Bye, Bye 2000 Impreza RS

[StephenW]

Hi,
Mazda had snow tires. WRX didn't and their OEM tires suck to begin with.
I was excited in a long time test driving a new car. Mazda sure did a good
job. Between two body styles on WRX, I liked 5 door version better.

Put a set of Firestone Blizzack snow tires on a subaru you coulds almost
climb a tree; don't compair one car to another with different tires on it. I
just drove over a small mountain pass during a snowstorm yesterday with used
blixxacks on my Camery, not a problem (about 3" fresh snow) the other cars I
saw were 2 subes and a pick-up, who was the only one stuck. A week ago
without the tires on the Camery, I got stuck in level ground, This was MY
first time testing these tires personally, Next year More of my cars will
have them.

--
Steve
ASE Master Tech
L1 Diag
Currently residing at a Subaru Shop
4.5 years doing tires and alighnments

 

[bigjimpack]

I doubt he was on a track doing 100MPH. The point is that it is
foolish to model/allow that behavior after a young person has crashed
a car under questionable circumstances.

 

[Roger Buttsnort]

I doubt he was on a track doing 100MPH. The point is that it is
foolish to model/allow that behavior after a young person has crashed
a car under questionable circumstances.

Like father.....like son.......

 

[suburboturbo]

Hmmmm,
Today we both test drove 2008 WRX amd Mazda Speed3 from our neighborhood
dealership. To both of us Speed3 was more impressive. Tried Speed3 where
the accident happened, Could not make it slide. WRX as is needs some
upgrade. Speed3 as is was acceptable. Better feel for brake, pick up,
suspension, even stereo, etc. Tried upto 100mph exercising all gears on
freeway and tight parking lot. Now we have to decide.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit
speeds. Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the
salesman didn't come along for the ride. Had one chew me out for
winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd.
The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for
your $. But as with any car with that much power going through the
front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer. Up to you as to
whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least
challenging, especially on slick pavement. One of the reasons I lean
toward AWD. As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited
slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer. Any other cars
you're considering?

 

[JD]

But the circumstances are questionable to you because you have no idea as to
the full circumstances. Jumping to conclusions is also foolish.

I doubt he was on a track doing 100MPH. The point is that it is
foolish to model/allow that behavior after a young person has crashed
a car under questionable circumstances.

 

[StephenW]

Hmmmm,
Today we both test drove 2008 WRX amd Mazda Speed3 from our neighborhood
dealership. To both of us Speed3 was more impressive. Tried Speed3 where
the accident happened, Could not make it slide. WRX as is needs some
upgrade. Speed3 as is was acceptable. Better feel for brake, pick up,
suspension, even stereo, etc. Tried upto 100mph exercising all gears on
freeway and tight parking lot. Now we have to decide.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit
speeds. Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the
salesman didn't come along for the ride. Had one chew me out for
winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd.
The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for
your $. But as with any car with that much power going through the
front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer. Up to you as to
whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least
challenging, especially on slick pavement. One of the reasons I lean
toward AWD. As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited
slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer. Any other cars
you're considering?

Good point about the torque steer. We had a Saab come into the shop, had
twin turbos. I goosed it on the on ramp and was not happy with its responce;
the power was quickly overriding its ability to go straight and stay stable.
We opted not to sell that car and sent it back to the seller.

--
Steve
ASE Master Tech
L1 Diag
Currently residing at a Subaru Shop
4.5 years doing tires and alighnments

 

[KLS]

Put a set of Firestone Blizzack snow tires on a subaru you coulds almost
climb a tree; don't compair one car to another with different tires on it. I
just drove over a small mountain pass during a snowstorm yesterday with used
blixxacks on my Camery, not a problem (about 3" fresh snow) the other cars I
saw were 2 subes and a pick-up, who was the only one stuck. A week ago
without the tires on the Camery, I got stuck in level ground, This was MY
first time testing these tires personally, Next year More of my cars will
have them.

I have heard good things about Blizzaks, but one negative is that they
last only about 2 winters because they're such a soft tire. Just so
people know the tradeoff. I'll be getting something different as our
winters are so long that I need something that'll last more than 2
winters.

 

[Blair Baucom]

Hmmmm,
Today we both test drove 2008 WRX amd Mazda Speed3 from our neighborhood
dealership. To both of us Speed3 was more impressive. Tried Speed3 where
the accident happened, Could not make it slide. WRX as is needs some
upgrade. Speed3 as is was acceptable. Better feel for brake, pick up,
suspension, even stereo, etc. Tried upto 100mph exercising all gears on
freeway and tight parking lot. Now we have to decide.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit
speeds. Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the
salesman didn't come along for the ride. Had one chew me out for
winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd.
The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for
your $. But as with any car with that much power going through the
front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer. Up to you as to
whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least
challenging, especially on slick pavement. One of the reasons I lean
toward AWD. As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited
slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer. Any other cars
you're considering?

My 1989 Ford Probe GT had terrible torque steer, especially when the Turbo
kicked in. In my 1993 Ford Probe GT with the 2.5L V6 they changed it to
equal length half shafts which corrected the torque steer problem. There are
limits to how much power you can get to the front wheels in a FWD car
without problems. I drive a different rental car every week, and still many
have torque steer issues.

The Mazda site shows the Mazda Speed3 does have a front LSD.

Blair

 

[StephenW]

I view them as a three winter tire myself, but figure the 400-600 dollars I
don't spend repairing my car is a good trade.
Toyo has there version, has a harder compound, so it should last longer at a
slight trade of traction. If its a lot of snow, the Firestone winterforce
studdable is impressive looking. A friend at work put high end Goodyears
directional all weather, (don't know the exact one) on his outback, He has
driven through 1 foot of snow with no problem.

Back to Blizzacks, I only put them on when the risk of a freeze gets high,
and remove them as soom as the weather looks like its done for the season. I
have them on seperate rims. IF you have a "ehm" Faster sub or a heavy foot,
no guarentees Once the tire hits 4/32, its official traction device
rating is gone, but they do still grab, well OK. At that point I drive them
almost bald. I'm getting a used subie this year, and will have blizzacks for
it.

Where do you live?

--
Steve
ASE Master Tech
L1 Diag
Currently residing at a Subaru Shop
4.5 years doing tires and alighnments

 

[KLS]

Where do you live?

Thanks for the Toyo reference; I will check those out. I live on Lake
Ontario in western New York, where we basically wear our winter tires
from November-April. The weather here is just too unpredictable not
to have the snow tires on the car the entire time. I still remember
the snowstorm on May 9, 1989, that dropped 10 inches on us: that
Sunday I walked to brunch with some friends, and on the walk home, the
snow started falling. I couldn't believe it. We average 90+ inches
of snow a winter here, so I like snow tires, especially ones that last
3 winters or more.

 

[Rui Pedro Mendes Salgueiro]

Today we both test drove 2008 WRX

I thought you had said that buying new was out of the question ?

Anyway, if you have been disappointed by the 2008 WRX, check when the
Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart (a kind of Evo-light which competes with the
WRX) will be available.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/autoshows/detroit/2008/2009mitsubishilancerralliart.html

Tried Speed3 where the accident happened, Could not make it slide.

That doesn't mean much. Conditions at the time might have been different.
Even if there was no black ice or something like that, someone might had
spilled some oil or diesel fuel that made the surface more slippery at
the time and now was washed away.

 

[suburboturbo]

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit
speeds.  Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the
salesman didn't come along for the ride.  Had one chew me out for
winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd.
The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for
your $.  But as with any car with that much power going through the
front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer.  Up to you as to
whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least
challenging, especially on slick pavement.  One of the reasons I lean
toward AWD.  As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited
slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer.  Any other cars
you're considering?

My 1989 Ford Probe GT had terrible torque steer, especially when the Turbo
kicked in. In my 1993 Ford Probe GT with the 2.5L V6 they changed it to
equal length half shafts which corrected the torque steer problem. There are
limits to how much power you can get to the front wheels in a FWD car
without problems. I drive a different rental car every week, and still many
have torque steer issues.

The Mazda site shows the Mazda Speed3 does have a front LSD.

Blair- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The equal-length half shafts are the simplest way to address the
torque-steer issue, unless the design is already in production and has
to be re-engineered to accomodate them. I used to have a Sentra SE-
R. Nissan used equal length shafts and an LSD when they installed the
2.0 engine, and the combination worked beautifully. The standard
engine, a 1.8 liter, didn't have either, but Nissan wisely added them
with the whole SE-R package, which also included better brakes, tires
and different gear ratios (although I don't know whether the
transmission was the same) and marketed the car to a very different
audience. The SE-R was very much like the WRX in this respect, a well-
integrated set of modifications that transformed a practical compact
to an affordable high-performance car. Too many manufacturers miss
the boat on how to accomplish this, notably Honda, Toyota and GM,
opting instead to build completely different models to target the
enthusiast market. Much riskier and more expensive, from a business
POV.

 

[Tony Hwang]

Not surprised. They build a good solid car. We had a Protege for six
years. I only got rid of it because my wife needs to drive in
snowstorms and I wanted AWD and winter tires; the Protege, even with
snows, was just not good in snow. But that car was as solid as the day
we bought it; no squeaks and everything just worked. I like my Subarus,
but I'd be happy with a Mazda too.

Hi,
We're at a Nissan dealer this afternoon to look at used G35 AWD they
had. Then a guy came in and traded in his like new '06 WRX for Frontier
truck for his new job. We talked to the guy and test druve it, bought it
on the spot. Definitely felt better than '08 WRX. We'll pick it up on
week end after they clean the car inside and out and put a coat of wax.
Hope this one will last a while. Thanks for all the helpful comments.
Donating the wrecked one to Kidney foundation FWIW.

 

[bigjimpack]

Car should last fine. The problem is will your boy crash it. Hope he
doesnt hurt anyone else the next time!!!

 

[suburboturbo]

Hi,
We're at a Nissan dealer this afternoon to look at used G35 AWD they
had. Then a guy came in and traded in his like new '06 WRX for Frontier
truck for his new job. We talked to the guy and test druve it, bought it
on the spot. Definitely felt better than '08 WRX. We'll pick it up on
week end after they clean the car inside and out and put a coat of wax.
Hope this one will last a while. Thanks for all the helpful comments.
Donating the wrecked one to Kidney foundation FWIW.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Another of my favorites. Got one (a very good lease deal) as soon as
they hit the market. Only complaints were that it:

1. devoured front brakes [a set every 9,000 miles or so. Got
Infiniti to cover under warranty, but took some badgering]
2. difficult to change the oil yourself. filter is hidden waaaay up
without much clearance around it
3. low ground clearance. great for handling, but constantly scraped
on the small ridge entering my driveway

Haven't driven a G35x, but will likely be my wife's next car. Would
like to hear of your experience with it. Good luck.

 

[JD]

Hi,
We're at a Nissan dealer this afternoon to look at used G35 AWD they had.
Then a guy came in and traded in his like new '06 WRX for Frontier truck
for his new job. We talked to the guy and test druve it, bought it on the
spot. Definitely felt better than '08 WRX. We'll pick it up on week end
after they clean the car inside and out and put a coat of wax.
Hope this one will last a while. Thanks for all the helpful comments.
Donating the wrecked one to Kidney foundation FWIW.

I'm surprised that there was that much of a difference. I was looking at an
'08 for my wife. I haven't tested one yet. What is the difference in the
feel Tony?

 

[isquat]

Glad to hear your boy is fine Tony. Just last week I had a driver
skid into my back yard late at night. It got cold and icy, with
some snow, he was breaking for more than 20 yards until finally
came to a stop in my backyard. Damage estimate is several
hundred $ for the wooden fence, plus some more for his fancy
aluminum tire rims one of which completely disintegrated as it
hit the curb, real hard.

I can assure you that steel rims hold not much better and it
does not take a lot to bend the. Not a complete disintegration
of course but you still have to replace the rim.
At much lower price though
I would know cause I bent 3 of them in a single accident.

And, of course, I'm really glad the OP is not buying a regular impreza
or
08 wrx as a replacement. Both being 100% certified trash.

 

[isquat]

I agree with JD: the Mazda3 I have now (2008) is terrible in snow and
ice, and in those conditions, we drive the OBW. I plan to buy a set

Except your Mazda3 does not have LBS in front while MazdaSpeed3 does
have it.
Let me guess: you curently run some all season trash on your Mazda3
to complement the open front diff?

I'm getting lower opinion of Subaru owner daily and am very glad I
left the club.

 

[Tony Hwang]

I'm surprised that there was that much of a difference. I was looking
at an '08 for my wife. I haven't tested one yet. What is the
difference in the feel Tony?

Hi,
'06 has tighter feel, has shorter shift, etc. '08 has cushy cushy softer
ride, longer shift stroke, etc. didn't feel like sporty car. But it has
more interior space for sure, little taller and wider. I like cars with
road feel, little tight suspension, quick shift like that. My son felt
same way. He declined to get '08. Mazda Speed3 somehow has poor seating
and right leg is rubbing the side of center console no matter how I
adjust the seat. But it'd be a good choice if it were AWD. AWD kept us
from getting Mazda. There is a rumour Mazda may come out with AWD on
Speed3. My Cul De Sac has 7 houses. Out of 7 households, 3 have Nissam
G35X. They replaced, Jaguar AWD, BMW 5-series, Audi Quattro. G35 is
very popular around this neck of wood.

 

[KLS]

Except your Mazda3 does not have LBS in front while MazdaSpeed3 does
have it.
Let me guess: you curently run some all season trash on your Mazda3
to complement the open front diff?

I have had the car less than a month, and I'm driving on the Goodyear
Eagle RSA tires it came with, which are less than ideal for our
winters (to say the least!). I intend to buy four dedicated snow
tires and rims for the car in August. So, back off on your insulting
assumptions and just ask direct questions.