Advice on what wrx to buy
 

Hi all new to sight and first post.
I had an old 2000 2.0 sport wagon, had it many years and loved it. But I always wanted to have the turbo version. I'm not to worried about the sti, I'm not a boy racer anymore lol. I think I'm leaning more towards a 2006-2007 2.5 wrx, but I've read reports about head gaskets and rings going on them. Should I forget the 2.5 and go with the 2.0? Or anyone have a different suggestion?

Many thanks
Jeff

Ps my budget is in the £6000-£7000

If its a wrx you want a nice low milage 2.0 jdm wrx should be well in your price range

2004 WRX 2003 V-Limited or 2.0 JDM Hawkeye/Blob would be my first choice but not always easy to come across.

A 2.5 UK Hawk would be something with uprated springs, headbolts etc as you'll be able to run a big fcuk off turbo at lower boost and get a 5 speed/crank friendly 400/350

Thanks. First question what is jdm?
And why the 2.0 and not the 2.5? Is that because of what I said in op. I thought the 2.5 would be a bit quicker? I said in not a boy racer, meaning the look of an sti puts me off.
I've seen a few 2006/7 2.5 wrx for around my price range, are these not a good choice?

Ok been looking around and I wouldn't want to go as old as the first scooby, I prefer the hawkeye to the blob eye, and I can't seem to see any info for a 2.0 hawkeye? Did they make one?
Also have considered the newer shape. As an older guy, I actually prefer the shape, but am fully aware the tax is higher, but what the car like? I'm seeing a lot of 2008 models in my price range?

All UK cars hawk onwards have the 2.5 engine, the engine has some issues but they do not seem to be as common in the wrx possibly due to it being in a lower state of tune.

Did the GB270 have many reported problems?

Thanks

Been looking again and I think I've found a happy medium. Bit of a novice at scooby still lol.

I see the the 2004/5 model had a slight face lift, it start to look a bit like the hawkeye cross blob eye. And it also comes with the 2.0 engine. I've found a few with the pro drive upgrades, should I stay clear of these? Also found one of the 300 models. Lond drive for me, but might go look at it.

Thanks for all advice

If you find one with prodrive performance pack then they are a bit quicker, mine is a 53 plate and was recently dyno'd at 259bhp.

JDM = Japanese domestic market, they still use the 2.0 litre engine which seems to be stronger / more reliable out of the box. This would mean you are looking for a car that has been imported from Japan.

There is a cut off for tax bands around 2006 I believe so depending out what age the car is you could be paying over £500 a year in road tax.

Also the later blobeyes are the same outside but have a facelift to the dash inside

Mines just passed 60k miles and (touch wood) is still running fine.

It's all or nothing with the 2.5 shortblock

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2497782

Buy RS MATTS its proper quick :D

AVCS heads, rear wiper, 250ps as standard, rear tints,folding mirrors, alloy wishbones are all standard on the JDM WRX. And cheaper tax.

Are the ratios the exact same as the UK WRX? Heard conflicting views.

Also does the JDM WRX have TGV's, up-pipe cat and different pistons/rings?

Thanks for all replies.
I'm of to view a 2005 blob eye 2.0 wrx in silver. It's got the look I want, very understated. Front shocks and cluch upgraded in Jan and a prodrive exhaust. The rest standard and only 50000 miles. Sounds perfect for me and looks in fantastic condition.
I do have others to look after if this doesn't work out

Rear diff ratio's are better. Not sure about the other bits but my JDM WRX was a much better car than the UK WRX I had previously.

If the STi look is putting you off, perhaps a Spec D would be worth looking at, might be a stretch with the budget though.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...048b9c3e13.jpg


If that doesn't pan out and you are still looking drop me a PM as I've just taken the decision to sell my Hawkeye.

Post will be going up in the sales section shortly.

Great looking car. I was looking at the wagons first, but I'm going for the saloon now.

Can anyone give me a guide price for what you would expect to pay for this car.

2005 (55) silver wrx 2.0
KYB Ultra SR shock absorbers
Exedy FJK2033 Clutch Kit
New front discs and pads fitted
Prodrive exhaust fitted from factory
The rest standard spec d I think. 50,000 miles on the clock
FHS
Cam, ac, alt, ps belt all replaced within 10,000 mile
Looks immaculate

Just a rough guide price please

Many thanks

Anyone??

£4k

2005 (55) silver wrx 2.0 - standard 225bhp. A little underwhelming

KYB Ultra SR shock absorbers - STi shocks, will compromise ride - does it have matching springs?

Exedy FJK2033 Clutch Kit
New front discs and pads fitted - standard OEM brakes aren't great and OE parts not expensive

Prodrive exhaust fitted from factory - does it have the rest of the kit and the ECU fitted? Otherwise it's just an exhaust and not worth paying a premium for

The rest standard spec d I think. 50,000 miles on the clock
FHS
Cam, ac, alt, ps belt all replaced within 10,000 mile
Looks immaculate


How much would you want to pay for it?

No doubt the market would suggest they are worth more like £6k but personally, I couldn't bring myself to spend £6k on a 10+ year old stock WRX saloon. I'd buy an STi, unless I really wanted a Wagon.

Ok thanks, but for someone who's never had a wrx, I would hardly call it underwhelming. Still a quick car. Yes a sti is quicker, but I'm not getting one just for speed. I will in time make my own upgrade, I guess. I just wanted a standard car that not be tuned to a inch of it life and then hammered to a inch of its life. I think this way I should have a solid car from the start? Am I right?

Sorry that was a little bad of me, let me explain

If I was 15-20 years younger, the styling of the sti would be great, but I'm not. Do they do a spec d sti? If yes hard to come by I guess.
I'm 44 now and have always loved imprezas. I have a 2.0 sport wagon, it never let me down until the rust caught up with it. That's the main reason I want another. I like the fact that a spec d wrx will blend in unnoticed, until you want to give it a boot full. I really wanted a 2.5 hawkeye, but have read all the reports about head gaskets and rings I won't bother, I had a petrol freelander once if you understand what I mean. So by make the choice of a 2.0 blobeye wrx, with un molested engine, I think it should be a decent car. With the addition of exhaust and shocked and clutch on this one, it could be a good starting point which I can then upgrade the engine to get close to an sti. I'm not a boy anymore so won't be drive like I stole it, but having the power would be nice.
Thanks for your replies. Any other advice will be great fully received.

Absolutely. If that's the car your in the market for, then it looks worth a visit. The market dictates the price on 10 year old cars, especially with such low mileage, so with so few to compare against, its really up to what you value it at.

Personally, I wouldn't pay a premium for low mileage but I wouldn't discount one either.

Think he's testing the water at £6500, might be worth phoning him to see if he'd drop to 5,800. But, Newage WRX's have shot up in price recently, 2005 models more than most. Seeing a lot of them pushing 7k now. Many with way more than 50k on the clock!

Getting to 330bhp costs peanuts imo so the car doesn't have to be a special edition WRX or already modded. Biggest single cost is the exhaust system and that's always personal preference.

Exhaust is personal preference, meaning? I guess for any extra power this would need to be upgrade?
My thoughts were to change the air filter, I'll keep it as the panel filter and remap. The car is advertised as prodrive exhaust fitted factory. I guess this means the back box?..
Would I have to change the cat to be able to remap?

exhaust preference is usually dictated by style/tailpipe or sound/volume

Factory fitted Prodrive ehaust - so he's bragging about it having a 10 year old exhaust?

If you are thinking about a remap, costs are from £300 for 'open source' (a map that anyone can download and 'flash' onto your ecu and then tweek for best results. or £550 for an 'EcuTec' remap, you pay £200 for the licence (included) and car is mapped same way, but the mapper will generally be better trained (or design ECU's like Pat at scoobyclinic) and you have full technical help from ecutec if any problems arise.


If you are going to spend money on just a remap, the numbers might be higher but the results can be underwhelming. With an open source remap I made 267bhp, but didn't feel much different. I would spend a few hundred more and get turbo, injectors, top mount, new fuel pump. you will get 300bhp+ and not put much more stress on the engine (they can run 340bhp without issue)

It will feel better and you won't get overtaken by a remapped Bora soot chucker

A lot of people buy a Scoob then change the exhaust because it's too loud, too cheap, that it drones on the motorway or just because it may look too big [tailpipe].

Prodrive exhaust could include the centre cat removal which would be a boost. The up-pipe decat is an advisable mod, the downpipe decat/sportscat isn't essential but will improve spool a tad and raise a few ponies but will also incur extra exhaust noise, full decat being tricky come MOT time. Of the 3 cats I'd make sure the 1st and 3rd are removed before a map.

I'd always recommend a TD05/VF34/35 Turbo or similar and STi pink injectors [usually less than £500 all in, used price] before mapping a WRX as they can make far more power than a TD04 and at higher revs. Like most mods though there is a compromise, these turbos will add a little more lag.

If you do map then I'd definitely install these:

Walbro 255l Fuel pump
NGK PFR7B spark plugs
Silicone intercooler y-pipe
panel filter

STi top mount and Silicone Turbo inlet hose aren't crucial but I put them on mine to help lower torque and increase bhp. WRX doesn't like torque! The crank and 5 speed are rated to 350lbft and STi turbos running big boost can push that level, especially after hard driving and the torque freeing thinning of the oil. My Turbo is running an advised and modest 1.3bar which drastically drops torque to reasonable levels (obviously I asked the mapper for 1.6bar)

AFAIK the only limiting factor on bhp is the WRX piston rings which are rated at 360bhp.

The Newage WRX is an incredibly efficient car, more so than the Newage STi and Evo. Maybe even some classics. Hence why WRX's often post faster times in magazine tests and on the strip, many times with less power, this is due to the lighter drivetrain, disks etc etc. (I don't know why some classics are less efficient, never asked) Due to this principal there are many other ways of increasing power at the wheels that doesn't strain the engine ....but baby steps first.

These are my Engine mods:

Ecutek remap by Pat Herborn (dyno & road)
STI 550 injectors
STI intercooler
TD05 16g Turbo
Blitz Nur spec backbox
Decat centre section
Decat DEI wrapped ported up-pipe
Cobra Sport 3" Race cat downpipe
Walbro 255l Fuel pump
NGK PFR7B plugs
JR Performance panel filter
Perrin Turbo intake hose
STI intercooler Y hose
5w40 Millers CFS Nanodrive oil
75-90 Millers CRX NT Tranny oil

along with a few weight saving mods I recorded a 0-60mph time of 3.8 secs on the drag strip with wheel spinning budget tyres and 3.5 secs on my GPS measuring device with my new NS2R tyres.

By comparison a 1062kg 680bhp McLaren F1 LM hits 60mph in a paltry 4.0 secs. :norty: ...my back invariably goes when I launch, it's that fast.

My car as it stands with the suspension and braking sorted, with the pace of a powerful STi/Evo but not the torque, is a formidable animal in the wet.

Thank for all that information, fantastic! I don't think I'm quiet the serious about having a car that fast, for me a simple power boost will be enough I think lol. I think I'll do what most suggest, get the car, live with it as standard for a while and see what I want to do. I guess I'll get the 'bug' and want too do more than I can afford lol. After all the fastest car I've every owned was a specd up Peugeot 309 gtiback in the day, but that was only pulling about 150-160 bhp. So a 200+ bhp car is going to be fast to me from the start, time will tell on that.