Having a chat with Lancaster Subaru in Sevenoaks,Kent today about the availability of ppp's for WRX & STI's and he informed me that they havent seen a single one yet !

When i told him that some people on this forum had them already he replied that he thought people were being economical with truth (he was a bit more blunt than that) and the fact that they are one of the largest sellers of WRX & STI variants dictates that if they was any sort of availablity they would definately have some by now.

Could some of you kind chaps let me know what dealers are fitting them so i can prove him wrong please ?

A discount on my MY02 WRX may ride on the outcome....

 

Some dealers are certainly fitting them

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...hreadid=141367

The process is all reliant on
a. how fast Prodrive can make the bits
and more importantly
b. How fast dealers send back the old ECU's to prodrive for modification.

I've seen delivery times quoted from 8-12 weeks on new orders, but the real answer is probably somewhere between the 2


[Edited by Neil Smalley - 10/17/2002 10:35:19 PM]

 

Your dealer is talking out of his exhaust pipe!!!

A mate of mine (and fellow Scoobynetter), T5NYW has had his PPP fitted to his STi7 at Listers (of Worcester) last Friday. FACT.

Sounds like sour grapes to me!

Dan

 

I Had it fitted Friday 11/09/02 (some 5 days previous)

If your dealer was not in the first wave of PPP's should be in the next but there are queues I like many ordered mine in April 02 and some before that

Apparently 300 on order and the first 30 delivered. The hold ups will be on the first dealers getting the old ECU's back to Prodrive for programming that's why dealers will be charged £1000 for late or lost ECU's

MY Humble Opinion of STi7 PPP


It's makes the car feel what it sould have been in the first place

Take off in town (slowly) 1Krpm is much improved doesn't get totally bogged down more like a standrd car take off

2-3krm goes more like a quick road car
3-7 rprm very smooth quick pulling and controlable

The pulling Torque out of the corner is probably the best attribute

Gone is the waiting for neck breaking accelleration at 4Krpm although you won't be gobsmacked by the performance you will be very,very pleased. not till you look at the speedo do you realise the improvements.
Upsides

Smoother and quicker
more Torque

Down sides

£2K
over 125mph performance really easy's off in sixth



Is the STi7 PPP worth £2K !!!!!! the question is is the STi7 worth £2k less without it. the only performance upgrade that keeps your warrenty YOU PAYS YOUR MONEY .............. Etc

Tony

Not related, Don't work for them, no extra discount just wished it was like it in the first place

 

Medway,

Mail me the name of the salesman you spoke to....

KnobbySP1 had his fitted last Thursday (off the top of my head) from KT Green's. The dealer in Carlisle (Stan Palmer I think it is) had theirs fitted the Saturday before that. Two other friends of mine are down to have theirs fitted, I think, within the next week also.

Shows that your dealer is incorrect.

Matt

 

I know of one that was fitted by Town and County in Scotland last week and hopefully I will get mine fitted next week - hopefully

[Edited by WillieF - 10/18/2002 8:25:59 AM]

 

ok so i know i am new here but i am ordering an sti type uk i think that makes it a 7.
you guys are talking about the upgrade from 265 to 300 yes?
i spoke with international motors yesterday to get the details of what is involved in the upgrade, they said an ecu and an exhaust for almost 2k fitted.
is the exhaust s/s ? and what does the ecu increase the boost from /to?
i also get that the guys who have it fitted believe it makes the car more driveable and that it should have been that way from the factory lol.
what about fuel consumption does it effect it dramaticaly?
any help is appreciated before i part with my cash lol.
p.s. i am buying mine from virgin did anyone else here buy there's from virgin?

 

Yes the exhaust is stainless steel. No idea about boost though, not sure who does apart from Subaru and Prodrive.

If you drive the car as you normally would, and not flat out in every gear, then MPG should go up.

[Edited by Neil Smalley - 10/18/2002 9:29:54 AM]

 

I can confirm that there is at least one STI driving about Aberdeen now with the PPP fitted

I took Jools' car into Town and County on Wednesday morning to get the kit fitted (Jools was still in Denmark at the time).

Inspected all the parts before they went on:

All components look very high quality, with no obvious problems with poor welds etc.

System comprises:

Downpipe with sports cat fitted. It's a twin-dump design, with a short pipe (about 6 - 8 inches ?) from the wastegate. The Cat itself is wrapped in a thermal blanket. Probably two reasons for this (a - to help it heat up quicker from startup, and b to protect it from cold water splashes etc).

First mid section which attaches to the downpipe has no cat in it, but strangely a small resonator box. Only about 4 inches long, and about 5 inches wide, and the dpeth of the exhaust itself. I guess this is just to reduce noise levels, or perhaps protect the sensor which fits in directly afterwards.

The next section of the exhaust is the standard Subaru part, with the resonator box fitted.

Lastly the back box (pictures posted already). Looks good

Complete replacement ECU.

Revised brass restrictor.

The work took slightly longer than the advertised 2.5 hours, as it was the first time they had fitted one, and they also had problems with one of the exhaust bolts, and had to source a new one.

Immediate impressions - the car is much smoother to drive than before. There isn't the big chasm before 4,000rpm, and then a big surge, but rather a smoother torque curve from just above 3,000rpm. The car pulls very cleanly to the red-line, and above 5,000rpm the car has a completely different character, seeming to breathe much more easily. It all seems effortless, whereas the standard car seems to struggle somewhat in comparison.

The sound itself is very good. At idle, you can barely hear it in the car, but from outside you can certainly hear the deeper exhaust note, especially as the car is driven around.

On the move, you can hear it louder in the car, but it is noticeably quiet at cruising speed compared to other cars with aftermarket exhausts fitted. Obviously it won't be loud enough for some, but for most people it will be an ideal sound level.

The performance in the lower gears is better, with the car picking up much more progressively, and smoothly.

In the higher gears - the car just wants to rev, and seems significantly stronger than the standard car.

Overall - I was very impressed with it. The biggest difference for me was being able to drive the car using the strong torque of the engine over a wider band, rather than having to rev it hard and use the close ratio gearbox frequently to keep the car in the power band. It will make cross country driving much easier, and less stressful. Again the word effortless seems to spring to mind.

Put it this way - after two days - Jools still has a huge smile on his face, and can't praise the system highly enough.

He also had the Prodrive 7 spoke 18 inch alloys fitted to the car the day before, and the initial impressions are that it has improved the handling, and also the ride quality. This was on Goodyear Eagle GDS3 tyres (only £115 each fitted from blackcircles.com with SIDC discount!). I was expecting the ride to be a bit firmer around town with the 18 inch alloys, and lower profile tyres, but was surprised to find it the other way around. Probably something to do with the fact that both mine and Jools' existing tyres were getting quite worn now, and the new tyres have plenty of tread on them, but also the fact that the 18 inch package is lighter in weight overall, which will have helped reduce the unsprung weight a bit.

I'm sure Jools will add his own comments later, when he stops driving it

John

 

Medway,

Give Waldenways a ring in Maidstone, purhaps they know more.

Gareth.

 

With regards to performance - yes I would say the figures quoted by Prodrive seem very achievavle.

I think one of the things, is that the conversin makes the car genuinely much smoother and easier to drive, and you may not feel like the performance has increased much, expecially as it has taken the edge off the rush at 4,000rpm. However, the rate that the speedo and rev counter go around is no joke.

Perhaps the biggest eye-opener for me, was getting back into my standard STi, after having driving Jools' car, and that's when you notice the biggest difference!!!

John

 

Anyone with the PPP, or have driven, is the car any different on the following.....
a/ The start up from cold, I hear it can be a bit temperamental.
b/ Is there overrun, pops bangs etc.
c/ The tickover is steady on the revs but a little lumpy.
d/ Does it seem to run at a noticeably higher temperature, ie/ the i/c water auto pumping more regular.
e/ The fan works a bit harder during the drive and after stopping to cool the i/c down.

Really would appreciate any feedback on the points above

Many Thanks

 

Thanks for a great writeup John!

 

Medway
They told me the same-obviously they are not as favoured by IM as they thought!!!!!!!!!
Steve

 

Adair69

a) Unchanged

b) No

c) No problems noticed

d) IC spray is not auto

e) What are you on about ??! The fan is nothing to do with the intercooler

Russ



[Edited by russell hayward - 10/18/2002 1:33:11 PM]

 

John,

Just to clarify - you say that the standard resonator is used? This would imply that the whole system is not therefore Stainless? Also you mentioned a restrictor - I don't suppose you know what size do you? Sounds like overboosting was an issue with this exhaust then. Interesting.

Ta,

Matt

 

Jees
You can't ask a question on here without people being snotty.(lots of threads on here discussing at moment)

At one point you could come on and ask questions from people with more experience of the car, and get polite courteous answers.

Russell
I'd get your I/C spray looked at cos mine is most definitely auto (or it has a big leak)
I thought that the oil sat in the i/c and that the fan removed it if not the oil boiled.
If I'm wrong I'm so sorry, and of course I will never post again bowing to your greater knowledge oh masah!!!

mmmm maybe people are right to dump s'net "civil" is a pat word....

 

Matt,

no idea on the size of the restrictor used I'm afraid. Somewhere between nothing and 2mm is about as accurate as I could be

They do indeed keep the standard resonator section, so the whole system isn't stainless. I don't think this will be a major problem though, as even after 7 or 8 years, most Impreza standard exhausts systems haven't rusted away completely. With the number of people who swap out their exhausts anyway, I'm sure there will be a ready supply of these if necessary. No doubt some people will swap it out for a stainless straight through part anyway

John

 

Adair69

The car started up and idled just fine from cold after it was just installed.

No pops or bangs on overrun.

The IC isn't auto, and only comes on when you press the button, so no change there.

Didn't notice any difference in running temperatures whatsoever.

John

 

Thanks John appreciate that

Is the spray really not auto, because it definitely hums and pumps on mine automatically. I know this is odd, because I really thought it was manual only. But on another thread someone said it is auto under certain conditions (probably temp).
Am I going mad???
Do I have a mutant car??



[Edited by adair69 - 10/18/2002 3:21:48 PM]

 

I was actually asking you what you meant, perhaps I had misunderstood your question ?

Next time I wont take the trouble to answer your questions if that's how you react.........

 

Is yours a UK STI ?

Think the JDM version may have auto I/C spray, but not sure.

 

DTS is just on his way back from having his PPP fitted today.

Took him 2hrs to drive to get to where he was having it fitted - as the car now goes like "sh1te off a shovel" I expect him back in about an hour and a half

I'm sure he will share his thoughts on it later - he's not normally short of a word or two

 

I hope (and trust) I'm ahead of Medway in the Walldonway queue Their line was that in addition to the need to turn round ECUs, there is a supply problem with the intercooler pipework. They expected to do their first in early November. Disappointing... one for Cliff and one for me right away would do nicely

Phil

 

Phil

As far as i'm aware there is no uprated intercooler pipework for the STI PPP, as the STI already has it.

 

What i'm confused about is that there is no replacement air filter. now as any boy-racer knows its the first place to start.

Are Prodrive/IM saying that changing the standard paper panel filter makes no difference OR are they concerned with potential issues/problems with aftermarket ones...

Am i right in saying that the WRX PPP comes with a new air filter insert ? Are there warranty implications if the induction filter is changed ?

Ids

 

Ids.
I was told that on the STi7 air intake is positive pressure and that no induction kit or filter will make any difference except for warrenty and nay be detremental to performance

3 STi7's on rolling road day one Standard 262bhp, one with some mods Exhaust/induction/ADV octain booster 262bhp the other (mine)STD but with B/Box home mod 248bhp ooooooops.
By the seems only Decatting/Sports Cat will any increases be made ( mind engine blowing boost spikes though) as too much control is done by ECU and not restictive "Ins" or "Outs" IMHO

Tony

 

Ps no probllems starting
No Overheating. but my Radiator fan comes on and off more often
Sometimes get a little 'PoP' out exorst when starting

Tony,
Tyres wont last long

 

Here's a clue - I was at PRODRIVE today

Came back with a heap of old exhaust bits in the boot, and a different car underneath me

My thoughts? I'll give Mrs T-S's first, when I took her out for a test drive:

Firstly - "it's blisteringly quick"
Secondly - "I can't have one on mine - i'd die......"

My thoughts, having driven it back 130 miles from Warwick, the last 60 miles or so cross country:

At first, it doesn't feel that quick, probably because it doesn't have that "hit 4000rpm and it takes off" feeling any more - the lack of grunt below 4000 has been filled, and it now pulls strongly from 3000rpm and hard from 3500.

You don't notice it too much in first to third gears, but in fourth and fifth, when it is under load and it is producing serious torque, from 3500 to 6500+ rpm it has serious acceleration. Rather than that explosion at 4000rpm it now pulls hard across a much wider rev band, and cross country in fourth and fifth it is SERIOUSLY quick. It doesn't feel that quick, but I came back on the B645 from Rushden to St Neots, a great road with a lot of long straights and long sweeping open bends, and I was shocked at one point when I looked down at the speedo

From the gauge, peak boost is roughly the same as before, 1.35 bar or so (which was my prediction) and goes to show you don't need crazy boost figures to get more out of the car.

I shall test it back to back with Carolyn's bog standard STi7 tomorrow, and Mutant Matt is going to Delta Dash log it on Sunday.

Is it worth having? IMHO, yes.

Thanks to the guys at Prodrive for fitting it, and to Mike Wood for his time and apologies for my incessant nagging over the last few months

[Edited by Dave T-S - 10/18/2002 9:53:41 PM]