Subaru Impreza WRX / Turbo 2000 stories..
Discussion
I've owned my 93 WRX for 12 years now. It lives in the garage and never goes out in winter 
Its always been a second car.
I've only covered about 23k miles in that time and its never broken down as such. Given me a couple of panics with steam pouring out of old rubber hoses, but that'll happen to any car at that age.
Original engine, gearbox & Turbo - a very rare thing in a 22 year old one of these, especially since its been running 325 bhp since 2006. I have a complete Newage STI bottom end and 6 speed box sitting ready to go in at some point. Need to get a bigger turbo to go with them.
No interest in tracking or dragging it - its far too nice for that.
Have it with me at work today, since its a decent day for once. Never get tired of overtaking with 1.5 bar of boost and instant traction - big grins
Its always been a second car.I've only covered about 23k miles in that time and its never broken down as such. Given me a couple of panics with steam pouring out of old rubber hoses, but that'll happen to any car at that age.
Original engine, gearbox & Turbo - a very rare thing in a 22 year old one of these, especially since its been running 325 bhp since 2006. I have a complete Newage STI bottom end and 6 speed box sitting ready to go in at some point. Need to get a bigger turbo to go with them.
No interest in tracking or dragging it - its far too nice for that.
Have it with me at work today, since its a decent day for once. Never get tired of overtaking with 1.5 bar of boost and instant traction - big grins
I bought an original UK supplied Turbo 2000 wagon with a leather interior (more like plastic than cowhide) and no air conditioning.
I then moved to the south of France in the middle of a heat wave and spent two years sticking to the seats and being generally very uncomfortable for 8 months of the year. The car itself seemed to produce a phenomenal amount of heat never mind it was 25 degrees plus for months on end.
It was a great car though as evidenced by the fact I stuck it out for so long. I stuck a 'scoobyecu' on it which cost me about 50 quid and being a 'big' turbo model it had amusing levels of lag and thrust.
I then moved to the south of France in the middle of a heat wave and spent two years sticking to the seats and being generally very uncomfortable for 8 months of the year. The car itself seemed to produce a phenomenal amount of heat never mind it was 25 degrees plus for months on end.
It was a great car though as evidenced by the fact I stuck it out for so long. I stuck a 'scoobyecu' on it which cost me about 50 quid and being a 'big' turbo model it had amusing levels of lag and thrust.
Had a MY00 Turbo 2000, awesome. Fitted PPP, boost control was choppy. Built my own electronic boost controllers, ended up as Ecutek's first outside tuner, tuned a few hundred Scoobies. Changed many turbos, engines, injectors, gearboxes, brakes, suspension culminating in a 2.5 with a GT30R that couldn't get traction on the rollers, probably about 480 BHP, until sold in 2005 to buy an M3, which as a road car I regretted as it was nowhere near the Scooby on a B road. Moved onto Evo IX which noise aside was a far better car than both, then GTR which I thought would combine refinement with the Evo's abilities, but it didn't. I used the tuning skills developed on the Scooby on the others. They tuned much easier, the JECS ECUs on the Subarus were fickle, learning on those you respected det because often the ECU didn't seem to bother fixing it.
Moral of the story - don't tune too far or things will break and empty your wallet.
5 speed gearboxes and 2.5 engines week. 6 speed gearboxes and 2.0 engines strong. My standard MY00 UK turbo engine got to 406 BHP with lots of meth, lots of boost and 20G turbo and was removed working.
Moral of the story - don't tune too far or things will break and empty your wallet.
5 speed gearboxes and 2.5 engines week. 6 speed gearboxes and 2.0 engines strong. My standard MY00 UK turbo engine got to 406 BHP with lots of meth, lots of boost and 20G turbo and was removed working.
I had a MY2000 Turbo 2000 wagon for 13 months, racked up 10,000 miles and god knows how many bills for V Power - loved it... I remember one 3am blast from Reading university to Cowley in Oxford, going via Cane End and Berinsfield, for me the car was in its element cruising at those speeds; it could take a crazy amount of stick for an old Japanese estate, it was bog standard and all the better for it IMO. If you ever want liftoff oversteer, fit some P6000s to the rear and every wet roundabout becomes a playground
well I live in yorkshire: so it seemed to attract yoofs wanting to race me.
they would then look a bit surprised when they saw a white middle aged man in a suit driving it.
it also attracted the plod to pull me over quite a bit for genuinely no real reason.
I guess, it has that profile of a drug dealers car.
however I did get pulled up by a female wpc who then proceeded to chat me up, tell me she has a subaru too. Alas I was spoken for, but I felt very honoured !
a truly perfect reliable car that went like stink and handled like nothing else.
I miss it.
they would then look a bit surprised when they saw a white middle aged man in a suit driving it.
it also attracted the plod to pull me over quite a bit for genuinely no real reason.
I guess, it has that profile of a drug dealers car.
however I did get pulled up by a female wpc who then proceeded to chat me up, tell me she has a subaru too. Alas I was spoken for, but I felt very honoured !
a truly perfect reliable car that went like stink and handled like nothing else.
I miss it.
Back in 2000 I was driving a Peugeot 405 Mi-16...great car but so unreliable I flogged it for peanuts.
I had recently persuaded my father to buy a UK turbo wagon - so one Saturday we drove to Tiley of Bristol "just for a look around" (or so we told my mum) and I purchased there and then a 1996 P-reg white turbo 200 wagon with gold 17" magnesium alloys. It had the "farmer-spec" tweed interior (no sports seats) but only 33k miles on the clock. At the time I was earning £8,000 per year, a part time student, living at home. The car was £10,995 - but thanks to careless lending by Natwest I could easily afford it!!
As soon as I drove it out of the show room I knew it was a good one...so much better than my dad's 97 facelift model with 15 inch alloys
I was instantly the envy of my mates and one of them immediately traded his Astra 1.3 in for a 1998 R reg saloon.
A few months later his mate bought a 97 P-reg saloon!
It was then that we found Scoobynet - and soon we were cruising around the local area with our big Scoobysport exhausts setting off alarms. There must have been about 15 of us who would regularly meet up for a few pints or to storm around the local country roads.
My friend then set up his own forum, Scoobyzone, and this grew to probably 50+ members. The modding craze then began and I did sadly fall victim to the dump valve craze. I thought it was a massive turn on for the young ladies around Bristol and Bath - and I recall being desperate to tell hot girls in the night club that "I had an Impreza"...looking back now this was probably why I remained single for a very long time and only properly pulled once I got an Audi TT!
I have great memories of my wagon - until November 2001 and en-route back home in a convoy of 4 or 5 Scoobyzone cars, I rounded a bend to find my friend in front stopped and a horse at 90 degrees to the road, the rider chatting to a guy in a transit so I'm told! I took evasive action into a hedge...but didn't see the massive tree and rolled over. The car was a write-off and embarrassingly when I came to recover the car, my Kylie Minogue cassette (no CD player back then) had fallen out of my glove box during the accident (perhaps the main reason I couldn't pull the ladies?).
After the insurance kindly paid out more than the car was worth (thanks Tesco!) I then purchased a 1995 import WRX version 2 saloon - but sadly this never felt as good as the original white wagon and I got a bit bored, so much that I eventually purchased a Ford Focus 2.0 Ghia!
I had recently persuaded my father to buy a UK turbo wagon - so one Saturday we drove to Tiley of Bristol "just for a look around" (or so we told my mum) and I purchased there and then a 1996 P-reg white turbo 200 wagon with gold 17" magnesium alloys. It had the "farmer-spec" tweed interior (no sports seats) but only 33k miles on the clock. At the time I was earning £8,000 per year, a part time student, living at home. The car was £10,995 - but thanks to careless lending by Natwest I could easily afford it!!
As soon as I drove it out of the show room I knew it was a good one...so much better than my dad's 97 facelift model with 15 inch alloys
I was instantly the envy of my mates and one of them immediately traded his Astra 1.3 in for a 1998 R reg saloon.
A few months later his mate bought a 97 P-reg saloon!
It was then that we found Scoobynet - and soon we were cruising around the local area with our big Scoobysport exhausts setting off alarms. There must have been about 15 of us who would regularly meet up for a few pints or to storm around the local country roads.
My friend then set up his own forum, Scoobyzone, and this grew to probably 50+ members. The modding craze then began and I did sadly fall victim to the dump valve craze. I thought it was a massive turn on for the young ladies around Bristol and Bath - and I recall being desperate to tell hot girls in the night club that "I had an Impreza"...looking back now this was probably why I remained single for a very long time and only properly pulled once I got an Audi TT!
I have great memories of my wagon - until November 2001 and en-route back home in a convoy of 4 or 5 Scoobyzone cars, I rounded a bend to find my friend in front stopped and a horse at 90 degrees to the road, the rider chatting to a guy in a transit so I'm told! I took evasive action into a hedge...but didn't see the massive tree and rolled over. The car was a write-off and embarrassingly when I came to recover the car, my Kylie Minogue cassette (no CD player back then) had fallen out of my glove box during the accident (perhaps the main reason I couldn't pull the ladies?).
After the insurance kindly paid out more than the car was worth (thanks Tesco!) I then purchased a 1995 import WRX version 2 saloon - but sadly this never felt as good as the original white wagon and I got a bit bored, so much that I eventually purchased a Ford Focus 2.0 Ghia!
I blagged a company car Uk2000 in 1997 as nobody in HR really knew what an Impreza was. Moved companies a year later.
Bought a TypeR STI in 2001 that had pretty much be upgraded everywhere by the previous owner (AP Brakes, Leda Shocks, exhaust, Aftermarket ECU) it was probably the best all round car I have owned to date.
Sold the Type R in 2005 when one of the tuner/mappers were selling their development car. Was running 380bhp/380ib when I got it and 400bhp/420ibft when I sold it in 2008, with suspension mods to use all of it.
Tried kitcars as track cars but didn't like them in the winter.
Have had two Foresters, just to keep my toe in the Subaru scene - awesome q-cars with similar engine, but don't corner very well.
I'm now driving a small Proton hatchback as a weekend toy with full on Evo AWD drivetrain running just under 400bhp/380ibft - which is about the limit before it starts getting to the silly area where everything starts breaking.
Daily wise, Im running a supercharged V6 Audi S4 - which has all the impreza traits: AWD, Forced Induction, Petrol engine, etc.. but a different type of stigma (even though the indicators on mine work)
Bought a TypeR STI in 2001 that had pretty much be upgraded everywhere by the previous owner (AP Brakes, Leda Shocks, exhaust, Aftermarket ECU) it was probably the best all round car I have owned to date.
Sold the Type R in 2005 when one of the tuner/mappers were selling their development car. Was running 380bhp/380ib when I got it and 400bhp/420ibft when I sold it in 2008, with suspension mods to use all of it.
Tried kitcars as track cars but didn't like them in the winter.
Have had two Foresters, just to keep my toe in the Subaru scene - awesome q-cars with similar engine, but don't corner very well.
I'm now driving a small Proton hatchback as a weekend toy with full on Evo AWD drivetrain running just under 400bhp/380ibft - which is about the limit before it starts getting to the silly area where everything starts breaking.
Daily wise, Im running a supercharged V6 Audi S4 - which has all the impreza traits: AWD, Forced Induction, Petrol engine, etc.. but a different type of stigma (even though the indicators on mine work)
I had a '54-plate WRX SL (sunroof and leather interior with heated front seats) for a couple of years. Did c.20,000 miles and averaged 26-27mpg. Completely problem-free and excellent to drive: I had a day's advanced driving course with a firm called Ride Drive which included an hour at Bruntingthorpe (150mph indicated on the main runway) and several hours' on-road driving which ended with me driving home at a pace I wouldn't have thought possible the day before. A very, very capable car.
I'd have another today were it not for the fact that I want more comfort and toys with a nicer interior.
I'd have another today were it not for the fact that I want more comfort and toys with a nicer interior.
My sister likes them, has had a couple of classic shape turbo 2000s. Absolutely flat off-boost - less flexible at very low revs than a NA VTEC engine. Mid range is good. We had a non-turbo classic estate (actually also previously owned by my sister) - very practical car, hard wearing if not pretty interior, good in wintry conditions and muddy field level off-road ability. Eventually shat its innards out on the M6, but tough and reliable until then.
I had two, both UK Turbo 2000s. The first was in ’98 when used ones were only £1,000 or so less than brand new. I wanted new but couldn’t stomach the (then) 9-month lead-time and so ended up travelling 150 miles (Listers of Worcester) to get a decent sub 1-year old car. The first initial surge of acceleration on joining the M5 just after picking it up, oh wow , I was smitten! As Hol suggested earlier they were one of the car enthusiast’s ‘best kept secrets’ at the time so I just about got away with fitting the 17” (sounds puny now doesn't it?) Prodrive gold alloys and Scoobysport back box without it attracting the ‘chav boy racer’ image that seemed to come with this later.
I chopped it in after a year for a brand new ’99 model (better interior and only a 6-month wait) in dark blue mica. Did the gold alloys and back box thing again (both from Mr Croney at Scoobysport). By then the Scooby was really becoming the ‘headline act’, what with the Colin McRae and Play Station associations- certainly a car with soooo much presence, burbling away, turning heads everywhere it went. Some good (high speed
) times were had, such as early morning dashes to the British GP, various stage rallys and most memorably following the ’99 and ’00 RAC Rallys - Richard Burns (RIP 
) in the Scooby WRC winning both. Muddy car parks, high speed A-roads, B-road blasts, long motorway drags- you name it, it did it all brilliantly- I had never before (... and have not since) driven a car that felt so safe, even more so when conditions were not good.
I only sold it because of that really. It was sooo easy to find yourself at stupidly illegal speeds and not feel any sense of jeopardy in doing so (... "why are they driving so slowly?") - real licence losing stuff. That and track days were beginning to be my thing and the cost of wear and tear using a Scooby to do so was plain silly (not to mention the 6mpg!!).
, I was smitten! As Hol suggested earlier they were one of the car enthusiast’s ‘best kept secrets’ at the time so I just about got away with fitting the 17” (sounds puny now doesn't it?) Prodrive gold alloys and Scoobysport back box without it attracting the ‘chav boy racer’ image that seemed to come with this later. I chopped it in after a year for a brand new ’99 model (better interior and only a 6-month wait) in dark blue mica. Did the gold alloys and back box thing again (both from Mr Croney at Scoobysport). By then the Scooby was really becoming the ‘headline act’, what with the Colin McRae and Play Station associations- certainly a car with soooo much presence, burbling away, turning heads everywhere it went. Some good (high speed
) times were had, such as early morning dashes to the British GP, various stage rallys and most memorably following the ’99 and ’00 RAC Rallys - Richard Burns (RIP ) in the Scooby WRC winning both. Muddy car parks, high speed A-roads, B-road blasts, long motorway drags- you name it, it did it all brilliantly- I had never before (... and have not since) driven a car that felt so safe, even more so when conditions were not good. I only sold it because of that really. It was sooo easy to find yourself at stupidly illegal speeds and not feel any sense of jeopardy in doing so (... "why are they driving so slowly?") - real licence losing stuff. That and track days were beginning to be my thing and the cost of wear and tear using a Scooby to do so was plain silly (not to mention the 6mpg!!).
A mate had a 2000 model from new and took it on a trip to the Nurburgring.
He got an in car video someone else on the owners club forum had made (cringeworthily entitled "Cossie Killer at The Ring") and watched it loads of times before he went in an attempt to learn the track a bit. The guy in the video actually cocked it up on one corner and ended up on the grass with no damage to the car. Clearly my mate had learned frmm the video too well as he went off on the same corner
He got an in car video someone else on the owners club forum had made (cringeworthily entitled "Cossie Killer at The Ring") and watched it loads of times before he went in an attempt to learn the track a bit. The guy in the video actually cocked it up on one corner and ended up on the grass with no damage to the car. Clearly my mate had learned frmm the video too well as he went off on the same corner
I remember taking a Blobeye WRX out on a test drive a few years ago. The missus was looking for a better car for work and as usual, I was shopping for what I wanted rather than she needed. The salesman gave it loads of s
te patter trying to sell the car but I was never blown away by it. It was a strange test drive as his dad was in the back of the car and needed dropping off at the family's corner shop. On arriving there, the passenger hopped out and asked if I wanted a can of pop by way of thanks! I never looked any further into that car as I'd driven a Lancer Evolution VIII by then and was convinced the Mitsubishi was more my style - and frankly better in most respects except for the noise it made. Not that the WRX was a great sounding car, it had a Prodrive exhaust which was far too quiet.
I later got to have a proper go in a colleague's old classic STi. That was a car that felt raw and exciting in many respects, but I couldn't shake off the fact that the Lancer felt better. Being much newer, it should have done, I suppose. Faster, stiffer, sharper, all of that. I finally got a chance to try a comparable-ish Hawkeye and was disappointed to find it had lost a lot of the Impreza character I loved and sadly, was nowhere near the match of the Lancer Evolution.
The one that got away was a Series McRae Impreza. I saw one for sale near Fort William and deliberated for a couple of days about buying it. It was quite a trip (the other side of Scotland, no less) but I decided eventually to make an enquiry. It had only just been sold when I rang up! Never meant to be then. It probably wasn't a bad car, and from the sounds of the advert it had practically been rebuilt from the ground up recently, but I can imagine it would have made for a lengthy call to the insurer whilst they got all the modified or replacement parts noted down. I've always loved the special edition Imprezas and the Series McRae was the sexiest to me. I loved the seats, which by any modern standard would be deemed ghastly.
te patter trying to sell the car but I was never blown away by it. It was a strange test drive as his dad was in the back of the car and needed dropping off at the family's corner shop. On arriving there, the passenger hopped out and asked if I wanted a can of pop by way of thanks! I never looked any further into that car as I'd driven a Lancer Evolution VIII by then and was convinced the Mitsubishi was more my style - and frankly better in most respects except for the noise it made. Not that the WRX was a great sounding car, it had a Prodrive exhaust which was far too quiet.I later got to have a proper go in a colleague's old classic STi. That was a car that felt raw and exciting in many respects, but I couldn't shake off the fact that the Lancer felt better. Being much newer, it should have done, I suppose. Faster, stiffer, sharper, all of that. I finally got a chance to try a comparable-ish Hawkeye and was disappointed to find it had lost a lot of the Impreza character I loved and sadly, was nowhere near the match of the Lancer Evolution.
The one that got away was a Series McRae Impreza. I saw one for sale near Fort William and deliberated for a couple of days about buying it. It was quite a trip (the other side of Scotland, no less) but I decided eventually to make an enquiry. It had only just been sold when I rang up! Never meant to be then. It probably wasn't a bad car, and from the sounds of the advert it had practically been rebuilt from the ground up recently, but I can imagine it would have made for a lengthy call to the insurer whilst they got all the modified or replacement parts noted down. I've always loved the special edition Imprezas and the Series McRae was the sexiest to me. I loved the seats, which by any modern standard would be deemed ghastly.
RizzoTheRat said:
A mate had a 2000 model from new and took it on a trip to the Nurburgring.
He got an in car video someone else on the owners club forum had made (cringeworthily entitled "Cossie Killer at The Ring") and watched it loads of times before he went in an attempt to learn the track a bit. The guy in the video actually cocked it up on one corner and ended up on the grass with no damage to the car. Clearly my mate had learned frmm the video too well as he went off on the same corner
The days of Stef Reader (had the Scooby 'Cossie Killer') vs Mike Rainbird (RSOC geezer in some mad Cossie engined Ford). Rumours (I never saw it myself) of said Scooby having a noticeable crease in the roof panel due the stresses of driving it on slicks at Donington Park. They were He got an in car video someone else on the owners club forum had made (cringeworthily entitled "Cossie Killer at The Ring") and watched it loads of times before he went in an attempt to learn the track a bit. The guy in the video actually cocked it up on one corner and ended up on the grass with no damage to the car. Clearly my mate had learned frmm the video too well as he went off on the same corner
Had a '98 car from new and then had Pete at ScoobySport fit better pads, stiffer ARB's and a little play with the ECU, that left me knowing the cars could offer so much more so followed up by buying an ex demo RB5WR.
The RB5WR was the best all round car I have ever owned and if it wasn't for taking a large plunge into the property market in 2002 I would still have it now. My particular car was featured in EVO a few years back when they did an article on the RB5WR v P1 v STI8 v UKPPP. The RB5WR comes out with 5 stars and they were not wrong.
The RB5WR was the best all round car I have ever owned and if it wasn't for taking a large plunge into the property market in 2002 I would still have it now. My particular car was featured in EVO a few years back when they did an article on the RB5WR v P1 v STI8 v UKPPP. The RB5WR comes out with 5 stars and they were not wrong.
A few years back a friend of mine had sold his Fiesta ST and bought a WRX, standard apart from a Blitz Nur Spec exhaust. It sounded tremendous, but when he took me out for a spin in it, it actually felt pretty slow, though my reference at the time was a 280bhp Cupra R. It never seemed that exciting all the times I was out in it, not massively quick or bestowed with enormous mid-range, but it did sound great at least. It was written off just a few months into ownership when another driver carried straight on through a give way junction near the town where we lived and ploughed into the rear nearside quarter of the car, smashing the back end to bits. When the insurance paid out to my mate, he bought another Fiesta ST, having never felt the WRX to be all that much fun. I'd bought a EP3 by then, so his Fiesta still felt slow whenever I was in it, but at least he was happy.
We all ride sports bikes now so spending money on "fast" cars is a thing of a past, and now everything feels slow
. Cars for transport, bikes for performance and fun.
We all ride sports bikes now so spending money on "fast" cars is a thing of a past, and now everything feels slow
. Cars for transport, bikes for performance and fun.I've owned a RB5 for a good few years and utterly fell in love with it when I modified it to improve performance.
It now has the following;
- Fully forged engine
- Twin scroll turbo (VF37+matching sump+equal length manifold+lager injectors+fuel pump etc)
- Alcatek ECU with Anti-Lag and Launch Control
- Miltek exhaust
- 6 pot brakes
It's also getting a new clutch and its rear arches done in the coming weeks and then I plan to install a 6 speed, front mount and a much, much bigger turbo!
At the moment its around 350bhp and its absolutely rapid thanks to its light weight and AWD. Even though I don't make full use of its performance most of the time, I love the sound and the way it drives. At around 3.5k it really gets going and then at 4k it just takes off round to its red line. It revs so freely its hard not to smash into the red line in the first 3 gears.
Not my video but this is where I intend to get too this year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ww91Q9nVoY
It now has the following;
- Fully forged engine
- Twin scroll turbo (VF37+matching sump+equal length manifold+lager injectors+fuel pump etc)
- Alcatek ECU with Anti-Lag and Launch Control
- Miltek exhaust
- 6 pot brakes
It's also getting a new clutch and its rear arches done in the coming weeks and then I plan to install a 6 speed, front mount and a much, much bigger turbo!
At the moment its around 350bhp and its absolutely rapid thanks to its light weight and AWD. Even though I don't make full use of its performance most of the time, I love the sound and the way it drives. At around 3.5k it really gets going and then at 4k it just takes off round to its red line. It revs so freely its hard not to smash into the red line in the first 3 gears.
Not my video but this is where I intend to get too this year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ww91Q9nVoY
2003 WRX wagon with PPP when I bought it....did 6k miles and loved it but just needed that little more.....few tweaks and *ahem* some wages and it's now at 320bhp.
Honestly, it's the best car I've owned and never fails to put a smile on my face (feel free to look at my garage).
They are addictive and intoxicating.....the noise, the delivery of power when the turbo is spooling and the grip....great fun.
Only thing I miss since the work is the quicker spooling up of the smaller turbo.
If you buy a WRX over an Sti then things I would strongly recommend doing ASAP are upgrading the brakes to brembos and doing the rear anti roll bar and some solid drop links.
Honestly, it's the best car I've owned and never fails to put a smile on my face (feel free to look at my garage).
They are addictive and intoxicating.....the noise, the delivery of power when the turbo is spooling and the grip....great fun.
Only thing I miss since the work is the quicker spooling up of the smaller turbo.
If you buy a WRX over an Sti then things I would strongly recommend doing ASAP are upgrading the brakes to brembos and doing the rear anti roll bar and some solid drop links.
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