Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon

djasonw

Hi Keith... I've read about Dynamat and heard it's good for blocking out road noise. It's mainly used by audiophiles who want to mazimize their listening pleasure while driving. I was curious as to who installed the Dynamat. Did you do it yourself? Is there a big difference when you drive on the highway? I don't think the interior is that noisey except when going into a strong head wind over 75. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Dave

ponm

the interior of the wrx, or any car for that matter doesn't allow a good audio system to show it's true colors. Car interiors are too small to actually monitor or even judge the dynamics of a sound system. I'm not saying that you can't tell the difference between a 60 dollar stereo and a 1000 dollar one, but I'm pretty happy with the stock stereo in the wrx.

mikenk

I agree that with the right money, knowledge and some amount of luck, a good aftermarket audio system can be installed in the WRX. I don't agree that it will come close to a good home audio system for full spectrum sound. My primary point is that many people expect that you can go to the friendly Best Buy store, buy some new speakers, a new amp, install them, and viola: great sound. I believe that in most cases they will be disappointed and should have saved their money.

For those who have a mission for great aftermarket sound, go for it. It's great fun if you have the money and time.

Mike

mgreene1

I agree with Warpdrive that tires are the first thing to upgrade. The stock RE92s simply do not do this car justice.
The Subaru short shifter isn't a "must have" option but will make shifting more precise and improve the overall feel. It will be notchy at first and require more effort but will loosen up over time. I've had mine for several thousand miles and it's now pretty seamless. I'm pretty happy with it and would recommend if you want a more refined gearbox.

ipse_dixit

I'm considering buying a WRX wagon because of the great utility that it offers, but have three questions for wagon owners out there who compared their cars to the sedans.

First, was there a noticeable handling difference as a result of the narrower front and rear track on the wagons?

Second, could you feel the extra 80 lbs. that the wagon carries around and/or the shift in weight balance toward the rear?

Lastly, Subie's typical approach with its other vehicles is to only offer performance exhaust systems for the sedans, but it looks like Subaru offers the STi muffler on both the sedan and wagon WRX's--is that correct?

Much thanks for any input.

keithllb1

Dynamat was installed by Myer-Emco in the Wash. DC area, I like the fuller sound of the new speakers, but I couldn't get any speakers larger than the ones already installed in the doors, because of the windows getting in the way. But the dynamat is a help.

The only noises I hear are weird engine noises coming from the turbo, I will bring these issues up with my mechanic next week at my 1st. scheduled oil change at 2000+ miles. My car sounds like it has a low pitched idling noise after I run it moderately hard, and I notice it when the car idles afterwards.

gotwrx

The recommended maintenance schedule fo the WRX is similar to most modern cars. Here's are the major items I see from the owners manual. This is not a comprehensive list. Consult your manual for the actual requirements.

1000 mile break in period
First Oil and filter change at 3.5K/3mnths
Second at 7.5K/7.5mnths
Then every 7.5K/7.5mnths or 3.5k/3.75mnths if you drive severely
Major service at 30K/30mnth intervals
Spark plug replacement every 60K/60mnths
Drive and camshaft belt replacement at 105k/105mnths
Some more frequent maintenance for "severe driving"
No special maintainance for the turbo. Just change the oil regularly.
Apparently the valves should be checked/adjusted at 60K intervals but this is not mentioned in the owners manual.

General consensus is to change the oil on the more frequent schedule since if you own this car you are going to do some servere driving.
General expectation is that while the turbo will break and is expensive to fix it should last 100k to 150K prvided you change the oil and don't constantly boost from a cold start. My guess is that how long it lasts is inversely proportional to the number of times you test the max 0 to 60 time.

Yet to have mine serviced so I can't comment on cost. I imagine the major services are fairly expensive judging by the amount of gubbins they would have to take of to get at anything. I have yet to locate the spark plugs! On the up side I hear that changing the oil is fairly straight forward if you want to do it yourself. Haven't tried it myself.

Tim

gotwrx

Just to a trip to Tahoe with wife and two kids. Car was stuffed to the gills. Great fun never-the-less. However a bit of a squeeze.

Considering getting a cargo box. I have the factory cross rails. The two boxes I've looked at are the Thule Excursion and the Yakima Spacecadet. Anyone had any experience driving with these or any other recommendations before I part with the $200+ dollars

thanks,
Tim

WarpDrive

The difference between the sedan and wagon is small enough that I couldn't notice a difference. 80lbs is very minimal and I would be suprised if ANYBODY could feel that amount of weight unless brought it to a slalom and timed yourself in tenths of a second. The rear sway bar in the wagon can be upgraded to the sedan one yourself (for <$100).

The STi muffler is a ripoff even if you got them at invoice. I'd look elsewhere. The muffler will work on the wagon as well.

ateixeira

The wagon costs $500 less. Get the sway bar and you still have $400 plus all the extra space. You'll never notice the 80 lbs unless your name is Tommi M.

-juice

darthpaul22

1) how does one go about getting the sedan rear swaybar to put on the wagon?
2) if you want to make the fastest 0-60 time in the wagon, at what rpm do you change from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, etc?

Thanks for all the help.
- Paul

locke2c

2) redline, every time. don't bounce of the rev-limiter because it kills your momentum a bit.

-Colin

ateixeira

Any Subaru dealer will sell the sway bar, or go to subaruparts.com or Subaru-parts.com (they are different sites).

Anyone have the part numbers handy? Don't forget the bushings, too.

-juice

darthpaul22

i went to subaruparts.com and the part number for the rear sway bar is 20MMBAR. subaru-parts.com does not have an impreza section yet, it seems. anyway, thanks for the reference juice...i'll probably be making a few purchases off one of those sites.

- Paul

edcoak2001

I have a few thoughts to share from my experience with doing my own aftermarket stereo and sound damping install on my '02 RS:

Sound Damping
============
Dynamat and other damping materials can do amazing things to improve the sound of your stereo and reduce the level of noise inside. I have applied damping material (see next paragraph for info on my discount version, much cheaper than Dynamat..) to the inside and outside surfaces of all 4 doors on my '02 RS, effectively creating sealed chambers out of the doors - resulting in a drastic imrovement in bass response from the door speakers. Even the base speakers sounded decent before I replaced with Polk EX365's(front)/352's(rear). I also lined the inside of the trunk lid and was amazed at how little bass can be heard from my 10" sub from outside of the car, even at very high volumes. For general noise reduction, I just completed lining the trunk floor and strut tower surfaces and can testify that a very significant reduction was achieved.

As far as my "discount" sound damping material, you may think I'm a little crazy, but I found this stuff at Home Depot called "Quik-Fix" gutter repair tape (made by company called Protecto-Wrap...). It is an ashpalt elastomer sheeting about 0.06-inch thick with and aluminum face on one side and a very agressive adhesive on the other (kinda sounds like some other sound damping materials...). It comes in 6-inch wide by 25-foot long rolls for $15.00, or a little more than a $1 per sq foot!!! I used a total of 5 rolls to do the insides/outsides of all 4 doors, trunk floor and inside of trunk lid - all for a grand total of about $75. One warning - if you use this stuff for your doors, make sure to by a roll of aluminum tape and tape over all exposed seams to prevent 3-4 weeks of tar/asphalt smell inside the car.

Aftermarket Installs
==============
If you're on a limited budget, need to finance at time of purchase, or just don't care that much about sound quality, then go ahead and get the base or upgraded systems. A properly installed car system can very easily rival the sound quality of a good home system. I have not invested too big of a pile of money (around $1200 so far with another $200 for a head unit to go...) and have a system that in my opinion sounds better than any $1200 home system (and my home system cost a helluva lot more than that...). One of my favorite ways to make a car system sound great is to install a center channel (do a search for "center channel" to see my install in front of the stick...).

Our other car is a VDC and I continue to be impressed with the McIntosh system. Despite what some may think, it is a true McIntosh system and not just an "up-tuned" Clarion system. It is exceptionally well balanced and has surprising amount of bass for having only a 6"x9" woofer. Having tweeters mounted up by the A-Pillar really makes for the clean-crisp sound even with the passenger seat occupied...

locke2c

alright, I give. I will never say anything about McIntosh gear being Clarion again.

I'm sure that every bit of the VDC's McIntosh gear was made in the UK, not a bit of it Japanese.

-Colin

barresa62

The bar you want is the 20mm rearsway from the WRX sedan. It is on their site and has been for awhile. This is where I got mine for my WRX wagon. Most of the accessories/parts are interchangeable w/Impreza OBS,TS,RS hence not much of a separate section on their site.

Stephen

tricycle

I've followed ipse dixit's query and responses - I too am mulling over the same quandary(wrx sedan or wagon). Since this is the wagon board, I assume most here who did try the sedan did not find any handling trade-off in the wagon too painful, if indeed even noticeable. I've driven both versions, though, and each time have found the (stock) sedan noticeably nimbler and more communicative than the wagon. Wagon's not at all bad, mind you, but just not as tight as the sedan. As dixit's post implied, those who, like me, have observed a difference have fingered the wagon's narrower track as the culprit. In just about every other way, though, the wagon seems to me more inviting and useful.

Car magazine in the UK rather roundly dismissed the wagon, calling it one of "the 10 most disappointing cars of 2001." But the wheel track specs for the UK version of the wagon (or "estate" as they like to say)are, according to my humble calculations (my calculator's calculation's, actually) substantially narrower than the US version. At least in theory, that would make differences in the car's handling that much more pronounced.

I'm driving a rental now, and must make up my blooming mind on this issue quite soon, so here's my added question: does anyone who DID notice a handling difference in favor of the sedan find the wagon sufficiently improved by either the heftier sway bar fix suggested earlier, or the 17" wheels, or any other changes in the suspension or wheels (e.g., struts, springs...)??? There's an after-market vendor where I live that makes all these modifications, though prices quickly climb to high 20K's and the value gets a bit murky at that altitude... Anyway, all further info appreciated!

paisan

Once you upgrade the sway-bar there should be no handling differences between the sedan and the wagon, unless your name is Tommy M! Any differences would be purely placibo effect.

-mike

WarpDrive

As far as the differences in feel go, getting the sways makes a noticeable difference.

Also the track difference between wagon and sedan is overblown. Go one size up with some rubber and you're even. Heck even some tires of the same size will make up the difference.

If anything, the wagon has better weight distribution and the upgrading the sways may even give it the edge in neutrality in handling over the sedan.

ateixeira

$500 in mods can go a long way...

-juice

locke2c

not really, good tires chew up all of it and possibly (probably?) more.

no mod will affect handling and braking as much as that...

-Colin

ateixeira

I'd do a variety of things. Sway bar definitely, maybe end links. Tires eventually, maybe a 2nd set of rims too. The $500 wouldn't pay for it all, but you'd want new tires even if you got a sedan.

-juice

bkaiser1

I've had a Yakima RocketBox for a few years now and I must say it is invaluable for transforming a small car into a large car. I bought it for my Honda Civic (the car before my 'Roo) and, yes, the rocket box was nearly as large as the car but it made camping/road tripping so much easier. My roof rack on the Civic accommodated the box and 4 bikes, which was a *very* big load, and I never had a moments trouble in the thousands of miles I logged fully loaded.

Some observations, though:
1) Without a load, just having the box up top decreased my highway mileage to about 26-27 (from about 31-33 naked). Throw a headwind in, and I would lose a few more mpg due to the need to stay out of 5th gear. Your WRX should not be affected as much in this regard with 2x the power of my Civic, but the possibility exists. Fully loaded up top and in a headwind, I recorded an all time low for Civic MPG at a sickening 14mpg! With just 11 useable gallons in the tank, we were barely making it from station to station across Nevada/Utah.
2) The box made the car much more susceptible to cross winds, requiring a firm hand (or 2) on the wheel at all times, but it's certainly managable.

I have not yet used it on my Outback because the car is large enough as it is and I've been too lazy to convert the mounting brackets over to the factory rack setup. Get the box, you'll love it. You'll use it a thousand times and wonder how you ever got along without it!

Brian

tricycle

Thanks to all who responded on this issue - your thoughts are much appreciated! One clarification: of the mods suggested to equalize handling in the wagon (sway bar, tires/wheels, maybe end links) - I'm assuming these are things people have tried and which delivered the desired level of improvement. If so, they do seem pretty reasonable, price-wise (the bar and tires, anyway). Thanks again!

barresa62

It absolutely transforms the wagon! The rear bar alone makes a big difference even w/o better 16" tires or 17"tire/wheel. I also have a 22mm front sway bar. I did these mods in stages to see how each felt and what I was comfortable with. I would recommend doing it in stages as well.

WRX sedan?? Don't need no stinkin' sedan, LOL (only teasing sedan owners!) :-)

Stephen

gotwrx

Thanks Brian,
Looks like another choice might be the Thule Evolution 1600. Its silver just like my precious. More bucks though. I checked out the Excursion but its rear opening seems small and inconvenient. The Yakima SpaceCadet - just not sure if I want to adorn my car with that name -seems better but its $100 more since Thule is on sale at REI now which also puts the Evolution in the same range. It is 20inches longer which is good - I could put skis in it if I ever bought some _ but bad in that there will be more overhang. Just have to measure.
Tim

gotwrx

The UK subaru site, www.subaru.co.uk, says the UK WRX wagon has
1460mm front, 1450mm rear where as the UK sedan has 1485mm front, 1480mm rear. That's a difference of 25mm front, 30mm rear. 1 inch is approx 24mm.

The US subaru site says the US WRX wagon has
57.5 inches front and 57.3 inches rear where as the sedan has 58.5 inches front and 58.3 inches rear. That's a difference of about 1 inch front and 1 inch rear.

If the numbers are correct then the UK wagon has a 5mm (about 1/4 inch) narrower track on the rear relative to the UK sedan than the US Wagon has relative the the US Wagon. Boy do we rate! Strangely the UK TS and GX wagons have slightly wider (+5mm) tracks than the UK WRX wagons unlike the US where all the wagons are supposed to be the same.

My guess is some of these numbers are wrong and that all the wagons actually have the same track, the reason being economies of manufactureing. I really can't see why they would be different. But then its a mystery to me why the sedan should be different. Probably just to promote newsgroup debates I expect.

Given the wagon is nearly 2 inches taller than the sedan and has a plushier rollbar on the back, in combination with the fact that Sedan reviews generally have the 17inch wheels and Wagon reviews generally are with the automatic transmission its no wonder that confusion reigns.

I think a sway bar upgrade might be in my future but I have to see how that affects the SCCA newbie class qualifications in case I want to go wreck a set of tires on a weekend.

Tim

gotwrx

http://subaru.rivals.net/?p=2&sid=1100&stid=206347

stuff on wrc and a history of subaru

http://www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm

all the details about the turbo cars we didn't get here. Last updated in 2000 but quite fun. I particularly liked the describtion of odd subaru controls.

"The Centre Diff Lock

WRX STi owners have a dial which can be used to generate a burning smell from the middle of the car. STiV owner and Nürburgring expert Phil Gardner describes the correct use:..."

tim

rsholland

UK WRXs also get 17"x7" rims, which may account for the track difference. I do agree; I think the specs are wrong. I can't imagine the UK model, with 17" rims would have a narrower track.

Bob

hunter001

... 25.4mm = 1 inch.

Later...AH

ponm

I think the difference between the sedan and the wagon are very small. Before I bought my wagon, I was dead set on getting the sedan, of course until my wife said, "if you are trading in your truck that we haul things in, you better get the wagon." My wife and I have a very active lifestyle, biking, camping, etc, the wagon was the perfect choice. When comes down to 80lb difference in weight, I put that in quick perspective( thats a full tank of gas compared to a half a tank), or a small second passenger. I bought a wagon with no extra options, and some people who buy the sedan and load it with options are adding weight(spoiler, amplifer...)So the idea of carrying around an extra 80lbs for extra room was well worth it. Besides the ole' rule of thumb, extra 100lbs adds a tenth of a second to 0-60. A tenth of a second, whats a tenth, unless your a professional driver. Compared to my wifes jetta, the wrx wagon has very little body roll, but I could see how some people can feel it. Unless you plan on taking it to the track, I really don't see the need to replace the roll bar. I'm sure subaru put the smaller roll bar on the wagon to help with carrying loads of cargo. The only true difference I felt between the wagon and the sedan was the cabin feel. In the sedan it felt more cramped(in a good way), like the car was wedge all around me, where as in the wagon I can feel their is more space(not in the way it drives) behind me, I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain. Either choice is a good choice though.
p.s. Last week, I bought furniture that I was able to put down the back seats and fit in the wagon. It would have never of happened with the sedan.

Check out this months MOTORTREND, they do a full length article on the wrx, matrix and the protege5

gotwrx

I was just testing to see if you knew:)

Also there a comparison of sport wagons in one of the mags this month. Saturn, Audi, WRX and one other but they are all automatics.

Tim

barresa62

I happened to glance at the latest issue w/the comparison test between the Protege5, WRX wagon, and Toyota Matrix. I was in a hurry but saw that they liked the WRX wagon but rated the Matrix #1 just ahead of the WRX. I'm not sure what their criteria was. The article did say that they upgraded the WRX wagon w/better tires/wheels but I'm not sure if they were 16's or 17's. They got a 65mph slalom speed but were hoping for higher. They hustled the lil' wagon to 60mph in 5.86 secs. Pretty good (insert understatement here)as the sedan was 5.8 last year in their mag. I'm pretty sure this involved a clutch drop or at least a serious clutch slip. Impressive nonetheless. Now, I'm going to have to buy the mag just for this article! :-)

Stephen

gotwrx

Seems to be coming from the engine compartment and is more noticeable in lower gears on surface streets.

Also I noticed a the hood support has a light gray foam rubber collar 1 inch long that appears not to do anything. I think it may be in the wrong place. It's currently about 9 inches down from the hook.

I'm hoping that this is incorrectly positioned and that it might be the cause of the noise. The support seems to rub against this.

Anyone care to take a look under your hood and see if I'm correct about the position of the foam rubber collar.

Thanks,
Tim

artgecko

I'm so bummed this morning, that I'm cross posting of my woes to all the car boards I'm on. Forgive me if you've already seen this, but I was so pumped up to go to my first Auto-X, and then the Subie gods conspired against me. Below is my original post to the regional SCCA SOLO II boards...

___begin quote___
I tried to make it down to Akron to my first event Sunday, but didn't make it.

I got packed Saturday evening and had the new car all washed up. Got up early this morning, even though I lost an hour today, and had a good breakfast, and hit the road only about 10 minutes later than I wanted to. Stopped in North Ridgeville to get gas, and started pumping about the same time I noticed I didn't have my wallet. Fortunately, I had only gone 5 miles instead of 50. So home I went , got the wallet, went back and got gas, and hit the road again.

Eleven miles later, in a construction zone on the Ohio Turnpike, I hear and feel the distinctive indications of a flat tire (right rear.) These things only have 1770+ miles on them! As I was in an area with no berm, I had to drive about a half mile just to find an area wide enough to pull over. I moved the stuff from the back onto the folded down rear seat (Sport wagon) and change the tire. Fortunately, everything is brand new, and easy to work on. Unfortunately, the spare is a full diameter emergency spare.

I got back on the road, but I didn't want to drive the 30 or more miles down to Akron and then the 50+ back on a temporary spare, so I got off at the next exit and headed home...

Technical question: Would the temporary spare qualify as an OEM wheel, so I could stay in stock? :-)

I haven't had a flat tire in almost 30 years, and never one at speed. I probably damaged the tire too much driving that half mile, but I'll go out and take a look at it after a while. Didn't really get a good look with trucks buzzing by just a few feet away! I knew autocross was hard on tires, but I thought everyone meant on the course, not on your way there!

I have British car show conflicts the next two meets (1958 MGA ) so I'll have to make a decision with those. I don't want to wait until July to try this again. Maybe I'll look into the ASCC event in two weeks, or one of my British car friends participates in Toledo with his Triumph, so I might go with him.

Anyway, thanks for the tips over the past week or so, and sorry I didn't get to meet all of you. I'll get there yet...

Steve
___end quote___

ipse_dixit

Thanks to everyone for all the input. In response to the comment about the 0-60 times in MotorTrend, see the following link:

http://www.turbomagazine.com/archives/tech/tech09_wheels.shtml

The gist of it is that the 17-inch wheels used in the MotorTrend test actually could have hurt the car's straight-line performance.

artgecko

OK, so I get a good look at the tire I flatted this morning, and it is toast.I would feel bad about wearing the sides down so bad that it would be unsafe to use, but the big 2" long cut in the inside makes it irrelevant. I can't talk myself or Mrs Steve into replacing one bad tire with four new more expensive ones, so I need to get a new Potenza RE92.

I look on TireRack for pricing comparisons, and find three RE92 205-55-16 VR tires offered; regular ones at $116, Subaru ones at $128, and takeoffs at $71. Why are the Subaru ones different? It doesn't show any different specs. Are all takeoffs brand new, or just ones people trade in after driving for a day, week, or whatever?

I'll probably end up at the Firestone/Bridgestone dealer in Elyria to get one anyway, since I don't want to drive around on the tempororary spare too long.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Steve

hunter001

Look carefully at the "specs" of the RE92 tires, especially the "diameter", "revolutions/mile" etc and you will find that the subaru-spec RE92s are slightly different from the "other" v-rated RE92, which in turn is different from the H-rated RE92.

Later...AH

hunter001

The significant difference in this particular case, is the following:

1) The 17" BBS wheels are lighter and significantly stronger than the 16" stock wheels. So weight would play a role here, in favor of the 17" wheels.

2) About "effective gear ratio", the 17" wheels, when they are outfitted with the Subaru-spec RE011 tires, have a lower overall diameter than the 16" stock wheels with the RE92 tires. The overall diameter of the RE92 tires on the 16" wheels, is 25.1 inches (830 revs per mile), while the overall diameter of the RE011 tires on the optional 17" wheels is 24.6 inches (847 revs per mile). Thus there is an "effective gear ratio" reduction (with a reduction in overall diameter of 1/2 an inch) with the optional 17" wheel/tire combination, thus allowing the car to accelerate way better than with the stock 16s. The 215/45R17 RE011 tires are also lighter than the 22lbs of the stock 205/55R16 tires, at 21 lbs.

Thus with the optional 17" rims and the 215/45R17 tires, the vehicle should be able to accelerate significantly better than with the stock 16" tire/wheel combo. So if someone does a test with the stock tire/wheel combo, it would not really compare to another test done with the optional 17" tires, since that would be significantly slower than the test done with the 17s, not to mention the much better grip afforded by the RE011 tires, over the stock RE92 tires that would enable much better braking, handling and acceleration.

Later...AH

artgecko

Didn't see that! All the other numbers were the same, so I guess I skimmed over those two far right columns. Thanks!

I'll have to make sure they know that when I call to order. I found that a local boutique type tire store chain around here, Mueller Tire, also carries Bridgestone, so I'll try them before I try the F/B dealer store. I've been there. Once. And I don't want to go again.

Mueller has a real good reputation with wheel care, and includes mounting balancing, and road hazzard, in their price, not as an add-on.

I've copied every number off of the tire, so they should be able to figure out which ones are hte Subaru specific size. I wouldn't think 830 rev/mile vs 833 rev/mile would make a difference, but with AWD, I guess it would think one wheel is slipping just a tiny bit all the time.

Thanks again,
Steve

paisan

I'm behind here but so long as you get 4 of the same tire it won't effect the AWD. Also the outside diameter is going to vary from tire to tire even in the same size. The best calculator to use is: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

-mike

hunter001

I used to use such calculators earlier, till I found that these are just approximations of the actual tire size/diameter. In other words, you basically have to look at the manufacturer's specs to get the actual tire diameter etc.

For instance, the Sumitomo HTR+ 215/50ZR17 tires (note that they have an aspect ratio of 50), are very very close to the stock 205/55R16 tires in overall diameter, and so is the Dunlop SP Sport 5000 215/50R17s. But quite a few other 215/50R17s are completely off from these sizes and are nowhere close to the stock RE92 diameter.

But none of the 215/45R17s are anywhere close to the stock 205s, even though Subaru has recommended them. Also, among the 215/45R17s, there are wide variations in the overall diameter/size (among various makes/models), even when measured on the same rim-size. Even among the same-sized tires of different type from the same manufacturer.

Thus using these calculators are entertaining but they are basically approximations and one need to go by the specs put out by the manufacturer.

Basically what they do is the following:

If we need to calculate the diameter of a 215/45R17 tire, the following is what we do:

215 x 0.45 = 96.75 (sidewall height in mm)
96.75 x 2 = 193.5 (sidewall hgt above and below)
17 x 25.4 = 431.8 (rim size in mm -> 25.4mm = 1 inch)

Total overall diameter = 431.8 + 193.5 = 625.3mm.
Total overall diameter(in inches) = 625.3/25.4 = 24.62inches.

But if you look at the real specs, they are way different from this 24.62".

Later...AH

wielgus

Has anyone had their check engine light come on? Mine did at just over 6000 miles. The dealer repair people said that the reason for this could have been either not using premium fuel (which I always do) or not letting the engine idle for 30 seconds to 1 minute before turning it off, which supposedly is the problem then, because I was not told to do this when I bought it, and this is not mentioned in the owner's manual. Any feedback?

paisan

No offense, but you do realize that rim width is going to effect even the calcs by the manufacturer right? Narrower rim will yield a smaller overall diamter tire, wider rim will yield a higher diameter.

Also the Actual diameter is going to be totally different than what the "theoretical" one is even from a given manufacturer, based on tire pressure, weight of vehicle, temperature, etc.

If you buy 4 of the same sized tires at the same time, you will get for the most part 4 tires that won't mess up the AWD system.

I've bought tires of the same size, manufacturer, tread, etc at different times (about a year apart) and ended up with a 1/4" difference in diamter.

Learned my lesson to always buy 4 from the same place at the same time.

-mike

artgecko

Take a look up a few notes. Blew a tire on the way to my first auto-X today, so I only need one other of the OEM tires. I saw that the Tire Rack listed RE92 at 205-55-R16 89V plus a Subaru version of same, and asked what the difference was. AH pointed out the diameter difference. That about brings you up to date.

Just not my day...
Steve

paisan

Steve,
That makes sense now. Why not take the opportunity to upgrade all 4 of em? hee hee. Hmmm... a thought...Where are you located? I have 4 OEM RE92s on my XT6 that have 4000miles on em. I'll sell you all 4

-mike

artgecko

Hmmmm, same tire that hit the 6" curb at 55 MPH?

I'd like to replace them, but I have trouble justifying to myself, let alone the keeper of the VISA, to replace one crappy blown tire with 4 new more expensive ones. That's why I want to participate in auto-X...to *wear* them out!

Ultimately, I'd like to pick up a set of OEM wheels, and have one set of tires for daily use, and the other for either winter or auto-X.

But for now, I just want to get rid of that ugly black imitation spare!

paisan

I hit the curb with the D60A2 Dunlops on my 14" rims. I later bought 4 WRX rims with Tires, I'd want to get rid of the tires and buy a set of tires with a matching diamter closer to my stock diamter

-mike

stupendousman

a couple of questions for all you WRX wagon owners out there...
1. Has anyone tried to use chains with 17 inch rims? I am thinking of upgrading, but I am concerned that there might be clearance problems when I have to put chains on.
2. Does anyone know why subaru didn't put the larger sedan version of the sway bar on the wagon in the first place?

Thanks All,

Ken