Dino

Thanks Steveuk260 - that's a good call - never thought of that. I just checked the filler cap and on a small silver factory sticker on the pop out filler cover it says "Use unleaded 95RON only" :)

Actually, when you get to 50 years then your insurance is so low that most can afford to drive just about any powerful car if it's over 5 years old.

Agree. We tend to be safer drivers because we know what to expect from our cars. It's when someone gets in one and does not know and then the accidents happen. e.g. when stolen. Of course these insurance twats now want to stick devices in your car to measure how you drive, which is just an excuse to put your insurance up from what I've heard from many who've had one.

Does this mean that standard (non STi) UK cars tend not to be tuned for 98 Ron Super unleaded then? Just curious because I wondered whether this is why import cars are considered more powerful.

Thanks for the standard AFR info - very useful. I'll check and see what I'm getting... Yeah its definitely got a turbo... it's a 2007 WRX 2.5 and has the turbo and intercooler. Now it's interesting steveuk260 that you say not to run it on 95 Ron. The manual says it can run on 95 Ron or higher, however it suggests the WRX STi uses 98 Ron. Mine is not the STi :)

Found this... it's a good read for neat bits of road to try out. http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/drivingroads.html

I'm just using a standard ELM 327 OBDII scanner that I got working recently. It reads all live data and is working fine now. :) Interestingly, it works on my wife's Volvo and reads lean on start up before it settles down. Perhaps I need to run it for a while and then re-check the WRX when warmed up to see if it's still showing lean. I'm not really sure my WRX has been mapped, I don't believe it has. How would I know or tell please? All I did recently was tighten up all the air hoses connecting anywhere on the air induction connections, and put In a new standard air filter. The standard air box snorkel is fitted and I closed off the odd pressed holes which seemed to serve no purpose other than take air in at the back of the snorkel so perhaps this is allowing more air induction. My WRX seems like it's getting a whopping boost on acceleration. All codes are good. It just indicates its lean which concerned me a bit... I'll check your AFT output against my connected up scanner and see if it's comparable. Thanks all.

I'm using standard 95 ron, not super unleaded 98.

yeah, I reckon you're right. I tightened up all the air hoses and air intakes and there are no air leaks at all. I also plugged the small hole The standard air filter was replaced too for a clean new one. The improvement in acceleration after this was phenomenal! Checking with the car diagnostics device I could see it was still running lean as expected... What would I be looking for to see the "afr" on the car diagnostics please? Any idea? I'd like to see if it is around 11 which would make sense when lean if theoretical values are 14:7:1 on a normal standard petrol engine.

I've noticed that Subaru turbo engines are tuned to run lean. This is noticed particularly on cold start when its taking in even more air with electronic "choke" sensors apparently. Running lean means fuel conservation of course, but under heavy load can also lead to melting pistons I've read today. So, do these flat-4 engines run lean as designed or should they be run richer to conserve wear?

I got my standard ELM 327 OBDII code reader working :) Basically, the Universal Serial Bus controller FT4222 interface A needed assigning to the USB Serial COM Port. Once done - a quick and easy fix - the OBDII reader and PC software connected up to the engine's ECU. I can now read all codes on any car I've tried it on - nice. And I'm glad to say my WRX has no fault codes and is running well with O2 sensor operating and live data streaming. A really neat trick that may help you guys out.

M11 - you can boot it for miles without s-trap or cop$, especially after dark when they're all in the cop bar.

I was told I'm surplus to requirement at work today because my job is going to Poland. So I arranged to go to the pub for lunch as you do with such news. My boss wanted to go too for support I guess. I said I would drive. He accepted. He $hit himself on the way there

Great stuff. Word of warning, not advisable to post photos of a car with number plate. I knew someone who did this and their car reg was copied on a like car used in a bank robbery. The Police came to his door and he was arrested. He had to have a good alibi to get off the charges.

If one wheel is not balanced properly then you'd likely get steering wheel judder at about 60-70 mph. Another consideration is the wheel to hub being flat and clean. I usually smooth off both the back of the wheel and hub before putting some copper grease between the two when refitting. I've been told Toyo tyres are good presently, at about £85 per tyre.

Here's that thread I mentioned: http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/8874-lambda-sensor/

Welcome :)

Stants, in case it's something you've not checked yet, look at the outside of the tyre because it will have an outside (for outer wall) and a direction arrow. This needs to be correct else the tyre will make a noise, and be unsafe. Also, see what rating (V, W, etc) the tyre has. If it's different from the opposing wheel's tyre on the same axle then it may cause squeaking too where the load is different across the axle.

Nice and easy :)

Recall I posted something about Lambda sensors here a while back. ... have a search and see what's here. If it is the Lambda then it will run ok but use more fuel. It's more likely to be the front one.

What should we search for in Instagram to find it (for the uninitiated) ;)

ok, thanks for that good feedback david1972. I had a Volvo before where the fan was on all the time and it turned out to be a faulty VVT (variable valve timer). I've had Ford and Volvo and the Fan tended to stay on for about 20 seconds at a time when hot, but was concerned my WRX was cutting the Fan out to quickly at only 5 seconds.

When my WRX (07) is hot, it intermittently puts on the rad cooling fan for only about 5 seconds, like it's just doing what it needs to for cooling. Compared to your Impreza's does this sound right to you? The engine never gets over and the dashboard thermostat gauge remains just below middle when its running so I know the engine is cooling ok. So, question is whether the rad fan is just thermostatically cutting out really quick on purpose and whether its therefore all ok? Or whether its running in emergency mode and how would I know. Or is there some other problem causing this, or is it really a problem? Any comments please?

Cool a '92! Pics needed :)

I haven't pushed my WRX past 4500 revs since I bought it - no need too! It gets there quick enough. I found it interesting that if you put your seat position in the right place then you can tend to be on the accelerator harder a lot of the time and this uses more fuel of course. Also, you may think putting 98 ron petrol in will boost it more but the ECU tends to back off so using 95 ron in mine is best. With the WRX STI then 98 ron will be ok and give better performance because its tuned for it. If it gets from 0-60 in 5.5 secs then how much more push do you really need is the question. Tweeking the ECU will only give minimally more.