So I was going over to my girlfriends house when I hear a blow off valve going off and a white WRX pulled up next to me with a girl in the passenger seat video taping my car. I was just chillin loving the attention and he starts revving on me so we do the three honks from about a 40 punch I pulled hard by 120 I was about 2 bus lengths ahead of him. So I slowed down he pulled up again and wanted to race so this time I let him go first and same result a spanking! I thought a WRX would be a little closer of a race. Guess he needed NOS :nx:

 

if you guys did that race from a stop he'd have dusted you on the launch and it would have taken you a good bit to get up to him. Those WReXy's do pretty good.

 

I agree they are mean off the line but they have very little top end power!

 

partially agree, they are dang close thru 1st and 2nd, BUT by the time you are at the 1/4 the Z is pulling away, and gaining distance. Just NEVER plan on racing a WRX to 30-70 MPH and expect to spank it cause you won't. The longer the race, the better the odds on a Z.

 

Stock yes....moded....becareful.
I got a WRX in my old 95GT (H/C/I/E/G) one time, and we ended up shutting down with me only putting about 4 car lengths on him by 150+ (speedo was pegged out at 150, so I'm not real sure how fast this was)

 

Not so true about the WRX. AWD is not all that. Yes a WRX will beat a 350z RWD 1st gear, if the 350z pops the clutch and spins the tires first gear. If you just take off and feather the clutch, which by the way is not good for the clutch, you will beat the WRX the whole way. My first race in my 350z was with a WRX. I beat him pretty bad. And he was trying very hard. His turbo and exhaust were loud as hell. I did it with very little tire spin in first gear. Learn to drive. But I have been reading about the 2004 WRX STi. A 4 cyl. with 300hp AWD!!! That is impressive. But remember, AWD is mainly for cornering. I have read that AWD does not have to much affect on 0-60, unless all 4 tires are locked. The back tires still spin on the WRX on a hard take off, it just waits for the front tires to catch up, and it does it quick.

 

why not just feather the gas and save the clutch?
if you feel it start to spin, ease back off the gas...get traction back, roll back on it....

 

True that will work too. Just have to feel it. Practice Practice Practice.

 

yea most wrx's have problems up top specially around 80 mph.
a modded one from a stop is a different kind of story

 

tell that to all the 911s, NSX SC, Z06s, etc....on the speedvision challange, the cars start from a dead stop and the AWD on the Audi S4s, KILL the other cars, NOT b/c of HP, but b/c of the AWD, watch it sometime, It is AMAZING to see those sedans WALK those other "supercars", AMAZING. yes, it helps the handling as well, but watch the launch.

 

I drove a 2002 WRX today and my wife commented that it felt faster than the Z. Off the line the WRX feels faster. The car feels lighter and the turbo kick is nice! I was impressed with the performance for the price. The shifter is definately smoother than our notchy shifter and the clutch take-up is like a 1/4 of what our cars are!

I'm taking it for a 150 mile drive and am looking forward to it.

 

wtf?? the shifter in the wrx is a pos. it feels like such a long throw compared to the z. first gear in the wrx is a ***** to get into also.... man, i dont know what youre talking about, but the wrx shifter doesnt feel good to me.........

 

turbos that spool up quickly give you a feel/surge that is impressive. My Wife has a 1.8t Jetta with K&N and GIAC chip (200 hp. 240 ft lbs) the max torque comes in at 2000 rpms, it throws you in you seat more than my Z does (for a second), the Z has a very linear torque curve, sometimes I don't think I am going that fast and I look down at the speedo and go...Oh, Crap, better slow down

 

a 4wd car launching harder than a RWD off the line is all relative. With the WRX, being 4wd and turbo the trick is to launch the car with all 4 wheels spinning. U basically have to overcome the 4wd grip, or else the car bogs down and falls off boost. The only way to launch a WRX hard and post a repsectable time is by revving it up to 6,000rpm and dropping the clutch, getting all 4wheels to spin and revs remaining in the boost zone.

Of course for the motoring journos this is no big deal as they dont own the car and Subaru gives em a new WRX (minus fried clutch) for the next comparo. In my Z i often kill WRXs....no owner has ever popped the clutch at such high revs, and i just pull away. STI is similar story, tho once hooked up and in the boost zone they pull slightly harder than standards WRXs.

Having driven a MY03 STI b4 purchasing my Z, what the full bore magazine launch times dont show is that below 4000rpm nothing is happening, the car suffers from poor torque down low, forcing racers to row the gearbox harder than a teenager in the toilet to get the thing back on boost.....while we Z drivers with instant crisper throttle response just pull away

 

LOLLLLL and for those with WRXs, dont u just love that loud disconcerting thump coming from the rear end as u go from first to second

After visiting the Subaru dealer, and seeing a stack of gearboxes and clutches lined up in the workshop, i now know y the dealers r so over stocked. The gearbox and clutch r the weakest link in the WRX, yet the only way to launch em hard is to put said components under such high stresses.......

.....untill it goes BOOOM! and ur being towed to ur nearest Scoooby dealer

 

I am afraid that I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you with regart to dropping the cluch @ 6000RPM. The Key to launching a WRX is actually revving to 5000RPM and then SLIPPING OUT the cluch.... You must NEVER drop the clutch on an AWD vehicle. You will only bog, destoy your gearbox in short order.... This is why the WRX's got a rep for having weak gearboxes....

A lot of the owners fo these cars were new to AWD cars, and dropped their cluches from high RPM's..... When their trannies began to let go, they blamed it on a shoddy tranny that was unable to deal with high HP. For 2WD cars, you can do this, and break the rear wheels free, relieving the gearbox of the stress.... With an AWD car, it is EXTREMELY difficult to spin ALL 4 wheels off the line. If you drop the cluch, you will not spin wheels (since the front and rear wheels are locked together via the center diff), the gearbox teeth are left to absorb the stress of the launch... You simply bog..... To get off the line properly, the clutch has to be slipped. This way, you can maintain boost comming off the line, and keep the car moving forwards as well...

Just ask the DSM/Evo/3000GT/Stealth owners.... If you drop your cluctch from HIGH rpms with an AWD drivetrain, you are BEGGING for tranny failure...

Remember - with 2WD, you can slip or drop the clutch... but with AWD, you must SLIP the clutch!

Take Care!

 

hmmm...the only time you will get a 'thump' going into second gear is if you let off the clutch too quickly after the shift from 1st to second.... btw, there is nothing loud about the 'thump' either... just a jolt you get. Very smilar to the kind you get if you so not rev-match when downshifting a manual transmission car......

 

When I test drove a WRX there was a little rattle when you shift I don't know if it was the clutch or the shifter but I could not deal with that every day!!!

 

As far as dropping the clutch to get 4WD cars spinning, im merely reiterating whats been written in Aus motor mags for the last 6 years, ever since we started getting the WRX.

The thumps r real, ive felt it in the car, Aus motor mags have documented it often, even Subaru Aus acknowledges the gearbox/clutch isnt up to 'spirited driving' (thats how they described it in the letter to owners).... refusing to honor warranties on those parts if they can tell the car has been gunned (hmmm its marketed as a rally car for the road).

I assume the US market is new to the WRX, but give it a couple of yrs and the novelty wears off as thousands begin to appear on the road......and u have other cars like honda's integra type r able to carry more corner speed from a FWD, and Renaults hot hatch Clio Sport or the Mini Cooper S able to trump it through the twisties. The WRX legacy ended in 99, when they introduced a bigger heavier uglier body........designed for ur market

 

Oh and as for slipping the clutch.....ive always read u prolong life of the clutch if u dump it, rather then continuing the torture and heating while slipping LOL ????