Cant decide

martydunf

Well lads I need yer help again.
Its between the WRX (03 blobeye) or S15 Spec R and yes I know their in completely different classes to be comparing to.
Im hoping to get one of these by the end of the year fingers crossed, just cant decide which one!
I reckon the WRX would be quicker than the S15 but the S15 is such a good looking car espcially when compared to the WRX.
Whats putting me off the S15 is driving it in wet weather and it having a tendancy to slide about the place( does it even have traction/stability control??) where as the Scooby would have near unlimited grip.
Then trying to source an S15 that hasn't being thrashed and used for drifting!!:mad: Theres not too many of them about either to choose from as apposed to the Impreza's.
Also the unique sound of the Impreza engine is also leaning in the Subarus favour!:p

Please help me decide!

Graham_B18C

I don't think the S15's are slower than a WRX, the STI WRX would be quicker but as standard, i'd put my money on the S15, seriously good looking car too. I'd go for the S15

martydunf

Grahamo999 wrote: »

I don't think the S15's are slower than a WRX, the STI WRX would be quicker but as standard, i'd put my money on the S15, seriously good looking car too. I'd go for the S15

Ya I'm kinda swaying towards the S15 but would it be very dangerous in the wet? Do they have any form of traction control or S/C?
Dont think I'd import from Jap land in the current economic climate as I reckon it would work out very expensive..

Atomic Pineapple

there not too bad in the wet, just take it easy and gradually get used to it over a couple of months and you'd be fine

Ferris

martydunf wrote: »

Ya I'm kinda swaying towards the S15 but would it be very dangerous in the wet? Do they have any form of traction control or S/C?

The only form of traction control is a LSD as standard I think.

I have an S14 (very similar - slightly less power as standard) and they are a bit twitchy in the wet but they let you know when they're going to let go pretty early. I reakon that the WRX would be both quicker off the line and through the twistys. The boost comes in quite late in my car so its not that quick off the line if you're into that sort of thing but it fairly motors through the gears. The subarus standard set up is towards understeer (goes straight into the ditch:o) as opposed to the silvia which will oversteer (backwards into the ditch:D). Understeer is a bit boring but generally easier to recover whereas oversteer is difficult to catch but ultimately more fun.

For me I like the s14 as you drive it with the throttle and its a bit exciting, if you only like acceleration and driving in straight lines then the WRX is better. Another thing worth considering is that the subaru has rear doors and a bigger boot which makes it more practical.

For info on Nissan S-body cars look up www.sxoc.com, its a good forum.

martydunf

Thanks for all the info!:)

Dont mean to come across as ignorant but how does the Limited Slip Differetial work? Im guessing that it feeds the power more to 1 of the rear wheels than the other to regain traction?

BTW thought your description of understeer and oversteer was quite good & funny.:D

Atomic Pineapple

Yeh the LSD will control the power going to either rear wheel

You can get traction control kits fitted to them, I know a guy that has one on his s14a and says its very good. not sure how expensive it was though

best advice is to test drive both cars and see what you think, there is an Irish section on sxoc and they have monthly or bimonthly meets, if you go to a meet i'm sure one of them will take you out in there s15 and you'll also get great advice.

Ferris

martydunf wrote: »

Dont mean to come across as ignorant but how does the Limited Slip Differetial work? Im guessing that it feeds the power more to 1 of the rear wheels than the other to regain traction?

With a normal open diff if one wheel loses traction (wet grass, gravel, ice etc) all of the engine power will go to that wheel and the car loses forward power. An LSD does what it says, it limits the power to the wheel with less traction and transmits it to the wheel with traction.

There are a few types of LSD, the one in a standard S15 is a viscous LSD which uses fluid to lock the diff. Other LSD's use clutch packs in the diff and these are commonly used on race/drift cars. The standard viscous diff on a s15 is 1.5way locking. Drift cars use 2way as this makes it easier to kick the rear of the car out. A cheap mod for a drift car is to weld the diff effectively providing a solid rear axle and a car that is not much use on the road.

I'm not totally up to speed on these diffs i'm afraid so all this is open to correction.

martydunf wrote: »

BTW thought your description of understeer and oversteer was quite good & funny.:D

Comes from experience I'm afraid

JimmyCrackCorn!

Racelogic traction control can be fitted using the factory abs setup. With extra modifications it can be made even more effective

The S15 is not a forgiving car and will put you in a wall if you drive like a tit and im aware of 2 that have been crashed since Christmas in Ireland.

If you dont have a lead foot and understand throttle control youll be fine in wet weather. Most people who drive these drive slowly in wet weather as even experienced drivers get caught out quite often.

The subaru is a much easier car to drive and is a joy in wet weather. Its way more forgiving and you dont have to be awake to drive it.

JimmyCrackCorn!

Ferris wrote: »

There are a few types of LSD, the one in a standard S15 is a viscous LSD which uses fluid to lock the diff.

Not true the factory diff is a helical LSD.

S14/a, s13s were viscous

Graham_B18C

Unmodified, the Bug Eye Impreza does 0-60 in 5.7 and the S15 does it in 6 seconds, but thets as standard. I always thought the S15 was faster. Would be hard to fond an unmodified S15 Spec R though.

Maruney

WRX, it has been developed better over various models, dont think it has even peaked yet.

WillieCocker

I'd have to go with WRX also, even though i'm not a fan of either.

ronanc15

To be honest, id far prefer an s15 spec r, but im probably biased in that i already have an s13.

I drove a 330bhp wrx on one of the rally courses, class cars but they just strike me as a car you'd need to have on track very often to get full enjoyment out of, which for me is not something I could afford. From my observations, the SR engines in the s15 seem far more able for a wee bit of hard driving then the subaru. Of course this is mostly based from experience of friends and frequency or lack of horrorstorys.

As for the danger factor, some people have an awful fear of RWD. Regardless of which area the power is going to ( i.e.e 4wd or fwd) the car will only do what its told to do. Take it easy in the wet until you're used to it and you will be grand. Personally i love driving my s13 in the wet.

Ferris

ronanc15 wrote: »

From my observations, the SR engines in the s15 seem far more able for a wee bit of hard driving then the subaru. Of course this is mostly based from experience of friends and frequency or lack of horrorstorys.

I think that was more the series 1 Impreza WRX that had big ends and pistons made of cheese. I think that the series 2 is quite reliable. The SR20 is very reliable until you start upping the boost. SR's need to have had fully synthetic oil changes however.

Both types of car will have had a hard life, buy the one with the best service history. Do import WRX's and S15's need remapping for 95 octane fuel? Also d0 s15's have immobilisers and as they're jap imports will the insurance be higher? All important Q's for the OP.

Atomic Pineapple

Ferris wrote: »

Do import WRX's and S15's need remapping for 95 octane fuel?

Its highly, HIGHLY recommended, some people say there quite happy to drive it around on our crap fuel but I for one wouldn't, I know of two B4 Legacy's and 3 Impreza's that have blown up because there owners pushed them on 95 RON fuel.

Ferris wrote: »

Also d0 s15's have immobilisers and as they're jap imports will the insurance be higher? All important Q's for the OP

Yes as an import insurance is automatically higher as there more expensive to replace or repair, not sure if they have immobilisers but an upgraded full alarm system would be a must to get anyway

JimmyCrackCorn!

draffodx wrote: »

Its highly, HIGHLY recommended, some people say there quite happy to drive it around on our crap fuel but I for one wouldn't, I know of two B4 Legacy's and 3 Impreza's that have blown up because there owners pushed them on 95 RON fuel.




Yes as an import insurance is automatically higher as there more expensive to replace or repair, not sure if they have immobilisers but an upgraded full alarm system would be a must to get anyway

Iv never heard of an standard ish import s15 going pop due to bad fuel though i would recommend e5 as a minimum. I had an import s14 that didn't like 95 octane at all.

S15 imports do not have alarms or immobilisers. (they are all imports)

Remaps are always a good thing as the s15 turbo can produce quite a bit more power safely with just the boost turned up and a fuel pump.

martydunf

Ferris wrote: »

I think that was more the series 1 Impreza WRX that had big ends and pistons made of cheese. I think that the series 2 is quite reliable. The SR20 is very reliable until you start upping the boost. SR's need to have had fully synthetic oil changes however.

Both types of car will have had a hard life, buy the one with the best service history. Do import WRX's and S15's need remapping for 95 octane fuel? Also d0 s15's have immobilisers and as they're jap imports will the insurance be higher? All important Q's for the OP.

Would a 2000 UK model be classe as a series 1 or series 2?

I was looking on the ISDC site and there was a UK Impreza wrx going for quite cheap and insurance-wise it isnt too bad at €2600!:)