hiya im on the lookout for a classic subaru but really need advice. i was originally looking at wrx imports due to the fact they are more powerfull and i thought they were better equipped. this weekend i saw a really nice turbo2000 in the colour i want(dark blue) and it looked immaculate. especially compared to the wrx`s ive looked at. the uk interior looked a lot nicer than a wrx and it just looked a lot tidier plus its newer allthough it is a couple of grand more.
basically i would just like peoples opinions of both cars and which is better and why. i reckon there must be loads of people on here who have owned/driven both. am i right in saying uk 215bhp and wrx is 260 bhp?
cheers in advance. leon

 

Uk turbo 208-215 bhp. Wrx 240-280 depending on model year.

 

STICK TO UK AND GET A PRODRIVE KIT.
THATS WHAT I SAY

 

i own a MY98 wrx (dark blue mica) 276 bhp standard got folding mirrors,air con,colour coded
just had a major service at 52000 and cost £450 which i was pleased with!

 

You forgot the rear wiper.

 

oh yea! i got a rear wiper too

 

peachy that car sounds like just what im after but an import place in keighley told me you cant register a car newer than 1996 due to new laws or something?

 

98 UK turbo 20000 wagon, HKS full decat, K&N filter, HKS boost controller, all bought for 650 quid, rolling road tested @ g-force 270 bhp, money saved on insurance 650 quid
job done

andy

 

sounds good andy but thats after mods. imagine the bhp on peachys wrx with 280 to start with. cheers for replys everyone by the way keep em coming cos i really dont know what to do

 

Appreciated, but the insurance on mine will still be that much cheaper as my insurance company dont charge me extra for mods, all depends on what route you want to take and how much money you want to spend. Imports need to be mapped for uk fuel or run on optimax and octane booster even before you start, its worth considering a uk car, there are plenty or nice ones out there
EDIT: If it was choice between the two and money was no object then i would have the import but as i run a house and 2 cars then i have to be realistic with the running costs

andy

 

Wrx will need a remap of the ecu or atleast sul or optimax plus booster to get that power and keep the engine alive.

 

so is peachys not standard then? has that had a remap or something? was that guy right about not being able to register an import newer than 96? lol sorry for all the questions

 

Yes as standard all wrx classics after 97 are rated at 276bhp on jap fuel which is 100-102ron. UK fuel is only 98ron at best so there will be a slight decrease in power. Optimax and booster will be about 100ron so you should get near that 276. As for registering an import after 96? You can register a brand new one if you want.

 

i see but if i got say a 98 import and then had a remap would that mean i could use uk fuel and no booster and how much is a remap? the guy said that to register an import newer than 96 there had to be a british equivilant to register it as. he told me this because i asked if he could get me a newer wrx because all the ones he had were around 93 ish

 

Yes you can remap for uk fuel. Not sure on the cost, depends on the year and ecu. I have a my99 version 5 WRX. Been running it on sul or optimax & booster for 18 months with no trouble. In my opinion it feels a hell of alot quicker than a standard uk car. You should have no trouble finding a car of any age you want. There`s plenty of import dealers around.

 

how much power would i lose by mapping to uk fuel? you say yours is version 5 does that mean its an sti?

 

No its not an sti. Imports go from version 1 in 92 up to version 6 in 2000 a bit like the evo.LOL There are lots of versions of each like wrx,sti,type r,ra and so on. A remap will probally give you a slight power increase.

 

I've got a MY99 dark blue uk turbo 2000 and wouldn't part with it. Ok the bhp isn't earth shattering as standard but bit by bit I'm adding my own mods to how I want the car. I could highly recommend one and depending on how much you're looking to spend you can get a real good bargain if you shop around, I picked mine up for just over 10k and after 5 months of ownership don't regret a single penny, plus it's got plenty of scope to add mods. Good luck with whatever you get m8....

 

Have you thought about a uk rb5 limited edition as a starting point.Mine is for sale ,in the sale/ wanted section.

 

leonski - Are you anywhere near Keighley ? I live in Harrogate and have an Impreza for sale - dee here -

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=327161

Let me know what you think...?

 

If you remap to uk fuel will it then run at its original power or will it still be down?

 

A re map will drag the timing and fuelling back to run at 98 ron hence power will be down
Apart from that there should be no issues except not many places will insure imports

andy

 

SOME NEED REMAPPING but many don't depends on the model.