WRX STI - 3 Month / 3000 Mile Update Notes

"t0ast" (t0ast217) 07/24/2019 at 11:00 • Filed to: None

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Things I like:

No more break-in period! Life is much better now that I’m allowed to occasionally wind out a gear or three.

Speaking of gears, the shortened 3rd in this car (new for the 2019 MY) was a little weird at first but it’s really grown on me. It affords a little more low-speed flexibility in a car that doesn’t like low revs, and it tops out around 75, which is just about perfect for accelerating onto highways.

It’s still fun to drive in general and the above average NVH has yet to bother me.

OEM tires are actually decent. They’re Yokohama Advan Sport V105s, which feel almost as good as my other >200TW favorites.

Modern infotainment w/ Android Auto after going 10+ years without so much as an AUX jack. The UI isn’t half bad to work with either.

Auto climate control is much smarter and less dramatic/intrusive in its operation than it was in my Outback XT.

DCCD and SI-Drive actually make a difference in how the car drives. I’ve mostly been gravitating towards Auto- and Intelligent for normal daily driving. I’ll occasionally bump up to Auto for rain or Sport for fun.

The handful of longer (4-6 hour) trips I’ve taken with it have gone well. No major complaints from rear seat occupants so far, just some general remarks that it’s a little smaller than the OBXT was.

WRX waves are a thing.

Having something practical/comfortable enough to easily reach fun roads away from home and then thoroughly enjoy them once I arrive.

Things I don’t:

Fuel economy, obviously. 20-21 MPG on the daily grind and topping out around 25 on long highway trips isn’t exactly surprising or much different than the OBXT, but it still isn’t good either.

The WRX gets an oil temperature gauge but the STI doesn’t.

DCCD reverts to Auto every time the car starts up.

Obscene amounts of brake dust.

Seat bottoms could use a little more bolstering to better match the sides.

I have to sit a little further back than I’d like to prevent my shin from occasionally banging into the bottom of the dashboard while operating the clutch.

Disabling hill hold (as I have done) and leaving it off (which the car thankfully remembers) results in a constantly illuminated gauge cluster light. This is the same light that is normally used to indicate hill hold system failures...

The big wing tends to attract stupidity. Fortunately, most of it tends to quickly depart after I refuse to reciprocate.

Things I’ve changed/added:

Tint: Llumar ceramic 80% on the front side windows and 50% on everything behind them. I wanted to remain legal in all the states that it’s likely to visit (and then some) and not be awful to drive at night (like the husband’s FR-S is with its 20-35%). It has been surprisingly good at mitigating heat in spite of being lighter than what most people opt for.

PPF: XPEL full front + side skirts. Unfortunately I did have one rock chip beat me to the punch :-/

A dash cam ( Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO). Routing the power cable through the dashboard, windshield trim, and headliner was easier than expected. Only two bandages worth of wounds were suffered.

RallyArmor mud flaps. They worked well on my OBXT, so I was happy to give them my business again. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they now provide metal reinforcement brackets (at least for this application).

E90M3 > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:05

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You forgot to add “vape pen flavor” under “things I’ve changed/added.” 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:08

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I'm digging the color match between the rally armor branding and the calipers.

Boxer_4 > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:12

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I’ve been getting  22 city and 26 highway in the Forester (NA) during the summer months. I’m going to guess you’re having more fun. 

t0ast > E90M3 07/24/2019 at 11:13

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Huh, thought I included that. I must have accidentally hit Publish prematurely. Those buttons are kinda hard to see from inside this vape cloud that I’m now obligated to maintain.

t0ast > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2019 at 11:18

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Thanks, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out as well. I was initially opposed to going for that color option due to my general aversion to shouty designs, but then I remembered what it’d be going on...

Textured Soy Protein > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:20

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When my wife had a 2016 Impreza, we permanently disabled the lane departure warning because it was so overly intrusive with no sensitivity adjustment, but doing so left a damn yellow light lit on the dash at all times. That was still less annoying than the shitty non-adjustable lane departure warning.

I felt like that car, which obviously had a softer suspension than yours, was really great at riding bumps, and a solid highway car. B ut it could’ve used more sound deadening. There was more wind and tire noise on the highway than many modern cars. I thought about doing some basic pulling the door cards and adding dynamat or something like that but never did while we had the car. Might be worth looking into for you.

Try EBC RedStuff pads when it’s time to change them. They’re EBC’s fast road pad but specifically have low dust. I had a set on my old Mazdaspeed 6 and liked them a lot, but on my 335xi, the BMW forum people hated EBC pads because a couple of them had problems with them on a track. So I instead got StopTech Sport which are massively fucking dusty and noisy and while they do stop great and hold up to repeated abuse, I despise them on a daily driver with many many spoke wheels. 

Discerning > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:22

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Ouch. My truck is getting about 19 mpg in terrible rush hour traffic. But only 22 mpg on highway cruises.

t0ast > Textured Soy Protein 07/24/2019 at 11:26

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Yeah, I definitely prefer the light over the alternative in this case as well. The hill hold was fine with the WRX, but the STI’s less forgiving clutch makes unexpected engagements of that feature much more of a nuisance to deal with.

Road noise hasn’t been too bad so far, though Dynamat or the like will be considered if I ever open up the doors, which I might at some point to upgrade the speakers.

Also thanks for the pad recommendation. Will note that for later, because I don’t foresee myself doing much more than a random autocross on occasion with this. At least the dark gray wheels do a halfway decent job of hiding it for now.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:31

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It really works to grab the caliper color instead of just matching the blue. Is this something rally armor offers or did you paint the flaps?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:34

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You might consider some kevlar based Porterfield R4-S brake pads when the time comes. They’re a good, reasonably aggressive street pad, yet decidedly quiet, dust and rotor friendly for the performance level.  They’re not cheap, but they’re probably the best pad I’ve come across if you don’t want the noise/dust/rotor wear trade offs that most pads in the Hawk HPS type class bring with them.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Textured Soy Protein 07/24/2019 at 11:35

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I never realized you could get lane departure on the 2016 generation Impreza. I thought eyesight wasn't added until the 2017 platform update.

Textured Soy Protein > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2019 at 11:38

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I believe it was added as part of the refresh in 2014 or 15 or whenever it happened. We didn’t go specifically looking for EyeSight at the time we were shopping for that car, but the dealer had a fully loaded one with some other features we liked. Turned out the EyeSight (minus the hyperactive lane departure warning) became one of her favorite features and when we were looking for her next car those active safety gizmos became a must-have for her. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:45

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We need to do a NW Arkansas OPPO meetup...

t0ast > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2019 at 11:50

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They offer it. I probably would have gone for a gray logo otherwise .

http://www.rallyarmor.com/product_info.php/urethane-mud-flaps-2015-subaru-wrx-sti-sedan-mud-flap-caliper-green-logo-p-1655

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Textured Soy Protein 07/24/2019 at 11:52

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My mom just bought a 2019 Crosstrek with the eyesight. The engineer in me can't be trusted with systems like that, I end up constantly poking them to see what they do and eventually I would find something it can't handle.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 11:52

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With how much my WRX crashes over even the smallest bumps in the road I can’t imagine the 19’s and even sportier suspension make for a relatively comfortable ride lol maybe the bilsteins have much better damping.

t0ast > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 07/24/2019 at 12:11

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It honestly probably isn’t all that comfortable for most. I just happen to have an extremely low bar to clear in that regard after years spent daily driving a Miata with aggressive coilovers.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 12:13

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Fuel economy, obviously. 20-21 MPG on the daily grind and topping out around 25 on long highway trips isn’t exactly surprising or much different than the OBXT, but it still isn’t good either.

This shit still blows my mind. That’s worse mileage than my Grand Caravan averages, from a much heavier vehicle with a significantly larger engine, and a driver with a heavy foot.

Glad to hear you enjoy it anyway, hopefully loads more fun to be had!

RutRut > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 07/24/2019 at 12:28

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It’s significantly different in behavior. My coworker and I have the same model year, his WRX and my STI (2017) and his WRX is much more compliant at low speeds, but my STI is more compliant at higher speeds. Just totally different having single vs. twin tubes in the front end with different tuning. 

wafflesnfalafel > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 14:35

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weird about the no oil temp gauge, (I’ve got mine up all the time on my non-STI...) And I didn’t know you can disable the hill hold?  Beautiful rig.

DoctorA > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/24/2019 at 15:08

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I am driving 2017 Focus RS and get 19.5 MPG which is probably more than actual since measured by car,  I am getting 2019 STI next month since cannot stay away from Subaru!  My last STI was 2012 and averaged 19.2 MPG so I am used to lousy mileage.

DasWauto > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/24/2019 at 15:11

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A larger engine, yes, heavier, not so much (assuming a 2nd gen GC at 3500lbs)  and the Subaru is significantly more powerful, that’s where the extra fuel use comes from. Power = fuel consumption.

To be or not 22B > Textured Soy Protein 07/24/2019 at 15:58

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I’m on my second set of H awk HPS pads (mk1 TT, OBXT) , very progressive and good bite with very little dust. T hey sometimes squeak a little when braking lightly, but otherwise they’re quiet and dependable. I do plan on trying something different when I update the TT's brakes next year, not sure what.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > DasWauto 07/24/2019 at 16:04

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Talking about my 2018.

4400 lbs, 283 HP. So I have significantly more weight and I’m not too far off on power either.

Thus far I’ve averaged 25-26.5 mpg in mixed driving, just pulled 28.9 mpg hwy.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 16:14

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Oof that is a low bar. Don’t get me wrong I’d trade for a STi in a heartbeat, but whenever I ride in my wife’s civic my whole world gets turned upside down. “You can have a car with good handling and a comfortable ride...whaaaat?”

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > RutRut 07/24/2019 at 16:19

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Huh interesting, I have a 15 and I’ve always felt that taking bumps faster was far less jarring.

I really like the way it feels when I cruise at 80, very stable . I’ve been feeling like Subaru accidentally built a GT/ sports compact hybrid with the newer gen WRX. 

RutRut > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 07/24/2019 at 16:45

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For example, a pothole under 30mph is significantly harsher in the STI than the WRX, a small amplitude input like a freeway expansion joint is about the same. But, our road to work has a long sweeper with a buckle in the middle, the STI stays far more planted than the WRX when hitting at ummm...comfortably above the posted speed limit. Now that both cars are bagged, aggressive fitment and super low profile tires they ride about the same. 

t0ast > wafflesnfalafel 07/24/2019 at 16:51

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Thanks. I had to go digging through the owner’s manual to figure the hill hold toggle out. Procedure below if you care to try. It’s a bit obnoxious, but at least we have the option.

Start engine.

While remaining stationary, press and hold the traction control button. The traction control light will turn on in the gauge cluster (so will “Trac. Mode” momentarily , but you can ignore that one).

Keep holding the button until the traction control light turns off (30+ seconds).

Release and then press the button again (shouldn’t need to hold).

If the hill hold light turns on and stays on, it is now disabled.

Repeat 2-5 to re-enable.

DasWauto > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/24/2019 at 16:57

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The STI’s power is much more available and powerband encourages you to use it, your van’s power is high in the rev range where you’ll rarely use as much of it. The Subaru is also geared much lower (north of  3000 rpm at 70), for fun obviously, and that impacts mileage significantly.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 17:31

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The WRX/STi wave is the best right? I actually have found that with my Hawkeye I get WAYYYY more returned waves than I ever do with Miata waves in my Miata. Anyways, its neat to compare my “ancient” STi to the newer one.

I love the auto climate control in my STi, it is a super fancy feature to me. Granted this is also the newest car I have ever owned but it works far better than the systems I have seen in newer rental cars from other brands. I just set it to full auto and then choose the temperature number I want and forget about it the rest of the drive. I am used to other cars just being too cold from just leaving AC on full blast and just dealing with it lol.

Not surprised the newer STi gets better gas mileage I guess. But I can barely get above 22-23 on the highway in mine (can manage 24 with the right tires and low cruise control speeds ) . Although just driving around town and doing some mildly quick canyon driving I will still manage 20 on average which is pretty good. It’s just highway that doesnt do well, probably due to the 80+ on the freeways.

I have 50% ceramics on my car front and rear and I absolutely love this level of tint and heat reduction. Also no troubles with the law yet thankfully but its pretty low risk considering in Socal people seem to get away with limo tinted windshields on the regular, regardless of the law. I am sure a nitpicky local cop would give me shit for it if I was pulled over for something else. Thankfully my lack of rear wing should help me stay under the radar a little bit anyways.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 17:32

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I think my Miata on coilovers is actually more comfortable than my STi lol. But the difference in seats (knockoff bride bucket vs stock STi seat) makes long drives more bearable in the Subaru, regardless of the harsher rebounds and rattles.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/24/2019 at 17:34

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you will have some very fun roads to enjoy for that one! I still cant really decide if the roads around Deals gap, out here in Socal, or that corner of NW Arkansas are my favorite. Average weather conditions ignored, I really just enjoy all so much (socal gets to cheat with summer year round) . Those AR roads were the most surpr ising to me just because they really fit in with the two others. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/24/2019 at 17:40

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AWD is a parasitic bitch. And the way this car is geared, never does it any favors on the highway. The city mileage is obvious due to the power and how these things are fun to drive spooling up the turbo and all. But just cruising down a freeway, 80mph is already near 4k rpms in 6th gear . I have done a highway trip with my STi in Utah where 80mph speed limits for the entirety of a gas tank led to 18mpg average for a tank on the highway! That was cruise control set to 90 from onramp to offramp with some hills in between but constant speed throughout and no traffic.

If I keep it to about 80, I can manage 22 mpg on the highway.

Keeping it 70 and not too many hills, and 24 is doable.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/24/2019 at 17:43

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Can’t wait to get back. 

wafflesnfalafel > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 17:58

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cool - thank you!

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > RutRut 07/24/2019 at 18:04

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Ah o kay that makes more sense.

j3ll1s > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 18:08

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I just got a 2019 WRX. Convinced Subaru to buy back my foz XT '15 and put me in a WRX for same payments 0 cash out of pocket. Freaking love it man! Congrats on yours!!! May all the roads but twisty canyons on fresh paved tarmac!!!!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/24/2019 at 18:23

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I think I also found it special in particular because I knew I would never have a reason to go back. Its not like its particularly near anything. It was a day and a ha lf of driving to there from the East Coast and a day out from there to the middle of nowhere in Texas. Both of which starting points are long plane flights from home now regardless. I forseeably will go back to the Dragon at some point in my life but that corner of AR just gets to be a fond memory.

Disintermediated > t0ast 07/24/2019 at 19:05

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SI drive I-mode is not cool. Check the manual, it says that imitates a non-turbo car. Now why would you want that? :) If you did man did you buy the wrong car. Please, out of respect for the car, always make sure you are not in I mode, ever. Last thing, I mode may actually be bd for the car. When monitoring wth a l ogger I’v e seen a lot of timing pulled on a stock tune in I-mode. That is not good.  Otherwise, good observations.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/24/2019 at 20:26

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Glad you got to make it and keep it. 

t0ast > Disintermediated 07/24/2019 at 22:59

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Hmm, I’ll have to do some digging on that. Slamming down on timing to hit boost targets is no bueno. I really like Intelligent’s linear throttle mapping , but wish I could somehow get that with full boost on tap without potentially killing my warranty.  Oh well, if I have to further refine my right foot for the sake of fun and the health of the engine, then I think I can suffer through :)

t0ast > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/24/2019 at 23:06

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I could see that with some coilovers. Unfortunately my NC was on some non-adjustable H&Rs that *really* didn’t get along with anything worse than a B+ quality road, especially below highway speeds . The STI feels somewhat similar in spirit, transmitting most imperfections, but with about 25-50% less harshness.

MarcLangille > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/24/2019 at 23:13

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There are some really great roads in NW Arkansas. Very fortunate to live here .  Happy owner of a 2014 WRX hatchback

t0ast > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/24/2019 at 23:27

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And don’t forget the 15 year old engine design :-)

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > DasWauto 07/25/2019 at 06:53

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your van’s power is high in the rev range where you’ll rarely use as much of it.

Someone clearly doesn’t know how I drive..........

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > MarcLangille 07/25/2019 at 08:56

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I live in Tulsa, but have been going to NWA twice a year for over 10 years with a group of friends I used to work with. Always a great time.

123 south of Mount Judea FTW!

Mino > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/25/2019 at 09:51

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I hit around 26-28 on my road trip to NY from Michigan, which was cutting through Canada where I was mostly between 55-65mph. However I get the same fuel economy as you when I’m cruising at 75mph normally. 

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Disintermediated 07/25/2019 at 10:05

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Any other sources for this? I have a 2017 STI and use I-mode whenever I’m in heavy traffic, which is often.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Mino 07/25/2019 at 15:17

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55-65 here in Socal would get me run off the road. Even the trucks that have a mandated 55 speed limit everywhere (even in the 65-70 zones) go much faster than that. But moreso I could care less about 2-3mpg in the long run. Gas is relatively cheap even when its near $4 a gallon, especially when comparing to Europe. I have found that 75 is generally the sweet spot maximum to hit good economy. The few trips I have achieved 24mpg were with cruise control set to 75 and a laser focus on not accelerating past 3k in any gear. But “normal” driving with spirited onramps, passing, and running 80-85 when cruising, I can still achieve 22mpg so its good enough for me. I do sometimes justify my aggressive cornering practices as fuel saving measures since I am conserving momentum lol. 

Mino > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/25/2019 at 16:39

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Canada speed limits are 100kmh in many places. in Detroit yea I'd get shot at lol

AkursedX > t0ast 07/25/2019 at 20:38

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I’m on my second 2016 STI and I share a number of the same annoyances (Hiil hold light, no oil temp, DCCD switc hing back to auto, brake dust)

I bought my current one used with a COBB turboback and my goodness was it loud. Like twice as loud as my RX-8 with a 3" midpipe and single exit HKS Hi-power exhaust. I dumped the catback section and now just run the midpipe and an off the shelf Stage-2 91 octane tune and I’m please with the power. I usually drive in sport-sharp and the DCCD shifted towards more rear bias as I really like the throttle response. I have never use the I-drive outside of seeing what it was like.

I’ve added about 30lbs of butyl vibration damper and some some absorbing foam and it has made long drives much more tolerable. And I just added the plastic cover for the blower motor and it has drastically cut fan noise.

And yeah, the gas mileage sucks. I get around 22mpg combined in the summer and it drops to about 18-19 in the winter. My RX-8 gets pretty much the same fuel economy.

It’s also my bad-weather autocross car:

ihm96 > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 07/26/2019 at 09:24

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“good handling” is debatable lol. No stock civic imo really feels good handling

ihm96 > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M 07/26/2019 at 09:26

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Honestly that doesn’t even sound like a bad mode to have. Better fuel consumption Id assume if its acting NA and you don’t really need to be in boost if you’re stuck sitting in traffic

t0ast > AkursedX 07/26/2019 at 10:29

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Huh, I didn’t know about there being a fan cover available. I’ll almost certainly be picking one of those up in the near future. Exhaust-wise, I’ve been satisfied with the OEM hardware so far, but could see myself wanting just a touch more noise if not for wanting some available reprieve from the extremely noisy Exocet.

I was hoping to have the STI fill a similar role for autocross, but the weather has somehow remained clear so far and I’m now stuck re-learning the FR-S in its new SSC form before nationals. If all else fails, I’ll probably just take it to the last local event of the year because I’m dying to know how it’ll fare in that environment.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > ihm96 07/26/2019 at 21:51

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Not to mention smoothing out the throttle response in stop-and-go.