CideRed

Hi,



With heavy heart I have decided that I cannot justify any more debt, and the Honda NSX I've been dreaming of for years is going to have to wait for another 3 years at least.



So - I need some cheap, fast enjoyable wheels to tide me over - and after a lot of thinking, I reckon settling for an early Impreza will get me a lot of fun for relatively small money.



Have spent two weeks reading websites, and checking classifieds to get some idea of the market, and think a fairly high mileage imported WRX should be where I put my money. Could you guys help me with the following questions - I've answered a lot of them from the excellent Eta Tauri FAQ site, but could still do with some expert advice:

• Does the incompatibility of certain import parts vs. UK parts *really* cause issues? I would think in this day and age I could locate a good parts dealer on the web with a few posts to a message board…. Is this the case? Or are there certain scenarios where things breaking causes serious headaches?
• Are imported WRX's harder to sell on than the UK turbo equivalent? I'm not so worried about residuals as I'm only spending a few grand.. But would still like an idea of how easy a 80k turbo is to sell vs. a 80k imported WRX (just in case I change my mind about the NSX!)
• I've read that main dealers do no like imports.. Is the south east (well, London, and anything just west of london) well represented for garages who understand imports, and know how to service them?
• Insurance premiums… have a couple of quotes that don't scare me *that* much, but in general, what % extra should I expect to pay vs. a conventional 208bhp turbo?
• I know about the speed limiter, the kph speedo and the ECU that hates 95 RON fuel - but are there any other areas to check when I buy an older WRX?
• Finally- I've always favoured the more 'subtle' fast car in the past (twin turbo Audi S4 being my most favourite recent car) - one of my mates had a Scoob and sold it after being stopped 8 times in 4 weeks (although he does where a baseball cap and look about 12) - should I expect a lot more attention from the boys in blue, and every little Kevin in a Saxo? Anyone here have experience of other fast cars, and notice a difference?

That's all I can think of for now.. But any other tips much appreciated. I've never been entirely convinced by the whole Impreza/Evo thing - always a little too lairey for my liking - but I have to say the web community looks excellent, and the car is as good as I'm told, I'm ready to be converted…!



Cheers,

scogsywrx

iTrader: (1)

hello and welcome mate....

i own a my 93 wrx import,had it over a year now,with a cpl of probs,just make sure you stick with sul and booster and youll have a lot of fun,

as for re selling and comparing i wouldnt know but someone will be along to help you out soon(im sure of that)

hope you find what your looking for.

scogsywrx.

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

i've got an early wrx import on a 94 plate and it's my first scooby. what i found when looking was that fresh imports often were in better condition with lower miles. they will be limited top speed and read in kmh but that's nothing that can't be sorted out for a few pounds and i think might even have to be done before the import company can sell it.

insurance wise i've just got a quote of £750 full comp, with £300 excess, legal cover etc with a-plan and i'm 26. all i can say is go to a company that specialises in imports. have a look through the insurance section on here and you'll get loads of help.

as for servicing, main dealers don't really like touching the imports. i take mine to a specialist scooby company in my area (xtreme scoobies) they've looked after mine no problem. tbh most parts are easily interchangeable from uk to import. i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong but as i say i'm sure most parts are fine.

if you're going for an early import then you'll get the benefit of air con and also get a rear wash wipe which is handy in this country!!

as for running on 95 ron, they will but most people won't advise it. if it's an early one it should sort the ignition timing out for you to run on uk fuel, rather than having to be remapped. i run mine on super unleaded with octane booster (nf formular) in every tank. Again this is what i've been told so i'm sure people will correct it if i'm wrong.

if i was to buy another scooby i wouldn't hesitate to buy an import. the value isn't quite as much as a uk one but then you didn't pay as much for it in the first place.

as for being pulled over, it depends how you drive and what attention you attract to yourself. if you've chaved it up and drive it like you stole it then yes expect attention but if you keep to the lines of the classic and save the nutter driving for the track then you should be fine. i live in essex, near southend, have had my scooby for about 8 months now and haven't been pulled once - yet

only other advice would be to be nice to people on here (and they'll normally be nice back) they'll offer a wealth of information and buy the best you can afford. the classifieds on here would be a good place to start.

good luck with the search.

Stainy

top reply

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

Cheers

CideRed

Thanks for all of this - am getting steadily more convinced and already thinking of a couple of test drives this week...

What does your 94 WRX push out? Have read anything from 220ps to 280ps... with 1994 WRX's apparently having 260ps. beyond using a dyno, is there an easy way to find out what engine spec a japanese WRX has?

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

haven't got a clue what it pushes out. have read that some are stated at 240 for a 94 and also seen some stated at 260 as you say. apart from putting it on a dyno you'll probably not know unless you can get reliable info from the previous owner.

i'd like to think that i've got around the 250 mark if you go on a 94 having 240bhp or 270 if you belive the 260 as standard. engine is basically standard. only have a stainless centre decat exhaust and a green cotton panel filter. i run the car on super unleaded with 6 ron octane booster so should be about 104 ron this is where the jap spec get their extra power over the uk cars. jap fuel iirc is about 100 ron compared to uk 95 or 98 sul.

at the end of the day it's going to be fairly quick. try to steer clear of the really cheap imports. i paid £4.5k for mine back in feb and must say that it was a mint one with about 70k on the clock. prices have dropped so you'll probably get one the same for £3750 - £4k. shop around and don't be scared to travel. prices vary widely up and down the country.

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

Power as follows for 4 door WRX:

Nov 1992-Aug 1994 240 ps (approx 236 bhp)
Sept 1994-Aug 1996 260 ps (approx 256 bhp)
Sept 1996-Aug 2000 280 ps (approx 276 bhp)

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

just need to find out the date during 94 when mine was made then. got a feeling it's a 240 model.

CideRed

Thanks once again.... and now my final couple of annoying questions:

1. What's the significance of a Z4 ECU fitted to an import? Is this a pre-requisite for the UK, or does having a Z4 just mean the car is more suited to UK fuel? Fully intend to run on Optimax all the time, but sometimes you can get cut short... (hired an M3 two weekends ago.. had very hard time explaining to girlfriend why we we almost ran out of petrol when in fact we had pulled into - and out of - two garages without buying!).

2. How much does your fuel additive typically cost, and where do you get it from?

3. What are the general 'top 10 questions' I should be asking if I go looking at imported 92/05 WRX's over the next few weeks...

Again - thanks for this help, it's certainly doing a lot to put my mind at rest...

CideRed

sorry, I mean 1992 - 1995 WRXs

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

not sure about the ecu. might be worth sticking a post in the tech section.

i bet the m3 was a bit juicy!! but the scooby will to and not every where does sul. you can get away with using 95 ron with octane booster at a push. the booster i use is the nf race forumla. it's about £13 per bottle and you can fart around trying to measure it spot on or just give a good splash in the tank everytime you fill up. a bottle will normally last me about 5 tanks unless i'm feeling flush.

i get mine from xtreme scoobies in boreham, near chelmsford. if this isn't near you then nf have a website i belive and it should list their stockists.

as for top questions for me it would be -

proof of servicing - ie receipts

hpi - check it yourself, even if it's an import. if anything has happened in this country it should be recorded.

ask yourself what impression the owner gives - big time chav - steer clear imo

how long they've owned it

repairs they've had to do

why they're selling it

if an import do they have the proof that it's be de-registered in original country

if they can back up any mods with proof of where they were done - if so contact the garage that done the work and if they can verify it. a good garage should do this

when the cambelt was changed. i think they need doing about every 40k to 45k on the classic

just make sure you do all the normal things that you'd do when looking for a car. panel gaps, paint finish, if it drives ok. make sure you see it start up from cold and check for smoke out the back, smoke on throttle lift off, when revved hard. let the car get get warm and make sure it boosts ok. an early classic should have 3 guages below the radio and one of them is boost. it should peak at about 0.9 bar and settle at 0.7 on hard throttle for a standard car.

make sure you drive it. gear changes should be tight but smooth at the same time. avoid clunky gear box change cars, unless they have a rally box in them parts for scoobies aren't cheap.

one thing i would suggest is if you know a mechanic take him with you to check over the car. and then once you've bought one, do the scary thing and get it booked into a scooby specialist for a service and check over even if the last owner has said it's just been done. more than anything to put your mind at rest. at least you can prevent any damage this way rather than not knowing and it going bang when you take it out for a sunday afternoon roasting down some country lanes

scunnered

iTrader: (1)

I'll think you'll find these will be aftermarket guages because they're certainly not fitted as standard.

A Z4 ECU is defnitely a good modification to the earlier cars. It ups the power a little bit and the mapping is also a bit friendlier to our crappy UK fuel.

I've had my 93 import car for 7 years now. It's true that many Subaru dealers won't touch it for servicing, but thats no big deal as the specialists are far more knowledgable anyway.
By the way, if you buy a totally standard car you will enjoy it for a little while but the modification bug will bite, and it really bites hard. My mods have cost me £8K so far, and I'm not finished yet, I havn't even started on the engine and drive train.

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

£8k on mods and nothing for the engine!!!!

how much would one of these z4 ecus cost?

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

depends on your luck, the person selling and who is after one at the time. Can go for anything from £50 - £150.

Stick a thread in the wanted section and see what turns up, or keep an eye on ebay.

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

cheers.

CideRed

now proud owner of a black 1994 WRX import (260ps model). Thanks for advice above.

A couple of points that have been niggling me after the first 350 miles:

1. What MPG and range should I expect from a 260ps late 94 WRX with Z4 ECU running 99 RON? I reckon I get around 15mpg from fastish motorway driving and traffic jams.. and got only 210 miles from first tank.

2. How loud should the turbo be? It's very audible - especially at motorway speeds between 75 and 95.. is it normal to hear the whistle? Used to have a twin turbo Audi S4, and whistling turbos was always a bad sign...

3. If i reallly plant the accelerator from 1st gear sometimes the rev counter 'lurches' toward the rev line, as though the engine is struggling to breath. Still very fast - but certainly not smooth. Anyone else get this? Might even be loss of traction i guess, but would be surprised if I could spin all 4 wheels..!


... otherwise, its lots of fun. Powerband narrow, and power delivery very brutal.. but guess that's all part of the challenge, eh?!

DonnieDarko

15mpg is very low. you should be getting low 20's?

i have a 55wrx and get between 25-28mpg and i don't hang around (quite a bit of motorway driving though, but at 80-90mph)

Foot_Tapper

Hi CideRed, 210 from a tank, as said is too low @ 15 mpg.

Obviously you are using SUL fuel ??
I would carry out an ecu reset first. then monitor consumption.
If no change, I would suspect the Lambda sensor, replace it.
Chances are your sensor may never have been replaced in the cars life,( as the lamdas age they will gradually overfuel).
It should make a big difference.

Mo

How does 210miles work out to be 15mpg?

Early cars have a 50ltr tank so with say a gallon left at time of refill and you have around 21mpg, much more like it. I rarely saw over 200miles, most of the time 180 miles from a tank in my early UK car. Even my newage only see's 220 between fills, it all depends on your driving style.

Foot_Tapper

Yes mo your right about the 50 litre tank i early cars.
I was going on his 15mpg only.

Doing the calc a different way, 210 miles on a 50 litre tank = 19mpg
(not too bad, but considering he has a turbo with later spool up, not to good either)

210 on a 60 litre tank = 15.9 mpg
(not good at all)

CideRed

Ah! that was the piece of detail I was missing. I was going the parkers.co.uk car review pages, which put my tank at 60 litres. I filled it up from half when I bought it, so didnt notice it was a 50 litre tank at the time. Any idea what date the tank changed from 50 to 60? (just to make sure this is the cause)

21mpg much more like it.... although with a 120 mile round trip to work, a 180 mile range will be a pain in the ****! (good job newbury has a 99 RON tesco.. even if it does have the Slowest Pumps in the World).

CideRed

Turbo seems to get going around properly at 3500rpm..... annoying as this is around motorway cruising speed. Could be a good thing in the long term though - I now cruise at 80mph rather than 95 to stop the thing whistling at me all the time!

Reason for 19mpg is probably more the 3 hours of traffic jams when I foolishly tried to drive from Clapham to Gatwick and back at the weekend... decided to take my new pride and joy, rather than take the train. Not a good idea.

DonnieDarko

**** me! a 120 mile round trip to work are you mental? that must cost a fortune. I am whacking out around £300 a month in petrol for my 70 mile round trip. about time you bought yourself a diesel commuting car i think

CideRed

..all charged back to the company at 40p per mile.

At 24 mpg, I make 30 quid for every trip!

HOWY

until they realise and tell you to get a Smart car

Neutral Cruiser

Tragically many people are deluding themselves in this way, including me in the past. I take it you're rating your SUL at 98 RON. In that case with that 6 RON octane booster you're wasting your money as your getting approx 98.6, not 104!!! And this includes NF. If you were anything over 100 you'd know about it.
I know plenty of people will dis agree with this but that's up to them. I hope they're wasting their money where their mouth is if they dis-agree.

GC8

10 points makes one RON number its ture. NF Race is the best octane booster Ive seen though. The trouble is that (the positive effect of) octane booster isnt cumulative as people seem to think. A little bit will work wonders on sub 95RON fuel but a whole bottle will make virtually no difference to 100RON fuel...


Simon

V4JDMSTi

iTrader: (2)

mmmm guess the manufacturers cover their *** by stating on the bottle "adds up to 6 ron".

Neilski

Sorry to barge in on this thread, but where wuold you be able to source a enw lamda sensor from other than a main delaer?

thanks

Neilski