New member in Virginia with questions

[Renegade3]

I'm heading to my local dealer to test drive a 2010 hatchback, what questions should I be asking? I come from a background of multiple Mustangs but love the look and features of the WRX.
Have their been any issues with the forced induction on any of the 2010s?

Thanks,


Mark

[TheJ]

Welcome to the club!

There is definitely quite a difference between the WRX and a Mustang. I would recommend you try driving one before you get too far along. Once used to a WRX, a RWD V8 seems to fail miserably for anything that is not straight line and clean/dry pavement. However, coming from RWD V8 the WRX will tend to feel irritatingly wimpy on low end torque (especially when not launched).

Where abouts in VA are you?

[Renegade3]

Thanks for the reply! I'm going to test drive it before I do go any further. I am a bit worried about the "seat of my pants" feel between the two.
Don't get my wrong, I'm love stangs, but the major short coming (and I've owned a a Mach I, 02 Gt, 08 Bullitt, and two 04 Cobras) is handling. Understeer is nasty on the track and I want something that combines great handling with power and agility.
Any other advice for me? Is it worth going with the WRX premium hatch over the standard for the sound system?

Thanks again!

I'm in Herndon, got to love NOVA traffic....

[brfatal]

People are generally unimpressed with the stock suspension, but it's an inexpensive 'fix' to correct the short comings.

[Renegade3]

Last night I brought my new WRX home! I ended up purchasing a 2010 Premium in racing blue (I think that's what the color is called?). I already ordered a new drop in airfilter, shifter, stainless steel brake lines and some other odds and ends.
I love the way this car drives and handles!

[zax]

Last night I brought my new WRX home! I ended up purchasing a 2010 Premium in racing blue (I think that's what the color is called?). I already ordered a new drop in airfilter, shifter, stainless steel brake lines and some other odds and ends.
I love the way this car drives and handles!

World Rally Blue (WRB). It's a Subaru tradition that extends back to the WRC Impreza 555 and perhaps even before. In fact, I think that all Subaru World Rally cars (Legacy as well) were WRB.

Welcome to the tradition

[Renegade3]

Thanks for the welcome and thank you for the correction on the color, I've got a lot to learn!

[wrxgc]

Got any pictures? I bet she looks good.

Welcome!

[Renegade3]

Here ya go

[brfatal]

Last night I brought my new WRX home! I ended up purchasing a 2010 Premium in racing blue (I think that's what the color is called?). I already ordered a new drop in airfilter, shifter, stainless steel brake lines and some other odds and ends.
I love the way this car drives and handles!

Return the air filter. It's not a worthwhile investment at all.

[Renegade3]

Every car I've had,naturally aspirated or not have shown the benefits of better air intake, what makes the WRX different? Is there something about the turbo that changes the dynamics of the engine receiving more air?

Thanks

[brfatal]

You're not going to make power unless the intake is a restriction. And for a stock WRX it's not. A while back Cobb did a test on the SPT intake on a previous generation WRX (though they use a different intake design) and they concluded upon something like a 3 whp gain, which is not consistently measurable on a dyno. Here all you are doing is replacing a filter.

And when it comes to filters, tests have shown that some OE replacement paper filters flow better than some of the 'peformance-minded' aftermarket ones. Honestly, you're spending ~$40 for 0-2 whp.

[Renegade3]

Wow, thanks for the info. All I bought was the drop in filter, not a cai. That's a huge difference between my cobra and the wrx. Changing the entire cai resulted in 25 rwhp, but probably due to ford 's restrictive intake system. What other newbie mods do you recommend and I really appreciate the input.

[TheJ]

Congratulations on your new wrx!

[Renegade3]

Thank you sir!