Subarus

[Flieger]

So I just got an Impreza Sport and after living with it for a week I have a few observations.



For reference, my previous DD was a 2006 Focus hatch with hydraulic steering, automatic gearbox, cable throttle, no ABS, no traction control, no nav or anything like that, no cruise control, a non-adjustable steering wheel and not much sound deadening.

- Buttons on the steering wheel for music and cruise are nice, but the spokes are too big to easily find a comfortable position (I like wrapping my fingers around the rim but want to have my thumbs near 10 and 2). Also, they make me a bit nervous when steering a lot since I think I am going to hit the horn button extension. I'm getting used to it though.

- Hard to shift smoothly since the E-throttle does whatever it wants to do and not what I tell it to. If I am upshifting it lets the revs hang for another few seconds before they start to drop. I can sort of get around this by just letting the clutch drag the rpm down, but the throttle response is bad both ways making it much harder to smooth things out than it is in the 911. Left turns across traffic can be a bit exciting. I think I can live with it though since I don't want to flash the ECU. Just kind of bummed that I can't get the full potential enjoyment from the manual gearbox (I need a gas pedal extension for blipping too).

- The electric power steering is not that great. Very little self-centering action and no road feel. I find myself wandering in the lane and not able to hold my desired line in twisties. I didn't really notice this on the test drive since I wasn't going fast. I guess most cars these days must be pretty bad since it actually got reasonably good reviews for steering (I guess the ratio is quicker too, from the BRZ, which combined with the lack of feedback makes things hard). The Focus had too much on-center effort actually but gave pretty good feedback and it made it easy to push the car. The Subaru doesn't plow like the Focus which is nice, but I want to feel how much the tire is working and drive by feel rather than by looking where the car is ending up on the road.

Overall I like the car. It is quiet and comfortable for cruising but I'd like to get some higher profile tires and smaller wheels. Maybe if I get ones with more offset it will make the steering better? Anyone make a manual conversion for the steering? I think the motor is on the column and not the rack so it would seem it would be pretty easy to take it out and put a solid shaft there instead.

[HardDrive]

Interesting that you mention going for higher profile tires. I feel the same. I like 17" wheel with 45 series tires in a road car. Less road noise, still plenty of stick.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Flieger

- The electric power steering is not that great. Very little self-centering action and no road feel. I find myself wandering in the lane and not able to hold my desired line in twisties. I didn't really notice this on the test drive since I wasn't going fast. I guess most cars these days must be pretty bad since it actually got reasonably good reviews for steering.

Is it possible that tweaking the alignment might help some of the steering issues that you're getting? Maybe something a bit more aggressive would help with self centering and wandering?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Interesting that you mention going for higher profile tires. I feel the same. I like 17" wheel with 45 series tires in a road car. Less road noise, still plenty of stick.

So often these days you get huge wheels with very low profile tires, not because you need them, but because that's the in style. My Boxster came with 19" wheels. I've considered sticking those in storage and getting some 18" wheels. 235 35 19 vs 235 40 18 and 265 35 19 vs 265 40 18. I'd get a better ride, and I doubt I'd see much if any difference in grip.

[Flieger]

These are 18x7.5 with 225/40/18 tires

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by masraum

Is it possible that tweaking the alignment might help some of the steering issues that you're getting? Maybe something a bit more aggressive would help with self centering and wandering?

True, more caster should help, and more negative camber as well. Camber could cause too much tire wear for a DD though. I think the bigger problem is the programming in the power assist. I guess it is speed sensitive too? Seems a little weightier at around town speeds than it does at highway speeds.