My Flatmate just bought a Subaru WRX....

[stuttgart]

Hey fella's what is the deal with these guy's... and well now.. my Flatmate.. and these crazy WRX's.. he keeps saying how FAST they are and I said well i don't think they are so FAST , he keep's telling me that once he breaks the motor in since they seem to have to do that woth these car's .. why i do not know but anyhow he say's he is going to RIP ME A NEW A$$!!!! what do you guy's think the likely hood of this happening is? I have a 78SC with a euro spec 3.0 ..and SSI with a pre 73 exhaust. should I take him to the next Auto X and show him just why the Porsche is the standard to which all other's ae compared?
Eric Mckenna
78SC
SCWDP!!

[island911]

Those are turbo charged?. .. not going to do great at an auto-x.

He thinks he just bought the latest and the greatest. . .just think how crappy he'll feel if he gets spanked by 24 year old automotive technology.

[stuttgart]

Come on Guy's!! what do you guy's think ? do I stand a chance against him or what!!! be honest!

[stuttgart]

Thanks! that is what I kep trying to tell him.. but he say's that he will keep it spooled up! uh yeah right!! I think he is smoking crack! but he is all over me to run him in a 0-60 shoot out.. i think i may take him in that as well but that car does run a 0-60 in like 5.5.. i have No idea what i can pull.

[island911]

A couple MAJOR items:
Power to weight; winner 911 (unless you have it pimed out)
Center of gravity; well thats a bit obvious.

The WRX is about 227hp and 3100lbs -> 13.65 lb/hp
Your 911, Ill guess 200hp and 2500lbs -> 12.5lb/hp

I can promise you the WRX is much less efficient at getting the power to the wheels. .. being AWD, the losses are high.

Just dont race in the mud or snow

[widebody911]

A buddy of mine has a WRX, couldn't catch me with a net! Wouldn't wanna go against him off-road though!

[J P Stein]

Stuttgart:

I think your a** is grass and that WRX is a lawnmower on the 0-60 bit. Make it a mile long and you can get him on the top end.

[stuttgart]

Thanks guy's maybe we'll have to go head to hed at the next auto X .. I will try to avoid the conversation with him on the 0-60 thing... Man I think it's funny the crap we talk to each other.. but boy it's geting to me.. everytime we sit for more than 20 minutes in the same room anymore the conversation turns to cars and boy doe's it get HEATED!!! he even went as far as to cut and paiste the performance spec's of his car and mine and posted it on our cork board!! hahaha.. i think this may have to simply go to the track and i think i have a beter feel for driving than he does..
Thanks guy's!! anyone want a roomate who loves porsche's here in the local OH,IN,KY. area. hahaha If he ever beat's me in anything with that WRX I may have to move out! I'll get a pic of his SCOOBY REX as he and his frind's call it. and let you guy's see what i am up against!

Eric Mckenna
78SC
SCWDP

[Targa77]

Hmmmm. Wouldn't do it because his car is brand new with a fat warranty and your car is 24 years-old with no warranty. But if you insist, according to the 0-60 times that I 've seen about the WRX, you should be able to stay with him and/or beat him with no problem. I've seen times range from 5.6 to 6.4, depending on who tested it. In the end though, your car is a classic Porsche 911 and his is just a Subaru. Put them side-by-side in a parking lot and see which one gets the most stares.

[stuttgart]

I have already run a few of the local Auto X's and I won the first one I was in, I raced the B sreet prepared calss and I WON.. it was crazy.. It was even raining.. I was givin lt's of head nod's by the fellow p-car driver's for my driving of the 911 in the rain.. I don't mind doing work on the car if something were to go wrong with it.. hell I bought it to drive it.. and drive it i DO!! everyday!!
Thanks guy's for the input. I hope to give Porsche aanother Victory at the next auto x this upcomming weekend here in dayton. wish me luck.

Eric mckenna
78SC
SCWDP

[Adam]

Guys,

These Subarus are fairly potent cars, althought a the Auto-x, the 911 will trounce them. They can't get the boost up at slow speeds. I work for a Subaru dealer and we hosted an Auto-X/Motorkana event where our Demo Forester S recorded the fastest time of the day over some 30+ WRXs (old and new ones)! The reason? We put the Forester in 1st gear, low range and had it bouncing off the limiter the whole way!

Once the track opens up, the '02 WRX is a stunning car and capable of handing lots of "exotics" their heads on plates. I've frequently driven them home from work and admire the unbursting powerband and the way you can drive it like you just stole it, but the 911 has way more character and driver satisfaction. As mentioned above, I'd drive the WRX at 10/10ths without a second thought and marvel at it's abilities, but there's no way I would treat my own 911 anywhere near as hard. It's well and truly out of warranty!

[nostatic]

If his rex is stock, it might be close...depends on the driver. The wrx has some turbo lag, but if he knows how to drive it, they are damn fast. If he tweaks the suspension and puts 17's or 18's with good rubber on, look out.

And if he drops a few $K in mods on it you're looking at a 300hp awd rocket.

And it is a boxer engine after all...

[Adam]

Nostatic,

You're not kidding! I've seen/driven/ridden in some amazingly fast WRXs. Some with outputs well over 300bhp. They are ridiculously easy to tweak, with only a few $$$ going in, for massive power increases.

There is a knack to driving them, too. If Joe Sixpack jumped in and floored it, it wouldn't perform as well as if you "feed" the throttle to it as it's boosting. On most WRXs, there's little point revving the motor past 6,500rpm as you're more likely to be making more power in the next gear. Someone who knows his stuff in a WRX would be lethal in a lot of different scenarios.

AWD requires a different way to attack corners and there's even an element of lift-off oversteer. All good fun stuff! Pity about the US Spec models, not getting the big 4-piston brakes, the 17" wheels or the sport seats that are standard here. I guess they're features to make the 2003 model much better again. If I wanted a devastating point-to-point car, I'd select the WRX in a flash, but for a weekender, a car that should make your heart beat hot blood and for you to get a flush each time you rev it toward the redline, with a growling, chattering symphony behind you, the 911 is the only way to go. Hey, you want to look good on the road, don't you?

[stuttgart]

This is his wrx, the only mod he has is the sti hoodscoop. He plans on getting some new wheels next though.

[stuttgart]

WHAT THE!! it was on... now it's off... what the HE** did I do.. I'll see if i can get it back up. ..

[Adam]

He'll do real well, fitting a mandrel-bent 3" exhaust, straight off the turbo with a hi-flo cat and a sports muffler.

The next best mod is to increase the boost to approx 16-17psi, but once the car has travelled over approx 5k miles, it will loosen up and he won't believe how well it drives. Once they get that sort of mileage up, it's like someone's added another 20-30 bhp. They just feel better.

During the run-in period, tell him not to be afraid of wringing it's little neck!

[stuttgart]

Adam,
Do you guy's get a differant version in the LAND DOWN UNDER?? than we do here? My Flatmate Alex want';s to know if you guy's are getting wel i guess If we Yanks are going to be getting this STI version of the WRX .. he say's this thing is a REAL BEAST!!!. he is standing over my shoulder asking me if you know of this I-club BBS.. were he hang's out? just wondering.
Eric Mckenna
78SC
SCWDP

[JmuRiz]

Oh yeah the I club is a good source for info on the Impreza's Turbo and non turbo and the WRXs. They are supposed to bring a water down version of the STi here next year...since Mitsu has upped the ante w/ the EVO VII that is coming here. The people in Europe get the best of the bunch...the EVO has a little more power but the new one is a bit of a pig. There was a great article comparing the 2 in a past issue of CAR magazine (great mag for all the fans of cars we don't get here, and GREAT photos!).

I'd stay away from the 0-60 contest, if you want to drag race why not get a Chevy II or something. A 911 should be able to dust a stock WRX on the auto-x. Good luck.

Nathan

[nostatic]

A friend of mine has a WRX wagon, along with an S4 and M3 (rough life). The S4 is chipped, putting out about 305hp. For his WRX the first mods he did was 17" Oz wheels w/sticky rubber, and Stoptech 4 piston brakes up front (no engine stuff). I drove both cars back to back, and while the WRX didn't have the head snapping acceleration of the S4, it killed it in the twisties. While my tenure with my 911 was brief, my seat-of-the-pants memory meter indicates the WRX outhandled the '87 coupe too.

Now the WRX has NO style whatsoever, and it ain't a 911. But with a few tweaks the rex has to be one of the quickest, most fun to drive cars out there.

[Dantilla]

My sister just bought a WRX. I test drove it with her (I think I scared the salesman!)

It did not accelerate as quickly as I thought it would for the horsepower- Lots of ponies must be used up to turn all four wheels. I was also suprised by how unstable it was when I hit the brakes from relatively high speeds. The suspension is quite a bit softer than what I would expect from the top- performance model. I bet it is a killer, off- road though. I do have to remember that I'm pretty spoiled with the P-car. Currently driving a 944 S2 with Mo30 springs until the 911 is running. The S2 would kill the WRX at an autocross.