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2008 Subaru Impreza WRX
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Comments
I'd take a 6 for the AWD system alone.
Personally, I like the speed6 better then the speed3. It feels more stable, and has a nicer ride and the AWD is a big factor.
Juice, you see the face lift is out for the Legacy's? It looks a little beefier. I like it. We have a bunch at our Subaru store.
I need some help. I would like to know how to break in the car during the break in period and after so that the car get properly broken in.
For the 2007 STi the shift points when increasing speed are
2nd -15mph
3rd – 25mph
4th – 40mph
5th – 45mph
6th – 50mph and above.
When down shifting at what speed or mph should one downshift. Also at what rpm should one down shift to have a smooth transition from one gear to another with out experiencing a bump?
How do you get rid of the parachute open effect when down shifting from one gear to another as I would like to start performing engine braking and use the normal brakes less?
In lots of traffic how should I vary the speed of the engine? I was told that I should hold it in lower gear longer and go to about 3500rpms before shifting. I only have about seven hundred miles so I am trying to keep it under 4000rpm. This weekend I plan to take the car for a long ride early so that I can vary the speed more for the last 300 miles.
I was told that I should bring the car up to 6000rpms after the first 1000 miles so that the cars engine will break in right?
Thank You
Khyle
Big misconception. Engine braking is not recommended as a substitue for brakes. Think of it this way a clutch and engine damage is far more expensive than some brake pads.
-mike
2018 430i Gran Coupe
The big news is they dropped the Legacy wagon, a mistake IMO. They dropped the manual transmission GT wagon after just one year (2005), and now they dropped the wagons completely! :sick:
Gotta get an Outback if you want a wagon.
The Outback sedan is also gone, so if you want a sedan it has to be a Legacy. I won't miss it.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
-mike
-mike
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Cargo area is a lot wider, maybe deeper, but not as long as before.
It's more of a hatch now, so there is no Impreza wagon, and there is no Legacy wagon. You have to choose an Outback or pick one of their SUVs.
-mike
I reluctantly bought the Outback to get the 3.0 after finding turbo lag unacceptable in the 2005 Legacy GT wagon. My Outback does not handle nearly as well as my old 1997 Legacy GT wagon did. A heavy throttle U turn in the Outback VDC can be an adventure!
Well a heavy throttle U with any VDC can be an adventure, I have the same problem in my Armada equipped with VDC, however if I turn off the VDC it grips and goes.
By the way swapping your struts and springs doesn't "void" your warranty. As I've said time and time again, IF THERE WAS A DEMAND FOR THE LEGACY WAGON and SOA COULD MAKE A PROFIT ON THEM, they would still be producing them. Obviously they couldn't. Similar to the SVX, great car, but it was obvious that Subaru wasn't making money or enough money on them to keep em around.
-mike
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I have NEVER seen a GT wagon in stock at any of the local dealers here in MN. Trust me, I really looked around for those. If you can't find them, how do you buy them ? I have heard a similar situation in several other parts of the country. And if people looking for them, cannot find/buy them, how will Subaru be able to sell them, let alone make a profit on them ?
Seeing a lot more Outback and Forester models on the road lately, which coincidentally is what the local dealer has in stock...
-Brian
I talked to some of those Subaru dealers and they admit - lack of brand awareness is a huge problem here, especially in performance trims other than WRX/STI. But not much is being done to change it.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
-Brian
Like I said before - they market Outbacks, Tribecas and Foresters, so those sell, the Imprezas had sold "themselves" until recently. The Legacies, wagon or sedan are treated here like a stepchild, so no wonder they sell not so well.
I kind of understand that - Legacy is smaller and more expensive than their competition counterparts, so it's hard to push them - as opposed to Outbacks that have no real counterparts.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I'm thinking aftermarket rims with Conti Contact Sports 3 tires or pirelli Pzero Neros and running winter tires like Nokian or maybe the Pirelli snow tires.
Has anyone had any experience with these tires on their WRX?
Also rim size suggestions without modding the suspension.
Thanks
I hate the contis and the neros. While not the worst, definitely not the best. My favorite AS tires are the Sumitommo HTR+, Favorite Summers are the Yokohama ES100s
-mike
I hate the contis and the neros. While not the worst, definitely not the best. My favorite AS tires are the Sumitommo HTR+, Favorite Summers are the Yokohama ES100s
Well that means the new WRX has very narrow tires on it compared to the 2007 models which Edmunds lists at 215's.
Just wondering why those particular tires. I did a check on them at Tire Rack and they were both rated very poorly. The Conti was rated very good to excellent. I know we all have our choices but having been out of the market I'm reading up on the new tires that have come out and I prefer dedicated summer tires backed up by decent snow rated all seasons.
I'm not saying your wrong, but wondering what you like about those tires?
205 seems really narrow for a WRX tho.
I've driven with both those and the Neros and Contis tend to hydroplane more than the HTR+, but they cost about $40 more per tire!
For a dedicated summer the ES100s are outstanding and wear like rocks. If you really want a good summer tire and don't mind replacing them ever 25-30k miles the Faulken Azenis Sports are outstanding and cost ~$100-115
On my new Legacy GT I'll be running Azenis Sports in the Summer and Nokians or Pirelli snows in the winter.
-mike
I've driven with both those and the Neros and Contis tend to hydroplane more than the HTR+, but they cost about $40 more per tire!
They do make all season tires but I'm going to post a blurb about the Conti's. I don't use all season tires in the summer. i will just sell my new whatever it comes with for like 1/2 the price that Tire Rack would sell them for or something like that IF I buy the WRX. Too many hills and the like in the area I will be in to not have that snow emblem on the tire.
The Conti's a Max performance summer only tires and will harden into rocks when it gets cold out. But here is the blurb on them from Tire Rack where I buy all my tires except Nokian as they don't sell Nokian.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiSportContact+3
The ContiSportContact 3 is Continental Tire's Max Performance Summer tire developed for the drivers of powerful sports cars, sports coupes and luxury sedans. The ContiSportContact 3 is designed to combine outstanding braking capability and agile steering precision. Like all summer tires, the Continental ContiSportContact 3 is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.
ContiSportContact 3 tires feature an asymmetric design with solid tread blocks and a continuous rib on the outboard shoulder to improve responsiveness and cornering stability, while continuous intermediate ribs provide constant rubber-to-road contact to reduce noise and control the longitudinal forces experienced when braking. The continuous circumferential tread grooves help disperse water to resist hydroplaning and their asymmetrically angled walls further stabilize the tread ribs, increasing steering precision and reducing deformation while cornering. The notched shoulder blocks on the inboard portion enhance wet weather traction.
The tire's structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by nylon to stabilize the tread area and enhance handling as well as high-speed capability.
These aren't cheap at $172 each but I read all the reviews they had on a bunch of different tires and I pay more attention to the owner reviews than the company advertising.
Also a lot of other forums here are talking about them. So that's why I asked. The Pirelli PZero Neros seem ok too.
I will run high performance snow tires from end of october til sometime in March.
All seasons just don't thrill me enough to want to buy them for all year round. my only grip with the Nokian Hakkapalieta(sp?) Q's that I used to run on my Miata was they would only last one winter before they were worn out.
Those are no longer made but I need something that will last more than 8K miles or so.
I just have a great disdain for the continentials and goodyears across the board (except the Goodyear MTR offroad tires) as they all get hard and plasticy after a few thousand miles. The ES100s and the Azenis do not last more than a season but at about $100 a pop they are cheap to replace.
As for Tirerack comments from owners? I dislike them because most of the "ratings" are from folks who just got rid of their OEM tires after 60,000 miles, so pretty much whatever tire they put on is going to be better than the stockers with 60,000 miles on them!
-mike
Well I really want a Max performance tire if I get a WRX. All seasons are good if they are snow rated in the winter but not going to do it for me in the summer. I forget what tires i bought for my 2002 WRX but they gripped like glue. I only put about 300 miles on the stock OEM tires before i sold them so it's not that.
Most OEM tires get very greasy when hot or worse they chunk and have poor grip. Edmunds last test with the 2006 Sport Car comparison the all seasons probably cost the WRX the top spot.
If I buy a minivan I'll use all seasons in the summer. A WRX needs grippy tires. Just my opinion.
Any chance you can find out what size they took off and what size they put on 205 or 215 or 225 that sort of thing?
Because I know they had to have the sizes that were put on it. Also any idea what brand of tire they swapped into? I know most OEM tires suck. That's why I ditch mine as soon as the order from Tire rack comes in.
Thanks
Other alternatives are the Bridgestone Potenza 960AS Pole Position, which is also pretty highly rated.
A third option is the Yokohama Avid S4, which is also an Ultra high perf A/S tires like the above options.
I personally prefer UHPAS tires for their sheer versatility with a slight loss in performance in the summer months, when compared to Max perf Summer only tires.
Yeah that's great if you don't get any rain. I have to deal with some heavy rain in the summer months. A lot of people complain the Ultra Highs aren't all that great in rain. I hope they are wrong but tread wear is also much lower which is understandable. I think 15K+ miles is acceptable but would prefer 20K miles per set. On AWD they probably wear more evenly. So far the Conti's and the Pirelli's seem to be way up in performance. I had the Pilots on my Miata and they were ok but not great. They had a tendency to get greasy when you drove them real hard.
It is a serious mis-conception that the High-performance summer tires don't perform as well in the rain. In anything other than snowy conditions (rain or shine), Max.Perf, HP, UHP and UHPAS tires perform/handle better than any other non-high perf tire. Their tread-patterns and tire compounds are extremely optimised to outhandle/outperform non-high-performing tires to seriously resist hydroplaning and to channel the water away efficiently.
The problem with the Max Perf tires in the snow is that the compounds that make up the tire (thus enabling their prodigious grip in non-snowy-icy conditions), will harden as the temperature dips and thus they will lose all their grip in snowy/icy conditions (since they become iron hard as the temperature dips below zero).
Due to this reason, UHPAS tires have multiple compounds in their tread. Compounds that remain pliable in the snow are intermingled with the Summer High performance chemical compounds in multiple striations/rows, thus enabling them to retain ability to perform reasonably well in light snow (since the striations containing the compounds that enable them to remain pliable in the snow, will remain soft and retain their grip even when the temp dips) along with "Summer" high-performance in non-snowy conditions (due to the high-grip compounds in the non-snow striations). Obviously their tread pattern is not optimised (like snow tires) to dig into deep snow and hence they are not recommended for deep snow....and due to their very nature are a bit of a compromise in both summer/rainy conditions and also in snow/ice.
The pricier UHPAS tires, especially the newer ones like the Bridgestone 960AS or the Michelin Pilot Sport AS or the Yokohama Advan S4 are definitely something that I would consider using all the year around, since they give up very little in grip/performance when compared to their Max Perf counterparts in non-snowy conditions and are able to retain their grip in light snowy conditions, reasonably well.
Also, all of the above UHPAS tires have treadwear rating 400 and above. In a previous car I had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, which had a significant amount of tread even at 40,000 miles when I sold the car. For comparison, the Bridgestone RE92 that comes with the WRX, has less than half their treadwear rating at 160.
Yes this is good that they can handle the rain and possibly some snow but for me I run a winter tire or similar in the winter. The Nokian WR looks very good all things considered so for summer, I want the UHPAS or Max Perf tires not all seasons. Those with a snow rating will go on in mid October depending on outside temps.
Snow performance on a UHPAS or Max Per is irrelevant to me as that tire will only see snow if it looks out the window of the garage where I store it.
I like a high tread wear rating 400AA would be good.
Your post was very informative and it helped my wife understand some things. Thanks
Th e question is what about the tires i mentioned the Continentals and the Pirellis for Summer tires, any idea?
Thanks again
Thanks
That's great, I know the RE92's are horrible tires as I've had them on other cars but not for long. I can't say enough Bad things about the OEM RE92's.
The RE960's (just looked them up are performance all-season tires with a 400 AA A rating which is good. I usually look up reviews where the guy doing the review had then for 20K+ miles or more. 500 miles is not enough time to know the tire.
Most of the reviews based on mileage are good. The only problem is the are an H rated tire. The WRX pretty much needs to be shod with Z rated rubber in the summer, of course it depends on how you drive. For me the thrill of an open on/off ramp and the back roads with lots of bends and hills makes the Max Performance summer tires a great choice for Summer. I've never read a bad review on the Nokian WR's so I'll probably run with those late Oct until early April. The Nokian Hakka RSi is supposed to be very similar to the Hakka Q's I had on my Miata and those tires gripped like glue on snow and ice but totally sucked on plain wet roads near the end of the season and wore out pretty quickly driving on the fairly dry roads we had most of the time.
Just curious as to what part of the country you are in? I'll be up in New Hampshire and fairly high up but not fully in the mountains.
-mike
Not to argue with you but the Sumitommo HTR+ tires don't seem to get a lot of good reviews on Tire Rack. I'm not going to cut and paste anything but that was why I took them off my list. The people who rated the tired rated it poorly with a poor tread wear rating.
Sumitommo has a tread wear rating of either 360 AA A or 400 AA A.
No idea if they are good but I always read the reviews and they don't seem to be rated highly by people who bought them.
Of course I've read bad reviews on almost every tire so I try and average it out. Some tires are clearly better on some cars than others.
The ride with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S which replaced the Sumitomos, was harsh in comparison, due to the extremely stiff sidewalls of the Michelins.
-mike
i'm not trying to slag on you or your opinions just stating that I base a lot on the Tire Rack owner reviews. I'm sure for $68 a pop they are a good tire. I want a great tire for the summer and a snow or all season tire for the winter. I have to go up and down steep hills and it's not plowed all that well. My Miata with Hakka Q's did great on it but I saw a lot of SUV's struggling to get up the steep hills and then have to make a corner. I'd just blow by them. I *think* the WRX show with Nokian WR's for the snow might be a good compromise tire but I know that the snow on those roads which you HAVE to use to get into town are treacherous until they are plowed, sanded and salted and then dry. Great fun in the summer if the cops aren't around.
I guess no one really buys expensive max Performance tires for the WRX. Probably they go with performance all season tires.
I'm thinking I'll try out the Continentals and see how they work. supposedly they are the best and not a bad review on them but $172 a piece OUCH! Still I might go with a performance all season. Tires add up when you drive 20K+ a year. I don't want to buy tires every 6 months.
Thanks
Bob