steve170

Hello,

For some reason the long post I just wrote disappeared when I hit submit.....I'll try again......

I've come back to the fold with a 56-plate (2007) WRX STI PPP after having a 94 WRX back in 1999/2000. It's crystal grey with gold alloys (pics to follow). I think it's a bit of a bargain although I did have to go to Northern Ireland to get it. Only covered 12,800 miles, serviced every year (sometimes less than 2k miles between annual services!) including a change of gearbox and diff oils. I paid £12,395 for it (plus the cost of the ferry and flight around £200 and road tax at £1 billion).

My ferry from Dublin to Holyhead got cancelled so me and my mate ended up going from Belfast to Stranraer. That was two hours late because of the weather so I landed in SW Scotland at 3pm a long way from home! First stop was into the local post office to get some road tax, didn't want to give plod any excuses to stop me. This turned out to be a schoolboy error as all the freight traffic from the ferry was now in front of me and the road from Stranraer to the M6 is 95 miles of single carriageway and it was pouring with rain. So what better time to be in a 316bhp 4 wheel drive pseudo-rally car? Let's just say there was much overtaking, grinning and chuckling over the next hour and a half.....

Things I like:

- Power, although I think it needs the PPP to make the performance match the looks.
- RE070s - plenty of grip.
- Catapulting out of 2nd gear corners.
- Overtaking ability.
- Simplicity in the cabin - no buttons on the steering wheel, only one intermittent wiper setting so no fiddling around all the time.

Things I don't like / need to get used to:

- Seats, disappointing after the Recaros in my 94 WRX and Focus ST.
- Lack of grunt below 3k revs - my previous two cars (Focus ST, 159 TBi) had twin scroll turbos with plenty of go from 1,500 rpm.
- RE070s - worried about going through the winter with these - any thoughts? I use the car every day for my commute.
- Stereo - rubbish rear speakers, tape deck?!?!?
- Brakes - noisy pads, bit wooly, not much stopping power?
- The agression from other road users for no apparent reason (example, coming back home on the M40 minding my own business in Lane 2, a Vectra overtook me in Lane 3 with 2 middle aged blokes hanging out the windows giving me the finger!)

Right, that's me done for now. I'm going to do some more research into winter tyres and read this month's EVO review of them again. Anyone know any good winter tyre suppliers in Surrey?

scoobiewrx555

Are you sure it's 316bhp or is it just what the previous owner quoted.
PPP provides somewhere around 300bhp therefore if your car is genuinely 316bhp Prodrive won't be of any use. You'll need a proper full custom remap.
Lack of grunt below 3000rpm suggests either it's never been remapped and needs it or there is an issue/s somewhere. Normally they start to pick up well from about 2800rpm onwards and you start to feel boost come in from about 2500rpm as standard.
Seats...agreed....get a proper adjustable bucket seat or some nice Recaro's if you have the dosh.
RE070's...Not so great when really cold. Toyo T1R's now are cheaper than a lot of other Premium brands and for me were very good in the Winter and snow. Never ever got stuck in snow and excellent in the wet.
Stereo....Get some decent ICE.
Brakes....Decent pads will sort that out in the interim.

Other road users, especially the abusive ones.....Just smile sweetly

steve170

I think it's 316bhp cos it had the PPP fitted from new by the dealer (well at the 1,000 oil change) and that's what the pdf file says that I downloaded from the Prodrive website.

scoobiewrx555

Your next step on the tuning front is a full custom remap over and above the PPP and you'll be heading towards 340-350bhp/similar torque with some decatting. If you want to verify your PPP bhp as it is now you should get it on rollers for an educated guesstimate.

You should ask for uncorrected WHP and corrected BHP figures so you can compare the two.

Rolling roads generally have 21-22% drivetrain loss correction for BHP figures but in reality it's no more than 15-16% if that. On rollers you'll see perhaps more bhp than what's really there but like i said, it's just a guesstimate and tuners can skew the figures one way or the other anyway.

316bhp PPP despite what Subaru officially say sounds a bit over optimistic although i'm not saying it's impossible, perhaps from brand new, just less probable but you never know. Get it on rollers before you get it tuned so you have before and after figures.

King Eric

When you say the brakes are noisy have you checked they are not on the wear indicators? They will create a grind/noise when they are on their way out. They are a doddle to do yourself. Brake fluid res cap off. Wheel off. Take the pins out of the top and bottom and metal spring clips out. Using a centre punch and a hammer carefully remove the pins at the top and bottom. Use a large flat head screwdriver to carefully move the pad off the disk on each side and pull out using pliers. Then move put the shims back on the new pads and pop back in using the screwdriver to move the piston back in to fit. Check no fluid has spilt and repeat the other side. Viola!

I'm hearing that in standard trim these run really rich. I am considering a re-map as it gives you much more gain for no real loss in fuel consumption.