Tanking along the dual carriageways around Haywards Heath and generally not pootling about when a set of headlights bowls up behind me.



At first I thought “Old Bill”, but once he was close enough behind me I saw that it was a BMW X5, so decided to show him a clean pair of heels. No competition basically – right?



Oops..! So long as he kept it rolling - which he did easily on the wide-open dual-carriageway - he had no trouble keeping up!



I decided to move over at about 100mph, at which point he roared past and headed off into the distance!!



The only consolation I could come up with is the fact that it was probably a chipped 4.4 or 4.8, so was in the £60-70k region and depreciating even faster than it was accelerating!!



So – modifications for a standard MY01 WRX...



As an excuse, I have judder under braking at the moment, so wasn’t able to make best use of what should have been the Scooby advantage in handling round the bends… (And other perfectly good excuses that I haven’t come up with yet!)

 

Careface

 

Move over at 100mph..? Wuss.

Chipped schmipped...
They tend to bottle at about 130mph. It's scary being all wobbly in 'em at that speed. If they're still there at 135-140, then move over.

All done on a closed road or whatever they say track or something...lol ;o)

Oh, and remember, scoobs are not unbeatable.

The alternative is to move over gentlemanly at 79mph and let the BMW driver honk past.

Depends on your frame of mind and mood. If you're going to do it, do it as much and as best as you can....or don't do it all....

 

Without being funny you've got probably the slowest scoob ever produced in std form against a monster car with a monster engine. I doud't it was even chipped as they're supprisingly quick esp. when moving and limited to 155...!

You need some select mods, however I doud't it would make much difference in the same scenario (sp?) unless you go mod (& £££) mad..!

These days you can't afford to be complacent about the car you 'think' you're about to trounce.

 

STI intercooler, 18G turbo, exhaust, fuel pump, injectors, remap, knocklink & boost gauge should add about 150 BHP and cost about £3000. That will give you similar power at the wheels to an M3. Might need a clutch £350 and STI 5 speed gearbox £650 (used) down the line. Spend another £2000 on brakes and suspension.

If you bought a new age STI and modified that, it already has the intercooler, gearbox (6 speed and strong), better clutch, brakes, suspension and injectors and would be done for about £2400.

For the difference in cost, better selling and starting with an STI. Exhaust, fuel pump and remap could be done for about £1150 to about 110 BHP beyond your present power.

 

Could of been a 3.0D, smack it in sport mode and it's quick.

Hard to pull away from a big motor with bags of torque !

No shame in that bud

Rob

 

only seen a 4.8 used in anger once and by god did it shift...bit like the side of a mountain collapsing...

 

I irritated a Focus RS in my mums 4.4 Range Rover once[slower than a 4.4 X5]. 286hp and 325 lb/ft and well geared they are not too bad when rolling. But as has been said, you do have a standard WRX which isn't that fast on a motorway. I wouldn't worry too much though - at the moment you don't need any mods that may use more fuel !!!!

 

Appreciate the ideas - I think you're right about moving to something more suitable as a starting point for big mods, but haven't owned this one long enough yet to save up the necessary £££s for the next jump to an STI.

Brakes need doing anyway, so that and a decent exhaust will be enough to be going on with (and a remap, obv! ).

The irony is, I was coming back from trying my friend's imported WRX STi Type RA that was up for sale. If I started modding I'd want to end up with something that handled and went as well as that, otherwise I'd think it was just a waste of money! It was like a grown-up go-kart!