Ianwales

Hi All,

I have an 99 RB5 Prodrive and the exhaust is blowing. The mid section needs replacing. Can anyone recommend the best place to source the new part?

When I was last in SGT in Taplow (nr maidenhead) one of the subaru mechanics mentioned he had managed to get a new mid section for about £80 much to the disgust of his boss who had just told me the cost was £2XX plus fitting if I had it done there!

Cheers

fitzscoob

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=344175

see here

The_Judge

I can wholeheartedly recommend Hayward & Scott. Clicky... (in case you haven't read it yet... )

Flat Four Impreza Club

www.extremejaps.co.uk
Discount for Scoobynet members

vindaloo

<cough> £200 - Is that catted or merely resonated?
Power engineering do a Magnex center pipe for £60+ and a resonated one for £110+ (both plus fitting).

I was quoted £118 from Bulldog, Twyford for a P1 resonated centre section.

J.

Ianwales

J

Sorry for being thick what is a resonated centre section?

I thought a standard centre section was catted? I don't want to be messing around changing stuff at MOT time so I believe I need a catted centre section. Is that right?

Cheers
Ian

Ianwales

Just an update, rang bulldog Twyford to check and they quote £243.71 for a full centre section with CAT, ouch!

The_Judge

Hang on, you've got the WR version haven't you? Doesn't that include a de-cat centre section, as well as Prodrive silencer? In which case, you definitely don't want to be putting a catted exhaust on in it's place!

Incidentally, a resonated centre section is basically a de-cat with a resonator, to help reduce the noise level a bit...

Ianwales

Ok, so I got under the car last night and patched up the whole with some exhaust putty to aleviate the problem for the time being!

According to Subaru in Twyford (Bulldog) the centre section on the RB5 is the same as a regular scoob only the back box is different as it is Prodrive.

The centre section contains two 'bulges' the first after the downpipes certainly looks like a CAT, the second I presume to be a silencer. So I am guessing this is the same as a regular scoob, in which case someone should make a replacement part!

The_Judge

I thought the WR Sport version of the RB5 had the same components as a PPP'd MY99/00 - ECU, Prodrive intercooler hose, decat centre section, Prodrive silencer? Have you got the whole package, or just the silencer?

Irrespective of what's on now, speak to Hayward & Scott and get a stainless steel decat centre section for about £70/£80 + VAT + P&P. Or go with the Group Buy in the link above, and decat the downpipe as well...

Ianwales

I too thought that the WR version of the RB5 had all the same components as the PPP but the centre section looks like it has a CAT to me. Otherwise why is there a large box at the start of the centre sec after the downpipes?
Definitely has a prodrive back box.

If I replace the centre section with a decat version then I understand it will pass the MOT provided it has standard downpipes which also have a cat?

However, if I then need to replace downpipes in the future I would need to get replacements containing a CAT which is very expensive is it not?

The_Judge

Have you checked that you've got the Prodrive intercooler hose? And I believe there should be a pink STi sticker on the ECU (if you can be arsed to look!).

From what you've described, it sounds like a standard OEM centre section. Although the resonated de-cat centre section also has a large box somewhere in it...

Yep, that's right. Assuming your downpipe cat is healthy. It's certainly bigger than the one in the centre section, which is why most people remove that one first, as it's the most restrictive part of the exhaust sysem.

Can it be repaired enough to swap back at the time of MOT? If so, get a de-cat centre section, repair your OEM pipe, and keep it somewhere safe. If not, you could get a centre section with a high flow cat in it, which will allow you to de-cat the downpipe whenever you're ready to, and still pass the MOT. But they're expensive. Or, when you decide to de-cat the downpipe, just keep the old downpipe you take off, and swap back at MOT time (although a bit harder and more time consuming than swapping the centre section over...).

Dibs

I have a MY99 PPP and my centre section started to blow just before the MOT in April. I replaced it with a straight through centre from Hayward and Scott - a good price with free fitting too! It's slightly louder, but to be honest you'll hardly notice it.

Also, the PPP centre and standard centre do (externally) look exactly the same. My brother replaced his on his standard MY99 and it's not until we took them off the car to compare that you can see the cat in the standard one.

Hope this helps ;-)

The_Judge

That makes sense, nice one. So the PPP centre section is resonated by the sounds of it.

De-cat the downpipe, then you'll notice it...!

Ianwales

Ok, thanks folks.

Think I'll go with buying the Hayward and Scott decat centre for the time being and patch and keep the old centre incase I need it in the future.

Dibs

That's what I did, although I soon got the downpipe too. It makes a big difference in noise and power without the cat ;-)

The_Judge

Ooooooooh yeah...!