Subaru Impreza WR Sport Prodrive
Discussion
I bought this car in 2000.It was the first and only car i have ever purchased new.I was about 30 years old and
was looking for something more sensible but just as fun as the 16 Valve 1990 Lancia Integrale i had been driving for the last few years
and had been costing me a fortune in running costs at John Whalley's as well as having a dislike of rain (it was always 50/50 whether it would start after heavy rain).
I started reading about the Impreza in Performance Car magazine and at the time it had been getting outstanding reviews for about 3 years.
The other enticing factor was that it seemed to win the 'JD Power survey' each year in two categories- customer satisfaction and reliability.
The former was important to me.I had excellent,albeit expensive service at the Lancia specialists John Whalleys for a number of years.
I don't blame the garage for the price of keeping the car in good shape,i blame the design and also the fact i was in my twenties and drove it in a spirited fashion.
The problem was John Whalleys is a 3hr return journey for me so when i started looking at new car options i wanted to find a main dealer i would be treated well at but was a bit more local.
Before going to Subaru i went around the corner to a Mitsubishi main dealer in Putney and asked for a test drive in a Lancer.They basically laughed at me and intimated i would not be able to afford the car so it was with some trepidation that i walked into Cheam Motors and asked to test drive a Subaru Impreza Turbo.They could not have been more helpful and sent me out in one on my own and told me to take my time.
The car was OK,but frankly after my Integrale which was running a motorsport chip and putting out around 260bhp the Scooby seemed a little breathless.It was also understeering on the limit instead of the oversteer i was used to in the Integrale.
Apart from these issues i was impressed with the feel of the car and the balance.It felt right.When i got back to the garage i mentioned what i perceived to be the cars shortcomings to the salesman and he showed me a Prodrive catalogue and told me the two issues i had mentioned could be resolved with a Prodrive Performance Package and a Prodrive Tarmac Rally suspension upgrade.
The problem was,i had started getting carried away reading the catalogue and the salesmans enthusiasm coupled with my own resulted in me ordering a new Impreza Turbo which would be sent from Subaru UK straight to Prodrive where it would be upgraded to WR Sport spec.This was-
Prodrive Performance Package (ECU upgrade,Intercooler pipe,De-cat stainless steel exhaust)
Quick Shift
Prodrive Tarmac Rally spec suspension (Bilstein to Prodrives unique spec)
Colour coded body and fabulously chavtastic rear wing.
17 inch Prodrive Alloys (gold of course).
I also left air con off the spec list as the salesman told me it weighed 70kg and sapped a little power and in my mind that was sacrilege.
Nowadays i regret that decision sometimes but back in the day i was only interested in performance and handling.
For those of you unclear about the PPP on this model it takes the car from a base 212 bhp (iirc) to around 240bhp and 0-60 from 5.55s to 5.19s
The other Prodrive upgrade that to this day i think was one of the best options ever was the standard fog lights were changed into 120 watt PIAA driving lamps from their rally range.In the real world these monsters lit up country lanes in the dark as if it was daylight but also when flashed at someone hogging Lane 3 were so bright i think they induced nervousness from the hogger that the vehicle flashing was a police car.I only suspect this because a single flash was all it ever took for drivers to move into L2 immediately.
It felt like a long time waiting for the vehicle and when i finally picked it up i was over the moon.As i was about to drive away,and the sales man had gone back into the dealership a mechanic in overalls darted out of the garage.
He asked me if i was going to be servicing the car with him at the dealership.When i told him i was he said that he had to be careful as they were not supposed to recommend non-prodrive equipment but that in his opinion the De-Cat of the rear cat by Prodrive only went halfway to freeing up the breathing of the car.He told me that a company called Scooby Sport in Essex could supply a downpipe to delete the front Cat too.He then advised me to buy one,get it delivered and if i brought it down to the dealership he would fit it after the car was run in for its first oil change service.
When i asked what i could expect powerwise he told me it felt to him like about 10% more peak power but that the main difference was the lack of lag and it felt like the car could just breathe easier and spin the turbo up quicker.
Of course,i went straight home and ordered one and after he fitted it (i never told the salesman the mechanic had suggested it,instead saying i had found the company on my own LOL) it was clear it unleashed another enormous piece of torque on the already very torquey motor in comparison to the standard UK Turbo.
I've never had the car dynoed or mappped but i suspect around 250 bhp.
Torque from the PPP was already up to 350Nm at 3500 rpm from standard which was 290Nm at 4000 rpm and the scooby sport de-cat certainly saw this figure rise further.
In about 2007 it became the Missus's car after i was enticed into a widetrack Blob Eye STi Type UK after another very generous day long test drive (this salesman knew his trade......).The STi was great and certainly a fun piece of kit but there was something about the overall balance and rawness of the WR Sport that made me realise it was very special.
In 2009 Cheam Motors the supplying main dealer closed down.They had been absolutely first class and stuck to their word that the scooby would be "no more expensive to run than a ford fiesta"- i cannot dispute that claim! It was serviced as per the service schedule with fully synthetic oil.It never did more than 3000 miles between changes and has never needed a drop of oil between services.
It has also never,not once,ever broken down or not started in any way.A welcome change after the Intergrale and proves the JD Power survey that enticed me into buying the car originally was correct.
Here is a recent picture of the car,i will write more later.
was looking for something more sensible but just as fun as the 16 Valve 1990 Lancia Integrale i had been driving for the last few years
and had been costing me a fortune in running costs at John Whalley's as well as having a dislike of rain (it was always 50/50 whether it would start after heavy rain).
I started reading about the Impreza in Performance Car magazine and at the time it had been getting outstanding reviews for about 3 years.
The other enticing factor was that it seemed to win the 'JD Power survey' each year in two categories- customer satisfaction and reliability.
The former was important to me.I had excellent,albeit expensive service at the Lancia specialists John Whalleys for a number of years.
I don't blame the garage for the price of keeping the car in good shape,i blame the design and also the fact i was in my twenties and drove it in a spirited fashion.
The problem was John Whalleys is a 3hr return journey for me so when i started looking at new car options i wanted to find a main dealer i would be treated well at but was a bit more local.
Before going to Subaru i went around the corner to a Mitsubishi main dealer in Putney and asked for a test drive in a Lancer.They basically laughed at me and intimated i would not be able to afford the car so it was with some trepidation that i walked into Cheam Motors and asked to test drive a Subaru Impreza Turbo.They could not have been more helpful and sent me out in one on my own and told me to take my time.
The car was OK,but frankly after my Integrale which was running a motorsport chip and putting out around 260bhp the Scooby seemed a little breathless.It was also understeering on the limit instead of the oversteer i was used to in the Integrale.
Apart from these issues i was impressed with the feel of the car and the balance.It felt right.When i got back to the garage i mentioned what i perceived to be the cars shortcomings to the salesman and he showed me a Prodrive catalogue and told me the two issues i had mentioned could be resolved with a Prodrive Performance Package and a Prodrive Tarmac Rally suspension upgrade.
The problem was,i had started getting carried away reading the catalogue and the salesmans enthusiasm coupled with my own resulted in me ordering a new Impreza Turbo which would be sent from Subaru UK straight to Prodrive where it would be upgraded to WR Sport spec.This was-
Prodrive Performance Package (ECU upgrade,Intercooler pipe,De-cat stainless steel exhaust)
Quick Shift
Prodrive Tarmac Rally spec suspension (Bilstein to Prodrives unique spec)
Colour coded body and fabulously chavtastic rear wing.
17 inch Prodrive Alloys (gold of course).
I also left air con off the spec list as the salesman told me it weighed 70kg and sapped a little power and in my mind that was sacrilege.
Nowadays i regret that decision sometimes but back in the day i was only interested in performance and handling.
For those of you unclear about the PPP on this model it takes the car from a base 212 bhp (iirc) to around 240bhp and 0-60 from 5.55s to 5.19s
The other Prodrive upgrade that to this day i think was one of the best options ever was the standard fog lights were changed into 120 watt PIAA driving lamps from their rally range.In the real world these monsters lit up country lanes in the dark as if it was daylight but also when flashed at someone hogging Lane 3 were so bright i think they induced nervousness from the hogger that the vehicle flashing was a police car.I only suspect this because a single flash was all it ever took for drivers to move into L2 immediately.
It felt like a long time waiting for the vehicle and when i finally picked it up i was over the moon.As i was about to drive away,and the sales man had gone back into the dealership a mechanic in overalls darted out of the garage.
He asked me if i was going to be servicing the car with him at the dealership.When i told him i was he said that he had to be careful as they were not supposed to recommend non-prodrive equipment but that in his opinion the De-Cat of the rear cat by Prodrive only went halfway to freeing up the breathing of the car.He told me that a company called Scooby Sport in Essex could supply a downpipe to delete the front Cat too.He then advised me to buy one,get it delivered and if i brought it down to the dealership he would fit it after the car was run in for its first oil change service.
When i asked what i could expect powerwise he told me it felt to him like about 10% more peak power but that the main difference was the lack of lag and it felt like the car could just breathe easier and spin the turbo up quicker.
Of course,i went straight home and ordered one and after he fitted it (i never told the salesman the mechanic had suggested it,instead saying i had found the company on my own LOL) it was clear it unleashed another enormous piece of torque on the already very torquey motor in comparison to the standard UK Turbo.
I've never had the car dynoed or mappped but i suspect around 250 bhp.
Torque from the PPP was already up to 350Nm at 3500 rpm from standard which was 290Nm at 4000 rpm and the scooby sport de-cat certainly saw this figure rise further.
In about 2007 it became the Missus's car after i was enticed into a widetrack Blob Eye STi Type UK after another very generous day long test drive (this salesman knew his trade......).The STi was great and certainly a fun piece of kit but there was something about the overall balance and rawness of the WR Sport that made me realise it was very special.
In 2009 Cheam Motors the supplying main dealer closed down.They had been absolutely first class and stuck to their word that the scooby would be "no more expensive to run than a ford fiesta"- i cannot dispute that claim! It was serviced as per the service schedule with fully synthetic oil.It never did more than 3000 miles between changes and has never needed a drop of oil between services.
It has also never,not once,ever broken down or not started in any way.A welcome change after the Intergrale and proves the JD Power survey that enticed me into buying the car originally was correct.
Here is a recent picture of the car,i will write more later.
Edited by Carlson W6 on Saturday 17th September 22:36
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 26th March 09:52
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 16th April 20:51
Thanks Steve.
When Cheam Motors was closing they contacted me to let me know and advised me to start servicing the car with their competitors,Bell and Colville.
I took the car for it's annual service there in 2010 and met Ken Paterson who is their Subaru expert in the servicing department.Ken seems to have been around these cars since the beginning.I immediately felt very comfortable having him take over the responsibility of looking after the car as he seemed to be a genuine enthusiast and also knew exactly what the WR Sport was and seemed enthusiastic about the car.
Ken has been looking after the car ever since and it still hasn't ever broken down or used a drop of oil between services.
In January 2014 i decided to buy my first Porsche,and as well as a bit of man maths i also had to negotiate with the missus.
My Blob Eye STi was long gone and had been replaced with a far more grown up C5 RS6 which was a little more fitting of a man now in his forties.
The missus had never been keen on the scooby image (looking back i don't know how i managed to keep her in it for so long).But she couldn't
dispute the absolute pleasure the WR Sport was to drive,rain,snow or shine and the superb reliability.
However,my only succesful strategy in the negotiation for a 997 Turbo was offering to give her the C5 RS6 and get rid of the scooby.
An extremely painful process ensued where i advertised the car on the scooby forum,but as luck would have it before i could sell it my little sisters VW Golf had a catastrophic failure when the cam belt snapped.
I offered her the scooby as she need something cost effective and reliable.The deal was done like this - "You can have the car for XXXX if you promise me when you need to sell it i can have it back at the same extremely beneficial price you bought it for.Also,it must be serviced at Bell and Colville by Ken Paterson annually and anything he says needs doing gets done".
And so the Scooby left but stayed in the family.
Last week i got the call.My sister needed a bigger car and could i buy the scooby back.
So i now have ownership of this incredible car again.
It has 67K on the clock,has only been serviced in main dealers and that service schedule and the lack of miles it has encountered means it has still never been more than 5000 miles without fully synthetic oil and filter.
As a long term test of the brand i have to conclude the car has been faultless and in todays world of heavier,more safety conscious vehicles driving the little scooby with its free breathing engine and tarmac rally spec suspension is a real delight.It is perfectly balanced and the power i think is just right.
The body work is a little tired after London living for 16 years so i intend to prioritise that and i may just fit some winter tyres........
When Cheam Motors was closing they contacted me to let me know and advised me to start servicing the car with their competitors,Bell and Colville.
I took the car for it's annual service there in 2010 and met Ken Paterson who is their Subaru expert in the servicing department.Ken seems to have been around these cars since the beginning.I immediately felt very comfortable having him take over the responsibility of looking after the car as he seemed to be a genuine enthusiast and also knew exactly what the WR Sport was and seemed enthusiastic about the car.
Ken has been looking after the car ever since and it still hasn't ever broken down or used a drop of oil between services.
In January 2014 i decided to buy my first Porsche,and as well as a bit of man maths i also had to negotiate with the missus.
My Blob Eye STi was long gone and had been replaced with a far more grown up C5 RS6 which was a little more fitting of a man now in his forties.
The missus had never been keen on the scooby image (looking back i don't know how i managed to keep her in it for so long).But she couldn't
dispute the absolute pleasure the WR Sport was to drive,rain,snow or shine and the superb reliability.
However,my only succesful strategy in the negotiation for a 997 Turbo was offering to give her the C5 RS6 and get rid of the scooby.
An extremely painful process ensued where i advertised the car on the scooby forum,but as luck would have it before i could sell it my little sisters VW Golf had a catastrophic failure when the cam belt snapped.
I offered her the scooby as she need something cost effective and reliable.The deal was done like this - "You can have the car for XXXX if you promise me when you need to sell it i can have it back at the same extremely beneficial price you bought it for.Also,it must be serviced at Bell and Colville by Ken Paterson annually and anything he says needs doing gets done".
And so the Scooby left but stayed in the family.
Last week i got the call.My sister needed a bigger car and could i buy the scooby back.
So i now have ownership of this incredible car again.
It has 67K on the clock,has only been serviced in main dealers and that service schedule and the lack of miles it has encountered means it has still never been more than 5000 miles without fully synthetic oil and filter.
As a long term test of the brand i have to conclude the car has been faultless and in todays world of heavier,more safety conscious vehicles driving the little scooby with its free breathing engine and tarmac rally spec suspension is a real delight.It is perfectly balanced and the power i think is just right.
The body work is a little tired after London living for 16 years so i intend to prioritise that and i may just fit some winter tyres........
Edited by Carlson W6 on Saturday 17th September 19:56
Edited by Carlson W6 on Saturday 17th September 20:07
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 16th April 20:52
Hi Joey,
Yes it was the Mitsubishi dealer in Keswick Road.
They had a very strange attitude towards selling cars and expected the car to sell itself,they seemed
incredulous that I was asking for a test drive.
Cheam motors really did provide terrific customer service.
I have a feeling the great treatment I get at Bell & Colville is down to Ken and I only speak to him there.
No I won't be letting the Impreza go again.
Manual Performance cars without driver aids are going to be gone forever soon....
Yes it was the Mitsubishi dealer in Keswick Road.
They had a very strange attitude towards selling cars and expected the car to sell itself,they seemed
incredulous that I was asking for a test drive.
Cheam motors really did provide terrific customer service.
I have a feeling the great treatment I get at Bell & Colville is down to Ken and I only speak to him there.
No I won't be letting the Impreza go again.
Manual Performance cars without driver aids are going to be gone forever soon....
a bit of the history,I was always fastidious about it.This lot goes up to 2013 when I passed the Impreza to my sister.
These pictures formed part of the cars advertisement in the Scooby forum- thank goodness it went to my sister before someone else could buy it.
Should be interesting to readers here looking at the bills for the Prodrive upgrade on the new car.
Every single MOT from first issue 2003
These pictures formed part of the cars advertisement in the Scooby forum- thank goodness it went to my sister before someone else could buy it.
Should be interesting to readers here looking at the bills for the Prodrive upgrade on the new car.
Every single MOT from first issue 2003
Edited by Carlson W6 on Tuesday 20th September 14:41
Edited by Carlson W6 on Tuesday 20th September 14:43
Took the WRC for a blast this morning after a major service with all fluids changed at Bell and Colville.
It has a fresh MOT and another coat of under seal by them (last done in 2013).
It needs 4 new tyres and I'm in two minds between getting some Michelin PSS or putting some winter tyres on (any recommendations?).
The old tyres aren't worn out but starting to crack around the tyre walls which really tells a story of the cars easy life these last few years.
I am also considering a major body work refresh which may result in a respray,my only issue being finding someone I can trust to do a first class job,
Here is a picture this morning after filling with a nice tank of V power and doing a nice 20 mile drive.
It has a fresh MOT and another coat of under seal by them (last done in 2013).
It needs 4 new tyres and I'm in two minds between getting some Michelin PSS or putting some winter tyres on (any recommendations?).
The old tyres aren't worn out but starting to crack around the tyre walls which really tells a story of the cars easy life these last few years.
I am also considering a major body work refresh which may result in a respray,my only issue being finding someone I can trust to do a first class job,
Here is a picture this morning after filling with a nice tank of V power and doing a nice 20 mile drive.
Edited by Carlson W6 on Monday 26th December 15:21
On the 1st of December i decided to try and be grown up and put the 911 away for the winter which mean't the scooby
became my daily driver.
First job that needed doing was some tyres.Ken at Bell and Colville had said the pirelli P-zero's had only just passed the MOT and
were showing signs of age on the edge,with some cracking.
I decided to do some research and go back into the history and work out how many miles they had done (i couldn't remember buying
them).Amazingly one pair was bought in 2006 and had reached 30,000 miles and the other pair was bought in 2007 and reached 26,000 miles.
Every year being swapped from front to rear at MOT time to wear the tread evenly.
I think this mileage shows the sort of life the scooby has had since i gave it to my wife and then sister to look after.
I decided to change tyre brands after putting some Michelins onto my other scooby i had for 5 years from 2007-2011.This was
a blobeye 2005 STI type UK and the tyre change to michelins was amazing.
So i bought some Michelin Pilot Super Sport for 580.00 including balancing,fitting VAT which i am pretty happy with.
The car feels amazing.
Other little issues to sort out - the very nice Kenwood 25th Anniversary single din CD/radio had decided not to power up while my sister was
looking after car.A trip to Auto Audio in Park Royal is always great as their workshop is always full of exotica and this time they showed me around their spotless paint shop and the restoration dept working on custom re-trims.
I ended up having a new Alpine set fitted,which has bluetooth for my i-phone which gives me hands free and streaming of my itunes from phone to car stereo.Amazing this modern technology.The Kenwood went off to be fixed as i couldn't bear to throw it away.It's just come back with a new ribbon that joins the motorised faceplate to the set,it cost 75 quid to fix,its a great set and will go into the work van.
The scooby has now done 66634 miles and is feeling as strong as ever.
After the PDK and traction control on the 911 it is a really visceral experience driving it,almost the polar opposite although being so similar in lots of ways which an irony (both 4wd and turbocharged).
Here are some pics after a quick wash today-
became my daily driver.
First job that needed doing was some tyres.Ken at Bell and Colville had said the pirelli P-zero's had only just passed the MOT and
were showing signs of age on the edge,with some cracking.
I decided to do some research and go back into the history and work out how many miles they had done (i couldn't remember buying
them).Amazingly one pair was bought in 2006 and had reached 30,000 miles and the other pair was bought in 2007 and reached 26,000 miles.
Every year being swapped from front to rear at MOT time to wear the tread evenly.
I think this mileage shows the sort of life the scooby has had since i gave it to my wife and then sister to look after.
I decided to change tyre brands after putting some Michelins onto my other scooby i had for 5 years from 2007-2011.This was
a blobeye 2005 STI type UK and the tyre change to michelins was amazing.
So i bought some Michelin Pilot Super Sport for 580.00 including balancing,fitting VAT which i am pretty happy with.
The car feels amazing.
Other little issues to sort out - the very nice Kenwood 25th Anniversary single din CD/radio had decided not to power up while my sister was
looking after car.A trip to Auto Audio in Park Royal is always great as their workshop is always full of exotica and this time they showed me around their spotless paint shop and the restoration dept working on custom re-trims.
I ended up having a new Alpine set fitted,which has bluetooth for my i-phone which gives me hands free and streaming of my itunes from phone to car stereo.Amazing this modern technology.The Kenwood went off to be fixed as i couldn't bear to throw it away.It's just come back with a new ribbon that joins the motorised faceplate to the set,it cost 75 quid to fix,its a great set and will go into the work van.
The scooby has now done 66634 miles and is feeling as strong as ever.
After the PDK and traction control on the 911 it is a really visceral experience driving it,almost the polar opposite although being so similar in lots of ways which an irony (both 4wd and turbocharged).
Here are some pics after a quick wash today-
After a wonderful winter using the Impreza as a daily driver I've taken it up to
Greg Howell at Southam Bodies to have the paint refreshed.
I'm waiting for his thoughts on how deep we are going to go and I'll keep you all posted.
After that I'm planning on sending the Prodrive Bilstein shocks off to Bikstein for a refresh/rebuild and
talking to API about a full bush/drop link etc refresh.
Greg Howell at Southam Bodies to have the paint refreshed.
I'm waiting for his thoughts on how deep we are going to go and I'll keep you all posted.
After that I'm planning on sending the Prodrive Bilstein shocks off to Bikstein for a refresh/rebuild and
talking to API about a full bush/drop link etc refresh.
Hi FBP1,
I have an admission to make-
I am super jealous of your car!
Not just because it is stunning but also because when I bought mine
I had two young kids and the missus would be using it while I was at work
to cart the kids around. She wanted a wagon and I tried very hard to persuade her
to let me buy a P1. The compromise was a 4 door WR Sport.
I love the car and have never regretted buying it but if there is one car that I feel
is "the one that got away" in my driving history it is the P1.
Only this week I saw a stunning standard P1 for sale at Oliver Davis Cars for 20K!
Please do a thread on yours, I'd love to read it.
I have an admission to make-
I am super jealous of your car!
Not just because it is stunning but also because when I bought mine
I had two young kids and the missus would be using it while I was at work
to cart the kids around. She wanted a wagon and I tried very hard to persuade her
to let me buy a P1. The compromise was a 4 door WR Sport.
I love the car and have never regretted buying it but if there is one car that I feel
is "the one that got away" in my driving history it is the P1.
Only this week I saw a stunning standard P1 for sale at Oliver Davis Cars for 20K!
Please do a thread on yours, I'd love to read it.
No WR clock on mine- it's not listed in the brochure from that year.
My dealer negotiated with Prodrive to allow me to keep standard interior and upgrade to leather
instead of having the Recaro's that I felt were horrible looking at the time.
Prodrive allowed me to make that choice which some would say is a shame but I've always felt
makes my WR unique.The Leather has worn well and is still in great condition.
At the time,buying my first new car having leather was a must for me.
Here is a link to the brochure-
https://impreza.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Prod...
My dealer negotiated with Prodrive to allow me to keep standard interior and upgrade to leather
instead of having the Recaro's that I felt were horrible looking at the time.
Prodrive allowed me to make that choice which some would say is a shame but I've always felt
makes my WR unique.The Leather has worn well and is still in great condition.
At the time,buying my first new car having leather was a must for me.
Here is a link to the brochure-
https://impreza.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Prod...
The WR has been at Greg Howells Southam Bodies for a paint refresh and general tidy up.
I got to know Greg when he was recommended to me by MRC Audi to do some bodywork on my RS6.
After a lot of research (i like researching people in the motortrade before i use them) i learned he was
well known on the VW show scene before moving onto Audi's and then again to Porsche.
He did a brilliant job on my Audi and while up at his place i got a feel for the first class restoration work he does on
Porsche and his attention to detail and passion for the job.
I decided the Scooby needed some body work love after being a London car it's whole life - people seem to find their place
in a parking spot by bumping into the car infront and behind.So the bumpers needed refreshing and lots of little
stone chips and general wear and tear of 17 years use needed attention.
Greg advised me against doing a full respray at this stage as he said the paint was pretty good and he made a very
important comment- "If you end up spraying the whole car you will feel it is too precious to drive it or park it anywhere".
As this car is my daily when the weather isn't great or i have to park somewhere a bit dodgy i didnt want to start seeing the
car as something that i didn't want to drive so i stuck with his advise on what to do which was
New Bumpers sourced from Subaru (the old bumpers had been blown over a couple of times by the main dealer as a tidy up and Greg wasn't happy with the quality of primer used and advised me to start again if i didn't want his paint lifting in a couple of years time).Looking at the way the previus paint was cracking and lifting from car park dings it was a good call).
Lift dents and car park dings around the whole car
Touch in stone chips
Paint roof
Refurbish wheels
Mop and polish.
I am very pleased with the job he did and had a lovely blast driving back down the M40 in the sun today with the car performing
as it should ;-)
I got to know Greg when he was recommended to me by MRC Audi to do some bodywork on my RS6.
After a lot of research (i like researching people in the motortrade before i use them) i learned he was
well known on the VW show scene before moving onto Audi's and then again to Porsche.
He did a brilliant job on my Audi and while up at his place i got a feel for the first class restoration work he does on
Porsche and his attention to detail and passion for the job.
I decided the Scooby needed some body work love after being a London car it's whole life - people seem to find their place
in a parking spot by bumping into the car infront and behind.So the bumpers needed refreshing and lots of little
stone chips and general wear and tear of 17 years use needed attention.
Greg advised me against doing a full respray at this stage as he said the paint was pretty good and he made a very
important comment- "If you end up spraying the whole car you will feel it is too precious to drive it or park it anywhere".
As this car is my daily when the weather isn't great or i have to park somewhere a bit dodgy i didnt want to start seeing the
car as something that i didn't want to drive so i stuck with his advise on what to do which was
New Bumpers sourced from Subaru (the old bumpers had been blown over a couple of times by the main dealer as a tidy up and Greg wasn't happy with the quality of primer used and advised me to start again if i didn't want his paint lifting in a couple of years time).Looking at the way the previus paint was cracking and lifting from car park dings it was a good call).
Lift dents and car park dings around the whole car
Touch in stone chips
Paint roof
Refurbish wheels
Mop and polish.
I am very pleased with the job he did and had a lovely blast driving back down the M40 in the sun today with the car performing
as it should ;-)
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 9th April 20:29
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 9th April 20:33
Edited by Carlson W6 on Monday 1st February 13:22
UPDATE
Where to start.....
I noticed in the Autumn last year that one of the rear shocks was banging over bumps. It was the near side.
Having done a fair bit of research over the years on my car, and how rare they were getting i already knew
this was going to be a problem from posts i had read on the scooby forum.
This issue is that i had specced the car with the Prodrive tarmac rally spec WR suspension package. This was
one of the best decisions i had made, because it transformed the standard impreza Turbo default setting which is understeer on the limit, into a weapon which oversteered when the limit was crossed. To be fair i can count the number of times it has broken grip on one hand, because the car really is planted. However, the other byproduct of the decision was the most compliant, yet sporty suspension set up i have driven.
The Bilstein derived prodrive suspension really instilled confidence on any UK roads, but really shines on bumpy damp B roads.
Anyway, this suspension was now unavailable. I phoned Prodrive but although helpful to an extent they were quite matter of fact telling me they no longer supported Subaru and had moved onto other things. They could not advise me where i could find any spares.
I devoured threads on the scooby forum, trying to decide whether to put on some coil overs. The problem was that no one *really* gave any of the coil overs good reviews on the road. People seemed to like them on track, but the very place where my car excelled, UK 'B' roads, i seemed to read nothing but negativity regarding all the different brands of coil overs.
I am also aware that the WR Prodrive Bilstein package was a really important part of my cars reputation
and potential value.
I phoned many different Subaru suspension independent specialists and none really seemed confident on fitting something that would rival the Bilsteins, which they all knew about. When i said i wanted something progressive and compliant for B road blasting none really seemed prepared to commit.
It was at this point the MOT on the car was running out, so i decided to take the car to the fantastic Ken Paterson at Bell & Colville and try to reach some sort of plan with him.
Ken tried to find a NS WR Bilstein shock on the second hand market but failed to do so. He was loathe to remove the shock and send it to Bilstein for refreshing because my car would take up well needed space in the workshop, and apparently refreshes at Bilstein can be somewhat longer than the quoted times.
After much head scratching, i managed, by chance to find a chap called Peter Cambridge who runs a company called PCA Dynamics. Peter worked at Prodrive, and was one of the people involved in the design and development of the WR Prodrive Bilstein suspension package.
I had a long and fruitful conversation with Peter who gave me different options, within different budget ranges to sort out the issue. I have chosen to take the most thorough route-
Ken at Bell and Colville has removed the whole Bilstein suspension package and is sending it to Bilstein. Peter Cambridge is project managing the refresh/rebuild of the whole package with the service department at Bilstein on my behalf to make sure this quite unique set up is reworked to its original specification.
This will take some time, so i have decided to keep the car on the road by having Bell & Colville fit a set of 'Pedders' replacement suspension for the Classic Impreza. This kit is reasonably cost effective and has had good reviews on the forums from people who feel it is less 'crashy' and stiff than coil overs (KW or BC). The Pedders kit will stay installed for a a good few months while Bilstein bring back the originals to new specification.
This route is certainly the most expensive one to take, and there were many other routes available (the most cost effective would have been installing a secondhand OE Impreza turbo shock on the NSR of the car and having Bilstein only refresh the shock that was broken).
The reason i have taken the expensive option is primarily because this suspension is unique, and it is now 18 years old. I feel only refreshing one corner would have been, how can i put this, cutting corners......
Secondarily, i want to enjoy the car for the next few months. I have kept it so i can enjoy it, so driving it gingerly around with a OE shock on one corner, and Bisteins on the other three corners is not why i have kept the car. By the same token, taking the car off the road for a few months while waiting for Bilstein to complete the work was another option i did not want to take. As it is, putting the Pedders kit on the car means i can continue to enjoy it while waiting for Bilstein to work their magic.
On other news, the car was due a 7500 mile service (although it only covered 1500 miles last year...) After much discussion with Ken, with us both studying the service history, we felt that it was time to change the cambelt. This was depsite the fact that i have got nowhere near the recommend mileage since the last change which was in 2010 at 52,619 miles.
The car has now covered 67,585 miles and while the cambelt was being changed the hydraulic tensioner belt and alternator belt were also changed. A new battery was fitted.
The car never drinks any oil between services (it has never needed a top up) and has had another 4.5 litres of Valvoline Xtreme added, which is what Bell & Colville recommend nowadays. It has never had any mineral oil from the first service, always fully synthetic.
I also asked Ken to have the technician carry out the wax underbody treatment we do every year on it.
The car passed its MOT with flying colours and it was time to pay the bill.
The cost of my choices to keep an old Subaru in tip top condition was in excess of what one can buy old Impreza Turbo Classic for these days.
But, it is a labour of love and while paymment was painful, within 2 miles of leaving the garage as i
boosted through the back lanes of East Horley, through Ockham, towards Ripley then opened it up on the A3 slip road i realised it is worth it. There are very few cars that make your b*ollocks tingle like a Classic Impreza on full boost through the bends.
Where to start.....
I noticed in the Autumn last year that one of the rear shocks was banging over bumps. It was the near side.
Having done a fair bit of research over the years on my car, and how rare they were getting i already knew
this was going to be a problem from posts i had read on the scooby forum.
This issue is that i had specced the car with the Prodrive tarmac rally spec WR suspension package. This was
one of the best decisions i had made, because it transformed the standard impreza Turbo default setting which is understeer on the limit, into a weapon which oversteered when the limit was crossed. To be fair i can count the number of times it has broken grip on one hand, because the car really is planted. However, the other byproduct of the decision was the most compliant, yet sporty suspension set up i have driven.
The Bilstein derived prodrive suspension really instilled confidence on any UK roads, but really shines on bumpy damp B roads.
Anyway, this suspension was now unavailable. I phoned Prodrive but although helpful to an extent they were quite matter of fact telling me they no longer supported Subaru and had moved onto other things. They could not advise me where i could find any spares.
I devoured threads on the scooby forum, trying to decide whether to put on some coil overs. The problem was that no one *really* gave any of the coil overs good reviews on the road. People seemed to like them on track, but the very place where my car excelled, UK 'B' roads, i seemed to read nothing but negativity regarding all the different brands of coil overs.
I am also aware that the WR Prodrive Bilstein package was a really important part of my cars reputation
and potential value.
I phoned many different Subaru suspension independent specialists and none really seemed confident on fitting something that would rival the Bilsteins, which they all knew about. When i said i wanted something progressive and compliant for B road blasting none really seemed prepared to commit.
It was at this point the MOT on the car was running out, so i decided to take the car to the fantastic Ken Paterson at Bell & Colville and try to reach some sort of plan with him.
Ken tried to find a NS WR Bilstein shock on the second hand market but failed to do so. He was loathe to remove the shock and send it to Bilstein for refreshing because my car would take up well needed space in the workshop, and apparently refreshes at Bilstein can be somewhat longer than the quoted times.
After much head scratching, i managed, by chance to find a chap called Peter Cambridge who runs a company called PCA Dynamics. Peter worked at Prodrive, and was one of the people involved in the design and development of the WR Prodrive Bilstein suspension package.
I had a long and fruitful conversation with Peter who gave me different options, within different budget ranges to sort out the issue. I have chosen to take the most thorough route-
Ken at Bell and Colville has removed the whole Bilstein suspension package and is sending it to Bilstein. Peter Cambridge is project managing the refresh/rebuild of the whole package with the service department at Bilstein on my behalf to make sure this quite unique set up is reworked to its original specification.
This will take some time, so i have decided to keep the car on the road by having Bell & Colville fit a set of 'Pedders' replacement suspension for the Classic Impreza. This kit is reasonably cost effective and has had good reviews on the forums from people who feel it is less 'crashy' and stiff than coil overs (KW or BC). The Pedders kit will stay installed for a a good few months while Bilstein bring back the originals to new specification.
This route is certainly the most expensive one to take, and there were many other routes available (the most cost effective would have been installing a secondhand OE Impreza turbo shock on the NSR of the car and having Bilstein only refresh the shock that was broken).
The reason i have taken the expensive option is primarily because this suspension is unique, and it is now 18 years old. I feel only refreshing one corner would have been, how can i put this, cutting corners......
Secondarily, i want to enjoy the car for the next few months. I have kept it so i can enjoy it, so driving it gingerly around with a OE shock on one corner, and Bisteins on the other three corners is not why i have kept the car. By the same token, taking the car off the road for a few months while waiting for Bilstein to complete the work was another option i did not want to take. As it is, putting the Pedders kit on the car means i can continue to enjoy it while waiting for Bilstein to work their magic.
On other news, the car was due a 7500 mile service (although it only covered 1500 miles last year...) After much discussion with Ken, with us both studying the service history, we felt that it was time to change the cambelt. This was depsite the fact that i have got nowhere near the recommend mileage since the last change which was in 2010 at 52,619 miles.
The car has now covered 67,585 miles and while the cambelt was being changed the hydraulic tensioner belt and alternator belt were also changed. A new battery was fitted.
The car never drinks any oil between services (it has never needed a top up) and has had another 4.5 litres of Valvoline Xtreme added, which is what Bell & Colville recommend nowadays. It has never had any mineral oil from the first service, always fully synthetic.
I also asked Ken to have the technician carry out the wax underbody treatment we do every year on it.
The car passed its MOT with flying colours and it was time to pay the bill.
The cost of my choices to keep an old Subaru in tip top condition was in excess of what one can buy old Impreza Turbo Classic for these days.
But, it is a labour of love and while paymment was painful, within 2 miles of leaving the garage as i
boosted through the back lanes of East Horley, through Ockham, towards Ripley then opened it up on the A3 slip road i realised it is worth it. There are very few cars that make your b*ollocks tingle like a Classic Impreza on full boost through the bends.
Edited by Carlson W6 on Friday 16th February 17:05
Edited by Carlson W6 on Friday 16th February 17:31
Decided the WR needed a nice spruce up after all that time at the garage waiting for the suspension decision to be made.
Peter Cambridge also contacted me to ask if I wanted Bilstein to repaint the shocks they are refreshing, which of course I said yes to.
Design by Detail did a great job.
Peter Cambridge also contacted me to ask if I wanted Bilstein to repaint the shocks they are refreshing, which of course I said yes to.
Design by Detail did a great job.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff