Sorry to the vets for this horiffic question but despite my best use of search I failed

I'm looking at a 1997 WRX wagon (Not Sti).

I have read contradicting claims regarding the power output. Is it 220 or 280 as per wikipedia? Is there a way to check it when I go to see it? The reason I ask is it is quite a long way away and I dont want to waste my time if it is around 220.

Thanks all.

 

it depends if its a uk or import (uk 215/220.import 250/260 ish)
I have a 98 import wrx wagon and its about 250bhp.
also the 97/98 is a strange one as it was at a crossover point in the models.I found that the ECU is about the only one you cant do anything with,so if you want to do any mods you need to start with an after market ECU.

http://www.sti.jp/product/impreza/list.html this site may help if you have the engine code

 

Thanks, it is a 1997 WRX import. It appears to be a facelift model.

 

OK just bear in mind what I said earlier,you cant do much to these cars with out getting it remapped.so if you do any mods you will need the aftermarket ECU.Not sure if there is any other way round this but i am sure someone on here may be able to answer this

 

Sure thanks. I am not really planning on tuning it or I should probably looking at an Sti. I just wanted the subaru rumble, some decent speed, and some extra space in the back/

 

Should tick all the boxes then,I am more than happy with mine.

 

220ps for the wrx wagons, the STI's were the ones with more power

Tony

 

Thats wikipedia for you

If I do buy it I will look into the threads about tuning it with the turbo and ecu then. That should be enough.

 

Yup some say 240ps for the manual, some say 250ps for the manual and auto, most say 220ps, either way its still runs the smaller TD04 turbo, you can tune them to around 270bhp with an after market ecu but they dont have the brakes the saloons have (normally either single pot or 2 pots), its a bit of a mine field, if your after a wagon then really an MY99/00 STI is your best bet.

Tony

 

I think the imports are a bit more powerful

 

mine has a VF 29 ,as far as i know mines standard

 

Saloons had the VF29, wagons didnt.

Tony

 

mine is definitely VF 29 and is a wagon
I was always told that they tended to use what ever they had to hand in that crossover period?????as far as i know no one has ever changed my turbo and it cant be re mapped

 

Its probably had a turbo and ecu swap off a wrx saloon, one of the cheaper options to modding the wagons

Tony

 

my 99 wag has a remapable ECU in it according to JGM

 

MY99's were the first of the mappable (ECUTEK) ecu's, the MY97/98 cars cant be mapped though the MY93-96 can be with the aid of a chip.

Tony

 

is there any way i could tell by looking at the ECU

 

The wrx wagons from 1993 - 1996 had 220 ps and 206 lb/ft
sept 1996 - aug 1997 240 ps
sept 1997 - aug 1998 250 ps (autos had 240 ps)
sept 1998 - june 2000 240 ps

If your car was made after august 1998 then it would be a facelift model in which case it may have a J2 ecu which is what was fitted to the V5 sti,and can be mapped by ecu tek software.
Uk wagons came with 208 - 215 bhp and had either an E3 or a Y7 ecu.
If you can post up what ecu you have fitted will tell us a bit more about your car ,but if you have a vf 29 then it is a little puzzling as they were fitted on the v6.

 

dont know if these may shed some light on it

 

Not to sure what ecu that is from,if it was a early 97-98 wrx I would have expected to see a 2S ecu or a 8S for the later 98 wrx models. Is your car definetley a wrx(wipers on the left) , not a MY 98 uk turbo from the pictures it looks like a 3 plug ecu .

 

as far as i know its a WRX (wipers are on the left).It did have STI rear lights on it.