Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon

locke2c

Ken-- i'd say the manual boost controller has something to do with the gains too, considering the way the stock ECU manages boost.

-Colin

barresa62

When I did the Vishnu Stage 0 upgrade I had the pulley/belts, plugs, unichip, & uppipe done first. The MBC was put on about a week later once my turboboost gauge came. The MBC made the single biggest noticeable difference. Haven't said that, I don't necessarily recommend going the MBC route w/o some sort of engine mgmt upgrade.

Stephen

kens

Colin,

Forgot about the boost controller.

Ken

jeans4

Hello folks, just wondering if anyone here has bought a WRX wagon from Fitzautomall or the Fitzgerald dealerships ? I'm considering making a purchase and would like some feedback on this dealership - positive & negative experiences.

Thanks, Garry

ateixeira

Yes, well sort of. We bought our 2002 Legacy L there. My cousin bought his '99 Outback there, and my dad bought his Outback Limited there. I went with my dad, and they treated him well enough that I went back when it was my wife's turn.

The sales experience was my best ever. No haggling, no pressure, no nonsense, no surprises. Their price is the price you pay, just add tax and tags. Every other dealer I've even been to would add processing fees and freight to their prices.

E-mail me and I'll put you in touch with one of two salesman there that I know at the Rockville location. Just add "@ifc.org" to my handle.

-juice

rsholland

from Fitzgeralds, and would do it again.

Bob

ateixeira

He's shopping at the Florida location. They promised terms similar to mine, so I suggested he go for it.

-juice

lilbluewgn02

at Fitzgerald's in Clearwater...good pricing and no hassle..
I got the WRX wagon at Mastro in Tampa...great place...ask for Pete Mastro...they are very mod friendly also

jeans4

Thanks to all for their advice on purchasing from Fitzgerald. I've just got to figure out exactly which options I want and order the car.

Garry

djasonw

I am not too knowledgable regarding tire sizes so please bear with me. I happen to have a set of Blizzak tires that are 205-50-16. I see that the current tires on my wagon are 205-55-16. Will the blizzaks work on my car? If they do, are there any disadvantages? Thanks so much for your help.

wrxdriver

I bought a WRX in April. It ran well for the first 5000 miles. Then, in August, the car just wouldn't start up. I called Roadside Assistance, and it took two hours for them to arrive (they told me to lie to the Subaru hotline about how long they took to arrive). The car was towed to Performance Subaru in Chapel Hill, NC.

Basically, they told me it was all in my head. "You only have an eighth of a tank in there. You probably parked it on a hill." They were unable to find something wrong with it. I don't think they checked very hard. I got my car back a day or two later.

A few days after that, the car stranded me in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Very unpleasant. I called roadside assistance and the car was again towed on a flatbed to Performance Subaru. The car started while being jumped but stalled out on the way to the parking lot. This time, they did a more thorough check and replaced the battery. I got the car back.

The car ran OK until a few days ago. I took a five day trip and the car would not start on my return. I jumped the car, then it stalled out again in the parking lot. I managed to drive it back to Performance Subaru, but they were again unable to find anything wrong.

I am now initiating procedures under the Lemon law.

Incidentally, I now think I may be having problems with the ABS as well. I understand this is a fairly common problem.

Please post if you have had similar electrical system problems.

Josh

rochcom

With the 50 series in place of the 55s, you will likely experience a somewhat harsher ride, you will have a small speedometer/odometer error, and you will run a slightly greater risk of damaging your wheels if you hit a pothole. There is also a possbility that your ground clearance will be reduced to the point where something will be more likely to scrape on bumps when fully loaded or when making a transition on a flat road to or from a steep incline.

bluesubie

Call 1800Subaru3 and tell them you would like to start a case concerning your issues.
I'm not sure, but that dealer may post on the i-club (www.i.club.com/forums).

I know it's not good, but I've driven Subaru's with the gas gauge touching "E".

-Dennis

ateixeira

Josh: first off, that stinks. Take a deep breath. I'd be a little peeved too.

Do call 800-SUBARU3 and open up a case. That is not typical at all, so it can be fixed. Demand a loaner car and a thorough check with the help of the regional head mechanics.

My guess is the ECU is bad. You could probably even win a Lemon Law fight, but then you'd have to give up the WRX, which is IMO a fantastic car. I'd work harder at fixing it.

I would not use those snow tires. You lose ground clearance when it matters most - in the snow.

-juice

dfgriggs

"I don't necessarily recommend going the MBC route w/o some sort of engine mgmt upgrade." from post #2802.

Are you talking chip upgrade?

I have heard of guys just doing some kind of bleed off valve thing in the vacuum line with no mention of any ECU mods. Why is it necessary? Won't the stock ECU learn how to control the air fuel mixture to prevent high temps and running lean?? Any help will be apreciated as you can see I'm a nOOb at this and I'm learning on my WRX.

David

dfgriggs

"I don't necessarily recommend going the MBC route w/o some sort of engine mgmt upgrade." from post #2802.

Are you talking chip upgrade?

I have heard of guys just doing some kind of bleed off valve thing in the vacuum line with no mention of any ECU mods. Why is it necessary? Won't the stock ECU learn how to control the air fuel mixture to prevent high temps and running lean?? Any help will be apreciated as you can see I'm a nOOb at this and I'm learning on my WRX.

David

cptplt

browsing at Borders last night. I think it was in Sports Compact Car or something, but they compared a BMW330ci(RWD) vs Acura Integra RSX (FWD) vs WRX (AWD). WRX won though Bimmer subjectively seemed
"faster" but not by the clock! What was funny was their comment about the 330Ci with the traction control and DSC not turned off, it was "as fun as driving a Chrysler minivan!"

ateixeira

The Bimmer with the DSC off probably felt faster because the driver was sweating bullets, afraid he'd spin out at any minute.

So the WRX was quicker and felt safer doing it, it would seem.

-juice

kenoka

The magazine you were reading was Grassroots Motorsports. A very good article, I thought. It dispells the old saw about AWD not helping dry road handling though, doesn't it?

kevin111

A guy in the cubical near me has an RSX Type-S, and another guy right near me salivates about the 330i (he has a 325i).

revka

because the tone was not appropriate for our Town Hall discussions. Let's start over now on a friendlier note. Also, back to the subject of the Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon. Thanks!

Revka

Hatchbacks & Wagons Host

stoner420

5500 mi on my red wagon (best color for wagon, btw ;-) and I'm getting 18-20mpg in southwestern CT about 50:50 city/highway ..

so far no problems, though certainly I'm nervous about the tranny every time I make the slightest mistake (and especially once in a great while the really nasty THUNK! type of mistake *eek*..), or the rare occasion my wife tries to drive it *eek*. The engine did seem a bit hesitant to start once the other night, but hasn't repeated since.. I'll be keeping my eye on that.

I definitely had issues with the low-end (lack of) torque in the beginning, but it's something you learn to compensate for after a bit (at least with the manual). I'd really like to get something like a vishnu, but 1) the wife, 2) the warranty issues.. If Subaru comes out with STi wagon like next year or two, I am SO there!!

djasonw

Does anyone know if Subaru plans to introduce VDC to the WRX? I've heard some good things about this system as I have it in my MB C320. Granted its an AWD vehicle but it CAN save your but coming around a curve and you are OFF the throttle on a slippery surface.

bluesubie

I doubt it. The Outback VDC received a lot of criticism from the press and performance-oriented driver's when it debuted without a VDC off button.

Subaru added one the following model year, but the VDC automatically comes on at 30 mph regardless. Just stay ON the throttle in the slippery stuff.

Plus there's cost. Heck, the U.S. WRX doesn't even have a rear cup holder option (like the UK) and heated mirrors and seats (like Canada)! :-)

-Dennis

paisan

Does have VTD which is the bulk of the VDC system. The only think missing is the brakes being applied when skidding, which you don't want on a performance car.

-mike

kevin111

With all-wheel drive, do you really need either VDC or DSC? Especially in a performance car?

In a minivan, a SUV, or a non-performance oriented car, I completely understand the need.

ateixeira

Some families get WRXs, too, and I could those buyers wanting it. I'd pay an extra $400 to get it, for instance.

-juice

bluesubie

Only if you can completely disable it.

Besides braking sensors, VDC has steering angle, yaw velocity, lateral acceleration and 4 wheel speed sensors.

-Dennis

ateixeira

Where's a good technical description of the whole VDC system?

-juice

djasonw

If you want to learn a little bit more Subaru has some good information on their website. I must say for a small car company they have an EXCELLENT website. I agree with everyone else with respect to an ON/OFF switch. Just for fun last year I took my C320 in about 3-4 inches of snow in a HUGE empty parking lot. I turned off the ESP (aka VDC) and the vehicle was unmanageable even with snow tires. When I had my '96 A4 I had Blizzaks and to be quite honest, couldn't care less about stability programs back then because the tires and Quattro were that good. BUT... I wouldn't mind having it at least as an option. BTW... I think the Subie AWD system (in the automatic) is superior to the current Quattro system.

ateixeira

I agree - because VTD can be proactive, while Quattro torsen center diffy and 4 wheel traction control are purely reactive.

-juice

paisan

Even the ESP enabled vehicles can't completely turn it off I've heard. It gets much less intrusionary, but still is "active" even in "off" mode.

-mike

ateixeira

What about VDC? Is it totally off, or does it just have a much higher threshold?

-juice

paisan

But only to 30mph on the wheels. So if you spin em and hit 30mph, it kicks back in.

-mike

bluesubie

juice - Here's a good technical description in pdf format.

http://210.101.116.115/fisita/pdf/G347.pdf

-Dennis

ateixeira

Thanks, someone in another topic had some questions about it, this should answer them.

-juice

nixomose

Okay, so I haven't been here in a while (no wrx's in ireland by the way, that I saw)

Somebody mentioned a while ago switch for ABS. After the first 2 times my abs kicked in, I got to thinking about how AWD and ABS don't seem to go well together. I think I can do better without it. (But there's this nice relaxing feeling I get when I have to brake hard and rather than superconcentrating on pumping to perfect pressure on the brakes, I just say "that's why there's ABS" and I yam on the pedal and let the car deal with it.) But It hink humans can do better than ABS.

Anyway, I recnently put sp8000's on my gti (the wrx has only 7000 miles on it, not going to replace brand new tires) I figure this way, I can get used to the crappy re92's so I'll really appreciate nice tires when I have to replace them.

But the sp8000's on my gti are amazing. highly recommended. Friend of mine with a eclipse gsx put sp9000's on it and they are too well worth the outragous cost.

kevin111

Saw this. Too bad I do not need tires right away.

ctwrx1

I've put an easy 8k on my wagon over the past fifteen months. I average 23.5 mpg with 2/3's highway and 1/3 city. My aggressive acceleration takes place in first from rolling starts, second and occasionally third. The car has been red lined about ten times. I find shifting at 6000 rpm to be as satisfying as 7000.
I've noticed a few changes in the way the engine behaves. The engine doesn't perform as smoothly when cold. The engine has always been a twitchy as it revs from 2500 to 3500 rpm, warm or not. At times it feels like a miss. The slightly rough idle used to be more of a gentle rocking motion. Now, at times, it feels like a genuine miss. Anyone experiencing the same behavior?
The power has always come on somewhat inconsistently. Sometimes the car lifts off so fast in first gear it surprises me. Other times the turbo doesn't come on so strong. I've assumed it is the nature of this turbo. My only other experience with turbos was with an 80's Volvo and a Buick Grand National. Both were smoother.
I started using Mobil I after the 1000 mile break in. The oil level has been up to full when I changed the oil at 3000 mile intervals. However, I had to add a little oil 1500 miles into my last change. Anyone adding oil between changes? I will be very surprised if using oil is normal for this engine.
The weather just turned colder in CT. Now I'm hearing either valve lash or piston slap at idle and just off idle. Anyone have to get your valves adjusted this early?
Cold weather shifting from first to second can be unforgiving. I have to shift quickly or the shifter gets so stiff it feels like I'm inflicting damage, double clutching or not.
I love the car more every day but wonder if I need to schedule a visit to the dealership.
Lastly, I am no fan of aluminum hoods. My beautiful hood now sports an acorn ding and a crease from dropping a bicycle helmet on it. I was shocked to see the dent a styrofoam helmet left with a glancing blow from barely two feet.

snead_c

My practices and reactions are very similar(after 17,000 miles) ...especially the 2500 to 3500 "hops." I have not added any mid change Mobil1 and I go to 4000 miles. I do love the car even with its crease in the al hood from a highway stone.Did you get a creak from the passenger side seat belt attachment yet? BTW I changed the tires to SP 5000's and note improved handling and no noise in turns.

ctwrx1

I guess I'm not too surprised to hear most of the engine related quirks described in my previous message are common with the WRX. I haven't heard any creaks from the passenger side seat belt attachment, yet. I have heard some noises from the rear suspension in hard turns, almost like something is loose and banging around. Suppose I should remove the tire change kit and see if it goes away.
Living in Connecticut there are lots of twisties to have fun on. However, as a law abiding citizen I haven't been able to put the Bridgestone Potenzas to the test. The WRX reaches warp speeds so quickly the fun is over in an instant!

djasonw

The other day I was on route 84 in NE PA and sprinted to over 100 mph for a few seconds. I noticed a STRANGE noise (howling moose?) over 100 mph. Since I have the wagon I was attributing it to the wind passing over the roof rails. Anyone else ever hear this odd noise? I doubt I'd do anything drastic to fix it since I rarely cruise over 80-85.

kevin111

On a rare occasion I hear a rattle and was wondering what it is. Only hear it once in a while though.

Moose Noise over 100 mph - I assume it is the rails, because when I did this in the sedan (twice), never had any unusual noises. I can see the rails making this type of noise with air rushing under them.

stoner420

Radio antenna? Can hear mine whistling slightly at 80mph sometimes.

Anyone ever have any problems with their tranny popping out of 1st under heavy engine breaking (eg going down a steep hill in 1st)? Is it a symptom of wearing dog teeth? Mine has done this to me twice recently in the last few weeks (5700mi), but I seem to have no problems during acceleration.

p0926

Stoner420- Wow, that must be some steep hill! I've never had the need to use 1st for braking. Are you starting off in 1st or are you down-shifting to it? Hopefully the former as I can't imagine that down-shifting to 1st does the transmission any good.

-Frank P.

jimmys2

Yes, I have 5k on my motor and run full synthetic(Castrol). I had to add a quart yesterday and my oil was changed about 1k miles ago. I know it was full before 'cos I checked the level carefully before I closed the hood. Funnily enough I did not add any oil prior to the last service. It's a recent development.

The only noise I hear is when I have a passenger and I'm driving over speed bumps or similar, I hear creaking as the front suspension compresses and rebounds. I had a previous car that made a similar noise and it turned out to be front struts. If anyone can shed some light...

lilbluewgn02

Check to see if the side mirror inspection stickers are still there...fold both mirrors and look for a small sticker, which can be removed (the pillow police won't arrest you!). They vibrate from the air going between the opening where it folds. I had noise also and read about this...once I took off the stickers, the noise was gone.

stoner420

Starting in 1st and remaining there while going down a residential neighborhood hill (not so steep, but don't want to be riding the brakes either). If I understand manual transmissions correctly, this would be a sign of the dog teeth wearing and popping out of gear due to the strain of the engine braking.

hunter001

Dennis: The WRX comes with 4-wheel speed sensors used by the 4-channel ABS as well as by the VTD center differential for apportioning torque. These sensors are not used for braking of individual wheels like the VDC does, since the function in the WRX is not "stability control" but to put the power into the ground. The pdf article you attached, is specifically about the VDC control (in combination with VTD) as opposed to explaining the VTD differential operation.

Moreover, the VDC Outback lacks a rear Limited Slip Differential. I think these are mutually exclusive options. The operation of the LSD might interfere with the VDC functions. On a car like the WRX, if I have to choose between the LSD and the Stability control (VDC), I would hands-down prefer the LSD, especially when combined with the VTD center differential (which both the VDC Outback and the WRX have).

But on the VDC Outback (with its near luxury connotations), I might prefer to have the VDC, assuming that a driver of the VDC wagon, would not indulge in too much sporty driving.

JMHO.

Later...AH

kens

Have you had a dealer take a look at it? I had a similar problem on my Forester and it turned out that the 1st gear fork was slightly out of alignment. Subaru replaced it under warranty for me.

Ken