kbsub

well after 8 or 9 years of having the SUBARU itch I finally get to scratch it
just traded the two year old GOLF for a
04 STI PPP (BLACK )
PRODRIVE SPRINGS
18 GOLD OZ WHEELS
REAR TINTS
done the deal at ROBINSON'S in ROCHDALE and got the best trade in price for the golf
change over was painless , car was prepped and serviced , everything organised and sorted when I got there
and everything done what I asked to be done , well impressed
I know there is a thread on here bad mouthing ROBINSON'S but I speak as I find


best bits so far

the noise ! its worth the entrance fee alone , that flat four burble makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end

two lads in a Peugeot rubber necking the Scooby on the M62 , then nearly running up the **** of a truck !!

parked up in the arndale centre , sat in the Scooby sorting the presets out on the radio , guy comes past in a saxo with drainpipe exhaust , glances at the Scooby then dips the clutch and blips the throttle 4 or 5 times !!

sat on the m62 doing 80 ish , put my foot down and car just takes off

getting up this morning to see a SUBARU IMPREZA parked in the drive


worst bits so far

sat on the M62 , car feels like its got square wheels and bouncing everywhere (do they all do this ?)

cruising at 80 and with all the tyre and wind noise and the rear wing flexing , reminds me being on a plane jetting of to warmer climes

paying 91.9 p a litre for super unleaded at a Texaco garage in Rochdale (its tesco or sainsbury for me from now on, 83.9 a litre for super )

sleepless night last night , every time the outside light went on , jumps out a bed to see what causes it :

ive only had the car for a few hours and its been so eventful but so much fun

P.S.
pics to follow

DPat

Sorry, but it's Shell Optimax only from now on or pay the price later

Welcome aboard
DPat

kbsub

WHY ??

DPat

'cause you'll miss out on loads of performance and the detergants [SP] in the Optimax

Just do a search and see what people think

DPat

kbsub

but why will i pay the price later ?

Nathan L

Not all SUL fuels are the same, Optimax is by far the best IMHO. The octane content on some SUL fuels can vary every tank. I only ever use Optimax but if I was really stuck I would use Esso. They are the most consistent and cause the least noise on the Knocklink.

See here for Knocklink Info

Don't worry about the rear spoiler, they all do that. You will notice the bonnet can also lift slightly as well Again, they all seem to do this.

The bouncing is the way the car is setup. At least you have the Prodrive springs, it's even worse without them. Next time you blat down a B road you will forget all about the bouncing and emerge with a sill grin

Enjoy the car.

Nathan L

Lower Octane levels of some of the cheaper fuels can cause pre detonation, which is a BIG killer of Subaru engines. Your car may be covered by a warranty but it's a pain in the **** having your car off the road for an engine rebuild.

Nathan..

kbsub

well i worked for a major oil company (TOTAL) for ten years loading and delivering the stuff , and many a time i would have an asda or sainsbury truck loading the same petrol ! its all the same stuff belive me , apart from the detergents they use which is an excuse to bump up the price , infact the TOTAL loading terminal in LEEDS , ESSO used to take more loads otta there then we did !! it all came of the same train and from the same refinery (LOR in immingham )

sorry but this as been a myth and fallacy for years with the general public

Nathan L

Well you pays your money.

All I know is my Knocklink is silent on Optimax, is lively on Esso and shows up massive red on BP Ultimate and Texaco.

As DPat suggests, do a search. There are some interesting threads from people who work for Shell etc.

Barnesy

Stick to optimax, you can't go wrong.
First mod:
Get your geometry sorted, now have the prodrive springs and it will transform the car, only costs about £80.
Stu

kbsub

anyone know where you can get that done in west yorkshire ??



i will agree to disagree on the petrol thing , can see it will cause a very heated debate
also i will try a couple of tankfulls of optimax and see if theres any difference
got to get used to the car first onder2:

Nathan L

Buy a Knocklink and see for yourself

kbsub

not sure what they put in optimax , but the base petrol is the same as any where else , go to stanlow oil refinery (SHELL) in cheshire , stand outside the main gates and see how many supermarket tankers come out

CRAIGFIN

Am I missing something here??

I thought a PPP included an ECU remap to use UK 97RON fuel. If this is the case then surely any Super Unleaded fuel should be suitable.

Craig.

chrisp

Thats probably because they probably sell their unleaded and diesel to other outlets. You can only get optimax from a shell filling station

chris's scooby

kbsub, i'd up the standard security otherwise you may be getting up in the morning and finding that you DON'T have a Subaru Impreza on the drive.


Enjoy the car, i know i do mine everytime i get to drive it.

kbsub

main dealer says normal unleaded fine
now being told only a certain super unleaded should be used
I have been on SHELL website , and optimax just has a cleansing detergant added to 97 ron petrol , not sure how this is supposed to prevent detonation though , drivers on the forum even say they notice a difference before getting of the forecourt !

begininng to think we have a placebo effect here

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Nathan, yours is a highly tuned Japan-spec car, not a UK one - it's hardly surprising it's picky about fuel! For what it's worth, I've yet to see any more than one flickering green light on my Knocklink with any fuel - and yes, it's turned up to max sensitivity and all 5 lights definitely work.

kbsub: I really wouldn't worry about it. You do want to use SUL for performance and safety, but the car doesn't require any particular brand. Optimax may well be the best (especially if you have a tuned engine), but I think it's misleading to say you actually need to use it.

chris's scooby

I put Esso SUL in mine, as there aren't any shell garages near me.

kbsub

cat 1 alarm , tracker , barking dog and insomniac owner
anything else you can think off I may need

chris's scooby

If you've only just picked it up i would seriously suggest you check that the tracker works. There have been numerious cases of the units failing. Even if they do work they aren't that hard to either remove or disable.

I would suggest either a garage, dipol security lock or a Blackjax.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

IMHO it's always worth having at least one effective, non-standard security device on the car - just in case someone who's done their homework and thinks they know how to steal an Impreza has a go. A gearbox lock, steering lock and/or anti-hijack system would be my suggestions.

chris's scooby

I feel i should add that coming on here has probably just made me paranoid...

kbsub

got the garage just need to clear the freezer , dirt bike, trailer , 3 push bikes lawn mower karcher etc etc
I am getting a dipol sorted out
how do test the tracker to see if its working ??

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Ring up customer services, tell them you've just bought a new car with the tracker fitted and ask them to do a test - they should be able to call you back and tell you where your car is. You'll probably need to contact them to subscribe to the service anyway.

chris's scooby

The dealer you got the car from should have given you some paperwork with the telephone numbers on. If not the number's 0808 100 999 1, open office hours. The number to call if the car gets taken is 0870 600 999 0.

Call the first number and ask them to give you the location of the car ( it needs to have been moved within the last 6 hours) they will check and call you back with the location.

kbsub

thanks doing it in the morning

heres the car

chris's scooby

Looks good, love the Scooby on the dash!

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Blanking the number plate in photos is generally reckoned to be good advice...

Very nice car though - looks not unlike mine

Nathan L

Err excuse me! My old WRX which was a UK car had just a PPP for a while, and was lively on the Knocklink if I used the smaller brand petrols. In fact nothing but Optimax has ever graced this current tank so all my comments are based upon that car.

I don't think anyone was actually saying Ksub actually 'needed' it but pointing out that in general terms it appears the best all round fuel. Not only for performance but for general wear and longevity.

Kbsub

Optimax isn't 97ron the refining makes it 98 ron + (98.6 IIRC) If you're going to use SUL that's fine but don't do what your dealer said and put 95ron in. That's bad news, AFAIK Prodrive recommend minimum SUL.

As for noticing a difference driving off the forecourt, well even I think that's rubbish. I noticed some difference after 2-3 tankfulls, including a better throttle response and smoother idle.

Edit

Black is the best colour BTW, not that I'm biased