'Zactly Just like one pulling out the cyl head studs. So thats what makes that sound on a Subie !
WRX Opinions
- Thread starter captno4
- Start date
- Status
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
Only the EJ comes with UEL headers.
Stock, the UEL header sounds fine. It's when people put massive fart cannons on them (catback) where it sounds terrible - like a V8 running on four cylinders. lol
The sound used to appeal to me, but now sounds very 2001 Fast and the Furious.
The ELH on most other Subies, including the FA20DIT-powered WRX and FXT (RIP) just sounds mildly like a boxer engine, which can also be enhanced with exhaust mods.
Last edited:
The new STi got a few updates to toughen up the ring lands, etc. but yes, you are getting identical mpg as one of my friends gets in his 2019 Sti. Horrible mpg for a 300hp car.I'd wait a year or two for the new 400HP STI to come out.I'm sure the WRX will get a nice power bump, as well.
If you can't wait, then realize that the STI MPG is pee-poor. I had a pretty mild commute where I couldn't get into boost too much for a long time and my average MPG over ~60k miles was 21.X MPG in my '08 STI (which, sadly, had the same exact engine as the newest STI).
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
It's a really nice car. His is fully loaded. Very good handling. My only issue is the turbo laaaaaaaagggg. Car is a dead dog under 3500rpm. After that, it's G2G. I do feel that 310hp is very low for the cost and mpg both, though.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
Turbo lag was good and bad. It was killer getting started in auto-X, but made passengers scream in surprise when you hammer it in 2nd at 2k RPM. Boost goes from -PSIG to 18PSIG (Stage 1) with a violent surge in acceleration. So, while it was slower of the line (without abusing the car), that boost surge was intoxicating.
Like I mentioned, I hope the rumors of a 400 HP (with twin-scroll turbo, for crying out loud!!!) are close to the truth. That would bring me back to an STI, even if it still only got 21 MPG ave. It would be a killer if it got mid 20's and 400 HP.
I just found it super annoying. My Mazda CX5 is faster 5-60, lol
LOTS of options + LOTS of OPINIONS!! a FWD with 4 snow tyres will out perform an AWD with all season but winter tyres + IMO CVTS are still developing STAY AWAY. shop + enjoy + don't forget overall cost INSURANCE included!! OPINIONS are like Ahoes we all have one + todays cars are a costly crapshoot!!
i gotta add subies are TIN cans compared to many others + VW + Audis are a better choice besides others. if in my budget the Golf R would be in my garage instead of my 2001 TT 225Q roadster with300 hp + tq + about 50 thou original miles on it. a $45 thou car in 2001, bought like new with about 30 thou on it for 18G + i love it!!!
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2019
- Messages
- 631
2019 WRX owner reporting in. My favourite car ever. Got 20K miles on it, do all the maintenance myself. Every time I get in to drive it I have a smile on my face. I actually learned to drive manual on it.
It's an IIHS top safety pick, I get up to 30 MPGs in the city with it as long as I don't hit every light. It keeps its resale value like nothing else, is cheap to insure, and simple to maintain.
I don't understand the people saying it's slow or that it doesn't have enough get up and go. It's got plenty without being stupid fast where you'll end up in jail. If you want ultimate straight line speed this isn't for you. It's not a drag car.
Personally, I think drag racing is low-effort, no skill, and boring. If that's what you're after, get a Mustang or Camaro. Cars like WRXs/BRZs are all about the driving experience and handling. There's nothing like heel-toeing perfectly into second gear just before a tight turn, having the turbo spooled and using the AWD to power yourself out of the apex even in tricky weather.
My next vehicle will be a WRX or STI as long as I can get a manual.
The only downside with the manual is the rev hang and a touchy throttle. You have to get used to it. Other than that the car is perfect for me and reasonably priced.
Nice enough that a car enthusiast like me can daily it year round, but not too nice and too expensive that it'll just be a garage queen that I'm afraid to get rain on because it'll ruin its value.
It's an IIHS top safety pick, I get up to 30 MPGs in the city with it as long as I don't hit every light. It keeps its resale value like nothing else, is cheap to insure, and simple to maintain.
I don't understand the people saying it's slow or that it doesn't have enough get up and go. It's got plenty without being stupid fast where you'll end up in jail. If you want ultimate straight line speed this isn't for you. It's not a drag car.
Personally, I think drag racing is low-effort, no skill, and boring. If that's what you're after, get a Mustang or Camaro. Cars like WRXs/BRZs are all about the driving experience and handling. There's nothing like heel-toeing perfectly into second gear just before a tight turn, having the turbo spooled and using the AWD to power yourself out of the apex even in tricky weather.
My next vehicle will be a WRX or STI as long as I can get a manual.
The only downside with the manual is the rev hang and a touchy throttle. You have to get used to it. Other than that the car is perfect for me and reasonably priced.
Nice enough that a car enthusiast like me can daily it year round, but not too nice and too expensive that it'll just be a garage queen that I'm afraid to get rain on because it'll ruin its value.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2019
- Messages
- 631
And a true AWD with winter tires will perform even better.
I've never understood this point, as if you can't put winter tires on AWD vehicles. Strawman argument.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2019
- Messages
- 631
Which is what everyone should be doing anyway. Summer tires in Summer, Winter tires in Winter. No All Season will perform as good as a dedicated one.
Safety goes up exponentially the better the tire.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2019
- Messages
- 631
A nice tune will fix your lag and the hanging throttle a bit, I believe, based on my experience with the new WRX's. They have a horrible factory tune.
The reason a lot of people say it's slow, is because it's similar in straight-line performance to my Mazda CX5 SUV or a Honda passport, etc. It also costs $30-40K and competes with 4-500hp vehicles in that niche in base and STi guise, and the handling, while good, does not set it apart from other sporty vehicles in that price range, either.
WIth the tune, and a 2.0, you don't have to worry so much about the turbo being spooled. Tune fixes most issues with that on the base. On the STi, nothing will fix it but a more modern engine. It just has horrible lag.
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/subaru/wrx/2018/2018-subaru-wrx-first-test-review/
0-60 in 6.2, 1/4 mile in [email protected]
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/mazda/cx-5/2019/2019-mazda-cx-5-turbo-first-test-review/
0-60 in 6.4, 1/4 mile in [email protected]
Now consider that most people will not launch their WRX the way a car magazine will, because they actually have to pay for maintaining it. The 5-60 tests on the CX5 and WRX usually show a half second advantage to the CX5. It has zero lag and is auto, the WRX in factory tune is laggy and a manual. When you inject "I don't want to be replacing my clutch" into the equation, the CX5 is going to take the W a lot of times on the street until you get well past 100mph from a stand-still. From a roll, the WRX will slowly walk it due to peak power/weight and lag not being a factor.
The WRX has peak hp/weight going for it, but the CX5 has a lag-free turbo, an automatic that's very well tuned, and another 50# of torque going for it. From a dig, unless the WRX driver hates their car or is REALLY into it, the CX5 is gonna walk.
Once you tune the WRX, you fix a lot of the power issues low in the curve, and it should more readily deal with real world situations like the punching it from a slow roll through a light or slightly out of band power issues. My friend hated his until he tuned it, then it was pretty nice the upper rpm power (total power) was lacking, I felt, for the money, though, after you passed 80mph-ish. The Sti kindof inverted that, having no power under 3500rpm, but then doing pretty darn well up top. I was in the interesting situation of having a friend who owned a 2018 WRX and 2019 Sti who didn't mind letting me drive both. My take-away is that neither were mature for 2019, but both had some g reat attributed. Subaru needs to fix their tune, and slap an engine in the car that has a dual scroll or something and pulls from idle to 6K, pushes 350hp at least, has a flat torque curve, and they'll have a real winner.
Drag racing is not a skill-less thing. It is just a different set of skills vs. auto X, etc.
I heavily considered the WRX when I replaced my 2015 CX5, but then they dropped the CX5 turbo, and an extra quarter second or so to 60 in abusive magazine style testing absolutely was not enough to sway me from giving up the other things it offered to go WRX. Did consider it, drove it, etc. though. I can appreciate it for what it is, but fast is not that thing.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2019
- Messages
- 631
Sounds like you're using 87 octane fuel. The Garrett turbo in the FA20DIT is twin scroll and I've never had it lag. Although the ECU will pull timing depending on the conditions (fuel and temp) so perhaps you're confusing it with that. A CX-5 will not "walk" a WRX from a rolling start. It's saying things like that that casts doubt on what you're saying overall.
Handling is nothing special? It puts down 0.92 lateral g's. That's within spitting distance of a BMW M2 (0.99) which costs over twice as much. In comparison, the CX-5 puts down 0.67.
Yes, drag racing in an automatic requires no skill whatsoever. Congrats, you can hold down the throttle while the ECU does everything. The skills aren't different from track, they're nonexistent. Unless you're the one building up the drag car yourself, it requires zero skill. Case in point: Dodge Demon; your grandmother will match the best possible time 1/4 mile time in it using launch control.
It's always pathetic seeing certain losers in pickups gunning it everywhere cutting people off thinking they're pro drivers thanks to big turbos and modern automatics.
Anyway, the fact that we're comparing a budget sports sedan to a family economy cuv is quite ridiculous. If you think the WRX is slow, the answer isn't a cuv, it's an Audi S4. Completely different classes. Maybe we should be comparing both to an EcoBoost Raptor? Or how about a Chevy Bolt?
Perfect example of why 0-60, 5-60, or whatever other such arbitrary measure, are nothing but parlour tricks. They never tell the whole story. CX-5 turbo is a quick vehicle, but the only time it'll have a chance at beating a decent sedan or coupe, is in a straight line.
93 octane was used. I did see an 87 octane test on youtube. 0-60 took 7+ seconds. Subaru doesn't really touch on this, but octane matters a lot as you note!
0.92gs isnt special. Nor are its track times. A modern (2015+) mustang gt smashes it on an auto course, for example, and a civic si puts down 0.95. Also, where did you get 0.67g for a cx5 turbo? It's around 0.80g and that's with the horrible stock a36 tires. With a decent all season, its 0.83ish or so. Not earthshaking, but 0.67 is just horrible, lol!
The wrx is a fun car, but it's not really a performance car (nor is the cx5 a performance SUV, for that matter).
The wrx is an affordable, well sorted sedan that's a little light on power.
Drag racing an auto...yeah, not a ton of skill until you get into wheel lift territory. Drag racing a manual? Tons of skill required to get legit times.
A tune does a TON for the wrx...look at how it fixes the power curves in the sub 3k range.
Also, no, from an 80 punch the wrx will win. From a slow 1st gear roll off a light, cx5 has it for a good bit due to the laggy delivery of the wrx vs instant power from the cx5 due to auto+power delivery profile and much more torque.
Last edited:
I guess my main point in all of this is that for what your boy will endure at work, he ought get something more than a 200whp 4 door, if an early midlife crisis type or celebratory move is in order. Mine in his place, was a new z06 Corvette. I went a bit heavier than I should have but it did make work bearable, lol!
53 and I have a 17 STI. Not my DD either. It’s a fun ride. Looking forward to some new tires when the Dunlops wear out. They are loud. Only 13000 miles. No issues whatsoever.
- Status
