WRX reliability

[Guest]

Hey guys.

Ive just turned 25 so its finally time to sell up my current ride and get something with a bit of go. Ive narrowed it down to two cars that im looking out for.

WRX Sti or type r and Skyline Gtst coupe.

Tbh I am swinging more towards the Sti but theres one thing that I cant get my head around.... reliabilty.

There are sooo many pre-150000kms Sti's that are advertised as "rebuilt" , this is seriously off-putting.

Are they really that fragile??

[Guest S T E Y E]

not really...just alot of nim wit no brainers own them / blow them up...

theyre like any car to be honest... if u treat it right and keep it maintained shel go for ages...like any performance car will...remember performance cars do have issues...iv had plenty of RBs allthough they are good...they too have their pitt falls

[Firenza]

Mines happy pootling along wih 186,000k on it, and my mates had over 200,000 on it.

Just make sure you get a good one, look after it, and it should be fine

[Guest S T E Y E]

yeap looking after it is key haha...also maintenance

[Timmah]

 S T E Y E said:

not really...just alot of nim wit no brainers own them / blow them up...

theyre like any car to be honest... if u treat it right and keep it maintained shel go for ages...like any performance car will...remember performance cars do have issues...iv had plenty of RBs allthough they are good...they too have their pitt falls

+1. Says it like it is.

[Guest S T E Y E]

why thank you kind sir ;D

[Guest DMSREX]

I've had mine since 2001 168k kms and never a problem with it just regular service items (brakes/Cambelts etc). Like the others said maintenance is the key to it. Rebuilt engines most likely caused by lack of the above and poor choices when modding (poor research, reading stuff on the internet and not checking it out with people who know actually their shit with these cars).....

[Guest]

 sir_pixalot said:

There are sooo many pre-150000kms Sti's that are advertised as "rebuilt" , this is seriously off-putting.

Are they really that fragile??

They aren't fragile but after 10+ years of abuse they die. Quite common with the Sti's as you have seen on TM.

On an original engine your never going to know how thin the bearings have become - its a lucky dip.

A rebuild will cost $$$ and quite a while off the road.

I'd only buy a rebuilt one from a known mech or preferable one with a broken engine cheap and get it rebuilt.

[zarnah]

mrs wrx has 220 on the clock now and it still does 150psi on all four cylinders and runs like the day she got it at just over 100kms, i told her the day she bought it everytime it clocks another 5000ks you let me know and il do filter and oil, and ever since that day she clocks up 5000 then she refuses to drive it and hounds me untill i do oil and filter, this coupled with regular radiator flushes and cleaning the afm is what i think has made it age so well, that and she just runs factory boost and always warms it up before driving and doesnt thrash it everywhere, allthough she does give it beans every now and then as a certain red vs v8 commodore found out a couple weeks back at 1am on the northern motorway!

[DRFVDR]

Although this is not a wrx my '90 legacy gt done knocking on 290,000 of me owning it and thrashing the guts out of it before being downed by a Beb

[dubbedup]

touch wood, but my engine is over the 200 mark, modified and raced....

[Guest S T E Y E]

but u do know its bad to warm it up before driving it ie idling it untill its warm???

idling the engine so long with no load on it creates carbon deposits everywhere...thus reducing life of valves/valve seats/piston rings etc etc the list goes on...

proven many a times that its better to just drive ur car cold (not thrashing it) untill its upto temp....then u can give it the beans....

just like turbo timers...all that idling not only wastes gas....but creates carbon everywhere

just my 2 cents

[Guest]

shot guys, good to hear the opinions of people who actually own these.

My faith has been restored but I think the hard part will be trying to find a good one. Maintenance will be fine on my part as I usualy service every 5000kms and regular polishing etc..

I have had my eye on 2 Sti's , 1 belongs to "simmo" and has been rebuilt and looks pretty clean. the other is a stretch of my budget but if its still there in a months time its possible http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Subaru/Wrx/auction-345234081.htm (crying to be re-spoilered though :-X).

Both will have to be pre-purchase inspected and shipped down/fly up drive down as I live in chch.

aaaaand a quick free plug on my auction, maybe someones missus is looking for a car

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=343868269#qna

[Guest S T E Y E]

ive been looking at that black one on tardme lately...i liiiike haha

[Guest]

 goatherder said:

i got told it glazed the bores but still warm it up sometimes i drive it nicely until its warm.

Its a car and to put it into perspective 4 years ago a bought a 04 WR-LTD WRX from wingers with 34000 km on the clock .The sales man asked if i wanted a warrenty and i said no its algood its only done stuff all kms. approx 9000KM later the cam belt adjustment tensioner bolt snapped and my belt jumped a few teeth(lol) and i bent the valves . Rebuild cost me 4k through mates rates.

It sounded like a BEB when it happened but wasnt till i got it opened up that we discovered it wasnt beb. Its still going at 90000 odd km and is/was for sale not to long ago on trademe.

so i guess im trying to say no matter whether a cars done 200000km or 30000km its a gamble and unless you have acrystal ball you will never know how it will pan out .

Goodluck with what ever you decide

agreed mate, its always a gamble buying a used car, theres only so many precations that you can take, the rest is down to luck.

my warm up is idle until the revs drop and steady out (30 secs or so) then keep it under 2500rpm until fully warmed up, everyone will have thir own opinions to whats right or wrong though.

[Guest]

 S T E Y E said:

ive been looking at that black one on tardme lately...i liiiike haha

yeah dude, i have always wanted a black impreza....geezus they are hot!

[zarnah]

 S T E Y E said:

but u do know its bad to warm it up before driving it ie idling it untill its warm???

idling the engine so long with no load on it creates carbon deposits everywhere...thus reducing life of valves/valve seats/piston rings etc etc the list goes on...

proven many a times that its better to just drive ur car cold (not thrashing it) untill its upto temp....then u can give it the beans....

just like turbo timers...all that idling not only wastes gas....but creates carbon everywhere

just my 2 cents

well, as I said, its sitting on 220kms on the original motor, still does 150psi in all four cylinders and runs awesome, heads dont even make any sound at all so hasnt been bad for it so far, if it blew to pieces tommorow its still had a bloody good run

[Guest S T E Y E]

yea i idle mine for maybe 30 sec max before i hit the road...

it is proven that it glazes bores etc idling + carbon deposits

so if u wana idle it / turbo time ur car its upto u but it DOES shorten its life span....

whats the number one rule wen u just start a rebuilt motor ??? dont idle it lol it glazes the bores

[zarnah]

maybe the carbon buildup is what gives it such good compression still haha cos it sure as hell surprised me when we had it done! whats a brand new early ej? around 170-ish psi?

[Guest S T E Y E]

compression tests arent really that accurate aye....cylinder leakage is the one that will show up if u have carbon deposits on valve seats making valves leak

[CUDDAS]

 S T E Y E said:

yea i idle mine for maybe 30 sec max before i hit the road...

it is proven that it glazes bores etc idling + carbon deposits

so if u wana idle it / turbo time ur car its upto u but it DOES shorten its life span....

whats the number one rule wen u just start a rebuilt motor ??? dont idle it lol it glazes the bores

I thought that was to bed the rings in ect for the first 1000kms of a rebuild??

& how long have you had yours for steye? time will tell i think,

i've had mine for over 11 years now & it's alway's warmed up for 4-5 mins idling on the first start up for the day, i have not run a bearing or have noisy heads, it's serviced regularly, & the only engine fail i have had was when the cambelt tensioner mounting bracket broke from the block entering a driveway at idle. & that engine ran fine with a sleeve that had turned in the block too.

[Guest S T E Y E]

just going off experience etc...i use to build motors and was allways was told by many of other motor builders to never idle the engine upon a new rebuild...as the bores will glaze....

its down to preference...if u wana idle ur car up thats fine...

but if u look at it from this point of view...add up all that 5-6 minutes of idling ur engine...think that all that running ISNT on the odometer.....

not to mention the gas u use..

even caltex had a huge write up a wile ago about idling ur engine upto temp... its better to have the engine under load during warmup

but its all to do with ur own preference....

u treat ur car how u want to as u mod the car how u want to

[RS.YES]

 S T E Y E said:

but u do know its bad to warm it up before driving it ie idling it untill its warm???

idling the engine so long with no load on it creates carbon deposits everywhere...thus reducing life of valves/valve seats/piston rings etc etc the list goes on...

proven many a times that its better to just drive ur car cold (not thrashing it) untill its upto temp....then u can give it the beans....

just like turbo timers...all that idling not only wastes gas....but creates carbon everywhere

just my 2 cents

I'll also add on to that, I'm studying automotive tech. in auckland and my tutor says that as soon as you start the car drive the bastard because the fuel apparently removes the engine oil on the cylinder walls (clearances between piston/rings and wall) and will cause the piston to grind the sh*t out of the walls you won't hear it but that's effect you'll get. When you do drive off never rev the crap out of it lows rev's will do, and you're heating up the cooling system and the engine faster by doing it this way too and saving fuel too.

My tutor's been in the game since the 1970's so he knows alot of info I wouldn't argue against that.

[off2harrys]

no performance cars ever really gonna be that reliable,you dont buy them for reliability,ejs seem to be less forgiving to being raped though from what ive seen of mates cars,buy a honda if you wont reliability and a bit of power

[tez n u]

only engine that is truely bullet proof is the 2jz ;D]