08 LGTs.B

[tslamc]

Hey guys, I was looking into picking up a clean modded spec.B for around 13k with 80k miles on it. I wanted a low-key but still fun daily and weekend car that's a bit more practical than a WRX, and the spec.B seems pretty solid for that niche. It has about 320whp, and I'll drop the mods he listed below. I just want to know what I should watch out for or ask about for this particular car, as this seems like a really solid deal compared to everything else out there.

 

Thank you all!

 

Mods he listed + description:

 

"

Motor suffered ringland failure and was rebuilt with forged pistons locally at ____Speed Shop. Diffs/ trans have new fluid, oil changed regularly (about every 3k for me) with Rotella T6. Does not burn/leak any oil.

 

Tuned on 93 by FI Performance, made 300whp/300ft.lb with 850cc injectors on a dyno. Now on ID1000cc injectors, has not been dyno’d since, only roadtuned

•Rebuilt stock 2.5 (10k on motor)

•Rebuilt VF39 Turbo

•Heads rebuilt HeadGames Motorworks

•Supertech (Mahle) 4032 Forged pistons

•ARP Headstuds

•ACL Race rod/main bearings

•COBB intake, 3 port EBCS, FMIC, Invidia catted downpipe, Borla mufflers, AEM wideband, IAG AOS,

•STi springs, Cosmis MRII wheels (comes with stock specB wheels)

•Alpine Carplay, stock HVAC

Body has small dings as pictured, bumper covers have a few scratches, will have these repaired before sale. Steering wheel leather is faded.Will need LCA bushings, I have new Whitelines

"

[MoleMan]

I would say good deal.

 

Here’s some questions.

 

Does the current owner have proof of everything being done such as receipts etc? As we all have seen people say they put this and that in. As far as the performance mods that is easy to check with a visual.

 

Does the car drive like it should with those parts? No issues with the drivability? I know the car is tuned and that sometimes can throw off what to expect sometimes. Is the suspension stock except for the STI springs? I know I had some issues with my fourth gen 3.0R and the Bilsteins blowing I figured I would throw that in since they both use the same suspension to a degree. It’s nothing you can’t fix later with a better setup and it’s something I would not dwell on.

 

Is it a real Spec B? The seats should give this away right off the bat. Sorta like telling a fake STI from a real one. In fact just thought of we do have a Spec B portion on this forum with numbers attached. Hopefully your potential future car is on the list! Would give it a lot of provenance.

 

The exhaust is a great setup. The Borla is generally a great tone. Not annoying like what you would see in a Honda B18 or something. I assume it’s running on stock cats?

 

As far as the dyno numbers seems right where it should be. Of course you could get it retuned and then put on a dyno if you are wanting to chase a specific number as far as HP/TQ is concerned.

 

To me the concern is the parts and the build for the car makes the asking price seem like you should use some caution.

[RWebb]

320whp on a VF39 Turbo

[tslamc]

I would say good deal.

 

Here’s some questions.

 

Does the current owner have proof of everything being done such as receipts etc? As we all have seen people say they put this and that in. As far as the performance mods that is easy to check with a visual.

 

Does the car drive like it should with those parts? No issues with the drivability? I know the car is tuned and that sometimes can throw off what to expect sometimes. Is the suspension stock except for the STI springs? I know I had some issues with my fourth gen 3.0R and the Bilsteins blowing I figured I would throw that in since they both use the same suspension to a degree. It’s nothing you can’t fix later with a better setup and it’s something I would not dwell on.

 

Is it a real Spec B? The seats should give this away right off the bat. Sorta like telling a fake STI from a real one. In fact just thought of we do have a Spec B portion on this forum with numbers attached. Hopefully your potential future car is on the list! Would give it a lot of provenance.

 

The exhaust is a great setup. The Borla is generally a great tone. Not annoying like what you would see in a Honda B18 or something. I assume it’s running on stock cats?

 

As far as the dyno numbers seems right where it should be. Of course you could get it retuned and then put on a dyno if you are wanting to chase a specific number as far as HP/TQ is concerned.

 

To me the concern is the parts and the build for the car makes the asking price seem like you should use some caution.

 

Thanks for the insight! The asking price was 16000, but I worked him down a bit because most of the interest for the car was a number of states away + he wanted to avoid shipping costs/insurance, which I probably should've mentioned in the first place.

 

He has receipts in the listing, and he included so many pictures of not only the engine bay but the rest of the car as well. Suspension is stock excluding the sti springs from what he's told me so far. As far as it being a real spec.B, the seats and original badge check out, as well as the VIN, so I should be okay in that department. Horsepower-wise, even 300whp is fine by me, so either way I think I'll get a conservative e-tune for what's in there and leave it at that for the time being.

 

Again, I really appreciate your insight and if there's anything else you think of I'd be happy to listen! I've always been in an impreza so I have yet to learn a lot about the legacies.

[tslamc]

320whp on a VF39 Turbo

 

I've seen sti's make ~340whp on stock turbos so I don't think it's too out of line, though I'd definitely need to upgrade the turbo if I wanted to make more power.

[MoleMan]

I've seen sti's make ~340whp on stock turbos so I don't think it's too out of line, though I'd definitely need to upgrade the turbo if I wanted to make more power.

 

 

It’s all about the BOOST! You could always get an accessport for it as well. But the tune should have better settings if it was done right.

 

Still 340 HP is not that much HP. For instance my S4 is running a JB4 tune from Burger Motorsports and puts out a bit over 400 HP and 414 TQ.

 

I say get the car and enjoy it!

[Subsandwich]

Nice.

 

I would inquire more about the ringland failure, mainly did it fail before/after mods, and if tuning was changed to help it out. The other thing to be aware of is the whole forged vs oem piston debate (I'm not an expert, just from what I read forged pistons may introduce cold slap, and burn more oil, and require another rebuild xxxxx miles down the road).

 

Otherwise:

- <edited> What area is it from? Rust belt states do numbers on the car

- Nothing in the mod list mentions changing timing belt and all other consumables, since the engine was rebuilt it would've been good to get that done at the same time. If it was changed, ask specifically about what kit was used (some kits, which escape my mind, have been shown to fail earlier than expected)

- Nothing mentioned about clutch in the mod list. Is it stock? Going out? How about master/slave cylinder?

- Ask if the Banjo Bolt still has the filter or if it was stripped (again I'm not an expert, some people like it one way, other prefer the other).

- Check the Turbo Bypass Valve (I don't see it listed in the mod list, sometimes they can go bad and limit boost, otherwise, some people rice out and convert to a BOV)

- As always, it would be nice if you could take it out for a good test drive

- Even better if you can get it to a lift and do a thorough inspection, or have someone else do a good inspection for you (check leaks around head gasket, not as common on turbos but this has been further boosted and rebuilt, check brake fluid color, look for fluid leaks, etc)

 

That's all I can think of for now

Edited December 3, 2021 by Subsandwich

[tslamc]

Nice.

 

I would inquire more about the ringland failure, mainly did it fail before/after mods, and if tuning was changed to help it out. The other thing to be aware of is the whole forged vs oem piston debate (I'm not an expert, just from what I read forged pistons may introduce cold slap, and burn more oil, and require another rebuild xxxxx miles down the road).

 

Otherwise:

- <edited> What area is it from? Rust belt states do numbers on the car

- Nothing in the mod list mentions changing timing belt and all other consumables, since the engine was rebuilt it would've been good to get that done at the same time. If it was changed, ask specifically about what kit was used (some kits, which escape my mind, have been shown to fail earlier than expected)

- Nothing mentioned about clutch in the mod list. Is it stock? Going out? How about master/slave cylinder?

- Ask if the Banjo Bolt still has the filter or if it was stripped (again I'm not an expert, some people like it one way, other prefer the other).

- Check the Turbo Bypass Valve (I don't see it listed in the mod list, sometimes they can go bad and limit boost, otherwise, some people rice out and convert to a BOV)

- As always, it would be nice if you could take it out for a good test drive

- Even better if you can get it to a lift and do a thorough inspection, or have someone else do a good inspection for you (check leaks around head gasket, not as common on turbos but this has been further boosted and rebuilt, check brake fluid color, look for fluid leaks, etc)

 

That's all I can think of for now

 

I got the documentation for everything that's been done, which is good, and the 93 tune was after the pistons were installed to assist with that, which is also good.

 

It's from NC which is much better than the tri-state area in terms of rust, and when I took a look at it and underneath it, it was in extremely good condition, big green flag. Clutch was also replaced with an exedy one to accommodate the extra power.

 

I appreciate the info, and everyone's tips overall were also a great resource to use when I went to test drive it the other day.