weatherman

We all know about the P1's legendary fragility in the engine department and also the 2.5's weaknesses especially in STi hatch guise.

But I'm just wondering, have any P1s or 2.5s managed to reach 100k without breaking? And are most of these with a remap to soften the limiter?

Stuart

type-rob

All down to servicing I would say, and personally, I would never take my car to the limiter! Boost drops off before anyway!

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

The P1 doesnt really have a fragile engine, its actually not too bad, the issues are with the sensitive MAF sensor and the JDM fuel map.
Sort (or keep on top) of the MAF sensor and remap for UK fuel and you should be ok
The 2.5's just suck

Tony

diggingcontractor

think it just depends if a tosser has owned it at some point my uncle has a p1 hes had it since it was 18 months old its done 125000 and runs sweet as a nut only runs it on vpower and regular sevices as rob says its in the servicing i have a hawkeye 2.5 engine is fine to be fare though its only done 30k

craigo

iTrader: (1)

as a previous P1 owner, these words are spot on. i cant comment on the 2.5 from personal ownership, but, i would never buy a car with the standard unit

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

seen the odd p1 in for mapping with over 100k on the clock and what appears to be the original engine.. but unusual for it not to have been mapped already and therefore not on the jdm map any more.

Dont recall a hatch having sdone over 100k, the odd high mileage hawk but not over 100k to my memory.

Simon

weatherman

One 2.5 WRX at 127k on Autotrader though many more N/A 2.5 Outbacks and Legacies at this mileage - 137K the highest milage on sale at present. My dad's Legacy's engine went at 90k but I don't know the precise cause....

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

Done 198k on a 2litre uk engine but title said p1 or 2.5 hatch?

a5h

iTrader: (3)

I have a 2.5 Hawk STI that i bought on 14K when it already had the head gasket failure. The dealer had to change the gaskets before i bought it. Although i did a deal with them to slip some forged pistons in awell.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

100K+ on any post MY98 classic shape scoob is good going IMO. Exception is pre-98 JDM models (esp STi).

The UK 2.5 are unfortunate...I think they'd work better if they ran a twin scroll and lower compression or less boost/lower rev limit with studded heads.

weatherman

You think the Pre-98 cars were more reliable?

My MY97 UK Turbo had already had a replacement block for Piston Slap when I got it and by 60k it was slapping again.

My 2001 Classic PPP Wagon was going strong at 114k when I traded it in.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Post my98 mainly blew up due to undiagnosed MAF failures (it is possible to feel when a MAF is on its way out when driving them)...the P1 is included in this (along with it being fussy on fuel).

Pre-97 didn't slap unless heavily worn or forged. As well as the pistons, the pre97 has a different block made from a different alloy when they switched from sand casting to die casting, which maybe dampens the noise differently as the blocks have different metal thicknesses and density.

Slap was mainly on the MY97-98 cars, even then its non-issue IMO (as I had one myself). Its purely a piston expansion issue as post MY98 cars had the same block (open deck die-cast), crank, rods, heads etc.

Loads were replaced for piston slap; mine too, only for it to return under 10K miles later. I suspect I was called (the dealer called me) in because the dealer wanted to drum up some work. As it never used a drop of oil, and if garaged overnight was barely noticable. It always stopped when warm and it rarely did it in warmer summer months. Its still going today too and AFAIK not had a penny spent on the engine barring cambelts, tensioners and fluids....original MAF too

If tighter tolerance pistons of the same metal were fitted instead, it wouldn't slap, but it would probably seize up when driven hard.

As a point of interest though, slap is not uncommon; our old Rover 216/Honda concerto (honda engine) slapped when cold. Its replacement a 216 with a k-series slapped from new- as does every k-series engine I've ever heard. BMW M52 engines can slap and MK2 1.2 Clios do it as well (we had three as lease cars).

And my Monaro LS2 engine slapped far worse than all of them (8 pistons = twice as much sap ). The only exception is built EJ20s with aftermarket forged pistons...bloody hell they can be really bad!


IMO it is a far cry from a knackered big end(s), melted piston, ring failure or HG failure. All of which pretty much immobilise the car. A slappy engine thats not burning any oil probably would live just as long as a non-slappy one.