Please help! - I noticed the other day that my 96 wrx import was feeling quite slow, I though at first it was just me getting used to the car as I only got it 2 weeks ago. I have noticed that at about 3000 rpm when the turbo kicks in that the 'pull' is not as much as normal and there is more of a loud 'WHOOSH' from under the bonnet. Does anyone out there have any ideas what this could be, any help will be much appriciated.

try having a look around for loose pipes hoses etc

i have tried to look around but i can't find anything, does it sound like a hose problem?

Depends exactly what you mean by "whoosh". The most likely cause is the pipe from the turbo to the intercooler having either come off or split. Close behind that in the probability stakes is the intercooler to throttle body pipe coming off.

Anything else you don't want to know about at the moment as it's gonna be a few quid to fix. Rule out the three suggestions above first - if you still can't find the cause of the problem come back and tell us.

get yourself or borrow a boost gauge..

Dan:D

Thanks for the reply's, can anyone tell me where I should be looking (pictures would be great) because I don't what to start digging and end up causing damage

The first thing I'd do is set it running, get someone to sit in and rev it to say 3000rpm, then look, listen and feel around for any obvious air leaks under the bonnet. If NOT obvious:
Start by having a good look/feel/poke around the intercooler to inlet hose: it's the big fat short on at the front of the i/c.
if it isn't obvious, you'll have to take off the intercooler.
Two bolts at the sides, loosen clamps at the two hoses, (one at front, one below,o/s, and pull it/wiggle it off.
Then examine all hoses for cracks, splits or holes.
Look also at the fittings at the rear underneath.
If it's none of these, and you can't see any pipes obviously displaced with it off, I suggest a visit to a dealer.
Alcazar

BTW: it'll all go back easier if the i/c hoses, esp the lower ones are warm.

Thanks for all the help guy's, fixed the problem, I took the I/C out and one of the bolts to the air duct had come loose making a 2mm gap so I decided to fix a samco hose kit whilst it was off, running great now, infact it feels better than ever.