Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon

storyteller

Ken: have you tried grabbing something metal BEFORE scooting your butt across the seat?

p0926

I noticed while checking out the WRX that the rear glass has a fair bit to slope to it. It therefore appears that the WRX doesn't have a lot of room in the cargo compartment for a large dog to stand without bumping its head on the back window.

My question is: If my black lab, who currently rides in the back of my Forester and smears his nose on the Forester's relatively vertical back window, were to ride in a WRX, would he fit and how much of a mess would his nose make on the back window?

-Frank P.

lilbluewgn02

depends on how wet his nose is!

kens

Actually, yes. I tried grabbing the door sill before stepping out and...no ZAP.

Well, if the performance of the WRX wagon increases your propensity to drive hard, you might see more nose prints (not by your dog's choice, however). :-)

Ken

rbleland

..I don't have the WRX but do have the '02 TS wagon which is the same size in the rear. I also have a 124# Sheppard/Rottie cross (big luvable mutt!). Drake rides back there OK and can stand up but with limited room to move if standing. He is better to sit back there and he is slowly coming to that realization. So far, no muzzle tracks on the windows; but, hey, anytime you take you big dog in the car, expect some small mess. A small price to pay, I figure. I remove the rear headrests and throw an old cover over the back seats to avoid dog drool problems. Hope this helps you.
Rick

bluesubie

Here's a few:

www.isrperformance.com

www.rallispec.com

http://home.att.net/~teaguesauto/index.htm

www.subaruparts.com

www.cobbtuning.com

www.vishnuperformance.com

www.mrtrally.com.au/performance/

www.rallyperformance.com

saintviper

It's summer again and I've got my bike rack back on the car. As you can see, I was able to mount it in such a way as to be able to open the rear hatch.

saintviper

First off, I've got Yakima Viper bike attachments. As you can see, they can be mounted like any other attachment outside the roof rails. Unlike other other attachments though, they when locked, they can't be removed. Most other attachments can be slid off the end of the bar even when locked. Not too secure.

If you have attachments that don't lock to the rails, the only other way to mount them is to put them on backwards which I've seen done. It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would, but I like my way better.

barresa62

Hey thanks for the pics and the tips! I have a pair of mountain bikes that I plan on taking to the San Juan islands this summer. I'll be needing to get a bike rack for my WRX wagon so your info is quite timely. :-)

Stephen

ponm

How much did the yakima bike rack cost if you don't mind me asking?

saintviper

I paid about $350 for the rack, but I got it from a bike shop I used to work for. I think the retail price for the whole thing is close to $500.

cinosweive

Subaru offers a roof mount bike rack that I think is made by Yakima. A salesman told me it worked fine w/ the tailgate and you don't have to mount the bikes outside of the rails. Anyone ever try this one?

yellowbikedon1

I had a Subaru rack on my '96 Outback and it worked without interfering with moonroof or tailgate. I prefer a rack that holds the bike(s) by the fork with the front wheel(s) removed. I feel this arrangement is more secure. So, the rack on my '01 LL Bean is of that variety and is also made by Yakima. The model is a Copperhead and the rack and towers were supplied by IMBA as a promotion.

Don

geobum

I ordered the Yakima-made Subaru bikerack from subaruparts.com. Waiting on my doorstep about 2 weeks later. I have the flat crossbars, so mounting outside the roof rails is not an option. The trays themselves do not interfere with the rear spoiler when the hatch is up. But with a bike secured to it, the rear spoiler hits the rear bike tire when the hatch is about half open. I just mount the bike after I load the car, and take the bike off before I unload, no biggie. It doesn't come with a big wind deflector like saintviper's, so there's lots of wind noise.

nixomose

Herm. Seems to me, the beauty of the wrx wagon, is that you can put your bike *IN* the car. That's why I got it, anyway. In the begnning of spring, I put my bike in the car and leave it there and when I'm somewhere and I wanna bike, it's waiting for me. No rust from rain, nobody's gonna steal it, and I don't have to worry about clearing low parking garages... If not for the utility of the storage, I would have gotten the sedan....

But. I finally rolled 1000 miles on my wrx, it's plenty dirty with all the pollon, and now I feel slightly less guilty revving the engine high, and I must say, the power doesn't pick up until 4-5-6000 rpm, but it's niiiiiiiiiice. Gotta learn to shift fast and smooth up there though. I notice the gears seem far apart rpmwise, compared to my GTI's.

Speaking of. I'd swear my VW GTI is jealous of my WRX. The day I parked the wrx next to it in my driveway it started leaking oil. This weekend the check engine light comes on. $35 computer reading and $80 bently book later, something about some bank 1 something or other being too lean. I'm starting to wonder if it was worth the extra cost of my gti being jealous, since I didn't factor that in to the cost of the wrx...

kens

I'd swear my VW GTI is jealous of my WRX

LOL!

Is your GTI a VR6 or 1.8T?

Ken

cmatthew1

Has anyone noticed an almost type of hesitation with the turbo spooling up in second gear? Accelleration starts to build and then it hesitates fo a brief second and starts again. It sometimes happens around 4k rpm's. I don't know if I'm just nervous after reading a previous post about the dealer not prepping the car properly after getting it off the boat. Essentially they have to do something that enables the turbo as well as the something with the breaks(green wire under the dash). Would I definately notice it if this wasn't done? Maybe I'm used to our 02 Passat and the sound of the turbo when it spools up is definately noticable. Let me know if I should be concerned...

taos2

I'm experiencing something really annoying when using the air conditioning. It seems that the
compressor goes on and off frequently and that
evey time it does I can feel the effect, sort of
a form of hesitation. It's especially noticabe
around town. Should the compressor be cycling
on and off that frequently and is anyone else
experiencing this?
Thanks
SKIREX

djasonw

I too noticed that lackluster performance of the A/C. It hasn't been TOO hot in the NE this year but I have used it a couple of times.You can definitely tell that it is cycling off and on since I can feel the air temp vary. Anyone out there have any clues? Is this normal?

hypov

Hmmm... my experience with the AC ['98 OB] in that when it kicks in there is a slight jump in the RPM, hence a surge, and the cycling on and off I say [at the risk of losing my head] it is normal. But hesitation?... I'll leave that to the 'Seasoned' Crew

-Dave

chaynes1

chaynes1

Relax, you nervous nellies! Its a little bitty engine and you are driving around town at low revs. Sure, you can feel the compressor when it cuts in. If you don't want this to happen, roll your windows down or trade for a Chevy Tahoe.

artgecko

Well, with only 2200 miles on the clock, I took the WRX wagon to SCCA Solo2 driver's school Saturday. I had a blast. Got about the equivalent seat time as an entire auto-X season. 17 runs on a 22-26 second mini course, 12+ runs in a really tight 15 second box section to teach transitions and curves instead of corners, and 6-8 times through the 2-way slalom.

The Rex stood up to the task better than I would have expected, given it's height. I'm bone stock, mechanically, and expected a lot of roll. There was plenty, but it never got uncontrollable. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm sure I wasn't pushing near the car's limits. I *did* wear about 10,000 miles off of the crappy RE92's life, though.

I posted one movies of each section on our SCCA regional board, but if anyone is interested, here they are. These are Quicktime movies, and are about 3 MB each:

homepage.mac.com/subaruwrx/Slalom.mov

homepage.mac.com/subaruwrx/TortureChamber.mov

homepage.mac.com/subaruwrx/MiniCourse.mov

I didn't go to the autocross Sunday, but they had 180 cars with 4 runs each! It was good to have only 30 of us there Saturday with all the instructor attention. We too the MGA to a British Car show Sunday, instead. Remeber when I said these two cars complemented each other so well? I thought there wasn't supposed to be a conflict between wanting to drive one or the other. by this time last year, the MGA already had 4-500 miles on it. This year I've driven 200 tops! It must be that beauty of all wheel drive...

Steve

ateixeira

17 runs in a WRX in one day? Heaven.

-juice

geobum

Please elaborate on the green wire under the dash (#1818). I was poking around up under there the other day and noticed 2 green wires with a white male and female quick connect that were not connected. These are related to the brakes? Should I just connect them?

As for AC performance, I noticed a subtle decrease after I installed the in-cabin microfilter. Perhaps those of you with the filter experiencing lackluster AC performance should remove it, or maybe its time to be replaced (1 year/15,000 miles?).

nixomose - I put my bike in the back seat of my older car, and of course got greese all over the seats. Plus I don't want all that mud/dirt inside. I specifically got the WRX so I could mount it up top.

cinosweive

I remember paying for the AC pollen filter, but how do I know I actually have the thing? Does anyone know how to get to it?

ateixeira

Under and behind the glove box. You should see a couple of screws at the bottom of a black box-like thingy. Remove those and the filter slides out from the bottom.

At least my Forester is that way.

-juice

nixomose

Bought my vr6 in 1999.5 (one of the first A4's they made).

I agree the bike gets dirt all over everything, that's why it goes in my GTI, and not in or on my wrx (yet :-)

As for A/C, I don't know who said it, but yes, it's a wee little engine and the compressor really compresses. (hey maybe they should drive it off the exhaust, just like the turbo :-)) At low RPM's you're gonna feel it.
I was surprised to NOT feel the AC compressor in my vr6 when I got it, but that's what you get for two extra cylenders...

The one thing that bugs me about the A/C, my eclipse had two settings, the first one seemed to cycle the compressor on and off, the second kept it on all the time. In the wrx, you can feel a blast of humid and warmer air when the compressor goes off. I know, if you wanna keep it cold, you use recycle, but that doesn't work in the rain and more importantly, my feet smell real bad.

I expect this is a known-ism, but in case anybody is curious I imagine this is by design.

And be happy your wee little engine still moves with the AC on, my sister used to have a toyota littleshitbox, I forgot what it was called. Up hills she had to turn the AC off. :-)

paisan

in the rain you want to keep the recirc in the on position to dry out the humid air in the car or else your windows will get fogged up.

-mike

ateixeira

LOL, my feet smell really bad! At least he's honest!

-juice

kens

With Subaru's engines, you don't need to shut off the AC when applying load. I believe the ECU shuts off the compressor under hard acceleration. It's probably the same way with other makes too.

Ken

cinosweive

I remember reading somewhere that the AC compressor is designed to shut off under high engine load. I guess it is sort of a compromise to let you have your cake and eat it too. Just not at the same time.

nixomose

The problem with the auto compressor shut off is that you step on the gas, and you get that blast of humid air. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but it makes me reel, if not gag a bit.

As for the recirc, I have to disagree with you there. Dry or not you want fresh air. I understand that the fog is water vapor collecting on dirt on the windshield (I believe) and you want to dry it out. Having said that I think that's wrong. When the windows fog up (windows closed) you crack the window or turn off recirc and the windows clear right up.
I can go ask one of my friends of the oracle for an explanation of why this is. I'm not too smart, I just surround myself with people who know things, so I can ask when I want to know something :-)

geobum

an easier and less obtrusive way to see if you may have the in-cabin microfilter installed is to check your front driver's side door sill. Above or below the tire size/inflation pressure sticker should be a yellow warning sticker for the filter and a silver sticker with the date and mileage the filter should be replaced. If you don't have the stickers, that doesn't necessarily mean you don't have the filter. But the stickers are there, then you should have it in.

cptplt

Got my new wheels and tires put on, the Legacy turbo wheels with Potenza S03 215/45-17. Was thinking of the 225 but AH got me paranoid about things! Looks great, I suspect the 225s would have fit fine, seems like oodles of room around the tire still. Anyway with Sube wheels and factory option size tires at least SOA can't throw a curve ball if I have any warranty issues!
The S03s are much louder than the stock RE92. Seem louder than Pilot Sports in a friends sedan too. Ride is a little harder as expected but fine for me. Will have to drive it a bit more to comment about handling. Pothole survival and tramlining will have to await more miles on Chicago roads!
What are people using for winter tires, seems there aren't too many 205/55-16 size snowtires? I'd actually like to go to a 195 but there are almost no 16 inch ones!
I will put the WRX stock RE92s on my 98 GT wagon when my Michelins XGT Pilots wear out -probably next year. It'll be like slumming it again! Actally the RE92s aren't that bad as long as they have lots of tread.
Got the tires from Discount Tires, price was only a little more than Tirerack. With shipping from Tirerack, its about even, though with a local retailer you have to pay tax but then you get lifetime balancing/rotation too so its pretty much a wash.

barresa62

Congrats on your tire/wheels. Despite what AH says 225s are fine on the WRX wagon, especially if you don't want to lower the car much. I have this setup and it's fine. I was looking at the S03s but in the end I went w/the Toyo T1-S as they are quieter, a bit longer treadware (really a mute point), and better wet weather performance. Oh yeah, they were about $10 less expensive per tire. The S03s are a good tire though, right up there as one of the best.

As far as winter tire in the 205/55x16 size, you can find them in Michelin Artics (I believe), Blizzaks, and Dunlop Wintersports. I have the Wintersports and have them mounted on the stock WRX wheels. I used them last winter on several ski trips in WA State and Whistler, B.C. They are an excellant winter tire and actually better than the RE92s in wet/dry weather. I think they are about $102 per tire on Tirerack.

Stephen

ateixeira

Make sure to heat cycle those tires before you go too crazy. Have 'em warm up and cool down a few times.

-juice

cinosweive

One thing that kind of ticks me off is the fact that the AC comes one whenever the defrost is on. I would rather be the one that makes that decision - I don't see the need to be burning the extra gas and putting the extra wear on the compressor in the dead of winter.

cinosweive

Whadoya know? They did install my pollen filter. Well at least they put a yellow sticker on my door sill. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on under the glove box - I'll either have to get some reading glasses or ask the dealer to show me.

locke2c

it's to dehumidify the window. most people don't know to use the AC with (or without) heated defrost to dehumidify, so Subaru makes the decision for you. some other cars of other brands are the same way.

-Colin

cptplt

I must say that the hatch on the WRX picks up far less junk than on my Legacy wagon (which has the spoiler). I was on the tollway all day in the rain and never needed to use my rear wiper on the WRX. On my 98 GT I'd pretty much have to leave it on permanently!

cinosweive

Agreed that some people are not bright enough or are too lazy to turn on their AC when needed for defrost, but why not make that their problem instead of everyone else's? Whatever became of energy conservation:(

I can't be convinced that the nanny car is a good thing. When I was shopping for my WRX, one of the nails in the Jetta's coffin was the automatic car-in-motion door locks. Jeeze, now I am wondering, w/ GM's big stake in Subaru, can the nanny locks be far away? :-(

The future looks bleak. It looks very very bleak.

kens

I also prefer having full manual control over the HVAC system. But then again, I do use the AC quite often to defrost anyway.

FYI, the Jetta's auto door locking feature can be disabled.

Ken

nippononly

The auto-cycle AC in defrost mode is keeping your compressor lubricated all winter long, when you wouldn't use the AC at all otherwise!

Having said that, I would prefer to have manual control as well - on really cold mornings when I use the defrost before the car has warmed up, it makes things worse with the window fogging. Not to mention FREEZING me! :-)

FYI All new Toyotas have the auto-AC-with-defrost thing, and all the ones that have power door locks also have the nanny locks...we are losing control over our cars! :-(

locke2c

Tell me a good reason why you shouldn't have the doors locked while the car is in motion.

But if the doors don't unlock when the ignition is shut off, or they don't unlock when you simply pull the door handle, then yeah I can see that being a bit annoying for some people.

-Colin

nippononly

1. it is not really a huge problem to have the doors locked while I am in motion, but it is one more thing being done for me, unwillingly, by the car, that I would just as soon not have done. The only way I can see to stop it is to pull the fuse on the power locks, which eliminates that nice little feature altogether.

2. The stupid things do not unlock until I turn off the car, and if I am jumping out to do something quick like the ATM, or if I am dropping someone off somewhere, then I or they reach for the door handle, give it a yank, and fall against a still-closed door! No, it does not unlock itself when you pull the handle, only when you turn off the engine.

hypov

But Stuart-
Isn't there an unlock switch(es) to unlock the door(s), and a manual ledge on each door too? I would agree that it is silly to turn off the engine just to unlock the door(s). FWIW I believe the design concept is "Safety First" - I can live with that. :-)

-Dave

paisan

I believe the subies are like my Trooper, you can manually override the A/C on with defrost by depressing the A/C button which turns off the AC compressor, even if it initially comes on with the defrost.

-mike

ateixeira

Colin: to save gas, I only slow down and have passengers jump out. That's also why I like suicide-style doors.

Kidding.

-juice

nippononly

You are absolutely right! :-) Of course, it is just the period of adjustment to a new car I am in, to start remembering that if I do jump out or drop off a passenger before the engine is turned off, then the doors will have to be unlocked. My question is, why have nanny locks in the first place? Surely if I am someone who values having the doors locked as I drive along, I will just press the little button to lock them when I set off? And this will be the best reminder of all that they ARE locked, if I then want to get out.