rootadmin

Hi all,

First post on my venture into Subaru's!

I'm thinking about buying (if I can find a good one) an RB320, my only concern is that horror stories I hear about the 2.5 STI engine, should I be worried if I find a low mileage one - around the 30-40k mark?

Cheers

RA

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

yes you should be worried..........very worried. get one that has been rebuilt by a specialist OR have £5k sat in an account somewhere for a rebuild IF it ever happens. the rest of the car is pretty bomb proof to be fair its just the engine thats garbage. once built though the 2.5 is a great fast road engine. ideal spec would have a closed deck conversion,11mm arp head studs, decent pistons like mahle/omega etc and manley rods along with rcm stopper head gaskets and acl bearings throughout.

pjarvis6666

iTrader: (1)

such a shame to hear about all the 2.5s. like you said once its built up properly they are fantastic!!.

JdmSti2006

for a money buy spec c or ra

rootadmin

WR1?

Smithys STI

iTrader: (1)

I agree with shreksta ,But then again my old 2006 hawk STI had done 93k miles when I sold it still on the original head gaskets,pistons and engine..think i was just lucky to be fair tho.

rootadmin

(kinda) glad I asked, it’s given the the ***** about the 2.5 now, tempted to go for the WR1, ideally looking for something that’s fun yet potentially still an investment.

JdmSti2006

wr1 is a narrow track UK sti ,nothing special apart colour and dccd
rb320 has nice seats and suspension thats it

MarkRF

Mine went at <27k miles, standard tune. Head gasket and ring land fails

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

WR1 dont seem to attract people in the same way as other scoobs, which is a shame as they look awesome

RB320 will be more of an investment IMO, alot to the said for the Richard Burns connection.

BUT yes the 2.5 has issues.

Vxr2010

Not all 2.5 fail , but it is quite a well talked about reported issue 😒 we will only often hear of the ones that have failed v the ones still running fine , the 2.5 is a very good engine for road use , and if it does go becomes a better engine when it’s forged , it’s not cheap to forge around 5500£ but if done well it will last a long time , if hg does go always do a full rebuild as the crank failure will follow about a year on so end up costing you twice , i run three 2.5 sti and way prefer it to the 2 litre sti jdm i had , twin scroll does improves things , i do like the wr1 as it’s one of the quickest standard production scoobies , but rust would worry me if not looked after as it is an 04 car , i do also like the rb320 , even though it is slower than the wr1 👍😂, the subaru as a whole is generally very reliable only downside is the possible engine issues , but if it’s a long term keeper spending 5500£ once in 10 years of use is not a lot , it’s the cost of paying one extra car tax per year , test drive time and see which one you want , rb320 don’t seem to come up as much v wr1

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

Good advice, I guess its talked about so much because its a scoob based forum, i would imagine the same thing happens on Ford forums with the HG for the RS, definitely talk about HGs on the VXR forums, we think the 2.5 has problems .......................

NOSSY_89

I would disagree with the WR1 comments. Prices were strong and have stayed strong. Very limited number made. It is the only UK non widetrack with DCCD from factory.

When its all said and done enjoyment is the main factor.

rootadmin

Thanks for all the comments,

I’m going to leave the rb320.

however I’m a bit lost what to go for, I know it’s going to be a 2.0 but is the preference the wr1 or widetrack (whatever the difference is) or spec c/ RA?

NOSSY_89

Depends on end goals and budget. You don't normally mod a special edition because when you come to sell most often than not they want the car as close to stock so you could have done all the mods to a STI instead.

rootadmin

I’ve a budget of up to circa 23k(ish)

I’m after something fun for the twistys, pretty rare - so would also be an investment and not lacking in power yet won’t fly apart under load.

Vxr2010

so in reality you could be looking for a jdm sti import 2 litre twin scroll , jdm benefits ...normally car tax is 245£ or so per year v sometimes 580£ ish , 2 litre twin scroll less lag and its a 2 litre not a 2.5 , a fresh import more chance of rust free , have a look at harlow jap imports , if you are not into subtle there’s a green sti on there , but they normally have other options , have a look on ebay or pistonheads 👍

NOSSY_89

You could also share any potential purchase on here. Someone might have seen it already or spot something etc. Just remember prices are wild.

Matt Gooner Moulding

rb over a wr1 all day for me. hate the colour of wr1.

JdmSti2006

mine is 580😪
i was after spe c ra or c ,bought jdm 2.0
i like wr1 but would take rb320 to ,widetrack ver. are nicer inside - centre console, defi style cluster, ra is even nicer( black centre console)other option is s204 but for a money i will go with ra

plenty

iTrader: (13)

I’d personally take JDM myself over WR1, but as an investment an WR1 makes a lot of sense. Yes it’s a tarted-up blob but an RB5 and McRae Editions are tarted UK2000s and look at what they’re fetching.

Widetrack vs non is overrated IMO. I preferred the handling of my non-widetrack blob JDM to that of my hawkeye JDM - the extra rear bias of the blob made more of a difference to how the car feels than the widetrack.

rootadmin

Thanks, spotted (what appears to be a near perfect) JDM Spec C RA for around the same price as the WR1 but in a nicer colour. So we’ll see what comes of it.

JdmSti2006

when buying ra have a look if it has oem struts -2.5k on ebay

rootadmin

seems to have adjustable coilovers installed

NOSSY_89

@adam.pah is the RA man, he has a very detailed thread about it so check that out to make sure it has the correct bits. If WR1 and RA are the same price then RA is the one you should be buying. I knew WR1s were commanding strong money didn't realise they had shot up that much. Also check the RA is a RA.

rootadmin

damn it, looks like I was too late, already sold, guess the hunt continues

adam.pah

I have a Blob STI (UK) running 460hp and a spec c RA that is pretty much standard. Driving wise, the spec c feels much lighter and the quicker steering rack is a massive improvement. Point to point, there is not much between the 2 cars. In fact, my friend runs a uk blob with a GTX running 450hp and he can just about stick with me on the country lanes.
If it was me, I’d be looking to buy a spec c. If fact, I’m actually selling my highly modified blob to do just that now. If you’re thinking about modifying then don’t bother with the RA, it will lose value, just stick to a standard spec c. My second choice would be a JDM blob/hawk as the 2.0 twin scroll is a blast on the road and the better heads and quick steering make a nice improvement over the UK spec cars. A WR1 may hold a bit more value than a standard STi but won’t appreciate like a limited JDM model. I actually considered buying a WR1 a couple of years ago but after driving a few I couldn’t understand what the hype is, just feels like any other STi. A fresh JDM car is nearly always much cleaner than a uk car too.

NOSSY_89

Thought you were getting a type r

adam.pah

i did have a little look around for a type r but the prices have gone silly overnight. I guess they have for the spec c too but I’ve found something and hopefully I can pull something off. Hurst had a type r a month ago for £12k and now I can’t find anything for less than £16!

plenty

iTrader: (13)

The VF36/37 OEM JDM setup is superbly judged for UK roads where the almost total lack of any lag makes for excellent progress. My JDM blob with exhaust and map was a more satisfying car to drive on UK roads than my JDM hawk with a host of mods including LM450.

I had the opportunity to test my recollections when I got to drive my old blob again, which I had sold to a mate, while he drove my hawk. On some of our favourite lanes I would pull 2-3 car lengths on the hawk out of corners thanks to the low-down torque of the VF37 while the LM450 was still spooling. Of course the hawk would reel that back in given a decent straight.