Subaru Impreza Driver's Club (SIDC) FAQ - Scoobypedia · 2.6 2000 ... Subaru Impreza Driver’s Club (SIDC) FAQ 5 2.3 ... The Turbo model received a revised engine with a higher

Subaru Impreza Driver’s Club(SIDC) FAQ

03 September 2007, at 10:03 PM

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Subaru Impreza Driver’s Club (SIDC) FAQ i

Contents

1 SidcFaq (w) 2

2 Model History (w) 42.1 1994 & 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.2 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.3 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.4 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.5 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.6 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Special Editions (w) 73.1 UK Special Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Series McRae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Catalunya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Terzo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822B “Type UK” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8RB5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Prodrive WR Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Prodrive P1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101.8GL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.2 European Special Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.3 Australian/New Zealand Special Editions . . . . . . . . . 123.4 Japanese Special Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

STi 22B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4 Non Uk Impreza Models (w) 144.1 Australasia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.2 Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.3 North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5 Warranties (w) 16

6 General Specification (w) 186.1 Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.2 Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.3 Gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.4 Gearbox mph per 1000 rpm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196.5 Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196.6 Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196.7 Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206.8 Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206.9 Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

7 Japanese Production Runs (w) 21

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8 Performance (w) 258.1 Standard Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258.2 Modified Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268.3 WRX/STi Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278.4 Speedo Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

9 Servicing (w) 29

10 Fuel Consumption (w) 3210.1 Type of Fuel to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3210.2 The Fabled ECU Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

11 Running-In (w) 3511.1 The first 1,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

12 Starting And Stopping Engine (w) 36

13 Common problems, symptoms and remedies (w) 3713.1 Dump Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3713.2 Waste gate solenoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

How Things Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3813.3 Exhaust manifold heat shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3913.4 Interior mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3913.5 Clutch judder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

. . . when cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

. . . when hot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4013.6 Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4013.7 Radio resetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4313.8 Brake Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4313.9 Porous 15” Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4313.10 ECU bug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4413.11 Worn anti-roll bar bushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4413.12 ABS Isn’t Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4413.13 Use of low octane fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4513.14 Piston Slap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

14 Modifications (w) 4614.1 Engine (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4614.2 Wheels (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4714.3 Tyres (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

15 Inch Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5016 Inch Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5017 Inch Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Speed Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Tyre Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Expected Tyre Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

14.4 Exhausts (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5214.5 Suspension (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Suspension Upgrade Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Steering Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53


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Strut Braces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5414.6 Electrical (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Headlight Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Driving Lamp Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Twin-Headlight Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

14.7 Brakes (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5714.8 Styling Modifications (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Exterior Styling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Interior Styling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

14.9 Audio (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Fitting CD Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Fitting speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

14.10 Miscellaneous (w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Bonnet Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

14.11 Warranties and the effect of modifications (w) . . . . . . . 59What is Not Covered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

15 Suppliers (w) 6115.1 Prodrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6115.2 MRT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6115.3 ScoobySport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6115.4 BGT Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6115.5 Graham Goode Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6115.6 Demon Tweeks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.7 Superchips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.8 Boost Performance Motorsport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.9 Regal Autosport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.10 Autosportif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.11 DMA Motorsport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.12 APS (Australia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6215.13 SPD Tuning Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6315.14 Scoobymania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6315.15 BR Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6315.16 WRX/STi Parts in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

16 Security (w) 64

17 Insurance (w) 65

18 Importing Japanese Specification Cars (w) 6618.1 Import Specialists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

19 What The Press Think (w) 6819.1 Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Performance Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Car Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69What Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Auto Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Top Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70


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Subaru Impreza Driver’s Club (SIDC) FAQ iv

Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7019.2 Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7019.3 Accolades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7119.4 Magazine Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7119.5 Telephone numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

20 Useful Contacts (w) 7220.1 Internet Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7220.2 Internet Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

21 Owners Clubs (w) 7521.1 SIDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

About the club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75About club events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Contact Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

21.2 IWOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7621.3 Australasian Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

21.4 Netherlands Subaru Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7721.5 German Impreza GT Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7721.6 Subaru WRX Club Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7721.7 Subaru Impreza Club of Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7721.8 Belgian Subaru Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7721.9 North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club . . . . . . 7721.10 Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

22 Acronyms and other “odd” information (w) 7922.1 Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7922.2 Nicknames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7922.3 Logo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7922.4 Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7922.5 Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8022.6 Where can I rent an Impreza ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8022.7 “Interesting” quotes from Owners Manual . . . . . . . . . 8122.8 Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

The Bright Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81That Switch on top of the Steering Column . . . . . . . . 81The Centre Diff Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

22.9 Trivia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83The Impreza Coin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

23 RevisionHistory (w) 84

24 Copyright (w) 8624.1 General Conditions of Reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . 86


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Subaru Impreza Driver’s Club (SIDC) FAQ 1



1 SidcFaq (w)

This FAQ was constructed to assist both existing and potential owners of one ofmotoring’s best kept secrets, the Subaru Impreza. Although primarily aimed atturbocharged models, it is hoped that much of the information will be of interestto owners of normally aspirated Imprezas.

This document was created on the 8th March 1998 by John Stewart, Steve Breen,Adam Curtin and Peter Croney with the essential assistance of the members ofthe SIDC and IWOC mailing lists and (in later versions) by readers of the FAQworldwide. This is your FAQ, so please email [email protected] [[email protected]]with additions, corrections or queries.

The style of this document is a bit different from conventional FAQs, which havea question-and-answer structure. Instead, we’ve taken things which you want toknow and put in more of a referency style. This means that we can sneakily addin things which aren’t “frequently asked” but which we think you ought to knowanyway!

Feel free to browse the FAQ trail below. Links to previous and next trail pagescan be found in the footer of each page.

• Model History (p 4)• Special Editions (p 7)• Non Uk Impreza Models (p 14)• Warranties (p 16)• General Specification (p 18)• Japanese Production Runs (p 21)• Performance (p 25)• Servicing (p 29)• Fuel Consumption (p 32)• Running-In (p 35)• Starting And Stopping Engine (p 36)• Common problems, symptoms and remedies (p 37)


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mailto:[email protected]


• Modifications (p 46)– Engine (p 46)– Wheels (p 47)– Tyres (p 50)– Exhausts (p 52)– Suspension (p 53)– Electrical (p 54)– Brakes (p 57)– Styling Modifications (p 57)– Audio (p 58)– Miscellaneous (p 59)– Warranties and the effect of modifications (p 59)

• Suppliers (p 61)• Security (p 64)• Insurance (p 65)• Importing Japanese Specification Cars (p 66)• What The Press Think (p 68)• Useful Contacts (p 72)• Owners Clubs (p 75)• Acronyms and other “odd” information (p 79)• RevisionHistory (p 84)• Copyright (p 86)



2 Model History (w)

2.1 1994 & 1995

The Impreza was first introduced to the UK in 1994, initially as a five door hatch-back/estate, and later as a 4 door saloon. A number of different models wereavailable, with a choice of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre engines, and a choice of eitherfront or four wheel drive.

2.2 1996

In the UK, the 1.6, 1.8 and front wheel drive derivatives were never great sellers,and were dropped from the range in 1996 (although many are still doing sterlingservice as Subaru dealers’ courtesy cars!), leaving the 2.0 GL, 2.0 Sport and 2000Turbo models. The last few examples of the ‘96 Turbo model received the revisedbrake callipers of the ‘97 model.

Figure 2: Impreza History


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2.3 1997

Over the years, Subaru has constantly improved the cars, addressing many ofthe criticisms raised against the earlier cars. The most significant changes wereintroduced late in 1996 as part of the 1997 model year. The external changeswere relatively minimal, with a new style bonnet and a more aggressive nose.The Turbo model received a revised engine with a higher compression ratio, lowfriction pistons, smaller turbo and revised engine management system. Poweroutput was unchanged at 208 bhp, but maximum torque increased by 5% to 214 lbft at a lower 4,000 rpm. The suspension was also revised and improved, with theturbo receiving a new/thicker rear anti-roll bar. Brake calipers were also revised.

For 1997, the turbo also received much improved sports seats, replacing theunattractive non-sporty seats of previous models. The seats are still not idealthough, as there is a difference of opinion amongst owners. Many owners findthem somewhat lacking in lower back support, whilst others just report them asfantastic.

The ICE system was also changed from the Subaru badged Panasonic radio cas-sette to a badged Philips unit with removable fascia, and the heater controlschanged.

2.4 1998

1998 saw a major overhaul of the interior, with the introduction of a new dash-board, taken from the Forester, featuring white dials, a computerised odometerand a low fuel light. Other improvements include a passenger airbag, Momoleather steering wheel, leather covered handbrake lever and a shorter throw gearlever. ICE equipment remained the same but the apertures and grills (and report-edly wiring) for the “tweeter kit” is supplied as standard. Revised inner doorpanels and centre console that includes the current trend for putting cup holdersin cars, completes the changes. The only external changes are the 16 inch alloyson 205/50 VR16 Bridgestone Potenza tyres now fitted as standard to the Turbomodel.

2.5 1999

The 1999 car continues the trend of fitting parts from the Japanese STi cars, in-cluding the front seats (although with a bit more padding) including height adjust-ment for the drivers seat; 4-pot front brake calipers and vented rear discs; and thehigh rear wing. Suspension, in line with STis, is now considerably firmer.

The front bumper has been slightly modified, being a little deeper and with justone vane (instead of two) and a naff orange plastic wedge outside the fog lights.The bumper now passes a 5 mph impact test. The fog lights and headlights havemultifaceted reflectors and clear lenses.

The engine is a “Phase 2” boxer incorporating some changes to the head, andclaimed power output is 7 bhp higher at 215 bhp (although torque stays the same).



Inside, the car benefits from cup holders and a slightly different Momo steeringwheel. The car is at last fitted with a Thatcham “Category 1” alarm and immo-biliser.

The price has risen by a very reasonable (in view of the changes) £1200, nowtaking the car over the £20,000 mark.

2.6 2000

The 2000 car added some minor but welcome changes to the 1999 model, follow-ing the theme of contunual development.

The most obvious changes are the wheel design. Out went the much loved curved5 spoke design, to be replaced with a 6 slender spoke design. Opinions on thenew wheel style are generally mixed, but more owners prefer the older 5 spokedesign to the newer one.

Other changes include colour coded mirrors and door handles, adjustable inter-mittent wiper speeds, remote central locking (was already fitted prior to deliveryfor UK cars with the alarm system), a metallic fascia, map reading lights and anew gear knob.

The very popular Dark Blue Mica colour was replaced by a slightly lighted DeepBlue Mica, and a new Red Mica Metallic colour was added to the range.

The Impreza has been in the same basic form for nearly 8 years now, and a com-pletely new model is expected for the 2001 model year.



3 Special Editions (w)

One of the main aims of motor sport for any manufacturer (rallying in particular),is to promote their cars on a world stage. Many manufacturers produce limitededition and homologation specials to “celebrate” their successes. Subaru are noexception to this game and have been quick to introduce a series of limited editionmodels throughout the world to help gives their many fans a chance to own a partof history. Other famous examples include the Clio Williams ranges introducedby Renault, and the Carlos Sainz version of the Toyota Celica GT4 Turbo.

3.1 UK Special Editions

Series McRae

In June 1995, to celebrate their winning of both the manufacturers and driversWorld Rally Championship titles, Subaru in the UK released a limited edition runof two hundred cars (numbered 1 to 201 - no number 13!) prepared by Prodrive(p 61) going by the name of the Series McRae. The main improvements over thestandard model are:

• Special mica blue paintwork• 6.5 x 16 inch eight spoke gold Speedline Safari alloy wheels• Pirelli P Zero 205/50 ZR 16 low profile tyres• Recaro sports front seats with open headrests and Series McRae motifs• All seats (front and back) and door panelling retrimmed in Le Mans/Avus

material• Factory fitted electric tilt and slide sunroof• Interior numbered Series McRae plaque• Side and rear Series McRae decals

On the road price was £22,999

Catalunya

In 1996, Subaru again won the manufacturers title in the FIA World Rally Cham-pionship, finally winning the title with the points gained on the Catalunya rallyof Spain. To celebrate this, another limited edition run of 200 cars (again withno number 13) was produced, this time going by the name of the Catalunya (Iwonder why?) The main features of the “Cats”, as they are commonly known asare:

• Special black mica paintwork (red metallic flecks)• Colour matched door mirrors• Gold Alloys (same ones as fitted to 2.0 Sport, but painted gold)• Front and rear seats and side door panelling re-trimmed in black with red

highlights• Short rally style gear knob (initial sales blurb promised a quick shift!)


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• Carbon fibre effect dashboard• Air conditioning• Special floor mats (black with red trim and Catalunya logo)• Side and rear Catalunya decals• Interior numbered Catalunya plaque

The first examples were registered during March 1997, for an on the road priceof £21,610. Note that some dealers decided to cash in on tremendous demand for“Cats”, and fitted leather seats, sunroof and other options to all their Cats, forcingbuyers to hand over significantly more money than the list price, increasing theirprofit margin on each car sold.

Terzo

1997 saw Subaru win the WRC manufacturers title for a third time in succession.Even before the official announcement to the UK Subaru dealers, rumours werecirculating over the inevitable release of a third special edition, with the possiblespecification suggested being very close to the final car. Available from April1998 onwards, at an on the road price of £22,995, a total of 333 “Terzo” specialeditions have been produced (numbered 1 to 334, omitting 13). Terzo is Italianfor third. This is to celebrate the third WRC championship victory in a row, andhence the third special edition. Specification for the Terzo is as follows:

• Special mica blue paintwork (similar but not identical to the current WRCcars)

• Current style 16 inch alloys, but painted gold• Air conditioning• Alacantra + suede effect interior trim (Same front seats as fitted to recent

STi models, but without embroidered STi logo, and red shoulder flashes)• Interior number Terzo plaque• Cobra 6422 Thatcham Category 1 alarm with remote central locking• Side and rear Terzo decals• Special Terzo floor mats• Non folding rear seat

22B “Type UK”

In late 1998, Subaru UK officially imported 16 22Bs (described below (p 12)),and passed them on to Prodrive for modification. The UK cars differ from theprivately imported 22Bs, not just in their 3 year factory warranty, but with revisedgear ratios more suited to UK roads. The was acheived by changing the finaldrive ratio from 3.9 to 4.44 to lengthen the gearing. Cosmetically, the car got theheadlights from the ‘99 model, UK rear light clusters and driving lights (not foglights!) were fitted where the normal 22B has blanking plates. From the back,you can tell you’re looking at one of the rarest cars in the world by the “TypeUK” and “Prodrive” stickers. The price was £39,950, and demand for the carswas overwhelming.



Interestingly, Subaru UK were not able to put their 16 cars through the SingleVehicle Approval scheme because the maximum of 50 privately imported 22Bshad already been registered in 1998. Consequently the Type UKs were registeredin 1999. The cars do not meet European Type Approval regulations for noise andemissions.

RB5

To celebrate Richard Burns’ first year in the Subaru World Rally Team, the RB5 (5was the number Richard used during the 1999 WRC championship) was launchedto critical acclaim by the press. 444 examples of this car were made available tothe general public. A “WR Sport” version of the car was available at extra cost,specified at delivery time by the first owner.

• Blue Steel metallic paintwork• Fully colour-coded exterior (mirrors, door handles, skirts and driving lamp

covers)• Blue ‘Alcantara’ and suede-effect interior trim, with black ‘jersey’ surround

on seats• Special graphite trim for the centre console• Air conditioning• Unique titanium/pewter coloured 17in, 6 spoke Speedline alloy wheels with

Pirelli ‘P Zero’ 205/45 ZR17 tyres• PIAA front driving light conversion• Prodrive quickshift• Roof-mounted map reading lamps• RB5 side and rear decals (and also on driving light covers)• RB5 embossed carpet mats• RB5 interior-mounted, numbered plaque “Limited Edition” only 444 avail-

abl• On the road price: £24,995

WR Sport Performance Package

Prodrive High wing (similar to the new STi 5 but with the brake light on the wingrather than boot lid)Prodrive Performance pack, consiting of Prodrive ECU, exhaust and revised in-tercooler piping.On the road price: £27,500

Prodrive WR Sport

Take the standard Impreza Turbo from new and add the full Prodrive (p 61) inte-rior treatment, suspension package, body kit, wheels with exclusive WR interiorand exterior badging (engine upgrade not compulsory) and an official World RallySport limited edition of the Impreza Turbo is yours (for £30,000).



Prodrive P1

Throughout 1999, there were strong rumours that the UK market was at long lastgoing to receive a Japanese specification Impreza, with improved levels of over-all performance. A two door white Impreza Turbo running on 17 inch gold al-loys and Prodrive number plates had been spotted several times. September 22nd1999, Autocar magazine run a scoop showing this very same white car, along witha glowing write-up, and an estimated price tag of £30k. Despite having a few in-consistencies (eg 2.2 litre engine with 350bhp!), the article answered many of thequestions enthusiasts across the country had been asking for many weeks. Thewhite car was actually a prototype for the forthcoming UK spec Impreza supercar.Based on the 2 door Impreza body shell (but without the wide arches of the 22B).,the car had been developed by Prodrive during the previous year in conjunctionwith Fuji Heavy Industries and Subaru Tecnica International in Japan. It hadbeen designed from day 1 to be Subaru UK ? s response to both ? grey imports ?

and the phenomenal Mitsubishi EVO 6, which had been receiving rave reviewsall year long. “Shock Subaru Announcement - New UK Spec 280 PS ImprezaTurbo” was the title of the press release, which ran to a full 9 pages. This car wasto be called the Prodrive P1 (Prodrive One), would have the full 280PS (276bhp)of the Japanese spec cars and carried a full 3 year warranty with support from allSubaru UK dealers. This astonishing car had been painstakingly developed, andnot only met all requirements necessary for full European Type Approval, butalso set class-leading standards for both ride and handling. The main features ofthe car are as follows:

• 2 Door Saloon Body• Available exclusively in Sonic Blue, similar to the WRC cars, and the same

as the 22B• 280PS engine, with an estimated 260 lb/ft of torque• Top speed of 155mph, 0–60 in 4.6 seconds• Special Hella driving lamps• Specially Designed “Titanium” 10-spoke O.Z. 17 x 7 alloy wheels• High Ratio Steering Rack• Ventilated front and rear brakes• Shorter throw “Quickshift” gearchange• 4 Channel ABS brakes• Rear wiper• Specially designed aerodynamically superior front and rear spoilers• Category 1 alarm/immobiliser, and RAC Trackstar tracking system• Air Conditioning

A production run of 1,000 cars was eventually produced, and there were somedelays in getting the earlier cars to customers, following production problemswith some of the parts fitted here in the UK.



1.8GL

A very special special! In 1993 Subaru UK brought in 6 Impreza WRX RSs, thedevelopment car which led to the RA. Due to type approval regulations, the carswere registered as 1.8GLs! 3 went to Prodrive and were presumably smashed tobits in a forest, while 3 went to Subaru UK who later sold them as used cars. Atleast one is known still to exist. Yes, it says 1.8GL on the registration document.Yes, it has a 2 litre engine with a huge turbo under the bonnet . . .

3.2 European Special Editions

In Europe, there have been some special editions in blue known as the 555.

France

Mark Mansfield provided the following info . . .

‘96 Model ‘555’

• Black WRX bucket seats trimmed with grey Alacantra• Black dashboard• 555 Blue paintwork• Gold wheels• No split rear seat• Nardi leather steering wheel and gear knob• Cost FRF165 000 (compared to FRF 155 000 for standard model) Ex-

change rate was about 8F to the £

‘97 Model ‘555’

• Red trim on black seats (all models now have bucket seats and Nardi steer-ing wheel)

• Blue paintwork• Gold wheels• Cost FRF 166 500 (FRF 159 000 for standard model)

‘97 Model ‘WRX’ As for ‘555’ plus:

• Metallic blue paint (like the WRC)• WRX sticker and number on boot, front wings, and inside (very tacky and

cheap).

‘98 Model ‘WRX’

• Black paint• Gold wheels



Netherlands

The Netherlands have had ‘96 and ‘98 555 specials, which seem to be similar tothe French WRX versions described above.

Italy

Italy had a 5 door special in blue mica with red trimmed black seats similar to theCatalunya.

3.3 Australian/New Zealand Special Editions

97 ‘Club Spec’ (possibly as part of ‘97 model run-out)

• Either four or five door• Special blue mica paint• Gold 15” wheels• Red inserts on seats• Special ‘Club Spec’ decals.

98 ‘Silver Anniversary’

• Either 4 or 5 door• Limited numbers• Special black mica paint• Gold wheels (std ‘98 config.)• CD player (not autochanger)• Leather trim on non-standard seats (seats appear to be from the non-turbo

RX model - not wrap around)• Automatic transmission

98 ‘Club Spec EVO 2’

• Special blue mica paint• Quick-shift gear change• 16 inch gold alloy wheels• Seats and side trim as per STi3 (red/black with grey suede plus blue 555

logos)• Nardi steering wheel• Leather shroud for gear stick rather than moulded gator• Tracker Security system• Club Spec decals• AU $47k on the road

Many thanks to William Fletcher and Ralph Douglas for the above info.



3.4 Japanese Special Editions

STi 22B

This stunning machine is based on the 1997 World Rally Championship-winningcar. Only 399 were built for sale to the domestic market (another 25 were madefor overseas markets) and they pre-sold almost instantly in early 1998, althoughmany of those sales were to importers hoping to sell the car immediately. In Japanthe car was sold for a retail price of about £28,000, but by the time they appearedin the UK as grey imports, many were sold for over £40k!! There are three carsknown to have been issued with the 000 number, belonging to Dave Richards ofProdrive, Colin McRae and Nicky Grist. Colin and Nicky both purchased theircars directly form Subaru for an undisclosed sum.

Features include

• 2.2 litre engine restricted to 280 PS (276 bhp) for the Japanese domesticmarket.

• seam-welded body shell (supposedly identical in shape to the WRC)• Driver-adjustable front/rear diff• Twin-plate racing clutch• Quick steering rack (13:1 ratio)• Adjustable rear wing• revised suspension and bigger brakes over the STi 4• 7.5 x 17” BBS alloy wheels with 235/40 ZR17 tyres• Blue alacantra seats and interior trim• Nardi (non-airbag) steering wheel• Uniquely numbered identity plate (1 to 400, with No 13 not being issued)

(A reader has pointed out that 22B in hexadecimal is 555 in decimal . . . )



4 Non Uk Impreza Models (w)

4.1 Australasia

In the UK the 208/214 bhp Impreza is officially known as the Impreza Turbo2000. In Australia and New Zealand, the same Impreza is known as the WRX.In Europe and other markets (e.g. South America), the model is known as theImpreza GT. Apart from minor regional variations (climate control instead of air-con, cruise control, automatic transmission, special editions, heated seats etc.),the cars are essentially identical: 2.0 Turbo, 208/214 bhp, and a quoted 0–62 mph(100 km/h) time of about 6.2 - 6.4 seconds.

The 280 PS WRX models are also available as official imports in Brunei, HongKong and Singapore, and Cyprus. Automatic versions are also available, but onlyin 250 PS 5 door (wagon) form.

In January 1999 there were 400 STi V coupes officially imported to Australia, ina choice of blue or white. Sold at AU$60k, demand was such that they could beimmediately resold at a premium of up to 30%!

In December 1999, the Autralian market was fortunate to receive a further 400STi models (4 doors) based on the STi VI. Rumours pesisted that this version hadbeen detuned following some blown engines with the pervious STi model, butseveral independant tests have found the performance of the cars to be virtuallyidentical.

4.2 Japan

In Japan, home of Subaru Impreza, the standard model is known as the WRX(not to be confused with the Australian WRX). Most of the current 2 and 4 doormodels produce 280 PS (276 BHP), on Japanese 100 RON super unleaded fuel,and between 240 to 260 lb ft of torque. Acceleration times are close to 5 secondsfor the 0–62 sprint, however top speeds are limited by Japanese law to 112 mph. AJapanese gentleman’s agreement also prevents any production vehicle producingover 280 PS (276 bhp), hence a number of vehicles quote this as their standardoutput, but are widely accepted to produce more.. Bypassing the speed limiter andreleasing more power from the engine can be simply achieved by certain underbonnet modifications, including changes to the engine management system.

Also available in Japan, are Subaru models modified by Subaru’s advanced vehi-cle division, STi (Subaru Tecnica International). STi are responsible, along withProdrive (p 61) in the UK, for creating the WRC cars driven by the likes of ColinMcRae and Richard Burns. Over the years, they have produced a number ofproduction models (STi versions 1 to VI), in coupe, saloon and five door format.They have also released a number of limited edition models such as the V-Limitedrange and the 22B-STi wide bodied Coupe. Specifications for the STi models caninclude blueprinted engines, with different pistons and crankshaft, closed deckblocks, uprated close ratio gearbox, uprated suspension (i.e. hard!) and brakes,as well as nice toys such as water spray cooling for the intercooler, and driveradjustable differentials. STi engines rev to a 8250 rpm red line whilst the normal


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Japanese spec WRX’s red line at 7500 rpm. Typically, the equipment specifi-cation of the Japanese WRX models are higher than that of the standard exportmodels.

The Japanese spec WRX STi is also available as the 2-door coupe “Type R”,which has the same equipment as a STi saloon plus driver-controlled diffs, and anintercooler water spray, but no ABS!.

The “Type RA” (Race Altered) is a lighter weight car with some options deletedand deemed the most suitable model in the range as the basis for a rally car. Gen-erally they come without air conditioning, electric windows or radio, but theseare available from the options list, and fitted to many road cars. The RA comeswith a closed deck block, shorter gearing than standard (150mph at 8,000 rpm!),and rally style vent(s)/flap(s) on the roof.

When imported into the UK, the Japanese specification WRX retail price is ap-proximately 25–100% higher than the standard Impreza Turbo 2000 model, de-pending on exchange rate, body style and options chosen. More detail on thespecification of these cars can be found on the IWOC1 web site. For more infor-mation on importing these desirable cars, see Importing Japanese Cars (p 66).

4.3 North America

The Impreza Turbo has not been sold to date in the US, partly due to emissionregulations, and perhaps also because of the perceived lack of demand for a small-engined Japanese performance car. Instead, the Impreza range is topped by the2.5RS, with a 165 bhp normally-aspirated engine (which still sports an intercoolerintake on the bonnet). This car almost has as much of a cult following in the USand Canada, as the turbo models have in markets where they are available. Dueto the excellent interchangability of parts, many owners have imporeved their RSby fitting aftermarket wheels, suspension and exhausts, as well as basic stylingfeatures such as spoliers and stickers etc. There is now a flourishing performancemarket in the US, with both turbo and supercharger conversions available.

However, all this is due to change for the year 2001 (MY2002 in the US!), whenfactory turbo Imprezas are due to be sold from Subaru dealers across the conti-nent. No firm details are yet known regarding price and specification, but it ismost likely to be based on the export models that the rest of the world recieves(~220bhp).

The “Outback Sport” is the Impreza 5-door with 2.2 litre engine, slightly in-creased ground clearance, two-tone paint, hood scoops, and various sport utilityvehicle options as standard.

1 www.iwoc.co.uk


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5 Warranties (w)

The details in this section are with regards to the UK supplied and owned Im-prezas. Details may and will vary from country to country. In the UK, the war-ranty lasts for three years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. To keep thewarranty in force, Subaru insist that the car is serviced in accordance with theirrecommendations by Subaru approved dealers.

Certain “consumable” items, such as tyres, brakes, exhaust, clutch and itemschanged at specific services are not covered by this warranty, unless their failurewas caused by manufacturing defects.

Also, the second and third years of the warranty (the Extended Limited Warranty)applies to:

• All Mechanical Components• All Electrical Components• All Trim Components

But not to any defects in sheet metal, body panels or paintwork.

Given the low cost of servicing and high replacement costs of many parts, it isvery rare to find any Impreza that has not been routinely maintained by Subaru.

The warranty, like other manufacturers is only valid for approved Subaru partsand accessories. See Warranties and the effect of modifications (p 59) for moredetails.

In the UK, we are probably in the unique position of having high quality approvedperformance parts available from Prodrive (p 61) (get the WR Sport brochurefrom your dealer). The fitting of these parts is approved and actively promotedby Subaru, and doesn’t affect your warranty in any way. The parts are expensive(Prodrive, Subaru UK and your local dealer all have their profit margins on them),but then again quality never was and never will be cheap. Prodrive argue thattheir kit increases the value of the car while some replacement kit decreases it . . .which is probably true if you sell to a dealer, and may be true for some privatebuyers too.

Bodywork is covered by a 6 year anti-corrosion warranty, subject to inspectionand re-treatment (at owners expense) 12 months, 36 months and 60 months afterfirst registration. Paintwork is covered by a 1 year warranty.

If things should go wrong (even in the event of an accident) - and they rarelydo - then the car is covered by a comprehensive 3 year recovery and assistanceprogramme valid both in the UK and Europe. Cover includes vehicle recovery,home and roadside assistance and a 24 hour 7 day a week helpline and messageservice.

We are glad to report that both the recovery service and warranty provided bySubaru UK are superb. In one case, a car which was just under 3 years old (by amatter of days), and had just exceeded the 60,000 mile mark was recovered fromEurope following the failure of an engine component, and all new parts fitted by


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the dealer in the UK without problem (apart from the delay in receiving suchrarely needed parts!).



6 General Specification (w)

Specifications are for 4-door Turbo 4WD 2000, manual transmission, Europeanmodel

Notes to table below:

1. The published figure for final reduction (3.545) is incorrect: Tests, andSubaru sources, show that the true figure is 3.9

2. Calculated for 205/50VR16 tyres. Values for 205/55VR15 and205/45VR17 are 0.8% lower and higher respectively

3. Did pre-96 cars have a 50 litre tank?

6.1 Dimensions

Dimensions

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999 - 2000

Length 4340mm 4350mm

Width 1690mm

Height 1400mm

Ground clearance 150mm

Track Front: 1465mm, Rear: 1455mm

Weight Kerb 1235kg (5 door 1270kg), Gross 1750kg (5 door 1800kg)

Wheelbase 2520mm

Turning Circle 10.4m

6.2 Engine

Engine

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999 - 2000

Type 4 cylinder, boxer layout, 1994cc

Construction Aluminum alloy head and block

Valve Gear 4 per cylinder, DOHC

Compression ratio 8.0:1

Power 208 bhp@6000 rpm 215 bhp@5600 rpm

Torque 201 lb ft@4800 rpm 214 lbft@4000 rpm

Bore x Stroke 92.0mm x 75.0mm

Fuel Grade 95 RON Unleaded (MINIMUM) fuel (p 32)

6.3 Gearbox

Gearbox03 September 2007, at 10:03 PM from Scoobypedia.co.uk

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Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999 - 2000

Type 5 speed manual

Ratio: 1st 3.454

Ratio: 2nd 1.947

Ratio: 3rd 1.366

Ratio: 4th 0.972

Ratio: 5th 0.738

Ratio: reverse 3.416

Ratio: Final reduction (note 1) 3.9

6.4 Gearbox mph per 1000 rpm

Gearbox mph per 1000 rpm (note 2)

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999 - 2000

1st 5.32

2nd 9.43

3rd 13.44

4th 18.89

5th 24.88

6.5 Wheels

Wheels

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999

Size 6 x 15 inch alloy 7 x 16 inch

Toe Front 0 ± 3mm, Rear 0 ± 3mm

Camber Front 0°, Rear −1°

6.6 Tyres

Tyres

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999

Size 205/55 VR 15 205/50 VR 16

Type Michelin MXV Pilot Bridgestone Potenza RE71

Pressure Front 33psi, Rear 32psi Front 33psi, Rear 28psi



6.7 Brakes

Brakes

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999

Front 270 mm ventilated discs 292mm ventilated discs with 4-pot callipers

Rear 230 mm solid discs 230mm? ventilated discs

6.8 Electrical

Electrical

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999

Battery 55D23L-MF, 12V/48AH

Alternator 12V/75AH

Spark plugs NGK PFR6G/PFR6B

Spark plug gap 1.0 to 1.1mm

6.9 Capacities

Capacities

Year 1994–6 1997 1998 1999

Fuel (note 3) 60 litres

Engine oil 4.5 litres

Transmission oil 4.0 litres

Rear diff gear oil 0.8 litres

Power steering fluid 0.7 litres

Engine coolant 7.2 litres



7 Japanese Production Runs (w)

The 7 digit “applied model” code found on the vehicle identification plate insidethe engine bay is decoded in the following way.

1. Series code G=Impreza S=Forester B=Legacy etc.2. Body type F=Wagon C=Sedan3. Engine type 8=2.0L Turbo4. Year code A=MY93 B=MY94 C=MY95&96 D=MY97 (facelift) E=MY98

F=MY99 G=MY005. Number of doors 2=2 door coupe 4=4 door saloon 5=5 door wagon/hatch6. Model type 8=WRX 7=RA type E=Sti D=Sti Type R & RA7. Transmission D=5 Speed Manual AWD P=4 Speed Automatic AWD


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Year(Code)

Manufac-tured

ModelCode

Power(PS)

Name Comment

A Nov.92-Sep.93MY93

GC8A48D 240 WRX 4 door First Impreza Turbo

A GC8A47D 240 WRX RA 4 door

B Oct.93-Aug.94MY94

GC8B48D 240 WRX 4 door

B GC8B47D 240 WRX RA 4 door

B GC8B48D 250 WRX STi 4 door First appearance of STi,modified from productionWRX

B GF8B58D 220 WRX 5 door First appearance of 5 door

B GF8B58D 220 WRX SA 5 door Auto transmission fitted afterproduction

B GF8B58D 250 WRX STi 5 door As per WRX STi 4 door,modified from productionvehicle.

C1 Sep.94-Aug.95MY95

GC8C48D 260 WRX 4 door

C1 GC8C47D 260 WRX RA 4 door

C1 GC8C47D 275 WRX RASTi 4 door

Modified from productionWRX

C1 GF8C58D 220 WRX 4 door

C2 Sep.95-Aug.96MY96

GC8C48D 260 WRX 4 door

C2 GC8C47D 260 WRX RA 4 door

C2 GC8C4ED 275 WRX STi2 4 door First full production STi

C2 GC8C4ED 275 WRX STi2555 4 door

Special edition

C2 GC8C4DD 275 WRX RA STi First full production STi RA

C2 GC8C4DD 275 WRX RASTi2V-Limited

Special edition

C2 GF8C58D 220 WRX 5 door

C2 GF8C58D 260 WRX STi2 5 door

C2 GF8C58D 260 WRX STi2555 5 door

Special edition

C2 GF8C58P 220 WRX 5 door AT First production automatictransmission



Year(Code)

Manufactured ModelCode

Power(PS)

Name Comment

D Sep.96-Aug.97MY97 (Facelift)

GC8D2DD 300 WRX STi R 2door

First 2 door coupe

D GC8D48D 280 WRX 4 door

D GC8D47D 280 WRX RA 4 door

D GC8D4ED 300 WRX STi3 4 door

D GC8D4ED 300 WRX STi3V-Limited 4 door

Special edition

D GC8D4DD 300 WRX RA STi3

D GF8D58D 240 WRX 5 door

D GF8D5ED 300 WRX STi3 5 door

D GF8D5ED 300 WRX STi3V-Limited 5 door

Special edition

D GF8D58P 240 WRX 5 door AT

E Sep.97-Aug.98MY98

GC8E2DD 300 WRX R STi4 2door

E GC8E2DD 300 WRX R STi4V-Limited 2 door

Special edition

E GC8E2SD 300 WRX R STi 22B Wide bodied 2.2litre special edition

E GC8E27D 300 WRX RAV-Limited 2 door

Special edition 2door RA

E GC8E48D 280 WRX 4 door

E GC8E47D 280 WRX RA 4 door

E GC8E4ED 300 WRX STi4 4 door

E GC8E4DD 300 WRX RA STi4 4 door

E GC8E4DD 300 WRX RA STi4 4door V-Limited

Special edition

E GF8E58D 280 WRX 5 door

E GF8E5ED 300 WRX STi4 5 door

E GF8E58P 240 WRX 5 door AT



Year(Code)

Manufactured ModelCode

Power(PS)

Name Comment

F Sep.98-Aug.99MY99

GC8F2DD 300 WRX R STi5 2 door

F GC8F2DD 300 WRX R STi5V-Limited 2 door

Special edition

F GC8F27D 300 WRX RA V-Limited2 door

Special edition2 door RA

F GC8F48D 280 WRX 4 door

F GC8F47D 280 WRX RA 4 door

F GC8F4ED 300 WRX STi4 4 door

F GC8F4DD 300 WRX RA STi5 4 door

F GC8F4DD 300 WRX RA STi5 4door V-Limited

Special edition

F GF8F58D 280 WRX 5 door

F GF8F5ED 300 WRX STi5 5 door

F GF8F58P 240 WRX 5 door AT

G Sep.99-Aug.00MY2000

GC8G2DD 300 WRX R STi5 2 door

G GC8G2DD 300 WRX R STi5V-Limited 2 door

Special edition

G GC8G27D 300 WRX RA V-Limited2 door

Special edition2 door RA

G GC8G48D 280 WRX 4 door

G GC8G47D 280 WRX RA 4 door

G GC8G4ED 300 WRX STi4 4 door

G GC8G4DD 300 WRX RA STi5 4 door

G GC8G4DD 300 WRX RA STi5 4door V-Limited

Special edition

G GF8G58D 240 WRX 5 door

G GF8G5ED 300 WRX STi5 5 door

G GF8G58P 240 WRX 5 door AT



8 Performance (w)

8.1 Standard Cars

One of the main reasons for anyone buying the Impreza is the absolutely stunninglevels of performance it offers for the money. For the 4 door saloon, Subaru claim6.4 seconds for the 0–62 mph (100 km/h) sprint, and a maximum speed of 143.5mph (97/98 models). The figures for the five door hatchback are 6.5 seconds and142 mph respectively. All of this from a standard car costing around £21,000 onthe road!

As many performance tests have proved over the years, these figures (particularlyacceleration) are somewhat conservative.

Both Performance Car and Autocar magazines tested the 4 door saloon (pre ‘97model) with an identical 5.9 seconds for the dash to 60 mph. These tests werecarried out with a driver, passenger and a full tank of fuel over a number of runsto eliminate the effects of wind assistance/resistance.

On 4th Feb. 98, Autocar tested a 1998 specification five door hatchback. A topspeed of 143 mph was recorded, with the 0–60 mph time being dispensed with inonly 5.5 seconds, and 0–100 mph in 15.8. The standing 1/4 mile was completed in14.2 seconds at 97 mph. The 30–70 mph increment was achieved in 5.6 seconds(a whole 1 second faster than a manual Porsche Boxster!)

However, the most remarkable tests were carried out on a standard 4 door saloonsduring November 1997. Firstly Top Gear magazine covered the 0–60 mph sprintin only 5.2 seconds! Then Performance Car (sadly no longer with us), as part oftheir 0–60 challenge timed the Impreza at a mind blowing 5.03 seconds for the0–60 sprint, with the 1/4 mile being covered in 13.72 seconds at 100.6 mph. Itshould be noted though, that the Performance Car tests were carried out at SantaPod drag strip (quality grippy tarmac), with only the driver, a near empty fuel tankand in one direction only.

Other magazine tests confirm that the standard Impreza turbo is easily capable ofsub 6 second sprints to 60 mph, with a top speed in excess of 140 mph. There havebeen several stories of owners nearly redlining their cars in 5th gear. Althoughthey have had the needle well off the clock, the indicated rpm would point toactual speeds of over 160mph being possible, although with wind resistance byfar the dominant force at these speeds, a 10mph tailwind will increase the topspeed by almost 10mph.

As well as having stunning acceleration, the Impreza also has legendary handling.In standard road trim, there is a good compromise between ride quality and stabil-ity on typical road surfaces. The ride quality on 96 and 97 models is on the firmside, with the car skipping nervously on rough or potholed surfaces at low speed,but it is by no means harsh and uncomfortable, improving when pushed on. Thesuspension on 98 cars seems slightly less firm with more tendency to understeer,but still provides levels of grip that defy belief. Most recently, the 99 car hasacquired some of the stiffness of the STi models. The secret of the Impreza’s han-dling seems to lie in the superb chassis. Out on the open road, the combination of


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a firm ride, good body control and the remarkable four wheel drive system ensurethat there are only a handful of cars who can keep pace with a well driven Impreza.When the roads become wet, narrower and unfamiliar, there are realistically onlytwo or three cars in standard form which could keep up with (or go faster than)an Impreza turbo, all of which are significantly more expensive .

Apart from a handful of group tests performed when the car was first importedinto the UK (Top gear rated a Mazda 323 higher, with Performance Car givingit second place to a Mondeo), the Impreza seems to win both first place and thehearts of all those who test it. Although it hasn’t won some of the more recentgroup tests, it has fared as well as can be expected against some tough opposition,in the form of the Mitsubishi EVO 6, Porsche 911 GT3, Ferarri 360. There islittle else to touch the car in terms of performance, practicality, build quality andreliability, and certainly nothing else comes close at the price (apart from perhapsthe Lotus Elise, which can hardly be classified as practical)

For a while, the car was known as “the best kept secret on the road”, although nu-merous glowing magazine reviews and the off-road antics of a certain Mr McRaehave somewhat eroded the cars anonymity over the past few years. Not all badthough, as people now say “Wow!” when you reply to the question “. . . and whatdo you drive?”, instead of the previous answer: “What’s that then?”

8.2 Modified Cars

In standard form, the Impreza’s performance is nothing short of mind-blowing,especially for those of us brought up on powerful front wheel drive cars. In modi-fied form though, the cars can be simply devastating. Some owners have reportedindicated top speeds of 160mph, with only the minor changes of a performanceair filter, exhaust, and running the car on Super Unleaded fuel (see section on fuel(p 32) for further details).

Most performance tests carried out by magazines are carried out on a 2 milestraight, or banked circular track, where the maximum speed is affected by tyrescrub and side winds, or the need to stop the car before the end of the straight.Given a long enough stretch of road (and a lot of courage by the driver), maximumspeeds can be about 5mph faster than those recorded during magazine tests. Thenumber of places in the world where this can be done both safely and legally arevery few. You might also wonder about the relevance of a top speed which takesseveral miles to achieve!

In a test by Performance Car magazine in the UK (December 1997), a modifiedProdrive (p 61) car was put through it’s paces. Acceleration, with two people, fulltank of fuel and a wet road surface gave a 0–60mph time of only 5.6 seconds, sev-eral tenths faster than the standard car. However, an unprinted test by PerformanceCar on the 1998 Prodrive demonstrator returned 4.94 and 5.08 seconds under thesame conditions! The focus of the Prodrive engine mods is on real-world driving,and their changes give stunning mid-range performance. Combined with the 17”wheels and tyre set and improved suspension, there are few other cars (mostlyexpensive exotica) which can compete in terms of absolute A to B ability.



8.3 WRX/STi Cars

With 276+ bhp, and 260 lb/ft of torque, mated to a shorter close ratio gearbox, thelater Japanese specification Impreza’s have the ability to out accelerate virtuallyall other cars on the road. Official figures are 0–62mph (100km/h) in about 4.9seconds, although a Tye R was timed at 4.3 seconds (0–60) by Performance Car inthe UK. In standard form, these cars are limited to 112mph by Japanese law, butbypassing the speed limiter enables them to reach top speeds of about 150mph+You certainly wouldn’t want to run the cars at this speed for any period of time,as the fuel consumption would be well down into single figures!!!

The regular WRX/STi models have different (slightly shorter) gearing than theTurbo 2000 models, but with an extra 500 or 1,000 rpm to play with, the maxi-mum speeds in gears are similar. The top speed (limiter bypassed) of these modelsis around 150mph at nearly 7,000 rpm.

The following table of gear ratios relates only to the WRX STi IV saloon. Theratios for the Type R and RA STi models are significantly shorter, at about 19mphper 1000rpm in 5th.

Gear Ratio Mph per 1000 rpm

1st 3.17 5.1

2nd 1.89 8.6

3rd 1.30 12.4

4th 0.97 16.6

5th 0.74 21.8

Final Drive Ratio 4.44:1

8.4 Speedo Accuracy

A vehicle speedometer can never be perfectly accurate: variations in temperature,tread depth, tyre growth and a hundred other factors combine to give an indicationof your speed, not a true reading. In the UK, the law requires that the indicationbe −0/+10%, i.e. it can over-read by up to 10% but must not under-read. In otherwords, if the big hand’s pointing at 70, you are somewhere between 63mph and70mph.

Needless to say, it helps to know how inaccurate your speedo is. One way ofchecking the speedo is to use a GPS receiver. Although these have their owninaccuracies and should be used with care, at higher (car) speeds the errors aretypically about 1mph. Some tests by IWOC members (different GPSs, differentdays, different places, different cars) suggest the following:

Car GPS

test 1 test 2 test 3

30 28 26 28

40 38 37 38

50 48 47 47



60 57 57 56

70 67 66 67

80 77 76 77

90 87 85 87

100 98 - 96



9 Servicing (w)

In the UK, an initial “free” service is performed after the run-in period of 1,000miles. As with most manufacturers, the labour is free, but parts used (oil & filter)being charged to the customer. (one revision of the service booklet said the servicewas completely free - this was quickly corrected).

Servicing intervals are then every 6 months (from initial purchase date) or 7,500miles, whichever comes first. The first six monthly service is classified as a minorservice, and as such consists mostly of checks and minor adjustments, with achange of oil and filters. Costs are approximately £90 for a six month service,with the annual inspection costing about £130. Some of the services after twoto three years are more expensive, as timing belts and spark plugs (tricky access,apparently) require replacement.

A: Adjust; R: Replace or change; I: Inspect, correct or replace if necessary; (I)Recommend service for safe vehicle operationDetails taken from Service and Warranties Booklet

Item Interval

1K mile 6month(7.5Kmile)

12month(15Kmile)

18month(22Kmile)

24month(30Kmile)

30month(37.5mile)

36month(45Kmile)

42month(52.5Kmile)

48month(60Kmile)

See Note

Drivebelts(exceptcamshaft)

I I I I I I I I I

Camshaft belts R

Engine oil R R R R R R R R R 1

Engine oil filter R R R R R R R R R 1

Engine coolant R R

Coolingsystem,hoses &connec-tions

I I I I I

Fuel filter R R

Fuelsystem,line &connec-tions

I I I I 2

Air filter I R I R 1

Spark plugs R R R R

4-Gas Analysis Check I I I I


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Item Interval

1K mile 6month(7.5Kmile)

12month(15Kmile)

18month(22Kmile)

24month(30Kmile)

30month(37.5mile)

36month(45Kmile)

42month(52.5Kmile)

48month(60Kmile)

See Note

Trans-mission& diff.oil

I R I R 1

Brake fluid I I I I R I I I R 3

Brakepads &discs

I I I I I I I I

Axleshaftsjoints &boots

I I I I 2

Brake lines I I I I I I I I

Park &servicebrakeopera-tion

I I I I I I I I 2

Clutch system A I I I I

Full Geometry check Perform as required at additional cost

Steering& sus-pensionsystem

I I I I 2

Opera-tion oflights,wipers,washers

I I I I I I I I I

Tyrecondi-tion andinflationpres-sures

I I I I I I I I I

Wheelbearinglubri-cant

(I)

Notes:



1. If the vehicle is used under severe driving conditions, replace more oftenthan the usual recommended intervals.

2. If the vehicle is used under severe driving conditions, inspect every 7,500miles or 6 months whichever occurs first.

3. If the vehicle is used under high humidity conditions or mountainous areas,replace fluid every 15,000 miles or 12 months whichever occurs first.

Severe driving conditions are:

• Driving in extremely cold weather• Towing a trailer• Driving regular short distances• Driving on dusty roads• Driving on rough or muddy roads• Driving in areas using road salt or other corrosive materials• Driving in coastal areas



10 Fuel Consumption (w)

Fuel consumption is always a good (but boring) topic of conversation amongstImpreza owners. Depending on how much you enjoy your driving, fuel consump-tion can vary between about 16 and 30 mpg. Most owners seem to average about21 - 23 mpg, although on long motorway runs, 30 mpg and above is attainable.Acceleration most hurts economy - steady 90mph driving can easily give bettermpg than a 60–70 range involving lots of speeding up and slowing down.

The 60 litre fuel tank (50 litres before 1996) gives a typical range of between 210and 300 miles between fill-ups. Committed driving, for example on a track day,can see fuel consumption of 9 mpg or less!!!

For the normally aspirated 2.0 models, an average of 30 mpg seems to be thenorm, with 35+ on long motorway journeys.

The UK government figures for the 2.0 Turbo models (1997 spec onwards) are:

Mode mpg

Urban 20.5

Extra Urban 34.9

Combined 29.7

The gauge is not totally linear: “Full” and “3/4” are about right, but when theneedle points to the end of the scale you can only get 45 litres in (i.e., it’s still gota quarter of a tank). When the needle’s on the middle bar of the “E” it’ll take 55litres (bottom bar on ‘98 models) - and cough around left-handers :-)

10.1 Type of Fuel to Use

Many questions are often raised regarding the type of fuel needed for the Im-preza. The sticker inside the petrol cap says use Super unleaded only, but this hasdifferent meanings in different countries. In the UK, the standard (or premium)unleaded fuel is rated at 95 RON, the same as the Super available in other coun-tries such as Australia and the US. In the UK, Super Unleaded is rated at 97 RON(was 98 until 1999). In Japan, it is 100. Generally, in the UK, normal unleaded isfine. In countries where lower quality fuel is available, then the best advise wouldbe to run on the Super (or Premium) Unleaded fuel. Beware of octane boost-ers, as many contain lead or lead-like substances which will damage the catalyticconvertor and oxygen (Lambda) sensor..

From the knowledge we have so far, it seems that the Engine Management Systemwill react to a lower quality fuel by detecting the onset of knocking. In this case,it will retard the engine timing and reduce the maximum boost available fromthe turbo. It will then run on these lower settings until such time that the systemis reset, though the system should eventually re-adapt to the higher quality fuel.Resetting the ECU simply speeds up this process.

Some owners report gradual improvements by simply running on the higher spec


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fuel, but most will find that although it is not any faster: the engine will be slightlysmoother and the economy increased marginally (by about 5%). This subjectiveimprovement can be hard to justify against the premium in fuel price.

10.2 The Fabled ECU Reset

One of the most frequently discussed and debated topics (even among peoplewho have read this description!) is that of running the car on Super Unleaded (97RON) fuel, and resetting the Engine Management Unit.

When first activated, the engine management system advances the ignition andshuts the wastegate to find the point at which it senses knock. This setting stays init’s memory and it will only alter itself to further retard the map if a fault occurs.This is a safety feature and is common to almost every modern engine. Aftera fault is repaired (in this case changing to a higher grade fuel), the engine willgradually become better, but unless the memory is wiped, it would take an infinitenumber of re-sampling cycles for the effect on the average to be overcome.

The knock point of a fuel is generally accepted as the level to which the fuel can becompressed before it self combusts, thanks to the heat generated in compressingit (the universal gas law). This is an over-simplification in an internal combustionengine, as there are many factors that affect this point, most prominent being theretained heat in the chamber from the efficiency of the previous explosions. Ifthese explosions are too efficient, and too much heat is present, a modern ECUcan reduce engine efficiency by delaying the spark or reducing the volume ofair and fuel going in, by releasing pressure from the turbo, or both. The knockpoint of 95RON is much lower than 97RON and the engine must run at eitherlower internal temperatures (not possible without a WRX water spray) or lowerboost or retarded timing. i.e. the engine is not running at as efficiently as isdesired. As an example, WRX cars are designed to run on 100 RON fuel in Japan,their performance on UK 95RON is in the region of 245 to 265 bhp (variousunconfirmed reports), purely from this adjustment in timing & boost.

To overcome the problem of the parameters learnt from running the car on normalunleaded, the ECU can be “re-initialised” with a full tank of pure Super.

The ECU is reset (the dealer uses either a diagnostics computer called a “Se-lect Monitor” to zero all memory settings, or he disconnects the battery for longenough to allow the back up capacitor to drain). After this has happened, theECU reverts to factory settings and has no previous history of limits learnt fromthe knock points of previous fuel grades. The car is then driven normally (iebriskly!), and the ECU starts assessing its parameters and adjusts the maximumsettings accordingly, such that no engine knockhing is detected. This status willexist until either low grade/defective fuel is used or the ECU detects a fault that itmust act upon.

As an example of the difference this makes, a members ‘96 is running at almost1.2 bar which it has achieved by 3800 revs. The dealer had found that 95RONwould only give 1.0 bar on a ‘96, as per the manufacturers figures. These figureshave also been substantiated by another source in France. An owner in Pretoriareports that the local 91RON fuel allows only 0.5 bar!



The figures for newer cars (post 96) are lower, due to the smaller turbo.

Different people have tried this process, with different degrees of success. Somenotice a huge improvement, whilst others report only a minor improvement (ifany). The main criteria seems to be the previous performance of the car. If the carhas just run for several thousand miles on SUL, then the averaging of its operatingconditions will mean that there is an immeasurably small change to what the ECUalready has as its acceptable limits. However if the car has run of differing fueloctanes and in particular on the dreaded “supermarket” premium unleaded, thenthere are potentially significant gains to be found.

The only guaranteed way of resetting the Engine Management System is to getyour Subaru dealer to perform the task. They have the suitable diagnostic equip-ment required to do the job properly, and technicians who were taught how toperform the task during their Subaru training.

Actually getting your Subaru dealer to perform the task can be quite difficult.Some are unaware of the procedure, and lots deny all knowledge that it can bedone. Others however, openly admit they perform the required steps, and willgladly perform the task as part of routine servicing, on request.

Comments from an owner . . .

“I recently had the blow-off valve (air bypass valve on job card) re-placed on my own car (common fault on 97 model cars), and as partof this task, they technician said they would also have to reset the en-gine management system. Having filled up the three previous timeswith Super Unleaded, I thought this would be an ideal opportunityto test the results. “Wow” was my first thought, the car picked upmuch better and pulled more strongly from about 2,500 to 5,500 revs.The boost levels from the turbo seem higher, and the car is now evenmore devastating in the mid range. I didn’t notice any difference intop end power (probably being restricted by turbo output and thestandard exhaust and air filter). The car now idles more smoothly,and picks up much cleaner at low revs. I now think it is worth theextra expense of filling up with the more expensive Super Unleadedfuel.”



11 Running-In (w)

Running-in is the subject of a lot of discussion among all owners of new per-formance vehicles, partly because they are impatient to “unleash the beast” andpartly because they want to do the best for their new thoroughbred. There’s theodd story (apocryphal - I hope!) about new owners leaving 4 black lines on theshowroom floor, but the official statement (from the ‘96 Turbo owners manual)is:

11.1 The first 1,000 miles

The performance and long life of your vehicle are dependant on how you handleand care for your vehicle while it is new. Follow these instructions during the first1,000 miles:

• Do not race the engine, and do not allow engine speed to exceed 4,000 rpmexcept in an emergency.

• Do not drive at one constant speed for a long time, either fast or slow.• Avoid starting suddenly and rapid acceleration, except in an emergency.• Avoid hard braking, except in an emergency.

1,000 miles seems pretty arbitrary, and it does seem strange that at 999.99 milesyou can only do 4,000 rpm but 10 feet later you can redline it. Remember thoughthat (in the UK at least) there is an oil change at 1,000 miles, where the (report-edly) special thin running-in oil is replaced by normal stuff.

In countries outside the UK, there can be no restrictions on running in the cars,and the first service does not appear until 7,500 miles (or 6 months).


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12 Starting And Stopping Engine (w)

When starting the engine, do not press the throttle at the same time! The enginemanagement system is programmed to automatically adjust the settings and if youshould press the throttle during the sequence it is actually possible to cause thesystem to shut down with the result of a non starting car.

(A couple of owners have reported a more persistent starting problem. When thedealer connected the “select monitor” to the ECU, a fault in the crank sensor wasreported: a new crank sensor cured the starting problems)

In order to prolong engine life, a few common sense rules should be followedwhen starting and stopping the engine of your Impreza. When starting the enginefrom cold, you should avoid hard acceleration or high revs (i.e. boost conditionson turbo cars) until the engine has fully warmed up. Most engine wear occurswithin the first few minutes after starting when the engine oil is cold and hasn’thas time to fully circulate. Most owners restrict themselves (where possible) to3,000 rpm and light throttle until everything has warmed up nicely.

After a period of hard driving, you should let the turbocharged Impreza modelsidle for at least 1 minute. This allows the circulating engine oil to dissipate mostof the excess heat that has built up in the turbo. Failing to do this can leads toincreased thermal stress on the turbo (particularly bearings), and in severe casescan literally “fry” the now stationary engine oil, turning it into a useless sludge.Continued abuse can also lead to “coking” of internal components (carbon baseddeposits which are both damaging and difficult to remove). You should neverswitch your engine off immediately after hard driving, no matter how muchof a hurry you are in.

Of course, hard driving means different things to different people, but in generalit’s a prolonged (another subjective term!) period of driving at high boost. A70mph motorway cruise isn’t hard unless it’s uphill; A 90mph cruise is hard; asecond and third gear blast along a country lane is hard. Fortunately most harddrives have a period of gentle driving before parking, and this gentle driving isas good as idling. The biggest risk is forgetting to idle for a few minutes whenpulling into services after a fast motorway cruise.

To help minimise the inconvenience of letting the engine idle for at least a minuteafter hard driving, a range of products called Turbo Timers are now generallyavailable. These keep the engine idling for a pre-programmed (or automaticallydetermined using fuzzy logic) period of time after the owner has switched off theignition and removed the key (usually 1 to 4 minutes). Many owners are rightlyworried about security, and it takes a certain amount of courage to walk awayfrom your pride and joy with the engine still running.

We have been informed that with some minimal additional work, some Cliffordalarms can be successfully adapted to act as a turbo timer. Obviously, this methodwill be inherently more cost effective and secure than independently operatingdevices, and indeed some models of turbo timers and alarm systems have provedto be incompatible. You should check carefully with your supplier (and possiblyinsurance company) before ordering. Also, local laws may prohibit leaving avehicle unattended with the engine running.


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13 Common problems, symptoms and remedies (w)

Thankfully, the Impreza is one of those cars with almost no major problems, andreliability on the whole is excellent. There are however, a few relatively minorproblems, which affect specific models. These are shown briefly in the tablebelow, and discussed in more detail later on.

Fault Symptoms Models Affected

Blow-off valve (p 37)(Dump Valve, Airbypass valve)

Loud noise between 2–4000 rpm which sounds likesomeone blowing over top of a bottle.

1997/1998 Turbo

Waste Gate (p 37) Solenoid can be noisy (clicking), and in extremecircumstances can cause sudden loss of power whenaccelerating hard

All Turbo

Heat Shield (p 39) Noise from engine compartment caused by crackedheat shield.

1994–6 Turbos

Interior Mirror (p 39) Interior mirror vibrates lightly, blurring rearwardvision

All

Clutch (p 40) Clutch judders when moving off. Worse when cold All Turbo

Brakes (p 40) Spongy brakes All models

Radio resetting (p 43) Radio resets when wash/wipe or electric windowsactivated

All 5-door

Brake Pipes (p 43) Noise from engine compartment caused by brakepipes resonating against bulkhead

1998 Turbo

Porous 15” wheels (p 43) Loss of tyre pressure 1994–7 Turbo

ECU bug :-) (p 43) Jerk when throttling off from full boost 1994–6 Turbo

Engine Engine splutters to a halt. Caused by driver enjoyinghim/herself so much they fail to notice they wererunning low on fuel :-)

All Imprezas

Worn anti-roll bar bushes (p 44) Clonking noise from suspension WRXs

ABS isn’t magic (p 44) Unexpected activation / long stopping distances All ABS cars

Use of low octane fuel? (p 45) Serious engine damage (melted pistons) STi(4 &5?)

Piston Slap (p 45) Noisy (chattery) engine when starting from cold 1998/99 models

13.1 Dump Valves

There seems to be a recognised problem with the 1997 specification car’s dumpvalve (aka Blow off Valves and By-pass Valves). This does not shut properlyunder boost and thus vibrates giving the sound similar to someone blowing acrossthe top of an open bottle. It has also been likened to a steam train whistle or shipfog horn in extreme circumstances!. Meanwhile the 1998 model seems to havea totally revamped and larger blow off system, but I have had reports that theproblem sometimes still occurs.


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13.2 Waste gate solenoid

The 1997 specification lowered the turbo boost pressure from 1.0 bar to 0.9 bar.The engine breather system vents into the air intake and it is possible for the oiland condensing, burnt oil vapours build up in this valve. This valve is a safetydevice for detecting overboost and will cause fuel and ignition to be cut if itsenses that 1.2bar (97/98 models) has been reached. If it is bunged up, it isn’tsensing correctly and will shut down the engine under high boost conditions. Thesolution advised by Subaru France was not to fill the oil up to maximum but toleave it at half filled only.

If your wastegate solenoid does pack up, the fix is to pull the T shaped supplyhose off and fill it with brake cleaner from an aerosol. Then go for a blast beforethe cleaner evaporates. Tippex thinners also do the job. ‘98 models have a revisedpart, which is three port sensing and there have been no reported failures. Youcan get ‘97 cars upgraded.

Apparently the fault often occurs just after a service when the oil level may beslightly too high. The 1998 specification engine apparently has revised sensinglocations, to over come the above problems but there have been some reports offailure on early ‘98s.

Sometimes this fault is incorrectly termed as “over boosting”. The sensor is de-signed to detect an over boost situation and is usually so sensitive in normal oper-ation that 1.19bar = ok and 1.20bar = fuel cut routine due to over boost. When itbecomes contaminated by oil, this is lost and the sensor can cut in at much lowerboost values, cutting in the routine under normal hard acceleration. The effect ofthis routine is quite disconcerting as all engine power is suddenly lost with somedrivers reporting it feeling as if they have just driven into a brick wall!

How Things Work

Differences between waste gate and dump valve:

The waste gate is on the exhaust side of the turbo, the dump valve is on the intakeside. This is what they do:

When you take your foot off the throttle to slow down or change gear a flap calledthe “butterfly” closes and stops the flow of air into the engine. The turbo thoughwill still be spinning and thus tries to pump air in, but cannot and rapidly slowsdown with the restricted air flow. When you reapply the throttle the butterfly isopened and the restriction is removed and the turbo can again increase in rpm todevelop boost. The time taken to re-gain turbo impeller rpm is felt as turbo lagand in the situation above, would be quite crude (early 911T). What a dump valvedoes is allow the pressurised air to vent, either to atmosphere, or back throughthe intake plenum (a recirculating system - as per Impreza). This reduces therestriction on the turbo impeller allowing it to spin almost freely and thereforeretain momentum. If you then re-apply the accelerator soon after (such as during agear change) the butterfly opens and dump valve closes and the turbo still spinningat quite a high speed. It takes much less time to spin up to full boost and thus



creates less lag. If the dump valve should leak it will not allow full boost to beapplied to the engine. This is the steam train whistle effect.

The dump valve is also called a blow off valve and air by-pass valve.

When the pressure sensors start saying that enough is enough, the wastegate opensto allow exhaust gas to by-pass the turbo and exit straight into the exhaust system.This reduces the load driving the turbo and lowers the boost of the charge goingin.

A Turbo anti lag system works by allowing fuel and air into the engine, when thethrottle is not depressed. This passes through the chamber, but explodes on con-tact with the hot exhaust manifold (typically 800°C). This explosion then drivesthe turbo impeller, maintaining a very high rate of spin.

There are two down sides to anti lag systems; apart from the noise, 1) the car neveractually stops pulling, which could be a bit disconcerting, 2) exhaust manifoldand turbo temperatures can rise to over 1100°C and this temperature and pressuremean that they last for about 1000 miles.

13.3 Exhaust manifold heat shield

Heat shields were a common fault on pre-‘97 cars, as these cars do not have thetray under the engine bay. It is possible for road water to splash the very hotshields caused them to fracture. They then resonate, as the two sides of the crackvibrate together. This is a warranty fix, but if it’s the one where the left and rightside pipes join, (by far the most common one to fail - this is a very hot area) thenthe dealer should pack the lower shield out by 3mm. This lowers the temperatureof the shield and it will then last much longer, if not forever. The owner whocame up with the 3mm spacer trick had got through 3 shields in 15,000 miles andwas used to driving a car that buzzed. It has never failed since.

13.4 Interior mirror

Blurred vision due to vibrations of the mirror. An owner submits the followingsuggestion if your dealer doesn’t know how:

1. Remove the plastic cover which sits ,over the roof to mirror2. mounting screws , Small screw drive required for this to gently “flip” it off.3. Remove all three of the mounting screws to release the mirror arm from the

roof.4. Remove the central screw holding the plastic spacer onto the mirror arm

mount .5. Super glue the spacer back onto the arm and quickly refit the central screw

, nice and tight but not enough to crack it .6. Refit the mirror back onto the roof mount with the three screws , again quite

tight.7. Leave this fully to dry , 24HRs is best .8. Now fully test will a fast motorway drive and you will find the vibration

has disappeared!



13.5 Clutch judder

. . . when cold

This is caused by the material used to with stand the abuse given to it by own-ers. . . ..usually ok when warmed up. Can also be caused by problems (wear/dirt?) with the special platinum spark plugs used in the Impreza. Replacing these atthe 15,000/30,000 mile service can cure the problem (although sometimes onlyfor a month or so!).

Another suggestion has been to treat your Impreza to several full bore standingstarts (when warm of course), which apparently helps clean up the surfaces ofclutch components.

For 1998 models, and some 1999 models, there have actually been many casesof faults with the standard clutch system. The symptoms are progressively wors-ening juddering when cold, leading to severe clutch judder at all times. Subarudealers (certainly in the UK), have been replacing these faulty clutches free ofcharge under warranty, including a new flywheel, as long as the mileage isn’twell above average, and the problem is severe enough. Some owners report aslight juddering at times, but this is not enough to warrant a new clutch.

. . . when hot

Can be cured by uprating the clutch fluid to a DOT 5 fluid. Caused by fluid gettingtoo hot from the engine bay heat. See also above for clutch problems with 98/99cars

13.6 Brakes

The standard brakes (pre-99) are not great, suffering from a soft spongy pedal andbeing somewhat prone to fade under moderately hard use. Consider braided hoses,and replace fluid frequently - ideally with a DOT5 such as Castrol Response.Better brake pads can make a big difference to pedal feel, braking response andresistance to fade. See the BRAKES section for more information.

Note that the Mintex and (to a lesser extent) Pagid pads are quite a bit “dirtier”than the standard pad, leaving a lot more brake dust on the wheels. The Mintexpads are also notoriously squeaky!

It has also been known for some time, that under hard braking, the blukhead ac-tually flexes, resulting in a spongier pedal feel. This can be significantly reducedby fitting a special bracket designed to reduce this flex. This is in an inexpensiveitem, and is available from a variety of suppliers such as MRT, Scoobymania andPower Engineering.

US expert Mike Shields of SPD Tuning Service (p 63) writes about brakes . . .

“A braided-steel brake line kit will noticeably harden up the pedalduring the high brake line pressure caused by hard use with hard



pads. Going down the road everyday, you may not notice they arethere. The braided hose does not expand with high line pressure andwill tend to not cut or tear away should something bad happen attrack day, still leaving you with brakes for the other three corners ofthe car should one corner get crushed. Not a good thought, but a veryimportant consideration. I have seen whole suspension corners hang-ing by the steel braided brake line after a shunt.The real source of thesoft brake pedal on the Impreza RS (is it the same with the turbo?)is the vacuum booster design, which uses a dual stage booster. Asthe pedal is depressed, the first vacuum chamber assists the pedaleffort. Once the pedal is down about 1/2 inch, the rod of the boosterassembly uncovers a second port, adding the second chamber vac-uum assist to the first.So, while the unassisted brake pedal pressureis now quite high, this second stage keeps the pedal at your foot quitesoft with the brakes on hard. The purpose of this dual stage boosteris simply to keep the driving effort of the car low because the major-ity of commuters prefer it that way.The soft pedal makes it somewhathard for the average driver to “heel and toe” at high speeds andcornering forces. This is the main source of the complaint. You willbecome a smoother driver if you have a proper driving seat and theoperating force of the brake pedal is a firmer than the standard RSdesign. Here is why this is true.While your body is slamming aroundat or above one “G” (So that is where those coffee stains are onthe passenger door panel came from! (True story, btw, from the cupholder in the center of the dash to the door panel, with none on thefloor - great turn-in!)) it becomes difficult to hold your foot at justthe pressure you want on the brake pedal and still give the throttlethe stabs it needs to select the next lower gear smoothly. The harderpedal gives a better feel by opening up the total range of pressurefelt and by making this range of actuation pressure correspond to theactual braking force of the car.A second source of soft brake pedal isbrake fade. Actually heat. Well actually, the gasses that the pads giveoff when stinking hot. They form a boundary layer on the rotor sur-face and no matter now hard you push, the car stops poorly. Every-one knows that drilled brake rotors help, right? SPD Tuning Servicedoes not sell drilled brake rotors, so what is the deal?A clever dudein England involved with world rally racing asked a simple questionjust a couple of years ago. Since we can’t use carbon/carbon brakesdue to the rules and if brakes fade due to gas coming off the pad,why drill rotors to make room for the gases when you can make apad that does not give off gas in the first place? Mintex 1155 com-pound pads are a development of this concept suitable for every dayroad use. The pad is made and then “cooked” in an oven so hot thatthe gasses in the pad material actually cook off. This is a somewhatexpensive (and slow) process. The gasses have to be recovered (keepit Green, please) and the pads must be properly heat cycled to retaintheir other desirable properties. Note also the STI Ver 5 298mm ro-tor kit pads have this feature also.The end result is a pad with fourvery desirable features: 1) extreme fade resistance, 2) long pad life,



3) no “bedding in” needed and 4) they work when cold. The Mintex1155 pads do not develop a soft pedal until MUCH higher brake tem-peratures are reached. This greatly increases the percentage timeyou can be on the brakes hard, such as seen on “track days” or indescents from mountain passes. And you do not need drilled rotors!The standard vented rotors just fine, and there is no risk of developingstress cracks from often seen on drilled rotors. A special SPD Tun-ing Service tip: Never come to a stop with stinking hot brakes andespecially sit with your foot on the pedal at even a stop sign, muchless a red light. The rotors will be cooling off rapidly except for theareas under the pads, and the rotors will warp. In turn, never make abanzai stop from above 70mph with cold brakes, unless you have to.The rotors will warp. They will especially have this tendency whenthey are older and thinner, than when they are new. Older can be10,000 miles or 70,000 miles. Usually, the rotors become sensitiveto the effects of high performance use when you are past half waythrough your second set of pads. They are thinner than they werewhen new.Under hard use they will eventually warp and/or developa case of the “wides”. This is where the rotor metal has worn downand the rotor surface is so uneven that the rotor is thicker in someareas than others. As you come to a stop under moderate pedal pres-sure, they can drag lightly as the thicker portion of the rotor goespast the pads. If not warped severely, you can turn (true the surfaceof) the rotors, but depending on the severity of use, the smart moneysays it is time for new rotors, especially if on the second set of pads.They often are just used up and will warp again. There is actuallya minimum width for the rotors cast into the part to help you withthis decision.Long pad life. For some it will be from 40,000 miles to60,000 miles. For others, long pad life is from 2500 smiles increasedto 5000 smiles. It just depends on how hard and how often you areon the brakes. The Mintex pads are harder and they also wear longer.As a result, wear the rotor metal at a seemingly higher rate. Thehigher metal wear rate is a characteristic of the pad compound ANDthey way they tend to be used by their owners! With standard pads,if you do not mind the risk of a bit of brake squeak, it is OK just toput in a set of pads without turning the rotors. With Mintex or other

“hard” compound pads, especially when used hard, it is important totrue up the rotors when changing pads.The Mintex 1155 compounddoes not need bedded in. Bedding in is actually the thermal cyclingof the pad material more than some idea of wearing the pad to therotor surface. With a new car (pay attention here!) it is very easyto go out an romp on the brakes and heat glaze the surface of thestock pads. The car will have a hard brake pedal and will have poorstopping distances as a result. Because the Mintex 1155 compoundhas been thermally cycled during the “de-gassing” process, they areready for prime time out of the box. Just a few good hot passes andthey are as good as they are going to get.They work when cold. Un-like true racing pads, the 1155 compound Mintex pads are designedto operate at a lower and wider temperature range. They will actu-



ally stop the car when the brakes are cold. It is a standing joke thatmany people have purchased racing pads for their street car only, ata minimum, to scare themselves half to death on the freeway the firsttime they need all the brakes after driving in a straight line for 15minutes. Racing pads have no grip when cold! A semi-trailer truckwith 40,000 pounds on board will out brake you for the first twostops from 70mph. Of course, you will stop about 1000 feet shorteron the third stop, but that is not the point. It is that first stop thatcounted. Please do not use racing compound pads on the street. The1155 compound is the practical limit.What if you still get brake fadeand the soft pedal blues? You have two choices, use the brakes less,(which may make your lap times faster, not slower), or get biggerbrakes. The fronts do most all the stopping, so it is standard prac-tice to install larger front brakes on road cars and leave the rears forlater. Larger brakes are usually needed when the power goes up. Thecar will get to higher speeds between each corner and need the extraheat dissipation of larger and larger brakes. Then again, some of usjust like the big stopping power from high speeds that larger brakeswill give you. It is just part of the total performance envelope.”

13.7 Radio resetting

There have been several reports of the radio resetting or locking itself up on 5door models. Two owners have seen this when the rear wash/wipe is activated.Two others have had the radio cut out on one speaker when the rear electric win-dow behind the driver is operated. A mod is apparently available from Subaruinvolving putting a diode across the relay but it has also been reported that thisfix did not work! In both cases turning the radio off and then on again cured theproblem.

13.8 Brake Pipes

There has been one incident to date of a strange mechanical noise coming fromthe engine compartment. It apparently sounded like a top-end engine noise, butwas eventually traced to the brake pipes being too close to the bulkhead above thepedals. At certain revs, the resonating pipes vibrated loudly against the bulkhead.The problem was cured by gently easing the pipes away from the bulkhead.

13.9 Porous 15” Wheels

Some of the 15” alloy wheels on 1994–7 turbos were slightly porous, resultingin tyre pressure loss similar to a slow puncture. (A dealer also reports someearly Speedlines suffering the same problem). The warranty remedy requires yourwheels to be repaired, which - since it can take months - can be a bit inconvenient. . .



13.10 ECU bug

In a low gear at high boost, such as pulling on to a roundabout in 1st or overtakingin 3rd, even a tiny reduction in throttle results in a sudden jerk, far worse thanyou’d expect from totally releasing the throttle, and enough in some cars to causethe inertia-seatbelts to activate. You’d expect the dump valve to open and to getsmooth deceleration from engine braking, but instead you have to be very gentlewith the pedal.

Apparently it’s better on 1997/8 cars, but still present to an extent.

There is also an apparent protection system built in to the ECU to prevent damageto the gearbox under hard acceleration in 2nd gear. When travelling at a constantspeed for a period of time between 3,000 and 4,000 rpm(more than 5 seconds),pressing the accelerator can result in less than full boost being delivered until5,000+ rpm is reached. This phenomenon has been observed in a variety of cars,in different countries, but only by a small handful of drivers. Without replacingthe ECU with an aftermarket one, the only real alternative is to make a change inyour driving style. Simply drive along in 3rd gear, and change down to 2nd whenneeded, or simply change up to third and let the mid range torque do all the work.

13.11 Worn anti-roll bar bushes

WRXs seem prone to wear of the anti-roll bar bushes, leading to a clonking noise.The bushes (and the mounts if necessary) need to be replaced. Harder, “rally type”or “powerflex” bushes can be fitted but all the bushes would have to be changedat once, and the ride of the car can be noticably harsher.

13.12 ABS Isn’t Magic

Not a fault with the Impreza or its brakes (obviously), but many owners don’tappreciate the limitations of an anti-lock braking system.

ABS prevents wheels from locking under braking, because a sliding wheel hasno grip (of course!). Having no grip means stopping distances are increased, andsteering response is lost. ABS works by sensing when a wheel is about to lock andmomentarily releasing the brake, just as in the conventional technique of “cadencebraking”, but performed many times each second. While a driver performingcadence braking applies and releases the brakes on all wheels together, dependingon the complexity of the ABS, either all 4 brakes can be controlled independently(“4-channel”: expensive and rare), or the brakes on each axle are activated as apair (“2-channel”). The pre-98 Impeza has 3-channel ABS, allowing the frontbrakes to be controlled separately but with the rears worked together. The 98Impreza got 4-channel ABS.

In the early days of ABS, an exceptional driver on a non-ABS car could stopshorter by holding the wheels just on the point of locking, and thus achieve max-imum traction for the whole of the stop. Modern ABS has improved to the levelwhere virtually no driver can beat it.



There are situations where ABS makes things worse. On a loose surface such assnow or gravel, a locked wheel builds up a wedge which slows the car better thanABS. Also when the road drops away - over a crest or following a bump or into asunken manhole cover - the unweighting of the wheel means that even a moderatebraking force can lock the wheel, activating the ABS. It’s often a surprise whenthis happens!

13.13 Use of low octane fuel

We have heard a small, but still alarming, number of reports of serious enginedamage to recent STi cars which have been run on low octane (95 RON - regularunleaded in the UK) involving damaged pistons. We don’t have enough informa-tion to say for sure, but things are certainly pointing that way. We recommendagainst prolonged running of these highly tuned engines on regular unleaded. Use97 RON if you can, and use a good quality octane booster for extended hard usesuch as track days, especially in hot weather. If you own one of these vehicles,then it would be sensible to invest in a device known as a “Knocklink” whichdetects knock and displays visually knocking/pinking/pinging/detonation. whichmay not be audible over the engine noise. These can be obtained from a numberof suppliers here in the UK, and overseas.

13.14 Piston Slap

It seems a small percentage of the MY98 cars have had problems with Piston Slapafter a period of 10,000 to 20,000 miles has been covered. This manifests itself asa knocking noise which is much more pronounced when the engine is cold. Thisshould not be confused with a ticking/tappet type noise which is common on allImpreza engines , but a distinct knocking noise which is most noticed between1,500 and 2,000 rpm. In the UK, Subaru have been resolving the problems byfitting an a completely new short engine (block, crank, pistons) , and this curesthe problem completely. Some cars are apparently much worse than others, withvery lightly driven cars being just as susceptible as those driven hard! All Subarudealers should be aware of this problem, and offer to resolve (free of charge underwarranty) if the problem exists. If your dealer denies all knowledge, then go toanother dealer who may be more sympathetic to your cause. The work takesbetween 2 to 3 days to perform, and as well as running it in again, you most getyour ownership document(s) updated with the new engine number. If the problemoccurs on a normally aspirated engine, then a simple piston replacement can beused, instead of a whole new block.



14 Modifications (w)

Given the Impreza is such a great car in standard form, you might be wonderingwhy anyone would possibly consider modifying them. Granted, you will be inheaven for the first weeks or months of Impreza ownership, but you’ll eventuallystart to get the measure of the car (or to think you are, anyway!) and you’llmiss the thrill you felt when you first got the car. Don’t feel guilty - it’s humannature to want more! - and there are several areas where significant improvementscan be made if you enjoy your driving. Take for example the most shockinglyunattractive alloy wheels fitted as standard to the pre ‘98 models, the inadequatelighting, the unsupportive seats (pre ‘97), the somewhat spongy and fade-pronebrakes, and the suspension which is a bit woolly on the limit.

These shortcomings, combined with the fact that the engine responds particularlywell to minor changes to the exhaust and air filters, means there is now a fast grow-ing industry responding to the needs of Impreza owners throughout the world.

One of the best modifications available for the Impreza is the quick-shift gearchange mechanism. Available from Prodrive (p 61) (via your local Subaru dealer)or GGR, the completely new linkage mechanism transforms both the operationand feel of gear changes. A cheap modification that makes the gear changequicker, more precise and adds a general sporty feel to driving the car. Probablythe most common accessory on pre ‘98 cars (the standard linkage was improvedon ‘98 cars and is not a quickshift, but is better).

Note: On pre-‘97 cars the gearbox was a single-synchro design, and so with aquickshift it’s possible to “beat the gearbox”

Other modifications include:

• Engine (p 46)• Wheels (p 47)• Tyres (p 50)• Exhausts (p 52)• Suspension (p 53)• Electrical (p 54)• Brakes (p 57)• Styling modifications (p 57)• Audio (p 58)• Miscellaneous (p 59)• Warranties and the effect of modifications (p 59)

14.1 Engine (w)

When this document was first written, there were surprisingly few options forimproving the engine of the Subaru Impreza. This is not the case today, and toomany different options are available to list in this document, so we shall just listthe more popular/affordable ones.

Prodrive (p 61) offer a performance pack for the car, and depending on the modelyear comprises a Ramair air filter, stainless steel free flow exhaust, revised engine


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management system and Mintex brake pads (up to MY98). This gives the Imprezaabout 15% extra power and torque, bringing it up to the 240bhp and 240 lb/ftmark for the pre MY99 cars. This may be fitted by Prodrive without affectingthe standard 3 year Subaru warranty. For the MY99 cars onwards, they offer asimilarly priced performance pack which adds a revised ECU, exhaust systemand intercooler piping. Proven gains of 10 to 15% are offered, with a dramaticimprovement in mid range response and urgency.

There are however a number of drawbacks. Firstly, the conversion is not cheap.Secondly, Prodrive will only fit the performance pack to cars with at least 16 inchwheels. For owners of pre ‘98 cars, this means an additional cost for a set of16 or 17 inch wheels and tyres. Lastly, once upgraded, pre ‘97 cars must be runonly on Super unleaded fuel. The conversion for the MY97 cars on allow normalunleaded fuel to be used, albeit with reduced performance. There are of courseother options.

The Link ECU (also known as the Possum Link) is an aftermarket ECU whichreplaces the existing ECU, and utilises the same connectors. It comes suppliedwith a default map which can then be adjusted by the owner to help them extractthe best performance from their car. There are various add-on modules availableto assist the owner with this task. We would strongly advise owners to seek expertassistance in configuring/programming the Link ECU, as the results of enteringwrong settings can be disasterous. Thankfully, the UK suppliers of these systemshave the necessary expertise available. BR Developments (p 63) are the acknowl-edged UK experts in the installation and tuning of this system

In Australia, MRT (p 61) offer replacement engine management systems, someof which are adjustable. MRT offer a wide range of engine tuning parts for bothroad and competition use. As well as their own developed in-house parts, MRTcan also offer parts from APS (p 62) , STi and other leading tuning firms.

Superchips (p 62) in the UK offer a replacement bleed valve and adjust the signalsto (from?) the ECU, which reportedly increases the engine power to around the260 bhp mark. They also offer a system for the normally aspirated non turboSport.

Scoobymania (p 63), are a new company specialising in top quality performanceand styling upgrades. They are the UK distributor for MRTs parts, and haveexclusive distribution rights for a number of other products.

BR Developmenst (p 63), are a UK company which offer a variety of productsand services.

14.2 Wheels (w)

Probably the first upgrade on most pre ‘98 owner’s wish list is a set of replacementwheels. The standard 5 spoke 15” design fitted to the pre ‘98 models must be themost boring and unattractive wheel ever seen on a “sporty” production car. Also,the 6” wide rim is a bit narrow for the 205mm tyres - a 7” rim allows the tyre to sitflatter on the road. However, due to the small number of Impreza’s in existence(compared to say a Golf GTi), there is a very limited (but growing)choice.


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People associate big wheels with sporty cars, but the key factor is low-profile tyres- the link is that to keep the rolling circumference the same (to avoid introducingspeedometer errors) then as the wheels get bigger, the tyres must get thinner. Low-profile tyres reduce the amount of spring and flex in the tyre. Less spring meansreduced body roll in corners, but will make the ride somewhat harsher as bumpswill not be soaked up as before. Less flex means that there is less lag betweenturning the wheel and the tyre following, so steering response will be more precise. . . but the tyres will not mask ruts and grooves in the road, feeding back throughthe steering. Also, thinner tyres mean that big potholes have more chance ofdamaging the wheels.

Prodrive (p 61) suggest that a 16” wheel offers the best compromise betweenlooks, ride comfort, performance and cost, and indeed from the ‘98 model year,Imprezas have 16” as standard. However, the fact that Prodrive’s demonstratorshave always been fitted with 17” wheels shows that they certainly give additionalperformance - or better looks!

The 17” wheel and tyre combination increases the unsprung weight to about 21kg,up from around 16kg. This will have a noticeable effect on both ride quality andhandling, although most owners say it’s not too bad and well worth it. Upratedsuspension becomes more desirable with heavier wheels.

In principle a 7 x 18” wheel should be fine too, but this will be heavier still and thetyres will need to be ultra-low profile, so this is probably only a sensible optionfor those who drive on the smoothest of roads.

One important point to bear in mind when shopping for new wheels is that therecommended offset (the distance between centre of the rim and the mountingface) for Impreza wheels is unusually high, at between 52 and 55mm depend-ing on the model. Using more common, smaller, offsets will increase the track(width) of the car, which may cause the tyres to foul the arches, and will have anadverse effect on handling (by increasing the leverage of uneven roads and cor-nering forces on the suspension and steering components). One knowledgeablewheel retailer claims that anywhere from 45–55mm is fine (even going so far asto say that 55mm is excessive!), whilst a Subaru dealer insists that 55mm is essen-tial and anything else wrecks the handling. It’s probably worth pointing out thatthe standard wheels are 52.5mm offset, and the Speedline Competition 2, sold byProdrive through your Subaru dealership, is 48mm!

Prodrive, holding the UK concession for Speedline, offer very good wheel/tyreoptions through their WRSport brochure, in 16,17 and now 18 inch sizes (P1).They are available either as wheels only, or fitted with high performance PirelliP-Zeros.

The first of these is an 8 spoke design known as the Safari. These were the designfitted as standard to the Series McRae cars. Available in either silver, or the muchmore common gold, the most popular size being 6.5 x 16 inch. The recommendedtyre size for this wheel is 205/50 ZR (or VR) 16. They can also be ordered in a 6 x15 inch fitment, but anyone changing their standard wheels, would be well advisedto upgrade to the 16 inch wheel and tyre combination. This design of wheel iscommonly used by Group N and sometimes Group A rally cars, particularly formud or snow special stages, due to its outstanding strength.



The second is a double six spoke design known in the UK as the Supertourismo.They are available in either 7 x 16 inch or 7 x 17 inch sizes, again in either silver orgold. This design of wheel has been used for the Prodrive demonstrators for thepast few years, and are probably now the most common choice of replacementwheel for the Impreza in the UK. The recommended tyre size for the 17 inchwheel is 205/45 ZR 17, although 215/40 ZR 17 tyres can also be used and providemore choice of manufacturer. The Supertourismo does not fit over the STi 4-potbrakes fitted as standard to the 99 Impreza, and there is now a curved-spoke designnamed Supertourismo2. It looks like a bigger version of the standard 16” wheel,rather than a development of the Supertourismo.

There are two other Speedline designs available to fit the Impreza. One is a fivespoke design known as the Mistral (OE in split rim format on Ferrari 308s appar-ently!), available in a 7 x 17 inch size. The other, available only in gold in a 7 x16 inch size is known as the “Competition 2” wheel. This distinctive six spokedesign is the homologated wheel for Group N Imprezas, and resembles that fittedto the latest generation of WRC cars for tarmac events, although not in the 8 (pos-sibly 9?) x 18 inch size, since they will not fit comfortably under the standardImpreza wheel arches.

Other designs available through many accessory shops in the UK, are a multi-spoke (Touring car style) and directional 5 spoke designs made by a companycalled Radius. The models available to fit the Impreza are known as the R2 (5spoke) and R3 (multispoke), and come in the popular 7 x 17 inch size, althoughwith a 50mm offset. The Radius range of wheels has been heavily promoted inthe UK. Compomotive also have a large range of wheels, from which the MO andSL should be available in scooby-friendly sizes.

Another option is to fit the 5 spoke 16 inch wheel fitted as standard to the 98 & 99model turbo cars. Although available only in silver (unless you can find an STior Terzo owner wishing to sell theirs!), it would be relatively straight forward tosend them to one of the many alloy wheel refurbishment centres throughout theUK for stripping and re-painting in gold or any other colour. The wheel design isidentical to that fitted to Japanese models for many years.

A survey carried out by an IWOC member identified many more 17 inch wheeldesigns. Costs ranged between about £100 and £200 per wheel. Although allof these designs will fit without apparent problem, any which do not have therecommended offset of between 50 and 55mm, may adversely affect the steeringand/or handling of the car.

Outside the UK, there are many other designs available to suit the Impreza.Throughout Europe, several different models of Speedline wheel are available,as well as other manufacturers, who do not promote their products in the UK.

In Australia, MRT (p 61) have a number of distinctive designs available, and mostof these can be viewed on their comprehensive web site.

Japanese owners, not surprisingly have the widest choice of wheel designs avail-able, with numerous manufacturers offering a variety of distinctive deigns in avariety of colours and sizes.



14.3 Tyres (w)

As the tyres are the car’s sole point of contact with the road surface, it is impor-tant to carefully consider the different options available when the time comes toreplace your car’s existing tyres. If cost is your prime consideration (why did youbuy a Subaru then ?), then the chances are that you will end up with a lower qual-ity tyre, with some potentially undesirable side effects. As well as giving lowerlevels of grip, cheaper tyres may have unpredictable behaviour as they approachand exceed their limits, wear more quickly, and generate higher levels of roadnoise. This is not to say that all cheap tyres are bad, just that the old saying of“what you get is what you pay for” seems to be especially appropriate.

15 Inch Wheels

Unusually for Impreza parts, in the standard tyre size of 205/55 VR 15, thereare very wide range of tyres available. There is simply not enough space in thisFAQ to discuss them all in detail. Some owners have commented that the currentBridgestone Potenza RE71/RE-010 tyres are a bit on the hard side, and seem tobe lasting remarkably well, given the punishment they receive. Most would prefera slightly softer compound, which although would give a shorter tyre life, wouldresult in increased grip and in both wet and dry conditions. Favourable reportshave been given on both Pirelli and Yokohama rubber, although the latter may bea little too short-lived for all but the dedicated enthusiast.

16 Inch Wheels

For 16 inch wheels, the recommended tyre size is 205/50 VR (or ZR) 16. Inthis size, there are much fewer choices available, most of which tend to be atthe performance (read expensive) end of the market. The same criticisms of thestandard Bridgestone Potenzas will presumably apply in the 16 inch size, and atthe time of writing, it is probably too soon for most ‘98 model owners to givefeedback on alternative fitments. Tests carried out by UK and German magazinesfor similar sized tyres rated the Bridgestone S-02 the best overall tyre, havingparticularly good wet weather performance. Meanwhile the S-02 Pole Position isa softer compound variant which appears to give outstanding dry-weather grip too.The Goodyear Eagle F1, and Toyo T1-S have also had many favourable reviewsby Impreza owners. Tyre performance is a very subjective issue, and tyres whichsuit some driver/car/environment combinations, may not be suited to others.

17 Inch Wheels

For those with 17 inch wheels, there is very little choice in the recommendedtyre size of 205/45 ZR 17, in fact we only know of the Yokohama A520, thePirelli P-Zero Asymmetrico and the Dunlop SP9000. There are, however, morechoices available in the alternative size of 215/40 ZR 17 (including the highlyrated Bridgestone S-02).


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Speed Rating

There has been some discussion on whether the higher rated ZR tyres are requiredfor the Impreza Turbo. Subaru specify V rated tyres (for speeds up to 150mph- and acceleration and braking forces in line with a 150mph car) as standard,so you can be confident that the speed and load ratings will be sufficient for astandard car with normal use.

If you take your car on the track or drive hard on the road, Z rated tyres will offerbetter performance. If you have any kind of power upgrade, you may well takethe potential maximum speed over 150mph, so you’d best fit some Zs.

There’s a wider choice of sports tyres in Z, and if you’ve got 16 and especially 17inch wheels, you’ll have trouble finding a V to fit anyway.

Tyre Pressures

Another popular topic for debate often revolves around tyre pressures. Drivers’experiences show that the Impreza is sensitive to minor differences in tyre pres-sures (you can easily feel a drop of 2psi), so it’s worth checking them regularly.For the ‘96 model turbo, the recommended tyre pressures for the 205/55 VR 15tyres are 33psi front, 32psi rear. Some dealers have suggested that these pressuresare adhered to when fitting larger 16 and 17 inch wheels, however Prodrive (p 61)suggest 33psi front / 30psi rear (up to 32psi on the rear for sustained high speed orheavy load) for all wheel sizes, while MRT (p 61) suggested 35psi on both frontand rear results in better grip and handling, at the slight expense of ride quality.Prodrive even suggest leaving the tyres at the pressures for trackday use, althoughincreasing the pressure will stiffen the sidewalls somewhat. An owner in MiltonKeynes (probably the highest roundabout density in the world!) reports that tocombat excessive front tyre wear, Continental tyre engineers recommended thatthe MK police increase front pressures by 10–15%. The owner reports that whilestandard pressures wear the fronts in 8,000 miles, running at 36psi provides sig-nificant reduction in wear.

Another common query is whether the tyre pressures should be reduced for snowor cold and wet conditions. The answer to this is no. Better grip and feel areobtainable using the standard or slightly higher tyre pressures. On the subject ofcold weather, it’s worth checking the tyres if the car feels bad (more roll, poorturn-in) since when the air in the tyres cools, the pressure is reduced.

Expected Tyre Life

Not a topic that has cropped up frequently on the mailing lists and bulletin boards.An article in Performance Car magazine claimed that the fronts should last be-tween 15–20,000 miles, with the rears being good for 40,000 miles. Some en-thusiastic drivers have reported less than 12,000 miles for a set of tyres (trackevents are very hard on tyres), with some getting as few as 7,500 miles from a set.Some dealers have suggested swapping the front and rear tyres periodically at the



6 monthly services, to get even tyre wear all round. Doing this, would give an av-erage tyre life of around 25,000 miles for a set of four. Obviously, when replacingtyres, you should ensure you get a matched set. Steve Breen [[email protected]]experienced handling irregularities which turned out to be because one of the PZeros was made in Italy whilst the others were made in the UK. (A reader tellsus that Lotus issued a warning to Elise owners regarding mixing P Zeros fromdifferent factories due to the possible effects on the handling)

Common sense would also suggest that you always replace tyres in pairs (i.e.both at front, or both at rear), or that you replace all four tyres at the same time,regardless of how expensive it might be at the time. It would be better to spend afew hundred pounds on a matched set of quality tyres, than writing off your prideand joy as a result of a mis-handling car at high speed.

In fact, most Impreza owners seem to consider the need to replace all 4 tyres anexcellent excuse to upgrade to a much nicer looking set of 16 or 17 inch alloys atthe same time.

14.4 Exhausts (w)

On most other makes of car, the rear silencer is one of the first areas replacedas owners modify their cars. The Subaru Impreza is no exception to this, asit is widely accepted that the standard exhaust system is very restrictive, so asto comply with the various international “new car” noise limits. Replacing thesilencer not only improves the look and dramatically improves the sound of thecar, but it can also release a bit more power from the engine, between mid rangeand the rev limiter.

In the UK, Prodrive (p 61) will only sell you their very nice looking and soundingexhaust system as part of the whole engine upgrade package. However, there area number of alternatives available.

Probably the most widely used exhaust amongst owners is the system suppliedby ScoobySport (p 61) (see Suppliers section for contact details). This is a veryhigh quality system, which reportedly performs as well as it looks and sounds.Hayward and Scott, who have made Ralliart’s exhausts for over six years, manu-facture it for them. Fitting is a simple 15 minute job, and can be done by a local“Kwik Fit” or similar.

Other alternatives include some of the Japanese after-market system, such as Blitzand HKS. Again these are very high quality exhaust systems, but some ownerhave said that they are significantly noisier than the standard exhaust, and can betiresome on long journeys. For many owners though, this is exactly what theywant.

Also available, are exhaust system from BPM and MRT in Australia, both of whohave UK outlets. Again both offer very high quality products.

Before purchasing an aftermarket exhaust system, we would encourage ownersto view and listen to a similar system fitted to an Impreza, to ensure that thecombination of looks , performance and sound are exactly what they are seeking.



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14.5 Suspension (w)

Suspension Upgrade Options

The leading replacement part options are, Prodrive (p 61), ScoobySport (p 61)and MRT (p 61).

The upgrade offered by Prodrive, was for a long time the only source available.The standard dampers and springs are replaced with Bilstein dampers and Eibachsprings. The system provides firmer damping and stiffer springs, which also lowerthe car by 20mm. This is a very good system, that greatly improves the handlingof the car. Bilsteins are rebuildable, but Prodrive are unable to offer this serviceat the moment.

ScoobySport (p 61) have been working with Leda Suspension and now offer threeoptions for upgrading Impreza suspension, The first is a fast road kit, with 30mmlower, up-rated springs and 24 stage adjustable dampers. The second option isa road/competition kit, and offers fully adjustable ride height in addition to thefeatures of the first kit. Finally, a full Group A rally kit, offers gas pressuriseddamping and remote reservoirs. Leda suspension kits are fully rebuildable andcan be fitted at Leda’s factory in Braintree or by a dealer.

MRT (p 61)’s suspension is fully adjustable, but no other details are known at thistime.

Steering Geometry

The recommended toe and camber settings for the Prodrive suspension may beapplied with good effect to the standard items. The benefit is improved turn-in,better in-corner steering response, and reduced squirm under braking, especiallywith bigger wheels. The reason for this is that braking places huge forces on thefront wheels and suspension components, causing them to splay outwards. Thetoe-in corrects this tendency. These settings are apprently within the limits speci-fied by Subaru for the car, but are outwith those supplied in the UK handbook.

Note that these settings are different from the handbook specifications (p 18) forstandard suspension (presumably due to the potential for uneven tyre wear), soSubaru dealers will often refuse to make the changes when the car is still underwarranty.

Front Rear

Camber Max equal negative not adjustable

Toe-in 1mm 1mm

Apparently different cars have different limits for the front camber - it’s usually abit less than 1° but possibly as high as 1.25° Just make sure left and right are thesame!

We are also hearing very favourable reviews of some changes made to removebump steer which is built into the cars. These changes involve lowering the steer-


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ing rack (using spacers/shims), and requires several hours labour. These changesare performed by Powerstation

Strut Braces

It is of the opinion of many (including specialist after market tuning suppliers)that the Impreza is one of the stiffest chassis around and that a strut brace is ofdubious advantage. Even the WRC car that Colin McRae drives (using a bareImpreza 2 door shell as a starting point) does not have one. To quote a wellknown Impreza supplier:

“A strut brace has no effect on “sag” - it simply transfers any loadfrom one side to the other. Our experience with them is that they arebetter “look” value than performance. And yes, this is why they aresupplied on up-market Sti models . . . ”

There is also the consideration that to fit a brace for the Impreza, it has to be bentat each end to clear the intercooler so will be necessarily weaker than a straightbrace.

Here are two views from owners who have fitted one :-

“I fitted one recently and as far as I’m concerned it was the best£50 I’ve ever spent :-).′′Took the car for a blast around some reallytight 2nd gear corners and instantly noticed the difference. It seemedto sharpen the steering in the corner and the suspension really wasworking hard. I would imagine that the brace would not make thatmuch difference being so close to the bulkhead, but there you go.”

If you do fit a strut brace ensure that you then get the tracking checked and read-justed. It has been known for this to alter these with devastating effects on tirewear!

14.6 Electrical (w)

Lighting

One of the main problems with the standard Impreza, is that the headlights areextremely poor for the levels of performance offered by the car. Traditionally,owners wishing to increase the output of their headlamps would fit higher wattagebulbs (illegal in the UK!). Unfortunately, in some sort of cost/weight savingfrenzy, Subaru seem to have equipped the Impreza with plastic reflectors and theabsolute minimum thickness of wiring necessary to drive the standard headlights.There have been numerous cases reported of the wiring getting very hot, and insome cases reflectors and wiring melting with higher wattage bulbs fitted. Someowners have been running the higher wattage bulbs without problem for severalyears. Fit these types of bulbs at your own risk!

Another option are high performance “Xenon” bulbs, which claim to offer 30%brighter light, for the same power. A growing number of owners are fitting these


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type of bulbs, including myself, and they do make a noticeable difference. Thelight produced is noticeably brighter (whiter), especially off-beam, when you canpick up a lot more detail at the edge of the road. As long as you are not ex-pecting them to turn darkness into daylight, then they are a worthwhile improve-ment. These Xenon bulbs are available from a number of sources, includingIWOC (p 76) member Andrew Batters [[email protected]] who runshis own garage business, and sells them mail order at a discount. PIAA have alsointroduced a range of high-efficiency bulbs, with e.g. the 80w bulb producingequivalent light to a 130w conventional bulbs. These are very expensive though!

Headlight Adjustment

At the same time as fitting the higher performance bulbs, it would be prudentto check the headlamp alignment. The most accurate method is to have themcalibrated using the correct equipment at any MOT testing station, or as part ofyour routine servicing. If this is inconvenient, then the following advice fromAndrew Batters can be used as a rough guide.

The MOT “beam setter” is basically a box with a collecting lens at the front anda screen at the back with various markings onto which the headlight dipped beamis projected. It represents a scaled down version of the image projected ontoplain screen 10 metres away from the light. The latter is still used for checkingmotorcycle beam aim.

The standing area for the vehicle and its relationship with the “beam setter”, forthe MOT, has to be accurate to within ± 2mm laterally and when checking thebeam aim, the equipment is set along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle eachtime. I’m telling you all this is so that you will realise the importance of gettingthings as accurate as possible.

We will assume that the left - right alignment is OK (mine was) so the verticalchecking goes as follows:-

You will need a very flat area for the car to stand on and also your checking“screen” whether it be a wall, garage door or a sheet of something light coloured,it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that it is in the same level plane as thevehicle and perpendicular.

In the centre of the headlight lens there is a dimple, this it the datum for settingthe beam, mark a horizontal line on your wall, door etc. at exactly the same heightas the dimple.

With somebody sitting in the driver’s seat and the headlights on dipped beam andthe internal level switch at zero you will see the horizontal portion of the beamwith a 15° kick up to the near side.

The beam is measured as a percentage below the horizontal, a measurement of10mm is 1 percent at a distance of the screen from the lamp of 1 metre (1000mm),so is 2cm at 2 metres.

On the headlamp casing there is a figure of 1.3 percent 13mm at 1 metre and thisis optimum for the vehicle, but for me this is too low. The upper limit for the




MOT is 0.5 (5mm) below and the lower is 2.0 (20mm) below. I have set mine atthe top limit and is just a touch on the high side, but the control inside drops it towherever is best, I use it a lot when driving as conditions change.

When using YOUR screen the accuracy will be better at greater distances than 1metre, three metres the errors will be one third, the problem is that the further yougo away from the light the probability of the vehicle standing area being out oftrue with your screen increases. If it is not right there are two adjusting wheelsat the back of each lamp, one is up down, the other is left right. Can’t rememberfrom memory, which are which, fiddle and see.

Driving Lamp Conversion

If you are serious about fast night time driving in your Impreza ( and this canbe the safest time to drive fast, if you’re sure there are no cyclists, unlit skipsor bambis in the road) then you should invest in one of several driving lampconversions available.

The first option is a PIAA driving lamp conversion offered by Prodrive (p 61)via your local Subaru dealer. This replaces the two fog lamps fitted as standard,with two PIAA (flamethrower!) driving lamps. Like all the Prodrive equipment,quality is top notch, but with a price to match. We’ve heard of some differentfittings schemes: make sure your dealer wires them up to come on with mainbeam.

Another very popular driving lamp conversion is the kit provided by ScoobySport(p 61). Consisting of two Cibie Oscar Plus driving lamps, with 130w bulbs,mounting brackets, wiring, connectors, relay and full fitting instructions. Fittingcan take less than 1 hour, but if it’s your first time under the Scooby’s bonnetyou should allow two or three hours to make a professional job. Alternatively, aSubaru dealers or car electrics shop might do it for you.

There have been nothing but good reports from the growing number of ownerswho have fitted this kit. “Bugger me. Daylight!” were the words one owneruttered the first time he switched on his new driving lights. Total light output isthe same as that of the Prodrive PIAA conversion. Some dealers have commentedthat the fitting is neater than that of the Prodrive kit, a glowing commendationindeed.

In Australia, MRT (p 61) again offer a high quality driving lamp conversion. Fulldetails are available on their web site.

Twin-Headlight Conversion

Demon Tweeks sell the Morette twin-headlight kit2 with Cibie optics. With stan-dard bulbs you’d have 2×55w on dipped and 4×60w on main beam. The standardwiring isn’t affected, which means you need to rewire to allow higher-wattagebulbs. The kit is bordered in black ABS so you need to get the plastic painted to

2 www.ifeng.demon.co.uk/scooby/lights.html


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match. It gives the car a very agressive nose - some love it, some hate it. Withthese and a driving lights conversion you’d be well equipped for night stages :-)

14.7 Brakes (w)

Performance increases can come in many ways and improving the stopping poweras well as ultimate engine power is one. The standard brakes are not the Impreza’sstrongest point and you can get through pads very quickly, with one owner report-ing only 7,000 miles! Uprated Mintex pads available from Prodrive (p 61) viayour Subaru dealer and these improve things no end (apart from the brake dust onthe wheels, and a tendency to squeal at low speeds :-). Pagid pads come highlyrecommended, and are available for the standard callipers via Scoobysport (p 61).

The Mintex part numbers are MDB1794M1155 ( ‘97/98 brake spec front),MDB1688M1155 (pre ‘97 brake spec front) and MDB1497M1155 (rear), andcan be ordered from certain brake specialists at a lower cost than Subaru. Thefour numbers after the second M (i.e. 1155) indicate the compound material used.A variety of different compounds are available (1144, 1155, 1166 etc.), and aresuitable for different purposes.

AP Racing now produce a number of very high performance brake upgrade kitsfor the Subaru Impreza in a variety of sizes. Scoobymania have exclusive rightsto an AP kit developed especially for the Impreza.

Scoobysport (p 61) have exclusive rights to a high performance Brembo upgradekit. These comprise grooved 310 x 28mm Group A Brembo discs (warranted fortrack use!) using fully floating alloys bells, huge 4 pot monogrammed aluminiumcallipers, high performance pads, steel braided hoses and Castrol Response fluid.The kit delivers superb road and track performance and will fit virtually any 16 or17 inch wheel.

See the supplier (p 61) section for more information on aftermarket brakes.

14.8 Styling Modifications (w)

Exterior Styling

Many of the Suppliers (p 61) listed below offer various bits and pieces to makeyour Impreza a little bit different form the standard item. Many owners thoughare more than happy to let their car be the ultimate Q-car and NOT stand out inthe crowd!

Various rear spoilers are available. The most common type is the group N highlevel rear spoiler for the 4 door (standard on the 99 model) which is available fromvarious sources such as Prodrive (p 61), Autosportif (p 62) , and Regal (p 62) . Amuch larger adjustable rear spoiler is also available from Regal, and Scoobysport(p 61) import a carbon fibre WRC-replica wing. Even the 5 door is not missedand Prodrive offer a double upper and lower spoiler for the back of the hatchback.

At the front of the car Prodrive and others offer a front bumper lip spoiler addingthe aggressive look. It should be noted that some chin lip spoilers offered for sale


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are dubious in their legality due to their ankle/shin slicing abilities when involvedwith impacts with pedestrians

Interior Styling

The interior of the standard Impreza can never be described as extravagant orluxurious, with the pre-97 models being especially austere.

Dealers offer the standard seats retrimmed in leather, usually by a local firm, andas a result prices are usually negotiable and quality varies.

Prodrive offer interior re-trimming packages which include replacing the frontseats with items from Recaro, and the rear seats and door panels trimmed in thesame material. The package includes a choice of different gearknobs etc, andProdrive monogrammed car mats.

14.9 Audio (w)

Fitting CD Players

A question on the mailing lists revealed a variety of different positions suitablefor mounting the Philips CD player offered by Subaru dealers in the UK. Most fitthe unit in one of the recesses at either side of the boot (trunk for our US friends).However, it is possible to fit the unit under the rear parcel shelf (4 door only), andagainst the rear fold down seats.

Several owners have successfully fitted the unit underneath the front passengerseat, but some dealers refuse to fit here saying they are worried about potentialoverheating problems (there are heater ducts venting air under the front seats),and stray kicks from rear seat passengers.

Some owners with aftermarket Hi-Fi equipment, have managed to fit smaller CDunits inside the (unlockable) glove box, although it is apparently a very tightfit. The only known unit to fit comfortably without excessive modification is theAlpine CHA-S604. Dimensions being (HxWxD) 6 x 25 x 15.3cm.

It is even possible to fit the unit inside the space provided for the spare wheel(space saver for Turbo), although custom mounting brackets will be required, andyou should be aware of possible condensation problems.

The best advice for those seeking to position their CD player in a non-standardplace is to seek professional help from a qualified car audio specialist. Commonsense really.

Fitting speakers

Rear Here’s a readers instructions for gaining access to the rear speakers in a4-door. Apparently it takes about an hour.

1. Remove back seat, both pieces: 5 bolts


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2. Very carefully, remove side panels: in back seat3. Again very carefully, pop loose rear glass plastic window trim, pull out

gently, as they just have a plastic pop insert to hold them in place. Easeback both sides - NOT ALL THE WAY - just enough to bend them back.

4. Now, go into the boot and pop loose the little black plastic clips comingfrom the back glass shelf, there should be 4 - 2 each side. The shelf assem-bly should now be loose.

5. Go back in rear deck area, and carefully bend laminated shelf with speakercovers up in the middle while removing slowly.

6. Install new speakers and reverse order to refit.

Front

1. Prise up the electric window switch at the front of the pad. Remove thescrew in there, and disconnect the switches by pushing a lug on the back ofthe switches.

2. Prise off the triangular piece of plastic by the mirror.3. Remove the screw behind the blanking plate below arm rest.4. Pop off the door handle surround. Don’t need to unscrew the door handle.5. Pull off popper at door hinge end of the door.6. Pull whole trim outwards gently - it should be completely loose. Gently

push it upwards and clear.

14.10 Miscellaneous (w)

Bonnet Vents

The WRC cars have huge gaping holes in the bonnet where the road cars havelittle blanked-off grills. Some owners have removed the blanking plates and re-ported an improvement - in noise if nothing else!

A possible disadvantage to the removal of the blanking plates is the creation ofhot-spots under the vents when the car is stationary with a hot engine. Also someof the electrics pass directly underneath these vents and it may be wise to addsome extra protection to connectors etc. thus exposed.

14.11 Warranties and the effect of modifications (w)

From the Subaru Passenger Vehicles Service and Warranty Book:

What is Not Covered

“Defects, malfunctions or failures resulting from misuse (e.g. overloading, ral-lying or racing), negligence, modification, alteration, tampering, disconnection,improper adjustment or repairs, accidents, installation of parts not equivalent inquality and design to parts supplied by SUBARU (UK) LIMITED, add-on parts,


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improper maintenance or use of fuels, oils and/or lubricants other than thoserecommended.”

The key phrase here is “resulting from . . . modification”. If you fit a non-standardair freshener and then the rear axle falls off, chances are the warranty claim willbe allowed. If you rewire the lights and then you find you keep blowing bulbs,chances are it won’t.



15 Suppliers (w)

15.1 Prodrive

The original and genuine, Prodrive3 run the Subaru World Rally Team and pre-pare many privateer Impreza rally cars, not to mention Ford’s BTCC Mondeo’s.Their web site is at www.prodrive.com and now has lots of useful information onthe variious performance products available..

High quality, high cost (Prodrive, Subaru UK and your dealer are all in the chain)and sometimes conservative (to allow your manufacturers warranty to be pre-served), but then again only these upgrades carry full Subaru approval. See yourSubaru main dealer for details and availability (they do not deal direct with thepublic in the UK, but do have an export department [[email protected]] whoare happy to supply their full range of products if you live outside the UK.). Yourlocal dealer can also supply official Rally Teamwear.

15.2 MRT

Based in Australia. Massive range of road and race parts available, and actuallyrun an Impreza rally car themselves. Web: www.MRTRALLY.com.au

15.3 ScoobySport

A range of excellent quality upgrades, inlcuding Hayward & Scott stainless steelsilencers, Cibie driving lights, LEDA suspension kits, 4-pot Brembo brake con-versions, and WRC-replica carbon fibre rear wings.

Web: www.scoobysport.co.uk; Phone: 01268 590085.

15.4 BGT Performance

Well established Impreza Tuning firm in Australia. Offers lots of tuning parts andservices. Web: www.bgtperformance.com.au4

15.5 Graham Goode Racing

Well known Cosworth racing company that now supports Imprezas - in-cluding supply of genuine STi parts (and badges & stickers!). Web:www.grahamgoode.com; Phone: 0116 244 0080.

3 www.prodrive.com4 bgtperformance.com.au


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15.6 Demon Tweeks

Vast Motorsport catalogue with everything from helmets to seats to suspension totools to cable-ties to carbon-fibre gearknobs . . . lots of generic stuff and quite afew of the ranges are carried in Impreza fittings. Web: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk;Phone 01978 664466 (and get a free catalogue).

15.7 Superchips

Offer a range of ECU remaps for various cars. The Impreza Turbo kit Turbo uses apiggyback board to block the wastegate-opening signal for a while, thus providinghigher boost. A considerably cheaper option than the Prodrive engine upgrade,but obviously it’s not covered by warranty. Superchips also offer a similar piggyback board for the normally aspirated Sport, which alters the ECU signals to andfrom the engine to give greater torque and power. Web: www.superchips.co.uk;Phone: 01280 816781.

15.8 Boost Performance Motorsport

BPM offer a full range of tuning products for the Impreza, but are most famousfor their range of exhaust systems, and their stroker conversions which increasesengine capacity to 2.2 litres. Website: www.bpmsports.com.

15.9 Regal Autosport

Offer an Impreza styling parts including rear wings, alloy wheels, stainless steelexhausts, springs and suspension, brake conversions, and replacement ECU’s.Web: www.Regal-Auto.co.uk . Email: [email protected] [[email protected]]; Phone: 02380 791000

15.10 Autosportif

One of the UK’s leading rally car preparation and tuning specialist who is nowbranching out into road car modifications. Many items available such as bodykits, alloy wheels, suspension parts and engine tuning. Phone: 01869 345626.

15.11 DMA Motorsport

Australian company offering a wide range of Impreza tuning products. Web:www.dmamotorsport.com.au.

15.12 APS (Australia)

Offer a tuning package to uprate the power output of the standard (208 bhp) en-gine to that of the STi models (~276bhp). The reasonably priced kit includes a


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revised air intake system (K&N based), 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust, UNICHIP‘piggy-back’ ECU upgrade, a water spray for the Intercooler and modified air in-take plumbing. The kit which increases boost to 17.4 psi (1.2 bar) comes with a12 month warranty, and can be easily removed returning the car to standard condi-tion at a later stage. Reportedly reduces 0–60 time to under 5 seconds. They haverecently started to offer a Higher Output kit, which incorporates a front mountedintercooler and uprated turbo. More information can be found on their websiteAPS5

15.13 SPD Tuning Service

An American-based Impreza specialist with a full range of suspension, brake etc.upgrades. A reciprocal agreement with Scoobysport means UK customers shouldcontact Scoobysport for information on SPD’s products. SPD are also distributorsfor Prodrive accessories, including wheels and suspension kits

SPD’s excellent website at www.spdusa.com/ offers not only an online cataloguebut many articles on the theory and practice of brake and suspension modifica-tions.

15.14 Scoobymania

Offer a very wide range of tuning and styling parts for the Impreza at a reasonableprice. They are the UK distributor for MRT parts, and offer a number of exclusiveproducts such as 6 pot AP Racing brake kits Web: www.scoobymania.co.uk.

15.15 BR Developments

BR Developments are a recent company, but who are the acknowledged experts inthe UK regarding configuring and mapping the Link ECU system. They also sup-ply a variety of other tuning parts and services. Web: www.brdevelopments.com.

15.16 WRX/STi Parts in the UK

Your local Subaru dealer is very unlikely to have any of the more specialist partsrequired for your Japanese WRX/STi model, such as brakes, engine/transmissionparts etc. A dealer which should be able to help with most enquiries is DavidHendry Cars (01666 824369). Graham Goode can also supply the full range ofJapanese specification parts. Alternatively, contact some of the import specialists(p 66) for part ordering information.

5 www.airpowersystems.com.au


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16 Security (w)

The Impreza comes with a central locking system and a factory fitted immobiliser.The central locking is unfortunately only from the drivers side lock and does notoperate via the passengers side lock. Also the immobiliser fitted to the 97 and 98turbos does not meet Thatcham category 2.

During the time the Impreza has been imported it has been fitted with a couple ofimmobilisers. Prior to July 1996 the cat 2 Cobra 0802T Immobilisers were fittedat the docks by the importers, and allows a Cat 2 to 1 upgrade alarm to be fittedfor full protection.

Subaru developed their own immobiliser for fitment after July 1996. Unfortu-nately this then failed the Thatcham tests as it still allowed the car to be momen-tarily started before cutting in. The cars are still fitted with Subaru immobilisersand the situation remains the same with an independent system requiring fitting ifcat 2 is to be gained. Usually an after-market system is fitted along with remotelocking alarm to category 1 and this has the advantage of being able to centrallylock the car from either side of the car!

The Terzo special edition has a Thatcham category 1 remote lockingalarm/immobiliser (a Cobra 6422), as does the 99 car (a Sigma).


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17 Insurance (w)

As the answer to this depends on many variables, it is difficult to recommendcompanies, but Admiral are well worth a call but note they do not entertain en-gine upgrades, even the Subaru approved Prodrive performance pack. Privilegeoffer special Subaru rates (although it has been reported it is cheaper to go to Priv-ilege direct) and accept the standard Subaru immobiliser as satisfactory plus haveall the special editions, Prodrive, and WRX’s listed. They also allow a certainamount of modification to the car for an increase in premium and excess. BrokersGreenlight also offer discounts for SIDC members and can provide competitivecover for modified cars and for trackdays.

Trackday cover usually requires you to inform your insurers of the specific event,and generally they require an extra payment (for example £30) and will increaseyour excess (normally well into the £1000s!). Many owners choose to accept therisk and drive uninsured on the track (which is perfectly legal, of course).

Some companies now offer discounts for on-line (Internet) quotations. For im-ported and modified cars, specialist brokers are often the best route to reasonableinsurance costs. Check out the numbers printed near the back of most motoringmagazines, be sure to get at least 5 different quotes and be prepared to haggle, asthe first quote given will not be the lowest.

Note: It is essential that modifications are reported to your insurance com-pany. Most policies don’t cover trackdays, but that’s your risk. If you havemodifications which you haven’t told your insurers about, then it can leave youwith no insurance cover, which is a serious offence. Check when buying a policywhether it covers any modifications which you might be interested in, as someowners have made modifications and then found that their insurers have refusedto cover them.


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18 Importing Japanese Specification Cars (w)

There are quite a few companies who now specialise in importing high perfor-mance cars from Japan. The following advice on importing the Japanese specifi-cation Impreza range into the UK was given by Andrew Cliffe at Omicron Engi-neering ([email protected] [[email protected]]):

Cars take about 30 days to ship to Europe once they have been loaded in Japan.The WRX and STi versions are in continuous production rather than the LancerEvo V batch building. Coupes and a few others are produced to order. Thewait depends on the current popularity of the WRX in Japan, which fluctuatesdepending on the McRae/Makinen rally war.Air conditioning is standard. Thefour-door sedan comes in white, silver and black. There is more choice on the‘wagon’ which comes in blue also. Japanese car producers have agreed that 280PS(276bhp) is the most that should be produced for a standard car. However Nissansell a modified Skyline which produces 400bhp and Veilside will tune a Skylineto 1006bhp. Subaru are now taking orders for a 2.2l WRX STI coupe. 400 arebeing made, and we’ve got two reserved. There would be a slight reduction inpower output, due to the fuel difference, but Subaru don’t publish the climaticdata of where their data was taken. All this has an effect also. If you wanted, thecar could be put on a rolling road and tested to find out power at wheels, whichwill differ, from the published power at flywheel by 15% or so. It would be bestto run it on the better quality fuel for something special like the WRX.

Another grey importer gave us the following report;

“If you order a new car it is new, but they have to be registered in Japan prior toexport. Does this mean that they become used? We would also ask our Japanesefriends to test drive the car to make sure that the car is OK before being shipped.If you ordered a s/h car, we would find a s/h car, which had been previouslyowned by a Japanese owner, and used in Japan. As with all used cars, I am sureyou would find a pen under the seat.Some spares are likely to be the same as theUK cars, but some parts are STi only and have to come from Japan. I wouldsuggest that if you went ahead and ordered a car to buy the parts required forthe first service, and when that service is due, order the parts for the next batch.This means that there is no waiting for parts to arrive from Japan.There is nosuch thing as an exact cost. The exchange rate between £ and ¥ differs daily.Shipping cost is translated from US $. Duty is worked out using the exchangerate on the day it clears customs, which is likely to be different to the one usedon day of purchase.What I do is to work out cost in £ using an uncompetitiveexchange rate, which provides a little room for manoeuvre. As it is not our mainbusiness, we do not have to make a living out of it. We do not have large advertsto amortise over a few cars. Basically it is your car as from Japan onwards, andwe assist in the importation and registration. Servicing should be done as peryour normal Impreza. Run it in gently over a period of 1000 miles or so, beforeusing full power. Some short bursts of full acceleration helps bed the transmissionin.Subaru’s warranty is invalid as the WRX is not sold here. It is possible to buya warranty (basically an insurance policy) from people like Warranty Holdings,Motor Warranty Direct, White Knight etc., for a small sum of money per year.Subaru Japans warranty is three years, so they must be pretty confident in the


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quality of the car. There is a wide selection of tuning parts in Japan to make yourSTi go quicker. These engines are well engineered and then restricted to 280psby the ECU. The differences over WRX and STi are to the brakes which areuprated somewhat over WRX, the exhaust system is different, there is a carbonstrut brace, and the interior (seats, steering wheel) is slightly different. Visuallythere is a different rear wing, and the front fog lamps are blanked off. Therewould be more minor changes, which Subaru don’t tell you about.Conversionto UK spec at the moment is limited to a rear fog lamp only. Japanese radioswork up to 90MHz (fm) and you could either specify a ‘dongle’ which booststhe received frequency by about 14Mhz, or fit a UK spec sound system. The carwould arrive with a Japanese immobiliser, but your insurance company wouldwant a Thatcham approved alarm.Come May the SVA test may comes in (it wassupposed to come in mid 97, then 1/1/98 but was postponed.) This would requiresome changes to the car, but nothing serious. The European Commission pendingreview or possible cancellation postponed it this time.The speedometer could beconverted to MPH is you wished (SVA mandatory in May), the speed limiter at112mph could be bypassed, and we can fit tuning goodies if you wish. Muckingabout with chips would invalidate Subaru’s warranty anyway.”

NB: Evo magazine (Feb 99) reports that Subaru Japan are requiring that JapaneseSubaru dealers must obtain proof that a car is registered in Japan before supplyingparts. This, if true, will make parts for greys more difficult to obtain . . .

18.1 Import Specialists

Below is a list (in no particular order, and by no means complete) of companiesin the UK who either specialise in importing “Grey Market” cars, or can assistyou with the personal importation process.

Company Web Telephone Number

David Hendry Cars dhcars.co.uk/ 01666 824369

Direct Vehicle Imports dreamvehicleimports.com 0800 731 5653

Orient Vehicles orient-vehicles.com/ 01753 714973

Roger Clarke Motorsport Ltd rogerclarkmotorsport.co.uk 01455 828610

Warrenders of Bolton warrender.co.uk 01204 528800

Lockyear Cars lockyear-cars.co.uk/ 01403 891700

STi Imports stiimports.co.uk/ 01454 411300


http://www.dhcars.co.uk/

http://www.dreamvehicleimports.com

http://www.orient-vehicles.com/

http://www.rogerclarkmotorsport.co.uk

http://www.warrender.co.uk

http://www.lockyear-cars.co.uk/

http://www.stiimports.co.uk/


19 What The Press Think (w)

This is by no means a complete list, if readers would like to contribute sightingsthey’re more than welcome.

19.1 Reviews

Performance Car

Performance Car

Jul 96 N459SOC 96 green long term fleet farewell

Jan 97 ‘96 green Prodrive in Performance Car of the Year

Feb 97 P113EVP green 97

Jun 97 P496DOA Prodrive 97 silver

Nov 97 P118EVP 97 red 0–60 challenge

Dec 97 R680CDA Prodrive 97 reddish blue (also WRX STi P318SPV 97 silver)

Jan 98 R743CDA 97 reddish blue PCOTY 2nd place

Feb 98 R744CDA white 98 & R743CDA reddish blue 4×4 issue

Mar 98 N459SOC 96 green, R555WAS reddish blue, plus others in a second handbuyers guide.

Apr 98 R397BTC WRX STi ver 4 plus a pic of N459SOC in the letters section and a1/4 page and pic on a white WRX STi version 4 coupe (and mention of theSTi 22B)

May 98 Specs and pictures (seemingly ripped off the Internet!) of STi 22B and Terzo

June 98 R400 RRR WRX STi Coupe Type R vs Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V (WRXloses due to frantic short gearing and less subtle handling, but does 0–60 in4.3 seconds!, 1/4 mile in 13.2@104mph. R412 VOF Long term test car.


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Car Week

Car Week

25th May 94 JET 2 Prodrive Impreza in a group test versus Escort Cosworth andCelica GT-4

Autocar

6th April 94 L605 YWD (incl.cover pic), silver 4-door. “fabulous performance,good value for money, excellent warranty”

17th Mar 97 1/4 page limited edition Catalunya write up

1st Oct 97 1/4 page R975UHM 98 red

27th Nov 97 P216 PLM Yellow WRX STi III 2 door coupe. Head to head with EVOIV and Escort WRC. Impreza gets reviewer’s vote.

4th Feb 98 R741CDA 98 silver 5 door

13th May 98 WRX Type R Coupe vs Misubishi Lancer Evo V

17th June 98 R468 AOE Britain’s blue 5 door. Top 100, no 1 Subaru Impreza Turbo5dr. “So now it’s official: the Subaru Impreza 2.0 Turbo is the best newcar you can buy”

What Car

What Car

Dec 97 P118 EVP 97 red vs Volvo S40 T4

Auto Express

Auto Express

Autumn 94, Special L607YWD 5 door comparison test against Escort Cosworth andLancia Delta Integrale. Impreza came equal 2nd with Escort inhandling but won in best performance.

21st Feb 97 P97EVP 97 reddish blue. Comparison against Lotus EspritTurbo and Lotus Elise

10th Dec 97 R743CDA 97 reddish blue

17th Dec 97 P97EVP 5 door 97 reddish blue sporting alternative shootoutwinner

25th May 98 R741CDA silver 5 door. Impreza versus Escort Cosworth,Impreza wins.

6th May 98 Details of STi 22B, including comments from Subaru UK thatthey are looking seriously at importing it officially into the UK!



Top Gear

Top Gear

Jul 94 L607YWD 5 door green, “Dull, boring and slow. Honest”. Reviewer thinksit is fab, but wants to keep it a secret!

Jul 95 M52 KJW 4 door red. Group test in which Scooby comes second to a Mazda323!

Feb 97 N542SOC, 5 door red long term test

Jul 97 Red 4 door, minitest of improved 97 model

Nov 97 P117EVP 97 white being thrashed around Thruxton by Tiff

Car

Car

Dec 96 Prodrive modified 4 door wins handling test

Dec 97 P32KOX 97 reddish blue in their handling test

May 98 R400RRR 98 WRX STi 4 vs Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5 (the WRX wins ;-)

Sep 98 Feature on 22B; comparison with 911, Mention of this FAQ!, Feature ongrey imports

Car and Car Conversions

July 98 R644ENV green 5 door & R387VOF 4 door Prodrive. Comparison ofstandard and Prodrive modified Impreza Turbo’s

19.2 Quotes

“The Impreza Turbo is the cult car of the late 1990’s”— Performance Car, Dec 97

“Finally at 4000rpm the boost starts to flow. It’s hardly the ex-plosion I feared but it pushes the Turbo along briskly, if not with thevigour of, say, an Impreza Turbo”— Performance Car, May 98 (talking about a 260bhp Porsche 911Turbo)

“The Subaru has similar power to the Boxster. It lapped faster.It’s a four door saloon. And if it had been wet or bumpy thedifference would almost certainly have been greater. An amazingcar.”[And a final caption on a photo. . . ] “Impreza Turbo: power,grip, balance. Buy one.”— Car, Nov 97

“The Impreza is one of those cars that cannot be driven in anymanner other than too fast”— Autocar, 26 Nov 97

“Much has been written about the Scooby . . . so I won’t boreyou with anything more, except to say that it is the best car I have



ever driven. It’s so good it makes me walk differently. I adopt a sortof bowed stance, arms and upper body unmoving, shaking my headin wonder, looking at the floor and shuffling forward slowly. That’sif I’m not walking backwards, admiring the thing, listening to it tickas it cools. Arghh!”— Performance Car, Jun 1998

19.3 Accolades

BBC Top Gear Magazine in association with J.D. Power run an annual customersatisfaction survey for British motorists. In 1997, Subaru was rated top manufac-turer. In 1998, Subaru slipped back to second, but the Impreza was top car!

19.4 Magazine Back Issues

Should you wish to read any of the above reviews, we would suggest that youcontact the very helpful back issues departments of the above magazines. Evenif the issue you want has sold out, they can usually arrange for you to get aphotocopy of the article you are interested in.

19.5 Telephone numbers

Performance Car Sadly no longer exists . . . contact Car?

Autocar 01235 534323

Auto Express 01454 620070

Top Gear 01795 414744

Car 01858 435337 (9:00 - 5:30 weekdays only)

Car and Car Conversions 0181 686 2599

EVO EVO Magazine6



20 Useful Contacts (w)

20.1 Internet Contacts

The authors of this FAQ (in alphabetical order!) are:

Steve Breen [email protected] [[email protected]]

Peter Croney [email protected] [[email protected]]

Adam Curtin [email protected] [[email protected]]

John Stewart [email protected] [[email protected]]

Please email [email protected] [[email protected]] with additions, corrections orqueries relating to the FAQ.

20.2 Internet Resources

For links to suppliers pages, see Suppliers (p 61).


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Subaru official sites

Australia http://www.subaru.com.au/

Canada http://www.subaru.ca/

Cyprus http://www.subarucy.com/

Germany http://www.subaru.de/

Hong Kong http://www.subaru.com.hk/

Italy http://www.subaru.it/

Japan http://www.inter.co.jp/SUBARU/top.htm

UK http://www.subaru.co.uk/

USA http://www.subaru.com/

Other Web sites

The SIDC web site http://www.sidc.co.uk/

Scoobypedia - Trusted knowledge base for everythingSubaru

http://www.scoobypedia.co.uk

Steve’s Eta Tauri Site http://homepages.enterprise.net/srb/alcyone.html

Impreza 2.5RS Website and Bulletin Board http://www.impreza-rs.com

Adam Curtin’s Scooby page http://www.ifeng.demon.co.uk/scooby/

RallyCars http://www.rallycars.com/

Rally Zone Home Page http://www.rallyzone.co.uk/

Lee Christie’s ScoobyMania website http://www.scoobmania.freeserve.co.uk/

Anders Skarsten’s 22B website http://www.22b.com

The Sube Directory http://home.earthlink.net/~gndiamant/subaru.htm

“Webrings” for Subarus & Imprezas www.webring.org andsearch for “subaru” and/or“impreza”

USENET newsgroups

all things Subaru alt.autos.subaru

Discussion on WRC and local rallying rec.autos.sport.rally

UK-specific discussion including rallying uk.rec.motorsport.misc

Mostly off-roaders but occasional relevant 4×4 stuff rec.cars.4x4

Same but with more Land Rovers! uk.rec.cars.4x4

A lot of V8 talk but some WRX discussion aus.cars

Mailing Lists & Bulletin Boards

Impreza Web Owners Club (mailing list) Owners Clubs (p 75)

I Chat (less formal Impreza-oriented mailing list) Go to www.egroups.comand search for “I-Chat”

Scoobynet Bulletin Board bbs.scoobynet.co.uk

Driving Techniques - lots of very useful information onhow to drive your Impreza, and improve your drivingskills.

www.drivingtechniques.co.uk

Note: if you find any of the above links invalid please contact one of the FAQ


http://www.subaru.com.au/

http://www.subaru.ca/

http://www.subarucy.com/

http://www.subaru.de/

http://www.subaru.com.hk/

http://www.subaru.it/

http://www.inter.co.jp/SUBARU/top.htm

http://www.subaru.co.uk/

http://www.subaru.com/

http://www.sidc.co.uk/

http://www.scoobypedia.co.uk

http://homepages.enterprise.net/srb/alcyone.html

http://www.impreza-rs.com/

http://www.ifeng.demon.co.uk/scooby/

http://www.rallycars.com/

http://www.rallyzone.co.uk/

http://www.scoobmania.freeserve.co.uk/

http://www.22b.com

http://home.earthlink.net/~gndiamant/subaru.htm

http://www.webring.org/

news:alt.autos.subaru

news:rec.autos.sport.rally

news:uk.rec.motorsport.misc

news:rec.cars.4x4

news:uk.rec.cars.4x4

news:aus.cars

http://www.egroups.com/

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/

http://www.drivingtechniques.co.uk


authors [[email protected]]




21 Owners Clubs (w)

Given the cult status that the car has achieved on a global basis, it is not surprisingthat a number of owners clubs have sprung up around the world, with owners keento get together and communicate their experiences of owning a Subaru Impreza.Some of the better known clubs are listed discussed here. If you know of anyothers, then please add them to the list with contact details.

21.1 SIDC

About the club

The aim of the Club is to create a forum for sharing knowledge of/experienceswith Subaru Impreza’s, to improve the buying power of individual SIDC mem-bers, to ensure that servicing and vehicle maintenance standards continually im-prove, to encourage the development and manufacture of aftersales products bythe establishment of a market, to organise social events for Impreza owners andtheir families and to encourage the improvement of members’ driving abilities.The Club charges an annual family membership fee of £20, and is a non-profitmaking organisation run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.

About club events

Advanced driver training Many people will tell you that they are not very goodat tennis or golf or windsurfing, etc., but not many will admit that they are not verygood at driving. Club Vice-Chairman, Dick Grimes, is driving instructor withEssex Police and teaches their drivers to reach the highest standards possible. Inconjunction with Essex Police, he runs frequent Advance Driver Training Coursesfor SIDC members at police HQ in Chelmsford. Courses are run either as a seriesof evenings or as one day intensive sessions. They include class room and skidpan work. We are very grateful to Essex Police for this service to the Club andthis Course will benefit every member who takes it.

Rally driving courses Drive-It-All at Church Enstone near Oxford, give SIDCmembers a 10% discount on their excellent Mintex Challenge Course. TheCourse is a one day serious tuition day, spent in Group N rally spec Toyota Cor-rolla’s (16v rear wheel drive).

Group attendances are planned and if enough people want it, they can supplyGroup N Impreza’s for us to do the Course in, although this option is more expen-sive.

WRC Events We make annual trips to the Network Q Rally of Great Britainand the Catalunya Rally. (The drive down through the Pyrenees is spectacular, aswas the countryside in the Catalunya National Park).


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Track days The Club organises mant track events across the country ona yearlybasis. There is virtually no track in the UK that the SIDC have not organ-ised a track event at. Keep a look-out on the events page at the SIDC websitehttp://www.sidc.co.uk, or check out the info published on the Bulletin Boards

RAC Affiliation At the 1998 AGM, the Club voted to adopt a form of the RACMotor Sport Association rules, and to register as an affiliated club, allowing us toorganise 12 car rallies and hold track days at some of the more famous circuits.Registration was completed in December 1998.

Club Meetings Club meetings are approximately quarterly, with the AGM inJuly. Information about meetings and all other events will be notified to mem-bers in the quarterly newsletter True Grip, or if there is not enough notice byad-hoc mailshot. Alternatively, most events are notified on Club’s Website athttp://www.sidc.co.uk

Contact Details

The SIDC can be contacted either via their Web site (http://www.sidc.co.uk), orby writing to them at the following address enclosing a stamped address envelope:

SIDC14 Cedar WalkCanewdonRochfordEssexSS4 3QL

21.2 IWOC

The (Unofficial) Impreza WWW Owners Club is a relaxed forum run by SteveBreen for existing and potential Impreza owners to exchange ideas, problems andqueries. It currently has over 700 members from all over the world, with up to30 - 50 e-mail messages being exchanged every day of the week! It can be a verylively forum, with every topic of Impreza ownership being discussed on a regularbasis.

The IWOC members web page can be found at www.iwoc.freeserve.co.uk

Obviously, you need to have access to the Internet or at least E-mail to become amember of this fast growing club. Either drop into the web site or send an emailto Steve at [email protected] [%[email protected]]





http://www.iwoc.freeserve.co.uk/

mailto:%[email protected]


21.3 Australasian Clubs

Australia

Club Web site

New South Wales WRX Club www.wrx.org.au

WRX Club of Queensland www.wrxclubqld.org.au

Victoria WRX Club (and affiliates) www.wrx.com.au

Impreza WRX Club Canberra act.wrx.com.au

Western Australia WRX Club wrxownersclub.com.au

Southern Australia WRX Club wrx.com8

New Zealand

Club Web site

Super Subby Club www.subbyclub.co.nz

Subaru Club of New Zealand www.clubsub.org.nz

21.4 Netherlands Subaru Club

See their web site on www.subaruclub.nl

21.5 German Impreza GT Club

www.impreza-gt-club.de/

21.6 Subaru WRX Club Switzerland

mypage.bluewin.ch/wrx/index2.html

21.7 Subaru Impreza Club of Sweden

www.impreza.nu/

21.8 Belgian Subaru Club

go.to/SubaruImprezaRijders

21.9 North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club

www.impreza-rs.com


http://www.wrx.org.au/

http://www.wrxclubqld.org.au/

http://www.wrx.com.au/

http://www.act.wrx.com.au/

http://www.wrxownersclub.com.au/

http://www.subbyclub.co.nz/

http://www.clubsub.org.nz/

http://www.subaruclub.nl

http://www.impreza-gt-club.de/

http://mypage.bluewin.ch/wrx/index2.html

http://www.impreza.nu/

http://go.to/SubaruImprezaRijders

http://www.impreza-rs.com


21.10 Others

A large number of other popular Subaru clubs that regularly visit Scoobypediacan be found on this page?.


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22 Acronyms and other “odd” information (w)

22.1 Pronunciation

Impreza is often mis-spelled with two ‘z’s, and often mis-pronounced. It’s “Im-PRET-sa”, not “Im-PRAY-zer”.

Subaru is pronounced “Soo-ber-oo” In English. We are reliably informed that, inJapanese, it is pronounced “S’bal”!

The word Subaru, if pronounced backwards reads “You-are-a-Bus!”.

22.2 Nicknames

The Subaru Impreza (and other Subaru’s in fact) are often known as Scoobys,because Subaru sounds vaguely like a favourite Hanna Barbera cartoon charactercalled Scooby Doo. Incidentally, Warner Brothers bought the rights to the HannaBarbera characters so Scooby t-shirts, fridge magnets and (most crucially) key-fobs can be bought at Warner Brothers shops :-) Meanwhile in Australia thenickname is Rex as the turbo is called WRX.

22.3 Logo

The 6 star badge on all Subaru’s represents Pleiades (M45) - the most famous starcluster - in the constellation of Taurus. It signifies the coming together of the 6companies which now make up Fuji Heavy Industries and Subaru is the Japanesename for the constellation.

The cluster has been known for thousands of years, and is mentioned in Homer’sOdyssey and three times in the Bible. The Pleiades are also known as the SevenSisters, because someone with normal eyesight can see seven stars - although therecord with the naked eye is said to be nineteen, and many more can be seen withbinoculars (the total membership of the cluster is around 400 stars). The brighteststar in the cluster is Alcyone. (a name Subaru used to designate a variant of theSVX).

Quite why the Seven Sisters is represented by a six-star logo is not clear. Perhapsits a bit foggy in Japan? :-)

22.4 Acronyms

STi are Subaru Tecnica International (the motor sports division of Subaru)

555 is a brand name of British American Tobacco. (a reader has pointed out that555 in decimal is 22B in hexadecimal. Spooky!)

IM is International Motors, the UK importer of Subaru, Isuzu and Ssangyongcars.


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22.5 Games

The Impreza features in a few computer games for the Playstation and PC.

Network Q RAC Rally Championship gives you the chance to tackle 28 stagesof the original RAC Rally. Venture into Kielder at your peril in one of six rallycars including the 95/6 Impreza with Tony Mason shouting out pace notes as yougo!

V-Rally is based on the ‘97 World Rally Championship and offers all the WRCand some F2 cars. The tracks aren’t real but the character of e.g. Sweden, GreatBritain, Safari and Corsica are just right. Excellent gameplay, and the night stagesare fantastic!

Colin McRae Rally has eclipsed V-Rally somewhat. Again with ‘97 WRC andF2 cars, along with ‘bonus’ cars such as Audi Quattro, Ford RS200 and the Mk.IIEscort! The graphics aren’t a huge improvement over V-Rally, but the dynamicsand gameplay are much better. The sound is fantastic, the gameplay is excellent,and of course there’s the celebrity endorsement: Colin McRae talks you throughthe driving school, while Nicky Grist is your co-driver through the stages. Asuperb game.

International Rally Championship is based on the ‘97 World Rally Champi-onship a choice of cars including the Impreza WRC and some F2 cars. LikeV-Rally, the tracks aren’t real but are great fun. You can fine tune the set-up of thecars, compete against up to 16 other networked drivers, and even create you owntracks. Great fun, and available now at a reduced price of about £12 from somestores.

Gran Turismo offers absolutely stunning graphics and realism, with the chanceto drive hundreds of production cars including various flavours of new and usedWRX (which you can then tune with STi parts!), not to mention the Lancer Evo,Skyline GTR and a lot of “exotica”. An essential purchase for the Playstationowner!

V-Rally 2 is based around the same successful V-Rally, but with improved graph-ics and gameplay.

Colin McRae Rally 2.0 Not surprisingly, is very similar to the highly successfuloriginal. Improved handling, better graphics and a much better menu system areoffered. Currently this game is only available for the Playstation.

GT2 Just when you thought Playstation games couldn’t get any better, alongcomes GT2, the much awaited successor to Gran Turismo. Improved graphicsand gameplay, with much more tuning options available. The range of cars isnow simply incredible, with more than 600 to choose from. Comes on two CDs.

22.6 Where can I rent an Impreza ?

Well nowhere that we know of currently. There used to be a few car rental compa-nies in the UK that offered Imprezas for hire, but sadly no longer do so following afew accidents, and rumours of the cars being abused on the track. However, there



is a holiday company operating in Thailand, where you can spend a week drivinghigh specification turbocharged Imprezas and other desirable cars, on some of thebest driving roads in the world. More information can be found on their websiteat www.cultcartours.com. Tell them that the SIDC sent you, and you may just beable to negotiate a good discount.

22.7 “Interesting” quotes from Owners Manual

The best way to preserve your vehicle’s beauty is by frequent washing. Wash thecar at least once a month to avoid contamination by road grimeIt is recommendedthat a coat of wax be applied at least once a month, or whenever the surface nolonger repels water.Before entering the vehicle, remove any snow or ice from yourshoes because that could make the pedals slippery and dangerous.If your Subaruis not going to be used for an extended period, it is best to have the fuel tankfilled to capacity.Due to the expansion and contraction of the metals used in themanufacture of the exhaust system, you may hear a crackling sound coming fromthe exhaust system for a short time after the engine has been switched off. Thissound is normal.Never inhale engine exhaust gas.Tyre chains should be placedon the front wheels only.Always use the utmost care in driving - overconfidencebecause you are driving with an ABS equipped vehicle could easily lead to a seri-ous accident.Never drive with your hand resting on the shift lever. This may causewear on the transmission components.Never drive with the tachometer needle inthe critical engine speed range except for brief acceleration in an emergency.Thefront passenger’s cup holder is built in the centre console. To use the cup holder,open the lid. When not in use, fold the arm and close the lid.

22.8 Controls

The Impreza has more than its fair share of inscrutable controls. For example,there’s an object in the centre of the dashboard which looks like a radio, but all itseems to do is produces varying degrees of crackle and static :-)

The Bright Switch

The Bright Switch is many Impreza Owners’ favourite control, although unfortu-nately WRXs aren’t fitted with one. Rightfully taking pride of place in the centreof the dashboard, this large switch has a deceptively simple function: to overridethe dimming of the clock when the lights are turned on. Handy for foggy days . . .

That Switch on top of the Steering Column

Where many cars have the hazard-light switch, the Impreza has a toggle with asymbol of the car, with what looks like little flashy-light symbols at each corner.Is it a hazard switch? No, it’s a parking light switch, keeping the tail & sidelightson when the key is removed.


http://www.cultcartours.com


The Centre Diff Lock

WRX STi owners have a dial which can be used to generate a burning smell fromthe middle of the car. STiV owner and Nürburgring expert Phil Gardner describesthe correct use:

In Practice

With the switch in the open position (green dash indicator at bottom of bar,coloured full green), the car drives like a rear-drive vehicle. Booting it in a bendwill unstick the back, all drive is sent to the axle with the least resistance (i.e.: theback), the tyres light up and the a big broadside soon develops. Back off quicklyand it snaps back into line (safe but a bit uncomfortable for passengers and nottoo cool looking), but balance the power and the drift then continues for a while,nicely sideways and feels good into the bargain.As you progressively wind theknob forward, more drive is sent to the front axle, to the point at which the han-dling feels just like my UK car (about 2/3rds to 3/4 forward I would say).Fullyforward (LOCKED on the dash bar) should not be used on the road as the axlesare locked and transmission wind-up will occur.

Technical Theory

The STi has 3 controlled differentials; an automatic viscous unit in the front(might actually be mechanical but I doubt it), an automatic mechanical LSD inthe rear (you can really feel this one doing its stuff) and a manual, electricallycontrolled centre diff. UK cars have automatic viscous units in centre and rearpositions only, the front retaining an open diff.The centre and rear diffs on STiType-R’s are the ones that have the big effect on handling. In the OPEN position(bottom green sector of dash bar), the diff is just that - fully open. Torque willbe transferred to the axle with least resistance (i.e.: rear normally) and handlingwill be rear biased accordingly. Torque split is 36:64 front:rear, so lighting up theback tyres is easy. In addition to this, the mechanical LSD in the rear axle locksboth rear driveshafts together very quickly once slip is detected, spinning bothrear wheels and removing nearly all rear lateral stability, i.e.: the car fish-tails ifasked to. Compare this to a Ford Crapi that would light up one wheel only andgo nowhere.As the centre control is wound forward, more locking is applied tothe diff. Slip is controlled closely ensuring that proportionally more drive is sentforwards, thus reducing the rear-drive tendencies. I have found that about 2/3 to3/4 forward provides handling similar to the UK car.Should the front wheels startto slip, the viscous unit between the driveshafts will progressively lock-up, ensur-ing that full drive is available to both wheels.If the centre control is fully forwardin the yellow ‘lock’ position, then the centre diff is no longer a diff as it is 100%locked. Torque split is then 50:50. This is identical to locking a centre diff ina Land Rover for example. You cannot negotiate tight bends or roundabouts asthe axles require differential slip and there is no diff operation to oblige. On slowbends on the road, you will plough straight on, but on high speed, loose surfaces(rally stages, big fast sweepers at the Ring etc.), stability might be aided. As youcan guess, this locked position should be used only off road. . . . . . .. or in heavysnow actually, when going up hill or pulling away. The LSD’s in this situationwill lock each end, and the centre lock will tie both ends together - useful and



actually full, permanent 4WD. Trying to negotiate a snowy corner in this guisewill not work for obvious reasons.

Recommendation

Driving environment Centre diff

Dry, normal driving Open

Wet, ‘progressive’ driving 2/3rds Locked

All other Anywhere between the two

Note: But remember your mechanical sympathy when it comes to using the lockfacility. You’ll have no comeback on a dealer if you return the car with a wreckedtransmission because you were playing with your new facilities! You could buya shotgun and kill yourself, but that’s only because you were stupid, not the shop-keepers fault!

22.9 Trivia

The Impreza Coin

A reader tells us that there was a 20p coin minted in the UK in 1996 depicting anImpreza WRC leading an Escort Cosworth on one side, and “Isle of Man 1996”on the other. We’re not sure what the circulation of the coin was.



23 RevisionHistory (w)

The SIDC FAQ has undergone the following major revisions:


http://192.168.0.2/scoobypedia_b4_SIDC/pmwiki.php?n=SidcFaq.RevisionHistory


Version Date Updater Comment

1.0 13th March 1998 JohnStewart[[email protected]]

1.1 15th March 1998 SteveBreen[[email protected]]

1.2 7th April 1998 PeteCroney[[email protected]]

1.3 2nd May 1998 AdamCurtin[[email protected]]

HTMLised

1.4 5th May 1998 SteveBreen[[email protected]]

Additions

1.5 7th May 1998 JohnStewart[[email protected]]

Minor Additions

1.6 9th May 1998 SteveBreen[[email protected]]

Link Amendments

1.7 19th May 1998 AdamCurtin[[email protected]]

Incorporated comments from IWOC,SIDC & Prodrive; General tinkering :-)

1.8 27th May 1998 JohnStewart[[email protected]]

Revised WRX/STi info. Incorporatedadditional IWOC/SIDC comments

1.9 14th June 1998 SteveBreen[[email protected]]

Minor revisions - SE section Evo 2,Outback Sport added, APS, IWOC,Admiral - chip info updated, Importcontacts,

1.10 26th January 1999 AdamCurtin[[email protected]]

Corrections, links & more IWOCcomments, Mirroring/copying conditions,99 model, diff lock, brakes, ABS. A lotof proof-reading and spell checking,added audio section, removed prices.Other stuff too! Sorry it’s taken so long.

1.11 12th February 2000 JohnStewart[[email protected]]

More corrections. New models (STi 6,P1, MY2000). All new Impreza facts andrumours. New after-market suppliers,both in UK Australia and the US. Sorryfor an even longer delay since the lastupdate!

2.0 30th August 2007 Scoobype-dia[[email protected]]

Migrate the original SIDC FAQ toScoobypedia knowledge base.


















24 Copyright (w)

The information within this Subaru Impreza Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ) isgiven in good faith and the authors are not liable in anyway to advice given ortaken from its content. Information may only be reproduced by consent of theauthors and then may not be altered from the form given.

Copyright 1998–2000 Steve Breen, Peter Croney, Adam Curtin, John Stew-art

24.1 General Conditions of Reproduction

Permission is given to reproduce this document (“The FAQ”) for non-commercialuse, subject to the following conditions:

1. An email is sent to [email protected] [[email protected]] describing the use forThe FAQ.

2. The FAQ is reproduced in full and without modification.3. The contact email address and URL of the master copy of The FAQ must

not be changed or removed. On hard-copies, this information must beshown on every page.

4. The copyright of the authors is acknowledged.

For other uses, please mail [email protected] [[email protected]] directly. We willrequire, as a minimum, inclusion of the Copyright statement, email address andURL. We reserve the right to charge for commercial use of some or all of theFAQ.

Please email [email protected] [[email protected]] with additions, corrections orqueries.

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