Hi, Ive never owned a scooby before & just want to ask of the good & bad points whilst looking/Test driving one. (Hoping to sell my 6 soon.)
Some say imports are best? Some say go for a UK car, due to getting the parts etc. The one i've seen (& like) is 96 wrx, straight from Japan £7k. With 46000 miles on clock. It aint got any security fitted, neither dump valves etc. Engine looks really clean? They've also got a few others aswell.
Hopefully you will share some of your Scooby knowledge with me.

Thanks
Tina.

 

First thing to check is insurance. Imports are group 20 and need at least a cat 1 system and some companies need you to have a tracker. Most people run Imports on Optimax fuel if it hasn't been mapped for UK petrol, often with Octane booster aswell. I only run Optimax and no problem so far.

 

Hiya Girlracer
Ive owned both a uk and now a JDM car, both are different (well one was a classic and the other is an animal ).
What you need to look for is the following (i may miss somethings out so people will add to these) but there is a lot to take in.

As stated by rossyboy, before you do anything, see if you can get insured. Age dependent and the fact that most insurance co's will require both a cat 1 alarm and a tracking system (auto activated) it can add a fair bit to your price

FSH:- not all cars come with this, personally id avoid these cars as subaru's need to be maintained to a high standard to stop them getting problems.
Accident damage:- yup even those ones from japan can suffer this you should if your not mechanically minded, get an independent inspector in (AA/RAC etc).
Modifications:- dont think the likes of dump valves are important, if anything they can really hinder an impreza, the car has a recirculating type on already, this is the best one for the car, others can cause serious problems like leaning the fuel mixture out (definately not good )
Brakes:- god do these suck especially on the older cars these are going to be 2pot calipers on the front, if you find a nice insurance co that lets you modify then this is the first thing you need to do (you should be able to get hold of a set of subaru 4 pots quite cheaply, they need 16 inch wheels to fit under though).
Looks:- you have already stated that it has a very clean engine, this could be hiding something like an oil leak, not a good thing normally so worth taking a little more interest in if the car has a FSH.
Servicing:- ah, this one is the anti climax im afraid
High performance comes at a high cost 6 month/7.5k mile service intervals, you normally get 2 years fairly cheap then stung for 2 years, intermediate (the 6 month service) is the cheapest, you will need a speciallist to service your car though IMHO, i wouldnt take it to any old garage. 1 year intervals can vary from cheap (90 quid) to over 500 quid, cambelts need to be changed at 3 year/45k intervals, id change it on any new car you buy if there aint a receipt for it as its cheaper than an engine rebuild.
Fuel:- As stated above by rossyboy, optimax, i personally run my JDM STi on optimax and octane booster, these cars are designed to run on 100 ron fuel minimum (upto 102 ron normally) so id advice the use of both, also you will need a knocklink (look here>>> www.jap-innovations.co.uk) as it shows you what the engine is doing (it detects pre detonation which is a very big killer of subaru engines).
Also check out www.sidc.co.uk and look under the faq section.

Hope this helps

Tony

 

Hi GIRLRACER,
I brought my scooby last August,
MY97 UK TURBO,
came equipped with,

OZ 18's
Blitz zorst
4 pot brakes
1k's worth of ICE
Cat 1 alarm / immobiliser
Tracker monitor
folder full of history

things i've added are
STI5 rear spoiler
Morettes
Afterburners
graphics
De-cat
K&N filter
Tinted windows

and the BEST bit is i insure her with Liverpool Victoria
when i spoke with them and told them what was on her and what i was going to add, they didn't mind as long as i had receipts/ photo's for the mods, they would however up my premium if i serisouly increased the BHP

 

Thanks to you all for your advice. Ive checked with my insurance company (GSI) and he done me a quote on the car ive seen £1500 fully comp. That'll be with a cat1 fitted. Can also do any mods inc engine bits etc. Had this problem before with my 6, just for fitting a K&N kit & 17's. They gave me 7 days to take it off or they wont insure me. So then i went to GSI & saved just over £100.My pug is a group 15. What group is a UK scooby? Im also aware of the petrol bill, as run my 6 on bp ultimate & get approx 28mpg (if i drive it carefully). If i floor it, then its thirsty. Then i dont want to know how much mpg im getting.

 

pretty sure uk classics are group 17, dont ask about mpg :P i dont get a lot.

 

yep my uk classic is a group 17, as for consumption

lets say if i fill her up with £40 of the good stuff (opti) i can get, if im being a good boy 200ish miles

if im a bad boy which i generally am i get anywhere between 150 / 180

i believe it has something to do with the lead weight in my right boot

 

Imports come with a lot more horses!!! The one i looked had 270. Uk one's are about 230 (i think) please correct me if im wrong. So if i got a uk model & superchip, de-cat & K&N what would i get then approx.
And can the imports be chipped more Yes im a bit of a speed demon

 

UK = 215 Horses (again i think)

iGTMF on here has a MY98 UK and has just had a re-map and he now has 280 ponies under the bonnet

im no expert in these matters, best thing is givehttp://www.scoobyclinic.com a call and talk to Adam (Special X) on here, he will be able to advise u better than me

 

Bulk standard UK classic is 215 bhp. Full decat exhaust system +30 bhp. ECUTEK remap with a good panel filter (STI) should give ~265-270bhp, however BHP is not all, usable torque is also increased dramatically . After that big spending is required, front mount intercooler, bigger turbo, bigger injectors, uprated fuel pump etc etc....

Superchips are a no no on a classic, not a very good solution, induction kits are not good either, can cause the airflow sensor to under read = under fuelling = det = blown engine. ECUTEK remap is a much better way to go as the existing ECU is reprogrammed for the modifications your car has. Having said all that, ECUTEK is only possible on MY99 onwards. There are some remap solutions available for the older ECUs but if you're after big power then a replacement ECU is needed.

Though the import is rated at 270bhp you won't get that on UK fuel. The Japanese get 100 RON fuel (lucky basts), UK fuel is 98 RON at best. Imports should be ran on Optimax and octane booster to get somewhere near 100 RON or remapped for UK fuel otherwise you will get detonation = blown engine. A Knocklink is an essential item on an import (and modified UK car), it gives an immediate display of any det and allows you to back off the loud pedal immediately before any major damage is done.

Don't want to put you off but you do need to know what your getting into with an import.

Good luck

 

Stay well clear of superchip. Many other very reputable remappers around (Bob @BRD/Richard@TSL) who'll not cause your car to explode 3 months later. If your gonna decat, you'll probably need a remap as well anyway. When you say K&N, do you mean a panel filter or induction kit? Don't bother with induction kits unless you get over 350bhp and supply it with cold air, otherwise you'll actually reduce power and to boot you'll vibrate the MAF to bits. You also mentioned DV's. The one that's on is the best one, only change it if you're not fussed for loosing power and want the car to sound silly. Before the never ending quest for more power, I'd recommend sorting the handling and braking out 1st. They can be inadequate on standard power, let alone when you start going for lots of geegees.

 

That 96 wrx is 260ps, 257bhp on 100 ron fuel, uk cars vary in power, from 208bhp to 215bhp depending on which model year (MY) you go for (99 onward cars are 215bhp).
I think ive put pretty much all the advice you need in the first bit, which people can add to but dont just buy the first impreza you see, there are many out there and alot of them can and are dogs made to look nice if you evaluate the cost of a new engine (2k+) it adds quite a bit to your budget
I will give you one word of warning though, i wouldnt go much over 280bhp if you want reliability, the more power you put though the clutch and gearbox the quicker they will go, they are not reknown for strength above 300bhp, and rebuilds are not cheap

Tony

 

I had my 6 LAD Motorsport modified - now get up to 40 mpg, can pull 2 higher gears than std on steep hills and beat 6 secs to 60 + over 150 mph!!

Still looking to swap this winter for an sti ppp!!

p.s. if you are a real power freak - get a TVR - cant beat performance & sound / pound!