Hi all, back after a stint away.

Had an 18 months exodus from Subaru as I ventured into the GR Yaris world. Great all around car but just doesn't grab you like an Impreza does.

Swap deal on a 2005 WRX STI spec C V-Limited Toshi Arai. A car I have fancied since they launched back in 2006.

Officially launched with numbers of 1/350 but there were only 190 cars ever produced in total in the production run of December 2005.

Car is in fantastic condition but with a little TLC will be upto my std.

looks like the one that was over here for sale for a bit - Theyre a nice spec'd bit of kit the Toshi's!

Yeah it's been for sale for a good while by 2 x car dealers at various prices.

Cracking bit of kit and just needs some cleaning up on the underside etc. Gonna keep this as std as possible and just refresh with OEM parts etc.

yeah had seen it when it first went up for sale here. think he was maybe a wee bit out of touch with the initial 40k asking price!

Nice car! I'd be very interested in your thoughts on the GR as I was about to get a standard one, provisionally alongside my hatch spec C. It'll replace the car that we use for longer journeys, as we want to visit various driving meccas over Europe ( a very dull 4x4 Vrs with dsg, which I hate) pm if you prefer.

Agree, at £40K it was going nowhere TBH.

The deal I got for my GR and the work completed on the spec C along with delivery from Ireland worked out OK.

Thanks.

The GR is a great all around car out of the box. Mine was heavily modified and pushing 340/340 which made for a very quick road car but only used as a weekend toy. Nothing and I mean nothing (inc. superbikes) could catch you on B roads.

I did daily the car for the first month or so I owned and it was fine, great on short and long journeys and also good through traffic etc. but they can be expensive due to servicing every 6K and OEM parts are very expensive.

Reason I changed is that I didn't quite gel with the car like I do with an Impreza. You get more driver feedback from a 20 year old Subaru as there are no electronics trying to correct your every move.

Gold 18" Speedline Turini wheels on for now while I get the white Enkie wheels refurbished.

Had the wheels on my i20N (now sold) and just fitted new smaller spigot rings to suit the 56.1mm Impreza centre bore.

Few more out and about pics.








Got caught up in a battle to and then a car wash. AI is good for some things.......

New wheels purchased for next year after the full underside refresh and detail in readiness for the Spring/Summer.

STI RA-R 18" wheels. Will be wrapped in 225/40/18 AD08RS Yokohama tyres.

Theyre 8.5 inch wide so youd probably need to be running a 235 tyre on them

https://www.sti.jp/en/completecar/he...preza-wrx-sti/

Mine rotas 8.5 with 225 , seems fine with f1 supersports.
I had ad08r found f1's are better tyres,more grip,way better on wet roads to,cheaper.
Ad08RS are poor comparing to older ad08r.

Car will only be used in the dry so the tyres should be OK.

225 should be fine for what I need.

Any tyres will be ok but there is no grip on RS with plenty of reviews to avoid them.

Car is currently at Rust Doctor UK in Darlington, Co. Durham.

Full underside restoration underway...