Hi there, have decided to take the plunge into the Scooby world. I fancy an sti impreza. Reading all the 2.5 horror stories has started to sway me away from a hawk eye, however are the 2007 and 2006 cars included in these problems?
It will be a daily car and potential light modifications will be put on the car. Any advice and info will be much appreciated
Sam

 

All of the UK 2.5 litre Hawks have the risk for headgasket and ringland problems. Although if tuned and mapped correctly the risk is greatly diminished.

Worth looking for 2005 widetrack blobeye or even better the JDM equivalent Blob or Hawk which does not have the 2.5 litre lump

 

I have just been looking at the wide tracks and I like what I see. How do people find insuring imports? My only experience is years ago and found it was more quite a bit more expensive

 

depends who you use for insurance

 

other thing to look at is the road tax, it changed in 2006 (mid 55reg i think) from £270 to £450 per year

i love the hawkeye, but i won't pay that much tax for a car i use one day a week

i would say the blob sti (wide track doesn't really matter unless you want to run it on the track) or a JDM. if you can justify the tax, an early 2.0 hawk sti

 

The tax changed on 23rd March 2006, so I believe there are a few 55 reg Hawks in the cheaper band.

I found insurance to be a nightmare for my 2005 model JDM Blob STi last year, in fact it nearly stopped me buying it. Keith Michaels were the only place that would cover me and at 47, living in the sticks, and with a squeaky clean 29 year old licence, I had to pay £1250 for it.

That was down to no NCB (it's all on another vehicle - what a farce - I can't drive them both at once!) coupled with no experience on such a powerful car. I just hope it goes down a lot this time.

 

Gary @ Keith Michaels covers my JDM Hawkeye for £550 a year. So not that expensive anymore.

 

That sounds good. Thats another option that's opened up then! Got a lot to learn still!

 

With the headgasket Hawk issues, is there not work you can have done to uprate the relevant parts to mitigate/remove the risk completely?

I'm currently on the market for a ~2005 Impreza, so either late Blob or early Hawk - and these stories are scaring me a bit, which is a shame as I seem to have a better choice of low mileage/tidy Hawks in my local area.

 

Yes there is. The HG and ringlands are not a common problem in standard cars used for normal fast road use on 99ron fuel.
Have fitted a set of forged piston will solve the ringland issue and a set of ARP studs to replace the std head bolt will solve the head gasket issue on cars that are going to be driven harder or tuned for more power.
At the weekend i had a spin in Bob Rawles 2.5 hawkeye making 552bhp so anything is possible. Pistons and head studs should make the engine good foe 400 to 450 max. Standard 2.5 i would not want to go over 330bhp. Mine went pop at 360bhp on standard pistons.

 

I wasn't really planning/hoping for big power to be honest, so a standard 2.5 is likely to be safe for me then I guess.

I'll try not to let it influence my decision too much, but I've a feeling the paranoid in my will force me down the Blobeye route!

Both are great looking cars though IMO, so it matters little if I can find a low mileage Blob.

 

I understand what you're saying but also consider the age and mileage of the blobeye could also pose as much of a risk in something going wrong as a 2.5 engined newer car.

 

hear hear thats what i reakon

 

I got a 57 plate hawk with 44000 on the clock

I have only had to change service items on mine, still runs like a dream with absolutely no issues

Not saying these major issues dont occur on the 2.5, i might just be lucky but i think it is a very solid engine