ABCNews.com recently ran a feature on street rockets and the game 'Gran Turismo'; http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scite...ars030716.html

I especially like the quote by stunt driver Ryan Negri; "I think you could get in a lot of trouble in this car if you're not careful!"

T R U E

- Janq

 

Good find, man! It's so true. I fit that bill to a tee. I always refer to Gran Turismo as my 50,000 dollar video game because it was the single reason that got me and my wife into rally in the first place and then the purchase of the STi. Did I tell you I love this car?

 

Now see, I'm you in reverse.

I own no gaming system other than an Atari 2600 and a Commodore VIC 20 (well actually its a 'computer') and have never played GT3....but I have seen the commercials and heard alot about it.

What I may end up doing is buying one with GT3 after I pickup my STi. :P

Hey, have you had any more fun/adventures with your STi?
Learn any new tricks or idisyncracies?
Have you named it yet (boy or girl)?

- Janq

 

I have had tons of fun with the car so far. I even let my friend who's a good driver put the boots to it big time. He drove it hard just after break in for a bit and loved it. He shifts better than me too. Sometimes I miss a gear because they are all so close but I'm much better now. It definitely feels like a "HE" car, no doubt about that. I think I will be taking it to the track for the first time this weekend if it can be arranged in time with some other local STi owners. But the most fun I've had is all the attention the car has been getting. I can't believe it! Either people know nothing about it and don't pay it ANY attention at all or they drool all over it and froth at the mouth like a crazed lunatic. I'm not kidding. More attention than I anticipated. Go to the car wash (coin-op) and other car people start drooling. Even BMW, porche and 350Z owners come buy and ask questions. They love it and I'm glad I have one.

Any idisyncracies? How about ZERO so far? To me this car is perfect and I can't find anything I don't like or any peculiarities associated with any of the mechanical systems, interior, dials and buttons. No pinging or det either and I'm primarily using 91! Good old Canadian gogo juice. It's like our Beer; potent. I think the pinging comes mostly from california where their fuel is like all Yank beer; **** water. So, I'm happy to report no problems there so far (knock on wood) Thye suspension is very firm but I describe it as bouncy. Every bump is returned with a quick bounce for absporption, not kidney beating. Acceleration as I mentioned before is really insane. Ride and exhaust is pretty quiet too. I also love how much visibility I get from the Impreza platform. Feels like I'm outside.

 

Essogas

Glad to see you are having fun with your car .

I got mine around two weeks before you got yours and I agree with your observations.

Only thing is I have a minor brake squeel on light braking which I understand is a variant of normal behaviour.

I just switched to synthetic too.. Mobil 1 5W30. I now have 1800KM as I only drive it on weekends.

I do not have any pinging either (knock on wood), but I also have only run Ultra 94 Octane in it exclusively and am too worried about putting 91 in it.

I just found your comments about 91 octane interesting. It's good that you have no detonation. I do wonder if you would notice a performance difference if you switch to Ultra 94 ???..

I would appreciate your input if you try that one day.. I'm sure it would take 3-4 tanks before the ECU adjusts.

As for mine, it's staying on 94.

I'm in AWE every time I look at my car.


Oh and by the way..... speaking of Gran Turismo... just wait till this December, when Gran Turismo 4 will be out.

Our car (the new facelift) is featured in it and the graphics are out of this world!!!..

Happy motoring!!

 

Geez...this wait until Saturday is getting more painful by the hour.

- Janq

 

No break squel for me at all. Maybe because I drive may car as a daily driver, what about you? What do you drive during the week?

I have used Ultra 94 twice when I can get it and yes there is a definitive performance improvement for sure. Just saying 91 doesn't do it any harm either.

I'm in AWE of my car to every time I look at it as well.

Sometimes I think it would be important to let Subaru and MItsu know how important the influence of these videogames are on car sales. But I guess they probably know if ABC news knows.

Janq, are you getting your STi on saturday?

 

Yep, I just faxed off the last of the finacing companies paperwork today and I'll be flying up to Rochester, NY on Saturday morning to pickup my car from Van Bortel Subaru.

As for the brake squeal, thats nothing to be alarmed by.
My understanding is that the pads are semi-metallic which will squeal a tad under use. Its not an indication of something being wrong or broken.

- Janq

 

Janq,

You got to try the GT3 game, it is such an amazing game in the sense that all the car control is VERY accurate and realistic. I am lucky to be able to driven quite a few different cars in my life, so I have a good idea of how each car behave. In the game, the characteristic of each different car configuration is right on the money, example:

FF Civic.......understeer all day.
RR 911........severe oversteer.
4WD WRX, GTR, EVO....... natural with a bit of understeer.
MR NSX.......tend to oversteer, but mostly understeer.
FR drifter......RX7, AE86, S14....etc. Balance drifting ability.

And the characteristic is accurate to the particular model of car too, not just to the particular drivetrain configuration.

Same as power delivery, a high power turbo Civic would have no low end power but huge surge in high rpm power, and a big block American muscle car have huge amount of low end torque to spin the tires endlessly, but high end power falls off as speed increase.........etc.

All in all, just about every aspect of car control is very accurate. On top of that, everything is adjustable, from spring rate, damping rate, sway bar stiffness, gear ratio, downforce, boost level.......etc. And all the adjustment make the car react in the accurate way. I just can't say enough cool things about this game. Simply put, just about every little detail in the game is accurate.

The bad thing is, this game is VERY addictive, since once you bought it, it is free to play however much you want. In the beginning, 4-8 hours a day is common

I haven't play in a while, maybe I should start again. The thing is, once you tried everything, and played the game for couple of mouths, for a few hours a day, you do get tired of it.

I can't wait for GT4 to come out......oh boy........sleepless night start again

 

Ok, I'm sold!

So what platform/system does this game, GT3, work on?
And waht is a good price?

I can swing by Costco or Best Buy.

Thanks all!

You guys rock

 

GT3 was developed for the Sony Playstation 2 (PS2). I don't know too much about these stuff, I heard it also works with some PC game emulator. I haven't try it yet, but I have been told it doesn't work half as good on a emulator, but obviously the emulator is much cheaper.

I don't know the current price, I bought my PS2 for $200 and the game for $50 a year or so ago. The price might have drop by now, I don't know. The thing to look for is the combo, about a month or 2 after I bought my PS2 and GT3, I have seen a combo put out by Sony where they combined the machine with the GT3 game for a cheaper price then if you buy them separately. Reason is there are a ton of people buy the PS2 just because they want to play GT3, that is how good this game is, I know tons of people that did this. I am one of them, I have a total of 2 games for my PS2, they are GT2 and GT3

You are right, check with the major chain store, Costco, Target, K-mark, online......etc.

Disclaimer: You can't blame me if you get hook on the game and waste all your time on it. Since I am warning you now

 

essogas...

You're correct about the assumption of the daily driver issue with respect to brake squeel.

Mine is only driven on weekends and then I probably only put 50kms total every weekend.

But.. that will change in the near future. I sometimes drive my wife's car (Mazda Protege5) but I mostly walk to work during the week.

Apparently Gran Turismo 4 will also run on the PS2 platform. I'm so tempted to go buy one but I'm too busy in the next couple of weeks with work related stuff.

Janq...the game is MEGA addicitive. I can't wait to have some free time... oh if you decide to get the game make sure you also get the memory card so you can save your progress!!!.

Happy gaming/driving!!!

 

I can't believe I forgot to mention this but there is one NEGATIVE thing ...

Check your alignment! Mine was out and needed adjustment. The car pulled to the left and so do most of them. I won't be surprised if it's the same with your car. ALL STis from my dealership needed alignment adjustment.

 

essogas

My car does not seem to pull to the left. I actually heard of this issue before but maybe I should pay more attention.

How much of a pull to the left is it ?.. like really severe ?.. does it happen under acceleration only ?... or just coasting ?...

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks