deco c

hey guys..i have my sti 6 nearly a year now and was thinking of changing..im thinking of coming over to the uk to get a p1.anyone any knowledge of these..ive heard about engine trouble on some models..anyone shed any light??also how would one compare to my car(its a 4 door sti) performance wise??would people recomend a p1 in general..any opinions much apprecieated...

***scoobybabe***

Dont do it!!

I had the same thought only a few weeks back, but after doing a lot of research and getting some advice off people in the know, i decided it was too big a risk to take. They have a common fault with the maff sensor. 8 out of 10 p1's go bang between 40-60k (prosport figures)

gridgway

Eek, I loved my P1, glad I moved on after 45k miles though!

Graham

deco c

jesus are they that bad???? iwas thinking of maybe a type r but theres loads where i am...i wanted something rare and subaru of course...my heart is broken guys

scarey

there are some high milage P1s.

try www.p1woc.co.uk , although obviously they might be a bit biased

deco c

i dont know..ive seen pleanty in the auto trader with big milage aswell..is there anyone else that can shed light on the subject..

Bubba po

People thrash the **** out of them. There was a thread about P1s going bang. Try a search.

deco c

i think i remember seeing that..ive heard different storys,saying they go pop but then others saying any problems with would have been sortred under warrenty...i dont know what to do...

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Why bother? you have an STi6 and you want to sell it and get an STi5!!

just change a few parts on your current one and get it remapped.

Put a lighter crank pulley
Lighter flywheel
3 port boost solenoid
decat the exhaust
get it remapped by Bob Rawle

and you will **** all over a P1 just like I do in my MY00 non STi Classic.

deco c

its not even about performance mate..i just want something different because there is loads of stis and sti typr r's going around so i wanted something rare and i love the look of the p1..im in ireland and have never actually seen a p1 on the road..i see pleanty of type r's and evos etc..

Hepy

Woo hoo another P1's are **** thread. I love scoobynet.

deco c

well are they?????? i love them and want one.......but i want to know what im getting into...

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

It's not the MAF that's the problem, well no more so than it is on any other MY99 Scooby!! IIRC it's the fact that the P1 is basically an STi5 not adapted for the UK market properly. They tend to let go before 60k because the method of compensating for the lower Grade UK fuel that Subaru employed tends to expire at around that point. A remapped one would be fine.

To the poster: don't swap, you'd pretty much be downgrading an Sti6 to and Sti 5!

Ns04

Fat Boy

There is a lot of bollocks talked about P1s - they are no worse and no better than JDM stis like the STi6 that the original poster has.

The problems arise when people decat them without getting them remapped as the ecu basically cannot compensate enough for the improved "breathing", the engine runs lean and then goes bang eventually just as a JDM would if treated the same way. The P1 ecu is basically an Sti5 ecu and works on drinking japanese 100 ron fuel rather than our "budweiser"...

Alternatively they run them on 95 ron which is fine as a get me home/ don't thrash it juice, but hopeless if you're booting it or running it long term.

If the P1 you go to buy is standard and you are convinced that it has been so for all it's life it will be fine - if you then go on to decat it, run induction kits, daft filter panels, etc which will help to kill the poor quality MY 99/00 ( not specifically P1) MAFs then you are asking for trouble IMHO.

Running an STi in Ireland I would guess that you have had it remapped and or run it with Octane booster as I know how hard it is to get SUL around the country. Do the same with the P1 and you'll be fine.

My P1 was decatted 3 years ago, has a standard filter, and had an ecutek 3 by Bob Rawle at the same time, plus usual safety add-ons like 3 port boost solenoid, walbro fuel pump, knock link etc. I wanted an easy 300BHP but, more importantly, safety re the engine. It has run like a train including
several track days, a fair bit of high speed running, and generally being thrashed most times I drive it. As an extra safety measure, I run it on Optimax (97/98 Ron) plus 100mil NF Race, although to be fair that it also what i had it mapped on.

As a final point, there is a lot of snobbery over JDM versus P1s - yes it's just an Sti 5 an ddoesn't have the DCCD etc of the Type R/RA, but it is in a 2 door shell and it does look different. Oh dear, it only has air con rather than climate control but FFS who cares...STi5 / STi6 performance is identical anyway so buy what you want and let the rest go to hell.

Cheers

FB

PS I've had the P1 over in Ireland many times and it rides really well on irish roads and i'm talking about out in the Wesssht so a real test of the suspension . Much more compliant than the JDM STi set up which is too hard for probably even UK roads never mind Irish country lanes.

deco c

thanking you mate for the info..if i do buy one il try get a standard one or mildly modded one but the first thing il be doing is getting it mapped to run on the **** we have over here plus i dont drive the **** out of my car..i know people think its a downgrade from an sti 6 but in terms of looks and rarity its an upgrade..my car is a 4 door sti 6 which in my opinion looks pretty much like most scoobs..


SEE!!!!

robby1

go on the p1 forum chap,loads of useful info on there,pics vids ect,
good bunch,anti p1 on here dont no why,its still a scoob


owned one myself for 18 months
regards
rob

MikeWood

deco c

Don't believe the scaremongering

The running gear on the P1 is the same as an STi V6 4 door, VC centre diff and ABS but with a small mod to the ECU to make it more tolerant to low fuel grades.

Some cars seem to be having det problems which eventually lead to engine failure but exactly the same thing would happen to a JDM STi of the same age, in fact the P1 seems to be slightly better in this respect. If you look at the historical data though, engine failure seems to happen just after a service which (in my personal opinion and experience) points to too high an oil level. When the car is then used at high rpm oil is dragged into the breather system and the maf sensor gets contaminated leading to uncontrollable det and engine failure.

Buy a std one, don't decat or fit anything other than a new std filter, don't set the oil level above 1/2 way between min and max and change the maf sensor at the same time as the filter but most importantly, ENJOY IT

Mike

kid1 scoob

Out of interest, how many of the posts above have actually owned a P1....

yeh, i thought so, in which case post are all just opinions.... i've never owner or had to maintain a Ferrari.... so would find it hard to insist that no-one should buy one... all i could do is express my opinion so i would do what YOU want to do deco c!!

i find it hard to understand that a "Subaru Community" can be so 'anti' towards one particular model..... all seems a bit 'clicky' to me!!!!!

Fat Boy

Ahem - I own one as I stated above - plus Mike Wood above is from Prodrive and is the "father" of the P1 in that he developed the car so he should know just a little bit about it.... but I know where you're coming from

Aside from that I agree there do seem to be cliques.

Re Mike's point about the oil level - very interesting, just off to pull my dipstick...- and MAF's - I'm on my 4th...outside of any specified scheduled replacement, but then it's the same MAF as utilised by any MY 99/00 so again is not a "P1 problem".

Finally "ENJOY IT" - absolutely, always have and look forward to many more happy years doing so

kid1 scoob

sorry fat boy..... i know there was a few owners posting, was mainly pointing out he non owners......

Hepy

Good to see Mike post about the P1. He probably knows more about them than anyone on here. Right I'm off to buy a maf sensor and get my cat put back on.

Fat Boy

No need for apologies, mate. Like I said I knew where you were coming from just thought it was worthwhile pointing out that there were some people with relevant experience of the model on the thread - particularly Mike W

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

Just out of interest... how many is "loads"?

The only thing about the P1 is... you've seen one... you've seen 'em all. In my humble opinion, like a
22b should be, they are best left original. (but then that argument doesnt stack up... I love 22b's and I suppose P1's are ok too )

Get a V6 Type R V-Ltd and make it your own

Scutch

An excerpt from a post I made on p1woc... (it was regarding induction kits and remaps at the time)

when I went to my local dealers for the P1's service, there was another P1 on the forecourt and the top guy there (who keeps in constant conversation with the guys at Prodrive) told me it was standard other than full system exhaust including downpipe. I questioned how standard it actually was thinking it must have had a remap to compensate for the increase in power/ecu changes and the guy told me it wouldnt need a remap and its all just guys on the forums making people think twice about modifying their motors. He said he'd had 2 Impreza P1s and modified them both without a remap with no problems whatsoever. The one on the forecourt had done over 60k miles on the original engine too with that modification. The one thing he did tell me was that Prodrive themselves claimed the MAF sensor was the reason for the engine detonation on the P1 Impreza, but a recall was not possible because of expense and therefore a change every 12 months along with a regular and proper service (ie changing the oil correctly) would be sufficient for a long and healthy P1 engine lifespan. Obviously taking into consideration the usual warming/cooling situation.

Just trying to make the point that I was told on good authority (and pretty high authority too) that the MAF is the main culprit, as a few people have quoted already. I changed mine at the last service, the car has done 35k miles now and I'll change it every single year for piece of mind. Its under warranty for a while still and if it does go bang then at least I've followed the guidelines that Subaru and Prodrive have warned about.

Iwan

If you listen to anyone make sure you listen to Mike, he knows what he's talking about.

deco c

again guys cheers for the opinions...i think il just buy one..just going to wait until my insurance is up next month then TRY sell my own car and il be over to the uk to try source a good p1..cant wait..

terryb

having owned a P1 for 2 years and putting on 40k miles which included 5 trackdays and 2500 high-speed miles in 6 days across Europe, I can confidently say that if decatted and remapped (Tek3) and run on Optimax, then it has just as good a chance of being reliable as a standard car.

Oh and I never changed the MAF either

map

if your after a classic shape scoob it has to be a P1 or 22B all the rest are like XR3I's 15 years ago, oh look theirs another one

mark

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Hi Mike,

Many thanks for your contribution. It's a pleasure having someone in your position and of your stature post on SN.

The fragile MAF seemes to be a known probelm with all MY99 and MY00 Scoobies, P1 included. However, if SN talk is to be believed -and that may be a big 'if' - there is another issue with the P1 that might lead to engine failure. Some have suggested that the P1 runs basically the same ECU map as the JDM STi 5, i.e. not really that suited to UK fuel and that there is some kind of addiditve/device placed in the fuel tank to offset this, which tends to expire between 40-60k and might account for the number of engine failures around this mark.

It would be good to get the official word on this and put the issue to bed once and for all.

Best wishes,

NS04

Davey P

iTrader: (1)

Broquets have been added to the P1 fuel tank.
The ECU runs the same map as the STI5 but with added knock correction.