Thanks for all the help guys. I picked up the car today and have it parked outside of my apartment. Needless to say, I am pretty happy and impressed right now. It is just so much fun to drive, especially coming from my old Camry. Anyways, this is my daily commuter, so I hope it lives up to my high expectations of being reliable and remaining as much fun as it has been so far.

I have a full tank of regular gas in there now, but I will be putting in 91 for the second tank as you guys sugested (even though its going to kill me since gas is so expensive).

One last question...I have the TR stereo, not the premium one. Anyways, has anyone else noticed how hot it gets? I took a CD out and couldnt believe the temperature. I could almost bend the CD it was so hot.

 

yeah i got the 06 wrx tr as well and the CD's get hot but its minor.

I wanted to change out my speakers too and yeah they said i had the 6-1/2" rear speakers

 

Manual says 93, but either way we can only get 91 and it works good enough. As far as the stereo, if you like good music you will need to get new speakers and a new deck, or keep the old deck and get an amp for the speakers.
The problem I ran into is when I went to get speakers they said the component tweeters would not fit into the spot on the door that was made for tweeters. I took it to a custom stereo shop and they had to make there own brace for the speaker and it works fine.

 

I dont know if I wanna add an amp to the stock speakers because it already sounds like there is some distortion and rattle. I would think any more power would just blow them. Either way, the stereo is the only thing on the car I am disapointed about, but this was to be expected. I am going to try to stick it out for the winter until I have enough money to go with a nice touch screen head unit.

 

Dont add an amp to the stockers. They will probably blow. What I meant is get aftermarket speakers and either a new head unit or an amp with the old head unit. You will tell a huge difference and you will actually be able to turn the volume up past 20 without the speakers getting distorted.

 

Three things about this:

1-To tell you the truth, it is easier to blow up a speaker by giving it not enough power than giving it too much. Example: Say we both have Polk Momo 6-1/2" Component speakers. They are rated at 125W Continuous power handling by Polk. If you are giving them only 50W RMS(Continuous) power, and I am giving them 200W RMS, yours will blow up long before mine, if mine ever do. The thing is, that with more power, the speaker has more control of itself. With less power, when you try to turn it up, the speaker is trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents, just doesn't work.

Second-I hate to tell you this, but since you have a TR, I can almost guarentee that after a month or two, you will hate the seats. They seem fine at first, but after a while they will become very uncomfortable. If you don't notice this, that just means I'm a whiner I guess, because I don't like them at all.

Third-Depending on your state, it is very highly likely that video screens are illegal to have in front of the driver's head. Check with your state police department regarding this. I know that here in Oregon, you can get a ticket for having one in the front of the car even if it's off. It seems stupid, but the reason for that is becuase everyone was just closing the screens when they got pulled over and the cops had no proof they were watching videos, so they had to make it at officer's discretion. Also, in case you are planning on watching video while driving, two things:
First, in quite a few states now, watching video images in the front of the vehicle while in motion is a Class C Felony. Not a misdemeanor, a full out Felony. So watch out for that.
Second, any good brand of DVD player/Navigation system is going to have at least one form of protection against letting you watch video while the vehicle is in motion. And no reputable shop is going to bypass this for you, because they can then be held liable.
Just wanted to make you aware of these things before you go out and spend a bunch of money on a flip out DVD player.

 

In regards to this:
Since the stock deck does not have RCA outputs for amplifiers, you would have to put a hi-level converter on the speaker outputs from the deck, which is usually more than fine with a subwoofer amp, but when running an amp for you actual speakers this way, you can create a lot of unneccesary alternator whine. Yes there are filters for such noise, but that's like putting a bandaid on a broken leg. The only times it is worth it to do this, and do it right with the correct methods, is in vehicles with either very high quality factory stereos(Think BMW 7 Series, Audi A8's, etc...) or vehicles with an integrated/strange dash that there is either no dash kit for radio installation, or the dash kit if really freaking exspensive(Think about the dash in the new Legacy's and Outback's for example).

 

Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking of one of the nice Pioneer Touchscreens that sit flush in the DD opening. I know they wont play video while the car is in motion and I assume they are legal here in IL since my boss has one.

As for the seats, I sat in a regular WRX at the dealership and didnt really notice a difference...they both seemed kinda uncomfortable to me:-). I am pretty skinny though, so I fit nicely in them while my dad had a little trouble.

 

The only difference with the TR seats and the WRX seats is that the WRX seats are one piece. The lumbar support is the same for both, if not very minimal differences.

In regards to what Rockstar said, go with an aftermarket deck and upgrade the speakers.

 

The one instance in which it is legal here is if it is primarily for Navigation use. You could get the Pioneer AVIC-D2, which is a double din sized unit that would fit right in your opening. It doesn't play DVD's, so if you wanted DVD in the back you could install a seperate DVD player under one of the seats or in the back with either a flipdown screen or headrest monitors.

As for the seats, I should have been more specific. It seems to be the headrest that are bothering me the most. Though the seat is uncomfortable in general(I'm about 6'5" tall and weigh about 210lbs), that is my own fat-*** viking fault, but the way the headrest comes forward on our TR's is why I like the base WRX/WRX Limited's 1 peice design much better. And they actually do have some slightly different support parts to them according to Subaru, and to some, the differences may be "Minimal", but for me, the "Minimal" differences are just enough to make the base WRX seats worth buying to me.

 

I should add to my last post, that with the Pioneer AVIC-D2, if you get a seperate DVD player, there are two things you can do.
1-Hook up the seperate DVD player so you can watch videos on your D2's input source mode while the vehicle is parked.
2-If you really want to watch video while driving for some reason, PM me and I will tell you how. I just don't want to state it publicly since I still have friends at the Pioneer Premier dealer I used to work for.

 

I have the Kenwood ddx7017, can't say enough good things about it. I just recently got the ipod hookup for it, installed that in the glovebox and I don't need CDs anymore. You can hook it up to watch video while you are driving. If you need nav, it has a unit that is extra but still good price compared to the pioneer.

If seats are your concern, trade them to someone with a WRX wagon. They can use them since the TR seats have detachable head rests which will fold back perfectly to the wagon rears folded down = more space/length for them to haul. I traded off with a wagon and both of us were happy.

 

Pull the e-brake up one click and voila!!1

 

My 06 wagon has the in-dash 6-disc CD changer which I absolutely love, so unless an aftermarket radio can provide me this functionality, I suppose I will have to go the route of line-out converters and external amps.

Unless someone knows another option?