Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

As a WRX owner I'm pretty shocked at how biased (and misinformed) some people are in this thread!

First of all just to be clear, I'm not a Nissan hater all, I've had a 300ZX TT and quite a few pulsars before, and I have mates with skylines.

Nissans are awesome cars, but so are Subaru's in their own way.

I currently have an 2003 STi and have previously had a 2000 WRX.

Moving from a Skyline to a WRX, I think you'll really appreciate a WRX so long as you expect it to be what it was designed for (an AWD turbo sedan/hatch).

It is not a RWD coupe so you can never expect it drive the same as skyline.

Firstly, yes the early 5spd WRX boxes are known to be weak, but treat it with respect and it will return the favour.

I.e. no clutch dumping, flat shifting, and one very BIG NO NO which people commonly do is installing a brass button style clutch. And obviously cars with close to double stock power at the wheels or more will have a much higher chance of failure. But these are all things you should expect from a fulltime 4wd.

I'm not sure if many Skyline owners know this, but the 6spd boxes in 02 onwards STI's are the strongest boxes Subaru ever built, in fact one of the strongest japanese boxes fullstop. They are completely at the other end of the scale compared to the 5spds in terms of strength.

Try googling broken 6spds, you'll struggle to find more than a couple instances around the world, if any. Many run around 300awkw+ with no troubles.

So please don't generalise by saying all WRX boxes are rubbish!!

As far as understeer goes, my car has none whatsoever, if anything I have a little bit of oversteer.

05 onwards STIs even have an adjustable centre diff to change front to rear torque split ratio, thus letting the driver control the amount of understeer/oversteer.

All non STIs have 50:50 split, but even with them understeer can be sorted out easily with a couple simple mods like swaybars, etc. My 2000 WRX had no understeer, stuck to the road like it was on rails.

And as far as being cop bait, are you kidding? All us performance car owners are in the same boat........ we are all the same to them. If it's fast, then it's a cop magnet full stop.

Oh and those who don't like the sound of WRXs....... hmm well that's purely an opinion because many including myself think they sound tough as, very deep and ballsy (with a good exhaust).

All in all, WRXs are awesome cars when treated well and modded correctly.

My suggestion is, if you want a WRX go for an 02-onwards STI, you get the tough 6spd gearbox/LSDs, forged pistons, semi-closed deck block, huge brembo brakes and heaps more.

02 STIs are a very tough piece of machinery and can be had as little as 20g, and willingly cope with mods and high boost.

PS. why are people comparing an EVO to a WRX?

EVO competes with the STI......... the WRX had no competitor from Mitsu for 12 yrs between 1996 till 2008, (the GSR back in the old days and now the Ralliart)

Hope I've helped the OP and others who may have been a little confused about WRXs. :D

Edited by LetThereBeBoost
  • Replies 107
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

the only rexy worth buying is the 22b

with a 13b quad rotor conversion or an RB25:ninja:

You mean a 26b quad rotor right? thought so.

Rex'... always liked them still would to have one for a change, but I will be down grading in performance to what I have atm.

Comfy car, easy to drive hold the value well enough. But haven't driven an evo yet that may change my mind.

Bang for bucks is an evo really....better in most areas.

Lol your kidding me right? Raced plenty of WRX's, had a bit of fun with my mates 02 WRX the other day with an sti engine and box, VF turbo upgrade, fuel system, ecu etc etc. Supposibly has 215-220@all four and I left it for dead, wasn't impressed at all.

lol... you're kidding me right??

pm r33, i saw your feature in hpi, your car is impressive, not to my taste but its your car... it has gone beyond simple bolt on mods.. your car would start to spool up when his is dying off... last time i looked, i didnt see any r33 gtst's in superlap... or time attack in japan... or production car cups... or rallying... and they are very rarely seen in targa style events and hilll climbs... so you had a bit of fun with him in a straight line yeh?? wow..

215-220@all four is extremely mild and has no need for a fuel system upgrade yet, not if he has an sti engine... which vf does he have?? as sti's already came with a much larger turbo than the standard vf20 on the rex's.

ive seen a stock looking (clearly engine wasnt stock) my99 wagon do a u turn and then light up all four wheels by just standing on it, not dumping the clutch... just putting the foot down... i have been impressed by wrx's ever since.

I think BJ nailed it!

Also Don't buy a wrx. Buy the STi 02 and up. They can be had for a bargin. The 6spd box is one tough SOB.

I was running one with over 300kw atw ( all fours ) and launched at 6000rpm +++ Never broke! Just four wheels spinning :D

Also Stis get better seats, brakes , engine, suspension ect ect.

Evos are great, just over priced.

I have been giving this whole WRX vs Skyline vs Evo thing a but of thought.

I will make this clear it comes down to personal preference really but having extensively driven all of them (over quite a long period of time though so I'm just going on my memories and a bit of normal everyday knowlege) here are my opinions:

WRX (STi or not):

Upsides: A good everyday car that can be modified to have a good bit of power. The six speed boxes as someone said are incredibly strong. Great grip, fun on the twisties. Good at track days. Massive aftermarket support.

Downsides: Most of the WRX's with the five speed gearboxes are NOT incredibly strong. When you put a proper exhaust on them they sound like a two stroke motorcycle. Everyone owns one and so does their children.

Skyline GT-ST (lets say R33 their the most common):

Upsides: A good everyday car that can be modified to have a good bit of power. Gearbox is very strong. Great in a straight line. Fun at track days. Massive aftermarket support. Women love skylines. Cheap now and in twelve months they'll be cheaper again.

Downsides: No AWD grip. Beaten through twisty roads by an Evo or WRX unless you modify like crazy. Too many bogans with them now. The police love to hate you. Depreciates like a biatch.

Evo (say VII):

Upsides: A great weekend thrasher. Brilliant in a straight line. Brilliant around corners. Brilliant at a track even stock. Massive aftermarket support. Reasonably rare - hardly any around compared to skylines or WRX's. Insane grip. Has been raced in everything from Targa Tasmania to superlap to whatever else you care to name.

Downsides: While the gearboxes are better than Subaru's they are still kind of weak. The one I drove had very hard suspension - wouldn't like to use it everyday. Tad expensive compared to a WRX.

My choice? Well, in terms of car per dollar the Skyline is ahead. Evo's frequently fetch prices well over $25k (the same money could sit you in a fairly well looked after R33 GTR) and WRX's are a tad more expensive than Skylines (unless you want one of those hideous bug eye ones - bleergh). If you can put up with them being common now and find one in good condition that hasn't been thrashed every single day of its life ('cause lets face it everyone thrashes their car at some point) you have yourself a brilliant car.

If I had more money to spend I would step into an Evo.

And the WRX? Well, honestly I can't stand that engine note.

hi from rexnet

http://www.rexnet.com.au/forum/index.php?showtopic=104696

you jap commodore owners are a ill informed bunch of tossers, glad to see the GTR owners are steering clear of this crap.

Hi There People!

Ive had my line coming up three years now. And not that im falling out of love of it. Im thinking of the wrx because i love the sound and i want a 4 door but dont want to get a family car. and also would like the AWD. my line is 96 r33 series 2 m-spec with 140k on the clock... and im looking at selling that and getting a 2000 or less model wrx... :D

What should I do?

I know this is skyline forum but im hoping for people in similar situations rather then pure skyline lovers.

test drive a WRX and see if you like it.

I test drove a few R33 and a R32 when I looking, they felt very heavy, brakes were bad, boost came on too late. Insurance at the time was ridiculous, WRX was a no brainier for me. That and every one is suspect, be it questionable mileage, lot are damaged repaired jobs, not that the p-platers tossers buying these cars would know.

if your car works and your simply bored of it, it a waste of money changing over IMO

Look at an Evo VII GT-A with the sequential box. You can squeeze 20" mags under the guards with little/no modification.

riceboy.jpg

let me guess you cant drive a manual or know which way to put on your baseball cap, well done

R33 DUDE.

YOu have No idea.

You can not compare and EVO with a WRX.

EVO Vs STI Yes. STI boxes take over 600hp ATW and still don't break.

Evo 6spds are weaker. Evo 5spd from an RS is tough as.

GTST is an old heap of sh*t now. R32 / R33 / R34. All no good compared to an Evo or STI

My BF drives a WRX STI and I still think it's better sounding than an EVO any day.

I think everyone's entitled to their opionion. I still respect his car for what it is and he respects mine.

Just sell the car if you're bored and get something you like, stop posting silly quetsions like this. We don't care?

^^^ is that your car? Think saw that at the Wakfield.

http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results..../2008.WAKE.S4.Y

Well, I respect the WRXs .... no a sight of those STIs at the top :P GTR FTW!!!!!!!!!!!

Go for an Evo. Hell i'd take a '92 Evo 1 over a MY08 STi; it may be old but at least there wont be understeer.

There's a reason the Evo vs STi/WRX Eastern Creek scoreboard reads 3-0 to the Evos.

Hello to all the rexnetters! :P

You guys have no idea what real power is....... my VW Polo GTI with exhaust, intercooler and APR chip would leave all you skyrice (including GTR's) owners for dead

You're turning into a new rogercordia, go f**k off elsewhere back to your polo forums ... dumbflamin mongrel..

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • So, I started this repair and got as far as "fixing" the holes with some fibreglass. God all those years working on boats came back quickly. I decided I'd reach out to some rust guys just to see what they would say about it. I came across a guy about 40 mins away and went to see him. He said the windscreen needs to come out, that there might be some more bits around the windscreen and he'd quote them at the time. But his quote was $300 to remove and replace windscreen and $3k for the damage he can see. He said he could respray the roof for $1200 and the bonnet for another $800 (somebody has previously rattle canned it, its horrendous). This is $5300 + any small additional bits. It's a lot, I get that and the name of one of my fave youtube channels 'Not Economically Viable' comes to mind.  I'm not being financially rational, but I've taken him up on the quote. He's opening a new shop in November with more room, so we're waiting for that. I'll leave the currently missing headliner out until then. I'm looking forward to it being fixed and having the paint looking nice again (lots of clear coat issues on the roof too). / flame suit on.
    • Oh and some up-and-comings; New rear drivers wheel bearing. I'll do that this weekend while the diff is out. The car is already up and the d/c axles and missing exhaust will help with space. This is the last bearing for me to do and I've been dragging my feet on it. I also have some new EBC blue stuff pads for the car and some new brake fluid. I haven't ever flushed the fluid in this car and looking forward to it. I have 600 degree fluid to put in. Not exactly "race fluid" but better than the typical stuff I have been using.
    • A proper clutch/plate type mechanical diff with quite a lot of pre-load and high locking % is better for drifting. Much more consistent in its behaviour. A helical can be annoyingly vague and inconsistent in how it responds under the sorts of abuse found in drifting.
    • Some updates here. I pulled the entire interior out, minus some trim to respray the seats with Colourlock dye. It turned out really nice though I accidentally let the dog in the car after and she scratched up the front seat.  This is what it looked like before, the colour was just washing out everywhere but thankfully the leather was in good nic. Then after the respray   And after the bloody dog jumped in The headliner is out waiting to be retrimmed, but it will stay out now until Nov - see why below. I replaced the stereo/headunit with a period-styled Android headunit. I have no after pics, but I'll get some. This is because of the missing pixels. I tried to fix this twice with replacement ribbon cables but couldn't. Also the bluetooth interface I'd bought for this was crap. Then there's the rusty roof. Pics and info in this other thread. I have decided to get this repaired professionally, but I'll update that thread. This is why the headliner will stay out for now. I'll be getting the roof and bonnet resprayed at the same time the rust is fixed. I also had an interesting issue with my drivers door lock.  For a small period I was having issues getting any 12v power to the car - I mean *any*. It would have no dash lights, nothing. It happened while I was at the shops and I couldn't get in the car. So, we had 2 problems. The most pressing here is that I was locked out. I have only a single physical key hole on the car, the drivers door and no amount of turning would unlock the car. Surely it doesn't need power for this? The second issue is why am I losing all power periodically, The battery isn't dead, its almost like the battery isn't even there. Two issues that were surprisingly easy to fix. You fellow BMW over-engineering lovers will appreciate this. The lock in the door has 5 states; mechanical lock, electric lock, neutral, electric unlock, mechanical unlock achieved at -90 degrees, -45 degrees, 0 degrees, 45 degrees and 90 degrees. Although, the unlock is towards the front of the car, so opposite for LHD countries. Sticking the key in and turning 45 left or right is what is used 99% of the time. It activates the central locking etc. 90 degrees is for dead battery access and, obvs, only un/locks the one door. But because the mechanical lock is never used and is 27 years old, it seizes up. I was totally unable to turn the key far enough to get to the mechanical unlock (At the time of locking myself out, I didn't even know this was a thing). I eventually did it with some vicegrips and teflon spray.  I made a quick vid for other E39 peeps.   The battery issue is totally new to me also - It wasn't making sufficient contact between the post and the terminal. The terminal was bolted on tight, but the car wouldn't have power. After checking the battery with my multimeter I accidentally contacted the terminal and the battery post and the car got power. The battery was only a few years old and in good condition. I cleaned the post and the terminal with a wire brush, bolted it back on tight and never had the issue again. I'm still surprised that despite having solid contact it didn't work. Also, the car was getting Warragamba sized pools of water in the back when it rained. My initial concern was another rust problem. But when I went out on Weds while it was raining and while I had no headliner in I could see a steady stream of water coming through the roof mounted aerial. As this aerial is for the (now removed) car phone I pulled it out and whacked a blanking grommet in the hole. It seems fine now. I'm thinking I might get the hole permanently filled when the rust is fixed. Moving forward and things in progress; The tailgate needs some attention. I have taken all the trim off to clean it all and address some small rust spots. I have partially done all of this but I'll finish it up hopefully this weekend. As all the trim are now entirely devoid of trim clips I have bought a heap of strong velcro and I'm hoping it does a good enough job as any of this trim in good condition is super expensive and usually in Europe as we dont have many of the wagons here. Suspension and brakes!!! This is exciting. In the front; New control arms New sway bar links New lower Eibach springs (the only modification I'm planning on this car) M Sport shocks (these came with the car and will replace the longer shocks in the car) New top mounts Used 540i calipers (stock brakes suck!) New 540i disks and pads (22x296 mm for 528 and 30x334 mm for 540i) New front wheel bearings (thank all that is holy for bolt on bearings!) Annnnd in the back; New control arms New sway bar links Adjustable air suspension arms (fool the car into what the current height is so the self levelling suspension can match the new front ride height) New ball joints I'll also be doing a brake fluid flush while I'm in there. I'm planning on switching the car over to the 16's that came with it so I can clean up and respray the M Sport 17's. They've lost a lot of colour over the years and have some gutter rash. None of this will start until the E90 is back.
    • You mean you will regret it for drifting duties? I don't quite follow.
×
×
  • Create New...