Yeah it looks pretty mint and in good condition

Just worried me a little having it red...thought it may have been out....as far as it goes with the Cosworth bits, worst case scenario that means that the head gasket is Cosworth?

Appreciate the help again and looking forward to joining the Subaru side of life

 

Certainly looks lovely (same colour as mine) and interesting to see that the dealer has other Impreza's on his forecourt.

Bit expensive for a UK model though and I wonder why it has Cosworth stickers - I doubt it has been forged. I would want a full warranty on any 2.5 litre Impreza.

 

So if he offers one to buy shall i do it?

 

Cosworth gaskets would be the best case scenario.

Worst case scenario would be that someone has bought Cosworth stickers off ebay and nothing more! See if you can find some forum history on the car, maybe contact a previous owner and discuss the mods it has / hasnt had.

 

okay just gave the chap a call and he believes that the engine isn't forged however thinks that there may be a part on the engine which is cosworth and just came with the decal.... he said he will find out everything tomorrow

 

Looks like a clean car but then they clearly know how to actually 'clean' a car for sale too.

In their ad they say it has 'HAD A TOP RE-MAP TO DELIVER SMOOTH YET AGGRESSIVE POWER!!' If that is the case then it is no longer a PPP car because the PPP is a soft(ish) re-mapped ECU to 316bhp iirc (correct me here guys), uprated fuel pump and some silicone hosing.

You really want to know who did the mapping as they will be able to tell you a lot more about the car, the mods on it and crucially what kind of map they've given it (especially important come re-sale!). If not you'd be very unwise to run it on anything other than Shell V-Max..... you should anyway but if it was mapped on it then it will do the internals no favours if it starts supping on 95.

Well worth digging on here to see if anyone knows it.

Mileage is good but without further info it is over price. The fact they are genuine WR1 wheels with half decent tyres makes me suspect its been cared for.... going that extra mile on the wheels when aftermarket fakes are easy to get etc shows at least one prior owner was willing to spend good money.

With that in mind the wheels, the mapping claims and the exhaust suggest the previous owner(s) enjoyed driving it (don't we all!)... and at 50k on 340bhp that means time for a new uprated clutch to take the power soon.

Exhaust is a possible question too. If it is on proven 340bhp on stock internals/turbo then it'll probably be on a full de-cat system so come MOT time you might hit trouble on emmisions (unless you have a friendly tester with bad probe aim ). You can actually get pulled roadside for this too if it is really loud (which it will be if it is de-cat and especially if it is a 3" decat!).

So yes if all those variables are not over major concern (and they may well not be issues at all) then well worth looking at I'd say.

If they can't give details on any of the above but it still feels a tight car to drive (not showing HG signs etc of course) it'd still be worth an offer. They sell Imprezas a lot so knock them pretty hard on every one of those points.

Worse case you have a car at the higher end of its safe power range for stock internals that may well need a new clutch soon. Best case is its a well mapped, well cared for car thats had some cosworth internals put in. If that meant HG's and pistons it'd be worth asking price but with no proof the cosworth adds £5 for stickers.

Look forward to seeing how you get on!

 

https://www.scoobynet.com/subaru-444...ine-miles.html

Boom.... found.

 

Hi Dewey, I agree with most of what you said above. Good advice. Only a couple of notes:

Quite possibly. However I'm on 62k now with 340bhp & 381lb/ft and still going strong on the standard subaru clutch. Can be lucky but best to budget for replacement clutch just in case.

My above figures are on a sports CAT that passas MOT as Subaru main dealer every year!

 

Agreed, my Blob STi is on 80,000 miles, 330bhp and 340lb/ft with the original clutch.

Also have a sports CAT which passes the MOT just fine. In fact the Prodrive CAT which this should should have are usually the best CATs on the market and a MOT pass.

 

okay so the clutch hasn't been replaced. engine gasket is cosworth and they are unsure of where the remap is

 

That's pretty decent knowledge from a dealer. I think your best bet to find out more is to PM the prior owner and the other guy who replied to his sales thread saying he knew the car via a mate.

For the moment you have to assume it hasn't had anything more than the gaskets replaced - I don't know on the 2.5 if it also really should get new pistons either, but something to research.

 

Strangely i found that one too yesterday evening - interesting to see that the car has held its value over the past few years...

 

okay well he is now private messaged

 

I wouldn't even assume that gaskets have been replaced until I saw a receipt or evidence to that effect.

 

okay good point - the guy says that he has receipts of everything including exhaust, head gaskets, them being diamond cut etc

Very much appreciate all this help

 

[QUOTE=theo289;11401350]okay guys so now going to view this car (little drive from Bristol)

http://www.grahamwalkerltd.co.uk/sub...hester-3578430

O.k so compared to a lot of people on this site I don't know a lot.I have been reading what everyone has to say and done a lot of my own research and from what I can see .The 2.5 is best in standard form and the 2.0 is better for tuning. There does seem to be some exception to this rule if you know what your doing.To add to that if its your first
subaru you will think that 280bhp is a lot then you can go more if you like at a later date.To go straight to 340+ you will be missing one of the run's of the ladder and may even be happy at 280bhp.I am not sure I would take the risk of someone else messing about for the sake of 340bhp.This can be achieved for not a lot of money relative to the price of it going bang plus the fact your paying for the mods in the sale.

 

Sounds good! I was happy with my WRX when it was new and standard at theoretically 220bhp (tested 253bhp). Loved it. Then modded it all at once a few years ion to current power levels.

Just enjoy it. They are great fun!

 

Tbh both should have been decent engines and if Subaru hadn't made a few mistakes with the 2.5 litre it would be slightly better for tuning. As it is the 2.0 litre engine is more robust both for everyday driving and for tuning.

To go to 340 bhp was simply a case of a new fuel pump, new CAT and a slightly different map. Even Subaru offered it as an option on the Prodrive (PPP) cars and it will have no effect on reliability.

The 2.0 litre (with a bigger turbo) is good for 450 bhp with no issues and 340 bhp is well in it's comfort zone.

Fortunately the running gear and gear boxes on these cars are very strong, as in can run 600bhp+ without a problem.

Compare that to say a Ford Focus ST where virtually everything has to be replaced once you start upping the power and you realise how tough Imprezas are.

 

When you visit the dealer have a look at this too:

http://www.grahamwalkerltd.co.uk/sub...hester-3568076

 

All good advice and yes as others mention the sports cat is in many ways the ideal scenario if it has one as you can safely know that you'll have good performance without MOT issues. I had mine on my last Scooby (PPP WRX) and it passed first time every time.

Likewise yes the stock clutch on an STi can take some 'well used' power but of course you'll be able tell how much you've got left when you get in and drive it.
When I had my HG fixed I got them to do the clutch as weel. With the engine already out it labour was next to nothing so you may even find they did that.

If it has reciepts for the HG work etc then I think you are onto a winner. Just that mapping question now.

Values of good mileage Scoobs (especially STi's) have risen a fair bit in the last 6 months it seems. Lots being broken rather than repaired (especially Hawk 2.5's with HG failure) and the slightly softer nature of newer spec cars have helped this IMO. Good news for us all!

 

That would be the one I would go for, depending when it was registered Might even be a couple of hundred quid a year cheaper on road tax too.

 

well going to test drive it Thursday as the garage isn't open Friday so will have an update hopefully Thursday evening for you all. and hopefully looking forward to joining the dark side

appreciate everyones help on this

anyone going to japfest too?

 

Hi All,

Just to update the post i ended up purchasing the Subaru WRX STI Crystal Grey from Graham Walkers in Chester - absolutely lovely drive, no knocks rattles, little getting use to with the mpg but i think i'm blaming my right foot with this one!

Appreciate all of the help everyone offered on this post.

Look forward to getting more involved with the forum

 

Nice one! Crystal grey is the best colour, but I'm biased! Well done. Get some pics up man!

 

 

Looks lovely!

 

Love every minute of it and don't regret anything with this ..... looking forward to showing it off at Japfest

 

Theo, I knew the GB270 in question that you looked at buying. The owner pretty much isn't short of a few quid and when she put it up for sale at a stupidly low price it sold to a dealer within minutes. I contemplated buying it to make a few quid on myself. Her and her husband are extremely meticulous and there is no underlying problems with the car.

Then again, she has 2 Cosworths on the drive to choose from. Pains me when I see them as I'm sure there not run in properly, never driven on boost and I can't understand them having them.

Enjoy your car, looks lovely!

 

Did look like a beautiful car but a lot of people on here swayed me towards the 6-speed STI gearbox

Always a bit of a crying shame when you see a scooby and its just driven around at 2k revs and probably not even allowed to cool down properly

 

don't do it, I viewed this car, it had clearly not been looked after and the bodywork was horrific