@ Subaru Impreza owners

[1126699]

Alright, tomorrow I'm planning to go for a test drive a few cars, one of them being Suba Impreza WRX. Couple of questions for any Impreza owners

1) About where is the friction or engagement point on the clutch?

2) I know they are AWD cars, but I never driven AWD before. I'm thinking since all four wheels are being powered, I would need less gas to get it going from a stop as compared to my Honda right now? Probably harder to stall?

3) How is the turning in the Impreza? Like in my FWD Honda, I turn early into a parking space and I usually start turning when the front bumper is aligned with the set of lines in the space in my mom's RWD Toyota.

4) I'll say I'm a intermediate level manual driver that can get from point A to point B without those advanced skills such as heel toe. Is the Impreza friendly enough for me to test drive it? What are some things I should know about it before my test drive tomorrow?

5) Is it listed as a compact or sports car under the insurace?

Thanks for your time

[jomotopia]

yay Suby

1> it's pretty low to the floor and short on my car but may be a bit different on the WRX.

2> i think it would actually make it easier to stall, b/c there's more mass for the engine to get turning from a stop. 1500 should be a good launch level.

3> well it turns good but i don't really understand the question. the front is kind of short. compared to other cars i've driven.

4> couple things to keep in mind: it's tough to be smooth b/c of the AWD and notchy gearbox, and in mine at least, the gears are close and the revs fall fast. probably won't be quite as bad in the 5 speed, but it seems like just about everybody takes a while to get the 1-2 shift smooth b/c of the revs falling too far. so probably give a bit of throttle between 1 and 2, and don't be afraid to slip the clutch a little extra to stay smooth since it's just a test drive.

5> i dunno, Progressive doesn't really list the type like that on their website. sport compact would be my guess.

[watkins]

1) Mine was a slush, cant help

2) I believe Jomos right about that. Its what Ive heard elsewhere at least

3) The turning is pretty good, and the wheel is very attentive to whatever you do to it. The front is definitely short, and it doesnt take long to get used to the dimensions

4) see 1

5) If my photographic memory of my registration serves me right, my 2.5RS was listed as a compact. The WRX, as Jomo said, is probably a sports compact.

[1126699]

So the revs drop quickly when disengaging the clutch or if you take too long to shift? And 1500 RPM for launching, that's...seems hard to stall. My Honda shudders when I launch it at that low of RPM Must be the low end torque Just one more question before I go test driving it today.

1) If for some reason I happen to over rev it on a launch, would all the power transfer to all four wheels causing them to spin? Or where would all the power go? Bad for AWD cars?

[jomotopia]

^^ it's gonna depend on what you do with the clutch, no the throttle. the wheels will not spin, it's AWD's job to keep them from spinning. if you rev too high and let the clutch out too fast, you'll either get a hard launch that will jolt the tranny and the rest of the drivetrain, or you'll bog down the engine, or you'll stall. if you rev too high and let the clutch out too slow you'll cause more wear on the clutch. but this is talking about revving way too high. keep it under 2k and you should be fine. but bottom line, no the wheels won't spin. it's tougher to get away with clutch dumps on AWD b/c of that.

[Draklen]

1. My FP is mid-high range but I bought used so I dunno how worn down the clutch is. Just do a no-gas start for the first launch and find out where it is.

2. I've only manual I've driven is my WRX. 1500 is usually good for a moderate launch. I've launched at idle before. It just takes longer to really get going though.

3. Under normal the turning is the same as my old 2001 prelude. Actually the turning radius is just smaller than the prelude.

4. Can't really answer since only manualy I've driven is my WRX. But I guess just drive normal. Maybe slip a tiny bit long just because of the AWD.

5. Not sure what it listed under but I pay $1,314 for the year. AAA SoCal.


Just realized I am probably answering a little late. Oh wells. heh.

edit: guess not since there was 2 posts while I was typing my post heh

[jomotopia]

something i just thought of... be careful if you try to make a quick turn from a stop. after i first got my car, a couple of times trying to turn left into traffic i got too happy on the gas and too quick on the clutch, and with the wheel cranked to one side, the tires could spin then. i ended up with all 4 wheels spinning and my car rotating very fast out into the lane. luckily i was able to keep it pointed where i wanted to go, but not something you want to happen on a test drive (or really any time on accident). it was fun but definitely scary. wait until you have time and don't have to rush the launch/turn.

[Draklen]

something i just thought of... be careful if you try to make a quick turn from a stop. after i first got my car, a couple of times trying to turn left into traffic i got too happy on the gas and too quick on the clutch, and with the wheel cranked to one side, the tires could spin then. i ended up with all 4 wheels spinning and my car rotating very fast out into the lane. luckily i was able to keep it pointed where i wanted to go, but not something you want to happen on a test drive (or really any time on accident). it was fun but definitely scary. wait until you have time and don't have to rush the launch/turn.

Hard to do in a stock WRX heh. The only time I got my tire to spin or slide was flooring it in 1st while turning... last night... I pretty much had to hit max boost 13.5 lbs. while turning.

OT: Oh yeah I got me a boost guage. Kinda fun install heh.

[jomotopia]

^^ well that's basically what i did... 1st gear, wheel cranked, stomped the gas, dropped the clutch, screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech "holy crap!". i was on less grippy all seasons at the time but i've done it to a lesser extent (and on purpose) since.

[mren]

So how did your drive go?

I'll have a stab at your questions anyway...

1. mid to low for me...

2. Nope, I reckon you need more to get going. The car just seems 'heavier' ..

3. This is weird but I used to drive a 99Impreza RX (non turbo Impreza) wagon and the turning circle was actually better in that, than my MY07 WRX.

4. Yeah I started driving the car with beginner skills so I've had my share of stalls and perhaps 1 or 2 clutch burns. The clutch is pretty grabby so your changes are often pretty jerky. I found out that when I hit the gas, the clutch grabs at the change and I went into the next gear burning off a bit clutch... though I've recently discovered, this is quite common in WRX's..

5. No idea..

[1126699]

Hey, just got back home from test driving. Got to test drive a Toyota MR2 as well. Performance was so-so in it, not as much power as I expected it to be. Lack of space too

But the Impreza was great! It was jerky ride as you guys mentioned, but comfort is the least of my concerns Only down side was the steering. Needed some effort to keep the car going straight. Felt like my Honda when the rack and pinion was falling apart. But other than that, performace was up to my expectations. Got what I wanted in a car. So my parents tried negotiating with the dealership to get it from $17000 down to $15000 - 15500 OTD. Didn't end up the way we want it, so we got up about to shake hands and say sorry. But then the manager pulled us away from the door back at the table to talk about the price again. He said $16800 without the tax or fees. I had a feeling that it would come up to a total of $18000+ because from my previous experience when buying cars from dealerships, they would rip a hole in your wallet from the 'mysterious' fees like the 'dust' fee or 'touch up' fee and all those other strange fees to try to get more out of me Took us half a day literally at the dealers. They just don't want you to leave. Almost feels like a game there

[comingbackdown]

^^ well that's basically what i did... 1st gear, wheel cranked, stomped the gas, dropped the clutch, screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech "holy crap!". i was on less grippy all seasons at the time but i've done it to a lesser extent (and on purpose) since.

If you'd be willing to do that in a parking lot, I'd loooooove to see a vid of that. Wheel-spin on an AWD car is awesome enough if it's on purpose... but an STi? Dayum!

[Aquiles]

Hey, just got back home from test driving. Got to test drive a Toyota MR2 as well. Performance was so-so in it, not as much power as I expected it to be. Lack of space too

But the Impreza was great! It was jerky ride as you guys mentioned, but comfort is the least of my concerns Only down side was the steering. Needed some effort to keep the car going straight. Felt like my Honda when the rack and pinion was falling apart. But other than that, performace was up to my expectations. Got what I wanted in a car. So my parents tried negotiating with the dealership to get it from $17000 down to $15000 - 15500 OTD. Didn't end up the way we want it, so we got up about to shake hands and say sorry. But then the manager pulled us away from the door back at the table to talk about the price again. He said $16800 without the tax or fees. I had a feeling that it would come up to a total of $18000+ because from my previous experience when buying cars from dealerships, they would rip a hole in your wallet from the 'mysterious' fees like the 'dust' fee or 'touch up' fee and all those other strange fees to try to get more out of me Took us half a day literally at the dealers. They just don't want you to leave. Almost feels like a game there

Yep, that sounds just about right for a STEALership, hehe. BTW, what year model WRX are you looking at? I'm guessing it's the pig-nose (06-07)?

[Leedeth]

Wow what a bargain! $200 whole dollars off!

[CityofLight]

I assume you've already looked at it, but thought I would drop my $.02 in too as a WRX owner.

Alright, tomorrow I'm planning to go for a test drive a few cars, one of them being Suba Impreza WRX. Couple of questions for any Impreza owners

1) About where is the friction or engagement point on the clutch?

Mine is about half way on the pedal. Not too high or low. Might not be the same on all cars. You will feel it out fairly quickly.

2) I know they are AWD cars, but I never driven AWD before. I'm thinking since all four wheels are being powered, I would need less gas to get it going from a stop as compared to my Honda right now? Probably harder to stall?

A first time driver will likely need to give it more gas. I have driven it enough that I can move the car with very little gas without stalling, but there is certainly a fine line. Doing so also bogs the engine, so unless I am just creeping into a parking spot or something requiring very little power, I usually go with more gas and a bit of slip. (Not a ton, but more than minimal too). Doing so, to be smooth, also requires a very brief pause at the enguagement point (which, based on other owners, doesn't seem out of the ordinary).

3) How is the turning in the Impreza? Like in my FWD Honda, I turn early into a parking space and I usually start turning when the front bumper is aligned with the set of lines in the space in my mom's RWD Toyota.

I don't think I ever consciously thought of when I start a turn in relation to my car and landmarks. I just know where I want to go and guide the car there. So I am no help here. To me, it turns like any other car.

4) I'll say I'm a intermediate level manual driver that can get from point A to point B without those advanced skills such as heel toe. Is the Impreza friendly enough for me to test drive it? What are some things I should know about it before my test drive tomorrow?

It's a typical manual. No need for heel-toe shifting on the test drive. I am sure you will be able to manuever it around.

5) Is it listed as a compact or sports car under the insurace?

Thanks for your time

Depend's on your insurance. I can say it is expensive to insure. More so than most cars I researched when I bought it. It has a high theft rate in some areas, and lots of people get overconfident with the AWD and drive the car beyond their skill level, crinkling up fenders. The two combined drive the insurance up. I suspect being foreign built, repair parts may be pricier than usual too which drives up the price some.