WRX hatch potential purchase
Discussion
It’s that time in my life for a flat 4 rumble. The O/H has forbidden the shape of the bug, blob or hawk but will accept a hatch.
I have tried to read as much as possible into the 2.5 issues, but as with many things on the web, it’s hard to filter out real experience from Chinese whispers.
So what are the real issues? I’m looking at either a WRX, get it correctly mapped and ran on proper fuel, or just go straight for the S? Is it high power that kill these engines or poorly OE/aftermarket mapped engines?
Any help would be great. My only other options are the mk5 golf R VR6, which will excite on the sound front but lacks any real tunability and lets face it, has temporary 4wd. Or the S3 8p, which is tunable, but with the same generation 4wd and uninspiring sound.
Why 4wd? Iv never tried it but from driving my mums TTS I like it, I live in the Peaks and it’s forever raining. Budget 6-8k, and I’m handy with the spanners.
I have tried to read as much as possible into the 2.5 issues, but as with many things on the web, it’s hard to filter out real experience from Chinese whispers.
So what are the real issues? I’m looking at either a WRX, get it correctly mapped and ran on proper fuel, or just go straight for the S? Is it high power that kill these engines or poorly OE/aftermarket mapped engines?
Any help would be great. My only other options are the mk5 golf R VR6, which will excite on the sound front but lacks any real tunability and lets face it, has temporary 4wd. Or the S3 8p, which is tunable, but with the same generation 4wd and uninspiring sound.
Why 4wd? Iv never tried it but from driving my mums TTS I like it, I live in the Peaks and it’s forever raining. Budget 6-8k, and I’m handy with the spanners.
I understand that it was the 08 Hatch onwards STI's that had a poor map which led to fuel issues and then ringland and HG failure. WRX's as far as I know were fine as long as the power was kept to sensible levels and a decent map done if ever it was done. Standard WRX hatches were apparently fine by all accounts.
There's a shedload of info on Scoobynet about it, in fact also a pinned topic of "engine failures" which makes sobering reading, but someone did mention that when the ratio of failures to the actual production numbers is studied, it's really not that horrific.
By now I'd imagine most hatches are getting some miles on them, there was also a school of thought that once beyond a certain point the engine was "safe". Again, I'm no expert, but merely repeating what I read about when I opurchased my hawk.
I had a hawk WRX which had done 70k with no issues but was totally standard, I now have a blob with a PPP, the 4WD on Winter Hankooks is very good when the weather turns nasty, as long as I pretend there's an egg between my foot and the loud pedal.
There's a shedload of info on Scoobynet about it, in fact also a pinned topic of "engine failures" which makes sobering reading, but someone did mention that when the ratio of failures to the actual production numbers is studied, it's really not that horrific.
By now I'd imagine most hatches are getting some miles on them, there was also a school of thought that once beyond a certain point the engine was "safe". Again, I'm no expert, but merely repeating what I read about when I opurchased my hawk.
I had a hawk WRX which had done 70k with no issues but was totally standard, I now have a blob with a PPP, the 4WD on Winter Hankooks is very good when the weather turns nasty, as long as I pretend there's an egg between my foot and the loud pedal.
My 330s had been re-built by Subaru before I bought it at c55,000 miles due to head gasket failure, I'd been wary of going the 2.5 route but the history of the work convinced me all would be good.
Unfortunately, it died again early in my ownership allegedly due to oil pump failure. It's now coming to the end of it's 'running in' period having had the internals replaced with forged parts and other potential self destruct bits swapped with uprated ones where sensible.
Accepting this has a bit more go than a normal 2.5, I'm happy to give it the thumbs up over a 2.0 in terms of driveability. My son still has my previous PPP wagon which is very good but nowhere near as easy to drive as the 330. Maybe it's just the extra torque but the 2.5 almost feels grown-up in comparison. I'm hoping mine is now sorted as it''s a really nice place to be.
As a comparison, I went to overtake an R32 Golf at the weekend who took severe umbridge, gave it the beans and took off. Even with a 4000rpm limit on mine, the Scoobie had no trouble at all keeping with him and judging by the way his car lurched through the twisties, I think I was having the easier time in a much better balanced car.
Unfortunately, it died again early in my ownership allegedly due to oil pump failure. It's now coming to the end of it's 'running in' period having had the internals replaced with forged parts and other potential self destruct bits swapped with uprated ones where sensible.
Accepting this has a bit more go than a normal 2.5, I'm happy to give it the thumbs up over a 2.0 in terms of driveability. My son still has my previous PPP wagon which is very good but nowhere near as easy to drive as the 330. Maybe it's just the extra torque but the 2.5 almost feels grown-up in comparison. I'm hoping mine is now sorted as it''s a really nice place to be.
As a comparison, I went to overtake an R32 Golf at the weekend who took severe umbridge, gave it the beans and took off. Even with a 4000rpm limit on mine, the Scoobie had no trouble at all keeping with him and judging by the way his car lurched through the twisties, I think I was having the easier time in a much better balanced car.
Very poor how Subaru seems to have got worse with time rather than sorting out these catastrophic failure issues
My Subaru specialist recommends anyone buying a 2.5 to get if forged immediately, rather than wait for it to let go and take the block too
At least when the motor is forged it has better longevity - even then not 100%
JDM 2.0's are hugely more reliable
My Subaru specialist recommends anyone buying a 2.5 to get if forged immediately, rather than wait for it to let go and take the block too
At least when the motor is forged it has better longevity - even then not 100%
JDM 2.0's are hugely more reliable
Out of the box it's pure pot luck, my 2006 Hawk sti 2.5 got stripped at 67k (i bought it on 64k) due to planning on keeping it long term and not wanting to worry about those same issues. One thing to note is it was found to be starting to to show signs of headgasket failure.
That said I know 2.5's that have done well over 100k without issues, on the flip side i also know folks who have had 2 engines in 10k despite looking after them like a baby.
I would say it depends on your eventual goals as to what you go for, for uk roads a forged and closed decked 2.5 built right is a cracking engine for road use, the low down grunt they have is amazing. Like all things, they needed to be tuned right or you'll find they just self destruct.
Bear in mind the last proper engine'd scoob was the sti 7 bug, after that event he JDM switch to hypereutectic pistons which arn't proper forged.
That said I know 2.5's that have done well over 100k without issues, on the flip side i also know folks who have had 2 engines in 10k despite looking after them like a baby.
I would say it depends on your eventual goals as to what you go for, for uk roads a forged and closed decked 2.5 built right is a cracking engine for road use, the low down grunt they have is amazing. Like all things, they needed to be tuned right or you'll find they just self destruct.
Bear in mind the last proper engine'd scoob was the sti 7 bug, after that event he JDM switch to hypereutectic pistons which arn't proper forged.
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