SUBARU WRX - Any drivers here?

FOO is a baller!

 

....but is he a shot caller?:?:

 

he does wish he was a little bit taller...

 

dammit where is that I Hate Foo Button

 

i actually saw a new sti parked at the bottom of Canyon Vistas a few weeks back... the back of the car looks cool, front not so much...

the thing that kills me about the EVO is besides the front and rear bumpers, they pretty much look identical to the regular lancers..

 

Meh.

The huge wing though...!

Get a Skyline GTR34 would be your best bet.

 

good luck doing that, CHP i believe was going to the houses of everyone that has tried to register one taking pictures of the cars and getting info. basically, in CA you can no longer register one to be legal to drive on the streets. there are ways around it, like having a dealer plate but you could drive any car basically with those plates. i actually have a few friends with 32s, 33s and 34's and its a rarity if they ever drive them on the roads... track only even tho they are registered legally.

 

Personally the GRT34 is way too fugly to even consider for me, but the performance merits are undeniable.

I'm much more of a Gallardo / R8 guy anyway.

 

don't think i would ever buy a lambo based on the fact that they don't even race their cars... porsche 911T :bang: i dunno man, R34's are pretty badass...but i'm partial to the R32...

 

The EVOs are way more expensive than a STI. The price for a new EVO and you can pick up a Lexus (IS Model) or a BMer (3 Series)

 

Doesn't matter to me whether Lambo races their merch or not...they look and sound so good it's irrelevant. Form over function. =]

Agreed on the 911TT

GT3 RS also.. *drool* :bang:

 

i'll finally chime in...

aint that the truth- 03' WRX waggon in Sonic Yellow here- the front bumper aint exactly "sonic" anymore.

I love my car (81,000 miles) and the only reason it's ever going to be traded is that there's not enough space as a true dad car- getting a car seat out of the back seat is nothing but pain. the next car choice? Infinity FX45 (used). I know, blasphemy.

other complaints: the headlight plastic harnesses melted on mine running brighter bulbs (svetlana?). but, the fix for any handy person is only $1 away online.

i've gotten 4 bikes on top of mine with camping gear for three days for two people as well w/o issue- don't get the sedan.

mods? well, I've done some:
magnaflow cat-back
K&N cold air intake
all inlet hoses converted to silicone hoses.
that's about it. im considering a garrett bb turbo for when mine goes out. why? same price as OEM but more boost w/o causing too much damage.

edit: i've been driving stick shift vehicles for a long time and my clutch is finally starting to go out at 81,000 miles.

 

Anybody have an STI or Evo they want to drag race?

 

Jax Bike Shop in Fullerton has a new WRX Sedan in the shop with a Saris trunk rack on the back holding a couple of Trek Cruisers. Free to check out without the pressure of s lame Car sales dude stuck to your arse.

 

are you gonna try to smoke them out with your exhaust again :lol:

 

If I'm out front I'm sure I will, but I honestly doubt I'll be out front. I've only raced an STI once, and I got a bad start, but we were about even until we had to slow down.

I think I fogged Jessie last night.

 

Classic Peugeot footage:
[youtube]8P-sAbVNde4[/youtube]

 

review in WSJ today

Still No Frills on Subaru's Cult Car

When the Subaru Impreza WRX made its U.S. debut in 2001, it seemed to herald a new era for car enthusiasts. An affordable performance machine that ran circles around cars costing twice the money, the "Scooby" was akin to a modern BMW 2002. The WRX presented itself as a smarter approach to going fast than anything else on the road, thanks to its ingenious all-wheel-drive system and turbocharged, four-cylinder engine. Each new car came with a membership in the Sports Car Club of America, encouraging owners to get involved in competitive rally racing. Subaru was, and still is, a major sponsor of rallying, where drivers race against the clock along treacherous winding roads.

I went along for the ride. I was working at a magazine that had borrowed a 2002 WRX for a yearlong test, so I commandeered it and requested an assignment covering rallying. This is how I came to acquire a taste for standing in the middle of a forest with a few complete strangers, often in the dark or the bitter cold, waiting and listening for each driver to come careening by at potentially fatal speeds. And when the actual races were over, there were the virtual ones, popular videogame titles like Gran Turismo and Colin McRae Rally, which prominently featured the WRX and its peers -- namely the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO -- in all their glory. I was convinced that this subculture was about to go mainstream.

Looking back, of course, I was entirely wrong. Nearly seven years later, rallying remains an underground pastime in the U.S., and the WRX remains as niche as a niche vehicle can get. Redesigned for 2008 along with the standard Impreza compact on which it is based, the WRX is still uncivilized for normal, everyday driving, and its interior is still unfortunately cheap. Of course, these character traits will be routinely ignored by all comers, as the WRX's $25,495 starting price and its 5.7-second 0-to-60 time still offer a great bang for the buck, particularly for those fans tromping through the woods or eagerly awaiting the release of Gran Turismo 5.

In overhauling the WRX, Subaru has done precious little to upset this crowd's sensibilities, or lack thereof. The biggest change comes in the entirely new unibody structure that underpins both a sedan and a five-door hatchback. The sedan seems oddly proportioned with a too-long hood. The hatchback is more visually balanced, making it the preferable design. (Subaru must agree on this point, as the uber-Impreza, the 305-horsepower, $35,640 WRX STI, is available only in this body style.) The five-door runt is all of 6½ inches shorter than the sedan and even two inches shorter than the old WRX. With a longer wheelbase than the old model, the WRX's wheels are now pushed out closer to the nose and tail, improving the ride quality and making the little hatch look more aggressive. Handling also benefits from the new double-wishbone suspension setup in the rear.

While some zealots have accused Subaru of "softening" the car, I think they are exaggerating. In instrumented testing by Road & Track magazine, the new model pulled more G-forces on the skidpad than the old model, and it recorded a faster speed through the slalom. In other words, the new WRX can outcorner the old one.

Under the hood is the same turbocharged, 2.5-liter, flat four-cylinder engine, mated to a five-speed manual (or a four-speed automatic for the poseurs). It still makes 224 horsepower and 226 pound-feet of torque, though it now hits these peaks quicker, a few hundred revs lower. Even so, the turbo lag is still there, and it is still annoying when driving the WRX at anything less than all-out. The new car does have a more-precise shifter, which fixes my biggest complaint with the old model. And the all-wheel-drive system is just as amazing as it's always been, conjuring up levels of road-holding that almost make the new standard stability-control system seem unnecessary.

Still, the big problem with the WRX -- one that escaped me years ago -- is that unless you live off an abandoned logging road on the top of a mountain, daily life gives you few opportunities to really appreciate your car's abilities. This is a common problem among sports cars -- Corvettes, Porsches, BMWs -- but at least in most of those vehicles you're either looking good or surrounded by a fair bit of luxury. Minding the speed limit in the humble WRX, however, you merely have plenty of time to notice the dull gray-and-black plastic that permeates its economy-car interior. Or you might catch a glimpse in your rearview mirror of the seat foam peeking out from around the car seat anchors. Listening to the stereo, you'll realize that even if you hadn't been planning to replace the factory sound system with an aftermarket unit, you are now. That is, just as soon as you remedy the still-conspicuous lack of a standard boost gauge to display turbo pressure. So in order to get the full measure of your vehicle, you are left with driving the WRX like a jerk all the time. Yes, that's a brassy assertion, but this is a brassy car -- its cult of owners wouldn't have it any other way.


Here's how the Subaru WRX compares with other turbocharged sport compacts.
2008 Impreza WRX 2008 Mini Cooper 2008 Volkswagen GTI 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart*** Base MSRP (incl. destination) $25,495 $21,850 $23,370 $25,000 Engine 2.5-L H4 1.6-L inline four-cylinder 2.0-L inline four-cylinder 2.0-L inline four-cylinder Base transmission 5-speed manual 6-speed manual 6-speed manual 6-speed, twin-clutch automatic Horsepower/Torque (lb.-ft.) 224/226 172/177 200/207 235/253 Length (in.) 173.8* 146.2 165.8 180 Weight (lbs.) 3,142 2,668 3,100 3,200 EPA fuel economy (mpg, city/highway/combined) 19/25/21 26/34/29 21/29/24 n/a 0-60 mph (sec.)** 5.7 6.2 6.3 n/a *5-door **As tested by Road & Track magazine ***On sale summer 2008; all numbers are estimates

 

he wishes he had a girl who looked good: he would call her.

 

whats it doing there?