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Comments
Looks like 7K miles is not an issue with this oil. BTW have 10w-30 M1 in my car right now.
Any recommendations between grades? Live in SoCal.
I did see one other guy mention the same thing on nasioc.
There are a lot of good M1 WRX reports on bobistheoilguy. They say that our water-cooled turbo is easy on the oil. If your click on "used-oil analysis - gas engines", there's a post on a WRX by Ed Hackett. He wrote "Everything you've wanted to know about oil" several years ago and it's an often linked article.
-Dennis
But personally, I don't think it would hurt anything to continue with the 10W30, especially with the mild winters you have there in SoCal.
Driving today, the Neo is working out very well, same shift effort as the Mobil but slightly less notchy and less troublesome going into first. Also, the decel noise has faded a little today, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. At $40 bucks a gallon this stuff better be good and looks like it is.
Maybe it just takes a while to work in like you say.
Good luck,
-Colin
I get a call about an hour later telling me that I can pick up the car today, fill out all the paperwork for the trade, loan, etc., but the deal cannot be finalized until Saturday. Apparently my dealership doesn't have all the paperwork in order due to the broken-legged Swap Manager at the other dealership.
So here's the dilemma: If I want the car, I can take it tonight and leave my trade behind. I then have to come back on Saturday and finalize all the paperwork including the financing. Until then it's a loaner-type situation.
I asked what risk I faced by doing this and my dealer told me that I could come back on Saturday and find the monthly payment on the car will be $500.00/mo vs. the $400/mo we agreed upon (ie I suddenly don't qualify for the 3.9% financing). He then gave me his personal guarantee that this will not happen, that the deal will hold and he's simply trying to make me happy by letting me have the car while they wait for the paperwork to go through on their swap. Again, I trust this guy as far as a dealer can be trusted.
I know better, but this is REALLY tempting for me. Has anyone here done this before? I should go and test drive the car and tell them to have the paperwork and the car ready for Saturday, right? I shouldn't sign anything until it's all official and I shouldn't put one mile on the car's odo until I own it, right? I should wait, RIGHT?
This is KILLING ME!!!!
Sorry for the long posts lately!
-jim
You've waited this long, what's a couple of more days.
Besides, when you pick it up Saturday, you could take the long....
long long way home. Say, a thousand miles ;-)
-Dave
Jim - You're dealer really owes you. They should give you free oil changes for 3 years.
I might stick with 10W30 year 'round. M1 has a pretty low pour temp. and the 10 shouldn't shear down as much as a 5. I just received an oil analysis kit from Blackstone, so I may do an analysis soon.
Dave - You going to the bbq Sunday?
-Dennis
Besides, if it takes them this long to sell a car, imagine how long an oil change could take!
-jim
How 'bout you?
-Dave
Dave - Yeah, I'll be there. Not sure how early since we're
going to Pittsburgh Friday night, returning Saturday afternoon,
and then hitting Chinatown in Manhattan on Saturday night.
-Dennis
Patman: Before I go singing the praises of Royal Purple, keep in mind that the WRX is very easy on it's oil, we've seen tons of very good oil reports from these engines.
Edhackett: The WRX does appear not to be handicapped by poor engineering and/or questionable metallurgy.
Here is the link: Ed Hackett's WRX Oil Analysis
made by OCDs for OCDers
-Dave
First off, the odometer. I was pleased to see that the car had 40 miles on it and had been driven from a dealership that was 25-30 miles away. This is good.
Next the short throw shifter. It was nice. The action was precise and positive without a ton of travel. I could do without it, but it's a pleasant addition to the car.
The premium sound package didn't seem as wonderful as last time. This is ironic because this is the option that has taken the dealer weeks to locate.
The auto-dimming mirror kinda bugged me out because it's so big. When I got into the car it was low on the windshield and blocked a significant part of my line of site. Once I pushed it up as high as it would go I started to forget about it. I might keep it or it may be headed for e-bay.
Overall impressions were that the ride provides a lot more feedback than my Forester, but feels pretty smooth for a sport-tuned suspension. The car is also very tight inside, but big enough for me. The back seats are tiny, but my son is 18 months old. He should fit back there for another 10 years.
I didn't really get into the boost as I drove, but was tempted to a number of times. It's going to be hard to make it to 1000 miles without dipping in a bit.
So all is well and the car is a keeper. I'll pick it up on Saturday and probably sleep in the driver's seat Saturday night
-jim
the premium sound not being "wonderful" as the last time. The subwoofer probably needs to be adjusted to your taste.
Glad to hear that you're liking it.
-Dave
You lucky dog! Congrats.
How is back seat room compared to the Forester? Could you post some impressions vis-a-vis the Forester when you get a chance? ;-)
Ken
Don't regeret the trade, where else can you get a wagon with this acceleration and handling. Also if it were not for the premium it would not be too much more expensive to drive. It gets only 1-2 mpg less city and equals or exceeds the Forester in highway mileage.
Here is the best news. we actually had pretty much snow in Southern Indiana this last winter and it was every bit as good in snow as the Forester had been.
TWRX
OK, the handling isn't a match for the WRX, but acceleration overall is similar and torque is much more usable. The XT felt fast even at just 2000 rpm (with the manual tranny).
-juice
And if using the Mobil saves us from shelling out for a pre-mature turbo and engine rebuild, that's another $3500 bucks we can subtract from our oil bills.
-juice
Clutch shudder: Kicked in for me at almost exactly 10k miles, especially during the winter.. I still get a bit of it every morning from a cold start, I think I've learned to live with it though -- just work the gas a bit more positively (~2k rpms) and let the clutch slip just a bit to get started the first few times, and it seems fine. Makes for better starts all around anyhow, cuz you mostly avoid the low-end dead zone starts.
jim_loves_cars: Congratulations, good luck. Dealers are the worst. I was reasonably happy with the dealer in Stamford, and then they had to go shut down. What a pain, it was so close to my work. Anyhow, I can understand your anxiety - this car infects your soul and does not let go. Fortunately, the feeling is still mostly the same over a year later. (Actually, I think it gets even better over time! ;-)
Subaru: GIMME AN STI WAGON! NOW!
Congrats. I got my 03 from the same dealer. The salesperson was fine but watch out for some of those 'managers'...kept wanting to give me regular gas as the free fillup because he "knew for a FACT that 4 cylinder cars don't require premium"...this even when I had the manual open to the page listing fuel requirements.
I got pulled over this morning for the first time since 1991. Be careful the wrx can be sneaky fast!
Don
rgds,
-wdb
-Dennis
Ken
The WRX is a magnitude smaller all around than the Forester, but it's actually more comfortable for me. I'm 6'4" and feel a little clostrophobic in the Forester. The WRX fits me better; my seat goes back further and my legs don't rub on anything. And the new '04 seats are more comfy by far for narrow folks.
The back seat really seemed tiny when I drove her yesterday, but both front seats were all the way back. twrx was right in saying the front passenger seat has more legroom than the Forester's and can be moved up further, creating a decent amount of space in the seat behind (for car seats, etc.). I sat in all four seats on the another '04 wagon and my lanky frame actually fit quite comfortably for such a tight space.
The WRX is sorta like a submarine - all the space you need and none you don't! Overall a great use of space but smaller and tighter feeling than the Forester. But somehow it's a bit more comfortable to boot! It must be the turbo
I want to go to sleep now so I can wake up and go to the dealer on Saturday to get her. 'night!
-jim
Also got the mesh fog light covers, decided it may give the car a bit more of a different look than the clear ones others have mentioned. It looks quite nice actually. It comes in black only, which is fine since my car is black but I think other color cars would need them painted to look ok.
Next "mod" may be the SPT suspension. I think I have just about enough Subaru bucks soon to get the parts! The dealers in the area won't put it in (instructions from SOA) but I got my Sube Senior Master Tech who looks after my Legacy who is willing to do anything! Well , almost.
Of course there is the issue of the better half wondering why I need to spend $$ on this stuff. She never could understand why I needed 2 grand worth of new wheels and tires for a new car! But hey, she finally got her winnebago and that wasn't exactly cheap! In fact I could get a STI WRX and a Legacy Turbo at any price SOA will charge for the price of that monster! Only good thing is you can write off the interest as it counts as a second home! Plus if the power goes out in the house we got somewhere to stay, in fact I'm going to see if I can get an electrician to rig something up so I can use the generator in that "thing" to run the house in case of a problem!
Hope you're having fun
-Dave
I spent the day driving as much as I could. Those who live in northern NJ know that it was a horrible day, with heavy rain that never seemed to let up. Lots of standing water on the roads so lots of puddles to jump! The car performed in true Subie fashion and did as well as the 2002 Forester L I traded in on her. Nothing like confidence in rotten conditions.
My Forester was automatic and it's been a year since I drove stick. It came back right away, as did the smile on my face. I noticed the WRX has lots of character like any Subie and the drivetrain seems to want to be manhandled. My Civic Si responded very well to low-throttle starts but the WRX seems to want more juice. I'm quickly adapting and having a blast doing so. I'm just trying to ignore the little voice in my head and keep her under 4000 RPM. The center-tach helps me with this.
Beyond all that it's loads more comfortable for me than my Forester (I'm 6'4"), with lots of leg and headroom and super-comfy sports seats. It's also a lot smaller inside, especially in the back. My son's baby seat fits behind my wife in the passenger seat (she's 5'10") and everyone is comfortable, but it is much more "cozy" inside.
I love this car. But it's not going to get to 1000 miles by itself. I have to install the XM, go set the compass and start piling on some miles!
Thanks to all for their input up to this point and sorry for the long posts!
-jim
-juice
As we come around a bend I see my chance - a passing zone, 1 mile visibility and no one coming the other way. I slip the WRX into third, put on my blinker and hit the gas. The engine begins to spool and at around 3000 rpm the WRX is ready to go. The RPMs quickly increase as the turbo awakens and I get a taste of the car's power. I relunctantly shift at 4000 rpm and complete my manuever, feeling like I just missed a golden opportunity. If ever there was a time to open her up this was it. Juice was right - this will be the longest 1000 miles of my life!!!!!!!!
Ugh.
-jim
Congrats and hang in there -- the 1000 miles will soon pass.
Ken
-Dennis
Yeah, me and bluesubie were wondering.
Pulled alongside an '04 WRX wagon yesterday on the NJTP. Looks like the owner just picked it up. Anyway, I toot the horn and we exchanged gestures... eh... the good ones ;-)
-Dave
We had a great time and about 25 or so Subes were there.
You were in the area and didn't show up???
-Dennis
I really wanted to go but I have a 24month and 1 month old at home plus I am trying to make up to my wife for Cobb's reflash, swaybars, strut tower brace, wheels & tires...she doesn't understand why a perfectly good car needs money put into it right after it is bought...And I still am not able to carry the bikes and bike trailer like I used to in a Trooper.
So I went to HomeDepot instead to get things for the wife's todo list and that's when I saw all the subies.
There were a few kids there including some in a stroller. I heard one kid say, "Daddy, all of these cars are like yours!!!".
p.s. - Speaking of swaybars, did you upgrade your endlinks? I just ordered the SPT swaybar/bushing kit and trying to decide on the endlinks.
-Dennis
I also am not sure of the purpose of the upgraded endlinks. Is it just stronger or is there an improvement in performance? What about just going to stiffer bushings? My concern with the endlinks was that they all looked beefier than stock and I do not want to increase unsprung weight. (My new wheels also make the stock rotors look dinky so I have brakes on my wish list already which will add more unsprung weight)
Okay I'll shut up.
Don
Here's some info on MRT's endlinks:
http://www.mrtrally.com.au/performance/swaybarlink.htm
Whiteline PDF:
http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/bulletins/042klc19.pdf
Paisan - Where are you??? He put new endlinks on their Impreza L auto-x car.
Not sure how long it'll take to install the new swaybar. I have a few trips coming up. Cape Cod, a friend's wedding, Myrtle Beach and the Outer Banks.
-Dennis
With Tein HA coilovers, a 20mm adjustable swaybar and Kumho Victoracers, you notice.
-Colin
-mike
-Dennis