AndytheJock buys a Litchfield Type 20!
18 April 2011, 09:39 PM
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AndytheJock buys a Litchfield Type 20!
Hello folks,
As above, on Saturday I bought myself this beautiful beast off fellow scoobynetter Callum.
Plans
For about three years I had one single minded plan - to get myself a "black hawk". My plan for most of that time was to get a UK Hawk STi, stick on a Milltek, some Prodrive springs, Prodrive grill and have the car remapped.
However, over the past 6 months I've tended to join any threads on Hawk STi's and on most of them got involved with Tony Burns debating the pros and cons of UK v JDM. Although they're both clearly good cars, I began to be swayed by Tony's arguments (thanks Tony
) and started to consider JDMs as an option too.
Last month things started to move quite quickly for me. I've been in the same job for the past 5 yrs, wages not being the best. I became fully qualified (ACII - insurance) last year and the plan was to look for jobs some time this year. I had a fairly stressful period in February, dealing with an unusually large claim which was going **** up and being pressurised by the bosses. I then went on my first ever ski holiday with my gf and 4 pals/wives, which was a great release. Did my first black run, nearly breaking my thumb in the process
.
Anyway, I returned to work to find a job vacancy online when I was really only having a gander at what might be available. Six people applied, 4 were interviewed, and two weeks after the ski holiday I had the job!P
Purchase
Hence I had a bit more cash (I'm still not rich and needed a serious loan) so felt I could stretch to something a bit better. Somebody on here mentioned Callums car and I emailed him right away to say I was interested. I started to do lots of reserach on the T20 (Although I knew a fair bit about the T25) and thought it sounded a great car!
Callum and I started emailing daily as I quizzed him on the car and it's background (Nov 2006 car with FSH from Litchfield and having covered 43,000 Mls). I had an engineer call round from Dekra, who I would thoroughly recommend. It turned out the engineer was pretty keen on his performance cars, having owned Skylines and Evos. He said this was an awesome car and was a match for anything he'd had.
He dis spot two broken springs and Callum immediately agreed to have these replaced along with some other minor jobs.
Callum lives "down south" and my gf wanted to chum me on the (assumed) drive back, so we both got a one way flight last Friday, stayed at a nearby Holiday Inn, and Callum and his gf picked us up in the morning in his gf's car.
We got to his place and the T20 was even sexier in the flesh. I then had a somewhat inept test drive in the car. Although I was able to get a good idea of the car's straight line performance (noticeably better than my 300bhp bug), I struggled to get to grips with the six speed box at that point. I felt a bit of a wally tbh! Not to worry, mild mannered, witty Callum took to the wheel and immediately became Lewis Hamilton! He whizzed along through S bends, tight corners etc, totally focussed and gave a much better idea of what the car could do! It was mightily impressive!
So what exactly is a "Type 20"
This particular car is a Spec C, tuned by Litchfield. I'll not harp on too much about the Spec C, other than to say it's 120kgs lighter than a UK Sti according to Litchfield and has the 2.0 JDM engine with strengthened internals, twinscroll turbo and uprated suspension.
What Litchfield then do is stick on a Milltek, K&N, remap it and then fit all the Whiteline goodies they can find plus AST coilovers to the suspension. This car managed 360bhp on Powerstation's rollers, a bit more than usual due to cold air intake and wrapped exhaust.
So what's it like to drive?
Fabulous!! Firstly, this car has superb driveability in addition to having an delightfully rev happy engine. It pulls well from 2200 revs yet doesn't run out of puff before it's 8000 rev red line!
Although I know there are lots of people on here with monster builds, this is fast enough for me! Certainly, it seems like it's daring you to put your foot down on the twisties! However, it's actually the car's handling that stands out more than it's awesome engine. The phrase "handles like rails" is perhaps used too often, but this thing really is akin to being on a mad rollercoaster, the difference being that the ultra sharp steering responds immediately to every input and it feels very "live" as it serenely glide round bends at silly speeds!
If you read all of that, thanks! Apologies for getting carried away!
One last thing. Not so keen on the gold wheels and they need a refurb anyway. What colour would you powdercoat them if it was yours? Got any pics?
cheers!
Andy
As above, on Saturday I bought myself this beautiful beast off fellow scoobynetter Callum.
Plans
For about three years I had one single minded plan - to get myself a "black hawk". My plan for most of that time was to get a UK Hawk STi, stick on a Milltek, some Prodrive springs, Prodrive grill and have the car remapped.
However, over the past 6 months I've tended to join any threads on Hawk STi's and on most of them got involved with Tony Burns debating the pros and cons of UK v JDM. Although they're both clearly good cars, I began to be swayed by Tony's arguments (thanks Tony
) and started to consider JDMs as an option too. Last month things started to move quite quickly for me. I've been in the same job for the past 5 yrs, wages not being the best. I became fully qualified (ACII - insurance) last year and the plan was to look for jobs some time this year. I had a fairly stressful period in February, dealing with an unusually large claim which was going **** up and being pressurised by the bosses. I then went on my first ever ski holiday with my gf and 4 pals/wives, which was a great release. Did my first black run, nearly breaking my thumb in the process
.Anyway, I returned to work to find a job vacancy online when I was really only having a gander at what might be available. Six people applied, 4 were interviewed, and two weeks after the ski holiday I had the job!P
Purchase
Hence I had a bit more cash (I'm still not rich and needed a serious loan) so felt I could stretch to something a bit better. Somebody on here mentioned Callums car and I emailed him right away to say I was interested. I started to do lots of reserach on the T20 (Although I knew a fair bit about the T25) and thought it sounded a great car!
Callum and I started emailing daily as I quizzed him on the car and it's background (Nov 2006 car with FSH from Litchfield and having covered 43,000 Mls). I had an engineer call round from Dekra, who I would thoroughly recommend. It turned out the engineer was pretty keen on his performance cars, having owned Skylines and Evos. He said this was an awesome car and was a match for anything he'd had.
He dis spot two broken springs and Callum immediately agreed to have these replaced along with some other minor jobs.Callum lives "down south" and my gf wanted to chum me on the (assumed) drive back, so we both got a one way flight last Friday, stayed at a nearby Holiday Inn, and Callum and his gf picked us up in the morning in his gf's car.
We got to his place and the T20 was even sexier in the flesh.
I then had a somewhat inept test drive in the car. Although I was able to get a good idea of the car's straight line performance (noticeably better than my 300bhp bug), I struggled to get to grips with the six speed box at that point. I felt a bit of a wally tbh! Not to worry, mild mannered, witty Callum took to the wheel and immediately became Lewis Hamilton! He whizzed along through S bends, tight corners etc, totally focussed and gave a much better idea of what the car could do! It was mightily impressive!So what exactly is a "Type 20"
This particular car is a Spec C, tuned by Litchfield. I'll not harp on too much about the Spec C, other than to say it's 120kgs lighter than a UK Sti according to Litchfield and has the 2.0 JDM engine with strengthened internals, twinscroll turbo and uprated suspension.
What Litchfield then do is stick on a Milltek, K&N, remap it and then fit all the Whiteline goodies they can find plus AST coilovers to the suspension. This car managed 360bhp on Powerstation's rollers, a bit more than usual due to cold air intake and wrapped exhaust.
So what's it like to drive?
Fabulous!! Firstly, this car has superb driveability in addition to having an delightfully rev happy engine. It pulls well from 2200 revs yet doesn't run out of puff before it's 8000 rev red line!
Although I know there are lots of people on here with monster builds, this is fast enough for me! Certainly, it seems like it's daring you to put your foot down on the twisties! However, it's actually the car's handling that stands out more than it's awesome engine. The phrase "handles like rails" is perhaps used too often, but this thing really is akin to being on a mad rollercoaster, the difference being that the ultra sharp steering responds immediately to every input and it feels very "live" as it serenely glide round bends at silly speeds!If you read all of that, thanks! Apologies for getting carried away!
One last thing. Not so keen on the gold wheels and they need a refurb anyway. What colour would you powdercoat them if it was yours? Got any pics?
cheers!
Andy
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18 April 2011, 10:08 PM
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Yup, it was a bit like a myopic if enthusiastic granny followed by Schumacher!
Reckon I'll be ok to get insured parked on the road overnight?
Reckon I'll be ok to get insured parked on the road overnight?
Last edited by andythejock01wrx; 18 April 2011 at 10:12 PM. Reason: Spelling like a mong!
18 April 2011, 10:10 PM
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18 April 2011, 10:13 PM
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18 April 2011, 10:16 PM
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Aluminium roof panel and boot lid. Oh, and the Subaru engineers have stripped out just about everything that is "non essential", such as sound deafening, boot carpet etc.
......but Ms Jock insists that I fit a passenger sunvisor!
......but Ms Jock insists that I fit a passenger sunvisor!
18 April 2011, 10:18 PM
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18 April 2011, 10:58 PM
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18 April 2011, 11:01 PM
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18 April 2011, 11:27 PM
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Great car mate!! Glad you're happy with it.
They aren't 120kgs lighter than the same year STI though. That one has been done to death already. Lol On that model they are 70kgs lighter than the same year STI. The original spec c like the one I had was 120kgs lighter than the same year STI. Since then they have bloated.
They aren't 120kgs lighter than the same year STI though. That one has been done to death already. Lol On that model they are 70kgs lighter than the same year STI. The original spec c like the one I had was 120kgs lighter than the same year STI. Since then they have bloated.
18 April 2011, 11:34 PM
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Great car mate!! Glad you're happy with it.
They aren't 120kgs lighter than the same year STI though. That one has been done to death already. Lol On that model they are 70kgs lighter than the same year STI. The original spec c like the one I had was 120kgs lighter than the same year STI. Since then they have bloated.
They aren't 120kgs lighter than the same year STI though. That one has been done to death already. Lol On that model they are 70kgs lighter than the same year STI. The original spec c like the one I had was 120kgs lighter than the same year STI. Since then they have bloated.
Agreed re the model year differences, but looking at the 2006 in particular, is the 70kgs not the difference between the JDM Sti and Spec C, with there being a greater difference between the 2.5 Uk Sti and the Spec C?
Do you know what weight the 2006 Spec C is?