Question for the Subaru people

[obsolete]

BUT I DIGRESS!

Dont let me scare you off scoobys, They are great cars!

My issue are in no way normal lol

Yea, you're pushing a lot harder than I think he's looking to go.

[xrocket21]

Yea, you're pushing a lot harder than I think he's looking to go.

yeah yeah

honestly, 300 whp in these cars is soooooooooooo good

go there and stop

on a wrx its basially an sti turbo and a tune

[lrrs313]

Thanks for the input everyone. IF I decide to buy one, I'll definitely be looking (at least at first) strictly for MPG increasing mods (probably an intake and tune, from the sounds of it). Definitely don't need to get too crazy, and if I do I'm pretty sure there are a couple people around here that know what they're doing (O'Neal Rally School is just up the street, they might have built a Scooby or two). But yeah, I don't see me going that route with it. I think I'm going to go test drive and see what happens. We'll see how bad they want the sale.......

EDIT: Another question: is it worth having them install the short-throw shifter at the dealership?

[scottfromboston]

As Scott said, check out http://www.wickedbigmeet.com/ next weekend!

BTW, cheap/easy/reliable way to get power? Whenever you mod a car, you potentially risk reliability - it's a risk that any enthusiast takes. Cheap? That depends on your frame of reference... a tune can run anywhere from $150 - $500 (and beyond), but once you start getting into changing parts, you're typically talking about retuning for the new mod (intake, exhaust, etc...). Where as some cars can get a lot from just an exhaust, you need to put a little more into a Subaru to get the same power. It all really depends on what you want to do with the car.

Yep, that's the show.

Actually - I lied a little bit. There's been a couple of small issues.

#1 Both cars had Potenzas that got noisy at the 15-20k mark, but replacement rubber is way better anyway. The wet grip on the RE92's got simply awful after 12-15k.

#2 The current Impreza had a rear wheel bearing go bad at about 50k. Covered under powertrain warranty (CitySide), no hassles.

I did a Cobb "Stage 1" which was an up-pipe (did a lot for lag) and a Cobb Access Port - an add-on tuning computer. I tinkered with it some, never actually had it tuned, but the car def. woke right up, for about 600$. If I did that again, I would have it tuned professionally, but I have more money and brains now. Both were easily removed when I traded in the car. I don't know if the up-pipe is necessary any more - the 2.5 is a bit better at spooling the turbo up from what I hear. People don't seem to have any reliability issues with the Access Port.

I also did the short shifter (Kartboy rings a bell), my only other mod, and I left it on there. It wasn't impossible, but it was kind of a pain (I was fortunate enough to have a lift when I installed it). I would have that installed professionally, either by the dealer or someone who knows Subarus. I did mine because there was no way in hell that Ira was ever touching my car again.

I eventually had the WRX tinted at a place in Bedford who as done a lot of cars for people from the N.E. section of NASIOC. SOOOO worth it - it's a small car - you're close to the windows. You simply cook without it. I think he charges 175$ for a wagon, and did a great job. I'd get it done, but I keep spending money on other toys....

Overall, the car was a champ. I did some autox with it, a trackday, and a hillclimb, and it would get me across the Kanc with a foot of fresh snow.

[xrocket21]

do NOT go for the dealer short throw

is a DIY and less than $200

I can help if you want

[lrrs313]

do NOT go for the dealer short throw

is a DIY and less than $200

I can help if you want

Good thing to know, thanks. I may take you up on that.

[curiouser]

If you go for a pre-2006 (2.0L) WRX, be sure to feel the change into 3rd and 4th gears.. this is from personal experience. I've heard good things about the new WRX (all of the 2.5L models, actually), except that the sedan looks like a Kia.

[xrocket21]

i am not a fan of the new new sedans at all

[lrrs313]

Wirelessly posted (BB Tour: BlackBerry9630/5.0.0.591 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Lol yeah I'm not big on the new sedans either. The 5 door on the other hand is pretty damn nice looking. And I don't see all that many of them driving around.

[lrrs313]

Wirelessly posted (BB Tour: BlackBerry9630/5.0.0.591 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Well that's a major shot to this plan. Went to the dealership and they offered me 21k for my year old truck. They didn't like the answer they got from me.

[seth399]

Wirelessly posted (BB Tour: BlackBerry9630/5.0.0.591 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Well that's a major shot to this plan. Went to the dealership and they offered me 21k for my year old truck. They didn't like the answer they got from me.

ya that is horsecrap!

[lrrs313]

ya that is horsecrap!

Yup. Off to try a different dealership today. Berlin City offered me $27k without even seeing the truck (of course I was looking at trading toward a 2010 Dodge 2500 diesel). We'll see what the dealer in Manchester says today.

[xrocket21]

good luck

[lrrs313]

good luck

Thanks. Turns out things may have worked in my favor. http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...u-koolaid.html

[Garandman]

The stock 2009/10 WRX has a lot of power. Break it in first. I think the biggest plus for a tune is that the car runs more smoothly when you change some of the lean conditions that help emissions at the expense of drivability. But the 2.5 turbos are pretty tractable anyway.

The OEM tires aren't terrible but aren't great either. They are summer only so you'll need some winter tires.

I'll be replacing the stock dampers soon but they aren't bad. I'd hesitate to replace the stock springs if you are driving the car on New England roads year-round.