my mate has driven mine and a standerd uk one and he said mine is so much better in every way. mine is a sti 98my with 307bhp so all i would say the rb5 is fine its just you are use to your car.

 

RB5 came in two flavours:
1) RB5 = 215BHP
2) RB5 WR Sport = 237 BHP and 258 lbft Torque.

 

But reliability issues, insurance and unknown histrory puts me right off.

 

Buy from a trusted importer, get it mapped for Uk fuel and it will be no worse reliability wise than a Uk car. As for insurance I pay 380 quid full comp for my import RA with mods.

 

best off sticking with your reliable, cheap, FSSH lardy new age then...you makes your choice and pays your money

 

It's the chance of buying a car that's been previously written off or clocked that puts me off an import.
KTC is a prime example.

 

buy a UK car and modify it...its fun, honest

who\what is KTC?

 

If I were to have one car then it would be the new age. Not that my classic isn't stonkingly good fun with its Simtek ECU remap, and ludicrous decat flames, but it just isn't as good as the instant torque curve in my SpecD. However, I feel like a kid/hooligan in the classic which is half the appeal

 

I think I will do.

Full decat
Uprated fuel pump
Ecutek remap

This should give me a big grin.

Keighley Trade Centre

 

not meant as a dig, but yeah while it'll be a grin over a std UK, it'll give you 280ish bhp? and like i posted earlier this won't be anywhere near enough to compare to a type uk sti, let alone your modded one.

just my thoughts having been down the exact same road myself. if you're doing it to free up some funds then fair play, but if you're doing it to go quicker forget it. you'll be spending loads before you get up to the real world travelling speed of your sti.

 

guys/girls help the fella out, post some links to reputable importers with examples, should at least give Bob r some options then.

I think the RB5 is a great car, in my favourite colour and I almost got one but after test driving a couple of RA's I made my choice.

My car is virtually standard and so far has been and not missed a beat. The bodywork stuff getting done is my own fault otherwise the car was immaculate when I got and still has only 29k on the clock with stacks of jap paperwork and history.

It's a risk for sure, I always have a niggling doubt about the car's history but I have taken the steps to check the car inside out, do a few mods/upgrades like 4 pot subaru brakes up front and this has helped me get climatised to the car.

Touch wood once it's been in and out of the body shop it will be true concours condition - how I like my car's to be.

 

Ahh, was never able to pull away from my WRX bugeye SIGNIFICANTLY.

BUT it still pulled away!

Only joking, just adding a bit of humour. These posts tend to get into a classic vs newage war almost immediately.

 

As I posted what seems like weeks ago, 281bhp in a classic is the same power to weight ratio as a 340bhp newage.

So not sure exactly what you are on about here?

And what you said earlier about handling etc., we are entitled to our own opinions but I will stick to my 200kgs+ lighter classic.

This thread has gone on way longer than it should have.

 

Quite, a bit of banter is good, and the extra weight of a new age can always be offset by adding more power

BUT thats the point, weight isn't good for performance or handling (ask Lotus) You'll need less bhp in a classic to achieve a given level of performance, and the classic will always feel more nimble, that's just basic physics. A new age may well corner quicker, it benefits from a better set up, but that's not the same as handling. Also, just as a new age can have its power upgraded to offset the extra weight, a classic can have its suspension upgraded to a more sophisticated set up e.g. a type 25 upgrade.

 

At the age most of these cars are now, you can only really go on overall appearance and general mechanical condition.

Do the checks. Check the shutlines, alignment of the wings, inside the boot under the carpet, along the sills. Check the numbers tally and try to figure if the interior reflects the use/mileage.

Top tip is take a knowledgable mate along with you.

J.

 

you have to give newage cars their due, the chassis are stiffer, so in theory should handle better on the same spec kit...still prefer the way my classic drives though

 

I used to own a 2.5 classic uk 95,which i sold running 325bhp. i Now have a 95RA,and even in standard trim it feels as quick,being lighter and having the RA box. My RA's around the 290-300bhp mark now,and have modded the handling,and would kill my old car with standard suspension,even though it was 30bhp up.

 

Certainly improves the ride: the std ride on a WRX is superb for a performance car! EVO said it was on a par with a 911 for the ride handling balance IIRC when the new age first came out! High praise indeed!

Ns04

 

Get a classic that needs a new engine, like what I did. You have the spec you want and reliability won't be a problem. My car is running 320ish bhp with all the mods including P1 spoiler and 17" Superleggars has cost probably £7k ish.

I really don't see the point in buying an RB5 as it's basically a classic in a not very nice colour. I've had a typeR in the same colour and hated it.

There's also the tax question now with classics, mine's £185 for 12 months

 

lol, yeah it is going on a bit but hey, you've got your opinion and i've got mine

power to weight is not the definitive answer when it comes to a road car. while i agree you can't argue with the physics of it, there's alot more to a fast car than just that on it's own.

now i'd love to see the actual facts but if you could put the same driver, on the same track in both your 281 bhp classic against a 280 bhp sti (not even the 340 comparison) i know where i'd put my money to get across the line first.

i'll be the first to put my hand up if i'm way off base here and it would be great to see some figures but the nearest i can find is a spec c V an sti 3 at nurburgring and i've no idea if that was with the same driver (and hardly a fair comparison!)

 

Using your comparison figs my money would be on the lighter classic. I don't think there's been a massive improvement with the suspension, brakes etc to cancel out the weight difference.

Maybe it can be a test 5th gear can do, they have already shown an old Escort Cosworth is faster around a track than the newer RS Focus.

 

really? hadn't seen that. go on the cossie

so using a like for like a type uk sti would have to go up against a 260 bhp classic sti, i guess that would be an sti 1 or 2? might be worth an email to them, i'd like to see that on the telly

maybe not the brakes etc on their own but as a pacakge with all the other improvements i would think there's a good advancement there. maybe we'll never know!

 

Is this still going on.......

I don't have a 281bhp classic, thats just the amount of bhp to make the power/weight ratio the same as a 340bhp newage Sti.

I would also like to see that race as I don't think you are right

 

yup, still going you're not far short though, nice looking car

thinking out loud here, but by arguement is that say you had a JDM '99 WRX and a '99 WRX sti, both 276bhp and i think the same weight? so power to weight is the same, but you'd put money on the sti being quicker due to the technological advantage.

now what i'm saying is that power to weight aside, i'm putting my money on the technological advancements of a newage sti being a quicker car than a same powered classic.

maths has never been my strong point so i'm probably well off can't beat a bit of blind faith

 

If power to weight is the same then i think you are right, but i think the point being made by the other poster is that bigger power figures/ improved brake technology do not mean a faster car is the additonal weight is greater than the advancements. The Golf GTI is a very good example of this.

 

Here is my view on it:

I have £xxx amount to spend, I have to sell/sold my newage model so I am now looking at replacing the newage with another soooby but in my price range, one that still offers the same in performance and dirveability.

I start searching for a few models, I test drive a jap WRX, walk away impressed. Test drive an STi v6 and think wow this is good, only slightly more expensive. I test drive a UK model of some sort and still think the car is great but wonder what kind of mods I will be doing and what I expect from the car in the future.

The above is exactly what I did, I had a newage 05 STi, the generic in blue model with PPP however I never settled down with the newage, I think I was expecting something else however it was and still is a great car.

I test drove a few cars but it wasn't until I test drove my mates STi 6 that I started to change my options. The car was a fresh import so completely factory yet felt more aggressive and fun compared to my lazy newage.

After test driving an STi RA V-Limited by accident I ended up going for the ultra cool RA model.

The 05 STi was great, with PPP really pulled hard through the mid-range but low down it felt heavy and you noticed the lack of turbo at the bottom end where as with something light like the Type RA you don't notice that as the car is much more responsive.

End of the day I wanted a car that was a good base to start with, but had the right factory output at the beginning so I wouldn't be wanting more power/performance straight away. I felt the UK models, unless modified heavily wouldn't be ideal for me and I really didn't want to buy a modified version as I didn't know the modding history on the car.

Something like the RB5 would be my choice if I was after something fairly rare but well known and with character, I remember seeing Elmer's RB5 and thinking it was one of the best looking classics I had seen. However I know I will at some point track my car and will be hitting the ring at least once so wanted a car that was more thoroughbred to start with - my luck I got the best of both, one ultra rare model and colour and a serious performance animal that even in standard form makes me chuckle.

I think the above makes sense.. if doesn't blame it on the drugs!

 

The 5th gear cossie versus RS Focus was quite a good piece, shame they don't do this sort of thing more often. Maybe TopGear can take note of this rather than swanning around in £500,000 exotica or pathetic contrived stunt pieces.

I'd like to see a standard turbo, P1, 22b, stitypeR and a few new age cars around a track on 5th Gear for a be all and end all head to head.

Maybe we could organise our own, after all, among 70k members someone must be willing to give it a go.

 

Bob, dont be shy . Take mine for a spin Monday. Its not where I want it to be yet but it feels light and tight. Give you food for thought.

Still got the T5 for sale

 

type r!!!!

 

I have a totally standard WRX bugeye - and a few weeks ago I had a go in an RB5. Admittedly, it had a custom flow exhaust and a few more BHP and Belstein shocks. I promise you it felt hugely quicker, more immediate, planted and all round better sorted than my bugeye. I love the bugeye to bits but it feels a bit restrained and wafty and 'as things need replacing', I will gradually upgrade. BTW, Fulham played well.........