ShizoMaNizo

i have 8k to spend on a scooby, i would like to know the best scooby for tuning as i am comming from a 423bhp/404lbs cossie.

i would like 400bhp but is there anything i need to know i.e. weak points that some cars are renound for?

i am looking for the best all rounder for my money, i have drove a few and love the way they handle but found them to be a little flat witch is understandable.

should i go for a uk, wrx, sti, ra, etc.......

god its confusing

also a heads up on ecu's and which is best for big power.

thanks Shizo

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

As a good base car, have a look at my old one in FS which is up for about £6500ono. It has all the ancillaries sorted such as brakes, suspension etc + comes with 310bhp/300ftlb .

The ECU is a Tek3 which should be remappable to achieve what you're looking for. The turbo is VF35 which (with the right mods) should be good for 350BHP. It would be comparitively cheap to bring the car up that state of tune with ported headers etc.

IIRC the scoob is a tad lighter than the cossie. Scoobs with 350bhp are good for low 12s (Steven Darley in TOTB2).

Link to my old car FS post

Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

john banks

I don't think £8000 might stretch to a good one, but my choice would be an STi 5 Type R for about £10000. To get that to 400 BHP, you would need turbo, injectors, fuel pump, induction, headers, exhaust, remap, larger intercooler, clutch. Brakes before the new age STi are weak, so budget for an upgrade. Alternatively, try to buy a ready modified car, in the For Sale section there was an STi 4 with a 2.5 conversion, with 6 speed, and some tasty bits on it for £12500 ono, virtually everything was sorted.

Alternatively, have you considered an Evo? Evo 6 would get near to about 380 BHP on standard turbo, intercooler, injectors and manifold I believe, with considerably less lag than a Scooby. You'd need ECU, fuel pump, induction, exhaust I believe. Brakes, suspension would probably be fine, clutch would need doing probably.

Beastie

iTrader: (2)

Looks like you have been thinking of the dark side John. You know too much already.
Me too.......

ShizoMaNizo

i have thought evo but all the ones i have looked at for that money are poor, subaru's seem better VFM but as you say it may be worth saving a bit more for a better base car.

didn't think i would be told go for an evo on a subaru forum!

the only evo i have drove was a evo 5 and to be honest i found it a little bland and uninvolving, don't get me wrong it was a fine car but a little too "easy" for want of a better word.

the subaru's i have drove were a tuned 94 wrx and a standard wrx sti 4.

both seemed more involving than the evo.

to be honest my cossie had too much power for the old chassis and was getting a little dangerous, great fun but no good for the nerves

john banks

We don't all have Subaru blinkers. If you spend enough, it seems to matter little what you started with, I'm in so deep with my Scooby it isn't worth changing.

john banks

What is the total budget for your 400 BHP Jap car once modified?

ShizoMaNizo

i haven't got a figure to be honest, was going to get the car and go from there.

whatever i have left over from the month before and the missus doesn't get her hands on would go to the "subaru go faster fund"

is there much differance between the sti4 and sti5 2 door as the sti4's seem to be a lot cheaper?

i have noticed a few sti 4 door 98's (sti4 i think) for around the 8k mark, are they worth a look?

sorry about all the questions but i am trying to get as much info as possable before i take the leap!

john banks

There was lots of small changes from 98 to 99, from version 4 to 5... both are a good base for modding though, UK models the differences seem to be more - less risk piston slap on the newer model, bigger injectors, different cams etc.

ShizoMaNizo

i don't think its wise to pay 8k for a car with a knackered engine to be honest!

for it to have a blown engine it must have been abused in the first place and i don't want a car thats had too much of a hard life

think i will look for a 98-00 sti then, i may look at importing one myself if there is enough of a saving to be made.

other opinions welcome?

ShizoMaNizo

been using the "search" at the top of the screen and i starting to have 2nd thoughts!

lots of stories of blown engines and gearboxes seem to pop up when you search for tuning.

is this down to poor tuning or are the engines and gearboxes really that weak?

a lot of my mates still run cossies and think i am mad for going jap, first thing they say is subarus have chcolate internals and blamonge gearboxes.

i know a lot of it is just banter but i am planning on wiping the smile from there faces with a tuned scoob/evo.

anyone got 400+ without blowing gearboxes and engines????????

john banks

400 on a non-STi is asking to blow up the gearbox. The gearboxes seem fine with a 6 speed for what most throw at them, more than one car running 10s 1/4s with them.

A lot of blown standard engines are probably MAF failure related. A lot of tuned ones that fail were perhaps badly tuned, or not using kit up to the job.

I've lost headgaskets at est 450-500 BHP on a standard 2.5 bottom end, but this is a relatively new engine and work is still being done on it, but my original UK 2.0 seemed OK at 400.

I think the minimum base you should consider is an STi as already discussed.

But the Evo would probably be the best choice to modify less on it?

subaru swift

i have a sti v4 import witha blitz air filter & a nur r full detcatted exhaust and wow it is quick !. go for a v4 mate you will not hate it....... .

ShizoMaNizo

thanks for that john, your car sound pretty impressive with 500bhp!

if you don't mind me asking, how much are you looking at spending for that set up?

i am pretty handy with the spanners( a must with a cossie owner ) so all the work will be done by myself, with the guidence of your fine selves .

so i am going to be looking at sti's over the next few weeks to see if i can find a good one, is it true these cars must be run on 100ron fuel with the standard ecu map in place, if so is it just because they run a lot of ignition advance or are the engines higher compression?


thanks for all your help

ShizoMaNizo

hi SS, it looks like i will be going for a sti4 as all the sti5's seem much higher in price

john banks

It would be impressive if it held together, as it is 450 BHP is the reliable limit I've found on it so far. From a basic UK car, I've done the following, plus the bits I've forgotten:

2.5 litre US block, RCMS oil pump, Phase I tensioner, ported P1 heads, 740cc injectors, SX regulator, Walbro fuel pump, manifold spacers, exhaust manifold, uppipe, full 3" exhaust with resonator, Ecutek reflash, APS FMIC, AVC-R, APS induction with huge K&N cone, MRT turbo inlet pipe, STi rad cap, iON P450 Garrett hybrid turbo.

Six speed UK box (Suretrac diff), Roger Clark 240mm AP organic clutch, RCMS/STi flywheel, STi quickshift, Momo gearknob.

P1 suspension, droplinks, rear ARB, anti-lift kit, front upper and lower strut braces, rear strut brace, bumpsteer removal, AP 4 pots, Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 on Oz Superleggera 17" wheels.

Knocklink, boost gauge, wideband AFR, SPA fuel pres/air temp, SPA oil pres/temp.

Prices - the bare long block, gearbox and clutch/flywheel total £6000 before labour. The rest is fairly easy to work out, but of course adds up to more than that again.