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Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon
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Comments
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2002 was the first year, '03 mostly carry-over. 2004 a face-lift. So 2005 and 2006 are the final years for this generation, they'll have to do something to spice them up.
Dan: to me, the benefits include:
* roadside assistance for the full term
* better resale value
* OE replacement parts for any claims
* piece of mind
* if you want, finance it into your loan
* red carpet treatment at dealer
-juice
TWRX
Bob
-mike
Also check the lugs' torque.
-juice
The wobbly braking is almost certainly caused by something known as DTV - Disc Thickness Variation. Basically the contact area of the rotor is thinner in some spots and thicker in others, causing the brake pads to have more and less grab as the disc itself rotates. DTV is most often caused by pad material depositing unevenly on the rotor, such as when you heat the brakes up and then hold down the brake pedal while the car is stopped. Sometimes you can even see a pad imprint on the rotor, but even if you can't, there still may be enough uneven depositing to cause problems.
If it sounds like I know a bit about this, it's because I went through the same thing with my wagon. I had some minor symptoms for a while, but then one day I did a series of acceleration runs, and at the end of each run held the brakes while I monkeyed with my measuring device to record the data. After that, my steering wheel would shake violently any time I tried braking from speeds in excess of maybe 50 or 60 MPH. Over the next few days the problem mitigated somewhat as some of that deposited material rubbed away, but it was never "right".
The obvious solution is just to replace the rotors, and OEM replacements aren't that expensive as Mike said. However, since I was coming due for new pads anyway, what I did is I bought some aftermarket pads (Carbotech Bobcats), and bedded them in pretty aggressively to abrade the leftover material off the rotors. This process worked for me, and now my brakes are pretty much back to normal.
And Juice is right that overtorqued lugs can produce the wobbliness too, but I'd guess you're dealing with the DTV issue.
-juice
I picked up a set of "glazed" rotors (nice slotted-drilled DBAs) off a wrx that we worked on. The guy replaced them and told me I could keep em. I slapped them onto the FrankenL and bango, the Hawk HP+ pads cleaned them right up.
-mike
-juice
all this year if it was cold (and that could be in the 60s!) it would do the famous shudder first thing in the AM, but it stopped recently.
the only reason I can think of is that my cousin visited a few weeks ago and we took it for a spin and the clutch did burn when he was driving, 2nd time I've noticed it burn though not as bad as when I burnt it coming out of a carwash my first month! Though I don't know whats happening the few times my wife has driven it, she's very good with a stick shift though but I would have to say the WRXs clutch take up point is sometimes difficult to get exactly right if you aren't used to it. She usually never drives the thing unless we have had to swap cars for some reason and in fact doesn't even want to be in it ever since I got the 17in wheels!
Anyway I'm not too upset with my cousin as I got to hammer his M3 he drove to visit me in so I guess we are 'even"!
Could burning the clutch "fix' the shudder problem temporarily as it seems to have done here?? Not that I'm recommending it as a fix!Just wanted to hear if anyone had any technical insights as to why its behaving this way now?
When I have my 2 yr service in a few months I am going to see if the dealer will do the TSB fix.
Sl OT but on the issue of ext warranties brought up a few posts higher, I've said many times before I'm a big fan of them, esp with certain makes.
Well , our 3 1/2 year old, 39K mileage Ford Windstar just needed a new tranny! As it was our 2nd Windstar (we only got another one of these pieces of junk as Ford bought us off with a 4K discount so we wouldn't be in the class action lawsuit against them for the garbage 95 Windstar we had , as well as the 0.9% they were offering at the time) we had gotten a ext warranty. Just made over twice the money I paid on that back already!
So much for Ford quality, the 95 lasted till 50K!This one got 10K less! Then the engine went at 75K on the 95! Wonder how long this one will go for?? I'm ditching it before the ext warranty is up!Of course Ford may have to extend the factory warranty on the engine to 100K like on our 95 to stop those hordes of lawsuits by irate customers!
Oh and to top it all off, it took 2 new trannys before they managed to get it fitting properly! The first factory rebuilt one didn't quite fit!!
-juice
You'd be risking some serious jail time if you drove your car hard enough on the street to warp the rotors.
What people misdiagnose as warped rotors is almost always the DTV phenomenon.
They have mentioned that the way they fixed it, was to take the car out on the highway, and do a few high power clutch slips. That fixed their shuddering clutch problem.
-juice
-c
Actually, this presents an interesting buying point...why bother with the 17 inch rims/tires option if you're going to replace the OEM tires anyway, right? I just need to find some good all-season rubber for it (Probably on the stock 16 inch rims...I know 17s would be better for handling, but Dutchess County's roads tend to be a little rough and patched a lot, and I'll need to save my tailbone a bit).
My 2 options right now are to do a short to mid-sized lease right now and then take a loan to take the buyout at the end, or wait until September (need to pay off a loan) and do an outright buy (timing works well on that since by next Sept the 04s should have incentives and the dealers might give better prices). I'm stretching myself as it is planning on the WRX rather than oan OBS, but somehow I don't think I'd forgive myself if I settled for an OBS (and the limited slip rear diffy should help with snow traction even more).
-Chris
http://members.cox.net/redscooby/Car/103_0396_1.jpg
http://members.cox.net/redscooby/Car/103_0398_1.jpg
-Chris
So, for now, and for my wallet's sake, the OEM's will do just fine.
Next time I'll have to get out there while things are really bad. No worries. This is Northern NJ -- we'll get more snow!
Jim
-Dave
I would love to get a set on my wagon - they are a boon all year round (especially in winter) and I like the way they look.
Jim
Seriously, that keeps them clean and slippery, slush and ice will not stick to them.
They are painted, so just use the same wax you use on the rest of the car. It's easiest to do it when you are rotating your tires.
-juice
My last Subaru was really good at locking the front wheels staight ahead with ice. Entertaining.
Stuff in the wheel well won't through the wheels off balance because that is sprung weight, so it's less of a concern that ice forming on the wheels themselves.
-juice
On the plus side though, I was impressed with the WRX's traction from a standstill and also with the way it handled unplowed neighbourhood streets. It was fun to experience a little 'four wheel drift' on some low-speed corners when nobody was around. I'm sure the traction would be even better with winter tires instead of the OEMs.
Thanks for the tip, pathstar! :-)
-Dennis
-Dave
Excellent point!
two even if it did it would be an insignificant amount and it would be burned off instantly.
-Colin
Thanks, that's a relief. How about from the coils?
While we're on the subject of ice, last winter I had to use a credit card on several occasions to open the gas filler lid due to freezing over. Anyone else have this problem?
Can anyone explain the huge price difference between the Pilot Sport A/S ($167) and the ContiExtremeContact ($75)? They are rated 2 and 3 in their category, with the Pilot Sport scoring slightly higher in traction/handling and the Conti scoring slightly higher on comfort/wear (but the differences are marginal).
-Chris