Help picking a subaru? (I think this is a new topic..)
02-05-2014, 12:27 PM
#61
As long as we're whoring pictures of FXTs then I'll have a go.
Some days I miss mine, some days not really. All days I don't miss a car payment though.
If that car doesn't make you want to own an FXT then you have no Subaru love in your soul.
Also, I looked for like 4 months to find the car I wanted, and then I flew from Ohio to Virginia to get it. If you want a nice MT FXT, you're going to have to be willing to look for a while and likely be willing to travel for it (or pay to get shipped).
Cheers!
Some days I miss mine, some days not really. All days I don't miss a car payment though.
If that car doesn't make you want to own an FXT then you have no Subaru love in your soul.
Also, I looked for like 4 months to find the car I wanted, and then I flew from Ohio to Virginia to get it. If you want a nice MT FXT, you're going to have to be willing to look for a while and likely be willing to travel for it (or pay to get shipped).
Cheers!
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02-05-2014, 01:20 PM
#63
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If that car doesn't make you want to own an FXT then you have no Subaru love in your soul.
Also, I looked for like 4 months to find the car I wanted, and then I flew from Ohio to Virginia to get it. If you want a nice MT FXT, you're going to have to be willing to look for a while and likely be willing to travel for it (or pay to get shipped).
Cheers!
Same here.
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02-05-2014, 02:02 PM
#64
Originally Posted by Braineack
This thread makes me want an FXT
I've never driven an '06+ FXT, maybe they have better NVH performance.
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02-05-2014, 02:59 PM
#66
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okay, yeah, Vlad knows how much I complain about the NVH in the WRX already.
and mine has some poly dif/rear bushings/mounts that don't help the cause.
I would also like a suspension that doesn't launch the rear of the car on speed bumps.
I drove a 06 STi once, it was worse than a miata on Konis.
and mine has some poly dif/rear bushings/mounts that don't help the cause.
I would also like a suspension that doesn't launch the rear of the car on speed bumps.
I drove a 06 STi once, it was worse than a miata on Konis.
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02-05-2014, 04:40 PM
#67
Part of the problem was the Whiteline Com-C front strut mounts and STI Group-N rear mounts... (I had "plans" to track it)
And part of the problem was that I was too lazy to do much about it. I think if a person made a concerted effort at improving the NVH, adding some sound proofing, etc. it could have been much, much, much improved.
I drove my buddies 2012 WRX hatch once and it felt soooooo much better all around then my FXT. Just a much more refined car.
BUT rigidbigelsowrth should totally still buy one
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02-05-2014, 08:25 PM
#71
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I'm about to open my door cards one of these days to fix rattles there.
I noticed I've started driving in higher gears than normal to keep RPMs higher so i stop virbrating from trying to drive around below 2K.
It's not that bad though, I've been in worse, like a miata on Konis.
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02-05-2014, 08:41 PM
#72
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I liked my Koni's! And my Goodwin solid motor mounts... but racecar.
The WRX is love/hate. It's fun to drive fast. It's horrendous at being a highway car. Every new mechanical noise I hear, I fear the car is suicidal. It has 10k miles and KBBs at 24k trade. Might go that route, though the WRX is my second new off the lot DD in 18 months (first was FR-S). Feels bad, man.
The rattles I can forgive, but the gear noise at highway speed makes my ears bleed. Dealer "fixed" it, I say it's worse now. Even "turning the radio up" is difficult, the door cards make more noise than the speakers at moderate volume.
The WRX is love/hate. It's fun to drive fast. It's horrendous at being a highway car. Every new mechanical noise I hear, I fear the car is suicidal. It has 10k miles and KBBs at 24k trade. Might go that route, though the WRX is my second new off the lot DD in 18 months (first was FR-S). Feels bad, man.
The rattles I can forgive, but the gear noise at highway speed makes my ears bleed. Dealer "fixed" it, I say it's worse now. Even "turning the radio up" is difficult, the door cards make more noise than the speakers at moderate volume.
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02-05-2014, 08:43 PM
#73
Drama queen much?
Buy 100sq/ft of dynamat
Buy 100sq/ft of raamat high density sound eliminating foam
spend 1 day with those two and your car
profit
orr.............
Just go buy a lexus already. These are econoboxes we're dealing with here. I actually really admire the fact that this awd turbo 4 seater with plenty of room weighs 3200lb which is the same as the FailWD focus and ms3
Buy 100sq/ft of dynamat
Buy 100sq/ft of raamat high density sound eliminating foam
spend 1 day with those two and your car
profit
orr.............
Just go buy a lexus already. These are econoboxes we're dealing with here. I actually really admire the fact that this awd turbo 4 seater with plenty of room weighs 3200lb which is the same as the FailWD focus and ms3
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02-05-2014, 09:25 PM
#75
I've seen a lot of clean foresters.
But this is one that makes me all warm and fuzzy
Manitou's 2006 XTI/ Horse Power Techs built, Junior Tuned results - NASIOC
read the whole thread. its worth it
But this is one that makes me all warm and fuzzy
Manitou's 2006 XTI/ Horse Power Techs built, Junior Tuned results - NASIOC
read the whole thread. its worth it
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02-05-2014, 10:26 PM
#76
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Just got back from a pow day in my fozzie. It kicks ***, torquey enough to slide around like a madman in the snow too. Good 20's MPG, roof racks, TONS of space, heated seats/mirrors/windows, smooth shifting and fun with the 5 speed, cheap insurance, n/a reliability. Did some donuts in the parking lot before going home and i'm SO glad i found a S package with the rear LSD 
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02-06-2014, 09:46 AM
#78
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well I'm not saying I'm giving in to the Forester peer pressure, buuuut I'm not going with the WRX for now at least. The only ones in my area are the 06 I test drove yesterday and a few 02-05 sedans and wagons with more miles than I could justify trading down to.
The 06 was a disappointment. Fun as hell to drive, but too many issues that the dealer claimed he didnt know about. They bought it at auction and I think I was the first person to test drive it..including employees at the dealership...
These were things I noticed, feel free to comment on any of them:
smelled burning oil smell when I was giving the turbo a workout(smell went away when cruising, but under hard boost it was not happy) I am assuming seals?
maybe I'm just ignorant, but im prettttty damn sure there was a water line coming from some funky little RAD reservoir near the turbo, into one side then......open exposed water port on the other side of the turbo. WTF? it almost looked like someone had plugged the water outlet? not with a bolt but like a recessed threaded cup or a recessed press in something? basically water inlet banjo fitting, water outlet...exposed hole in turbo. I couldnt really see a plug but there wasnt water spewing everywhere so its plugged on one side or another. Not a HUGE deal since you can run oil cooled only I'm sure but it makes me question the previous owners knowledge and what other weird **** he might have done to it.
It had an aftermarket exhaust which was nice, not too noisy or drone-y but I imagine a little more sound than stock, and an aftermarket cold air intake with cone filter. But the dealer couldnt confirm they had run any diagnostics on it or checked if it was ever tuned and I know just slapping on a new intake and exhaust I read could lean out the car a bit if the ecu couldnt compensate, and it is recommended to have it tuned after new intake (how true is this? )
PS reservoir seemed to be leaking, which may just require a new hose or reservoir, not a big deal,
one of the rims was curbed pretty bad (deep, not long shallow scrapes) so Im wondering if it was more than just a scrape parallel parking, and was more like a dumb kid sliding sideways into a curb, so i was worried about damage to the suspension?
trans felt notchier than I expected. I know its a shorter throw than a standard manual car, but it didnt want to smoothly shift quickly through gears. so doing a pull from first-second-third I had to very deliberately pull into each gear slowly or it wouldnt go. Kinda took the fun out of it. the dealers excuse was "oh well you know every car is different, if you put a new clutch, or different fluid it can feel different and takes some time to get used to. You probably just arent used to the sportiness of this car." I almost laughed when he said that. like, yeah, ok, but no clutch when it is fully disengaged should effect how smoothly the gears slide into place..a disengaged clutch is a disengaged clutch whether it is old and worn out or brand new and super sporty. the shifter should move smoothly.
(Am I wrong here? are these trans just known to be more notchy?)
trans whined a little when easing from clutch in to clutch out and revving a little. then the turbo starting spooling so i couldnt tell if the trans stopped whining or just got covered up by the turbo noise.
then just little stuff like the rear hatch switch was broken so the "trunk" light wouldnt turn off, you had to manually turn it off.
they didnt have a key fob so the alarm went off when I manually unlocked it with the key(they were surprised this happened, which is why I feel like I was the first one to drive it)
missing a few trim pieces inside the car
Overall none of it would be a big deal if I was getting it cheap as a project car. I know I COULD fix it all, but if I am going to trade a like new Lexus with 53000 miles for an 06 WRX with 98k, there is no way Im going to take a $1000 return with all those issues needing to be addressed, and think that is a fair trade.. I know trade in value is significantly lower than private party value but he wasn't willing to budge from 12k for the WRX and offer me 13k for my car. (am I out of line for thinking this is an insulting offer? KBB shows good condition to be about 15k trade in)
I think mostly I just didnt like how they either honestly knew nothing about the history of the car, or chose to act like that was the case. It just seemed like if there were that many things that were that quickly noticeable and not addressed, how many other issues are hiding that I didn't notice.
It does give me something to compare a forester to when I test drive one though. The car accelerated, braked, handled great. I can definitely see why people love these things.
The 06 was a disappointment. Fun as hell to drive, but too many issues that the dealer claimed he didnt know about. They bought it at auction and I think I was the first person to test drive it..including employees at the dealership...
These were things I noticed, feel free to comment on any of them:
smelled burning oil smell when I was giving the turbo a workout(smell went away when cruising, but under hard boost it was not happy) I am assuming seals?
maybe I'm just ignorant, but im prettttty damn sure there was a water line coming from some funky little RAD reservoir near the turbo, into one side then......open exposed water port on the other side of the turbo. WTF? it almost looked like someone had plugged the water outlet? not with a bolt but like a recessed threaded cup or a recessed press in something? basically water inlet banjo fitting, water outlet...exposed hole in turbo. I couldnt really see a plug but there wasnt water spewing everywhere so its plugged on one side or another. Not a HUGE deal since you can run oil cooled only I'm sure but it makes me question the previous owners knowledge and what other weird **** he might have done to it.
It had an aftermarket exhaust which was nice, not too noisy or drone-y but I imagine a little more sound than stock, and an aftermarket cold air intake with cone filter. But the dealer couldnt confirm they had run any diagnostics on it or checked if it was ever tuned and I know just slapping on a new intake and exhaust I read could lean out the car a bit if the ecu couldnt compensate, and it is recommended to have it tuned after new intake (how true is this? )
PS reservoir seemed to be leaking, which may just require a new hose or reservoir, not a big deal,
one of the rims was curbed pretty bad (deep, not long shallow scrapes) so Im wondering if it was more than just a scrape parallel parking, and was more like a dumb kid sliding sideways into a curb, so i was worried about damage to the suspension?
trans felt notchier than I expected. I know its a shorter throw than a standard manual car, but it didnt want to smoothly shift quickly through gears. so doing a pull from first-second-third I had to very deliberately pull into each gear slowly or it wouldnt go. Kinda took the fun out of it. the dealers excuse was "oh well you know every car is different, if you put a new clutch, or different fluid it can feel different and takes some time to get used to. You probably just arent used to the sportiness of this car." I almost laughed when he said that. like, yeah, ok, but no clutch when it is fully disengaged should effect how smoothly the gears slide into place..a disengaged clutch is a disengaged clutch whether it is old and worn out or brand new and super sporty. the shifter should move smoothly.
(Am I wrong here? are these trans just known to be more notchy?)
trans whined a little when easing from clutch in to clutch out and revving a little. then the turbo starting spooling so i couldnt tell if the trans stopped whining or just got covered up by the turbo noise.
then just little stuff like the rear hatch switch was broken so the "trunk" light wouldnt turn off, you had to manually turn it off.
they didnt have a key fob so the alarm went off when I manually unlocked it with the key(they were surprised this happened, which is why I feel like I was the first one to drive it)
missing a few trim pieces inside the car
Overall none of it would be a big deal if I was getting it cheap as a project car. I know I COULD fix it all, but if I am going to trade a like new Lexus with 53000 miles for an 06 WRX with 98k, there is no way Im going to take a $1000 return with all those issues needing to be addressed, and think that is a fair trade.. I know trade in value is significantly lower than private party value but he wasn't willing to budge from 12k for the WRX and offer me 13k for my car. (am I out of line for thinking this is an insulting offer? KBB shows good condition to be about 15k trade in)
I think mostly I just didnt like how they either honestly knew nothing about the history of the car, or chose to act like that was the case. It just seemed like if there were that many things that were that quickly noticeable and not addressed, how many other issues are hiding that I didn't notice.
It does give me something to compare a forester to when I test drive one though. The car accelerated, braked, handled great. I can definitely see why people love these things.
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