So after owning a couple of classic turbo 2000's in the past and enjoying both cars:









I thought it was about time I did it properly and bought an STI. Initially I was looking for a classic type R or type RA but I have always liked the look of the bugeye and the car I eventually bought ticked all of the boxes I was looking for being low mileage, excellent bodywork, full service history and largely unmodified (or as close to standard as I could get)

So after looking at a few I purchased this (pics from the advert):








The eagle eyed among you may notice an upgraded alloy radiator which was the only modification from standard although after these pictures were taken by the seller it was also fitted with a TSL pulse extraction exhaust with sports cat downpipe (more than a grands worth new) so I wasnt going to complain.

So I picked up the car last weekend after identifying a couple of little issues on the test drive that were to be sorted out (before pickup) one being an exhaust rattle (sounded like a heatshield) and the other was a noisy cooling fan. The noisy fan was better but is still noisier than I would like and the exhaust rattle was still there. Not best pleased but a little money knocked off cheered me up and on my merry way I went.

So a few hundred miles driven and I love the car its so much faster than the turbo 2000's it was a bit of a shock at first although I have settled into it now and it makes my 325i I had been driving feel incredibly lazy. A few little niggles have raised thier ugly little heads. Firstly there is knock from the nearside rear (I am guessing this is the age old newage damper problem) which I am hoping to sort with coilovers and the second is the tracking as the steering wheel isnt 100% straight when driving in a straight line (again will be sorted with coilovers) the suspension in general is all looking a little tired with most of it looking original so I think a refresh is on the cards. Other than that I have a few bits and pieces turning up and want to get a full service done inc cambelt just for piece of mind more than anything else.

One of the first things I purchased was a new set of mats so thought I would get some pics:

before:


During:


After:


Also came with a boot mat:

Before:


After:


The new mats are much nicer and suit the colour of the interior a little more than the odd blue colour of the old ones

Anyways think thats enough for the start hopefully will be back very soon with the next update

 

Nice car mate! The bug sti's are becoming rarer now as everyone rips them apart for parts it seems....not many out there when I looked.

 

Thanks very much. Yeah definitely not as popular as the earlier/later cars but I quite like that. Its a shame that they get broken for parts as I think the shape/front end is definitely something that grows on you but by the time everyone realises there will be no good ones left.

 

Looks great! Do like these JDM bugeye STIs.

I'd rather a few issues from tired OE parts then a car loaded with aftermarket rubbish parts.

 

Thanks

Very true but guess when bought from a dealer you dont expect to have problems especially when they specialise in Impreza's. Still if I carry out the replacements/upgrades then I know when it was done and that it was done right. I will be keeping all of the standard parts though so at least it can go back to OEM (not that I will be going to far from original)

 

Looks nice, the JDM bugs are a lot more subtle than the UK ones with the low spoiler but that to me is just a blank canvas

 

Thanks

Definitely more subtle although untill you see the brakes it would be easy to mistake it for a WRX!......not sure if this is good or bad?

Haha yeah it is very much a blank canvas. My original intention was to leave the outside alone but now I am seriously tempted to find an S202 type spoiler and prodrive front bumper

 

Nice bug did you get it from hurst cars sure i saw it when i was looking

 

Great choice of mods - I'm spending on other stuff at the moment but will get a prodrive bumper at some point. Good luck finding a 202 spoiler

 

Thanks, Yes I did get it from Hurst cars they always seem to have a good selection of Impreza's especially unusual and rare models

Thanks yeah I dont think there is any hope of finding an original S202 spoiler although I did see you can still buy them new if you want to pay £1200 . So supect I will end up with a copy

Managed to clean the car at the weekend so thought I would get some pictures of my own I also got these fitted:


Also fitted new wipers as the old ones were shot and decided on these:


Which look much better on the car so from this:


To this:


Rear had also seen better days:


and finally some pics of the whole car:

 

Well I have been a little quiet lately basically because I have been stupidly busy at work and have been messing around with/upgrading my road bike's (pedal not motor) so the car has taken a back seat. However I have found the time and cash to buy this little lot:








I have all 4 of these ^ obviously!! from these people:







Hopefully all of this stuff will be going on this weekend all being well which should make a hell of a difference to the way the car behaves

I also got some pictures of the car at the weekend so:

 

Some choice mods

 

Thanks Jon

So tackled the suspension at the weekend only to find pretty much everything was a complete B**CH to get off and rusted solid. It pretty much took me a day and a half just to remove 2 ball joints, 2 track rod ends and the drop links!! so needless to say the coilovers didn't get fitted I did manage to get the CDF mount fitted though which makes a nice difference to the gearchange and when coming off and on throttle with no difference in NVH which pleased me no end and was simple to fit (especially when in comparison to the suspension parts).

In other news I have an odd problem with a hesitation mid boost when applying constant pressure on the throttle/accelerating see here for info:
https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...mid-boost.html
If any one can help or point me in the right direction that would be most helpfull

 

I have the same flat spot that only occurs when applying light throttle but it's fine when I apply heavy throttle - not sure why and I've tried all sorts (new MAF, new O2 sensor etc) and the next stage will be more detail applied in my next remap

 

Nice bug there mate, you don't see many silver OEM style JDM's that often and yours looks delightful

When you do manage to get the coilovers fitted could you post up your experiences with them on a daily basis as I am considering going for these but thought they may be a bit harsh?

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

 

Looking at some of the replys I have had in the other thread it may be a boost cut because it is overboosting which isn't great news as I could damage my engine if that is what is going on no full boost for me for a little while until I can sort the problem out or at least get a definite diagnosis

Thanks very much

Yeah silver is definitely a rarer colour for the STI but I like it and it seems to suit the car very well.

I most certainly will as I do a fair amount of miles in mine and all sorts of driving conditions/roads from central London traffic to the Kent coast to motorway cruising so suspect it will be a good test.

I will probably have them fitted the early part of next week and setup either over the following weekend or the early part of the week after

 

I would have thought boost/fuel cut would log a code on the ECU, it certainly does in my starlet

 

That's a good point and I certainly haven't had any engine fault codes and I know the engine check light works as I had a loose plug on my speed sensor that threw up a fault (and stopped the speedo working)

 

They can log codes without bringing up the EML, it wont show until you get it plugged in

 

Boost cut is like hitting a wall if it is overboosting and not generally a hesitation. If it was that you'd know about it and it does throw a CEL

 

I have a code reader and there is nothing on there at the moment it just comes up all clear
Thanks for the confirmation Jon maybe its just an oddity in the standard map with the exhaust etc fitted. Still need to get it sorted out though just in case...... plus its frickin annoying!

Also having never had a car mapped before do the people doing the mapping check for stuff that may be causing problems? Would you still be charged for their time if it turned out the boost solenoid was knackered (for example)?

Any recommendations for remapping around the south east/London area I have seen JGM, slowboy racing and powerengineering has any one dealt with any of these recently/has any feedback?

 

tidy bug rob. where did you get the mats i like them a lot. got a link fella? the ones in my bug are tired and need replaced. cheers.

 

Thanks very much

Mats were from ebay mate link below:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007052419...84.m1497.l2649
Fit isn't 100% amazing but it is pretty close and they are loads nicer than the old ones

 

Top man

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

 

Bit of a delay getting the coilovers fitted as I have been really busy with work but finally they are on:

Well Suspension has been fitted for a few hundred miles now and overall I am very happy. It obviously handles better, there is less roll and the car seems more controlled over bumps. Although I think this isn't quite a fair comparison as I do believe the suspension that the coilovers replaced was original so was 13 years old and had done 45k miles. I did have some problems initially with knocking from the rear (my car has the earlier Meister R DCS zeta kit for information) this was traced to the solid topmounts and a torque up on the four camber adjustment bolts solved this (however I did strip one down to its component parts to check everything but found no other problems (Meister R have since changed the design to have rubber topmounts so sure this has all been sorted if you buy a kit from them now) I still have a few odd noises from the rear at low speed but find these more than acceptable. Road noise has increased especially at the rear but again not so it is intrusive it is just louder (again suspect this would be better with the later kits) and I would say that the car is no more harsh with road surfaces/general driving than it was before if anything it is a touch better and suspect this will only improve once it has a complete geometery check and setup. Considering the price I paid (was £450 as was the old kits under clearance) they have been a great improvement to the car and so far the quality seems very good

 

nice car, when they came out they were slated for the front end, now they look fine IMO.

 

The coilovers sound good enough for me, thanks for your review of them

Hows the bug now has much changed since?

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.