I,m on my 4th Impreza now and have had my current car for the last 5 years .It is a MY 00 UK classic ,Vf 35, Sti 8 intercooler remap etc in excellent condition.(see my garage). I,ve seen a couple of 400 + bhp cars for sale recently and have been tempted. My question to anyone who has been down the big power road is are they glad they did it and does it make the car hard to live with? Thanks Steve.

 

Mine is a hoot ! Only the paddle clutch makes the run to work unpleasant... I only manage 22 mpg on the M62 at the limit

dunx

 

was in the same boat as you are, ahd owned various imprezas in avrious states of tune. decide i wanted a big powered car to see what it was all like, started it off in m1 p1 with gearbox etc just need the engine but the overall cost put me off so sold up, bought a t25 did not really get on with it and sold up and ended up buying a near on 500bhp classic and soo soo soo glad i did, got it at a good price so i have very little to loose come re-sale time if i ever get rid and in the mean time i get to enjoy someone else ahrd spent cash. i miss the idea that it was not my project that i took from start to finish but if you buy off here you know in most cases it would of been done right and by the right companies.

see if you can get a passenger ride or test drive a big bhp car to see what you think. i used it everyday for the last 5 months but hav enow picked up a estate for the ease of my dog and shopping etc but it the impreza is useable evryday

just my two pence

 

Thanks for the replys so far. Just had a look at your spec Stevie Still very tempted.

 

Steve, which estate did you pick up in the end? (I posted a 2ltr 58k miler with fsh on that thread which was only down the road for like 700 quid )

Dol, as Steve said, get a ride in one, personally you cant beat a new age as they feel more planted over a classic with more power, though 350bhp is about all you need on the road, a 250bhp classic will keep up with a 500bhp classic on a twisty road as you can only go so fast

Tony

 

Thanks for that Tony. Steve.

 

Save your cash and enjoy a very reliable mid powered car

 

Starting to have second thoughts now. Steve , It was me that bought your Sti intercooler off you. Even though my car is well sorted and very reliable I still fancy a change, Maybe a Version 6 type R.

 

agree with all the above stevebt but if you buy it already done and done properly then all it cost is the same servicing, same tyres etc all that i have found that is different is slightly less mpg which in all fainess i did not buy it thinking i would get 300 miles out of a tank. now if you are building it yourself then agree no need to chase 500bhp as its just pub figures at the end of the day

and agree with tony but its much more fun getting there faster lol and i put the car on the track which is what it was bought for.

 

Dolomite, you should try the same amount of power but in a STI RA model, 100+ kg's lighter and the short gearing - most cost effective thing to do is tune it to the limit of engin and box, so on the later classic STI's gets you about 300HP/ton - all you need for the road IMO

 

Mine just missed 400bhp at recent RR day

Could certainly be used every day as long as you don't regularly plant the old right foot car is probably too fast for the road in reality. Fuel economy & upward trend of fuel may put you off though re running it every day. Mine is w/end only car as have diesel for trudge to work ...

TX.

 

I would buy a spec c and tweak it to 440bhp as that will be fast and reliable for a cheap price

 

Thanks for all the advice boys, I,m taking it all in.

 

if you are like me for soem stupid reason you have always wanted a big powered scoob for me it was something over the 450 mark but as close to 500 as possible. no idea why or where that figure came from but thats what i wanted, now if you are anything like me until you have got it, it will always paly on your mind so if you were to settle for a 400bhp car you will always be thinking of that dream you wanted.

now i have had one or should i say own one as stated above the power level i have now is too much for the road, well over engineered but i dont care i have full filled a dream. if i ever sell up and get the hosue i want i will return one day but more likely then not it wil be in a hawkeye tuned to the 400-450 mark on a 321t or similar.

the chocie is yours mate, i would really recommend test driving one as what you think you want can be a vrey grey area.

 

just add 20bhp lol

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. I,m on the lookout for a nice sti 5-6 with a 6 speed box and uprated engine.

 

one thing i would make sure of and this in my opinion is a big one,

if you want to go down this route and not buy one already done (which i am sure will pop up on here time to time just depends on your budget) make sure you get one with an uprated box albeit a 5 speed ppg kit or a 6 speed setup (which i prefer) as it is all well and good having a Built 2.0 / 2.3 / 2.5 engine but the box can be just as expensive by the time you have factord in the cost of the box / diff / prop / clutch / flywheel and all fitted can be expensive so make sure it has one fitted too.

even if the build does not have the biggest turbo / injectorsetc these can be had second hand for a tidy price to get more out of the block, just make sure the engine is the spec you want (pistons, rods, power rating etc) and check out who built and fitted it as there are some poor companies out there.

whats your budget?

 

Paying for big power will cost a fortune and is a waste of cash, buying a big power car will cost a fortune and is a waste of cash You need to actually know if the bulit car you are buying can handle the power they claim and if you build a car the costs spiral out of control Personally if I was going to buy a b uilt car I would look for 550bhp as a minimum as they are more fun at this level. In a newage car 550bhp is nice but nothing major in a classic shaped car you will need a roll cage to be at this level. I would not recommend going in a really fast car as you may then look for this power level and again causing costs to spiral out of control. After having cars thru various states of tune my all time favorite still remains my classic impreza running apexi ecu with td05 tubro at 1.7bar and RA gearing It was all downhill after that even though the cars have got much much faster they still don't feel as good as that spec

 

It's a slippery slope, I remember sitting in mine approaching the limiter in fifth, only to see a certain 550 bhp STI go past me like I was stood still....

It's normal to crave another 150 bhp, luckily I can't afford it !

Yet !

dunx

 

I,ve got a budget of about £9000 + the value of my present car. I,d like to buy a ready built car as I know how much it can cost to build these cars. Steve.

 

Good idea

Try to find something that's been built fairly recently, with high spec parts, and no corners cut in any of the work.

I've got a MY00 UK turbo that i have modified myself, from standard up to 570hp - It's a long and costly 'journey' to get the result you're looking for.

 

Stevebt I can't see how you can say buyig a high powered scoob is a waste of cash?

Madness that's madness I say lol

as for buying a completed car you are right as I said you have to make sure you check it out, what parts where used, who built it, what the internals are rated to. If need be call one of the tuners and ask some advice.

Are you looking for a classic or newage car as there is a memebr on here selling a sorted classic for around 9k in the for sale section so check it out

 

Stevebt I can't see how you can say buyig a high powered scoob is a waste of cash?

Madness that's madness I say lol

as for buying a completed car you are right as I said you have to make sure you check it out, what parts where used, who built it, what the internals are rated to. If need be call one of the tuners and ask some advice.

Are you looking for a classic or newage car as there is a memebr on here selling a sorted classic for around 9k in the for sale section so check it out

 

Double post for some reason but here have a look at this

https://www.scoobynet.com/private-fo...imtek-ect.html

gives you an idea of what could be had

 

Stevie ,I,ve seen the car your talking about. It is a MY00 UK classic same colour and year as my current car. Its a bit to similar to my car (although much more powerful) Although I wouldn,t rule it out.

 

No worries, will keep an eye out for you. Best of luck what ever you decide to do

 

Thanks for that Stevie ,will let you know what happens.

 

Sold! Did the OP buy it?

TX.

 

Wow that did not take long, so has dj_jon 470 classic seems well done imprezas are still selling fast

 

No, after Stevies post I had a look and it was already sold.