Hi all just joined up. Basically I'm in the process of selling my own car and want to buy a impreza type ra next but have been chating to a few lads and they tell me to stay clear of them as there engines are prone to blowing up, how true is this? and is there any way to prevent this from happening like a remap or something? Any other known problems with these? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

The Type-RA engine is no more or less prone than the WRX engine: its the same, after all. The STI and STI Type-RA is/are a little different, but its fate is usually sealed by its owners, rather than being an intrinsically weak design.

 

But how can you prevent engine failure which result from detonation?

 

Different year cars suffered different problems, but it doesnt make them unreliable, as GC8 has stated, its the owners in most cases that seal the cars fate.
As long as these cars are run on the right fuel, have the correct servicing and are well pampered (warmed up and cooled down, not ragged from cold) they will quite happily do 150-200k miles.

Tony

 

Bad mods, so dont do them, bad fuel, so dont use it. as above in my previous post, run them correctly and service them and presto, they run fine
For peace of mind, fit a knock link and some nice gauges to monitor the engine/oil/egt etc, not always necessary but it is just for peace of mind

Tony

 

Is a remap for our octane fuel a safer bet?

 

IMHO, few can be re-mapped, but there are "chips" out there to alter fueling and ignition, (boost ?). PowerFC is often added to allow mapping.

HTH

dunx

 

Who is one of the best at mapping? Heard Andy Forrest is the man to go to, any one got there car mapped by him?

 

Yup, the man is a legend, nuff said

 

Any thing I should look for when buying one of these, like common faults?

 

Check the DCCD works, no knocking on cv joints etc, just mainly the usual stuff when looking at a car, gearbox should be good though and check the clutch isnt riding high, they are about 800 quid to replace!

Tony

 

Travelling to Bedford a week on Monday to "hopefully" pick up and drive home back to Manchester with my 1st STI. I've been reading through your posts above and there are a few questions I have.....

1) How do you check the DCCD is working - what do you look for?
2) What is a knock link?
3) What else should I look for when buying?

Thanks in advance lads

Andy

 

Also.......Andy Forrest? Where is he based and what exactly does he cover with regards to Subarus....??????

 

AndyForrestPerformance

 

Mappers
the names on here that many use - and there are other good ones too are
Andy Forrest - Scotland
Bob Rawle - Berkshire M4 Corridor
JGM - Kent Maidstone

Knocklink - gismo that detects det

DCCD - https://www.scoobynet.com/technical-...anslation.html

 

Early RA's have a closed deck block so should be less liklely to blow up. I have heard the were hand built ( not sure how true this is, the experts will be along in minute to tell )

A good rolling road session will check fuelling, thus reducing the chances of det!! Also will check boost etc.

 

The block may be stronger, that doesnt mean the engine internals are! the chances of an early cdb engine blowing are higher than that of a later engine as earlier engines were more prone to oil pump failures

Tony