"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
05/03/2018 at 13:08 • Filed to: None
3
8|
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
05/03/2018 at 13:08 • Filed to: None | 3
| 8 |
Last weekend I took a trip up to Mammoth with my STi for the first time to spend a couple of days skiing. Since it was late April, the chance of frozen precipitation was near zero and the weather looked nice and sunny, so I made the trip with my Falkens still on the car. These are low treadware summer tires so they definitely are not your typical drive to the ski mountain rubber. It was an easy 5 hour drive with the cruise control set to ~75 the whole way there. To avoid traffic, I left home at 330am and parked at the mountain bright and early at 830am and got on a ski lift by 845am. Then I had an excellent two days of skiing, since it wasn’t all that crowded and the wind was pretty light (by Mammoth standards). It was surprising how cold it was (18F at the top on Saturday) but further down the mountain was some lovely spring skiing. The altitude (11k feet) definitely affected me through more exhaustion than normal but overall I delt with it fine.
There was still plenty of snow up there, I have no doubts they will easily be able to make it to the projected Memorial Day closure. I am hoping to make another trip up in May but we shall see. My pass for next year includes free skiing until the end of the season this year but I have a lot going on this month and even more in June/July so it might be nice to spend some time at home instead.
And overall, the Subaru made for a great drive up to the mountain. Having some wide open roads and huge elevation changes makes that car really shine in comparison to the Miata. Plus being able to shut the windows, turn on some AC, and just cruise in peace without all of the wind noise was kind of nice. The 6CD changer being my only source of music definitely got old but that should be an easy fix some day with an aftermarket head unit. I burned a dozen or so CDs but I really like listening to everything on shuffle and I am not about to start creating mix CDs like it is the year 2000 again. Assuming the car doesn’t blow up on me anytime soon, I am thinking it will be an excellent road trip car and allow me to stay track focused with the Miata without requiring suffering during lengthy drives.
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/03/2018 at 13:29 |
|
Oh wow, nice car. I remember reading your posts about the Saabaru saga but had lost track of what happened since. Sounds like you ended up with a nice car for a great price. How are you liking the driving experience in general? Is it your commuter? Not too harsh or loud? I’m curious about a WRX or STi as a combined commuter/fun car in a year or so...hopefully the next generation from yours, in hatch form.
|
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/03/2018 at 13:50 |
|
Well take my opinion with a giant grain of salt since I have daily driven a Miata on coilovers, a racing seat, and loud exhaust as my only car for quite some time. So my thoughts of what makes something “comfortable” or “harsh” are slightly skewed. On a somewhat bumpy highway (all of the damn freeways in LA), the STi is actually bumpier than the Miata but that is mostly due to the springy seat which is a common issue on the forums. I have rectified it a bit with some giant zip ties but it still may need an aftermarket seat someday if I truly want to fix that issue. It is a minor problem though since the bucket seat in the Miata makes my ass fall asleep after a couple hours of driving whereas after 5+ in the STi I was still just fine.
The BIGGEST difference is like I said how quiet the car is. The stock exhaust barely makes any noise at all. It is actually an existential battle for me. I really love the loud BWAHHHHHHHHH sounds the Miata makes when pushing the car but having absolutely no highway drone in the STi is so relaxing. I still get noise out of the STi when really driving it hard through a canyon but I find that its more of the turbo/intake noises that come through rather than the exhaust itself which is kind of neat. Its a huge debate for me whether I want to put a nice Perrin Catback on the car or continue having quiet relaxing drives. I definitely do not feel the need to mod the car, it has the perfect amount of power and handling for any amount of street driving I could do. It can handle turns faster than my Miata can honestly but its not nearly as raw or engaging to do so. I have just as much fun canyon carving in both cars but for just entirely different reasons. The Miata is being driven on the ragged edge which is what makes that fun while the STi is just obliterating the roadway with precision which is also fun.
I also am debating putting all seasons on the STi so that I do not have to get a second set of wheels to dedicate to winters but considering my commute of Socal canyons, I think I would be giving up far too much by doing that. But I am sure road trips will kill these tires much faster than my Miata would under the same conditions. Overall, it was an excellent choice of car and if it proves to be reliable, then it will be the perfect longterm choice for me as well.
|
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/03/2018 at 14:37 |
|
Thanks for the input. My commute is pretty short, this would be a second/third car in the house, and I live in the PNW where roads are always wet and winter happens. So it sounds like the performance/engagement/liveliness of an STi wouldn’t be too horrible for me. And it’s not like I’m coming from an Avalon. This would be replacing my current E30 (and previously S2000, and suspension modded Legacy GT). Surprising to hear how quiet it is on freeways in stock form given that most STi you see out there you can hear from a mile away. Good to know that in stock form it’s actually not supposed to be that crazy. But I know your battle, that sound is a big part of what makes an STi so charming and is something I may want at least in a lowered dose if possible!
Do you have space to keep a second set of wheels? If so don’t go all season! I know that living in CA it gets really hard to justify two sets when there are very few instances you really truly NEED winter tires. But having dedicated summers is so worth it. And the winters, whether you truly feel it or not will perform better in cold/wet weather, and be worthwhile on those ski trips you take. The cost will also just even out over time although the up front hit isn’t as fun I know.
|
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/03/2018 at 14:57 |
|
The reason why you hear every STi from a mile away is because stock ones are truly unicorns. People just can’t help but modify the shit out of these. And considering how many different parts manufacturers are out there and the relative affordability of go fast parts and the performance gains, it makes sense I suppose. But I just love the allure of keeping it totally stock, it makes the car stand out more honestly. It’s definitely not silent if I have the windows open but the car seems to have a reasonable amount of sound deadening. It is far from luxury level quiet but its also far better than the 90s economy cars I have been used to. Its a good balance for me since I can’t stand complete isolation from the environment.
I like to moreso compare the car to a GTi. I think that if I ever find the car to be “too harsh” or want something “smoother” I would go that direction. I drove a mk7 from Turo and it was very fun. I didnt like the FWD aspect and it was a little bit too pedestrian for me right now. But I imagine it gets better gas mileage and the interior was definitely superior. I like to rank my opinion as STi > GTI > WRX.
And yeah I can find space for a second set of wheels probably. My only issue is that I cannot daily drive with winters. It is regularly 70F+ (I have seen 90F in Dec/Jan) in the winter around here which would murder the tires in a day no problem. So I would have to swap the wheels every time I want to go skiing which surely would be annoying with my goal of 30+ days next season. I will probably suck it up and do it if I can get some used wheels on the cheap.
|
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/03/2018 at 16:21 |
|
Ah yes those temperature fluctuations are a bit more of a bitch than what we had in the SF area or here in Portland where in the winter it’ll safely be 50 or below most days. That’s still a tough call though – I’d say shop the sales for winter tires and a cheap set of rims/steelies, and hold on to those summers. All seasons especially on something as capable as an STi might be a bit of a shame.
Especially coming from a Miata how are you finding the STi’s
eagerness to rotate? Do the various DCCD settings change the car’s
characteristics much? Having AWD on my Legacy GT was fun, and it was a fast
car, but it was also an understeering dog in the corners. Trail braking is effective
but certainly not as much fun as being able to modulate through a corner with
the throttle. Not that it’s a huge deal on public roads but that sense of
understeer is just so painful. I’m certain it’s nowhere nearly as bad in an STi
(if it’s an issue at all) – do you find it to be a pretty neutral car at least?
I also found myself consistently stressing over tire tread depth on my Subaru – in fact the weekend after I bought the car I got a flat tire while out of town and ended up having to buy 4 new tires. Wanted to get myself a full sized spare that I’d rotate regularly with the rest of the tires to provide some level of insurance in a situation like that, but that never really happened and probably would’ve been a bit of a pain in the ass.
Agreed that overall the GTI is probably a better car than a WRX, but especially out here given the weather and unbeatable resale value it’d be pretty tough for me to pick one over a WRX.
|
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/03/2018 at 17:22 |
|
That understeeryness of the STi is the reason why the Miata is still special to me. While the Miata will also understeer depending on the camber of the turn or where my throttle is at (among other factors), it definitely will rotate better near the limit of the car with predictability. I have a large front sway bar set to the stiffest setting with the stock rear sway bar along with relatively low spring rate coilovers which I am a huge fan of on the Miata. I find that the STi will handle the turns faster/flatter but near the actual limit I have only found understeer. I havent really been willing to push it harder or play with DCCD for street driving. I suppose cranking the DCCD to rear and powering through the understeer would solve that. But I don’t really want to end up becoming a dorifto torpedo off a cliff either lol.
The other odd thing that makes the Miata still special is the whole naturally aspirated versus turbo. Unless I am going up a hill, the Miata does not feel sluggish in comparison. The power is instant and there is no lag. The STi DEFINITELY lags sometimes but such is the nature of a “legacy” turbo like that. And with the aftermarket header in the Miata I can get actual power above 6k for a short bit so I am always chasing the rev limiter. I find in the STi I can just have torque for days all of the time so its less of a fight.
I definitely want to autocross the STi at some point just so that I can play with DCCD and understand how the car behaves beyond its limits a bit better. It usually scares me into tripping the ABS before I actually try taking a corner fast enough to really test it out.
|
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/03/2018 at 18:11 |
|
Chasing revs really is underrated – even though it’s not powerful at all it’s so rewarding in my E30. I commute in a little EV where that’s not even a factor anymore, and if anything you just start losing steam as you push it more. Even on my Legacy GT it pulled super hard in the middle of the rev range but then kind of plateauted out well before redline. Maybe N/A engines will make a come back as an exclusive performance option in the future, similar to how turbo version were often times the faster/sportier ones.
Sounds like you have a pretty good combination between the two cars though, congrats on the unicorn STi. Sounds like you found a keeper after all the searching.
|
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
05/03/2018 at 19:32 |
|
Time will tell lol. It still has 140k miles on it so I am always worried of some sort of catastrophic failure. It seemed to be well taken care of though by the one and only owner. He had it regularly in a Subaru shop for service, head gasket and timing belt already replaced recently, and I havent found any issues yet. I can imagine that Saabaru would have been a nightmare even with half the mileage lol. I still kind of wish I searched for a wagon but I would have probably given up and gone with a totally different car or not found something as nice anyways.
That “car getting old fear” was definitely one of the primary reasons the guy was selling the car anyways. He had to pay like $4k for that most recent service and didnt want to deal with more I suppose. Plus he wanted modern amenities and went with a Lexus something or other. Guess it was time to “grow up” or something lol. Considering the spoiler delete and that he had a catback but removed it a long time ago, I definitely think he was not a fan of the “boy racer” thing.