hi guys, just a quick question;

i have a uk99 turbo 2000 which i just cant sell so iv decided that i may as well keep her and use her as my toy car rather than daily drive now.

Q: if i tune my already 284bhp uk turbo 2000 more, can it perform better than the imports?

for some reason i think the imports run smoother



im thinking of uprating brakes, suspensions, anti-roll bars, new bushes, drop links, strut braces. i think i have enough power but could my uk model outhandle the import?


any input welcome

 

Performance wise your 284bhp UK car is on par with all the std Imports. Subaru Rate all the Sti's @ 280bhp although some push closer to 300 std.

The Type/Ra models are far lighter due to lightened panels and lack of goodies and have pretty trick suspension so you'll always be a step behind them.

You'll struggle to get more than 300Bhp out you Uk car so I'd concentrate on the suspension and brakes..

Get a real good suspension kit and have it properly set up and somewhere like Powerstation inc uprating all the bushes,Anti roll bars,drop links and get a strut brace fitted. Get some bigger brakes like the brembos fitted to the Sti 8 and your car will be complety transformed.

 

With enough money ... if it's 284bhp surely it has already been tuned

 

Mine did. 450bhp @ 1.4bar with a Rotated GT30R fed 2.5

 

sleeper

 

Rubbish i know of lots of Uk turbos running well over 300bhp, 330-350bhp is reasonably easy to get.

Think mine will out perform ur average Import

If ur willing to spend enough money it doesn't really matter what the base car is.

 

Yeah I agree - It depends how far you want to go. Once you hit the magic 300 that's where It starts getting silly in your pocket.

What I'm saying is running close on 290bhp In a properly set up car a uk car would be a match for your Std STI - Which Is the question he asked.

He could put another £4k into his car and return 350bhp easily but why ?? When ( with the way prices are dropping ) he could go out and buy an already sorted Sti Ra running said power for the same money.

Looking at he spec of your car It must have cost you serious amounts of money to bring It up to that spec.

Looks stunning by the way..

 

Thanks

My car has cost me serious money but is spec'd to run around 450bhp.

Like is said mid 300's (330-350) is realitivly cheap and easy to do, i had my car runing 350ish for a long time before going 2.5 (out of choice not because the engine gave up).
On a Uk car the biggest worry isn't the engine it's the gearbox, but 330ish is generally ok.
At 280ish i would assume it has already had a re-map and a decent exhaust. So to go to mid 300's i would say:

Vf34/35 or TD05 (used) £300
Fuel Pump £80
FPR £150
2nd re-map £300
Sti8 Intercooler £250

So just over £1000 maybe add a couple of hundred for labour but defo not £4K

But as u say car's are cheap at the mo and a lightwieght RA with 350bhp would be even better.
Just IMHO
And i agree a well set-up 290bhp (suspension and brake wise) uk car would probably easily match a standard import

 

If you ever decide to sell Daz .

I got wasted by a similar specced Scoob when I had mine. Mine was 330 bhp ish and was made to look like a ride on mower.

 

Nice to see a white UK car, seem quite rare... I was looking to sell my MY00 wagon (euro import in sonic blue) and get a UK car but really don't like the dark blue or green they all seem to be.

As for modding your UK car then do as above, your next step is the bigger turbo! My wagon is now sporting VF35 turbo, apexi power FC, walbro, hks 3 layer panel filter, PFR7b's.. remap tomorrow! It was completely standard 3 weeks ago and I've just collected various parts, only took a few weeks to get all the bits and managed to ge a few bargains

 

been told my Andy F, mine will easy push 320bhp, just by adding a vf23 turbo and fuel pump, already got the full decat.

already got the turbo and fuel pump, just saving for the remap, and will fit them before setting off to see him

 

Had my UK Turbo 2000 running 320bhp @ a cost of close on £3k - That's without suspension and brakes weighing in at around another £2000.

Braking the engine mods down on my old car this Is what it roughly cost as It was 3 years ago...

#Exhaust from turbo de-cat down pipe all the way straight through £1300
#Equal length Headers .. £550
#Hybrid TD04 turbo .. £800 ( Andy Forrest )
#Tek 3 with open licence and set up and mapped by Bob Rawle .. £650
#Fuel pump .. £80
#3 port boost solenoid.. £100
#Sti 8 Intercooler..£400
#K&N Panel filter..£80


My old car ran 319 Bhp on powerstations rollers with the above mods.

Then there's the labour on top. However all my parts were new so 2nd hand or refurbished parts will be cheaper.

 

My WRX 230ps as standard, mods cost a lot less than that for 330bhp.

 

It does all 'add up' but there are cheaper ways of doing things if you are good at grabbing bargains, here's my list...

VF35 - £200 - 2nd hand
walbro - £75 - new
HKS 3 layer - £30 - new
magnex system - £100 - 2nd hand
Open neck decat DP - £100 - new
Power FC - £260 - 2nd hand
Apexi 3 port - £came off an old evo which it was bolted too doing nothing - 2nd hand
Various gaskets, bolts - £25 - new

All fitted myself

Remap is £250

So what's that £1040? Not too bad IMO, and if I sell the car the bits can come off easily and I'll probably make my money back on everything barring the walbro!

 

btw... £400 for an sti 8 intercooler?? sheesh, they must have seen you coming LOL

 

Type-RAs dont have lightened panels; they have an alloy bonnet which is exactly the same as the WRX saloon's. By the time they were done (with options) most Type-RAs weighed virtually as much (within a few kilogrammes) as the equivalent WRX and the later models.

 

ive often thought about this, uk cars are cheeper to insure but there is alot of missing parts on a uk car though hence why i have a sti

 

It had an Air splitter and Aquamist water spray kit plumbed in the same time..

 

please spill more

what parts?

 

Air con usually, electric folding mirrors, rear wash wipe, slightly bigger turbo.

UK cars did have a bright switch though.

 

Bargain James

 

well my car already has air con, and the slightly bigger turbo (vf28). since im not bothered about electric folding mirrors and i never listen to radio anyways...

is there anything to do with the drive that different from the cars?

if i keep i intend to do the brakes and suspensions and antiroll bars (with new bushes and droplinks)

and btw iv always wondered which genius thought up the much needed bright switch......... as far as i can tell it makes the clock that tiny bit brighter.....

 

like its been said you can get to 330-350 relativly easily and wont cost to much..

ive modded my rb5 (same engine as uk 2000) and pushing 326bhp on a vf23 (prob more now clutch is fixed) and cost me all less than £2k..

lots of bargains out there.. just gotta find them

and i think anything over 300bhp is pretty quick and will keep up with plenty of imports...

 

 

When you say the drive, do you mean 'box and diffs or something else?

My car has a later UK box with my original jap diffs, goes quite well.

Droplinks are something I'm unsure of, when comparing my car with a friends later, albeit Type-R.

His needed solid aftermarket(whiteline) droplinks as his has steel wishbones, where as my car has alloy wishbones and uses the droplinks that you have to build up(?). I'm referring to the front of course.

Like I say, it's something I'm unsure, and just observation between the 2 cars.

 

hmm k so we got allow drop links on the sti,

sti also revs higher than the standards...

 

I think comparing an STI to a UK turbo is a little unfair. Its a bit like comparing an Audi S4 with an RS4.

WRX Vs UK turbo there isn't much in it and I'd go UK over WRX anytime.

I was going to hold out and save some more for an STI V5/6 and I may still do but there are lots of UK cars at the moment for a good couple of grand cheaper. I only want another Sonic Blue impreza so I save for STI/R/RA/P1 or look for EU imported 4 door which is what I had before.

Another reason for getting a UK car for me is that I only intend to use the car on weekend and fine days and I won't feel so bad having 4K tied up in a car I hardly use and not 6 or 7K. Plus insurance is cheaper.

 

How does that work out then when my97 on wrx`s have the same power output as the sti`s?

 

best way as said above is to keep an eye out for bargains.
I have the below to be fitted
vf23 200
hybrid boost controller NEW 130
walbro fuel pump NEW 100
full de-cat HKS 300
new Autobahn 88 FMIC NEW 200
fuel regulator NEW 50
tek3 ecu with licence 170
Andy Forrest's time 200
Exedy clutch NEW 200

total 1550
likely to make 330-340 BARGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Quoted figures yes but in reality STIs will produce more power. AFAIK STIs have faster spooling turbos and can rev higher. They are higher spec'd engines.

Some say WRX gearing is different but I wouldn't know. If you got 6K to spend then an STI is a no brainer. If you have say 4K you either buy an early version STI (or later if you find a bargain) or buy a decent UK car and mod it over a period of time to suit your needs/tastes.