Subaru / Poobaru.. opinions please!

[antisanta]

Right so, I'll set the scene.

Had the Teggy just over a year now, recently came back from thrashing it around the 'ring. Loved it. Car was faultless!

Shes currently running 232hp had a fair bit of work done on handling and alignment so its cornering ability is my favorite part of the car, however I have an itch. An itch I'm struggling to shake. Boost.

I've only ever owned one boosted car, a Leon Cupra - nothing special really, quick but boat like handling. Numerous videos on IG of Boosted Hondas and being a passenger for a day in a 360hp Evo 8 has gotten the better of me though and I'd like a quicker car.. or a quicker teg.

Unfortunately the sensible side of me knows that 5-6k is a lot to throw at a 14 year old Honda, questions about resell value and blowing the fucker up plague my mind!

Anyway, for the money I'd put into a turbo build, I could p/x and get an Hawkeye STi (2L JDM or RB320) - Which is about the only car that interests me outside of the DC5. Don't ask me why, probably something to do with Sega Rally being a big part of my early years!


Has anyone had any experience with a Turbo'd DC5 and / or a proper scooby. I'm trying to satisfy my need for turbo flutter but I adore the teggy.

I'm just after opinions on the two, no dramas! Which would you have and why? I realise there's a slight bias considering its a teg group but you all seem quite open minded!

Thanks in advance guys an gals

 

[Crazylegs]

No experience I'm afraid but done lots of reading on Impreza's. UK cars you should avoid as they have weak blocks. JDM Scoobs have better engines, some are forged too, think the S202 and S204 are forged. Wingnuts off here has a JDM one. Impreza S204 STI would be my preferred choice. Hope that helps. Oh and steer clear of the UK 2.5 too, go for a 2 litre.

 

[Crazylegs]

http://www.supercars.net/blog/2006-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-s204/

 

[Fez]

I absolutely love hawkeyes. But all my mates that have had scoobys, (from classic upto hawkeye) spent most of their time fixing them , more than driving lol.
No first hand experience, but that was more than enough to put me off .

 

[p1tse]

A mate had a blobeye wrx

I was surprised how quick it was although the steering, clutch and feel on this example wasn't to my liking

Saying that I would like a fluttering turbo at one point

There's a good number of FI conversions happening or done on the forum

Beppe seemed to have a great one, which sold recently.

Otherwise sell yours and find one with conversion in place

 

[George657]

If you put your Teg against an RB320, there won't be a lot in it.
The RB320 will 'feel' quicker because of its torque delivery.

I watched a 240bhp EP3 pull a nose on my friends RB320.

 

[TEG_DC5_R]

The 2.0L UK STI' are good cars but I'd avoid the 2.5 unless it's had a rebuild, preferably a forged build!

I've had a few Scoobies from the UK to a Hawk Type RA to a S203 and I do prefer the JDM cars.

If you need any help drop me a PM and I'll happily advise.

Ta

 

[antisanta]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Interesting topic for sure.

Yeah everyone I talk to about them says avoid the UK 2.5L The JDM models are better specced as well, plus I like JDM cars!

I'm still leaning toward keeping the teggy tbh but still open to more opinions. I've seen the build threads on here of the boosted tegs and it only makes me want one more haha.

I wouldn't sell mine to buy a boosted teg though, better the devil you know etc etc.

 

[Linus27]

The pistons are made of chocolate and youd likely understeer off into the scenery.....

Not true, don't believe everything you read on the Internet from people who have never owned one

 

[Linus27]

Huge Scooby fan here. Currently on my third and looking and getting a Forester STi at some point.

As has already been said, avoid the 2.5L unless forged. The hatch is worse than the Hawkeye. To be honest, if you are thinking of tracking then unless you have deep pockets, then I would stick with the DC5. It's just so much better out of the box and you would need to throw so much at the Scooby to make it reliable and handle as well and once you start, it would never stop.

Being a massive Scooby fan (my favourite car manufacturer ever) my itch was to have one for track but it just got to silly money. I even asked on Scoobynet and they said stick with the DC5. The best bet for track is to get a sorted classic unless you really can afford to Hawk STi and the funds to prep it for track. Suspension, brakes, ARB's, tuning etc. on top of the price of an STi Hawk is going to rather high and then you need to ensure its reliable so oil coolers, guages etc.

Honestly, I have no passion for Honda, only Scooby and I would dearly love one for track but the DC5 really is the better option.

 

[Linus27]

The fact they suffer from horrendous understeer is common knowledge and they arent well known for having strong engines. Look how many are forsale that feature the phrase "recent rebuild".

WRX yes, not so much the STi but any heavy car will suffer with understeer. As I said above, compared to a DC5 then yes, out of the box the DC5 will handle better but the Scooby is far from being as bad as the Internet would have you believe.

A lot of the engine problems are down to people tuning them up to silly levels without taking care of the internals. On stock, they are only good to about 280 - 300bhp. After that OEM internals need upgrading which a lot ignore. It's worth remembering that Subaru are one of the manufacturers with the most cars on the road with over 150k on the clock. I agree the 2.5L, especially the hatch 2007 model did have a huge engine issue and the 2.5L engine in general is not as strong or reliable as the 2.0L lump but it's not as bad as the Internet claims.

 

[Linus27]

The driving style is also misunderstood I think...with regards to corner entry/exit/clipping point.....a different approach is required...yanking in a bunch of lock induces more understeer etc. Not that Im an expert.
Im not keen on the gearboxes on blobeyes ive tried.

Yes, this is a very good point, the driving style would be very different to a DC5 and would feel very different on track.

 

[antisanta]

Thank you for the input Linus, I should have said in the OP really. My teg isnt a "trackcar" but I use it on track, I also use it go pop to the shops of a weekend as well as a sunday blast around wales so I'd like something of an all rounder, just quicker than she is now, with a turbo.

Like I said before, I love the teg. On track its brilliant thanks to its aggressive geo setup, it's also good on the roads albeit a bit tramliney (new word) but I want something turbod! I'll more than likely just stick with the Teg . Gonna get a 3" system made up for it soon and go from there

 

[Linus27]

Thank you for the input Linus, I should have said in the OP really. My teg isnt a "trackcar" but I use it on track, I also use it go pop to the shops of a weekend as well as a sunday blast around wales so I'd like something of an all rounder, just quicker than she is now, with a turbo.

Like I said before, I love the teg. On track its brilliant thanks to its aggressive geo setup, it's also good on the roads albeit a bit tramliney (new word) but I want something turbod! I'll more than likely just stick with the Teg . Gonna get a 3" system made up for it soon and go from there

No worries, very welcome. I would say in that case, a Hawk STi would tick the boxes for fun on the road and the odd track day. I use my Scooby as my daily and it's just brilliant and is also the family car. If you do go down the route, do your homework and make sure it's been serviced and well maintained. The usual stuff you do with any car purchase. If you can afford one that's already been forged then you're on to a winner.

Saying that, if you do turbo/supercharge then it will be a beast. Plus, you know the car and like it so maybe better the devil you know If you can get to test drive a Hawk STi then this might be worth it and make up your mind.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[antisanta]

Cheers mate, what I'll probably do is when I have the funds in place to do either or, I'll get a test drive booked in and go from there. RB320s are around 15k, but theyre the UK 2.5Ls so would probably go for a JDM variant. Would still have to be black though <3 haha. Cheers guys!

 

[harry118]

Impreza are great cars had a blob eye sti when I was 18 and another few years ago great power and don't have to spent loads and can see good power easy good fun with the 4wd
I'd say just do it buy one I loved mine.


After selling my m3 in May thought about buying another but went with the dc5 instead to see what it's like.

 

[antisanta]

Test drove an RB320 today, wasn't blown away to be honest. It drove well, handled alright, stopped well and all that good stuff. Driving position was good, nice interior, but it didn't feel like anything special. I was driving it for the best part of 30 mins, mostly B roads and yeah its quick but didn't feel it, sense of speed is somewhat lost. I was mainly driving along thinking yeah this is alright, but thats as excited as I got.

Back in the DC5, shot off down the road and instantly grinning my face off. Suffice to say, the teg is staying. But glad I went for the test drive!

 

[Linus27]

Test drove an RB320 today, wasn't blown away to be honest. It drove well, handled alright, stopped well and all that good stuff. Driving position was good, nice interior, but it didn't feel like anything special. I was driving it for the best part of 30 mins, mostly B roads and yeah its quick but didn't feel it, sense of speed is somewhat lost. I was mainly driving along thinking yeah this is alright, but thats as excited as I got.

Back in the DC5, shot off down the road and instantly grinning my face off. Suffice to say, the teg is staying. But glad I went for the test drive!

I'm really pleased you managed to test drive one and got to compare. RB320 is a nice car to test as well. Whatever anyone says, you can't take it away from the DC5, it's a cracking car.

 

[Kellsled]

My dad has a type ra Classic sti and its a great going car with around 310bhp but your dc5 wouldn't be far away from it. How do you feel about rwd? I had a Nissan skyline and the handling and fun they provide was great,the noise,and flutter was unbelievable miss it a lot

 

[Reggie91]

Yeah I found that in my old scooby too. It was running 380/380 and it just didn't feel as fun to drive compared to the dc5.

You get bored of the boost rather quickly. Plus I dont think I was blown away by the flat4. I had th scooby for 2 year so I gave it a good chance but never fell in love with it haha