floods' 2013 SWP Sedan

[floods]

Took delivery of a new fresh-from-Japan 2013 sedan last Saturday, and I couldn't be more excited. This will probably be more of a journal than a build, as I'm not in any hurry to void my warranty or diminish it's resale value. I know a lot of people say that... and I know it's going to be hard. I've owned an STS-class 94 Civic while in college, and traded in an unmolested 03 Toyota Matrix XRS on the WRX. I've never bought a car with less than 82k on the ODO, so this feels... fresh.



A little background on the process and timing, hopefully I can help dialogue with any prospective buyers and help out with the process and negotiation:

Car: 2013 Base WRX Sedan in SWP
Options: Trunk spoiler, all-weather mats, cargo tray
Cost: $25,700 + TT&L
Dealer: Sewell Subaru, Dallas
VON Date: 10/26/12
Delivery: 12/8/12

Big thanks to Sewell for expediting my order once it hit US soil, I think it took less than 48 hours to get to the dealership once the ship hit port. So far they've been a great dealership to deal with, extremely professional, courteous, and helpful. Looking forward to seeing if their service holds up to their reputation!

The car arrived with 8 miles on the ODO, I put 3 on it driving with the salesman, and probably another 7-10 driving home. After that I ran through a hybrid Motoman break-in using Amsoil break in oil and fresh filters. I definitely didn't beat "drive it like I stole it," but I wanted to make sure the rings seated and matched well in hopes that I won't have oil consumption issues later. Ran through about 20 miles of non-WOT, low-boost pulls in 3rd and 4th gears with engine breaking and cool down periods. When I changed the oil after the break in, I did notice some sparkle to it. From here to my first "real" oil change I'll be following the manufacturers break in reco with <4k, no WOT, no highway cruising. Thinking about hitting that first oil change somewhere between 700-1000 miles.

Going to need to hit the break in mark before I travel for Christmas, which shouldn't be a problem.

So fire away with any comments, questions, or suggestions! My only firm plans so far are to have the car tinted, install a STS/bushings, paint the headlight housings, and possibly replace the HU.

[floods]

My thoughts on the WRX after my first few days of ownership:

I'd heard about the lack of quality in the Subaru's interior, and during a test drive you don't become familiar enough with the car to really notice many of the details that you become acquainted with over time. People often comment on the overly-plastic dash and touch points, the crinkle finish never hiding it's intent of pure functionality. I'm already noticing a rattle in the driver's side door when the radio goes over 30, the shifter has an indirect, sloppy feel, and the seats are stylish but have much worse bolsters than my Matrix did.

Like any relationship, you begin to notice these details over time. Yet again like a relationship, it's those idiosyncrasies that also make you truly appreciate the car for what it is or the person for who they really are. For every annoyance, there's a pleasant surprise. The cup holders are in the way of the shifter, yet there is a soft pad for your elbow in the door. The seats have very little support, yet there's a very direct feel through the suspension. The interior feels like it was clipped from 1/32 scale polystyrene, yet the paint is absolutely gorgeous. It's these bits that reveal where Subaru was going with the WRX: They skimped on the interior and instead put the WRX's value into the bodywork and drivetrain. It's a financially-justifiable, functional, fun and commutable sports sedan with no other direct competitor at it's price point. Coming from a FWD background the car feels incredibly neutral through turns, there's no need to over-correct understeer with a huge rear sway bar and high rear spring rates. Power is on tap at any RPM, and the torque... oh the torque! I've read Calvinball's journal and, as he experienced coming from an RSX, I now understand the wondrous joy of torque.

My impression may change over time, but I'm going to enjoy the honeymoon and hope that I continue to appreciate both the flaws and strengths that "make a Subaru a Subaru."

CN: The things you love always seem to overshadow the things you don't.

[Calvinball]

Glad you're enjoying all the ups and the downs! Nice to see someone else that enjoys getting long-winded as I do at times.

And thanks for the shoutout!

[floods]

Glad you're enjoying all the ups and the downs! Nice to see someone else that enjoys getting long-winded as I do at times.

And thanks for the shoutout!

Hey, thanks for stopping in! You may be long-winded in your journal, but it's entertaining.

A couple more things this morning:

1) The stock exhaust sounds amazing, I have no intentions of changing it. My Civic had a Tanabe Hyper on it, I love deep, quiet exhausts. Every time I roll up the ramp into the parking garage at work I set off some guy's car alarm.

2) I keep reaching for 6th gear.

3) Haven't figured out how to manage my iPod through the stock stereo... It's scrolling through artists alphabetically, there's GOT to be a better way without making playlists. I do love being able to stream Spotify through it though, that's all I've really been using.

Anyone have experience with this? I'm a bit of a phone nerd and have a rooted/flashed Razr Maxx that I'd like to run through a HU, seems like AR2 + ARLiberator is the best option. I'll be sure to write it all up if I go this route, as there really aren't any better options right now IMO. Pioneer's Android compatibility seems to have a ton of glitches and limitations. Mirroring should give me the ability to run/navigate Spotify, use Google navigation, and email/text with voice to text without looking down at a phone. Not to mention I'd like to be able to navigate my iPod's really, really really... ridiculously big library without having to scroll through eleventy-billion artists using a dial.

Arliberator - YouTube

[djk5077]

With your ipod plugged into the usb port, if you hit the button labeled "LIST" on the HU it brings up the Music menu on the ipod. Use the dial/knob to scroll through artists/albums/songs/etc.... Push the knob in to select what you want. Then scroll, push, repeat. Like you mentioned though, it is a bit tedious scrolling through a big library with that thing unfortunately.

If this is the journal you are referring to, then yeah I read the entire thing too. We must all enjoy long-winded stories. See my intro.

[Mikie13]

yet the paint is absolutely gorgeous.

Give it a month.

[11blackwrx]

congrats on the car

[floods]

With your ipod plugged into the usb port, if you hit the button labeled "LIST" on the HU it brings up the Music menu on the ipod. Use the dial/knob to scroll through artists/albums/songs/etc.... Push the knob in to select what you want. Then scroll, push, repeat. Like you mentioned though, it is a bit tedious scrolling through a big library with that thing unfortunately.

If this is the journal you are referring to, then yeah I read the entire thing too. We must all enjoy long-winded stories. See my intro.

Yeah, I can't stand it. I ran my iPod off an Alpine HU in my old car and the menu for navigating it was a lot easier... having to manually scan through 350 artists just to get to "M" makes it basically unusable. Really looking forward to upgrading though, been researching the AR2 and figuring out everything I'll need. Heide264 has had a couple posts and a thread that's been extremely helpful.

Did my first "mod" today. Not anything special, but I had the windows tinted 35% around with Madico "Charcool" tint at Tritek. When I came in they were pretty busy, and I expected to wait 3+ hours, but they had me in and out in around 2. I watched Fast Five all the way through in their waiting area.



Memory lane: I remember when the first FnF movie came out and how the scene grew afterwards (Spoon engines with T-66 turbos!)... you just couldn't race anywhere, everything was broken up and the rice on the streets skyrocketed. Dwayne Johnson looked hyoooooge in Fast Five though... man...

[floods]

If this is the journal you are referring to, then yeah I read the entire thing too. We must all enjoy long-winded stories. See my intro.

Got a chance to read through your intro, and a couple things really resonated with me:

Eventually, I came to my senses and realized I can't be driving econo-crap at this stage in my life. Or ever really for that matter. I'm a car guy, I've got to have something cool, noteworthy, fun.

It's my first new car, first car in my name, first Subaru and first vehicle anybody in my family has owned probably since before I was born that isn't FWD. And I must say, it's been great. Prior to making my purchase, I did a lot of reading up on the car. I also did a good bit of searching around after I got the car for ideas/advice/etc... on things to tweak, mod, and so on. I found I wound up on these forums a lot, so a couple weeks ago I decided I'd join and try to contribute a little bit.

Good stuff man.

[floods]

Give it a month.

Shhh!

congrats on the car

Thanks.

[djk5077]

Got a chance to read through your intro

impressive that you made it through all that. Where are you at in Texas? I have a few relatives in Fort Worth, so I've been down that way a couple times over the years.

My windows are also tinted at 35% It's the perfect amount in my opinion.

[Mikie13]

Tint looks great! Hard to believe it's only 35% too. Looks darker actually.

[floods]

impressive that you made it through all that. Where are you at in Texas? I have a few relatives in Fort Worth, so I've been down that way a couple times over the years.

My windows are also tinted at 35% It's the perfect amount in my opinion.

I'm a bit of a black sheep, unlike most people I actually like to read. Details and personality go a long way!

I'm in Dallas, been here for about 5.5 yrs and will probably be here for the next 2-5. Fort Worth and Dallas are world's apart culturally even though they're close geographically. Did you grow up in PA?

Tint looks great! Hard to believe it's only 35% too. Looks darker actually.

Thanks! Yesterday was overcast, I'm sure it's going to look lighter on sunny days. So far it seems like a perfect blend of daytime filter while still having visibility at night.

I was driving around in a torrential downpour last night while I was trying to put miles on my car before my trip on Monday. It amazed me that the car just gripped the whole time, I've never experienced AWD in bad weather before... I jabbed the throttle on a u-turn while I was cruising and the car just stuck! Up to 555 miles, I'd like to hit 700 today and change to synthetic tomorrow. All of the wear in and seating should be done by now.

Does anyone know what's so "magical" about 1000 miles? Is it just an arbitrary number, specific to break in on synthetic, or is there another purpose behind it?

I've been waffling on when I'm going to do my headlights. They'll need to sit overnight, so I've got to plan 24 hours where I won't have to drive at night. I'm thinking about masking the chrome bezels around the lenses, and I'd like to leave the reflectors in so that they look exactly like the 2011 lights.

[mgmoehn]

sweet - ride glad you are enjoying it!

I too noticed all the same things you have. The bolsters on the seats are really NOT that great, yet they are stylish and everyone always mentions how comfy they look (when they sit in the back seat) and how NOT great the back seat is... but hey its functional and big enough to fit 4 adult men.

I always hear people saying how they dont like the exhaust or how they like the noise of the exhaust... is it just me or can you actually hear it from inside the car? Even when I go through a tunnel in hard acceleration I have to try REALLY hard to hear the exhaust... all I hear is the engine - turbo - and intake rev up

Anyway - good luck with the head lights! - I have grown to like the silver background of mine even though I thought at one point the black looked better

[Mikie13]

I hate my STI seats...very little bolster. The BRZ/FRS seats though...holy sex in a seat.

These engines are loud as hell to begin with...technically 4 cams, turbo, intake, boxer engine...all of that makes it very noisy.

I think they used 1000 miles for break-in because it was probably researched at some point...Subaru engineers designed and built the cars, not us. So they would know what's best for them. At least that's how I look at it, especially when they are the ones who hold the keys to warranties and such.