Just got my JDM STI & am delighted. History & impresions below (it goes on a bit!)
I only really considered buying an Impreza following an impromptu visit to Colchester's Subaru dealer while killing time one Saturday afternoon. Thde only car available to try was a PPP'd WRX, which looked interesting, but I couldn't see it being a replacement for my BMW 330i Sport, a great all-round fast car. This view was quickly dispelled by virtue of the serious performance on offer, the 'on rails' handling, overlaid by that wonderful 'VW Beetle on steroids' exhaust burble. I was hooked, but was disuaded from changing cars by the ineptitude of the salesman, who was only interested in emphasising the rapiity of the 330's depreciation. I was amazed, after rejecting one poor trade-in offer, to be phoned back a few days later with an offer for £1k less, the buffoon trying to convince me to exchange right away, before the situation got any worse! NO SALE
The attitude of the staff at Chelmsford's dealership was much more professional and they even had an STI PPP to try. I did so, just to see what the 'serious' version was like, but knowing that I wasn't going to consider anything so 'boy racer'. Big spoiler, big scoop, gold wheels - no way! Strangely, such considerations were instantly dispelled by the racer-like feel, the short-ratio box and the fantastic acceleration, not to mention the 'VW Beetle on amphetamines' soundtrack. I was hooked!
Following a long internet trawl for information, I thought it might be worth a quick spin in a JDM STI, just to confirm that it's alleged 'flat' exhaust note would limit it's appeal too much, before placing an order for the UK model. Step forward Iain Litchfield and that red Spec C.
My test drive in this car was mind-blowing, and despite the few tweaks that this car had had, it was clear that the JDM car is a different beast altogether: awesome power delivery, superb handling & road holding and excellent braking. The exhaust note was not the characteristic Scoob burble, but distinctive nevertheless. The Spec C was rejected in favour of the STI, which promised a large slice of the Spec C performance, but with the full complement of goodies (I'm not interested in track use). I requested the installation of a carbon rear wing and painting of the wheels in dark grey to tone it down a bit.
After a frustrating wait, the car turned up on Saturday, duly registered and SVA tested. The journey down was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that the requested wing installation and wheel painting had not in fact happened. This disappointment was soon dispelled by the sight of the silver beauty. In fact the big spoiler balances the size of the bonnet scoop rather well and the gold wheels compliment the silver paintwork nicely.
Key impressions so far (500 miles):
Engine: despite it not being fully mapped and having not exceeded 4-5000rpm, the performance is astonishing: no turbo lag of note and a 'twittering' noise on harder acceleration (wastegate?) overlaying the turbine-like whine of the engine, accompanied by a subdued p'choo of the blow-off valve. Hoo baby! Dypsomaniac thirst, though!
Road holding & handling: grip from the tasty-looking Bridgestone RE070s is huge and there seems to be no significant over or understeer at sensible road speeds. The quick rack feels perfectly geared & weighted and there is a huge feeling of security, despite the poor weather coditions of the last week. Ride is hard, but you get used to it! DCCD seems to do a great job.
Brakes: good, but not as good as I remember the Spec C being. I'll reserve judgement on the Brembos for the time being.
Interior: more flimsy than a BMW, but still pretty good. Some nice gadgets on the JDM model include rear wiper (always nice on a saloon), electricaly-folding mirrors and the much-improved instruments.
Running in should be completed by next week and I'll report on the full performance once it's had it's 1000 mile service. I trust the promised CD changer and the original xenon bulbs will be fitted then, too. Sorry but no photographs as the weather hasn't been too good, but I'll have a go this weekend.
Apologies for this 'old' boy racer going on a bit, but these cars are fantastic! I'm most reminded of a Porsche 911 (thrummy exhaust note, manic power delivery, firm, bobbing ride etc.), but without the 'dark side' of that particular car!

 

Brakes. Thought the same thing when I got my Sti, but did improve as the miles went on. By 1000 miles they were fantastic.

 

Good report.
"despite it not being fully mapped and having not exceeded 4-5000rpm" - What do you mean when you say its not been fully mapped, do you mean not at all yet? If so please be careful even on SUL. Oh and I'd personally not do more than 4K when running in, with no hard acceleration to the self imposed limit.

I'm looking forward to the pics and the next report.
F

 

Thanks for the comments. My understanding is that the map is a 'safe' one for running in. I haven't gone near full throttle though, just to be on the safe side. As far as revs go, I was sent the following piece by a friend, which made interesting reading on the running-in issue:

<"I recall having been to the Porsche Test Centre in Weissach some 25 years ago. There I saw them taking performance figures of every new engine for the 911 on a number of test benches. That meant screaming 7000 RpM under full load and for about a minute. Compare that to what many manufacturers (including Porsche) ask you to do during the running-in period! I then asked one of the engineers about the discrepancy in attitude. This was his answer, which seems to be general enough to be still valid today and for different brands of engines:
The main area of concern in a brand new engine is the cylinder walls, i.e. their initial roughness, which reduces the effective area of contact between piston and cylinder. As a consequence the thermal combustion energy (the part which is not transformed into mechanical energy) will not flow through piston --> cylinder wall --> water as efficiently as required. If you keep the period of high power output short enough, i.e. a minute or so, no harm will be done, because you just accumulate the heat in the piston. It is
imperative though to give the engine a longer period of light load and of low speed to cool down again. Because most car manufacturers feel that their customers would not stick to the "one minute max"
rule and get carried away chasing fully run-in Mercedes on the Autobahn, they set up the restrictive running-in rules. After all they want to avoid warranty claims.
Lubrication is less of a problem, according to this
engineer: The cylinder wall roughness is in fact good, because it collects more oil. Pressure lubricated bearings in general have no
metal-to-metal contact once the oil reaches them with sufficient pressure. This again requires that the oil has reached operating temperature.
So this is what I did running-in a number of Lotus Twin Cam engines, up to now with no apparent defects: Always warm up the engine before going over 3000-4000 Rpm. This takes 5 Miles on a hot summer day to 12 Miles in winter. The water temperature gauge is a bad indicator, as the water heats up more rapidly than the oil. It's an oil thermometer that you need if you want to be sure. During the first 500 Miles use the car lightly, i.e. stay in lowish
engine speed ranges for most of the time. A _burst_of speed will not harm the engine, provided that it is short. During the following 500 Miles gradually extend the "bursts". E.g. accelerating through all gears up to - well what's the speed limit in GB - seems fair enough to me. Then hold the speed and let the engine dissipate the heat. In general use the gearbox and use the engine, but don't get carried away demanding high stress levels for
prolonged periods." >

 

Mr. Fibble,

Congratulations on your purchase, you have the same spec car as me After my 1,000 mile service I had it re-mapped with the Milltek exhaust Iain offers. Thoroughly good chap he is too.

Out of interest who did you get insurance with? I had a lot of trouble finding any suitable insurance companies as they did not know what it was. I eventually got insurance through Schofield Insurance ala Subaru Insured. They were the best quote but that was still £1,500! I have 7NCD, 3 points for SP50, 31yrs old and garaged.

With regards the brakes. Mine have improved but I think Iain is probably running DS2500's on his which will give better bite than OEM pads.

Damian.

 

Mr Flibble

You're probably right on the run in side of things but remember we aren't just running in the engine but the gearbox, clutch, brakes, diffs etc, which I'm sure that you realise this but others may not after reading the 2nd post. As for the oil temp, I tend to wait for the same time to get the oil up to temp but is this really necessary? I mean if it were so critical then why not have an oil temp gauge on all cars? My guess is that oil may be 85% efficient at perhaps only 50% optimum temp and 95% at 75% temp and so on? Afterall, oil must be fairly efficient at cold start to protect the engine in the first place.

IMHO

F

 

Thanks for the running in comments, Floyd.
Damian, I got my insurance from NU Direct for £645 (Full NCD, no recent offences, 45yrs & garaged). NU list the JDM STI, but will not insure a Skyline, apparently! I should imagine that the age issue is a significant factor in the reduced premium - one advantage of getting on a bit! Colchester isn't a particularly high crime area, either. My previous insurer, a broker, tried to sting me to the tune of £1,050 for a policy with NU! I really will shop around from now on before I reinsure.
I'll talk to Iain about the pads. Any thoughts about the Miltek vs standard exhaust?

 

Mr. Fibble,

The exhaust is amazingly quiet on tick over but changes into sort of big bike noise when gunning it.

I can't compare it to the standard exhaust as I took delivery with the Milltek on.

But from what I remember when I test drove the white C Spec it had the standard exhaust on and I would say it is a much improved exhaust note.

Damian.