Being a kid again: A WRX, and the moding/tuning culture.

[TheGreekPhysique]

BlackTalon

That's great! Ask the mechanic to put in one of those tall handbrakes like the rally cars have so your wife can slide it around the curves easier.

Shes got to learn stick first LOL

 

[gbesq]

I can attest to the nature of the island roads on Naxos and Crete. As the quintessential type B personality, I had fun driving our rental car on those twisty mountain roads (including an interesting encounter with a herd of gravity defying mountain goats). My other half in the passenger seat, the quintessential type A personality, was white knuckling it the entire time and yelling at me to slow down. Where’s the fun in that!?! 😀

 

[Bruce235]

Hope you got the stock headlights😵‍💫

 

[TheGreekPhysique]

Bruce235

Hope you got the stock headlights😵‍💫

Lol I did.

 

[TheGreekPhysique]

Got back from 3 weeks in the motherland not too long ago and finally had a chance to drive the 01 bugeye. Driving that car was a vastly different experience than my 2015. Its difficulty to articulate. My 2015 is faster. Its actually really not even that close. But the 01' is more responsive to throttle depressions in the ~2-4k range. It feels snappier. The 2015 in general just kind of feels heavier, bloated. To the point when I first opened the door on my 01' I was so surprised at how light it was. Subjectively speaking, I also much prefer the sound of the 01 and how much more analog it feels. The gear shift while initially felt flimsy compared to the 2015 quickly grew on me. I found the 5 spd manual transmission to be more fun to drive and much easier to rev match. I recently came back to my 2015 and it just doesn't do it for me.

Am I crazy or have others had similar experiences?

 

[gbesq]

It's just like watches, Niko. Buy what you like -- and then drive it responsibly.

 

[TheGreekPhysique]

gbesq

It's just like watches, Niko. Buy what you like -- and then drive it responsibly.

And just like watches I guess its no surprise I prefer old over new

 

[TrboDieselPwrd]

TheGreekPhysique

Got back from 3 weeks in the motherland not too long ago and finally had a chance to drive the 01 bugeye. Driving that car was a vastly different experience than my 2015. Its difficulty to articulate. My 2015 is faster. Its actually really not even that close. But the 01' is more responsive to throttle depressions in the ~2-4k range. It feels snappier. The 2015 in general just kind of feels heavier, bloated. To the point when I first opened the door on my 01' I was so surprised at how light it was. Subjectively speaking, I also much prefer the sound of the 01 and how much more analog it feels. The gear shift while initially felt flimsy compared to the 2015 quickly grew on me. I found the 5 spd manual transmission to be more fun to drive and much easier to rev match. I recently came back to my 2015 and it just doesn't do it for me.

Am I crazy or have others had similar experiences?

Also just came back from 3 weeks in the motherland where we rented a 6sp Toyota Yaris 1.5L. It was never going to win any races, but it loved to rev and shifting with the closer gear ratios was very nice, especially on mountainous roads. This is nowhere near the type of comparison you've made, especially since we came back to a heavy, automatic US-spec car that drives like a beached whale and the Yaris is newer than our car.
Having been back a number of times and driven/rented many cars in Europe though, I've always found even the same models to have a little more umph in Europe. Maybe it's the higher test gas, or the cars are tuned differently I'm not sure. We owned a 1.8T VW Passat in the US and then rented the same thing in Greece one summer and it felt like a rocket ship in comparison.

 

[TheGreekPhysique]

TrboDieselPwrd

Also just came back from 3 weeks in the motherland where we rented a 6sp Toyota Yaris 1.5L. It was never going to win any races, but it loved to rev and shifting with the closer gear ratios was very nice, especially on mountainous roads. This is nowhere near the type of comparison you've made, especially since we came back to a heavy, automatic US-spec car that drives like a beached whale and the Yaris is newer than our car.
Having been back a number of times and driven/rented many cars in Europe though, I've always found even the same models to have a little more umph in Europe. Maybe it's the higher test gas, or the cars are tuned differently I'm not sure. We owned a 1.8T VW Passat in the US and then rented the same thing in Greece one summer and it felt like a rocket ship in comparison.

Yea what is going on with the gas. I went to put gas in the 01" in Chios and told the guy I want 93 (premium here in Bethlehem). He was like we only have 95 or 100 😵‍💫

 

[TrboDieselPwrd]

TheGreekPhysique

Yea what is going on with the gas. I went to put gas in the 01" in Chios and told the guy I want 93 (premium here in Bethlehem). He was like we only have 95 or 100 😵‍💫

Race gas!! 🤣

 

[Bruce235]

TheGreekPhysique

Yea what is going on with the gas. I went to put gas in the 01" in Chios and told the guy I want 93 (premium here in Bethlehem). He was like we only have 95 or 100 😵‍💫

They measure octane differently, iirc 97 is like our 91

 

[TheGreekPhysique]

Bruce235

They measure octane differently, iirc 97 is like our 91

I didnt know that. That makes a lot more sense. Good thing I found 100 than

 

[Watch my Whisky]

A lot of European market cars also have different gearing / final drive ratios.

 

[itsjustausername]

This whole thread has me longing for my 1999 Impreza 2.5RS so hard!! It’s the only car I ever bought new, basically mailordered it in the web 1 days. Very fond memories of being a part of the early community on nasioc.com, and the events that spun out of there.

But more than anything, I loved the SCCA AutoX seasons and track days I did with that thing. Drifting it to an STS season win in the parking lot of the Oakland Colosseum was pure magic. Shoulda never sold it 🥲

 

[JwRosenthal]

What you are experiencing with the generational divide in the Subaru world is the same in the BMW world. There is a reason people go after the E30’s (318is, 325is, M3)- they are slugs compared to their modern counterparts and far less refined/luxurious, but the mechanical driving experience is far mode connected- man & machine. All the sounds and smells, burbles & pops, clunks & rattles- they are all part of the experience.
When I was shopping for my M5 back in 2005, I drove both the E34 and E39’s- although only one generation apart, they were vastly different in how they felt. The E39 was wickedly fast, smooth as silk and ultra- refined in its ride and handling- a true performance luxury sedan. The E34 was more spartan in luxury amenities, although still had gobs of leather, black walnut wood trim and modern creature comforts like ass warmers (the most important of living on the east coast all imo). But the e34 has no nannies, 6 throttle bodies, direct linkage for both throttle and steering and is all about feedback- while still being well mannered enough for daily driving (which I did for many years).
It’s a more visceral driving experience, and not always welcome like on bad city streets or in rush hour DC traffic (the stuff clutch can throw a disc out after a while). But if you have blacktops and open road- no comparison to anything modern.

 

[TrboDieselPwrd]

JwRosenthal

What you are experiencing with the generational divide in the Subaru world is the same in the BMW world. There is a reason people go after the E30’s (318is, 325is, M3)- they are slugs compared to their modern counterparts and far less refined/luxurious, but the mechanical driving experience is far mode connected- man & machine. All the sounds and smells, burbles & pops, clunks & rattles- they are all part of the experience.
When I was shopping for my M5 back in 2005, I drove both the E34 and E39’s- although only one generation apart, they were vastly different in how they felt. The E39 was wickedly fast, smooth as silk and ultra- refined in its ride and handling- a true performance luxury sedan. The E34 was more spartan in luxury amenities, although still had gobs of leather, black walnut wood trim and modern creature comforts like ass warmers (the most important of living on the east coast all imo). But the e34 has no nannies, 6 throttle bodies, direct linkage for both throttle and steering and is all about feedback- while still being well mannered enough for daily driving (which I did for many years).
It’s a more visceral driving experience, and not always welcome like on bad city streets or in rush hour DC traffic (the stuff clutch can throw a disc out after a while). But if you have blacktops and open road- no comparison to anything modern.

Let's trade cars for a day; you can have my 62hp 240D and I'll take the M5. We'll both fear for our lives while driving, but in opposite ways 🤣

 

[JwRosenthal]

TrboDieselPwrd

Let's trade cars for a day; you can have my 62hp 240D and I'll take the M5. We'll both fear for our lives while driving, but in opposite ways 🤣

My best friend in high school had a 240D (his father bought it new and gave it to him when he got his license and bought a new car). I remember having to build up speed going down a hill to make it up the other side without bringing traffic to a crawl behind us- but man that suspension was amazing and I loved the ergonomics in that car. If they had dropped their 5l/8 into that little car- it would have been a blast- and my friend probably would have killed himself.

 

[STiguy]

TheGreekPhysique

I didnt know that. That makes a lot more sense. Good thing I found 100 than

Sorry for the late reply, I am a big subaru guy and have owned tons. You are spot on with your analysis. I have had 3 STis and a ONE WRX

I ordered a 2016 STi new in what was (back then) considered the purest spec. Zero options except for the performance exhaust upgrade. I passed on the short shift kit because the standard STI trans was great and I didn't trust the port to correctly install it after seeing a friend who had a WRX months prior have port installed options fail.

That was my first. I only had driven old (stock) Mitsubishi Evo's prior so during my time with the STi......well let's just say I was disappointed being I waited my whole life to get the STi....and I knew something was off

Fast Forward a few years later I got an 05 All stock besides a day 1 installed HKS catalogue exhaust (Catback) and my 2016 STi I bought new was gone. I got the 05 dropped off on a Sunday evening and by Friday at 9am the 2016 was traded in. Not even kidding...it's that big of a difference. Additionally Data readings a track rat friend took for me out of my own curiosity (I don't beat my cars) found the 05 to be substantially faster in all high way and low gear acceleration testing.

I could write a book, but I am one of the more knowledgeable people regarding these STis - to the point where some of the newer US Subaru corp management contact me with questions and inquiries on my thoughts - on a fairly regular basis. We have met at some of the big Subaru shows and remained friendly since.

In Late 2007 Subaru gave the contract to a new piston supplier....so the reliability and ringland punching bag jokes the car world throws on Subaru's is near 100% due to that. Most 08s to 09s had seriously defective engines. Emissions required changes that started in late 06 and where very bad by 08 MYs caused the engines to become ticking time bombs when modified....anyways

04-07s are the best , and the 05-06s are the pick of the bunch from a performance perspective. They just are true rally cars for the road that do everything you expect them to and are more of a raw drivers car.

Don't ever drive a 03-06 Evo that is stock or well sorted. It will ruin you! They are unbelievable cars.

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

STiguy

They are unbelievable cars.

But not one single pic? 🫨

 

[STiguy]

Scarecrow Boat

But not one single pic? 🫨

I suck I know. I’m a specialty car dealer. I probably have 1200 car pictures since January and one is of my own.