Jimp

I have just bought this car direct from Japan. Is there a difference in performance between this car and the saloon version. What sort of power should I be getting from it?

Can it be remapped to run on our fuel without putting octane boosters in it. if so would it have to run on 95 or 97 Ron.

I want the car to perform well but would also like relyability from the engine.

Jimmy

greendragonkungfu

i have a 95 import and from what ive been told it requires 100 ron, so i have to use 99 minimum. 95 ron is a no-no for me. 97 with a booster is ok. my car cannot be remapped without changing my ecu, yours maybe different. i would expect you to have 240-280ish bhp, mine is 260 as a standard. this is all based on rumours and hear say, i expect someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly.

P600wrx

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm i had a 95 wrx wagon, it was running 240bhp run it on 97ron bp or 99 ron shell,

is it a wrx or an STi

youngstar

1999 v5 is it a sti wagon?

if so will be around the 280hp mark,

i would definately get it remapped to run uk fuel as you will **** the engine before long on uk 97 ron fuel will last a little longer on vpower + octane booster.

myblackwrx

iTrader: (1)

You can have the car remapped using the Ecutek software http://www.ecutek.com/

Reef

iTrader: (2)

I have a V5 STI Wagon. I would run it on 99 octane and no less. they're designed to run on 100 which is what they get in Japan AFAIK. I was told that you don't need a remap to run 99 and run it for a year without one. Only had a remap when I changed the exhaust.

Standard it's 280bhp with a 0-60 of 4.6sec

I've had mine for 2 years 20,000 miles and its been very good. Use it everyday to commuting, done family holidays towing a trailer and there's nothing quite like it in for fun in the snow.
They are expensive to maintain and run but look for advice on here which will save you a few quid.

ginger321

If its completely standard then use a minimum of vpower or tesco 99 dont take the risk of recking the engine. I ran mine on v power plus millers octane booster and kept ithem below 3000rpm until they were mapped.
Im on my second sti5 wagon and i love them.
My first had an hks hi power exhaust, 100cell sports cat downpipe, hks panel filter, walbro fuel pump and NGK pfr7 spark plugs. Andy forest mapped it to 334bhp and 311lbft on v power.
Sadly I crashed and wrote that one off.

I know have a another one freshly imported and ive fitted it with a green panel filter, walbro fuel pump and NGK pfr7s. Ive left the exhaust completely standard.
Once again andy forest mapped her for me on v power and i got 319bhp and 312lbft.

As i said I love them because they cover all the bases for me - school run, large boot and road rocket!!

singledad

Hi, i'm a scooby newbie and have a 1996 wagon (imported in 2004).
I was 'told' when i purchased the car 4 weeks ago that it has been run on 97 ron since coming into the country.
However, I have recently come across a problem(well, several to be exact).
Initially I had to change the cam position sensor which cured my 'warm start' issues.
Now, since i've got used to the car and i'm a little more free with the throttle, i've noticed that it seems to be holding back a little.
It's automatic and will kick down and accelerate lovely, until it hits between 4k and 4.5 k ... Then it holds back for a couple of seconds ...Then pops and farts before changing gear, once changed it will accelerate perfectly fine... Like a rocket to be precise!!
I know there are several potential reasons for this, I was just wondering if one of the potential causes could be because of the fact i've used 97 ron (as I was told it's been running on the same) for the past 4 weeks?
When it happens it feels like the spark has been 'blown out' ... Am i wrong to follow the advice of the seller and start to use V-Power or tesco 99 ron instead and see if it makes a difference?
Hope someone can help as i'm scratching my head and getting splinters here ... lol
Cheers
Ady

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Hi mate i was out driving a 1996 auto wagon last night,with similar symptoms last night funnily enough. Always use tesco 99 or shell vpower in your car,as japanese fuel is much higher octane rating than the uk stuff we have over here,and your ecu is designed to run on this.If you start using 99 fuel immediatley your ecu will learn to cope with the higher octane fuel,but you can speed this up by resetting the ecu once you have filled up with the new fuel.
I have a uk car and the ecu is designed to take 97 superunleaded and i have always used 99 octane rating fuel as well as a performance gain,it helps combustion in your engine. Your car should have a td04 turbo fitted and it might be worth you connecting the 2 x black wires under the steering coloum & switching the ignition on to see if your check engine light on your dashboard flashes up a fault codes.While your there you can pull up the passenger footwell carpet and remove the 4 x 10mm bolts to check what ecu is fitted,as alot of wrx wagon owners have mistakenly fitted a Z4 ecu in order to increase boost - which can give the same symptoms that you are having .Your std ecu should be a 3B,4B iirc.Try these 1st then post up the results.
Ade

singledad

Brilliant, thank you!
Will do what you have said... Funny you say that thoguh, i rung the Scooby Clinic this morning and they told me the exact same thing about the fuel... Told me to run about a tank and a half of V-Power through it and see what difference it makes.

Golden Rule: ... Never trust the seller!!!

On a lighter note, Anybody want to buy about £40 of Super Unleaded for £25? ... lol

singledad

Checked the codes yesterday using the blink test, shows up MAF sensor, but this has recently been replaced and then further cleaned by me yesterday also.
I assume that this could be thrown up simply because the fuel isn't burning properly and therefore it feels that the air intake is wrong in some way.
Just checked the ECU, I have a 3S (Whatever that means...lol) even the wiring has the little stickers on with Japanese writing all over them... Aint got a clue what they say, can't speak (or read for that matter) japanese ... lol

midnight

iTrader: (10)

3s is correct mate ,for the £40 of super unleaded you have in the tank ,buy some octane booster which won't do any harm until you fill up with 99 .

singledad

Cheers , will do.
I don't suppose you just happen to know what I can safely run the boost at do you?
'Apparently' it is currently set at around .8, but i get the feeling that is a little too low?!?!
I only ask cos it's going to my mechanic next week and he thinks the same as me about the boost being low, if anyone could fill me in on a safe boost pressure, then my mechanic will adjust it accordingly and i will be forever grateful :-)

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Std boost on a wrx auto is 0.7 bar.A wrx manual with a Z4 ecu runs 0.9 bar & a sti with a 6K ecu runs 1.1 bar.The later classics running a td04 like your run 0.9 bar std,but after a remap can hit 1.3/1.4 bar.If you raise the boost using a mbc you will hit boost cut as the ecu will still govern the fuelling ,no matter what you do to the boost pressure and it could end in tears.
With a remap your std turbo can hit 260 bhp & more with supporting mods.If a remap is out of the question then a Z4 & a td05 turbo is the way to go for better midrange/top end power.

singledad

Thanks.
The guy i got it from showed me all the stuff that had been done to it, new mushroom air filter (Crap in my opinion!), full performance exhaust from cat back (currently 3 months old), Baileys Dump Valve, Sard fuel pressure regulator, yellow injectors (supposedly)
When i told him that lot wouldn't make any difference without a remap, he proceded to tell me that it's already been done and is currently running at a kna**er over 300 BHP!
Until I get it running right, then a trip to ScoobyClinic for a session on the RR, i really don't know the truth... Hence wanting to get it running right BEFORE going there and being told its gonna cost me £000's to get it right!

singledad

WELL.... two full tanks of V-Power (now onto the third) and just a tiny little bit of improvement has been made.
I will be taking a trip to the ScoobyClinic next week and let them have a look at it and see what they say.
I get the feeling that, as Midnight says the turbo should be running at .7 but the vendor told me it was running .8, maybe it could be caused by a small over boost issue?
I'd appreciate any help on this matter, thanks.

singledad

Problem solved!
It turns out that the fool who put the FPR on didn't set it up at all and it was running at 6 bar !!!
Been adjusted down to about 3 bar now ... Thanks ScoobyClinic ... And it's running fine now.
However, it turns out that for some reason my car appears to be running on RWD only now!
They put it on the RR at ScoobyClinic and there is very very little power going to the front end. Apparently it could be caused by the center diff (or multiplate clutch system???) failing.
There is a switch on the dash that is wired up to something, haven't got a clue what though, could it be that the center diff is on a cut-out switch so the previous owner could use it as RWD?

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Lift the bonnet up and check by the drivers side bulkhead above the brake servo ,you should see a small black case with the words diff lock on . Check inside the fuse holder to see if a fuse has been put in there, and check to see if there is any additional wiring going to it. Remove the fuse and if there is a external wire going to it remove that as well and your back to awd .some people rig them up this way on a switch to make the car behave like a rwd motor .

singledad

Thanks, but that was the first thing they checked at the scoobyclinic and there isn't even one there! ... The bracket is there where the block normally sits, but there is no fuse holder or anything there.
I will nip outside and see if there is any wiring there shortly.

singledad

Right, there is no 'additional' wiring in that region, there is what appears to be a relay with a plug 'plugged in' ... It has a black rubber housing completely covering it, but i can't seem to find anywhere that tells me what that is???

Adam-M

Hope you get it sorted all right mate, tbh i'd prefer it in RWD mode lol

singledad

Thanks, it's ok in rwd but is very very leary in the damp/wet !!
It's almost as if it were used for drifting before coming over here, i just wish i could find a simple cheap solution ... Not looking forward to coughing up for a new middle diff! :-(

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Post a picture up,as all classic subaru auto's have the fuse holder,on the non turbo's putting a fuse in the holder makes it FWD.On the turbo models it locks the centre diff - giving a 50/50 split which is great when on ice or loose gravel. If it has been removed then they may well have changed the diff and rigged up a switchwhich normally sends all the power to the rear wheels.

singledad

And how do I do that? ... lol

Got a couple of pictures ready, but can't find anywhere that lets me upload them.

singledad

Midnight, i've sent you a private email with the pictures on, seeing as I couldn't find a way to post pics on here ... Typical newbie issue ... lol

riiidaa

iTrader: (2)

update??

singledad

On mine or on the OP?

Mine is running perfectly well now, apart from the issue of finding out why is it extremely **** end happy?!?!
There is NO fuse for AWD/FWD, well not in the expected place anyway ... lol
It's lovely in the dry, just really wild in the damp/wet, are all the jdm turbo wagons like this?

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Yes mate they are , especially the early classics as the std suspension is quite soft on uk/wrx models and may well have been in the car 15+ yrs . I have just upgraded my mates 96 auto suspension to this :
Prodrive Bilsteins on the rear, sti Bilsteins on the front and prodrive geometry set up makes the car more sure footed in the wet, along with decent tyres IMHO

singledad

Thanks for that Midnight, you've been a great help!

I will have to keep my eyes open for some suspension upgrades (at the right time and price obviously ... lol)

Personally I tend to use Toyo Proxes T1R tyres, the car came with new Toyo's on the front and for some reason there were new Bridgestones on the rear... No idea why they are different, but is there a possibility that the fact there are different tyres(makes) on the front/rear be exagerating the rear end happy scenario?

riiidaa

iTrader: (2)

Swap them round and test (cautiously)