Lee_2011

Hi all! I have owned my 07 Hawkeye STI for just over a year now & I am trying to decide what to do. In the whole year I have owned the car I have done around a 1,000 miles in it, so as you can see I dont use it that often. Once a week, if that! I have been thinking wether to start doing a few bits to it, remap etc. However, as you all may know the tax on this is the £475 a year tax bracket & as I very rarely use the car it seems silly paying all this money to have it sat in the garage. So I have been thinking of selling it & buying an 05 Blobeye not just because of the cheaper tax but also because I see alot of threads on here saying how you have to be careful with power gains from the 2.5 engines, which my hawkeye has. If anyone could give me any advice I would be greatful. Thanks in advance, Lee.

Brun

If you only use it once a week why not buy a TVR which will only work once a week
Seriously - why not buy something which has twice the thrills if it's only used once a week

Lee_2011

Well, the reason I hardly use it is because I don't need to use a car to get to work. However, as I may be changing jobs I will need the use of a car. So, what is the best option?

Lee_2011

I've been looking at a few threads & I am considering maybe a JDM hawkeye. What are people's thoughts on these? What would be the best way to go about buying one? Garage, private or import one myself? Only one thing putting me off is the fact that they are imports & maybe lack of history with the cars?

gregwill

iTrader: (1)

Hello there mate, I owned a bug wrx sti with ppp and was a great car! but I recently just purchased a 2006 jdm litchfield type-20 and honestly i can say what a different car it is. Im no expert on any subarus but the the jdm has ticked all the right boxes for me! and I would recommend buying one over a uk scoob!

Lee_2011

These Litchfield Subarus are these the ones that Litchfield import & you buy off them? I won't be able to do much at the minute as I had to get my car on finance but I am just getting the rest I have owing on it to pay it all off in one hit. What was the condition of your JDM like? Bodywork, engine etc?

gregwill

iTrader: (1)

yea litchfield import them I had mine from a garge though not through litchfield themselves. Mine needs a little bit of TLC only cosmetic things though engine wise it seems all good, pulls strong no clunks ect. I would recommend one if you are thinking of changing your car for another subaru!

Lee_2011

Yeah I think I will go for the JDM. I'll keep an eye out for any Litchfield Subarus in the new year. Have you got any pics of yours mate?

gregwill

iTrader: (1)

I havent at the moment waiting for a nice dry day to get some, will probably waiting a while to get a nice day though lol what sort of price would you be looking to spend if you dont mind me asking also would you be part exchanging yours??

Lee_2011

Well, I'm not sure how much they are as I haven't seen any for sale yet but was thinking around £11,500-£12,000? I would advertise mine first see what offers I get but may PX if I can find a JDM in a garage.

wiley

iTrader: (63)

just give £4-5k to alan @ enginetuner and you'll have a bullet proof 2.1 stroker ready to take any abuse

wiley

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

^^ WHY? david at API will forge his 2.5 for half that price, or he could go the pinning route for that much cash and still have change left for a bigger turbo that would see him close to a safe 500bhp with a splash of meth and a gazillion torques, would be a much better road car than a 2.1

Lee_2011

As I put in my first post in this thread, the other reason for me wanting to swap is because of the road tax. I don't mind paying £200 odd a year for a car that at the moment is just sat in a garage but at the moment I'm paying £475! Also the mileage on my hawkeye is touching the 60,000 mile mark & want to get rid before the mileage gets higher.

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

Sell it
Money in the bank and get a nice immaculate classic if you only do 1000 per year
Should be able to pick a one up for under 3k now

henrysmith

iTrader: (5)

I had/have a similar situation with my GB270 (GB370) wagon and was thinking about changing car or getting a Spec C/Type RA (Hurst have one at present) and so on but assuming you plan to part ex the Hawk STI for a JDM, factor in what you'll get as a part ex - probably only half of what the JDM will cost if planning on spending 11-12K, so the saving £200 or so on road tax is pointless - plus does the JDM import have an additional insurance premium? Maybe not with specialists but on a standard car you may get cheaper insurance through a 'regular' insurance company.

I'm not getting into the 'Hawk STI v's JDM/Spec C' just commenting on the tax/part ex issue.

I priced forged 2.5 builds from Scoobyclinic, API and Enginetuner and the prices are very similar when comparing similar/same spec.

The 5/6K you'll lose on part ex will do a forged engine build (but without any 'extras' like FMIC, syveccs, larger injectors, bigger turbo etc), better suspension if still standard (BC's, ARB's and Anti lift kit and Geo) plus better discs, pads and hoses all round and will make a very nice road car.

Tidgy

sell the hawk, buy a mint s202

Tidgy

did kev mention the sc450 package they do? mmmmmmmmm,,, lol

henrysmith

iTrader: (5)

Car is already modified (full Milltek with sports cat, SC42, T25 AST suspension, Godpseed big brake kit and so on). Plan to keep the billet SC42 (over 2 years on there now hence the GB370 wagon) as the spool on the SC42 on the 2.5 is fantastic and will see what it can do when forged. Alan J, Kev and David all recommended/OK keeping the SC42 on and seeing what it will do (this was the plan/reason 2 plus years ago when fitting the SC42 rather than a smaller SC turbo).

The car is in with Enginetuner at present for the forged build so eagerly awaiting it's return - but not looking forward to the running in period!!!

Hurst have an S202 in I think but 10K odd for an 11 year old Scooby and part ex'ing a 5 year old Hawk plus 3-5K on top would hurt? I'm sure the S202 is a great car but a difficult call (although maybe less painful after the test drive).

Lee_2011

I'm probably going to go for either a JDM hawkeye or an 05 Blob. I'll sell my car privately as I don't think I'll get much for it if I PX it. What's the difference between the JDM 2.0 engine & the UK 2.0 engine?

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

Crank
Pistons
Heads
Management (ecu)
Twinscroll turbo rather than single scroll on uk cars
Equal length headers = loss of the traditional burble but more torque
Sump + dipstick
T20C block on jdm thicker casing, S20C on uk spec

Think that's about it engine wise what I found different between my uk blob sti and jdm blob sti