Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon

allythom

Just ordered a take-off RE92 from Tire Rack. Thought about going with the plugging option, didn't feel too comfortable with it though. In the meantime my (t)rusty old Civic has been pressed into service. Thanks for the advice.

While I'm here, a few words about my WRX:

I've had it since December and the novelty still hasn't worn off in 9k miles. The acceleration in 3rd is wonderful, in the dry it has more grip than I have guts and I personally think it looks great. The car is bog standard apart from upgraded spkrs, roof cross bars, trunk liner and a rear bumper guard I got from Subaruparts.com

Problems/minor gripes:
Front brakes needed resurfacing at 1000m oil chg (they were showing an odd wear pattern with big grooves). Got new pads too, all under warranty of course.

Pressing the clutch sometimes makes strange 'sproing' sound when changing up at about 4-5K. Anyone else get this ? I mentioned it at the last service (Lynnes in Bloomfield, NJ) and even took out a tech to demonstrate, got told 'they all do that' -not too impressed, can anyone recommend a different service dept in Northern NJ region ?

Clutch sometimes judders when car is cold, I believe this is common, will have it checked at next service (probably at a different service dept though).

Maddening squeak from passenger seat (only when occupied) traced to seatbelt mounting. A 1/4 turn with a spanner fixed it in 20 seconds.

Despite these minor faults, I still love the thing to bits.

This is a great forum btw.

Alun

barresa62

17" wheels are fine on the WRX for city driving. I live in Seattle where we have large potholes, cobblestone, streets on fill that like to sink all over in spots, and hills that do San Fran proud. My Toyos (225/45x17) and my 17x7.5 Gram Lite wheels have been great. The ride is not punishing primarily due to the great stock suspension travel in the WRX (I also have not lowered or changed struts/springs). If you do your homework and get strong 17"wheels you will be fine. One thing I have noticed though is that the 17"tires/wheels really follow tracks and grooves in the road more than the stock 16"s did. I'll repeat this until I'm blue in the face; the WRX in other markets come std w/17"wheels/tires. I know from experience that a lot of the roads in Europe are not good at all and I have not read of bent or broken rims, or of owners complaining...wishing they had the 16" setup we have for street driving.

Prodrive has designed springs for both the WRX sedan and wagon to work in tandem w/the stock struts. They are currently available through Tirerack but don't appear on the website. You have to actually inquire about them.

Stephen

hunter001

I used to live in Bellevue, WA a while back (working in Redmond,WA), and if you feel that those roads are bad, then you really need to visit places like Detroit, NY city or some such place. That will be an eye-opener for sure!!

Also, I think it would be a good idea to check out the STi suspension from the dealer. It maintains the stock height perfectly but the performance difference is like night and day. Of course, you get stronger struts, springs/dampers, and a rear stabilizer bar. If you go for the whole shebang (not available from the dealer but is manufactured for the STi), it would also include front control arm bushings, rear suspension cross-member bushings, lateral link bushings, lateral links, pillowball swaybar links and trailing links. The total effect is supposed to be magical. With the pillowball sway links, the suspension develops a plush feel and maintains the stock compliance but handling feel is phenomenally better. And all of these are Subaru FACTORY stuff.

Later...AH

bluesubie

Run, do not walk, from Lynnes Subaru.
Do a search in the Tri-State forum at i.club.com and you'll find a few not so good things.

I've never had service in Northern NJ, but Liberty in Oradell is supposed to be decent. Town Motors in Englewood is supposed to be good as well (local i-clubber is a tech there). Definitely check out the tri-state forum for local events and misc. ramblings.

-Dennis

mgreene1

Subaru's production racer comes with both 16" wheels (205/55/16 tires) and 17" wheels (225/45/17 tires) as standard equipment. The setup with 16" wheels and smaller brakes is about 55 pounds lighter. I'm wondering if the larger diameter wheels are mainly needed to clear the upgraded brakes, and if other markets got upgraded brakes, then perhaps that's why they got 17" wheels as standard equipment. I suspect that reducing weight is so important for the racer, that smaller wheels and brakes might be more effective on certain courses. One thing is certain: those 16" rims aren't going to win any beauty contests!

http://www.ngs-subaru.co.jp/newcar2/impsti/ra-c/

barresa62

I was referring to Seattle's streets not Bellevue's. Bellevue is something I don't even like discussing...too much like S.California for my blood. :-) BTW, I was in Chicago at the beginning of June for a couple of days and, while some of their roads were bad, they were certainly no worse than those in and around downtown Seattle.

Yeah, I'm also interested in the STi setup as offered by the dealer. Basically looking at either the STi setup or just the Prodrive springs w/stock struts.

Stephen

nschulman3

Can anyone recommend a good site or dealer for purchasing toyo proxess t1-s. I am about to get them in 225/45/17 with rota attacks, but want to find the best price before i do.

bgerard

I'm considering purchasing a slightly used (15k) WRX wagon, and I'd like to know if those of you who've already made the plunge still like the car. And what about the dealer/service? Is the WRX reliable, or are there a number of kinks that are still being worked out? Any comments that could be passed along would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

mgreene1

My wagon is approaching 12k miles and no problems whatsoever. However, some have complained about anti-lock brakes not working properly under certain conditions, deceleration noise with the manual transmission, the clutch shuddering when cold, and the check engine light coming on inexplicably. To be honest, there are thousands of WRXs on the road and that might just be a vocal minority. Even though I'm totally satisfied with my wagon, I'd be very careful getting one with 15k miles unless I personally knew the owner and the car's history. Has it had aftermarket mods? Has it been tracked? Those are major factors for long-term reliability.
Unless you can save several thousand dollars over the actual cost of a brand new one, buying the used one might not make sense. I only paid about $400 over invoice last August, and even better deals are probably now available since the '03 models will be out in the next few months. If you decide to go with the used one, I'd recommend taking it to the best independent Subaru mechanic you can find and have them go over it carefully looking for signs of abuse, and I'd do this even with a certified used car. That inspection would likely cost $75 to $100 but it would be money well spent.

twrx

Hi all, After the posting about the 15k used WRX I thought I'd write up how my 15k one year old WRX wagon (wr Blue, 5 speed with short throw). As to the commonly listed problems: ABS-no problems so far, CEL has never come on (I always tighten the gas cap till it clicks several times--that was the reason given for the one time my CEL came on in my '98 Forester). Yes the deceleration gear noise is there and it is annoyingly loud. Suppose it is a design flaw but since the clutch has been flawless and the short throw manual is extremly good and much fun to boot then I can live with the noise. Gas mileage is always 20 city. Rarely 27 hwy, you have to keep it under 65 for that and my speed is usually 70-75 and that means about 25 mpg.

One problem: brakes applied hard started the wheel shaking about 3 months ago. At 15k check up they told me that front rotors needed machined ($70). Told dealer to call Subaru rep because I could not believe it was not on warranty. That fixed it and amazingly with in an hour the dealer decide it was free after all!

Improvments & things it needs: Sunroof and rear power outlet and no DRLS (yuck!)

Raves: well obviously performance but the thing that some worry about "is it too small, too noisy, etc. to be a good road car" just is not true. One reason I tend to go fast in it is how quiet and solid this thing is a high speed. The combo of the Momo wheel, shifter and pedals just work fine and best of all are the sport seats. These are the best seats in any car I have owned. And by being cloth I could care less if they are not heated and I don't like leather anyway. I'm 6' and 250 lbs. and this thing is great for 300-400 mile days I have done with it. I don't have kids so being a wagon the room for luggage is great. Also I have had 3 passengers in it on the road several times. No complaints from the back seats. Back seat room is better than my Forester but the trick here is that the front leg room seems much better than my wife's 98 RS so the passenger side front seat can go quite a bit forward to help out the passenger behind.

Everybody raves about WR Blue. Super car, no regrets.

TWRX

bluesubie

Barbara - IMHO, you can't make a generalization about dealers/service. My last dealer was great at sales and the service dept. was poor. They were an Audi/Subaru dealer and I even witnessed the service manager yelling at an Audi customer. I believe Subaru got involved quick because he was gone within a few weeks of my meeting with the District Service Manager. My current dealer is by far the best I've been to in customer treatment, prices and techs. They're night and day in comparison. I believe Subaru is really improving customer/dealer relations though.

Bruce - Thanks for the 15K write-up. Are you ever nervous you'll encounter that TO bearing squeak again?

-Dennis

locke2c

TWRX -- disable your DRLs. Having had one in my '99 2.5RS and having one now in my M3 I think sunroofs suck and Subaru is smart to leave one out of the WRX. But everyone's got an opinion...

-Colin

rsholland

Didn't you have a sunroof in your old RS 2.5 Subie? Was that as bad as the M3's sunroof?

Bob

lilbluewgn02

I hit 7000 miles today; time for a visit to Subieland...Absolutely no problems (though I'm still waiting to hear from Patti whether there is a TSB for the clacking noise) and the car is great...fun, practical, fast, and very comfortable.
Another happy WRX owner

prayerfor

About 6 weeks ago I bought a year-old WRX wagon with ~15K miles. So far so good -- well great actually!

I asked a lot of questions of the owner, contacted the dealer he bought from and discussed with them the car's history, and ultimately got myself over all the concerns I could think of. (My car has a 6 year/100K extended warranty that transferred to me, so that helped a lot too.) I got the car for $20K so I probably saved in the neighborhood of $3500 over a new one with the options mine has (pkg 3A, sound pkg, carbon trim, and cargo tray: MSRP $25048 inv $22741).

We have a 3-month-old and the wagon is just perfect for me and my wife -- enthusiast drivers on a budget, and with a need for versatility and practicality. It's a fantastic package... for our needs nothing else is even close.

Do your homework and if the car checks out, go for it!

locke2c

bob,

actually the M3's sunroof is FAR nicer as far as sunroof go-- it can tilt or retract into the roof and is much quieter in use (especially when slid back) than the Impreza's.

the bimmer also doesn't creak when entering or exiting driveways like my Impreza did-- yes, with the sunroof shut.

I don't like sunroofs in general because of the loss of structural integrity, added weight and low usability.. cool weather or night only and in those cases I'm perfectly happy with just windows. I wouldn't change my tune somewhere with "nicer" weather like SoCal either; I'd buy a genuine roadster instead of a convertible or a coupe/sedan/wagon with a sunroof.

-Colin

locke2c

re: used WRX wagons and extended warranties

Read the fine print, covered components and excluded components VERY closely on any extended warranty. Almost every time I do I see something that makes the warranty a lot less useful than you'd think or simply decide the cash outlay isn't worth it. For example, very few of them cover any sort of electronics (the ECU and sensors being ones to have concern about). They often don't cover engine accessories either, like an alternator or water pump.

-Colin

mgreene1

I'd steer clear of the aftermarket warranties but might consider the Gold Subaru warranty, which is fairly comprehensive. Still, there is no reason to buy until you are at the end of the 3 yr / 36k factory warranty. Since these are high profit items, the price is very negotiable. Here's an idea of competitive prices that your dealer ought to be willing to match.

http://www.subaruwarranty.com/GoldPlan.htm

bluesubie

You're funny , Colin. You don't like sunroofs yet your last and current cars both had sunroofs. Do all M3's have factory sunroofs?

No problems with either sunroof on my wife's OB. Maybe because they're used only 5% of the time.

-Dennis

robmarch

not all have, but it's tougher to sell one that doesn't have one. A friend of mine is going through that right now. I guess most people like cars that expensive _fully_ loaded

hunter001

I had sunroofs in pretty much all my cars till date, even though I would have preferred to have not had it. The problem was that, the cars came standard with it, with no option to delete the sunroof. So basically that was an option that was "forced" on me, but since the other things in the car matched what I wanted, I could live with the sunroof.

Later...AH

locke2c

robmarch is right, most do have have them. most also have leather, in fact an overwhelming majority, but cloth/leatherette does exist.

cloth, non-sunroof cars are popular for motorsport enthusiasts but hard to sell to anyone else because they do want the comforts and they tend to be skittish about a car that's spent time at the track.

-Colin

bluesubie

<<..cloth, non-sunroof cars are popular for motorsport enthusiasts but hard to sell to anyone else because they do want the comforts and they tend to be skittish about a car that's spent time at the track.>>
I agree. Japan gets stripped down WRX STi's, but I would bet a WRX LL Bean would sell like hotcakes in N. America.

-Dennis

kevin111

Yep, we will have a Bimmer equipped and styled WRX in no time!! If I wanted a Bimmer or Audi styled car, I would get one of those.

With the added weight (probably a good 300-500 lbs.) talk about your 0-60 going to the waste basket!!!

Maybe an Impreza LL Bean, but please not the WRX!! That is almost sacriligeous!

robmarch

I agree...the magic of the wrx is that all of the money is spent on the driving experience, not on the coddling. Leather wheel and leather shifter are drivers' touches, but I much prefer cloth over leather seats. I'd order mine without a sunroof probably, even if it was available. Now, a fold down rear seat in the sedan would be a nice touch, but not really a luxury feature. Other than that, I think they did a great job balancing function, performance, comfort, and value.

just my opinion.

kevin111

I too would have liked a fold-down rear seat, until I found out why they did not do this.

Aparently, fold-down rear seats decrease structural rigidity, thus reducing slightly the sportiness of the car by making it less stiff.

robmarch

Yeah, I've heard that before, but I think it's a pretty cheap excuse. The BMW 3 series offers the fold down rear seat as an option, at least. Personally, I think they could get just as much structural rigidity with a well placed brace integrated with the rear deck, and allow the seats to fold.

I'd probably rather have the fold down seat and sacrifice the .01 G of lateral handling, myself, but I think they could probably find a way to have a fold down seat without seriously impacting body stiffness.

Just my opinion, and I've been known to be wrong before, though

himiler

It's not just for body rigidity, but also makes for a safer passenger compartment in a collision.

locke2c

still, it's a huge convenience to have a folding rear seat. I think Subaru could engineer a reasonably safe (i.e. "safe enough") vehicle with folding seats if they cared to try.

-Colin

ateixeira

They have - in the wagon. This is the wagons thread. :-)

-juice

WarpDrive

...to the Canadian east coast covering PEI, NB and NS. Some nice twisty (although rutted) roads there and scenery is very nice. The stock suspension of the WRX is a nice compromise for the not so perfect roads but firm enough for those tight corners in the Cabot Trail. The Toyo T1-S tires make a bit noise than I would like at highway speeds but they grip like crazy in the wet (which I got to test a lot). I did notice my front wheel making loud scraping/clanging noises when the wheel is turned all the way. Will have to get that looked at during my next service.

robmarch

it's actually one of the big reasons I'm leaning toward the wagon at this point. interior flexibility. the only thing that would sway me now is an STi available in January with list price under 30k

hgutstein

sorry been out of town. I have the wagon, 17 x 7.5 wheels with HTRzs on them. Can't comment on perf. in the snow cause we don't have any here !!!!

as was said above, car will follow grooves more, but overall the wheels/tires improve handling a great deal.

HG

twrx

Hi, week after having 15 K check up I was driving between Washington and newburgh IN when my AC started getting warmer until it completely failed.First thought was dealer messed it up somehow but when I took the car in and I was told that someting had punctured my condenser. Looks like ST. Farm will cover $600 repair as comprensive road hazard problem. There are many surface mines and coal trucks on this road. We followed as many as three trucks at a time in some stretches. haven't even seen where the condenser is located on WRX but it kind of worries me if a rock on the road can get to it that easily. I like doing gravel roads out west and had two straight years that I came back from Colorado with cracked windshields on my Forester due to rocks. Hope it was a v ery freak accident
TWRX

rexaroo

Does anyone have pictures of their wagon with Rota Sub-zero wheels installed? Have always thought the OEM 16" wheels were all I would ever need, but must confess, the Rotas are looking more tempting with their attractive pricing, light weight and high quality. Also, any pictures of the Battle or Attack mounted on the wagon would be much appreciated. I think the Sub-zeros would look really great, but seeing a picture of them on the wagon would help.

twrx--we get a lot of cracked windshields here in Colorado, I think because we have so many big SUVs and PUs (more per capita than any other state in the union). The wider grooves in their tires pick up small rocks really easy and shoot them back into rear-following traffic-- at least that's one theory why auto glass repair places are doing such a booming business out here.

barresa62

They are Volks Rays Gram Lites 17x7.5 but the Rota Attacks are replicas. I'm glad I have these (cost about $300 a piece)as opposed to Rotas as I'm a firm believer that at a certain point (either cost direction) you get what you pay for.







Stephen

stoner420

Hey guys - I just got some clear sidemarkers for my red wagon the other day, and they look SO much better than the original orange ones (esp. against the red)... now I wonder, Stephen or anyone else who did the headlight turn-signal mod, what exactly did you have to do to get rid of the orange turn-signal lens, do you just remove the lens and that's it, or do you have to get a replacement lens and new bulb (and if so, do you know a good place to get them)? thanks!

nschulman3

I am about to purchase rota attacks with 225/45/17 toyo proxess t1 s tires for my red wrx sedan. I agree that you usually get what you pay for, but feel that the rotas will be fine for the type of driving i do. additionally, the rota wheels have a great reputation for durability and quality. In fact, my tire guy recommends them and i'm ordering them from revolutionmotorsports and getting the tires from him. Regarding the color, I think the wheels look ok in silver, but i'm going with the steel grey for my car, as i think the silver is a bit too common.

barresa62

You have to get the headlamps apart. The easiest way (don't laugh) is to put them in the oven for about 12mins @225 degrees F. This gets the silicon goo that seals them together gooey enough to split apart. There is also one screw to take out before you try and pull them apart. Once apart, you pop off the amber lense from the turn signal bulb area. The turn signal bulb itself is white so you will need to get an amber bulb or do what I did and order the Silvervision bulbs by Phillips. The Silvervision bulbs are painted a silver color and only show amber when blinking. You will probably need to put the headlamp pieces w/the goo back into the oven to heat up again before trying to put them back together as the silicon will have hardened too much. You may also want to get some more black silicon to help reseal and assure that you won't have any condensation getting in once you have them back together and on the car. The whole job isn't difficult but you need to take your time and not rush. Rushing will only make the job messy and results less than appealing. I love the clean look w/o the internal amber lenses. You can also paint some or all of the silver plastic reflector pieces a flat black w/high-temp paint. This gives the WRX a sort of JDM/STi look. Good luck.

Stephen

locke2c

the rota isn't as good of a wheel, but it is cheaper and much more available should you bend or curb a rim.

YOU WON'T! I hate saying stuff like that and then it happens to someone...

-Colin

narenji

I have Rota Subzeros in Gunmetal with 225/45/17 Kumhos and I have no problems with the wheels. All Subzeros these days are coming hubcentric for Subaru, so no worries there either. I'll post up some pics a bit later after my car is washed...

nschulman3

OK, I have finally decided to go with the rota attacks in steel grey for my red wrx sedan. Now, I am debating again what tires to get. There is about a $200 difference in a set of four toyo proxess t1s or Bridgestone pole s03 versus a set of falken azenis, kumho 712 or summitomos. Does anyone have any more advice? As I have mentioned previously, I have Dunlop 5000 asymetricals for the mild winters here in the 16" wheel, so a summer tire is fine. Any advice would be helpful.

barresa62

They are excellent in wet and dry, have a better wear factor than the Bridgestone S03s, quieter, and cost less. The Falkens, Kumhos, & Summitomos are not in the same class. They are okay just don't quite match the S03s or Toyo Proxes T1-Ss. Remember that tires shouldn't be scrimped upon. Next to the wheels (actually even more so), they are the single most important mod you can make as they affect not just performance but safety as well. :-)

Getting off my soapbox in Seattle,
Stephen

locke2c

Stephen,

I wouldn't say the Falken Azenis (RS) is "not the same class" because that implies (to most people) that it doesn't perform as well as the T1-S or S-03.

Which is untrue of course. It handily outperforms them, problem is it doesn't last long, it's noisy and it rides harsh. And it can often be hard to find since they aren't importing many sizes or much volume in the sizes carried.

-Colin

barresa62

Performance as in my definition includes noise and ride not just grip. I stand by my assessment based on this definition. :-)

Stephen

WarpDrive

I drove home in the heaviest rainstorm in my Miata equipped with T1-S Toyos. Normally I'd be all over the road. I went to an empty lot and executed some autox style turns. Rain? What rain? These tires are amazing in the wet.

July issue of EVO magazine tested max performance tires. The T1-S placed third overall with the only real complaint being harshness over bumps and a bit higher road noise. They topped the wet tests. S-03's placed seventh behind Dunlop SP9000 and Michelin Pilot. I don't remember what was second, but some variant of the Eagle F1 was first. Their tests included skidpad, slalom, road tests, and track tests. and So overall, you won't go wrong with the Toyo T1-S.

When I buy a tire, I look at the whole story, wear, all roundedness, support, availability. The Falkens are cheaper but you give up on some aspects for their great dry grip. I think it's definitely worth it to spend more. Like the poster above, tires are the single most important safety feature and upgrade you can make. You should buy the best you can afford. You have a $24K car so it's not worth saving $200 on tires.

locke2c

I gotcha Stephen. To me, performance is performance. Ride comfort and longevity are not performance, but unquestionably characteristics to consider before a purchase.

I agree that it's smart money to buy good tires. There's a difference though between the best tires that money can buy, and the best tires for the money spent. ;-)

I wouldn't use the Falken Azenis RS as a daily driver myself.

-Colin

paisan

I've heard that they are great for the $ but not the best tires money can buy. Depends on what you want to use em for. I am getting some Yoko AVS intermediates for the SVX and will switch over to the Falkens when I can't get the AVSs anymore.

-mike

rexaroo

Stephen--thanks for the pics, really like what you did with yours. Those Gram Lites look good on the wagon--now I can't decide whether to go with the Attacks or the Sub-zero. May have to end up getting both. ;-). With that STi hood scoop, can't imagine what's lurking under the hood, but looks like it's got at least 280 horses written all over it!

nschulman3

I am finally ordering my tire and wheel combo for my wrx tomorrow. Between now and the morning, I must decide on the bridgestone so3 pole position, the toyo proxess t1s and the kumho 712. I am getting the rota attack steel grey wheel. I was all set to get the toyos, but they ARE NOT cheaper than the bridgestones (at least in my area) because they aren't offerd at any discount tire shops like tire rack or the wheel/tire combo at revolutions. They are almost the same price to the doolar and the availabilty is not very good. If they are the same price, are they worth getting over the pole so3? I have heard the bridgestone is a great performer, but rides harder than the toyo. If i decide to get the cheaper tire, I will definitely get the kumho, since everyone recommends them as a cheaper alternative if your driving style is less agressive. HELP!