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Subaru Impreza WRX
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Comments
Anyone out there who can bring me out of my tailspin!?
-mike
Ken
-mike
Bob
-mike
Ken
Now, though, if Subaru is going to make changes that improve cars due to hit US shores in 2003, that puts me back in my quandary! Oh well, the longer I wait, the more money I have for down payment and for my "emergency reserve."
Looks like I might have to assign some funds and time for maintenance work in February :-(
DjB
There are WRXs destined for other markets too, from the plant in Japan, where they are produced. However, only a percentage of it ends up in the US. The 19xxx you quoted is the combined total of all the WRXs bound for markets around the world, including the UK, Australia, Japan etc.
Later...AH
http://vanbortelsubaru.com/impwrxwag.html
-mike
"...Impreza sales were bolstered by the successful launch of the rally-bred 2002 Impreza WRX, accounting for 18,060 unit sales since its March introduction..."
-Dennis
Eric
I still kinda consider it an ivestment in that "hopefully" it won't lose value quite as fast as the domestics. And who knows? Maybe they will become a collectors item of sorts. Yeah, I know that will take years, and we probably won't still have ours, but at least we can say we "had" one!
And in the meantime, we get to drive one of the hottest little rascals around.
Ken
-mike
So IMO if you want a rare collectible, look for a good used XT6 or an SVX. Those are truly rare and will get even more rare with time.
-juice
For instance - what advantage is there to putting a smaller bar in the wagon? What are the potential consequences of tinkering w/ such stuff? I have read that reducing the diameter will increase the tendency for the rear end to slide, and I have heard the direct opposite. So if anyone is an expert in this area, or anyone knows of a good web resource - I sure would appreciate the opportunity to be educated.
XT6 4K over 3 model years
So the WRX already has both of em beat. Personally I'd look for an SVX, more hp than a WRX, and much more luxo/comfort/highspeed touring.
-mike
http://integra.vtec.net/geeser/docs/grm_swaybar.html
Later...AH
Sway bars make the car corner flatter, but they also reduce the fully independent action of the suspension, and add weight and cost.
-juice
-mike
Ed
Also, I have to state, that I think the stereo in the WRX (the base stereo anyways) is really bad. I actually ahve noticed in MANY Japanese cars, the stereos are sub-par. I would think that many (most? all?) of the stereo comapnies are Japanese, that the cars from the same country would be fairly good - guess not. I have a huge sub/amp that I had in my old car, that I just threw into the trunk of my WRX. Its not hooked up yet, but I can't believe how little trunk I have left. I could easily say that about 1/2 the trunk is gone (in the old car, It probably barely used 1/4 of the trunk). Atleast now my sister can't ask me to help her move - well I guess she can ASK (nothing stops her from asking), but I can always use that as an excuse.
Anyways, I ordered the wing for my car today... Hopefully this time this coming Friday it will be installed on the car.
New here to the board. I've been strongly considering a WRX as my next car (tho even if I got one, probably wouldn't be til summer), and have got some questions about the WRX (and manual tranmission). Any feedback's appreciated!
My first and still current car is a Pontiac Sunfire GT. It's an auto, and I've only driven auto cars, so I guess a question I have is (kinda dumb to post it to this forum but ah heck) how tough is it really to drive manual. My friends say not too hard but heck they all have auto cars too! Plus I'm not very coordinated.
I know that the manual WRX is supposed to waaaaay outgun the auto WRX, but I read from some post that all those great sub-6 0-60's were done from launching at high revs. How 'bout "normally", is the auto-WRX really that much slower than the manual? And if so is that deficiency such that it's not even worth considering an auto-WRX (as some of my friends have said)? I mean normal as in city driving...I mean, yeah I'll speed sometimes and sometimes I wanna outgun some guy at a light, but that's not gonna happen every single time I drive! Also I've noticed that sometimes guys in manual cars start out really slow and I can blast past them by gassing in my auto car..
Last, any idea if they're gonna have a clutchless manual in future WRX's? I read that the Mazda RX-8 is gonna come with this, just wonderin if Subaru ever considered it for the WRX. I mean, have a manual WRX and stick the clutchless/sportshift/tiptronic in the auto-WRX...
Thanx for reading this long schpiel.....
-mike
My WRX has been my first MT car (my previous two cars were AT). That's not to say I didn't know how to drive a MT. I've driven my friend's 3000GT, 240z and his family's accord on several occasions (I actually learned how to drive MT on the 240z). It was enough to get the basics down, but it took me a good week to really get used to the clutch on the WRX. It seemed to catch much later and much more suddenly than any other car i've driven.
If you have NEVER driven a MT before, i wouldn't recommend buying a MT car. It's just not smart to drop 25k on a car and then not know how to drive it off the lot. I was confident I could buy a MT because I could drive my friend's cars around town (abiet not very smoothly).
I do have to say, this car wouldn't be nearly as fun in the AT version. The MT is purely a joy to drive. Get some new friends, ones that have MT cars, and learn how to drive on them. Then, once you are confident you can handle yourself, but the MT version of the car.
BTW, why would you want to get rid of the clutch!! It's one of the best aspects of a MT.
-mike
Get a stick, two cents please
So looks like my prerequisite for making new friends is now based on, "Do you have a MT car?" LOL
Anyway, just a question about the "brake stand" - doesn't that wear your brakes bad? I mean, of course I'm not talkin about doing this every time at a light but every time that's gotta be bad for the brakes...
And the other thing, me being so clueless about MT, is that is being in neutral in AT the same as dropping clutch in MT? ie the engine is not "connected" to the tires? So would one be able to rev up in neutral, and then shift down to drive to get the launch off the line?
That said, I find myself now getting the itch to go learn MT now...heh heh
You wouldn't want to rev and drop the tranny in an AT car, probably wouldn't accomplish a fast launch. Dropping the clutch in an MT is how they accomplish fast launches IIRC. (I'm not a stick driver myself)
-mike
On what are you basing the "waaaaaay outgun" comment, may I ask ? I would say that you are mis-informed, to put it mildly.
I drive an Acura 3.2TL (0-60 6.7secs=Pontiac Grand Prix GTP acceleration), which will humiliate your Pontiac in acceleration and I can say honestly that the Auto-WRX would be as fast or maybe even faster than the Acura. All you do is step on the gas and feel the rocketing effect of the car (Auto-WRX). Do not be misled by all these anti-auto comments in these forums. You should drive the car extensively yourself and decide for yourself. It is your money. Also, at most the manual WRX should be about 0.5secs or so faster than the Auto-WRX. Both the Auto and the manual-WRX are dogs right off the line. Both of them rocket ahead once you cover about 50 ft from a standing start.
Another factor most of us are ignoring are:
a) The Auto-WRX has stiffer springs than the manual-WRX for better handling. This is a fact not fiction.
b) The Auto-WRX has a waaaaaaaaay better AWD system when compared to the manual. This is a fact not something pulled out of thin air. This AWD distributes 55% of the torque to the rear wheels and 45% to the front wheels in normal driving. When starting from a stop (or when accelerating), the Torque-sensing Planetary gear center differential distributes 85% of the torque to the rear wheels. This ensures absolutely fabulous handling, especially while blasting along a curvy mountain road. The manual-WRX does not do anything of the above.
c) The Auto-WRX is nearly as fast as the manual and is faster than pretty much all other vehicles on the road. And that is with a normal start not starting with high revs or any such abnormal way of starting.
May I suggest that you go through the below thread:
http://i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140498
Below is a comment from a manual-WRX owner (on the handling of the manual-WRX in slippery conditions, something that will never occur with the Auto-WRX equipped with the VTD-AWD system):
I have noticed that the VC does take awhile (especially when the WRX has just been started and the fluid is still cold) to engage. My first little snow traction test (with Arctic Alpins) was to goose it a little on a low speed curve in our lane. The rear kicked out like I was driving a RWD vehicle! No harm done but I was a little disappointed. My wife's RAV4 seems to do better, even w/o locking the center diff.
Later...AH
-mike
Not to mention, this method will not make anyone's insurance rates go up!
This car, with the turbo, is not really a good one for the person who has never driven anything with a standard to learn with. It's just too easy for it to get away from you. The power band comes fast in low gears, and the steer is extremely responsive and very easy to "over-correct" for a beginner. Unless you really don't like the looks of the front of it, I strongly suggest that you get at least a little practice on some other vehicle, just so you get an idea of what happens when you release the clutch and press on the gas.
I'm not saying not to buy the stick, quite the contrary, it's a total blast! Just get the inital experience on something else. And I'm not saying you "can't" learn with this car, you can, very easily. But if you do, be VERY carefull at first.
Before everyone jumps on me for saying this, let me remind you, this person said they were'nt very coordinated. Plus the fact he's still driving his "first" car. Remember?
Have a great day!
Ken
As for being able to kick the rear end out on a turn, the ability to dial in some oversteer IS NOT A BAD THING. It's one of the things I really like about this car, it will behave like a RWD vehicle on demand. It may take a little more discpline from the person behind the wheel, but I don't simply want to get in a car and push some buttons to make it go forward.
I have driven the Auto WRX, and I can say that the manual is much more enjoyable (at least to me). In fact, when I bought mine, there were two used Auto's sitting on the lot. Two seperate people decided that after 3 months of owning their auto wrx, they would rather have the manual.
You will also note that the edmunds review of the auto sport wagon said that without a brake start, the best they could get is a 8.3 0-60 and the best they could get with a brake start was 6.7. Compare this to the 5.4 0-60 that Car and Driver was able to do with the manual.
I'd like to see your sources that prove that the automatic WRX handles better than the manual WRX.
Learn to drive a manual for the joy of driving a manual.
-B
Or, find a Driving School that offer classes for stick shift and have their own cars for lessons. Beat up on their car ;-)
-Dave
This person did not intend to "kick the rear end out". It just happened due to the AWD not reacting quickly enough. If fact he was disappointed that an AWD car behaved as poorly as a RWD car would behave in slippery conditions. He was not praising the "rear end kicking out" as you seem to imply. Also, I suppose you meant the Auto-WRX behaving like a RWD car, right ?? Because, the manual WRX cannot behave like a RWD car due to its Viscous coupling AWD, which always splits torque 50/50 unlike the Auto-WRX, where it behaves like a RWD car in pretty much all good weather conditions due to the kickass center torque sensing differential and it behaves like a kick-[non-permissible content removed] AWD car when conditions are slippery !!
In fact, the stiffer springs on the Automatic-WRX is, I believe, due to the presence of the brutally fast and rapid VTD-AWD system in the Auto-WRX. Due to the immediacy with which it is able to transfer torque to the wheels that need it, it is able to take advantage of the stiffer springs than the manual-WRX, that is unable to transfer any torque even nearly as fast. Not due to the 55lbs or so of extra poundage in the Auto-WRX when compared to its manual counterpart, as someone seemed to have stated (most probably a bit of hot air). In fact, in the Lexus IS300, the manual-IS300 (which is lighter than the Auto-IS300), has stiffer springs than the Auto-IS300, which blows this funny theory into the boonies, I might add !!
Another thing with Automatic cars is that you should drive the car around for a couple of miles before really letting her rip. The Torque converter present in Automatic equipped cars will need some time to warm up to operational temperatures. When taking a test drive, always make sure that you drive around gently for a few miles before really testing her accelerative prowess.
In my neck of the woods, Auto-WRXs do not remain on the lot for even a couple of days. They get snapped up by buyers on the first day or so. Can't say the same about the manual-WRX however. Also, at the time of resale, a manual car almost always is tough to sell. You will have to search around for a buyer who is willing to take it off your hands. Just a heads-up. When I bought my car, our dealer received 2 Auto-WRX silver wagons during the evening. The next day in the morning, we confirmed our order over the phone. In the evening when we went to pick up our Auto-WRX, the other Auto-WRX was already sold, dealer prepped and gone !!! Does not stay on the lot for too long.
Later...AH
The Auto-WRX should be about 0.5secs slower than the manual-WRX (under the same conditions), but if you were to floor it, it would be able to consistently get the same timings. With torque braking (the Automatic equivalent of the clutch dumping), drivers from Car and Driver would have managed a 5.8-6.0 secs 0-60 on the same day/time that they obtained a 5.4secs for the Manual-WRX. Any car that comes within 7.0secs 0-60, is plenty fast in my books !!!
It would be foolish and amatuerish to compare the timings from 2 different sources (C&D and Edmunds) driven on 2 different days with 2 different drivers in entirely different conditions as someone above seems to have done !! If the same drivers had driven the Auto-WRX and the Manual-WRX on the same day/same time within minutes of each other, those figures make sense. Otherwise, they are just amusing statistics.
Later...AH
I say again, the MT is very easy to coax into becoming a RWD car. In fact, it is easy to make the manual drift on dry flat pavement. You just have to be in the appropriate gear when going into the turn in order to get enough power to break the rear wheels free. I DO NOT want some computer and an electric clutch making that determination for me. I want to be able to do it by feel and knowledge of my car.
In MY neck of the woods, the autos sit. They continue to sit. Some have sat for months while the manuals fly off the lot. Many dealers I've spoken to say that they will actually stop ordering auto's to put on the lot because they are in such low demand. And with this type of car, having a manual is an asset when selling used due to the type of driver it will attract.
Also, out of curiosity, would you drive around with the VC-AWD, if the VTD-AWD were available in the manual-WRX ??? Just because it is not available, you are trying to portray a weakness of the manual-WRX as a virtue, which to me comes across as funny.
Again, I reiterate what I have always stated. Everything else remaining the same, I would prefer the manual-WRX to the Auto-WRX for the driving pleasure. For example, if both the manual and the Auto-WRX came with the Viscous Coupling AWD system. Or if both the manual-WRX and the Auto-WRX came with the VTD-AWD system. I would have absolutely no argument about which is better. But in this particular comparison, "everything is not the same". Far far from it. There are wide differences in the setup and the behavior of the 2 cars in various conditions. It is not the difference between the slushbox vs stick-shift alone as a lot of us are implying.
Later...AH
-mike
I edited my previous post, so read it again.
Later...AH