intercooler intake pipe.
My Prodrive RB5 didn't When we were all attending rolling road days in our shiny new Imprezas, the UK PPP cars we’re putting out almost the same torque numbers as boggo standard 276bhp P1’s and STI 5/6’s.
It represented a good gain, for an exhaust, ECU and intercooler intake pipe.
Edited by Hol on Monday 29th November 17:27
- It made 249bhp standard on the rolling road and after a remap with supporting mods like updated fuel pump, air filter and a few other things maxed the turbo out at 271bhp. Scobblelotcher said:
Hol said:
Fun fact.
When we were all attending rolling road days in our shiny new Imprezas, the UK PPP cars we’re putting out almost the same torque numbers as boggo standard 276bhp P1’s and STI 5/6’s.
It represented a good gain, for an exhaust, ECU and intercooler intake pipe.
My Prodrive RB5 didn't When we were all attending rolling road days in our shiny new Imprezas, the UK PPP cars we’re putting out almost the same torque numbers as boggo standard 276bhp P1’s and STI 5/6’s.
It represented a good gain, for an exhaust, ECU and intercooler intake pipe.
Edited by Hol on Monday 29th November 17:27
- It made 249bhp standard on the rolling road and after a remap with supporting mods like updated fuel pump, air filter and a few other things maxed the turbo out at 271bhp. https://impreza.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/1999...
Edited by Hol on Monday 29th November 18:07
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