I am thinking of changing the Impreza for a legacy B4. Anyone here have one and what are your are your opinions on them. Are they easy to modify, are they as quick and thirsty as the impreza. I can get my hands on one with only 5000kms and in excellent condition for 28000 euros. What sort of money are they fetching in the UK?

Cheers

Alan

 

So many Q's

You could class them as a grown up Impreza, i.e. all the creature comforts, but still deceptively fast.

They're just as thirsty.

Mods, are not as simple as the impreza. Never decat the primary, secondary decat will require boost controller.
Suspension, brakes, etc not a problem.

Seek good advice before modding.

Good place to go for Q&A is 'legacyb4', yahoo groups, dedicated TT site.

Mark

 

other considerations

insurance usually higher than wrx
lack of qualified servicing/repair garages in Ireland

otherwise nothing I could possibly think of

most desireable are latest revision D cars - changed to denso sensors and ecu from JECS + revised suspension.

vastly varying spec ranging from poverty spec with no spoilers and cloth interior through to full leather, macintosh audio etc.

imho the 5 speed manual is far more desireable than the tiptronic

Paul W

 

This one has the macintosh(are they any good) sounds 1/2 leather red calipers, bilstien badge on the back, 5 speed manual, and is immaculate. I wouldn't worry about people to work on the car as there are plenty of companies that know what they are doing with scoobs if you know where to look.

I am taking a test drive tomorrow and will post my comments afterwards.

Cheers

Alan

 

Ref: Macintosh

This is one of the best makes in the world.

 

Those cars have Bilsteins as standard, so at least u're getting some premium brand stuff there. The Mclintosh means u're getting one of the best OEM systems available out there.

 

The red calipers (22b style) are a common upgrade in japan and the bilstein badge is a bit of personalisation by the previous owner as only the GT/Bs get the badge (though all B4s have the bilstein dampers)
You will be able to tell the revision from the engine plate on passenger side strut tower - BE5 then - A B C or D according to age

as in: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...is%20codes.jpg

C and D are preferable to earlier versions. You can also tell these by the fact they have the electro luminescent instruments rather than traditional clock style dash.

D revision for that much money is a good buy - just remember to join the legacyb4 discussion on yahoo groups for all the trainspotter info you could wish for.

Paul W

 

Paul,

I thought the B4 had those Lexus-type instruments since day 1 (i.e. model A). I remember the demo car I test drove back in 1999 had them, & the salesman specifically pointed that out to me.
Those red 4-pot calipers are now available as an option in Japan.

 

Took it out for a spin today, didn't get very far as the salesman forgot to put his trade plates on the car and we were pulled over by Customs & Excise! The car has not been registered here yet and they were going to take it from him for driving it on the public highway without proper paperwork and duty paid. He got one of his men to drive up with his trade plates and log book and convinced them not to take it.

Anyway, the small time that I had driving it I noticed a few things. The car only comes alive after 4500rpm and has a serious kick all the way to 7500. Is that normal for the turbo(s) to kick in so late? Also the engine seemed a bit lumpy, there was hardly any petrol in it and god knows what octane fuel was put in so i am putting it down to bad fuel. I am going to bring it to a mechanic who looks after a coule of WRC cars for him to have a look at sometime this week, if all is right I should joining the B4 club soon.

Cheers

Alan

 

In low speeds, the car is deceptively quick as it is quite quiet. The big turbo cuts in at around 4500rpm, that's y it felt alive after that.
There's the infamous Valley-of-Death that plagues the twin-turbo cars, basically there's a gap between phasing in the 2nd turbo & phasing out the 1st turbo.

 

I am gonna kill Paul Hansen - lately of Apexjapan.com (if anyone wants to help me ) - for coining that VOD term m8, you'll learn to drive around it, but some never get used to the Jeckyl and Hyde nature of the beast. As Clarence says, the punch lower down is deceptive because it does not scream at you, which IMHO is one of the very nice things about the TTs.

Seriously tho - find which version you've got there. Experience has shown us in Japan that the A, B, C versions - which have a 90mm intake - seem to go harder up top than the D rev with the 76mm jobby. On the other hand, the Ds have more torque down low and get going earlier (+ Ds have taller gearing that makes for better fuel economy)

Then, as pwebb mentioned, there are the many chassis improvements introduced on the D rev that are worth keeping in mind.