[jimbo_the_biker]

Hey.
Anybody have a Subaru Imprezza WRX? I'm thinking of picking up an 03 sportwagon version in july. My toyota pickup has been dependable.... but I don't really need a truck. I could haul my bike in the subaru, and it gets better gas mileage, etc. Whatcha think? Bad idea? I'm curious if a hitch rack would be better than roof, and stuff like that as well. They are dependable too, right?
Since I'm still under 25, insurance will suck, but with increase in insurance/car payment, I'm still only looking at about 100-150 more per month..... to go from a 94 'yota truck, to an 03 subaru.

-James.

 

[MMike]

Subarus atually don't get great mileage.....

 

[nohbody]

ahh.... sweet WRX. Nothing like 227 HP outta a 2.0L engine to get the testosterone flowing.

Subies are very dependable, we have a 96 wagon at 170k still running. They're about as dependable as a toyota!

Few things about the WRX, you gotta feed it premium gas because of the turbo. Also because of the turbo mileage isn't that great for a 2.0L engine, I get about 22MPG with an 02 sedan. But turbo is nice for getting around the nasty seattle traffic :mumble: . It's also an manual transmission, so you'll get less if you get a automatic.

I almost think the car is low enough that a roof rack should be fine. You can get hidden hitches mounted, but then you can't get aftermarket exhaust neaky:

Hope that helps

 

[jimbo_the_biker]

I think I've pretty much made up my mind about getting one. And the gas mileage might not be that great, but its still an improvement over my truck, so it'll bridge the cost a little.

-James.

 

[jimbo_the_biker]

I'm not too sure yet. The dealer said my truck would still fetch $10k, which is kinda weird, I only paid 9k in 02. Bluebook seems to be about $5-7k. And, I based most of my math on the new car for receiving about that much. As nice as 10k sounds, I know its very unrealistic. I know I wouldn't pay 10k for a 94!

-James.

 

[Toshi]

see these threads:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118970&highlight=wrx
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93610&highlight=wrx
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88303&highlight=wrx

 

[Gex]

James a guy i work with has an 04 wrx wagon. It is sweet he has a roof sportworks rack we took it to whistler omg it was nice. Were so heading up if u get 1...

 

[jimbo_the_biker]

Yup truck is 4wd, V6, 5-spd, w/ canopy and stuff. Its been quite dependable.
Thanks for the links toshi!
And ben, ONCE my wrist is healed up, I'm down for whistler. I've got at least 6 more weeks though, which is crap. My doctor bikes, I told him I have a bighit, and he told me NO BIKING quite firmly, it was kinda funny.

-James.

 

[thesacrifice]

but hondas go much faster...brrrrrrrm, brrrrrrrrm...i like to go fast .

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[trailhacker]

...Also because of the turbo mileage isn't that great for a 2.0L engine....

If you are basing this soley on the fact that it is turbo, than you are wrong.
If you have researched and discovered that a TS gets better mileage than a WRX than I might buy it.
A turbo uses wasted energy (exhaust) to generate more power - it makes you engine more effiecient. Theoreticaly it should get better mileage?
This isn't to say that the power won't go to your head and you won't be throttling it everywhere you go because horsepower is intoxicating.......

 

[trailhacker]

I stand corrected - a TS gets 1 better mpg highway, 3 better in the city.
I still stand by my theories however.

WRX

TS

 

[nohbody]

If you are basing this soley on the fact that it is turbo, than you are wrong.
If you have researched and discovered that a TS gets better mileage than a WRX than I might buy it.
A turbo uses wasted energy (exhaust) to generate more power - it makes you engine more effiecient. Theoreticaly it should get better mileage?
This isn't to say that the power won't go to your head and you won't be throttling it everywhere you go because horsepower is intoxicating.......

I doesn't make your engine more fuel efficient. What it does as around 3-4k RPM's a special waste gate opens and the turbine spins up building pressure of exhaust gas. This is a mixture of unburned gas, air, and CO. Basically what it does is reinject it into the intake manifold and essentially is like fanning a fire. This gives you more power because of a more complete burn, but it does not improve gas milage or fuel efficency.

 

[joelsman]

wrong, turbo exhaust is used to spin the turbo to pack air/fuel into the cylinders, cold air is better because it will expand more when it gets into the hot cylinders, raising the compression.


get a hitch mount, saves gas milage, I had a 90 legacy it got 25/26 with a roof rack 28/29 without.

 

[buildyourown]

I doesn't make your engine more fuel efficient. What it does as around 3-4k RPM's a special waste gate opens and the turbine spins up building pressure of exhaust gas. This is a mixture of unburned gas, air, and CO. Basically what it does is reinject it into the intake manifold and essentially is like fanning a fire. This gives you more power because of a more complete burn, but it does not improve gas milage or fuel efficency.

I'm not sure who told you that but that's not how a normal turbo works. Modern gas engines have and EGR valve that does attempt to reburn unburned fuel from the exhaust back into the intake, but this is strictly for emissions, not for power.

In a perfect world, a turbo would get better mileage. Theoretically, you can make a smaller motor with more power by adding a turbo. This way you can have a small effecient motor most of the time but you still have power if you let the RPMs get up there.

My truck gets great mileage if I keep the tach under 1500. If I let the turbo spool up, it sounds like an airplane under the hood and you can see the gas gauge move.

 

[Kntr]

Id rather have an STI...

 

[Certified Drunk]

ahh.... sweet WRX. Nothing like 227 HP outta a 2.0L engine to get the testosterone flowing.

227hp I'm impressed. Oh wait my car makes that just idling.

 

[bibs]

227hp I'm impressed. Oh wait my car makes that just idling.

hell, my dodge caravan has 230...wanna race LOL :evil:

 

[nohbody]

I'm sure the WRX is much lighter than the SVT, and sure i'll reace you

I'm not sure who told you that but that's not how a normal turbo works. Modern gas engines have and EGR valve that does attempt to reburn unburned fuel from the exhaust back into the intake, but this is strictly for emissions, not for power.

not true, EGR is for gas/air mixture for intake only, turbo comes in after that. But you ARE right about using exhaust air, that was my mistake. It uses the exhaust air to spin up the turbine for a compressor in the INTAKE.

wrong, turbo exhaust is used to spin the turbo to pack air/fuel into the cylinders, cold air is better because it will expand more when it gets into the hot cylinders, raising the compression.

Thats exactly what I said.

bah.... Link
http://web.ask.com/redir?u=http://www.turbo-kits.com/how_turbos_work.html

 

[trailhacker]

...around 3-4k RPM's a special waste gate opens and the turbine spins up building pressure of exhaust gas. This is a mixture of unburned gas ....essentially is like fanning a fire. This gives you more power because of a more complete burn...

Ummm..... I don't claim to be a Turbo expert, but I'm pretty sure that as soon as you start your engine the turbo is spinning. It may not be building pressure, but it is turning.
The unburnt gas in your exhaust has nothing to do with the function of a turbocharger. Think about it, if it was pulling unburnt gas from your exhaust, it would be pulling EXHAUST into your engine too.
It fans the fire by forcing more air into the combustion chamber. Technically speaking I don't think a turbo by definition makes for a more complete burn.
Again, I don't claim to be an expert, but I believe all turbos have a "turbine" that has blades on each end of a shaft. One end is in your exhaust stream and the other is in your intake stream. As your exhaust goes by the blades it starts spinning the turbine in the exhasut side and the intake side. This creates pressure on the intake side and forces air into your intake (a form of "forced induction"). You get more oxygen for a given amount of fuel, a more "dense" aircharge.
The intake and exhasut side are completely seperate and never share.

See BYO's explanation above about EGR's and what-not.
An engine is nothing more than an air pump, the more air you can push through it, the more powerful/effiecient (chicken or the egg?) it will be.
So.....

wrong, turbo exhaust is used to spin the turbo to pack air/fuel into the cylinders, cold air is better because it will expand more when it gets into the hot cylinders, raising the compression.

As far as cold air being better, this is true, but has nothing to do with Turbo. I believe that as the turbo compresses the air it greatly increases the temperature - this is where the advent of inter-coolers came from. An inter-cooler is essentially a radiator for your intake air. After the superheated air leaves the turbo it goes through the inter-cooler to cool it before mixing with fuel.
I could be blowing hot air here myself, but after sinking untold amounts of money into two different turbo cars ('86 Buick Grand National, '92 GMC Typhoon) I got to learn a bit about them.

 

[Certified Drunk]

hell, my dodge caravan has 230...wanna race LOL :evil:

Bring it on sucka, Well race the 1320 and I'll give you 1000 ft head start.
Cory in the van :mumble:
Me giving the L :love:

 

[Certified Drunk]

I'm sure the WRX is much lighter than the SVT, and sure i'll race you

If you want your arse handed to you.

It might weight more but I have 2.5 times more horse power than you. My lug nuts require more torque than your engine makes.

 

[trailhacker]

I'm sure the WRX is much lighter than the SVT, and sure i'll reace you

You've obviously never seen what he has done to that truck.
If you put as much into the WRX as has been put into that truck you might have a race!
Also, the WRX has to turn the AWD which does rob some power. I rode in a friends WRX and although it was a fun car, I wasn't terribbly impresed. I'd take my '86 GN (with all the mods I did to it of course!) over a stock WRX.
As far as an everyday do everything car the WRX might be more "practical".

I remeber a guy that used to hang at the shop got one when they first came out. As coincidence would have it, I was giving Scott a ride home one night and out of nowhere the yellowish WRX sedan came up next to me on the Alaskan Way viaduct and was revving it a lot. I (in my '92 Typhoon) put the pedal down and left him a few cars lengths behind? And this was in the twilight days of this car - maybe he couldn't see through the black smoke coming from the exhaust.

 

[Toshi]

If you want your arse handed to you.

It might weight more but I have 2.5 times more horse power than you. My lug nuts require more torque than your engine makes.

just don't pick on a STi and you'll be fine

 

[Certified Drunk]

just don't pick on a STi and you'll be fine

Bring it on! But you have to buy one first.

 

[jimbo_the_biker]

Well the WRX seems fairly practical yet fun enough to make driving a bit more pleasant. PLUS I'm only 22, even though I have a perfect driving record, insurance still sucks. I'll get something fancier like an STi in a few years when insurance isn't as bad. I was thinking about a sportbike, but I hear cemetary plots are expensive; and the way I drive I'd need one for sure.

-James.

 

[MMike]

Wow...Kevin is apparently the only person who understands how turbo works......

 

[Certified Drunk]

Jimbo. Buy a house instead.

 

[bibs]

Wow...Kevin is apparently the only person who understands how turbo works......

i do to , there is a kazoo.mounted on the motor and air blows it in and then back out into the the thing and makes it have more stufff!

 

[trailhacker]

I'm just glad that when I followed the link posted it turns out I was mostly correct. I just wasn't exactly sure what the wastegate did. Now I know!
I also learned a few other things. I was under the impression that with superchargers you lost horsepower turning the compressor, but made it back up once pressure was built and with a turbo it was like free HP because you utilize wasted energy. After reading that Jeeves article, if I understand correctly, with a turbo you lose HP due to the resistance of the impeller, but again you make it up once you build pressure.

 

[Snacks]

I'm just glad that when I followed the link posted it turns out I was mostly correct. I just wasn't exactly sure what the wastegate did. Now I know!
I also learned a few other things. I was under the impression that with superchargers you lost horsepower turning the compressor, but made it back up once pressure was built and with a turbo it was like free HP because you utilize wasted energy. After reading that Jeeves article, if I understand correctly, with a turbo you lose HP due to the resistance of the impeller, but again you make it up once you build pressure.

Blah blah blah

 

[MMike]

i do to , there is a kazoo.mounted on the motor and air blows it in and then back out into the the thing and makes it have more stufff!

Yes...that's exactly right.....um....yeah.

 

[nohbody]

Yeah, I gave up arguing and got a "real" sourse. Which explained a lot to me also.

BTW, my WRX isn't stock. neaky:

 

[bibs]

neither is certified drunks Lighting.....its wicked fast, we rallied on a new M5 on the way to whistler one day...his truck hooks up well too for a truck...its fun

But, my dodge caravan..now thats stock, but IM getting some greddy, nuespeed and other stickers for it..I hear stickers give you 5hp...each!

 

[trailhacker]

BTW, my WRX isn't stock. neaky:

But niether is DPM's SVT. And he has the dyno slips to prove it!

 

[nohbody]

Unfortunately, I'm not that 'core'. i would like to know what kinds of things CD did to his lightning.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

Wow...Kevin is apparently the only person who understands how turbo works......

More like the only one that had the patience to explain it to someone that says.

I doesn't make your engine more fuel efficient. What it does as around 3-4k RPM's a special waste gate opens and the turbine spins up building pressure of exhaust gas. This is a mixture of unburned gas, air, and CO. Basically what it does is reinject it into the intake manifold and essentially is like fanning a fire. This gives you more power because of a more complete burn, but it does not improve gas milage or fuel efficency.

Just reading that made me dumber....

I was waiting for him to say something about the muffler bearing, TrailHacker gets bonus points for not just calling him REALLY stupid and moving on.

 

[nohbody]

Just reading that made me dumber....

your mother :eviltongu

 

[bibs]

ithink CD did a new blower, chip and some other new smal cool stuff...and chrome muffler bearings..

 

[trailhacker]

ithink CD did a new blower, chip and some other new smal cool stuff...and chrome muffler bearings..

A new, LARGER, supercharger (blower), and some really pricy, really trick exhaust are the big ticket items that come to mind, plus multitudes of other things too!

When I bought my GN in '92 I got talked into buying a 4 year, 48k warranty that cost around $1600. A few people told me that I got hosed.
2 weeks after I bought it me and a few friends were coming home at about 3am on Friday night and decided to see how fast it would go. At around 125 it wouldn't go any faster even though it was only turning about 4500. So I got a real genius of an idea and backed back down to around 85, pulled it from overdrive into drive and hit it again. At around 105 it was WELL past the red line so I pushed it back into OD and again it just wouldn't go faster than 125. When we got to the bottom of the off-ramp all you could hear was a horendous knocking and metal-to-metal sound coming form the engine. Turns out there was a built in speed govener set to 124 due to the speed rating of the stock tires?
That little episode cost the warranty company just under $4200 - my price, $50 deductable!!!!
By the time the warranty had expired, it had put close to $10000 into the car. That included 3 turbo-chargers, which just by coincidence got progressively larger.
Ah, the good old days......

 

[buildyourown]

Ummm..... I don't claim to be a Turbo expert, but I'm pretty sure that as soon as you start your engine the turbo is spinning. It may not be building pressure, but it is turning.

Your right, but you really don't get any boost until you get on it. A lot of powerstroke tuner guys put boost gauges on their turbos. Different mods can give you more boost = more HP. You really don't see the gauge move under 1500 RPM. In a diesel, 1500-1800 is your shift point in everyday driving.