can anyone tell me how there is such a power difference in standard form? i.e. what are the race alterations...are they all ecu based of or engine bits

thanks
shane

 

THe type RA is a very basic car, it has no aircon, no sunroof, no electric windows or folding mirrors as for the rest im not sure!

 

RA has a close ratio gearbox, some (or all?) of the panels are aluminium to save weight, no side skirts or spoiler etc, not sure what else

 

No stereo YOu will have to beat box your self everywhere

 

NONE of the panels are ally, only the bonnet as per sti's

 

I own an MY94 WRX TYpe RA and have to disagree with the above . If you run a magnet down the side of the car you will see that it dosen't actually stick. Also if you tap the panels you can certainly tell they are light weight there's nothing to them. I was fitting anew spoiler to my car on the weekend and removed the old one only to find rust where they had drilled the holes. Obviously my bootlid has been replaced at some stage. Tryed the magnet test and sure enough the bootlid is steel Also for a twelve year old car i have no rust anywhere else on the car . Surely if these panels were steel there would be some somewhere ,Afterall my car is 12 years old.

Thanks
James

Peanuts if i am wrong i do apologise but can you explain why the panels feel so light weight almost fibreglass.

Type RA,s best feature probably the close ratio gear box which offers up very aggressive acceleration . Which can become quite addictive lol

 

Oil sprays under pistons, ic water spray, closed deck block, quick rack, close ratio box, not sure about alloy panels other than bonnet.

 

Crap brakes and small ic as most people would bin these(rally driver's etc) anyway so why waste money on brakes/intercooler

 

T5OLF True enough mate standard brakes are crap and intercooler is tiny.Just upgraded to 4 pots and they aint a whole lot better .

 

They are very thin gauge I will grant you, but when you have held a set of Wolfie's fibreglass replacement parts you will know exactly what Im saying
The magnet test? try again if you fancy, it sticks all the way down on my V2 stiRA.
Maybe some cars were lucky enough to get ally parts, but theres a few owners over on 22b who have tested and all reported back negative.
In fact theres a few myths been exploded over there iirc.
There's never a need to apologise, it is one of the most comon myths in the Impreza world

 

Peanuts . I do appreciate what u have said but honestly the magnet test on my car only actually sticks to the boot where it has been replaced. Could it be that some cars left the production line with ally panels or possibly even as an extra upgrade option while the car was being built. This has got me stumped. I will we be checking my mates closely when his comes back from respray. Maybe my car is unique lol or my magnets fooked. Peanuts i am sure u will agree the acceleration of these cars is purely addictive and awsome. To be honest mate the weight saving issue is not really a big thing for me as i am rather on the large side anyway probably equaling it out. I bought the car mainly as a project and to upgrade bit by bit . These engines are supposed to be strong and a good base to start with.

Thanks
James

 

 

the wing i bought from a 96 sti ra weighs MORE then the wing i took off my 97wrx

they do not have a hole cut in them for the front skirt mounting point/fitting in the sill section, so they are actually heavier (not by much mind)

so put that in your misinformed pipe and smoke it

magnet sticks to my wing as well

if it dont stick to yours, its full of bodge mate

 

This is not mis informed mate this is fact from actual test done. My car is an L reg MY94 and the magnet dosen't stick to any of the panels except the boot which has been replaced at some point. As i was discussing with peanuts yesterday .Could it be that certain cars left the production line with ally panels. I know that my car has spent some of it's life competing in road rallies.Could the panels have been replaced with lightweight ones? I some what doubt this as there are know tell tale signs
As for getting abusive mate . I am only making a valid input of my findings. No need to get your knickers in a twist as i am afterall just a fellow RA driver.


James

 

maybe fibreglass moulded panels then if ex-rally car...

 

Could be mate

 

If the panels were fibreglass you'd know. Tap em and see.

 

The STi RA is simply an animal.
It’s the reason for owning an Impreza - Acceleration

The Scooby grin probably originated from the driver of a type ra.
Hit 60MPH from a standing start in less than 4 seconds and your’ll have a grin ear to ear too (granted not all do it this quick!)

Criss

The type RA had options.

Was available as a basic car but also available with stereo, air con and electric pack

Daft Lad

Granted the 93 had a naked boot lid, however later RA’s did have spoilers

Peanuts

Correct, only alloy body panel being the bonnet.
However, the gauge is a whole lot thinner than other scoobies.
I’ll also mention that my glass is thinner than my bro’s series mcrae
There’s also no sound dampening (only under the bonnet) and no boot carpet (only the wheel well cover)

T5OLF

The standard brakes are crap to say the least, which is why money needs spending to upgrade them.
The performance is amazing, but without the stopping hardware the RA’s simply dangerous.

I’ve taken people out with me who want to know what all this hype that surrounds the RA is about.
As soon as the journeys ended they’re not that impressed with their own car so much


This is’nt a nit pick reply.

It’s a subject that’s very much talked about with very little knowledge

 

cheers all....went a bit off topic there lol but hey not a prob

 

is it possible to tell the difference from the chassis number ?

 

OMG, that means I can actually own one I can't cope without EWs, aircon or stereo now

I may look for one in the next few years

 

Thanks Jap Import
Perhaps my car failed the magnet test because of the thin guage material and the magnet not being powerful enough. I do agree though mate the panels are alot more light weight than other subarus. You only have to touch them to feel how thin they are. The RA's acceleration is truly awsome and does make you grin from ear to ear. Although having no ABS can be a bit scary at times.

James

 

James perhaps yours is full of filler down the sides,hence magnet not sticking LOL

 

my tommy kaira scooby has alu panels all over found this out when i had a respray, its strange they dent easy thou

 

Could be but at least the filler wont rust lol

James