Newbie to the Scooby Scene

[Guest Nathan]

Hey guys. Recently joined the scooby side with a GB270 wagon. I’m based in Rugby and wondered if anyone local could recommend garages for tuning work or fancy giving me some pointers for some good diy maintenance as I plan on a full service as the car is about to tick over 160k. TIA

[ntbilling]

Sorry, thought I was logged in. This is me on the Forum.

[Big Shrek]

7 hours ago, ntbilling said:

Sorry, thought I was logged in. This is me on the Forum.

 

welcome along

 

i live in hinckley and i use thwaites for my servicing as they are only 20 minutes away

 

scoobyclinic in chesterfield are worth a visit as they do everything under one roof (mapping/building/bodywork etc) scoobyclinic built the engine in my hawk sti and it runs like a swiss watch and doesnt use a drop of oil.

 

there is chevron in stafford aswell who are good

 

http://tdracing.co.uk/

 

http://www.scoobyclinic.com/

 

if your new to subaru then it would be worthwhile getting it on a dyno to see if its behaving as it should, for this i recommend scoobyclinic.

 

[ntbilling]

Thanks Shrek for the recommendations. Scooby clinic seem to know what they are doing but a little far north. Do you have any experience with RCM as they seem very local and provide a lot of aftermarket parts?

I'm trying to resist the temptation to upgrade the turbo after only driving 60 miles, but it seems so simple with some of the supporting mods already in place on the GB270. Maybe just a little TD05 16G with 330ish bhp?

Hoping to get a compression check completed when I stick in fresh plugs. Then see if there are any leaks when changing the oil. Fingers crossed this 2.5 lump is reasonably sound after 160,000 miles.

[Big Shrek]

1 minute ago, ntbilling said:

Thanks Shrek for the recommendations. Scooby clinic seem to know what they are doing but a little far north. Do you have any experience with RCM as they seem very local and provide a lot of aftermarket parts?

I'm trying to resist the temptation to upgrade the turbo after only driving 60 miles, but it seems so simple with some of the supporting mods already in place on the GB270. Maybe just a little TD05 16G with 330ish bhp?

Hoping to get a compression check completed when I stick in fresh plugs. Then see if there are any leaks when changing the oil. Fingers crossed this 2.5 lump is reasonably sound after 160,000 miles.

are you aware of the known issues with the 2.5 engine? its not subaru's greatest offering............

 

i have used rcm in the past and i live less than 1 minutes drive from them literally at the back of their place. ollie is a genuine down to earth guy and has always looked after me with prices.

 

i may be going there soon to have my engine bay pressure washed as they do a great job and like i say they are local. 

my advice is to get your car health checked 1st before you even think about upping the power. 

 

things i would get done.......

 

cambelt kit and water pump

fresh coolant

fresh brake fluid and braided lines

gearbox and diff oil changed

oil and filter changed using a genuine black oil filter

spark plugs

air filter

check tyre pressures

check all suspension/steering/brake components

 

no point upping the power if the rest of the car is old and tired.

 

scoobyclinic may be a trek but they do a health check for £100 or so, money well spent in my opinion and it will give you a good base to start from,get it up there on a saturday morning.

 

 

[ntbilling]

Sensible thinking. I have a decent to-do list that covers most of those items. Probably put some money towards some braided lines and fluid as they feel a little spongy.

Starting to put together fresh shocks and springs to throw on. Then a cambelt and water pump kit. Gearbox and diff oil is all that is left then.

 

RCM sound good then but the Scoobyclinic deal is a good place to start. I've also been in touch the PCA who developed the GB270 kit with a view to getting the tracking setup by him once its all fitted up.

 

I have read a few worrying stories of the 2.5 so maybe turbo money is better put in the piggy bank for a blown up piston. 

 

Thanks again for the comments.

[Big Shrek]

Just now, ntbilling said:

Sensible thinking. I have a decent to-do list that covers most of those items. Probably put some money towards some braided lines and fluid as they feel a little spongy.

Starting to put together fresh shocks and springs to throw on. Then a cambelt and water pump kit. Gearbox and diff oil is all that is left then.

 

RCM sound good then but the Scoobyclinic deal is a good place to start. I've also been in touch the PCA who developed the GB270 kit with a view to getting the tracking setup by him once its all fitted up.

 

I have read a few worrying stories of the 2.5 so maybe turbo money is better put in the piggy bank for a blown up piston. 

 

Thanks again for the comments.

no worries mate 

 

from what ive read the 2.5 issues are mainly on the sti version but can affect all models, t be fair @ 160000 yours has probably been done by now. 

 

how much did you pay for her? 

[ntbilling]

I picked her up for £3k. Which even with the mileage, no service history, and ropey ride, I thought was good for a '57 GB270 wagon. Just got to show her some TLC and I'm sure she will manage daily duties nicely.

 

How long have you owned scoobies?

[Big Shrek]

31 minutes ago, ntbilling said:

I picked her up for £3k. Which even with the mileage, no service history, and ropey ride, I thought was good for a '57 GB270 wagon. Just got to show her some TLC and I'm sure she will manage daily duties nicely.

 

How long have you owned scoobies?

i bought my 1st impreza in 2013 - a blobeye wrx that had endless issues, then my second 1 came in 2015 a blobeye sti with 430 bhp but the engine gave up in that so i washed my hands of subaru for a while but the brand kept calling me back so at the back end of 2017 i bought my 3rd which is a hawkeye sti with low miles a rebuilt engine from scoobyclinic, it has been problem free apart from a few little niggles, the engine has covered around 13k and its 350 bhp,it doesnt use any oil/water and starts perfect hot or cold.

 

i feel i may be moving away from the brand later this year though as i have some money coming my way and i really fancy something like a bmw f10 m5 or audi rs6 BUT ive done some research on them and there isnt a great amount of support out there and they both suffer from some serious issues. i just fancy something big with loads of toys and leather and a flappy paddle gearbox

[ntbilling]

It sounds like when the engines are built right the whole package is excellent, but that's not a surprise. I thought they would of been a bit more robust than they appear to be.

 

I also fancy an RS6 or M5 but they're still out of my price league. I've had a few german cars though, the last a 420bhp 335i, and they are nice places to be but they are starting to lose the special appeal when everyone runs s-lines, m-sports or amg's that look nigh on the same as the special models.

The german models are always over complicated to deliver high performance, economy, good comfort and decent value. Everyone else struggles to deliver all of those in one package.