My new SWP 2011 WRX 5-Door

[phenryiv1]

After 6 years of wishing that I had just bought a WRX rather than whatever I bought instead, I finally have my WRX. I only waited about a month to get it after I placed a deposit on a car that was already in the pipeline.

Car is pretty basic- SWP Base 5-door with only options being AW mats, cargo liner, rear bumper cover, HomeLink mirror. Was supposed to have the STi short shifter and the aluminum&leather STi shift knob, but it got deleted at the port.

With destination and all fees, I paid $25,000 even. Not the best deal I have seen on here, but not the worst, either. Basically, invoice price or just slightly under.

The only real gripe that I had was that I specifically instructed them NOT to install a front plate, as WV des not require them. The car came in last Friday and a note was put on the dash and steering wheel telling the prep guys not to add a front plate. It made it to this Thursday without anyone putting one on, but someone removed the note and the plate was put on. They did not even pre- drill; just rammed a screw in there and went to town.

I was not willing to wait months for another car to come in, and they offered $400 off of the car plus bought me a billet plate delete from MachV/fastwrx.com to cover the holes. I did not like the flat spot on the front of the bumper anyway, so all in all, it was not the worst thing that could have happened.

I added an STi "piston" knob because I hate the height of the stock knob, but I don't really like the feel of the piston knob, so it needs to be replaced.

I need to do something to supplement the audio, as it lacks bass altogether.

Plans are some legal tint (40%), add some mudflaps/splashguards, remove most of the badges, swap on some 16" LGT snowflates for winter use, replace the shift knob, and later on, run some STi front springs and add some swaybars. HIDs and factory fogs are also on the list.

So anyway, on to the pics. It was crappy on the drive home so it got a bit dirty, and it was dark when I took the first few shots. I took some better (outside) pics today, but the car is still dirty.

[JakeF]

Very nice ride. You had to go all the way to Annapolis to buy your WRX? I have a note in on my order not to install the dealer nameplate. I have a feeling they'll doing so.

[MrDavros2U]

Congrats, on the ride, very nice.

[phenryiv1]

Very nice ride. You had to go all the way to Annapolis to buy your WRX? I have a note in on my order not to install the dealer nameplate. I have a feeling they'll doing so.

I could have bought it closer, but the deal was not as good, and Annapolis had one on the way that was equipped right, in the right color.

Plus, their rep on Subaru forums (as far as customer service) is top-notch. They lived up to it. Even with the bumper issue, I'd go back.

[2011 scooby Wrx]

Congrats my spark silver 5 door comes in this wednesday can't wait

[phenryiv1]

Congrats my spark silver 5 door comes in this wednesday can't wait

Good deal. I looked at Spark Silver, Diamond Grey Metallic, and the SWP. I had wanted pearl white (or even regular white) for a while. In the Legacy that I traded, you had to get a tan interior to get pearl white, so I passed and went with a really dark silver.

Now I got my white/black combo and am pumped.

[phenryiv1]

Debadged...

[SuBieReX11]

Looks clean, nice ride and grats

[nello]

Debadged...

Nice. How much weight did that cut? Sweet ride.

[phenryiv1]

Nice. How much weight did that cut? Sweet ride.

Well, I removed about 2-3 oz of weight, so that is at least .1 second in the 1/4 mile, BUT I also removed the dealership sticker. We all know that stickers (even dealership ones) add HP, so the gain and loss cancel out each other.

[Mikie13]

Plans are some legal tint (40%), add some mudflaps/splashguards, remove most of the badges, swap on some 16" LGT snowflates for winter use, replace the shift knob, and later on, run some STi front springs and add some swaybars. HIDs and factory fogs are also on the list.

Congrats on your pickup...looks good! I've always liked the look of badgeless...both my STIs and my 350z I had I made badgeless.

Shiftknobs are a huge upgrade IMO...simple, and if you find exactly what you want, it makes shifting more enjoyable, considering we do it quite often.

WCLathwerks makes custom knobs...I own 2 of them and love them.


But why do you just want front springs on your car? That confuses me a bit...

And finally, make sure you go through the correct research before doing any HID kits. Simply throwing a "plug and play" kit in could potentially cause dangerous glare and brightness towards other drivers. Systems designed for and using standard Halogen bulbs aren't meant for HIDs. But like I said, do research and you should be alright in the end.

[phenryiv1]

Congrats on your pickup...looks good! I've always liked the look of badgeless...both my STIs and my 350z I had I made badgeless.

Same here. i might leave 1 emblem on the back, but that is it. I left the "WRX" for now, but may remove it later. My wife's TL looks way better with nothing but the Acura "A" in the center. My Legacy was all cleaned off, save for the Subaru badge. At least for now, the fact that it is a WRX (and I wanted one FOREVER) has me leaving the "WRX" lettering in place.

Shiftknobs are a huge upgrade IMO...simple, and if you find exactly what you want, it makes shifting more enjoyable, considering we do it quite often.
WCLathwerks makes custom knobs...I own 2 of them and love them.

I have a Momo RaceAir leather that I have had for years, and I really like its round shape (the old 350Z knob was awesome when I installed it in my SpecV). I have a feeling it will go in the WRX as soon as I settle on a shifter.

But why do you just want front springs on your car? That confuses me a bit...

The STi front springs are the same rate as the WRX but are slightly lower (about 1/2"), but the rears are the same. If I decide to do anything in the short-term, it will just be the STi fronts. Once the other suspension (sways and endlinks) is settled, I might decide to upgrade springs, but until the stock stuff starts to wear out, I will probably not do too much to it. A friend has the STi fronts and is giving them to me for $5 (long story) after he upgraded to something else.

And finally, make sure you go through the correct research before doing any HID kits. Simply throwing a "plug and play" kit in could potentially cause dangerous glare and brightness towards other drivers. Systems designed for and using standard Halogen bulbs aren't meant for HIDs. But like I said, do research and you should be alright in the end.

I have read a lot about the evils of drop-in HIDs, so anything that I do will be with that knowledge in mind, but I can't see for crap at night in this car, whereas in my Legacy (with a DDM drop-in kit), I was fine. It may not be optimum, but 95% of my winter driving is in the dark, on back roads, with deer everywhere. I need to do SOMETHING for visibility or I am going to get in a wreck with Bambi.

[ElVerde]

Same here. i might leave 1 emblem on the back, but that is it. I left the "WRX" for now, but may remove it later. My wife's TL looks way better with nothing but the Acura "A" in the center. My Legacy was all cleaned off, save for the Subaru badge. At least for now, the fact that it is a WRX (and I wanted one FOREVER) has me leaving the "WRX" lettering in place.

I did the same debadge on my 2011 SWP sedan...I actually really like it with the WRX...not sure I'll ever take it off.

[Sc00by_doo]

The only real gripe that I had was that I specifically instructed them NOT to install a front plate, as WV des not require them. The car came in last Friday and a note was put on the dash and steering wheel telling the prep guys not to add a front plate. It made it to this Thursday without anyone putting one on, but someone removed the note and the plate was put on. They did not even pre- drill; just rammed a screw in there and went to town.

Welcome!

I had the same issue regarding the holes in the bumper.

I bought my car from a private seller. When I took off his license plate, it looked like he had pounded down a couple of handles of liquor, blindfolded himself, and tried to jam the screws into the bumper. However, NYS requires a front license plate so I 'fixed' his holes, and mounted my plates.

[phenryiv1]

So I finally got my winter wheels on my '11 5DR.

I went with LGT snowflakes, mostly because I like the looks of them better then bugeye 16"s, as well as because I found a set with tires on craigslist from a guy looking for a set of Rotas in trade. I happened to have a set of SDRs that were my track wheels on my Legacy, but they were only wearing 215/45s, so I would want something wider to track the WRX as it is, plus I need something NOW to run in the winter.

He swapped my Rotas + tires (plus a set of 25-30%-tread 235/45/17 Bridgestones that I took off of my wife's TL) in trade for the LGT snowflakes with A/S Fuzion tires plus he gave me $100. While an A/S tire is not perfect, I needed something now and with it being the month of Christmas and having just dropped most of my car fund on the down payment, buying new snow tires was not an option.

At any rate, they look pretty good on SWP, though they are so tucked that is looks a little funny from some angles.