Don't shoot, but I joined the Ranks of The Ricers = WRX
 

For a second car I bought a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX. Neat little machine.

I been reading some of the the posts concerning performance between a WRX and the Lightning. I do not have that much experience in the WRX yet (have not driven a manual tranny in 18 years), but I do not think, that stock-for-stock, it would be a contest. Pound-for-pound, the WRX just does not have enough torque compared to the Lightning.

Bummers so far. 1000 mile break-in period on the drivetrain. Keep RPMs below 4000. Subaru must be kidding! Titanium shift knob is almost untouchable on hot, sunny days after the car sits for a while in the sun.

Positive points. Just about everything is good. For a 3085lb car, it feels really planted. Drove it at 80-85MPH is driving rain, it was rock solid. Lots of value for dollars too, in my view. Definitely a fun car to drive except in stop-and-go traffic. I do recommend the short throw shifter option.

Funny stuff. Surrounded by ricers, I punch it doing a lane change. All hell breaks loose. Suddenly, it is a weed-wacker symphony. It was like stirring up a hornets nests, with a bunch of crappy little imports being driven all out, for whatever that is worth :rolleyes:

Congrats. I love those cars. Great second fast a@@ car.

I love the way the WRX looks. Nice little car and it seems you do get alot for your money.

Even though I'm a Ford guy (I work for them), I'm thinking of getting rid of my wifes CRAPPY '02 Focus for a WRX. That Focus has no nuts what so ever.

Do you know if I can get a WRX with an auto trans.?

Jason:)

Jason, yes you can get a WRX with a four speed auto tranny.

However, I test drove one (a wagon) and did not like its lack of acceleration from a dead stop. I read one or two car reviews, and they said the same thing. Too much turbo lag.

However, once it got rolling it was not too bad. I found myself doing 80MPH without realizing it.

The automatic has Subaru's version of traction control in conjunction with the AWD. It is suppose to be state-of-art and seems quite complicated.

The automatic is slighty heavier than the manual in either the sedan or the wagon versions. The sedan has a slighlty wider wheelbase, is not quite as tall, and has a slightly larger rear sway bar.

I am very happy with the WRX so far. This is my first import.

You might want to go onto Edmunds.com and check out the reviews. Biggest advantage Subaru has over its competition (and there ain't much) is that it is a whole lot less expensive, besides being AWD.

Thank GOD you still have the L!!

I like those little cars and would love to have one just to drive in bad weather!:D You might wanna drop in over at www.LS1.com. There are a few guys over there that own them and have modded the !@#$ out of 'em and one guy last I heard was turning 12.20's!!!:eek: I believe they said the tranny was the weak link though, a few of them have lost the trannies racing.:(

More/efficient boost should make up for having the automatic tranny.:) Upgrading the turbo in the WRX should be no problem at all. I'm sure some company makes one already.

If not, I live 5 minutes from Precision Turbo. You know, the people who build some of the fastest Pro 5.0 Mustangs around.

Jason :D

WRX is nowhere near RICE. nice car anyway!

joe

Nice rice :D

Just kidding, it's a great car. Just don't put a fart muffler on it...

LMAO "weed-wacker symphony" :D

Bad A$$ car, good luck with it. I almost bought one instead of my L.

I was just looking at Subarus' web site and pricing a WRX.

They have some CRAZY options.

$3035 for racier(as they call it) looking 17" rims. Thats alot of cash.
They're is a performance suspension and muffler that seem high priced, but the kicker is Subaru states "To be installed by the end user and not covered under warantee"!! Thats NUTS.

$275 for a boost gauge!! WOW

Nice car, but those are a few options I would do without.

redlite:

What all did you get on your WRX as far as options?

Jason

Congrats. I just sold my racing 'Stang and bought a '99 Miata for Solo II fun. So second car rice aint such a bad thing, imho

It's a fun car. Congrats! I also recommend the armrest option.

http://forums.i-club.com/forums/

Redlite, below is a picture of my WRX that I owned for ~10 months. It was a fun car. I decided that I wanted a truck to tow my mustang more than I wanted the WRX so I got the L. You are fortunate to be in Maryland because the best (IMHO) WRX tuner is located right by there - TurboXS. The owner is named Mark McGovern www.turboxs.com. Tell him that Jim McGovern (no relation) sent you. I had quite a few things done to my car. You will find that it will cost a lot more to mod that car to get the speed out of it that you had with the L. If you are just cruising around town in it and want something that handles nicely, I can't reccommend replacing the tires enough. The stock tires are absolute junk. You will be amazed with how much better that car handles, on stock suspension, with some decent tires on it. I tried the Falken Azenis ST115 and liked them.

Enjoy!

Jim

http://home.mindspring.com/~jmimac/M...Pics/WRX03.jpg

Congrats on the new toy! I've heard some WRX's are racing the mighty Viper...and winning sometimes! Isn't hot-rodding great? I'm addicted for sure...have fun!