elisejb

Hi

Ive just joined scoobynet, im needing some advice about buying a STI 4 Type R. Im currently selling my lotus elise to buy a scoob. I looked at a great example sti 4 on sunday. Looks superb but its only been in the country for 8 months. If i do a hpi can i find out about its history in japan. All the history is in japanies. Its up for £10500 but i think i could do a deal at £10000, its done 45,000 miles and its in sonic blue (Great colour)

James

scoobynutta555

No hpi check will reveal its Jap history. i think however you can find out from the police(?) if the car is registered stolen in Japan.

Have your eyes wide open when you go to look at any impreza, and its also quite handy if you get the car looked at by a qualified engineer for extra piece of mind. Also, the engine is prone to blowing up if the right grade of petrol hasnt been used (generally optimax only with additional octane booster per tank). A significant number of sti4/5s have had engine rebuilds.

If youre not sure about the car in any respect, walk away, there are bundles of them for sale. At the end of the day you dont want to spend 10k on a car then 5k the week after on a new engine.

Generally insurance backed warranties are a rip off and Im sure you can do a check on here about them. Unless youre buying from a reputible garage whom supply their own comprehensively backed warranty, any other warranty should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Coming from an elise you will be very familiar with rear wheel drive, which is a characteristic of the typeRs.

elisejb

I did ask about what he runs the impreza on. He runs it on optimax but not with additives. He hasnt got the ecu re-mapped either. The car is totaly standard. I started it from cold and it sounded great. No knocking noises

ra sti

you cant get a hpi done but

u can do the BIMTA check and get the jao history and find if its been stolen or had accidents or whatever


i'm an importer/enthusiast and believe me do not rush into anything
the type r and type ra i'd say well i've sold 7 sti type r's and 11 sti ra's and a few 55s and out of them 5 yes five of the owners called me and said that i was driving along and herd a knock the car jerked and theyve blown it and a lot of people think that only the 3rd piston has the problem
its rebuilds all around
i've just blown the engine on my personal sti type ra-jun forged pistons.264 degree cams full tuned car, i think it was caused maybe due to the diff


i'm sure you'll know the basics othewrwise you wouldnt be after a type r
solid cars generally only problem with them i'd say is lack of abs lol you have more fun tho-more danger anyways the clutch should be checked because the clutches tend to go quick usually doue to ceramic materials and metal rubbing against metal, just chek everythings sounding right and looking ok
dont risk it when you get 1 make sure its set up on uk fuel.



i'm breaking my aseptember 1995 sti type ra
have everything
group N gearbox
suspenison hks ssqv bov-
aftermarket lighter than standard bonnet
all doors with windows
panels
raadiator
light

anyone interestd contact me for details

07919977852


yorkshire area

DaveW

A couple of points;

Version 4's (1997-1998 ECU) cannot be re-mapped - You need a new ECU or a piggyback ECU (prices range from £700 - £3500 for the more common ones).

3rd Party Warranties - Waste of time, unless you have knowledge that they will pay out in the event something goes wrong. Generally they will get out of paying for most things, including engine re-builds.

Good luck.

Dave.

elisejb

OK dokey..Looks like im getting another elise...Its going to be too much hasle if it blows up..My mates has a type r and his blew up twice...

ra sti

your right
many of the ecu's found on these vehicles tend to be aftermaket items but not always so they do pose a bit of a problem

i agree with you. the insurance companies do get out of paying most things, last year a v4 type r was stolen from outside my house and the insurance company was tryin 2 play games tehy wouldnt pay me out, the vehicle still hasnt been found till yet, i had the value down as 11k
and finally they made me an offer-a lousy 4k-they said that the book price for a 97 type r was 5grand-i thought they was joking but i didnt accept it-so i called them agaain and explained that i wasnt happy n this n that and i said that 94 wrx's are fetching around 5k
like always they was being *** holes well i knew theyd never pay out in full and another 6weeks later i was paid just over 7

elisejb

I love the type r's but looks like if i want 1 i need to buy a UK p1

ra sti

uk p1
dont bother
its a ***** compared to the jap type r
how quickly do you need one or want one because i may be able to help
r u strictly after the 2 door type r
or would you be interested in a modified sti type ra or 555-set up on uk fuel!!

elisejb

I strickly want a 2 door in sonic blue but it need to have a re-mapped ecu.

ra sti

whats your budget and i'll see whats available
standard, mildly tuned or you after something heavy
well i have a 2door type r in yellow
- 393bhp@1.1bar rollin roaded at well lane 4weeks ago
full exhaust system-equal length manifold
hks fmic
17inch volk te37's in black
carbon bonnet
rollcage
tein coilovers
hks pistons and jun cams
cusco twin plate clutch
zero sports turbine+radiator and so on
heavily modified and looking for 16k
doubt your interested but if you are contact me quickly as i have someone who is coming this evening for a px with a evo5

elisejb

My budgets around £11000. I want a scoob whats got a full exhaust system, dump valve, Sti 5 type looking spoiler....HAs to be below 50,000miles in sonic blue...If its standard then i dont care although if it has these extra then that would be great

scoobynutta555

Not so

Dont be put off with the above comments. Yes the engines are prone to failure for a number of reasons, the primary ones IMHO are incorrect fueling and modding.

I have owned an sti5typeR for just over six months. I chopped the car in for a brand new P1, over 3 years ago.

It depends on what you are looking for at the end of the day. The typeRs are a fantastic car, but if you are worried about warranty issues then the P1 is the way to go, providing the car is fairly standard and has had the optional 2 years extension of warranty on it. All P1s will be around the time of original warranty expiry now, hence there are a good few for sale at the moment.

The typeR is a little wilder than the P1, with extras such as manual diff control 66% 34% bias to rear power split, electric mirrors, water spray and a few other differences.

The P1 is a UK special edition car with wing/front splitter designed by peter stevens, 17" oz wheels, and pretty much everything else not mentioned above what the sti5s had. The drive of the P1 is split 50/50 the same as most other imprezas, whilst not back endy like the typeR, its more sure footed in day to day driving, especially on motorways where the gearing is higher, where mpg differences are very noticable. Also the P1 has ABS .

Coming from a Lotus Elise I suppose your heart is telling you typeR but your head maybe telling you P1? It all comes down to what you really want from a car. if you want a GOOD typeR then go to a proper dealers and get a fully comprehensive warranty backed up 100% by themselves. The price i suspect will be much higher than £10,000, but at the end of the day youre buying peace of mind. Or, get a 10k one and gamble on the engine. if it does fail just budget for it, its quite common to get the engine replaced/rebuilt nowadays compared to 3/4 years ago. Id budget 5k for replacing a new engine, but i suspect all in you can find cheaper.

The P1 route to get a good example will be around 17k upwards. Its a tamer version of the typeR, but certainly no *****, and *IMHO* a more desirable option. It is of course sonic blue and has 2 doors, which is what you require. Buying from a private seller not a dealer, just make sure you have full history and the car is fully warrantied, and not voided at all.

Im not quite sure what you want rather than blue paint and 2 doors!

I am not a dealer nor am i selling any cars, I have owned both models that youre interested in. Hopefully i have given you an unbiased opinion as to which car to go for

J4CK50N

Alrite mate

Please dont be put off buying either a Type R or P1!

There are many stories about type Rs blowing up, but then there are many more type Rs running around fine - its just people don't make posts about how well their cars are runnning, just how bad!!!

The best thing to do would be to hold out and find the car you want and like other people have said just budget in case something goes wrong.

I have had a Type R v3 for nearly two years, and that hasn't blown up. Just put in the necessary guages such as AFR, Boost and Knocklink and you can monitor what the engine is doing to a point and then if things go pear shaped you can back off and get it sorted!!

PS - my car is up for sale at a reasonable price (slightly under your budget! ) - PM if interested

Cheers

J4CK50N

Mad Hammer

iTrader: (55)

Would have to agree, I you read bbs regularly you would think everyone has had a blow up.

I thought about it long and hard before changing from my UK car to a STI 4 RA, but like it's been metioned, correct gauges etc and fuel and for me there's no contest between a R or RA compared to the P1 when you consider price also.

elisejb

Hi
What kind of Type r do you have for sale and what sort of colour??

James

elisejb

Ive driven both cars. The p1 and the type r. The gears on the type r really make it as they are so close ratio. I know i want a type r but another elise just seem a safer option. If i bought 1 i know i would take care of it. If you run a scoob with aditives and do reg oil changes and you dont drive like a idiot all the time you cant really go wrong....Or can you

Mad Hammer

iTrader: (55)

Never any guarentees, you will regret not doing it if you buy another Elise though

J4CK50N

elisejb

You have a PM

scooby-tc

iTrader: (2)

I run my sti 4 on optimax without additives but i do have a knocklink and lambdalink to monitor the engine and im showing no det at all.A lot o this blowing up engines and having to run the car with booster is scaremongering as long as the appropriate engine monitoring equipment is installed theres nothing to worry about.Theres always the option of a mappable aftermarket ecu later on in ownership if you want to put your mind at rest and map it for uk fuel

J4CK50N

See

Theres a pattern forming! Maybe we should start a Type R Appreciation thread!!

Cheers

J4CK50N

cactus jim

I am another that would try and convince you to buy a Type R, they are awsome in every single way. After buying mine i was extremely worried, especially after reading threads on here. However do your research, buy one that has a knocklink fitted and check when they installed it. There are a lot of enthusiasts out there that look after their cars and you can get a good deal. They dont all blow up!!

i bought mine 12 months ago, havent looked back since, they only reason i am selling mine is licence related, and i WILL buy another one as a second car!!

if you want to ask anything, please do not hesitate to PM me.

james

elisejb

CACTUS JIM

In your post u talked about a "knicklink fit"...What actually is this. I know most of the basics about scoobs but not about this part. Also what kind of type r are you selling??I looked at this type r... its up for £10500 but i know i could get this for £9800..What do you guys think??



http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www...00425147945088

scoobynutta555

he means Knocklink. its a device that has an engine attachment which measures engine det and a display is given on a monitor on the dashboard. Its a warning system which tells you if your engine is 'detonating' or not.

perhaps somebody more technical can explain as i have no practical knowledge of it.

Adam M

when an engine pre-ignites (incorrectly known as detonation but easier to stick with standard nomenclature) areas of the fuel ignite at the wrong time, this effect of this can be dependent on where the piston is in its stroke, and equivalent to htting the piston with a hammer.

The shock load can put holes in the piston or more commonly is transferred to the big end of the rod. The strength with which the rod can be forced against the crank big end bearing is often enough to break the oil film strength separating it from the bearing.

The bearing then picks up, and you have one engine in need of a rebuild.

A knock link is a microphone which is connected t the block which is sensitive to the frequencies which sound like those of detonation. The display on the dash board is often a warning after the det has occured which can be too late. It is merely a meter which measures the amplitude of the frequencies picked up by the microphone.

Increased ron and octane booster as well as colder air and water injection reduce chance of det for the same ignition timing, hence why its always worth asking what fuel the engine has been run on.

Hol

iTrader: (1)

I hate to say it, but that car could be an STI3, with the older dash. The 4's looked the same by#ut had white dials and a digital mileometer.

Like the picture below.




(You wont get the electric recaros though

cactus jim

look through type r corner in members gallery, theres loads of info on there about type r's including for sale.

PM me for info if you like