Obviously this doesn't affect you guys in the UK, but I thought you would like to hear that Prodrive USA is officially closing it's doors on Dec. 31st

Not only does it suck about not being able to get parts at a reasonable price (we'd end up paying $2500 for a set of P1 if we import them vs. the 1200 we pay now) but the guys who ran it were a cool set of people.

It's a sad day here in the US in regards to Prodrive.

 

Sad news mate.

 

That it is...that it is. I just dropped a ton of money this week on a couple of things, but there is still so much I'd like to get my hands on that are just way too far out of reach. I wish I could go back in time one year so I could plan for this outcome monetarily.

 

take a holiday come over here and visit the prodrive hub in the uk

 

That has crossed my mind. Every now and then we get some pics over here from guys going on vacation and getting into the headquarters. Impressed and amazed do not do my reactions justice to the way that place looks.

Simply amazing.

I do have a ton of vacation time stacked up...

 

do a search for the prodrive open day at banbury ....plenty of pics inc the late c.mcrae heritage.

matt

 

cool. Searching now...which seems to have changed since the last time I was here and I can't find the advanced search functions. What's the deal?

-edit- nevermind...just saw that I have to be a premium member to access that feature now

 

Thought you guys only got 10 days off a year !

So are there lots of places over your side of the pond that can remap "Subie" ECUs ?

Andy Mc

 

Haha, I get three weeks, major government holidays and two personal days, plus I make up my own schedule so I pretty much cut out early on friday (still work like 40-50 hours a week though easily ). Sure it's no EU schedule that's for sure.

We have TONS of places to remap ECU's. I think there are 10 places within a 3 hr drive of me that can do it...either EcuTek, Cobb AP, Hydra etc... I am a bit lucky though as I live close to Philadelphia (45 minutes outside) and not stuck in Kansas where all there is to do is drink, find women and go cow tipping (probably a US thing).

WOOT!!!!! looks like I'm getting a '98 shell for FREE!!!!!!

 

3 hrs drive - that's like, your next door neighbour in US terms, eh ? Make sure you don't stick your hand up that cow's bum (unless that's part of the plan !)

Yep, that sounds good. Just in case I'm ever brave and take the plunge (and become a Scot in the US !). would need to buy a Subie. Or maybe a Corvette. I know you guys don't have any bends to go around, so I'd just be buying on "muffler" sound.

 

There are three places to tune my car within 30 minutes of me, but the better places are a few hours drive. Dude, I drive on average 3 hrs a day for work, some days 6 or 7 so yeah it's become next door for me

Hey NOW!!!! we have turns here. It will depend obviously on where you live. If you live in California you have the Pacific coast highway where it's an insane twisty road and no guardrails right by cliffs.

PA has tons of backroads that are a blast to drive with lots of turns, same with NJ, NY, DE, MD, VA (except you'll get a ticket for entering the state), most of the west coast and places like CO and NM when you enter the mountain areas.

Now if you live in the midwest you're screwed LOL

Honestly, I think you'd have trouble going with a Subaru after being "spoiled" in the UK. Our versions are so watered down comparatively

 

That was like a wee test of abbreviations for US states ! I like the idea of "turns", not least cause they usually mean good places for mountain biking ! Been in Delaware, seemed pretty flat. Same with SC, but the back roads were fun. Driven the Pacific highway in CA - great fun !

So how are your Scoobs watered down ? What's the bhp at the flywheel of, say, an American 2004 STi ? Is it just the ECUs. Can you get away with taking a couple of cats off, or do they then fail your emissions tests ?

If I don't respond tonight, I'm pushing out the zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's (it's after midnight here).

 

Delaware is pretty flat (pretty much a wetland state), but there are some areas with some nice hills. Nothing awesome like mountain driving but still pretty fun. Did you survive SC unscathed? Once we cross the Mason Dixon Line it becomes a whole other world in terms of people. I'm scared to drive in some of the southern states as I got threatened for being a Yank once LOL. I'm sure you've seen the Top Gear episode where they were in Alabama? They're not that far off from being accurate.

It's mostly dealer options such as seats and such that our cars are watered down. An 04 STi is rated at 300/300 at the flywheel as it's a 2.5L, but they have been changing the measurement standards over the last two years so even though the car puts out the same power it's rated lower now...go figure. There were problems with the stock turbo housings cracking (has been fixed), no twin scroll option unless you want to buy something off an imported unit or pay thousands of dollars for An AVO kit or the like etc...Only two cats on the STi (and thankfully only two on the 06+ WRX)...as for removing them it depends on the state. Some states you actually have to go to a state emissions and inspection center where they will fail you for any aftermarket modifications to the engine, or in some states (like PA) we can go to private garages. In those instances you can either give someone an expensive lunch to get it to pass or just hope they don't realize it. You'll never see a Spec C, S202,3,4 or anything of the like here for the Impreza line as they don't think anyone would buy it.

The other model lines are usually quite different on all aspects compared to the EU and especially the JDM spec cars as well.

And the #1 reason why our cars are inferior???? HORRIBLE seats!!!!!!! I mean HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE. We have an issue with bobblehead effect here (where you are bouncing all over the place even on the highway) and although a lot of it is with the suspension the seats play a huge role. Plus unless you're 300 lbs at 5' 8" you're not going to fit in the seats very well. On top of that we have had side airbags in them since 04 so you can't legally change them out with anything aftermarket as your insurance can be voided if they find out.

But, in terms of making power they do a pretty good job and we have a few companies that are really working on the suspension aspects of the cars as well (a friend of mine owns RaceComp Engineering) and have made some awesome suspension bits. I'm running the RaceComp Tarmac II coilovers with 500/400 lb springs and it rides smoother than the stock STi suspension.

I could go on and on, but in all honesty I'll take what we got as we didn't even get a turbo model until 2002, so anything's better than nothing.

 

300/300 sounds good (actually similar to the brand new model here).

I think we need some pics of those nasty seats they supply in the US. Funny to think that at 200 lb and 6'2" I'd still have too much room in them !

I have the excellent Prodrive springs on my 01 WRX, which also has uprated brakes, a hybrid turbo, sports cat/decat exhaust, Ecutek etc, which results in just over 300bhp on a 1385kg car. Will probably go for a 2.5 STi next time round.

 

The 300/300 is nice, that's for sure but no high revving engines over here. -4-07 was 7k and 08 is 6.7k on the tach.

That's the problem. The seats look like "normal" Subaru seats so you won't believe it until you sit in them and go WTF. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean sit in them, they force you to sit on them LOL. At 6' 2" and 200 you're going to be missing some side bolstering, plus the seats are super super firm and themselves overdamped so as you drive down the road every expansion joint will make you bounce out of it a tad...even on stock suspension. Luckily with the 08 the rest of the world is getting airbags so we might be able to swap the seats into it legally


Nice on the mod list. What did you do to the brakes? Also, is EcuTek pretty much the only option you have for tuning? It used to be pretty much it over here, but has seemed to become more and more unpopular over the last few years.

 

Ecutek's not the only option, but it's still the most popular. Don't know the names of the software used by the non Ecutek licensed mappers. Main benefit of them is that they are cheaper. However, one of the most highly respected mappers in the UK lives 45 mins from me and he uses Ecutek. Hence I went for Ecutek !

Brakes - I didn't go the whole hog and replace discs, calipers etc, due to cost. Instead, I fitted stainless steel hoses, uses Dot 5.1 brake fluid then Pagid Black pads on the front and Ferodo DS2500's on the back. Vast improvement and the braking matches the car's performance well.

So how much would a 2004 Sti be and how much would a 2004 Corvette be (in USD) ? How do rate the 'Vette ?

 

Thats not good news.

I once sold a P1 spoiler to a guy in the states. He paid more in postage than I did for the spoiler itself.

Now thats dedication!

 

I had to pay $600 for shipping of my GC-06D's LOL I was a bit shocked at that one.

As for an 04 STi...you can find them for $25k or so (so what's that??? 12-15k in pounds now?). An 04 vette can probably be had for about the same depending on options, and condition. I'm not a huge vette guy unless it's a Z06, and even then I only am a fan of the new Z06...most american cars are overpriced for what you're actually getting compared to the JDM units (interiors are usually cheesy, engines aren't as good etc...). Still though, if you wanted to get an American icon it's so much better over something like a Rustang LOL

 

Not so different pricewise from here. Yeah, if I was in the States it would be kinda fun to drive about in something very "Americana". Like the fact that that they made the Vette sound like a Scoob too !

Imagine I'd go back to the Subie if i couldn't go up in price. Nice talking to ya , by the way mate.

 

Same here man, nice to meet some people from across the pond. Even though you drive on the wrong side of the road

 

At least the USDM is getting this car



Which certainly looks more like an Impreza should be than the piece of **** we're getting

 

Thought the new Impreza wasn't coming here at all ? Have seen lots of pics of the focus on this site lately.

 

Cheers mate. Glad you're just about coping with our language.

 

That may be true, but we drive on the right side of the car.

 

agreed 100%