Subara Impreza 2.5RS (96+)

[Skyline_Addict]

how are these cars? i read some reviews on them and they got pretty poor reviews, especially regarding the interior. good bang for buck? reliable? good performance stock/potential?
i'm interested in the 2.5RS 2 door in the 96-98 year (correct me if the year is wrong for that model, i'm not sure when they stopped making 2 doors).

thanks

[Shaolin]

i heard there's tranny problems on them? :dunno:

[That.Guy.S30]

they stoped making the 2 door in 2001. the 99's have a lsd i beleive. 98's have a head gasket problem (which is covered, recalled). they are dohc, 160ish hp, awd. i dunno about others but i find my ts slow as hell.

you will have more reply's on nasioc.com on the N/A section. or post on rs25.com

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by Thi_Thi Subs
they stoped making the 2 door in 2001. the 99's have a lsd i beleive. 98's have a head gasket problem (which is covered, recalled). they are dohc, 160ish hp, awd. i dunno about others but i find my ts slow as hell.

you will have more reply's on nasioc.com on the N/A section. or post on rs25.com

the 2.5RS is n/a or turbo?
or turbo is a factory option?

[tulit]

No, no turbo (unless you go aftermarket).

The 00/01's are the only ones with rear LSDs.


165hp across the board. The interiors were updated in 99+. They are your standard cheap plastic interiors of any of your small econoboxes. No better or worse than like a civic.

Although the top end is pretty lacking, the have a tonne of low end grunt that makes them fun to blast around town. AWD is a big + too in the winter...

[Chim]

Tulits got most of it covered

The 99+ 2.5RS's are SOHC instead of DOHC, and have 1lbs/ft more tq than the 98.

Best choice, if you want a turbo GC style sooby, is to get something like a lower model 93ish impreza. They look exactly the same as a 98-01 RS, with minor differences. I've seen them go for $3500. With the RS hood, bumper, spoiler, and, of course, an EJ20T (WRX motor) swap, you're looking at maybe $12k for a sweet ride.

And to address Shaolin's question, I know for a fact that the WRX's have glass trannies. Have not heard of any problems with the tranny in the RS, however. Must be all the big launches the WRX folks are doing :D

[That.Guy.S30]

Originally posted by Chim
Tulits got most of it covered

The 99+ 2.5RS's are SOHC instead of DOHC, and have 1lbs/ft more tq than the 98.

Best choice, if you want a turbo GC style sooby, is to get something like a lower model 93ish impreza. They look exactly the same as a 98-01 RS, with minor differences. I've seen them go for $3500. With the RS hood, bumper, spoiler, and, of course, an EJ20T (WRX motor) swap, you're looking at maybe $12k for a sweet ride.

And to address Shaolin's question, I know for a fact that the WRX's have glass trannies. Have not heard of any problems with the tranny in the RS, however. Must be all the big launches the WRX folks are doing :D

the trannies in the rs(newer ones) are the same as the rex's i believe, just different gearing.

[GME]

RS's were introduced in 98. 98 and 99 had two door only, 00-01 came in two or four door versions. 00 and 01 would be your best bet for reliability/least known problems. 98 has head gasket problems, and 99 has a weak MAF sensor. Both these issues are covered under warranty though. Most likely, the previous owners probably got the work done already.

The interior is indeed crappy. Interior looks aren't high on my priority list for cars, so I could care less how it looks. Unless you are quite picky on your interiors, you probably won't care too much either.

If you do a full NA build with these cars, you could probably get about stock WRX horsepower, with more low end torque. If you are looking for anything beyond that, WRX and STi engine swaps are always possible. :tongue:

[tulit]

If you do a full NA build with these cars, you could probably get about stock WRX horsepower
haha. I don't know about that. I think cobb pulled the "record"@215hp NA, but at a build price of like $10,000 its definately not worth it. Doing most of the standard bolt on NA mods really makes no significant difference on these cars.

[2000impreza]

tulit has most of it covered. i'll make it short

this is from MY personal experience.

good bang for buck?
no

reliable?
no, not even stock

good performance stock/potential?
stock performance sucks ass. potential is there like any other car... how much money do you have?

far as head gaskets go, all the years have documented head gasket problems. 98DOHC phase 1 motors are known to blown headgaskets and have piston slap. 99+SOHC motors are prone to external headgasket leaks.

[Fuji]

Originally posted by Chim
Tulits got most of it covered

The 99+ 2.5RS's are SOHC instead of DOHC, and have 1lbs/ft more tq than the 98.

Best choice, if you want a turbo GC style sooby, is to get something like a lower model 93ish impreza. They look exactly the same as a 98-01 RS, with minor differences. I've seen them go for $3500. With the RS hood, bumper, spoiler, and, of course, an EJ20T (WRX motor) swap, you're looking at maybe $12k for a sweet ride.

And to address Shaolin's question, I know for a fact that the WRX's have glass trannies. Have not heard of any problems with the tranny in the RS, however. Must be all the big launches the WRX folks are doing :D


Dood I have no idea where you get your numbers from for engine swaps, but you shoudn't be telling ppl they will be getting a turbo'd impreza for 12G when its gonna cost them at least 20G.

Anyone thinking that they are going to turbo an impreza for cheaper than 15Gs in engine mods alone is out to lunch. This doesnt include nody work susp etc.

[Fuji]

Originally posted by GME
RS's were introduced in 98. 98 and 99 had two door only, 00-01 came in two or four door versions. 00 and 01 would be your best bet for reliability/least known problems. 98 has head gasket problems, and 99 has a weak MAF sensor. Both these issues are covered under warranty though. Most likely, the previous owners probably got the work done already.

The interior is indeed crappy. Interior looks aren't high on my priority list for cars, so I could care less how it looks. Unless you are quite picky on your interiors, you probably won't care too much either.

If you do a full NA build with these cars, you could probably get about stock WRX horsepower, with more low end torque. If you are looking for anything beyond that, WRX and STi engine swaps are always possible. :tongue:

Hmm I have gone through 1200 in MAf sensors. NOT UNDER WARRANTY!!!! THose bastards at Subaru will rip you off any which way they can.

[GC84ever]

you should check out Norh American Subaru Impreza Owners Club (NASIOC.com) (http://www.nasioc.com) for more info.
I believe most impreza/subaru owners will say they are very dependable cars. But unfortunately the weak point of the Impreza is the transmission. But if get to know it very well it can last you a very long time. That being said. If you like to dump the clutch and drag race alot, you're better off getting a Integra or a civic. Because the AWD is all about traction and you'll destroy your tranny and/or differentials if you do hard launches and dump the clutch often.
But the car is a ball to drive. I love mine and wouldn't trade it afor anything. But I can't wait till I can do a WRX swap for more power :)

[Skyline_Addict]

that's very interesting stuff...I always thought that Subaru was a very reliable make of cars, with the Impreza being it's poster car...:dunno:

[That.Guy.S30]

^um the impreza isnt subaru's poster car. its more like the legacy/outback.

[awd]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict
that's very interesting stuff...I always thought that Subaru was a very reliable make of cars, with the Impreza being it's poster car...:dunno:

Don't believe all the negative hype -- the impreza is an extremely reliable car and I for one have never had any problem with the tranny.

You launch any car and you are bound to f*ck the transmission.

[Chim]

Originally posted by Fuji



Dood I have no idea where you get your numbers from for engine swaps, but you shoudn't be telling ppl they will be getting a turbo'd impreza for 12G when its gonna cost them at least 20G.

Anyone thinking that they are going to turbo an impreza for cheaper than 15Gs in engine mods alone is out to lunch. This doesnt include nody work susp etc.

I got 'em from a forum member's own experience with such a swap on www.rs25.com. I can probably dig up the thread but I read it a while back.

On jdmsource.ca, version 6 EJ20T's (Parts Included Engine, Transmission, ECU, Uncut Wire Harness) work out to around $5850. Add that to around $4k for an old impreza. Add several months work if you know what you're doing/willing to learn.

Am I missing something obvious here? :confused:

[JAYMEZ]

Impreza is an awesome car! Defiantly worth the money . I love subarus and even though they have some flaws , who cares! no car is perfect! Baby your car and it will baby you :D

[2000impreza]

Originally posted by Chim


I got 'em from a forum member's own experience with such a swap on www.rs25.com. I can probably dig up the thread but I read it a while back.

On jdmsource.ca, version 6 EJ20T's (Parts Included Engine, Transmission, ECU, Uncut Wire Harness) work out to around $5850. Add that to around $4k for an old impreza. Add several months work if you know what you're doing/willing to learn.

Am I missing something obvious here? :confused:

hidden costs maybe? lol... people seem to fail to realize reading stories on message boards and actually going out and doing it yourself is a lot different.

[Fuji]

Originally posted by Chim


I got 'em from a forum member's own experience with such a swap on www.rs25.com. I can probably dig up the thread but I read it a while back.

On jdmsource.ca, version 6 EJ20T's (Parts Included Engine, Transmission, ECU, Uncut Wire Harness) work out to around $5850. Add that to around $4k for an old impreza. Add several months work if you know what you're doing/willing to learn.

Am I missing something obvious here? :confused:

Your missing a lot lol. Everyone I know that has done teh turbo/swap etc has exceded 15,000 in ingine mods alone. Some ppl I know have hit close to 30G just to get things running rite. BTW these ppl all do as much work as they can by themselves wit minimal shop time. All I am saying is don't excpect to have ANY money if you decide to go that route. If you don't mind the new look of the STi, I guarantee that is the safer/cheaper/faster route

[Chim]

Ah, well I'm not gonna argue and just agree with ya. I thought a $2k budget for miscellaneous work/parts for the swap would be enough. $30k thats pretty insane, for how popular the swap is I didnt think it'd be that expensive.

Anyways I have been wanting to do this swap for a while, can you direct me to a site that shows all the extra stuff outside of the swap itself thats needed?

[Fuji]

All i have to say is don't do it. Unless you have 20K to blow to get it running. Thing is when you open stuff up more stuff is broken etc. Let's put it this way. I know someone in Calgary who has blown over 25K jsut getting a engine in a turbo'd properly.


save your money cuz no one is gonna help you when its not working like it was supposed to

[HOK]

turboing the RS is totally different then an engine swap... swapping in a WRX drive train will cost 8000 - 10000 cdn when all is said and done... turboing an RS is more difficult and will take more money in the long run.

Depending on the swapping and who is doing it for you this can be VERY reliable and cheap. All the TO guys have swaps and are doing fine. RS T's need more knowledge and expertise to keep the thing running. There is no one around to help because there is no one that is running the exact same setup... I think every RS-t is unique.

Btw the tranny is not that bad... but most that break it are using it out of thier design limits...:D

[Fuji]

Originally posted by HOK
turboing the RS is totally different then an engine swap... swapping in a WRX drive train will cost 8000 - 10000 cdn when all is said and done... turboing an RS is more difficult and will take more money in the long run.

Depending on the swapping and who is doing it for you this can be VERY reliable and cheap. All the TO guys have swaps and are doing fine. RS T's need more knowledge and expertise to keep the thing running. There is no one around to help because there is no one that is running the exact same setup... I think every RS-t is unique.

Btw the tranny is not that bad... but most that break it are using it out of thier design limits...:D


Its more than 10G to do the swap. I looked into it. You are still looking at 13G to get a WRX engine in properly. But it will be reliable. With the JDM swaps you never know wha tyou are going to get. A lot of guys get engines in rough shape, blown pistons cracked heads etc. Its a gamble for a JDM swap even if someone decides to warranty it.

RS-T is just a freaking money pit.:guns:

[awd]

Why not save yourself a pile of money, time and headaches -- buy a stock WRX?

[Superesc]

Originally posted by awd
Why not save yourself a pile of money, time and headaches -- buy a stock WRX?

agree or a sti.

[Chim]

Originally posted by Superesc


agree or a sti.

Sexy GC body style, nuff said :D


How much you guys think an STi motor (USDM EJ25T) swap will cost in 5 years? It's pretty experimental right now but if support for Subaru's grows substantially in that time, think it could be done for under 15g's?

[awd]

Originally posted by Chim


Sexy GC body style, nuff said :D /B]

Agreed, but unless you have money to burn it is an extremely expensive transplant.



Originally posted by Chim
[B] How much you guys think an STi motor (USDM EJ25T) swap will cost in 5 years? It's pretty experimental right now but if support for Subaru's grows substantially in that time, think it could be done for under 15g's?

Hard to say.