Foz STi and other fast JDM estates - am I daft?

[MurderousCrow]

Hello Suba-gurus. I'm looking for a new car. Needs are as follows:

1 - Reliable
2 - Japanese
3 - Manual 'box
4 - Estate body
5 - Good to drive, not too wallowy
6 - Five seats with 3-point belts
7 - Sounds nice
8 - preferably AWD or RWD

I've considered the following:

- Accord Type-S estate. Rare, often rusty, bit slow, FWD with no LSD
- Nissan Stagea RS Four. Most are autos; manuals rare, much more expensive and often a bit rough.
- Legacy estate. 3.0, 2.5 twinscroll. Quite quick, meets most of the criteria, but seems only to have a lap belt for middle rear passenger??
- Forester STi. Meets all the criteria. Except possibly number 1. I've owned two Subarus before, both blob STis, and I'd love to have another one.

So, am I nuts, is my heart ruling my head? How reliable is the Foz - headgasket, cooling issues, etc.? Is a history of remap for UK fuel essential? What things to watch for?

Any other suggestions?

Cheers,

Luke

[vxr2010]

my money is on the fsti , a jdm fsti won’t need a remap for uk fuel as long as you use shell v power , a remap is a good idea as it will make it go like a stabbed rat , plus you will get better fuel economy , only downside is sometimes engine issue but many have been fine as it’s not the same engine type that was having the issues ej255 v ej257 was where the main issues were , new age/shape has longer gearing , 35 mpg is not impossible , it’s a good sleeper , handles well and a big boot

[tonyb1968]

vxr2010 said:

my money is on the fsti , a jdm fsti won’t need a remap for uk fuel as long as you use shell v power , a remap is a good idea as it will make it go like a stabbed rat , plus you will get better fuel economy , only downside is sometimes engine issue but many have been fine as it’s not the same engine type that was having the issues ej255 v ej257 was where the main issues were , new age/shape has longer gearing , 35 mpg is not impossible , it’s a good sleeper , handles well and a big boot

The FSTi's EJ255 still has the engine issues that the EJ257 suffers from (265ps for a reason), though piston rings are not as common they do need rebuilds due to the same common issues the 257 suffers (there are enough rebuilds noted by engine builders stating similar issues to the WRX STI).

If you want safe then a 2ltr twin scroll unit, that would be the Legacy then, and it has more out of the box power and is lighter and a lower COG than the FSTi and none of the engine issues.

I would also either have a fuel remap or fit something like a phormula KS3, or both as its known that tanker drivers are not perfect and 95 ron can end up in the vpower tank.

[MurderousCrow]

Good input both, thanks.

Appears opinion is divided, with leaning toward a recognition that some engine issues do exist.

Tony, Re: 2L twinscroll Legacy, I could only find the 2.0R, which is around 150-160bhp? Phormula knock detector is a good shout, thank you.

Given availability of Foresters vs quick Legacys (Legacies?) it's likely I'll go for a Fozzie - providing I feel I can spot major issues. Has anyone got further advice on remapping, Ecutek, automatic knock inhibition and so on? Any points to look for to help diagnose latent HG issues?

Edit: Tony I thought the Spec B was a 2.5, have found a couple of 2.0 twinscrolls with decent power. Will need to have a look, but they are rare with the manual 'box.

Edited by MurderousCrow on Saturday 20th January 14:28

[tonyb1968]

Something like this?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

There is a later DIT version car for sale but its an auto and 80k miles...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-Subaru-Legacy-GT-W...

[MurderousCrow]

tonyb1968 said:

Something like this?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Would be ideal, but over my budget. There are one or two Spec Bs and 3.0s with a manual 'box kicking around, so I'll take a look at those. Cheers though.

[bonesX]

Is this more in budget?

Engine been sorted, remapped etc

https://www.scoobynet.com/subaru-444/1052006-2004-...

[MurderousCrow]

bonesX said:

Is this more in budget?

Engine been sorted, remapped etc

https://www.scoobynet.com/subaru-444/1052006-2004-...

This car is near the top of my list; I PM'd you on SN. Just hoping it's still available when I'm free to view.

Luke

[MDMA .]

Remapped FSTI. Such a good, fast, do it all car.

[MurderousCrow]

Nice stable there MDMA.

[mike74]

If rust is a worry for you, given that classic, bug eye and now some early blob eye Imprezas have suffered with rear arches and suspension mounts rusting from the inside out, does the the fsti have similar issues?

[bonesX]

MurderousCrow said:

bonesX said:

Is this more in budget?

Engine been sorted, remapped etc

https://www.scoobynet.com/subaru-444/1052006-2004-...

This car is near the top of my list; I PM'd you on SN. Just hoping it's still available when I'm free to view.

Luke

Oh, Hi Luke

BTW - just remembered, full set (matching) of winter tyres in the shed too - included in price

They were fitted when I bought the car, which was (Jan) 2013 when we had a long-term bout of lingering compacted snow/ice. Car (tyres) was super impressive. Grip levels were like normal tyres on wet, so you could drive up to a junction (snow/ice etc) at pretty much normal speed, brake and stop, whereas normal tyres you'd be doing 2 mph 10 yards before it

As for rust, I don't think the FSTi's suffer from it from what I've seen. The whole of the underneath of mine looks fine

[MurderousCrow]

Hi Bones. Looking forward to seeing the car, it sounds good.

[vxr2010]

the fsti plus’s , very quick with a map , it’s quicker than my more powerful sti wagon it destroys me off the lights when mrs drives it v my wagon , good mpg , yes a risk of engine issues but piston failure is less likely it tends to be hg or bottom end , good mpg , fun to drive handles well plus a big boot , rust wise on the rear drivers side outer sill there can be a rust patch , normally linked to a paint imperfection on rear drivers side window as in the boot window , it’s an easy fix the rust that is , and it’s not on all fsti , best all round car i have ever had which is why i bought 2 of them , a new shape and old shape , coilovers on both plus a mid section delete and sports back box plus a map

[DaveCWK]

vxr2010 said:

...rust wise on the rear drivers side outer sill there can be a rust patch , normally linked to a paint imperfection on rear drivers side window as in the boot window

Do you have any more detail of where exactly to look for this, pictures etc?

Some other potential rust traps i'd recommend attending to that i've found on my own car:

- rear tailgate area - the separate 'SUBARU' plastic panel is bolted in place, with rubber seals against the glass at the top, & against the paintwork to the sides and along the bottom. Stones/grit can get trapped between these seals (particularly the lower one) & the paintwork, wearing it away over time.

- rear spoiler - there are little foam strips between it & the tailgate. These shrink/degrade over time, grit gets in the gap & can wear away at the paintwork.

- rear boot seal - it's not sealed to the car very well from the factory. Water running down from the roof can get underneath it on the sides by capillary action. There are several panel overlaps on the side/lower corners that again aren't sealed well that this water can seep between.
Recommend pulling the seal, inspecting & treating any rust bubbles, sealing the entire metal seam with a thick paint - something like POR15 or EM121 (paying particular attention to any panel overlaps), & once dry running a bead of silicone inside the seal before refitting.

[MurderousCrow]

Great info folks, thank you.

[vxr2010]

as you open the rear drivers side door it’s more or less in the middle of that door area when you are looking at the top of the sill , there will be some rust bubbles on the metal part of the sill and it will be visible where the plastic side skirt curves round at the top and meets body work, it is likely to continue under the side skirt plastic trim round to the jacking point under the car , hope that makes sense

[EXMX5]

I purchased a Legacy 2.0 GT spec B manual in November. EJ20Y engine which is the 280 bhp 2.0 twin scroll turbo. It is absolutely brilliant. Very fast and handles excellently. By no means does it wallow.
It is a perfect family car, loads more space then the 2.0XT Forester I had previously. Very important with a still growing 6ft tall 16 year old! Much more refined and grown up then either the Forester or Impreza.

[defblade]

Still in love with my JDM BP5 2.0l twinscroll after a year or so, only 260 brake as auto though.

Plenty of room front back and boot, 3rd rear belt is up in the roof when not in use, you pull it down and double clip to make a proper 3 pointer.

Loads of room in the back - I travelled in there a while ago for a 45 minutes each way trip, I'm 6' 4", no problem at all (though I was sat behind my wife who at 5' 3" had the seat a bit further forward than I do ).

Front brakes a known weak point but cheap and easy to refurb sticky calipers and/or stick a decent set of discs and pads on.

Loads more info at uklegacy.com if you've not found it yet.

[MurderousCrow]

Thank you both. I'm certainly not dismissing the Legacy, but it does seem the manual twin-scroll is a rare beast. Thanks particularly for the 3-point belt info, I was wondering how Subaru could have made such an omission