Plastikman

At last, got the one I wanted. A late 99 v5 sti Ra Ltd, it appears this car has been in the Uk since it was imported from new? Which is handy for history etc. But that said History is History and now its my turn to keep and service the car etc. So I have a few questions, please all let me know what you use: Im sure this will vary as people will have different brand loyalties for their own reasons etc. Just want to get an all round idea

Engine oil (Brand and Viscosity)

Gear oil (Brand and Viscosity)

Diff oil (Brand and Viscosity)

Brake fluid (Brand and DOT)

Coolant (Brand)

Plugs (Brand and part number)

If you have the time please put in the amounts needed for changing, Litres etc.


My car doesnt have any type of mudflaps and there signs of stonechips in the arch, bar the rally style flaps, can I get the hard plastic OE ones from anywhere?

Ive noticed inside the car whilst driving that all three gloveboxes rattle, I think they rattle at the opening mechanism? Anyone found out a way to stop this without sticking them shut with bluetack etc?

The previous owner said that they had never used the adjustable diff as it should only be used on loose surface etc, when I had my V2 sti ra Vltd years ago I also thought that but recently I read that you can use it without being on a loose surface and that the crunching noise you hear at slow cornering isnt harmfull to the drivetrain and is normal. I want to know if there is anyway I can test that the diff adjustment is working without taking it to the forrests and totalling it into the trees? The dash tell tale light moves in sync with the rotary switch as it should

Thanks guys

Plastikman

Ive had a look at oilmans sticky and a little on the Adj Diff sticky, but more looking at what other people use, experiences, general concensus etc

GroupNGC8

iTrader: (1)

Plastikman
What number is your V5 RA? I have 230/1000

Oilman is a good place to get your oils and he can answer your questions. You will open a can of worms on oils as everyone has opinions. Just use good quality oils and change the engine oil regularly. Also you don't need to listen to the bulls**t surrounding changing the engine oil. Check your gearbox code as you should have a plated front diff and not the open type. the code is TY754VB1EA. You will feel the steering wheel pulling slightly on roundabouts when 'pressing' on! if you have a plated front diff.
For plugs I'd go with NGK PFR7B which run cooler than the PFR6B and can be bought for less than £40.00/set of 4. Brake fluid should be a good quality DOT 4 but I use DOT 5 and have fitted braided brake lines to give the pedal a harder feel.
You can get good quality mudflaps on fleabay to suit your budget, Performance creations offer a good range for all budgets.
As for the DCCD - it can be used on the road. The benefits in the dry when the torque split is 50/50 (fully locked) around roundabouts are enormous and just wind the centre diff to fully open when your on the open road. if you have it set on one notch it splits the torque 35/65 front/rear so effectively 2/3rds of the engine power goes to the rear wheels and will give you lots of oversteer moments of fun on roundabouts.
The 'crunching' noise is the front diff unwinding itself. Always have the centre diff fully open when turning in tight spaces.
As for the dash squeeks, take the dash apart and reset it all - or get a louder exhaust to drown the noises out . Or as I did and get it flocked. cures every rattle

Most of all enjoy driving the car, top machines and quite raw. Remember that the RA was the base car for the group N Impreza rally cars.

Also try www.type-ra.co.uk for more help and information.

There are a couple of guys on here with Version 5 RA Limited cars.

HTH
Cheers Rob

Plastikman

Hi Rob, I have 677/1000 and have registered mine on your post on the typre-ra forum The gearbox and vin plate has the code you mention on it, which I believe has the Front Helical LSD? It has a full Hayward and scott Decat System and it makes your ears bleed, to be honest its too much. Bought a bung to quiet it down, the fuzz round here will be on it like flys on ****, its not worth the grief.

I will use millers oil as its whats available locally and is esther based, what viscosity do you use?

Does the gearbox and front diff share the same oil? If it does I will have to make sure the gearoil is for an LSD. I havent been under the car yet so I cant see.

Did you have yours remapped for uk fuel?

What boost pressure do these run std? What pressure will the VF28 take reliably?

I was thinking of service stuff first, maybe an uprated oil pump and walbro fuel pump. But I wonder what the benefit of the walbro pump would be, it cant pump anymore litres because its governed by the regulator so more capacity is out of the window. Are the OE ones prone to failing? Cant think what else I would need one for unless I was upping the fuel pressure & as ive just got std injectors and ecu I cant see me needing to do that either?

Tell you what else ive noticed, the suspension seems pretty good! Its just the std setup, its firm but not 'shake your fillings from your gums' firm and has a nice feedback from the road, for straight out of the box suspension im very happy. I could maybe lower it a tiny bit but I dont want to loose that nice ride, so prob just keep that as it is.

Lovely machine

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

For oils keep inbetween these and you wont go wrong 5w40, 10w40, 5w50, 15w50, 30's are not recommended, neither are 60's, ones too thin, the other is too thick.
Also recommended to have your car mapped for uk fuel, the standard map is a little "lean" towards the top end of the rev range, so due to people saying its airflow that kills the engine (or lack of) there is no proof, but there is proof that the lean spot on high speed driving can and does cause det, resulting in engine failure (big end bearing normally or piston damage) so full decats are not exactly good on these without a remap either
Your gearbox oil will need changing more regulary than normal due to the dccd (once per year) and i would (if it were my car) keep the servicing up with a "good" dealer who knows about these cars

Tony

GroupNGC8

iTrader: (1)

I use a 10w40 engine oil Usually Castrol, but change it regularly with the filter and compression washer. Gearbox Oil is Silkolene and I use Motul 90 PA in the rear diff as it is plated.
Yes you are correct that the front diff shares a common oil with the gearbox so an oil suitable for plated front diffs will be best.
Again Opie olis (oilman) can sort you out and delivers to your door.

I think std boost is 1 bar but i reckon 1.2bar wouldnt be a problem if you were turning the wick up.
Good advice from Tony to get the map checked for UK fuel. As the gear ratios and final drive are high geared you get through the rev range very quickly but power tails off after 6,500rpm so no point in going to the red line every time.

I like the std suspension but the car looks to sit very high so I may well swap the springs for some Teins or similar just to lower the ride height a tad. I wonder if a set of P1 suspension wihch was tuned specifically for the UK would be a better solution but not looked into that one yet.

enjoy