andrew murray

Hello, long time lurker 1st post

Im thinking about chopping in my ST for a scoob, really looking at a classic shape sti or modded wrx, might take a bug if I can find a nice one. I was just wondering in terms of reliability, how bad are they? Seems like every other car has had an engine fail/rebuild.. it would be used everyday and I do about 15k a year.. any advice would be great, Ive had to deal with engine failures before and I dont like it!!

Neeko1988

I used mine as daily for around 5 months or so with no problems in this time, no different from any other car really apart from the fuel economy. just a couple of things to maybe be aware of is coilovers and loud exhausts dont suppose you would want the ride being really hard and the exhaust droning on the motorway everyday?

andrew murray

Im not too fussed about noise etc.. owned enough modded cars, cant really remember what its like to run a OE setup on a car lol

I was kind of thinking that a rebuild was mandatory at over 100k? How to gearboxes hold up to increased power?

Neeko1988

There is a recent thread on here about engine failure causes etc, basically there are so many variables as to why the engines give up.

I think to stand the best chance you need a car with full service history using good oils, lower mileage, any modifications to be remapped to the car and running on proper fuel.

Although even then your not totally safe lol!

Ash Webster

this has been brought up many times. for a more comfortable everyday car get a wrx , you can still mod it etc and get decent mpg. for a harsher rider and low fuel economy a classic sti.


personally I have a classic sti and I cant wait to get it in a lockup and just use another car everyday. the roads round my end are **** tho..

andrew murray

@Neeko Yeah I was reading that thread.. doesn't make a nice read. You reckon its better to get a UK car as it was always mapped for UK fuel rather than an import that may have been run un-mapped? I always thought JDM engines were stronger but then I read a wikki the other day that said they were the same on the WRX but the STI's were different..

andrew murray

Yeah I wasn't so much meaning from a comfort point of view more from maintenance... ie can I run a hi (ish) miler classic as a daily without it dieing on me.. I suppose it comes down to service history..

Neeko1988

Somebody will prob be along who knows more than me but i was under the impression a JDM had a stronger engine? - like i say i ran a 2.0 WRX and never had any trouble i serviced it on 5k miles and ensured always ran on vpower. As long as you shop around and make sure you get a good example i should hope you wouldn't have a problem.

Ash Webster

whilst they are money pits with regards to upgrades, just keep an eye on rust (sills/arches) and the engines are actually pretty solid. classics I mean.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

My modified newage hawkeye has been a daily driver for the last 9 years. Loved every minute of it!

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Personally, I find classics un-comfortable to drive, they really are basic/old and coming from the ST I think your taking a backwards step, Classic's are great for a weekend blast if you have something else to drive everyday, but regardless of what most people will tell you they really are not a great everyday car.

The only plus point for the classic Impreza is that with a map and decat they are very fast cars due to being light and you have the added bonus of 4wd, but do you really want to give up your ST for something thats a bit faster??? Sound wise I prefer the ST with a performance exhaust then the impreza burble!!

sy.

iTrader: (8)

Hold on the st is no stranger to engine probs the Volvo 5 pot can suffer from liner slip or lift,oil modiline, actuator seizure plenume cracking ect ect .... Also they are very similar to the Impreza in respect to mpg so for daily use the only thing I could give an st over an Impreza is arguably the ride quality/comfort.

stamina_daddy

iTrader: (3)

I think daily comes down to comfort, I've had 2 newage and one classic still wagon.
In my view the classic wagon was far too basic a car for a daily driver.
Mine was noisy as well, with decat and induction kit.
I think you should test drive both.
I currently run a blob wagon but it's my weekend toy.
It's decatted and mapped and as a daily I couldn't do it for to long.
Modern oe cars are so much quieter and less involving to drive.
Cheers. Justin

adamroutley

I currently run a 2006 blob sti PPP as a daily. Other than fuel economy it's been fine. Get about 200 mile to a full tank pottering around with the occasional heavy foot.

I get paid fuel when I'm in work hours so not all bad.

SubieJack

I run a PPP 05 STi as a daily, and as said above it's the fuel that kills you. But coming from an ST, you're probably no stranger to the petty station.

I would just buy one mate, because they're such a good car and their values are on the rise you won't lose a penny if you decide to sell on a few months later. That is, if you haven't bought it off a jammy **** taking trade seller who thinks the cars are worth 3 grand more than it is.

GONZO01

iTrader: (6)

My Blobeye WRX/STI is my daily and I love it😛.

Sad Weevil

iTrader: (1)

I've been running my classic wagon (ppp and Bilsteins) as a daily for nearly 2 years now, 12k miles per year. It's not the most refined car for sure, but always engaging and hugely enjoyable to drive, which is far more important to me. If you find one that's been looked after properly in the past and modified properly, and change the oil every 3-5k miles, they can be super reliable.
YMMV.

BLU

iTrader: (27)

I run a 300 bhp Bug STi 2.0 as a daily (8000ml yr) and my wife runs a stock hawk GB270 2.5 as her daily (20000ml yr) Both cars are just as reliable as any other car we've owned! The only downside is the shorter service intervals and in my wife's case high tax band!!

Liam554

I was using my 326hp classic everyday for a year or so until I got a mk1 MX5 as well, took it from 104k to 112k, nothing went wrong on it apart from the alternator dying, £30 part and it was running great again. They're meant to be enjoyed as much as possible imo!

Feffers

Hi mate - if you want a UK classic then it won't be an STI unfortunately as they are all JDM. Just to confuse things the classic WRX is actually JDM too. Unlike the UK classic though they came with about 270 bhp if I remember rightly compared to the UK's 215.

I ran a classic WRX, PPP Bug STI and PPP blob WRX as an everyday car and the STI wins it for me hands down. Just felt special whenever I drove it. The blob was a nice car and with the PPP had circa 270 bhp but just didn't feel very special.

HTH

andrew murray

Thanks for the replies.. Someone mentioned the questionable reliability of the volovo 5 pot.. You ain't wrong mate, lots and lots of issues.. I'm not afraid of a spanner and don't mind getting stuck in to fixing stuff so long as it's not engine/gearbox internals. Seem a few nice modded bug wrx's, deffinetly need something over 300bhp

RS_Matt

I bought my 2003 Blob in 2008, had it compression tested shortly after and the results weren't great, since then I've treated the car horribly knowing I've a spare engine sat in my bedroom, I've never serviced the car, I've thrashed it, perpetually launched it and taken it drag racing 3 times.

8 years later and 45,000 miles later the 333hp engine is still going, flies through emissions and can manage 38mpg on the 100 mile journey to Bridlington and back (32-36 normally which is normal on here for the WRX). Last 3 mappers have all said the engine is fine :0

The only issue I've had is shock absorbers lasting a few months so I cured that with aftermarket suspension.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

LOL. I have a few questions Matt:


1. Why do you have an engine in your bedroom?


2. How & why did you get it upstairs? Unless you sleep in the garage now like I do?


3. Are you sure your MPG calculations are correct or are they based on the same maths as your 1/4 mile calculations? 32-36 mpg from a WRX isn't normal. I get 24mpg tops every day driving like Miss Daisy! On a run AT MOST I've never got above 31mpg.

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

And no oil change in 8 years ??? My blob wagon, stage 1 277hp, will nearly always do 300 miles off a tank, best was 356 miles on a run, steady 70/80 mph.....must be high 20`s at least

ccsimpreza

iTrader: (1)

I had to use my blob sti for a few days for work as my daily was broken. Never again.

Adding miladge onto it (200 a day), shocking ride (Coilovers), constant motorway drone (Straight through decat hks) and of course paying the fuel price just had me waiting to get back into my 1.3 cdti corsa!

Then, when I get out of my corsa to use the scoob on the weekend, its like night and day with performance! And i appreciate the scoob more.

RS_Matt

I put it in the bottom of the wardrobe, it wasn't that heavy, just bottom end.

Most Newage WRX owners on here have posted they get circa 30-36mpg in mpg threads, my car is no exception. 24mpg isn't right for a Newage WRX off boost. Mine only drops to 24mpg at 85mph. At 50mph on level ground it returns around 45mpg. Obviously that'll drop if I have to brake then accelerate back up to 50mph. So on a long rural drive around Lincolnshire/East Yorkshire the Impreza is moderately economic for a weighty 4x4 performance vehicle.

I waited for the fuel light to come on and put 3 gallons in the car when the light came back on I was usually around 100 miles dependent on traffic/routes, share the 100 miles by 3 to get the mpg, easy!!! I then confirm it using a calibrated app that reads the lambda sensor etc to back it up. It's very rare the car drops below 30mpg, even around town, mainly due to pulse driving.

I know my car is lighter than a normal WRX, but one of my caliper pistons is seized on and my compression is low on 2 cylinders.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

What a load of complete tosh! I've been on here long enough to know 24mpg from my daily newage WRX is totally correct. No idea where you pull your random figures from Matt! Give me strength!

30mpg around town? hahahaha sure sure.

At 50mpg on level ground..... sounds like you're playing with theory over reality YET again!


You need to back up all your wild statements with evidence.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Your husband must love you!

Steve001

iTrader: (7)

At 50mph on level ground it returns around 45mpg.

Dear God I nearly choked on my coffee

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

This is my issue Steve. Some calculator has told ****-Matt that "At 50mph on level ground it SHOULD return 45mpg"


I honestly give up. Much like his 1/4 mile THEORETICAL times, if he ever achieves 45mpg from his f****d WRX I'll buy the blooming thing from him and use it myself!


What a "theoretical" tool.