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Subaru Impreza WRX

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Comments

  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    Oh, is that Weasel? I thought it was U.S. rally team car. LOL!
    -Dennis
  • celica115celica115 Member Posts: 169
    It was my subie's first "snow break-in". They were doing very good in 4" snow. I had no problem to drive up to the hill (25 degree) at 30MPH. Love it so much!

    -luk
  • epp1epp1 Member Posts: 48
    but where's the snow?! Just swapped my P1s/Sumis for my OE rims with Nokian Hakkas. Dealer did it gratis and "got to keep" the RE92s. Hehe.

    Cold as heck here in MN, but no real snow to speak of.

    Hakkas add a little rumble and are of a fairly soft durometer. They get a somewhat squirrly on cold pavement if you try to corner too aggressively. Had me nearly sideways on my favorite daily on ramp entrance!

    Planning on having "Santa" get me the Stage 0 kit as Vishnu finally has an authorized install center here in the Minneapple.

    Nothing funnier than dusting some mullet sporting, IROC driving fella trying to win the holeshot for that next turn or on/off ramp in my lil' wagon with two bikes on top.

    Even funnier than beating them is thinking about all the kind words their other brother Darryl is barking at them from the passenger seat.

    --Sean
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Mullet Wearing + IROC doesn't seem right, at least where I am at. IROC + Spiked Up, Goomba is more what I associate with an IROC :)

    -mike
  • celica115celica115 Member Posts: 169
    I mean that I love my subie while the RE92s are not bad in snow. I will go for KDWS next time.
  • jthorsenjthorsen Member Posts: 39
    Hey Sean, I see your in Minneapolis...what dealer did you get your Subie from? Would you recommend them? I'm looking to get a wagon this spring...

    Also, where's the Vishnu authorized installer?

    Thanks!

    -Jon
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    Every time I happen to pass a guy in a BMW 3-series, he all of a sudden gets the urge to speed up and pass me. I am not into racing so I let the guy go, but man. You would figure some of these guys would have their egos in check!

    Sorry, jut griping. It has been a long day.
  • mgp1mgp1 Member Posts: 2
    I'm considering getting a wrx. Is anyone on this message board driving the wrx in really hot and muggy weather? I'm just curious how the turbo engine will last in the heat. Thanks.
  • mikenkmikenk Member Posts: 281
    I live in Dallas, which is certainly hot enough. I have no problems in the summer; the cooling system kept the temp guage at the same point it does in the winter. I assume that is what you are asking.

    Mike
  • mgp1mgp1 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the input. I'm just trying to justify upgrading to a wrx if I live in very warm/dry weather. We'll see if the dealer I'm working with now gives me the invoice price he promised.
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    Until GM owns +50% of FHI, I would not worry about it. Also, the new Saab 9-3 is supposed to be a major improvement over the old Saab.

    Also, the WRX is made in Japan, no worries. :-)
  • mikenkmikenk Member Posts: 281
    mgp1
    Even in warm weather sites, it rains; the car remains unique, and my golf clubs fit great year round.

    GM knows it has quality problems; they buy companies to help themselves not hurt the other companies. They are not that stupid or arrogant.

    Mike
  • nutyirishmannutyirishman Member Posts: 2
    Got a few questions people. First, I'm looking to spend thru the Costco Auto buy program about $22-23,000 for a WRX is this a pipe dream or a reality? Second how is it for trips, is it comfortable? Is there much turbo lag? last but not least is it true that doing some minor adjustments to the intake and exhaust can increase power?

    Thanks in advance!!!

    Nutty!
  • WarpDriveWarpDrive Member Posts: 506
    Go test drive one!!!

    My idea of comfortable, quietness, and lack of turbo lag is different from anyone elses.

    Turbo lag is there, but it bothers some people more than others. I don't find it obtrusive. Below 3000 rpm, the turbo isn't doing much, so the car feels weak at lower revs.

    I drove 3500 miles in a week, it was very comfortable.

    Between $22K and $23K is possible for a WRX.

    You can definitely get some new pipes to help the car breather better and change the sound. I suggest every WRX owner get new tires as a first upgrade because the stock tires are only so-so.
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    As a guy that does a ton of highway driving, the car is fine for long trips. It has a rougher ride than many of the family sedans on the market (due to its sporty nature), but it is still easily liveable.
  • kenokakenoka Member Posts: 218
    My view of turbo lag is different. The turbo basically gives you two different cars. Under 3000 rpm you have the compliant little putt putt 2 liter engine. It's fine for grocery getting or in traffic. When you need to open it up, you get into boost and whoooosh! You suddenly have a different animal on your hands. I think that's beautiful. I think most people who complain about turbo lag are used to larger displacement engines who have lower torque curves and will respond better to just mashing the gas pedal. With a turbo car you need to know where your rpms are. Just my 2 cents.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It does have 2 personalities. At low rpm it's a refined fuel miser (relatively speaking). At high rpm it's a screaming performance car.

    Fitzmall.com has offered them for under $23k, so with Costco that's entirely possible.

    -juice
  • merrycynicmerrycynic Member Posts: 340
    I find that adjusting your clutch release to gas pedal push all but alleviates the problem. Releasing the clutch in a slower more deliberate fashion than is typical helps quite a bit. That said I still would prefer the luxury of a more linear power output. I don't agree at all with the two personality advantage. The current set up require more concentration, I prefer my sporty cars to be easier to drive not more difficult. I will admit there is reward to the effort.
  • WarpDriveWarpDrive Member Posts: 506
    What's the fun in that? It's the thrill of the hunt that makes it fun. Any Joe can push a throttle to make the car go faster, it's the art of gear shifting, matching revs, being rewarded with the results that make it fun.
  • merrycynicmerrycynic Member Posts: 340
    I think we were talking about pulling away from a cold dead stop here. I still prefer a car to feel like an extension of my very being as opposed to one that presents an idiosyncratic mechanical challenge.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I think the type of driving you do effects it as well. For someone in suburbia or rural areas keeping it in the reve band is 100000000000000x easier than those of us who live in cities. Living in the city with bumper to bumper and stop-light to stop-light jaunts, a low-end torque monster is much more fun to drive than a 2.0l peaky-torque car.

    -mike
  • corkfishcorkfish Member Posts: 537
    I keep hearing rumours that the re-designed WRX due out in late spring may provide more low end torque. Maybe they're just rumours, but I've heard the engine will be slighly retuned to allow the turbo to kick in at lower rpms.
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    quote: "The current set up require more concentration..."

    Yeah, that's called DRIVING. :-)

    -Dennis
  • hunter001hunter001 Member Posts: 851
    prefer a Porsche Boxter-S's more linear power delivery than a Honda S2000's peaky power delivery. Driving or not, in the real world the Porsche Boxter is more tractable and more easily livable on a daily basis. Wringing the S2000 through all its 6 forward gears and taking the Honda DOHC engine to its 9000rpm peak to extract all of its 240Horses(before every gear change), is a fantastic experience once in a while, but gets old pretty quickly if we need to do it on a daily basis, every single time.

    I personally would have preferred the Subaru DOHC 3.0 NA H6 engine in the WRX, but tuned for around 250HP/250Torque and leave the 2.0L DOHC Turbo for rally crosses. Hell, even the rally version of the 2.0L Turbo is tuned for gobs of low-end torque, unlike the street version.

    JMHO.

    Later...AH
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Sounds like you want my SVX! 230hp/230lbs 3.3 H6 N/A, AT :)

    -mike
  • epp1epp1 Member Posts: 48
    I bought my Rex wagon from Bloomington Acura Subaru. Call and ask for Scott Putnam. He is in charge of fleet/wholesale and receives all inquiries that arrive via CarsDirect.com. Good guy - navigates for one of the ProDrive rally cars. He stuck close to the CarsDirect price and hooked me up with a summer wheelset at wholesale via Tire Rack (P1s/Sumis - yes, several hundred less than what I could have purchased them for directly from Tire Rack) as well as Nokian Hakkas for my OE rims.

    I tried working with Morries in Minnetonka given their proximity to my home/work - but they are total jerks. Would say much more and WORSE, but the profanity scanner would likely pick it up. Avoid them at all costs unless they have exactly what you want at the price you want (doubt it).

    Me thinks their Subie dealers feel inadequate as they're not on Morries' other sales floors (BMW, Volvo, etc.). Unfortunately, they take it out by being utterly repulsive to customers. Both myself (WRX wagon) and a friend (Legacy GT wagon) had separate but nearly identical experiences (w/ different salespeople). No surprise, but each of us bought away from Morries...after taking their demo cars through their paces!

    --Sean
  • robmarchrobmarch Member Posts: 482
    correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason the rally cars are biased for huge torque at low RPM's is that they have horsepower limits, but no torque limits. Therefore, they can have an engine that would make 6-700 horses unrestricted at 8000rpm, but operate it with restrictors that keep it within range and still benefit from all of the torque.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I don't know about that. You want 200 ft-lbs of torque to pull forward 6 inches in a bumper to bumper traffic jam?

    Look at it this way, it's just plain frustrating to drive a 700hp V12 at 1mph in New York City. A 2.0l off boost is better suited.

    paisan is clearly an exception because he drives at approximately 175mph in the city. ;-)

    But for the rest of us, a 2.0l off boost that gets 20mpg even in the city is better than, say, a big H8 that gets 16mpg. You're just not using that power.

    -juice
  • merrycynicmerrycynic Member Posts: 340
    I suppose Ferraris Formula 1 jockeys aren't "DRIVING" because they don't have to concentrate on a clutch? Freeing some of the concentration from one area allows one to use that concentration in another, the end result is less stressful, more effective, efficient and safer.
  • hunter001hunter001 Member Posts: 851
    Yeah, your SVX engine sure sounds like a better streetable engine than the peaky 2.0 Turbo. Specifically because, it does not get weaker as the rpms build (like the 2.5 H4 SOHC) but is powerful all over the powerband. The WRX engine develops power like a mofo when the turbo hits but below 2500rpm, is a weakass engine pulling along 3100lbs.

    If it came as a wagon (WRX wagon body), the SVX would have been perfect ! ;-)

    Later...AH
  • corkfishcorkfish Member Posts: 537
    The SVX was a novel design, but at 3600 pounds, was quite a slug for a performance car costing over $28,000!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    What else had AWD, though? The only thing you could remotely compare to it was the Audi coupe.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    which is 300> a WRX.

    -mike
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Around here at least where I drive, you need to be doing 0-2mph bumper to bumper and then hit 70mph relatively quickly as traffic picks up, and then back down to 0-2mph for a bit. That's where a torque monster is helpful gets you up to speed quickly by just pounding the gas. :)

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Plus the SVX was a GT. Guess you could compare it to a 3000GT VR-4, minus the turbo.

    paisan could roll out a LONG list of features that the WRX or any current Subie lacks: telescoping steering wheel, extra gauges, etc.

    mike: where I drive, the Miata is best suited. Heck, maybe even a hybrid electric. You need to be small and nimble to point and squirt into gaps in traffic, but for the most part you're crawling along slowly at idle.

    If I drove a Suburban it would literally take me 20 extra minutes to get to work.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I'm not gonna go into the "other" features of the SVX since this is the WRX section :):)

    -mike

    PS: Juice drop me a line with your snail mail addy to mike@iace.com
  • jwilson1jwilson1 Member Posts: 956
    I also haunt several boards for cars with the new "drive by wire" fuel supplies -- not that the system is new, but it's different for many drivers used to small displacement engines.

    On the boards for the 350Z and the G35 coupe for example, there will be many instances of people who feel the cars have NO low end power because of their own habit of relying on the computer to shoot the car ahead with the first 1/4 inch of throttle (like in my wife's Forester). The idea of really throwing gas on the fire to get the heat going is something they think only happens in third gear because that is when they're more comfortable putting their foot into it.

    I bring this up because it sounds to me as if two different issues in the "preferences" being discussed have gotten mixed up in some of the posts -- turbo lag, of course, isn't the same thing at all and is quite different from just not having the power present. I don't know which system is in the WRX, but it is tuned so you not only CAN drive it, but have to ... a trait that I'm thankful is coming to play in most new sports cars.

    JW
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    Scott has a great website at http://www.subaru.net.


    -Dennis

  • socprofinblrexsocprofinblrex Member Posts: 18
    I'm in Mpls also (right by the Falls) and got my WRX Wagon from Scott Putnam (my 2nd purchase w/ Scott). Decide what you want on the car, discuss it with Scott. Test drive it at the dealership. If there's something special you want, he'll go out and get it. Because of my central location, all Subie dealers are about the same distance, but I've used the Morries Minnetonka service department and have had good luck with them. How's the service department in Bloomington (or other Mpls metro dealers)?

    Thomas (in Black WRX Wagon)
  • aa717driveraa717driver Member Posts: 41
    You bring up an excellent point. I've been ragging on Bernie for a couple of years now about the F1 cars.

    Put the shifters back on the sidewall and make 'em use a clutch. That will separate the men from the Nintendo jockeys!TC
  • nschulman3nschulman3 Member Posts: 125
    I replaced the potenza re-92s two months after i got my wrx. IMO, a horrible tire. Anyway, I replaced them with dunlop sp-5000s in the same size. Althgough they are all-seasons, they handle much better. Anyway, I decu=ided to go to a 225/45/17 wheel and tire combo last summer. I purchased potenza s0-3 pole positions with rota attacks. The car handles great, but the ride/handling trade-off may not be worth it. A few days ago, I put the dunlops back on. What a difference! Granted, they don't stick like the s0-3s, but the ride is so much better and the car tracks straight, unlike the so-3s, which are all over the place on uneven pavement. Living in a northern new jersey city, I must admit i made a mistake going with a all out performance tire with such lousy roads.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I'm loving the 245-45-16s that I'm running on the SVX for the past 4 days. Much better overall than the 225-50-16 Yokohama AVS Intermediates I was running. Once May rolls around I'll probably get Toyo Proxi RA-1s for my summer tire.

    -mike
  • sonya4sonya4 Member Posts: 92
    "Real Men drive clutches"...?

    So do some real women! :-)

    --sonya4
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    OTOH I must admit I'm glad to see someone who doesn't mince their words, even if they gauge their gender identity by their ability to depress a clutch pedal.

    Ed
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You GO girl!

    So are 93% of Americans fake, I guess? ;-)

    At my house, every car we've owned has had a clutch, but I can understand the appeal of an automatic after taking a 10 hour drive that should have taken 5 on Thanksgiving weekend!

    -juice
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sorry, I fell for the bait. ;-)

    -juice
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    In the latest edition of C&D, on pg. 128, they test and discuss a modified WRX, in which the power was increased to 320 hp, and the torque was increased to 305 lbs/ft. They stated that the clutch was not replaced because they felt it was more than adequate to handle this type of power. C&D even did 10 massive clutch-slips (aka clutch-drops I believe) with dammage what-so-ever.

    Just figured I would point this out, for the croud that keeps saying the Manual Tranny is weak in the WRX.
  • corkfishcorkfish Member Posts: 537
    A clutch slip is the opposite of a clutch drop. And it would be pretty bad if you couldn't do 10 hard launches in a new car ( even with massive modifications). Ford engineers did 1500 clutch drops on the new Cobra in an effort to try and break it.
  • robmarchrobmarch Member Posts: 482
    surviving 10 clutch drops is one thing. lasting 100k miles of spirited driving (without clutch drops) is another, I think. What happens as the synchros wear and the clutch wears?

    I'd like to see them clutch drop a tranny to failure, recording the number of drops. Then, I'd like to see them clutch drop an RS to failure, recording the number of drops.

    Also, at least one of the magazines is complaining of tranny problems after driving the car hard in their long term test. I'm not sure the 10 drops is a good way to predict tranny reliability.
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