'08 auto WRX ... What a piece of Sh*^

so i got real excited today because my friend just got an 08 WRX auto. So first we took out my legacy on the back roads and had some fun then it was time for his car. To be honest I was a little worried that his might be faster.

 

What a piece of sh%$. Seriously I think my old honda civic was faster. The tiptronic had like a 3 second delay and was completely worthless. Subaru really messed up on this one. Besides the outside looking ... odd - the interior looks like crap. You can see the zippers on the cloth seats. It looks like seat covers from wal mart.

 

What was weird (maybe this won't be weird to you guys i think i just don't know anything) was that the auto had only 3 gears i think. I never heard the turbo spool once - it was like it didn't even have one. This was the nail in the coffin for the '08 WRX. Might as well get a sick golf cart instead.

 

I am so glad I have a legacy.

it's a 4EAT.... ya, so... not even close to the LGT 5EAT much less comparable to the 5MT.

WRX fail, 2.5L fail, Auto fail. lol

 

6MT JDM 2L STi is where it's all at apparently. The 'world' spec 2.5L STi offers much less high rpm thrills apparently.. That can be changed with a few mods though. And the NZ spec (same as USDM now apparently) get's a little SI dirve *OFF* button that the JDM's don't get :D

 

adr from clubsub drove the 2L STi yesterday:

The 2.0 STi is impressive. Gawd damned impressive! It WILL be my next car.

 

The S-GT feels like a B4GT that has lost weight. Actually, apart from the softish suspension setup of the S-GT, it was a truly fun car to drive. Boost came on quick and early then proceeded to push you back a little into the seat as the pedal was pressed deeper towards the firewall. I couldn't turn VDC off as it didn't have one to turn off unlike the NZ WRX. A quick note. With VDC on you can feel it squeeze the fun out of the car and it's rather sucky having to fight the car for control when you are trying to do things into corners. Turning it off however improves things immensely though I still feel it's 90% off and 10% lurking in the background at the limit. Fun for some, meh to others.

The yokohama advans are squeally things but certainly enable you to push deep and hard without the worry of them letting go. Again, the softish setup is where things take a slight dive as body roll can be frustrating but nothing you can't correct quickly and smoothly.

The gearbox seemed to be mildly satisfactory. I little long in the stick and a touch on the light side however it slipped into the H pattern gate rather well and the clutch was a lot firmer than it's 2.5 sibling.

 

I get a chance to see what the 2.5 STi will be like next week however I'm not holding my breath as it will be seriously hard to beat the 2.0 version

 

So far and admittedly I have only been in the 2ltr versions of the impreza's and both imports but both have captured my love of the impreza again and have given me hope that has been lost for a while. The 2.5 wrx was just a quick toodle around the car park so to be fair, it still sucked.

Subaru makes awful automatic transmissions in all cars.

 

You did not feel the turbo spool as its pretty much in boost around 2500 RPM and there is no sling shot feeling like a 2.0L WRX(mine) or even the LGT's 2.5L setup. The power is more a bit more usable in with a 5MT in daily traffic in my experience.

I dont agree that the 5eat is awful. It's not the best auto out there, but I don't really have any major complaints.

 

The 4EAT on the other hand

not to mention the overall interior and sound dampening in the impezza line has always been worse then the legacy. our cars are just more refined. i hated my friends 07 wrx. felt like a fast civic

This is a little OT, but just how common are manual's in the US? Most NZ new cars are manual, but most japanese imports are auto's... Thankfully the JDM imported manuals aren't really rear, i found my manual GTB no sweat (had about 50 to chose from!)

Manuals are definitely far less common than autos over here

I wonder how the base imprzea is...

Well...

 

Autos and turbos have never been a good combination...

 

Even worse with Subaru 4EAT automatic transmissions...

 

 

Flavio Zanetti

Boston, MA

Why are autos and turbos not a good combo lol?

wonder why? hah

I also own an 08 WRX 5MT, I now wish I got the LGT in a 5MT back when I purchased it. Subaru's Auto's suck donkey balls, but their MT's are pretty shweet! Also note that I am comparing their MT's to a 92 Accord, 02 Civic and an 03 Mini Cooper S.

 

I guess what i'm saying is that if the Legacy 5MT is as good as the 08 WRX 5MT then I want it! Though there is very little to almost no "clutch feel" on the 08 WRX.

I also own an 08 WRX 5MT, I now wish I got the LGT in a 5MT back when I purchased it. Subaru's Auto's suck donkey balls, but their MT's are pretty shweet! Also note that I am comparing their MT's to a 92 Accord, 02 Civic and an 03 Mini Cooper S.

 

I guess what i'm saying is that if the Legacy 5MT is as good as the 08 WRX 5MT then I want it! Though there is very little to almost no "clutch feel" on the 08 WRX.

 

So Mike... When was the last time you've sucked donkey balls as for your comparison of them to the Subaru Auto.

Subaru's Auto's suck donkey balls

 

I don't remember saying anything about myself sucking said donkey balls. You're just sick

 

 

 

 

Besides, you know I'm right, don't you!

Subaru makes awful automatic transmissions in all cars.

I call bullshit on this one. The 5EAT in the LGT is comparable in terms of crisp and quick shifts to the sport auto in the Infiniti G, for example.

 

Yesterday I was at the local dealer and there was an STi on the showroom. I wanted to check out the interior. I touched the door trim and was Hard plastics all around. I touched the dashboard and was double . Hard plastics literally all around. I though the interior was supposed to be better. While I was running out of the dealer in horror, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't in a Saturn dealership by accident ...

I feel that the new line of WRX is a disappointment. The STi got owned by the new EVO from the initial mag reviews that I've read. Blah!

Actually its the other way around, the sti still around 3300lbs with 0ver 300hp, the new evo is over 3500lbs with 295. All the testing i have seen done between the 07 STI vs 08 STI vs 07 Evo 9 vs 08 Evo X 5 speed and 6 speed auto, the evo x lost to the 08 STI, the 07 and the evo 9. Around the road course is the kind of testing im talking about

Subaru makes awful automatic transmissions in all cars.

 

No complaints here about my 5 speed.

I call bullshit on this one. The 5EAT in the LGT is comparable in terms of crisp and quick shifts to the sport auto in the Infiniti G, for example.

 

Yesterday I was at the local dealer and there was an STi on the showroom. I wanted to check out the interior. I touched the door trim and was Hard plastics all around. I touched the dashboard and was double . Hard plastics literally all around. I though the interior was supposed to be better. While I was running out of the dealer in horror, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't in a Saturn dealership by accident ...

I feel that the new line of WRX is a disappointment. The STi got owned by the new EVO from the initial mag reviews that I've read. Blah!

 

The irony of this statement is that the new saturns are all rebadged german Opels and have great interiors. Saturn is actually turning itself around by using GM of Europe cars.

not to mention the overall interior and sound dampening in the impezza line has always been worse then the legacy. our cars are just more refined. i hated my friends 07 wrx. felt like a fast civic

 

The WRX is just a spiced up economy car. What did you expect it be like? An Acura?

 

 

What a piece of sh%$. Seriously I think my old honda civic was faster. .

 

The most common sentence heard by civic owners the world over: "My Civic is faster than...", and its always bullshit. Bullshit x2 if the civic has a spoiler and body kit.

He was joking about the civic, and the 08 WRX has a 2.5liter turbo, thats why he is saying he cant believe its so slow when comparing it to his 2.5turbo LGt

Why are autos and turbos not a good combo lol?

 

Well - a turbo combined with a CVT should work just fine. At least as long as the software really lets the CVT be a CVT and not have some kind of stepped gearing.

 

And the automatic gearbox behavior that makes it bad for sport driving may make it really nice for comfort driving instead. But today that's a software problem.

 

No hacks for gearboxes on the market?

I was told that an auto could be better because you don't lose as much boost between shifts.

Eh if you slam gears stick is still better, but i havent had a probelm with my 5EAT and i have been in quite a few races. Most kids with stick dont know how launch there cars properly anyway, i have taken out a couple STIs with my stage 2 setup. If you launch at 3000rpms i can do that with my auto, maybe its not all that good for the tranny but i hear people talking how the stock clutchs cant take that anyway.

 

I have been to the drag track alot with my supra and Trans Am, most kids with evos stock and STIs stock had a hard time getting out of the 14s because they cant launch those cars right. Hell i have seen a couple evos and STIs that cant get out of the 15s. The only way to get a low to mid 13 second run out of a stock evo or STI is to do a 5500rpms launch, which is horrible on the clutch, even more so if you dont do it right.

I test drove the '06 LGT 5eat and I was impressed(no manual available to test drive). It did have the sligshot feeling once the turbo kicked on the test drive.

 

Maybe you friends '08 auto needs to be broken in, I hope for him.

 

It going to suck for him being around you, Mr. LGT.