Kramer

Hi all, Obviously 2 doors but what else. Has the four door got i/c water spray,diff lock etc.Also is there something different about the gears lower higher ratio or something ?
Cheers.

chrisp

The type R has a diff lock, roof vent, closer ratio gear box. The saloon doesnt have any of these, I think, maybe . I am wrong am sure soemone will put me in my place about a dozen times

All V5 STi have I/C as far as I know

cheers

chrisp


[This message has been edited by chrisp (edited 09-07-2000).]

ian/555

If you want ABS brakes you get no diff lock or I.C spray i think!

blp

Correct... spray is for people that dont wash very often (Type R owners) and diff lock is also for people that like playing with small fiddly ***** (Type R Owners) and finally a roof vent is also for people that smell so much the air con cant cope (Type R Owners, refer point No. 1).
from a 4 dr owner

[This message has been edited by blp (edited 09-07-2000).]

WALKER

Only V-LTD s come with the roof vent. I`m collecting my Type R on Saturday, can`t wait, better still the missus is having my myoo ppp off me!

Paul

Darren Soothill

The Type R also has larger rear brakes with 2 pot calipers as oppose to the sliding caliper ones.

The Type R also has a different rear differential which is a 2 way 4 pinion setup as oppose to the suretrack of the other cars.

The suspension is allegedly harder.

You get blacked out rear windows

There is also a reinforced rear axle and the Torque split is much more rearward biased 70:30 to the rear as oppose to the other cars being 50:50. Makes for a much more interesting car but you have to get used to altering the center diff when its wet otherwise you can very easily end up looking at where you have just been!!!

A certain Miss VBH nearly achieved that trick in my car on Wednesday and it was dry!!!

steve McCulloch

Another thing

The Type R's tend to have gearbox problems - especially 5th gear synchro - different to the 4 door saloon.
I know a lot of people, and a number of importers who prefer the 4 door saloon because of this. - especially as it is known that this is more of a manufacturing defect rather than something simply effecting a few people - make sure the warranty is good!

Darren Soothill

I used to have 5th gear problems until the oil was changed for Silkolene which sorted out those problems. It only really became apparent on a trackday when the gearbox got hotter!

SDB

Be sure you want a type R before buying one...

The driving experience, and particularly the limit handling of a Type R is far more extreme than a standard STi.

The rearward bias is partly the cause of this, but mostly the rear diff...

I am useless with mechanics and don't understand how they work, but as a driver, the rear diff feels as though it completely locks under lots of wheel spin. This means SERIOUS oversteer if you nail on a slippy bend.

You have to respect it far more. Stadard STis are much easier to hurl through bends. The Type R requires a far higher level of planning and skill.

I love mine, but my concentration level is always slightly higher than it is in other scoobs (unless they belong to someone else ).

Cheers

Simon
PS I've driven over 100 scoobs sideways now. If I HAD to generalise (which I hate)...

The 22B is the most challenging
Type R very very very close second
Other diff lock cars (lke some RAs) next
Then STi
Then WRX
Then UK
(probably missed some)


[This message has been edited by Simon de Banke (edited 10-07-2000).]

robski

Simon,

have you ever driven a scoob in a straight line!?

robski

Blow Dog

Hmm,
good advice from you all, esp Simon.
But what is the difference between a Type R and a Type R v-ltd?

Surely its not just a roof vent and blue colour?

Simon,
You say the Type R's have a tendancy to oversteer where a UK car may well be a little more sure footed. Is this the "OH MY GOD, IM DRIVING A DODGE VIPER ALL OF A SUDDEN AND I AM HEADING FOR THE BUSHES!!" or is it the "WAHHEEEYY, MOVE OVER JUHA KANKKUNEN" variety?

At the moment, I enjoy taking my UK car through its paces in disused b-roads and it handles the bumps and dangerous road conditions (leaves, mud, rain, diesel spillage etc) with alarming ease. Am I likely to total a Type R if I treat it the same way? Is it going to cath me out or does it become a much more 'special stage' experience? Last thing I want is to own a car which is constantly going to catch me unawares and give me semi cardiac arrests every time i nail it in a bend.

Yours academicaly,
Cem

Darren Soothill

Trying to rack my brain back to when I first moved over to the Type R from the UK car and certainly in the dry the car does feel different when you accelerate hard out of a carner you can feel the rear of the car moving more but not the in a big way it just moves around a little so you have to be a little bit more careful with throttle usage. In the wet you wind the diff lock forward more and this tames the rear end of the car down ensuring the rear cant get away from you.

What you do have to remeber is that the car is different and dont try applying suspensions settings that every one else does without thinking carefully about what they are going to do to the car.

The only other thing to remember is the brakes there is no ABS on the car and the rear brakes on the car are almost too good and certainly in certain circumstances you can get the rear end of the car to lock up easily which baffles me as to why a number of people are wanting to put bigger brakes on the rear of the non Type R's

[This message has been edited by Darren Soothill (edited 10-07-2000).]

RobinL

Kramer,

I have a Type R and have had the synchro on 4th replaced after some very hard runs at Goodwood and Mallory. Since then no problems in 30k miles.

As for the oversteer - yep if you want it you can have it. You completely balance the cars steering on the throttle - which is nice ! Ultimately rear wheel drive biased cars tend to steer round corners better rather than understeer or four wheel drift. As for the ride, it is harder, but for a reason ! It is not as hard as an Evo and easy to live with on a day to day basis.

Regarding wet weather handling, it depends a lot on tyres on the type R. I've tried A520's and found them a liability, especially after a few thousand miles. I'm currently using Bridgestone S02 PP's and they are the dog's danglies in the wet, both for braking and cornering.

I would prefer to have ABS on the car, but you can't have the centre diff control if you do. I don't use the centre diff for day to day driving, but on ice it's fantastic. I guess it would be the same on any wet or loose gravel service, but you'd have to be seriously going some to notice.

I bought the Type R because I wanted the best performance (the Type R's gear ratios are built for full on acceleration right up to the red line) and closest experience to real performance driving I could get, in a day to day car. I'm lucky enough to have a Superlight R500 for when the rain stops, but across country lanes and air-born over bridges there is nothing (R6, R1 and Blade included that can keep up).

Take one for a spin and see which best suits your driving style and needs.

Robin.

Craig H

Type Rs are supposed to be the quickest. In reality they are no quicker, or maybe slightly slower than a 4 door. The advantage you get from the lower gears is offset by changing gear more frequently.

To get the best out of them you need to cane them thru to 8k in the gears - not good if it's a V5.

SDB

Cem

It depends on how much you want to push the car, and (if you want to push it hard) how skilled you are.

Up to a point the Type R is just as predictable and easy to drive as an STi, but it is when you overstep that point that it can bite...

I have done hundreds of laps of MIRA now, in all sorts of cars and NEVER go off, but...

A couple of weeks ago, when I had just got some new S-02s (supplied by the fabulous Tyres Northampton) on, I was stunned as to the grip, so...

I dicided to put in some quick timed laps to see hoe quick they were. I drove at about 9/10ths for most of the circuit, and 10/10ths on a couple of bends (where it's totally safe to do so)..

Coming in to turn one on the third lap (about 90MPH entry on deep standing water and a slippy road surface! ) I put the car sideways on the entry to the corner and nailed it to power through the bend (as usual), but the rear diff locked (AAARRGHHH!!!) and the car went into HUGE snap oversteer. I managed to catch it, but turn 2 (60MPH left hander!!) was approaching way too quick so I made the decision to drive straight off the track (accross the grass on the outside of turn 2) rather than risk trying to make the next bend.

This shocked me as I've done so many laps there (and so much limit handling) inch perfect, it is an eye opener when something catches you out.

But...

This only happened RIGHT on the limit of the car. Before that it had not shown itself. Most of the more extreme aspects of the Type R happen much more progressively, so if you take your time to really learn the car, bit by bit, it should be fine. The difference is, almost anyone can get straight into an STi and be quick and fairly safe (without learning the car).

Personal choice. Personally, I love the Type R, I like the raw feel and sharp handling. I LOVE the diff control as it really does give you many cars in one. The only drawback is that you can't seem to have it more than a bit forward and still turn tight corners without the diff making a noise from hell.

Best Regards

Simon

MorayMackenzie

Simon,

It is, of course, possible to replace the offending rear diff with a more forgiving unit... maybe a viscous unit?

BTW: You will love my car with the ATB up front... it's just plain silly.

Moray

Darren Soothill

I would have to disagree with statement about the gear changing having a negative effect. What the closer ratios mean is that you can always have a gear that is correct for a corner and sometimes you have 2 gears that you can take a corner in.

This is most apparent when on a track and there is only one correct gear for a corner in a non Type R and this is often a compromise in that you end up dropping too far down the rev range or you run out of revs mid corner.

The same things apply when travelling briskly cross country and you dont have to rev the car up to the redline.

The problem with an ATB diff is that if you loose all traction on one wheel then all torque will be directed to that wheel as an ATB requires some force to be able to direct the torque across to the gripping wheel.

This is the reason that the Caterham Superlight race cars have all moved away from ATB diffs over to plated diffs because if they go kerb hopping then they loose all drive as all the power is spun away to the wheel with no grip. Maintenance wise its a different story as a plated diff does require work when the plates wear out. Spent quite a while talking to Quaife about these issues as they do quite a nice ATB unit for a reasonable price.

STI do a 1.5 way front plated diff which potentialy has some advantages under braking because the diff will also lock under braking but to a lesser degree so reducing the possibility that you lock one front wheel without the other one.

The rear diff in the Type R is a 2 way which means that it locks up the diff more aggressivly under braking so helping to balance the car out a bit.

RichieC

Some cracking info here I reckon. This is what the BBS should be about (see my previous ramblings!). Im interested indeed, just need to find the readys to by said Type R...

Keep up the good work (listen to me sounding all Moderatorish!!)

R

WALKER

Have to agree with RichC, this is great stuff!
As i`m picking my V5 Type R up on Saturday you can probably understand my excitedness(sorry about the spelling). Obviously i test drove the car when viewing it, but will it be noticebly different to the uk ppp i`m driving at the moment ? I couldnt really tell on the test drive, but then i didn`t really take it to its limit.
Also, is it safe to drive it to the limit on sul or should i add some octane booster for added safety. Will probably get it linked when the warrenty runs out.

Cheers

Paul