yip i agree wi u on that one buy a standard jdm then u no what ur getting and u can put what u want on it ursell as when u get one and mod it ursell its an amazing felling when u see it finished heres mine it got
16" speedline safari mcrae alloys
hks mushroom greenie
5" stanless hks topgear straight through exhaust
3 point sparco harness
2006 swrt decals
tommy kiara ecu


jdms are the mutts nuts and they rule nothing drives such as well as a jdm

 

I'd stick to a UK car. When I was buying my insurer all but forbade me from buying a JDM - and MY99 215bhp with decat centre section, scoobysport backbox and replacement panel filter feels, to me, every bit as quick as a mate's '96 JDM WRX - which, incidently, recently blew up on a trackday (bottom end went).

 

sorry to hear bout ya mates car but it must have been fcked cos a uk spec would not be able to touch a jdm unless seriously moded bud

 

There's a little bit of snobbery from Mr. Lewis, I see.... What a refreshing change!
Lets face it, UK cars are great and JDM cars are great, too. UK cars have better residuals and possibly cheaper insurance, but don't offer the performance or equipment of their import counterparts. I run a classic JDM, but I'm equally as enthusiastic when I meet someone with a UK car, a bugeye, blobeye or newage. They're all Imprezas, so they're OK in my book.
There we go, black and white. No more arguing.....

 

I wanted a jdm but none of them i looked at had service history until they got to the uk. If i sold the RB5 then i might take the risk on a type r if it had already had an engine rebuild...

 

Totally agree with you both 'versions' are 4 wheel drive turbo charged and a whole lot of fun to drive.

 

Whats your budget and how much do you want to spend on insurance?

These questions will narrow the advice given.

 

My MY99 JDM WRX Wagon is now on the road When in Japan I always ran it on 100 RON and since being back I've only run it Shell V-Power. Honestly speaking I've seen no more activity on the Knocklink than when in Japan so I'm a happy bunny so far.

The gearing is lower than UK spec cars, that's the only drawback I've found so far. Having to keep it at 4000 rpm to do near legal motorway speeds is a little wearisome and the fuel consumption is bound to reflect it. But then I didn't bring it back for it's fuel economy. Folding mirrors are nice to have and air-con will be cool in the summer


It all depends what you're really after. JDM's have greater spec "out of the box", both in terms of power and toys, and in general Japanese drivers have their cars serviced more regularly than in the UK. Oil changes are typically every 6000km and more frequently if you are a real enthusiast! On the other hand insurance will cost you more, fuel economy will likely suffer and if you run it on V-Power or similar, it'll cost more in running costs.

You pay your money and you take your chance.

 

what ever the pro's and con's of the uk/jdm models, one thing to think about is the body of the car! being im in the trade repairing all types of car i do find that the uk cars are normally more rusty than imports !! i presume this is because these cars dont see the weather we do in the uk .
so being the classic imprezas are not galvanised i would choose an import personally .
i hope this helps
pots

 

Gearing on Jap cars is shorter I think, so more revvy on Motorway.
UK Classic 24mph per 1000 revs in top gear.
About 4000 revs at 100mph. More relaxing if thats what you want.

Would reccommend a PPP Classic, i.e. with Prodrive additional performance ecu.
Gives car about 240 bhp, but has safety of allowing 95 ron fuel without damaging car, but 97 or above should be used.
But if the missus puts wrong fuel in ecu will automatically de tune itself.

A cat free exhaust could push this up another few (10?) bhp or so.

 

the japanese weather is very similar to ours but they don't put salt on the road (hence no undersealing on their cars).

 

at the end of the day theres pros and cons on both sides .which ever you buy you will get alot of car

 

Yes, but JDM Cars are sooooooo tacky - soooooo crappy!!

 

What will UK weather do to a non-undersealed car? Is underseal that thick gunky crap you generally find under a car or is that just mud

 

Old JDM are rust coloured piles of pooooo

 

once again a completely one sided answer that will do nothing for people wanting an honest answer.
thanks
pslewis. Why have you not answered the topic yet that is all about you???

 

Many topics are about me .... I cannot be everywhere all at once

I'll do my best to satisfy your demands, however

 

i just sold my MY00 uk turbo with full PPP running approx 240bhp and ive recently bought a MY99 JDM WRX 276bhp standard.....

and im sorry but the difference is actually astonishing... the uk turbo felt like it wasnt upto what it should be, or should i say lacked something, it felt as tho it ran out of steam before it should...

my wrx drives and delivers power exactly how i think it should, it is soooo quick compared to the uk scoob i had, the grin it puts on your face is ace! you get loads of extra goodies like climate control, foldin mirrors, lighter body panels etc etc....

seriously in my honest opinion the difference is very feelable between the two... wrx any day in my view

and thats coming from someone who luvs all scoobs, respects the uk turbo for what it is and i wasnt saying it was slow or bad in any way... just the wrx is definately quicker

just my 2pence worth

 

LOL - Classic bit of pslewis
pslewis is like back ground noise on SN

 

Like that music you hear in lifts??

Soothing and nice and twee and everyone accepts without objection?

 

Id like to draw a parallel between lift muzak and your advice Peter.....

 

pmsl yea at the end of the day we all drive impreza's no mater what kind it is they are all great cars and they have agreat rally heritage so we all love our scoobs and no one can feel what its like to drive about wi ours heads held high as telling every one else on the road to go **** ur selfs lol but i still cant stop having that posh feeling wi ma elecy folding mirrors though

 

Quick question - are all these JDM owners buying without sight of a service history ? For the Newage imports, do you get a stamped book (even if it's full of Japanese scribbles !) ?

 

Bought mine with no service history (93wrx) but my mate bought a 94 wrx and it had a full history in japanese.

 

So a service book, stamped at the relevant mileages ?

 

ive got full service history with my92 wrx RA . it is in jap mind you

 

It's obvious that UK cars are the ones to go for as this JDM owner can't spell and chaved his car up.....yeah booyyyyy

 

I don't think there's much to consider really.
Fella above said his UK with panel filter and decat downpipe was running 215 BHP, which from a well looked after WRX with similar mod's you could expect 250BHP+, more on later models. 35 BHP or more may not sound like much but its the difference between wrenching your neck off and just thinking "hmm this is quick".
My advice would be to get auto trader and test drive a few, you'll notice the difference between the 2 and after driving a WRX JDM there's no way you'd buy a UK.
Getting parts for a JDM isn't a problem as there's so many breakers out there and modifying to suit you has so many options, why start with a slower car ?

Anyone who says they can't feel the difference between UK and JDM needs sectioning.

 

Yep had it translated as well tbh i think he was lucky to get it though.

 

You DO know that those 'supposed' FSH in Japanese are actually Service Books from Mopeds ...... don't you??

Mugs and their money once again

I would demand pedigree ... and the only way you will get that for sure is from a UK car!!

But, if you like tatty crappy tacky chavvie cars .... a JDM is right up your street!