Ok folks, maybe an obvious question but would appreciate your thoughts.
Had an MY00 Turbo as a company car and its due up in approx 4 months. I can buy it of the leasing company for 11k which seems like a great price. Should I buy it ?
Why such a stupid question....well let me explain. I've just been in an RB5, for sale at 18k. Wow, suddenly my standard turbo seems slow. Now I could buy my turbo and then put the Prodrive stuff on, but this will end up costing me 15.5k total which isn't that far off the RB5.
So, does anyone have experience of the prodrive stuff added to a standard turbo. Does it bring the car up to RB5 perf (considering both the suspension and engine work) ? Is 11k a good price for a MY00 40k mile turbo ?
Your thoughts please folks.

 

I dont know much about the Prodrive addons you mention, but i do own an RB5. I bought it two months ago and i love it. I like the fact that it is a limited edition and only 444 were made! Add to that the colour (not to everyones liking), the wheels and interior and you got a special car. Im not saying that other subaru's arent as nice, all im saying is that i like individuality

Gav

 

I would buy yours.... you know how its been driven, the Prodrive performace pack is around £1650 and will give you the same power...... if your looking at £18500 for the RB5, why not stretch to £20995 and buy a brand new Sti from motorpoint.co.uk

 

I think it's a good price. Assuming u had it from new I'd say stick with that - you know it was run in well and has been treated right. (On the other hand if you've always treated it as a company car, razzed it from cold and used the cheapest oil then leave it alone!)
With regards to bringing it up to RB5 spec..all you need is the PPP (£1600) , some 17" wheels (£1000) , quickshift (£200?) and the alignment looked at (£100). Big spoiler is nice, but not essential. So thats £13,900 as opposed to £18,000 for a car whose history you know.
All IMHO!
Chuck

 

Cheers for the feedback guys. How about other similar mods to the prodrive kit ? I'm a bit out of touch on what is around but seeing a lot of talk about a tek2 kit. What is this ? Where can I get info on it ? Always a bit wary of after market mods which aren't approved.

 

Have a look on www.ecutek.com The Tek 2 outperforms the PPP. I sold my PPP to get a Tek 3 but I am clearly biased. The PPP was just too tame IMHO - had it on my MY00 - a Dawes (£35) and a fuel cut defender (£5) performed better, however, the Ecutek solution is better still and much smoother. If I were you I would buy a good STi 5 with some nice carefully chosen mods on it and get it remapped if it has not already had it done. This is what I would do again.

 

Get a decat exhaust, or as John says a Tek2/3 Ecu, probably more power / torque too.

PPP is pretty **** for all the money, although it is warranty approved and very well developed.

MB

 

Bear in mind that the RB5 is a standard car with some limited edition bits. It's the RB5WR that has the PPP.

Matt

 

The only real differences between an RB5 WR and your standard turbo are the PPP and 17'' wheels - i.e. not a lot!!

 

I am sure someone said recently that the RB5 has an WRX STI shell rather than a UK shell ie no folding rear seats and better rear rigidity but like I said just something I read. Didnt it have air con and quickshift as well ???

 

mmm...interesting feedback.

I've read a lot of posts about the decat and most of them seem to have a problem with burning oil which worries me a bit. What is it worth in perf over standard ?

The RB5 I drove had way stiffer suspension than my standard turbo. It did have the 17" rims but they would only account for some of the additional stiffness and crashiness. Also was noticably lower than standard turbo. Presumably had the prodrive suspension kit.

Sounds like the tek2 would be worth considering. Not sure about the decat based on the posts i've seen (can someone convince me otherwise / explain why so many seem to have this oil burning problem after going decat). Certainly reckon i'll buy my standard turbo as too good a price not to. Will then do some work on it.

 

Most people don't have a problem with decats.

 

I run full De-cat, no problems. The best thing I've done to the car.

MY99 UK Turbo

 

Had a MY00 Turbo as a company car as well, that went back last Thursday Had it from new and knew the history, but they wanted to much for it (17k 35k miles 16 months old Picked up a RB5 WRsport today and am loving it mate I loved my MY00, but fancy the RB5 more. There were 144 ish WRsport made

Don't waste your money on a PPP, they are crap IMHO. Fit a Dawes, for a cheap power increase, or have a ECUTEK remap My MY00 with a Dawes would keep up with the RB5 WR (PPP) and they were perfectly matched in speed. The RB5 feels much torquer, and the MY00 more turbo'y (if you uderstand that) Once my warranty has expired (Oct 2002) it's the ECUTEK 3 for me

Oh, and I would buy the Turbo anyway and sell at a profit, sounds a little cheap to me

Cheers Phill C

 

An RB5 has a little more than 17" and a PPP.

See http://www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm#1.2

Lifted from SIDC page :-

RB5
To celebrate Richard Burns' first year in the Subaru World Rally Team, the RB5 (5 was the number Richard used during the 1999 WRC championship) was launched to critical acclaim by the press. 444 examples of this car were made available to the general public. A "WR Sport" version of the car was available at extra cost, specified at delivery time by the first owner.

Blue Steel metallic paintwork
Fully colour-coded exterior (mirrors, door handles, skirts and driving lamp covers)
Blue 'Alcantara' and suede-effect interior trim, with black 'jersey' surround on seats
Special graphite trim for the centre console
Air conditioning
Unique titanium/pewter coloured 17in, 6 spoke Speedline alloy wheels with Pirelli 'P Zero' 205/45 ZR17 tyres
PIAA front driving light conversion
Prodrive quickshift
Roof-mounted map reading lamps
RB5 side and rear decals (and also on driving light covers)
RB5 embossed carpet mats
RB5 interior-mounted, numbered plaque "Limited Edition" only 444 availabl
On the road price: £24,995

WR Sport Performance Package

Prodrive High wing (similar to the new STi 5 but with the brake light on the wing rather than boot lid)
Prodrive Performance pack, consiting of Prodrive ECU, exhaust and revised intercooler piping.
On the road price: £27,500

Prodrive WR Sport
Take the standard Impreza Turbo from new and add the full Prodrive interior treatment, suspension package, body kit, wheels with exclusive WR interior and exterior badging (engine upgrade not compulsory) and an official World Rally Sport limited edition of the Impreza Turbo is yours (for £30,000).

Hope this helps, cheers Phill C

PS Mine has standard suspension, but Pro-drive camber settings as standard

 

The thing that stood out for me when I drove the RB5 was the mid-range torque. Now there were probably some more subtle things going on which made it feel faster - lower, stiffer etc. Nevertheless it definitely had more mid-range grunt that the standard turbo and it also sounded lovely.

Again, apologies folks, but what is this Dawes piece of kit ?

So i'm after the mid-range grunt I felt in the RB5, its meaty sound and, if I can get it, a bit more at the top end, ie running a bit more freely up beyond 5500 where the normal turbo is beginning to run out of puff. Is the tek2 and/or dawes (once I understand what it is :-) ) going to give me this ? Whilst the PPP is expensive it should give me exactly what the RB5 has, including that sweet sound from the stainless exhaust.

I note that the PPP includes uprated intercooler pipes, presumably to handle increased boost ? Does the tek2 increase the boost and do the standard pipes need replacing with this ? The tek2 site talks about it being suitable for mildly mod'd cars - what kind of 'mild mods' are they talking about ?

As you can tell i've been out of the frame for a while and have got a bit of catching up to do :-)

Thanks for all your responses so far

 

The thing that stood out for me when I drove the RB5 was the mid-range torque. Now there were probably some more subtle things going on which made it feel faster - lower, stiffer etc. Nevertheless it definitely had more mid-range grunt that the standard turbo and it also sounded lovely.

Again, apologies folks, but what is this Dawes piece of kit ?

So i'm after the mid-range grunt I felt in the RB5, its meaty sound and, if I can get it, a bit more at the top end, ie running a bit more freely up beyond 5500 where the normal turbo is beginning to run out of puff. Is the tek2 and/or dawes (once I understand what it is :-) ) going to give me this ? Whilst the PPP is expensive it should give me exactly what the RB5 has, including that sweet sound from the stainless exhaust.

I note that the PPP includes uprated intercooler pipes, presumably to handle increased boost ? Does the tek2 increase the boost and do the standard pipes need replacing with this ? The tek2 site talks about it being suitable for mildly mod'd cars - what kind of 'mild mods' are they talking about ?

As you can tell i've been out of the frame for a while and have got a bit of catching up to do :-)

Thanks for all your responses so far

 

oops

 

Intercooler hoses are a good idea and not expensive. A Tek 2 will give that smooth torquey feeling of the PPP and then some with a suitable exhaust.

 

I agree with Chuckster. If you liked the RB5, then stick with the Prodrive stuff. Sounds like a good deal. Don't forget the suspension (around £600 I think from Prodrive). I'm sure you could think of ways to spend the money you save from not buying the RB5, eg. extended warranty.

ps I'm running an MY00 with PPP + suspension upgrade, but only 16''s...for now. Plus, I'm new to all this, so not the most knowledgeable.

 

Nichop,Really???? I've never heard that before There is no reason why a decat should induce oil consumption (IMHO) and of all the many people I know with full decats, this is not something any of them have experienced

Slowboy, the PPP suspension is £1200 for non-adujstable Bilsteins with Eibachs (not the Pro Kit Eibachs you can buy aftermarket). This combo is good but not £1200 good IMHO!!! If the car's got it already then all well and good but I wouldn't buy it if I was spending £1200 on suspension.

Cheers,

Matt

[Edited by mutant_matt - 6/6/2002 8:12:56 AM]

 

Hiya Matt. Can't remember all the threads I read but certainly those that talked about burning oil seemed to also be those who had changed to a decat system and/or changed DP. My words were a bit strong though, saying that most had the problem - not true. One such thread:- http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?threadid=96634

Re Suspension, what would you buy ?

 

Nichop,

I've never heard of cars with full decats burning more oil than usual. I had a full decat on my MY00 and on the RB5 (although I only got this yesterday) and didn't notice this

Cheers Phill C

 

i recently bought a uk turbo 2000 which ahd a heap of Prodrive stuff ,including:

exhaust (lovely burble)
Intercooler pipework
ECU upgrade
Suspension
Brakes (huge!!!!)
Wheels( anthracite Prodrive issue Superleggra 17")

what a difference...at least 35 bhp over the standard. mid range torque much stronger.

still get my *** whipped by evo 6's though.....

id go for the PPP everytime...and twice on sunday

 

PPP keeps your warranty intact.

 

Nichop,

Just to add another voice about the de-cat thing, and hopefully set your mind at rest, I've also read a few posts from people with oil related issues. It sounds very much like the oil issues are not related to the de-cat, simply that when the cat was in place it was catching the oil and masking the problem. Literally hundreds and probably thousands on here have de-cat and no problems.

Mike

 

Mutant_matt,

I did't realise there was a PPP suspension option. Thought PPP was 'Prodrive Performance Pack', which only covers ECU, ducting, and exhaust. As a separate option don't Prodrive offer uprated suspension consisting of Eibachs + Bilsteins, which the dealer told me cost around £600? This is what I think I have. I noticed my dampers are also labelled with the Prodrive logo and STi. Is this the same as the Sports Suspension Kit that you can buy as a dealer option for the new shape, which is priced £700 in the accessories list? Thanks for the advice.

 

Just to say interesting reading for me as I had my first drive of an Impreza the other day (year 2000 model classic shape) and found it a brilliant car, but noticeably slower than my tweaked Ibiza Cupra. Brakes were not as good either.
The Scooby bug has definitely bitten me though, so I'm currently weighing up whether it would be best to go for a ready PPP'd UK Scooby, or an STi 5 of similar vintage. Presumably the STi will be dearer to insure and Subaru dealers won't want to touch it. I'm hoping 245bhp will be enough in that case.

 

Wow, that must be one tweaked Cupra!

 

It is, similar type of mods to the PPP actually, i.e. chip, revised turbo intake pipe and stainless exhaust. Does the job though, over 200bhp, lightweight and less transmission losses mean its got bloody superb in gear acceleration (once its rolling). Even the salesman agreed.