scott.w

right guys have sold me car and cash is in the pipe line,what is best,a uk car or an import also if i bought a high milage car (100 k+) how long b4 the drive train goes bang..
were are the vin plts and engine numbers on these cars ???

scott.w

bttt

dpb

250k+...

personal import best bet........(remember they run on 100 octane )

after that its pretty much like any other car .

Scratch

iTrader: (1)

Depends what you want.

If it's your first you may want to weigh up paying a little more (for a lower spec) Uk car with all the "comforts" of dealer network support and warranty.

Myself, having owned a UK Scoob for 3 years, and knowing what I now know about them, I've sold mine and I'm after an import.

You generally get a better spec on the imports, and higher performance. You can also get an Sti version as far back as Version 1 (I think we're currently about version 9 or 10 or something like that) It will cost you more money for an equivalent model year of car typically, and not so many are available through trade. Most UK dealers will nto support you, but there is a fair number of specialist who will be able to offer you service/repair support every bit as good as a UK main scooby dealer.

That said if you're talking about brand new, then there are plenty of established importers who will import you a jap or UK spec (euro import) car from new and provide warranty etc.

So you'll need to be a little more specific, especially about what kind of money you're looking to spend (bearing in mind, you can pay upto about £28k or so for a top spec jap import).

As for fuel Jap imports need 100 RON fuel so you need to either run with octane booster, or get it remapped for UK fuel (most people run Shell Optimax or similar high octane fuel). Remap is easy enough, on MY99 onwards it's a simple case of plugging into a laptop with the right software and off you go (as long as you know what you're doing of course ) Earlier models often need a piggy back chip of some sort plus the remap.

leonpoole

I did exactly that. I had a UK turbo for about a year then had a go in a friends import and just had to have on so i got myself a nice type ra.

There is nothing wrong with UK turbos they are still great cars and cheaper to insure than an import but performance wise the imports are a lot quicker

Scratch

iTrader: (1)

And also to add, I bought it standard, then picked up all PPP parts second hand for a very reasonable price and ended up with 255BHP 276ft.lb Torque on an MY98 Wagon.

Was very pleased with it, as is the current owner (a mate of mine) but I found my self yearning for just a little bit more. Major work required with what I had, so decided to upgrade lock stock and barrel

Pauleds2

UK mate, i bought a WRX import and the gearing is ****e. I'm desperate to swap it.

WRXtra power

What he means is that the jap cars are restricted to 120mph so the gearing is short but this actually gives you the blistering 0-60 times. If your not over interested in top end speed the gearbox is fine. You could always get the 5th gear changed for a longer one.
I have a 95 import WRX standard 0-60 = 4.8secs and I love it. They are lighter also due to aluminum bonnet, wings etc

Dazza01

Nowt wrong with UK turbo's

Daft Lad

Except when they're broken eh mate!!

corradoboy

WRXtra, I think Paul is refering to his recent drive in a UK 03 WRX PPP, where he enjoyed the length of the 3rd and 4th gears and the flexibility it gave on fast a-roads.

WRXtra power

I thought he was talking about this?


Just going by one of his previous threads....

scott.w

cheers guys looking to spend about 7-8k....
my mate just had his 93 wrx chipped and its running 298bhp !!

Pauleds2

You are all correct, i just get frustrated with the Import gearing, my other half has a UK car and her's is more useable on the road than mine cos on the motorway or fast A roads my import is revving it's cream crackers off at 90mph and tops out at approx 135 on the redline in top.

It's still devastating to 60 though(standard engine and just a Magnex full system 268bhp and weighs about as much as a takeaway tin),It would annhiliate UK's Or PPP's just depends what you want really.

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit.


Paul.

stilover

Really wanted an import, cos of the extra power, but 3 reasons why I chose UK.

1, Having to put in octaine booster every time you fill up (never new till now about the remap. Doesn't that cut power though??????? to UK spec)
2, Insurance is surely more expensive, cos you can't prove where it's come from, what mods have been done etc, etc
3, Having to stick to 120mph. Don't know about anybody else but on the backroads round here you can easily get past 120. Plus doesn't lower gearing mean engine is reving higher, thus drinking more fuel. So UK spec is more economical, if you can call it that !!!!!!!!
4, OK there's a forth.......... when buying new, I always like the backup of the manufacturers 3 year warranty.

Like others have said, it just depends on what your after, and what you indend to do with it.

stevie boy

depends what your going to do? buy a uk turbo and spend money to mod it to go as fast as a sti, just buy an sti. buy a uk turbo and spend money on bigger spoilers and colour coding the side skirts, just buy an sti. if you want a/c most cars in the sti group have it where as maybe half in the uk turbo group, so giving a bigger choice within the sti group. if its going to live on a motorway then the shorter box is going to make it more exspensive, but faster accelerating, what do you want out of as car? as for insurance my old MY00 uk (with exhaust/wheels) cost about the same although a bigger excess than my v6 type r with 40 bhp less.

i'm not having a pop at uk turbos, i had one that i loved for a year, but it dosn't compare to a sti type r. i went down the route above and would of saved a packet if i'd of bought the type r first, but thats hindsight.

there's not one car that is the best for everyone. think what you want out of a car, what you will be doing and wether you plan to do any mods and make your choices, i didn't and it cost me more in the long run.

that said the type r is the best! and your only agrand or 2 away, plus hopefully better residuals.

stevie

stevie boy

there electronically limited to 112 mph but this is removed when the speedo is converted to mph for the sva. it justs the ra's that the gearing is that low (anyone confirm?) most will do 145/150.

fair enough about the warranty, i don't know how much the importers are giving, anyone?? but once out of warranty i wouldn't be anywhere near a dealer. my exp of 2 dealers and 2 specialists, both specialists came out on top.

stevie

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

i've got a classic import and personally if i was to sell it i'd buy another import rather than uk model as you get aircon for the few sunny days and rear wash wipe that comes in handy for all the rainy days we get in this country!!! as well as a higher bhp figure to start off with but don't forget to get the most out of it you'll want to be using sul and octane booster.

also imo they'll be in better condition and more often than not will have lower miles than uk car if you go for second hand over brand new that is.

only downsides are that scooby main dealers don't really welcome them with open arms like a uk model, but this really isn't a problem when you have the likes of xtreme scoobies etc to do any work, hard to get a warranty and insurance is a little more expensive.

leonpoole

I could never understand why the import got a rear wash wipe and UK never when its us that get all the bad weather

Elmer Fudpucker

Not a very constructive reply but....

I wouldn't even consider a buying an import,to me all used import cars are as dodgy as the day is long....you couldn't 'give' me one even

Jon,4 UK Imprezas thus far and still managing to exist quite well without a rear wash/wipe

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

does seem a bit backwards doesn't it.

chrisp

Whats this about gearing and there is no rear wash wipe on my ra

my00 ra gearing in 5th ratio is 19.7mph/1000rpm, redline 7,500 thats close to 150mph top speed in theory.

Did have a uk turbo my98 and cruising on motorway the gearing a lot better but the gearing on the ra feels like an extra 50bhp in the midrange


Plus you could always get the 5th cog changed for the sti longer one.

flat4_ire

some japs are restricted! i had a jap integra type r and i got 146mph out of it.. my friend has an sti ver 5 just in and he got 157mph out of it(apexi rev speed meter so is acurate), im not sure if my type r scoob is limited yet, only got it friday , type r's have the shortest gear ratios(group n gearbox), top speed of 130 but the 0-100 is lightning quick, u could get a nice 95 sti type ra??
great car, roof vent and very quick!

chrisp

jdm subarus are limited by japanese law to 180kph (112mph). When there are brought into the uk most are converted to mph. The little converter box goes before the ecu takes its signal. This means ecu now reads in mph rather the kph, giving a restriction of 180mph.

MY93WRX

Imports are better value for money. When i replace my MY93 import i will be replacing it with an import, in japan the roads are that clogged that its unusual for cars to be abused as much as they are in the UK. As for the statement there dadgey as hell, again that is wrong all vehicles have to be de-registered in japan before they can be exported, if its a stolen vehicle then the authorities will not allow it to leave. The only possible dodge ones are those that come via Dubai. So don't be put off an import, for your £7000 budget you'll get a better car than you will if you get a UK model, you may just have to waite a few weeks for it to arrive from japan, but the waite is worth it, as has already been stated just make sure you run it on Optimax (the only 98 ron fuel you can get in the uk, which is the highest uk octain readily available unless you lucky enough to live near the 12 tesco garages in the uk that sell 99 ron))

Scratch

iTrader: (1)

Standard sti V will do about the same top speed as UK car but with abotu 1000RPM more.

My MY98 UK wagon did 3000RPM @ 75mph in 5th, the sti V wagon does 3500RPM at 75MPH in 5th

speedystu

i dont agree with anything you say about the import market you cant know the market well, and the people saying about short gearing well i have a v5 STI and the gaering in that is spot on and i does more than 120mph, my m8 who also has a v6 just test drove a uk300ppp and he said compared to ours it was ****e, i have driven a uk300 withppp and it is ****e, up against the IMPORT sti so do one and get an IMPORT.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

I love the way people describe other peoples cars as "****e". Cant we just stick to "not as fast"etc. Because although my 02WRX will not be as fast as a import STI is by no means "****e".

Thankyou

flat4_ire

sure a standard starlet gt turbo will do the same top speed as the sti type r, that dont mean u gonna swap ur scoob for a starlet does it?
really dont undestand lads buyin uk spec scoobs?
unless its for the fact that subaru garages will do ur services

Adrian Allsop

Had 2 imports both great and unbreakable but selling them was a pain and to px u get crap money but for fun factor import.