Ok, I just drove home a 04 WRX on loan from SSC while they fix my (other) front wheel bearing (damn, chrisw, you musta beat on that thing...).

Since it is a loaner, it is, of course, an automatic.

MAN what a piece of work...
It takes WHOLE SECONDS for the gas to respond.

You CANNOT get any snappy acceleration. period.

The thing changes gears at about 2500, so the turbo basicly dosen't operate untill 4th gear.

It wanted to cruise up hwy 9 at 1300!

It drives like a dumpy old-lady-mobile.


And that makes me wonder...
Does anyone know if maybe the dealership 'cripples' their loaners, so that people don't feel the temtation to get agressive?

If I actually bought one of these, would it actually suck this badly, or has SSC hamstrung this beast?

Wondering,
Mike

 

we should go out and run (read: casually and slowly drive) 9 together

 

Im happy with mine, havn't had any problems

 

Well it's an '04. They SUCK period. Both autos and manuals. The '04 5mt sedan I test drove when they first came out was ***** slow. It hesitated much worse than the '02-'03's I've driven. I'd actually say a 4EAT '02 would be faster than a 5MT '04. But the '04 do handle a little bit better in stock form than the '02s and '03s.

 

It's more the 04 ECU i bet.

 

4EAT's pretty much suck from the factory in any year, but simple things like an up-pipe and a reflash go a very long way. i've got an '03 4EAT with an s-squared up-pipe, VF34, STi injectors, walbro pump, and s-squared reflash and it puts down some pretty respectable power. off the line it's not as fast as a 5MT, but from a rolling start it's a very fair match.

 

it's a fair match cause you got an aftermarket turbo... LOL

 

But can it JUMP?

I mean, if you need it to, can it throw you back in the seat?

The stock 5mt will deffinately do that (at least my '02), but the one I drove home today definately won't.

I'm not meaning to pick on the things, I am just curious whether the one I have for the day is representative of all of them, or if it has been 'slowed down' by the dealership.

Mexicanpizza & Lurk,

I hadn't considered the 04 ECU issue. I didn't imagine it could be that huge a difference. Interesting....

Mike

 

love to.

(first, of course I'll need my car back, and also some new rubber...but yeah)

What segment of 9 are you most familliar with? I live a few miles north of The Mountain Store, and commute south to Scotts Valley everyday. I also go up to 35 fairly often, but I rarely drive the northern slope into Saratoga.

 

I think Mexicanpizza is right on about the ECU problem. I have two friends who raced each other in their stock '02 and '04 WRX's. The '02 would consistantly beat the '04 time after time. From a standing start, 40mph roll, 70mph freeway pull. Same results each time. Switched drivers, same thing. The '04s are detuned from the factory. And yeah, a 4EAT can put you in your seat if you do a brake stand and launch it properly.

 

I know the Northern slope the best since I live down in sunnyvale, but I also am quite familiar on the section from the 4 corners to the 236 intersection. I also am very familiar with 236 and love it enough to drive it whenever I possibly have enough freetime/gas.

 

Now THAT is what we should run. Ever take the China Grade cut-off? I did it last Saturday to avoid the clusterfock in Boulder Creek. A bit hairy for narrow road and blind corners, but MAN.

 

actually, i had a good run with a friends 5MT with a VF22 and full supporting mods. he had a little bit on me but i'd chalk that up to the bigger turbo more than anything else.

 

look for additional switches in the car...

my toyota truck, a sluch box, has an ECT switch that changes where the tranny shifts. almost a 1k diff.

 

I have never tryed to adventure down through china grade since that eliminates THE BEST section ever to grace the earth.