Firstly: Hello one and all. I have been lurking for a while, but it is about time I posted! Even if it is just questions.

I am shopping around for my first scooby at the moment, and I have a couple of questions about jap imports as there seems to be quite a few about. I looking for a v7 sti (bug-eye).

Q1: Why do most (if not all) jap sti's have the rear door, and main rear windows tinted? Is it factory fitted or was it a fad in Japan around 2001? And most importantly - is it easy to remove??

Q2: Do you NEED to remap newage imports for UK fuel? If so, what would be the effects of running a jap car on uk fuel without adding additives for a reasonable time (a year or so)

And that's it.

Any advice appreciated.

G.

 

No idea about the tints, in all honesty, but with regards to the fuel the car will be happy enough to run on super unleaded (V-Power or Tesco 99) without having to be mapped.

 

Hello and welcome

1) It's factory standard, the glass itself has the tint so it's impossible to remove unless you swap the window for a UK one.

2) Yes - detonation leading to big-end failure, which requires a full engine rebuild at a cost around four grand. A £500 remap is much cheaper, and a bottle of octane booster per tank (about £3.50) cheaper still over the short term.

 

most jap imports regardless of make have rear tints!

 

I have a JDM STI7 and have the window tints as well, leave them on they don't cause any real harm (although reversing at night needs a little more care!)

No need for a remap, ignore the doom mongerers - the ECUs on all the newages can account for UK fuel no problem

 

Oh no...............can of worms are open again. Jap cars are programmed to run on 100 RON and nothing else. Why is every JDM Car re-mapped/ECU'd or Octane boosted to death for UK fuel on import then?

 

no there not, they are designed to run on a range of fuel. The classic was just not good at adapting (the range of parameters in the ECU was lower), the newage is very good at adapting. If you ask the importers you will also find that a JDM newage remapped to UK fuel is the exception not the rule.

unmodded everyday driving in a Newage doesn't require a map or octane booster - although it is not recommended in a classic!!

details of why on the Ecutek website - as i have just checked to make sure i'm not talking complete bollocks

 

Its worth pointing out that additonaly to the usual JDM STi differences to the UK model, I believe there are 3 slightly different JDM Sti7 specifications:
GL has front suretrack LSD, HID headlights and dark smoked rear passenger windows.
EL has the front LSD but no HID or dark windows.
KL no suretrack LSD and no rear spoiler.

have a look here:
Eta Tauri Site Impreza Reference - Japanese Specification

I have the EL model which does not have the tints, rare but a few around if you don't want them.

 

Sheeh ...apologies... I didn't mean to dredge up old arguments!

Cheers for all the info.

amahrap - have you got a link to the page on the ecutek website where all that is mentioned? I would like to take a look myself, for interests sake.

 

99/00MY OEM ECU Comparison

"Ignition
The ignition maps on these ECUs differ. All ECU versions have the same high octane ignition map. However, on the more recent (ae802) version, the low octane ignition map is more retarded at high load and high RPM. "

There is nothing specific that tells you directly that octane booster is not required so you have to have a good read. Take a look at the part that deals with ignition advance as this is about as close to concrete as it gets

 

Thanks.

 

As I said Can Of Worms........................calm down, calm down, take a chill pill and wait for people who have JDM Cars to put their oar in too and they will soon get your goat up

 

perfectly chilled and i also have a JDM (have had 3 in total and would never own a UK Scoob)

If people want to waste their time listening to half assed advice and buying loads of octane booster thats their problem. Do the research then make a choice - the problem is the 'sage' advice of the technically inept is usually wrong as in this case.

 

I ran a 2004 JDM sti on V Power and occasionally Tesco 99 for over a year, no issues . I kept a bottle of octane booster in the car just incase I got stranded with no higher octane fuel around.

I planned to remap it, but never got round to it. Safer bet is to remap, but V power worked for me .

 

Fine, then you can pay for my engine when it lets go.

Even at 15,000 miles a year, octane booster only works out about £200. It adds about 7% to the cost of a fill-up. You could treat 300,000 miles' worth of fuel for the price of an engine rebuild.

Ask all the people with P1's who have had their engines blow - they'll tell you whether UK fuels are adequate for a JDM engine.

 

Last time I looked, a P1 was a classic not a newage...

 

I know the newage cars are better in that respect - didn't stop Litcho from remapping yours the day it landed in the UK though

 

You have a point there Andy