Who here has a WRX again?
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I think mine is modded the most extensively here, but I decided to stop the numbers game and revert to my original buildup of a nice daily driver
I bought mine last year, with 24,000 miles in pristine condition, for $14,250 from a private owner. The car is a 2002 WRB bugeye. Came with a kartboy short shifter, Cobb AccessECU (predecessor to the AcessPORT), eibach pro spring kit and a blitz nur spec catback.
Back then that deal was unheard of, now its different. I really wish I had a '06 with the 2.5L engine for daily driveability. I may trade in for a LGT in the near future. I'll know after I get this setup tuned. If I don't like it then, then it gets the axe.
I think mine is modded the most extensively here, but I decided to stop the numbers game and revert to my original buildup of a nice daily driver
I bought mine last year, with 24,000 miles in pristine condition, for $14,250 from a private owner. The car is a 2002 WRB bugeye. Came with a kartboy short shifter, Cobb AccessECU (predecessor to the AcessPORT), eibach pro spring kit and a blitz nur spec catback.
Back then that deal was unheard of, now its different. I really wish I had a '06 with the 2.5L engine for daily driveability. I may trade in for a LGT in the near future. I'll know after I get this setup tuned. If I don't like it then, then it gets the axe.
'02/'03 have the weakest trannys
'04's got wider width gears in their trannys
There's a special transmission fluid cocktail out there to help with troublesome trannys. I run it in my '02 tranny and it shifts well still. Although, myself and the previous owner both knew how to drive the car. It used to be a bit difficult to get the tranny into first when rolling sometimes or when it was cold out, but the cocktail took care of that. Just make sure that when you test drive one that there's no loud, unusual sounds coming from the tranny. These are big money in the suby community - not the $1200 trannys here for hondas.
Some early WRX's had clutch chatter problems and there was a recall on the driver's side seatbelt mount/seat bracket on some '02 's.
Subaru paint is notoriously crappy and will scratch, chip, and blemish easily.
Most WRX's have been abused so look for signs of take-off's before being sold, like a turboback exhaust or uppipe.
'02-'05 WRX have catted uppipes. These are very restrictive and provide huge gains when you replace them with a catless unit. You can get catless uppipes from STi take-offs or '06 WRX take off's, or just go aftermarket.
Be weary of BOV's on the WRX. They cause the car to run rich in between shifts and are notorious for leaking, they also blow off air that should be circulated to the turbo system. The stock bypass valve is the best thing for the car and shouldn't be fucked with unless you want to decrease performance.
Be weary of intakes on the WRX. The way the intake system is designed on the WRX, there's a MAF sensor on top of the intake elbow and its very hard for an aftermarket company to develope an intake system that will please this MAF sensor. No system has been tested and proven to NOT affect the MAF readings. SPT came out with a short ram intake, but there's really no information on it yet. It may still mess with the MAF and cause the car to pull timing and mess with air-to-fuel ratios like all the other intakes out there. The 2.5L engine is the exception to intakes, because it seems to actually respond well to certain intakes.
A used Cobb AccessPort is going to run you around $400-$500. You can use the off the shelf maps that Cobb provides or get the car protuned which will yield far better results. (This is the tune that I'm currently waiting on - you might want to check local tuners in your area if you plan on modding the car. The AccessPORT is the most widely used EM on the WRX/STi)
A used TBE (turboback exhaust) will run you about $500-$700. It will show huge gains. Gains that you've never seen from a honda. The cats in the stock downpipe are very restrictive and replacing them with hi-flows or going catless will be a big gain. Think ~15whp+ on an AWD vehicle.
I'm kind've rambling here, but I know so much about the car that its hard to begin. This was basically my first car to tinker with and I've had the fuel system, coolant system, entire turbo system, pulley system, intake system, exhaust system, brake system, suspension, and electronics of the car apart multiple times.
'04's got wider width gears in their trannys
There's a special transmission fluid cocktail out there to help with troublesome trannys. I run it in my '02 tranny and it shifts well still. Although, myself and the previous owner both knew how to drive the car. It used to be a bit difficult to get the tranny into first when rolling sometimes or when it was cold out, but the cocktail took care of that. Just make sure that when you test drive one that there's no loud, unusual sounds coming from the tranny. These are big money in the suby community - not the $1200 trannys here for hondas.
Some early WRX's had clutch chatter problems and there was a recall on the driver's side seatbelt mount/seat bracket on some '02 's.
Subaru paint is notoriously crappy and will scratch, chip, and blemish easily.
Most WRX's have been abused so look for signs of take-off's before being sold, like a turboback exhaust or uppipe.
'02-'05 WRX have catted uppipes. These are very restrictive and provide huge gains when you replace them with a catless unit. You can get catless uppipes from STi take-offs or '06 WRX take off's, or just go aftermarket.
Be weary of BOV's on the WRX. They cause the car to run rich in between shifts and are notorious for leaking, they also blow off air that should be circulated to the turbo system. The stock bypass valve is the best thing for the car and shouldn't be fucked with unless you want to decrease performance.
Be weary of intakes on the WRX. The way the intake system is designed on the WRX, there's a MAF sensor on top of the intake elbow and its very hard for an aftermarket company to develope an intake system that will please this MAF sensor. No system has been tested and proven to NOT affect the MAF readings. SPT came out with a short ram intake, but there's really no information on it yet. It may still mess with the MAF and cause the car to pull timing and mess with air-to-fuel ratios like all the other intakes out there. The 2.5L engine is the exception to intakes, because it seems to actually respond well to certain intakes.
A used Cobb AccessPort is going to run you around $400-$500. You can use the off the shelf maps that Cobb provides or get the car protuned which will yield far better results. (This is the tune that I'm currently waiting on - you might want to check local tuners in your area if you plan on modding the car. The AccessPORT is the most widely used EM on the WRX/STi)
A used TBE (turboback exhaust) will run you about $500-$700. It will show huge gains. Gains that you've never seen from a honda. The cats in the stock downpipe are very restrictive and replacing them with hi-flows or going catless will be a big gain. Think ~15whp+ on an AWD vehicle.
I'm kind've rambling here, but I know so much about the car that its hard to begin. This was basically my first car to tinker with and I've had the fuel system, coolant system, entire turbo system, pulley system, intake system, exhaust system, brake system, suspension, and electronics of the car apart multiple times.
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It really depends on mileage, condition, if its been modded, and where its being sold. The forums like NASIOC, I-club, rs25, clubwrx, etc all have way better prices than online listings.
I saw someone list an '03 with 38,000miles for $14,500 on NASIOC.com The thing is pristine and unmodded. I think you could get even cheaper.
FS: 03 WRX MBP 38.5k miles - NASIOC
With that said, in the condition my car is I would try for $15,000 for my '02 with 37,000miles and see where it goes from there.
Celerity
Well-Known Member
I unloaded mine this year for $11k. Picked it up in 2005 for $14.5k. Wagon, 2.0 liter and in really good shape. All stock (What I was looking for)
It's a pig on gas, it corners exactly like an NA 3rd gen Supra, and that includes the snow. The brakes are awesome, but the interior is shoddy, the body is "ok". Later models grabbed aluminum fenders as well as the hood. Seats aren't comfortable, switches aren't reliable.
But it's still better than any Z car.
It's a pig on gas, it corners exactly like an NA 3rd gen Supra, and that includes the snow. The brakes are awesome, but the interior is shoddy, the body is "ok". Later models grabbed aluminum fenders as well as the hood. Seats aren't comfortable, switches aren't reliable.
But it's still better than any Z car.
I'm going to go against you here.
Braking leaves much to be desired in stock form. Stainless steel brake lines, brembo rotors, Hawk HPS pads, and Motul 5.1/Ate Superblue Fluid brake fluid will fix up the brakes a bit. <You haven't seen the downsides of the brakes because you haven't modded your car where you have to come down from those hide speeds. Stock pads fade real quickly on the highway>
Handling in stock form is not very good. Swaybars + metal endlinks to replace the plastic/rubber endlinks will tighten everything up and make the car an entirely new car. Every reviewer of the car, starting from when magazines first starting reviewing the WRX when it came overseas have always said about the swaybars. Body roll on a stock WRX makes the car feel uncomfortable and unedge, even though you can still push it pretty far. Grab the sway bars and an anti-lift kit which fixes camber and caster (CVR Motorsports has a kit with the swaybars, endlinks, and anti-lift kit for $475) The swaybars and ALK along with the turboback exhaust and AccessPort are all considered the most bang for your buck mods with this car.
As for body panels, my carbon fiber hood is barely lighter than my stock aluminum hood. The deer crushed the stocker though.
Seats in the '02-'03 are about as comfortable as they get for Subarus. Steve is too small for them to fit him comfortablely, and I'm a bit narrow for them to fit me as well - I slide, but they do have big wrap around bolstering and should fit perfect for a 200lber.
Interior is cheap and chinsy, but thats not what you're paying for. Switches are on par with any other car in the econo class.
I'm unsure of the mileage of Steve's car, but since it was a wagon and I think around ~70k its no wonder it went for so cheap. You can find ones going for that cheap with those kind of miles though. If you're going to get the wagon, do yourself a favor and get the Saab wagon. Better interior, classier, upgraded, for the same price.
Like I said, if you need to know anything. Just keep posting here or PM me. I've had the car for a year now and I can basically tell you anything you'd like about these cars. They're no torqueless wonder like the Honda, but you do have to wait for the turbo to kick in. I port and polished my entire setup to try to gain some low end but there's still much to be desired. I'm debating about getting out of this car and into another one like a Lexus IS300 <even though it will be far slower> or a Legacy GT Limited.
If you want a more grown up car than the boy racer WRX, look into the Legacy. The ones I'm looking at are the GT Limited, newer, and low mileage so they're around $17,000-$19,000. They have the 2.5L engine, nicer interiors, sunroofs, leather, etc. and can be made just as fast as the 2.0L WRX and will outhandle a stock WRX with some swaybars. Once again, swaybars are an absolute must in this subaru.
Cashizslick
!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!
Thats funney. . . . intake & BOV are the first 2 mods of every WRX owner.
This proves that most only want a WRX cause everybody else has one that goes pssssshhhhhtttt on every shift.
By the ricers, yes. Thats why I specifically mention it.
Believe me, if intake systems were making real significant power, then people would be using them. As it stands, people who are educated, only use them on FMIC setups because its required.
Same deal with headers. The best headers on a subaru are the stockers or some very expensive equal length headers like the APS ones. Problem with the equal lengths are that they smooth out the exhaust pulses and take away from the nice boxer rumble, making the car sound more like an Inline 4 and giving that ricey sound instead of the nice deep sound. Take on the fact that the APS headers are $1200 and thats a problem.
Other equal length headers lose lowend power because it takes the the collectors longer to fill with air and since the headers are before the turbo it takes longer to spool as well.
Most people just port and polish the stockers, and some that are smart buy an upgraded crosspipe that has an inner diameter that is close to stock but does not contain the restrictive flex joint in the center like stock.
Basically this car is different from all other turbo cars and all other cars in general. There's no basic I/H/E bolt ons to really benefit from, only exhaust bolt ons. Do a lightweight crank pulley, bolt on a bigger TMIC or go FMIC, bolt on a larger turbo with larger injectors and fuel pump, Engine Management, uppipe, swaybars, strut + spring combo, and anti-lift kit. You have one mean car.
Cashizslick
!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!
I didnt know people liked the WRX exhaust note . .
I wonder why Subaru decided to cheep out and not just go equal length
I didnt know people liked the WRX exhaust note . .
I wonder why Subaru decided to cheep out and not just go equal length
The '06+ might have equal lengths. They changed the manifold on the new 2.5L engine because they changed the oil pan.
And the subaru exhaust note is amazing. It really is awesome. You have the two heads, like a V8, and the cams moving up and down when it goes "lub dub".
That torque is only there when the turbo kicks in, you have to be above ~3300rpm's to enjoy the car as a daily driver. Get the accessport, uppipe, and a turboback exhaust and you'll gain a ton of power and the onset of the poewr will come ~500rpm's sooner. That will run you about $1100 if you buy used or ebay.
Cashizslick
!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!
Lol,
Typical WRX owner comment - its just like a V8 y0! hahaa. To each their own
.The WRX has done a few good things for the import scene tho:
A lightly modded WRX has quickly become the new "standard" of import performance. STR neons, hondas, and Cobalt's are all way behind. . . . if your car cant beat a lightly modded WRX its not worth spending the time on (crustangs, mullet mobiles, etc).
The WRX has doen what the eclipse never did . . . deliver reliable power for cheep.
I also have not seen too many riced out WRX's . . the ricers tend to stick with FWD grocery getters.
True, every WRX owner has the same mods, but so what? - every civic owner back in 1999 had the same mods too.
I just cant wait till some jap company comes out with something similar to a Silvia (RWD, Turbo, Cheep). That's pry the only thing that will cause me to consider ditching the 240 . .
The engine isn't like a V8, the exhaust sound is - so there's no hahahhaa. It has two heads, with cams that move up and down. It just doesn't have the same amount of cylinders. There's a rumble thats a result of the horizontally opposed cylinders and unequal length headers.
Download a sound clip from a perrin or blitz nur spec exhaust on a WRX. Its a very low exhaust note that rumbles. I would set off car alarms with my old blitz nur spec when I was basically at idle.
The SRT4, not STR..., is faster for cheaper.
Cobalt SS's can hold up in a straight line, or they could until the '06 WRX came out.
WRX's get riced out all the time. Its quickly becoming the new Civic.
Subaru is a Jap company, if you didn't get that. There's not that many others and more than likely they'll try to capture the market that the WRX isn't hitting which is more upscale. Think of the skyline thats coming out next.
Honda already came out with the Fit for the econo market, and Toyota came out with the Scion Tc for its econo market. Mazda just brought out the Mazdaspeed 3 and 6 for that niche market.
Its unlikely that a cheap RWD, turbo car is going to come out and it will be especially hard to compete with the huge numbers of cars like the GTO and the like. Hell there's a SRT-8. Horsepower sells cars, but people want horsepower that delivers downlow. Look at me, I want to hop ship out of the WRX because it doesn't offer enough power downlow. The newer version offer some more, but it will be the day when the WRX is offered with a H6 + turbo - which should be somewhere within the next 5years.
Download a sound clip from a perrin or blitz nur spec exhaust on a WRX. Its a very low exhaust note that rumbles. I would set off car alarms with my old blitz nur spec when I was basically at idle.
The SRT4, not STR..., is faster for cheaper.
Cobalt SS's can hold up in a straight line, or they could until the '06 WRX came out.
WRX's get riced out all the time. Its quickly becoming the new Civic.
Subaru is a Jap company, if you didn't get that. There's not that many others and more than likely they'll try to capture the market that the WRX isn't hitting which is more upscale. Think of the skyline thats coming out next.
Honda already came out with the Fit for the econo market, and Toyota came out with the Scion Tc for its econo market. Mazda just brought out the Mazdaspeed 3 and 6 for that niche market.
Its unlikely that a cheap RWD, turbo car is going to come out and it will be especially hard to compete with the huge numbers of cars like the GTO and the like. Hell there's a SRT-8. Horsepower sells cars, but people want horsepower that delivers downlow. Look at me, I want to hop ship out of the WRX because it doesn't offer enough power downlow. The newer version offer some more, but it will be the day when the WRX is offered with a H6 + turbo - which should be somewhere within the next 5years.
Makes no difference to me, takes me 7000 rpm before I get to use the 111 flywheel ft lbs anyway... The 2.0 will feel more torquey in the lower RPMs prior to boost than this car ever will.
But it's still just a debate going on in the brain on if I really want to get another 10,000+ dollar car in the first place.
I'm sure even an 02 WRX won't be of any help on the insurance.
Its on the Top 10 list for pricest cars to insure.
Mine is $165/mo for full coverage. Since I'm under 24 and in school I'm still claimed as a dependent and get the perks of being under the parents insurance coverage. If I was going to go at it on my own it was going to be absorbent - to the tune of $500-$600 a month.
I think I'm paying around what most people in my area pay or a little less than the ~$200/mo that the car costs in the Tri-State area.
Look it up on Welcome to NASIOC.com - North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club - News for what insurance in your area is or just call your company and get a quote before you go any further. Premium gas is yet another thing.
Cashizslick
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To say the GTO is nothing special is a foolish, foolish statement. That car is a beast of a highway cruiser.
If you take on a top of the line GTO on the highway, he's either not racing or you're driving something special. At highway speeds that car is a monster. It puts out like 400ft/lbs.
If you take on a top of the line GTO on the highway, he's either not racing or you're driving something special. At highway speeds that car is a monster. It puts out like 400ft/lbs.