I Did Another Thing….Subaru WRX

[DonDavis]

I’m not a “public road hoonig…” you get the idea.

But dang, this rig is fun.
Roundabouts seem like slow motion. It’s totally fine yielding and such, more the merrier.

Just smooth rolling.

[gregpark]

Yeah, they're fun. Mine drives like an econocan Japanese car until I hit the boost. Is yours turbocharged? Regardless, the unmolested bug eye was a good find. The AWD makes it feel so planted even on wet roads. I'm using a Cobb tuner which is great but that's it. When guys start changing the exhaust and intake is when catastrophic failure of the boxer can occur

[Bugsinrugs]

My 04 had 316,000 miles on it. Besides clutches and timing belts it’s been trouble free. Great car in the snow.

[DonDavis]

What brand of oil is good for this engine? I think it takes 10W40.

I’ve only owned one other turbo and it a Volvo 850.

[pavulon]

Neighbor has a WRX. I think it's great. Test drove an EVO 8 when they were new. It was remarkably good too and skewed my preference. To each their own!

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

What brand of oil is good for this engine? I think it takes 10W40.

I’ve only owned one other turbo and it a Volvo 850.

My 2.5 uses 5/30 full synthetic. Subaru specifies full syn. Yours is a 2.0 liter, google it

[Steve Carlton]

5W-30 appears to be what Subaru recommends (preferably synthetic), which is generally the wise way to go. You should also look up the ratings Subaru is looking for. Maybe check with 2-3 dealers to see what their service department likes to use.

Might not be a bad idea to have your oil tested at your next change to make sure nothing bad is happening.

I think that vintage Subie is known for weeping head gaskets and maybe pan gaskets, too. You might want to have the whole thing looked over by the best place you can find. I had an '04 WRX that the clutch got wonky on (I think it was from the person I lent it to) and an '07 Legacy 2.5L 4-cylinder that developed weeping head gaskets and pan gasket. The '07 had 70K miles on it. I called Subaru customer relations on both cars and they effectively offered to participate about 50% both times. Pretty good goodwill from Subaru.

[RANDY P]

5w40 Castrol in mine. It's only got 36K miles on it tho. Yours I'd try a high milage variant.

[berettafan]

Daughter was just talking about how much she liked the WRX we test drove last year. They really do encourage total jackassery on the road. Love it!

I really was put off by the fast and furious set that adores those things but the truth I learned on finally driving one is they are incredibly fun rides and one of the few remaining affordable vehicles that feeds the primal need to blast around in a great handling car.

[jhynesrockmtn]

A buddy has an 05 STI he is quietly looking to sell. I'm so tempted, but need another car like a hole in the head. His is completely stock with a lot of maintenance done. That WRX is a fantastic find! Enjoy.

[DonDavis]

Struts and brakes done. The calipers are serviceable, but certainly long in the tooth. Undercarriage looks good. Some hardware has some corrosion, but nothing gnarly. I’ll plan on some deeper brake work later and will replace bushings and such at the same time.

For now, she’s good!

Looking for tires, then getting an alignment this week.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

A buddy has an 05 STI he is quietly looking to sell. I'm so tempted, but need another car like a hole in the head. His is completely stock with a lot of maintenance done. That WRX is a fantastic find! Enjoy.

When I took my '04 in for service in Reno, I took an STI out of a test drive on a road similar to Angeles Crest Hwy and was super impressed.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

Struts and brakes done. The calipers are serviceable, but certainly long in the tooth. Undercarriage looks good. Some hardware has some corrosion, but nothing gnarly. I’ll plan on some deeper brake work later and will replace bushings and such at the same time.

For now, she’s good!

Looking for tires, then getting an alignment this week.

you are a madman! Enjoy!

[DonDavis]

Was hitting Hom Casa for random hardware.

My son saw it first, “park there!”

I did. It was fun. Met the owner.

[DonDavis]

[aschen]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

A buddy has an 05 STI he is quietly looking to sell. I'm so tempted, but need another car like a hole in the head. His is completely stock with a lot of maintenance done. That WRX is a fantastic find! Enjoy.

05 and 06 STi, are peak WRX. I had an 04 which had weak hubs. Updated for 05. In 07 They got a few downgrades including a worse engine tune. Jump on it, stock is a unicorn^2

[RANDY P]

I'm kind of in the market for a cheap 2005 STI. Figure at this point you might as well factor in a new longblock with cost of acquisition any of 'em. Dream one would be straight, intact interior <$12K. Mileage be damned.

Too much of a crapshoot to spend $teens$ or more on one of these with the fragility of the EJ.

rjp

[cockerpunk]

these old soft surbarus are so much better than the new ones. yeah they are soft, and vague, thats what a rally car feels like. you have to feel the rotation in the car, and not have the thing jacked down onto the bump stops to feel every bump.

the new ones have gotten so stiff, for poor drivers it feels better, because they need to feel the bump stops. but the good handling and grip is all the fact that these older cars were soft.

and man they are great on ice with studs. i dont compliment subaru handling much, cuase mostly its ****, but these older cars, were actually set up extremely well for slick surfaces.

https://youtu.be/74mR_CnDc-s?si=i05S6nl3uV5JACLW&t=2234

the old 2.5RS is even better than the WRX though, NA being both more reliable, and better driving than any turbo motor subaru has ever made. there is a reason why they are very popular ice and stage rally cars.

[DonDavis]

That’s great info CP and while I haven’t driven the newer cars, your point makes sense. Roundabouts are a hoot.


Btw, I’m just noticing the grill logo is upside down.

Is that just someone’s mistake or does it mean something.

I’ll just sit back and let the jokes fly. Hoping there’s at least one real answer.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I think it’s the same as an upside down pineapple in your grocery shopping cart Don. Good luck!