Ike is a dirty liar!

 

I think all three of those cars have similar quarter mile times. Low 13s from what I remember. The two Americans might have a bit more power, but they're quite heavy.

 

Sorry but the interior is upgradeable! They now offer an interior with power seats, and leather. Along with those things that automatic climate control!

Me personally, I don't like the new front end of the WRX but the other new features of the car are pretty appealing!

As for the thought of using your car being part of your "business tools" I would have to dissagree with the assumption of a "performance car" being the type of car being best suited for that task whether it has 4 doors or not. I would believe that a "mature" car would be something along the lines of say; Cadillac, Lincoln, BMW 5 or 7 series, Mercedes, or even 4 door Lexus, Infiniti, and maybe Acura (I don't think they are the most classy looking but their features are nice).

 

If I lived on miles of dirt roads I would own two of them

 

The WRX is definately nice, but from what Cobb states tuning them will be a little more difficult due to the new turbos. They are running more tests next week and will try to figure out what turbo it is and what they can do with it. The opinion for right now is that there is not much room for the higher RPMs power wise. While I like the look of the bugeyeWRXs, I would take the new motor.

 

Cobb doesn't even know why type of turbo it is yet so we'll see. But just judging by how rich it's running it seems there will be more power to be had. I have a feeling Cobb won't have a problem finding more power even in the higher RPM range. I love my bugeye, but between the brakes, 20 more whp, faster steering rack, and nicer interior it's pretty damn tempting.

 

Agreed. The real problem with the WRX is that you have to look at it. (Also the local dealer wouldn't provide test drives at all !!)

 

Same can be said about the 8, but it isn't fast so what's its excuse? Looks are subjective.

 

Considering the only part of the WRX you'll see in the 8 is the rear. Yes, I agree the wrx looks hideous from the rear.

Not to sound like I'm not happy with the 8, overall I am very happy but I'd love some FI power too!!!

 

Nicely put!

 

Lol.

I have to say that this is by far the best looking WRX to date and the new front end is appealing. I dunno about the rear of the car because I honestly never paid too much attention to it. It's all subjective anyway... and yea. the 8 could use FI.

 

I cannot believe you guys like the new WRX better than the bugeye, but to each his own. I have heard many people say the RX8 is not attractive, but when I drive ours I get nothing but stares. I personally think the RX8 and the 2002 WRX are some of the better looking cars out there, but I am biased.

 

Meh.. My problem with my ex-wrx wasn't with the engine it was with the sorry excuse for a transmission. There is more to a car than just power..

 

Ike probably knows this but just to let the rotary community in, Cobb tuning is the company of Trey Cobb. Trey used to work for a long time at Rotary Performance in Dallas. He's a pretty cool guy and very smart.

 

Yep, he knows his stuff. Cobb also has one of the cooler EMS systems on the market in the Accessport, there was talk that he'd develop it for other cars (the RX-8 was mentioned) but it seems he has more business than he knows what to do with making them for various Subaru vehicles. If you're into gadgets or just like car mods check it out www.cobbtuning.com

 

Damn! there are more options for modding Subarus on that site than all the Vendors for RX8s from this site put together. Pretty impressive.

 

On some strange level, I am glad the aftermarket is not as expansive as the WRX, I can buy the car and not worry what I am going to do next (except for exhaust, intake, etc...). It is like my second home is on Cobb's website, now this one. It is like I belong to two cults one Summer and one Winter.

 

Sure the WRX has 205/55 16 on 6.5x16, they will be the winter wheels.
Get your choice of 225/45 17 on 7.5x17, be happy.
Why use a 5 speed manual, that sucks.
Isn't the center differential still a 50/50 torque split, that sucks. At least you still get a viscous coupling or so on the rear differential.
And quiafe still offers a front torque sensitive differential for reduced understeer.
Where is the constant pulsation exhaust manifold? Enough of this blub, blub, blub harley-esque sound that results from merging two sequential firing cylinders L L R R, L L R R
bottom line the WRX isn't that good of a value.
http://www.quaifeamerica.com/differe.../diff_apps.htm
It is nice that they offer a rear diff. for those that drag race.

 

The upgrades made to the new '06 wrx are pretty awesome considering the price although i still have very mixed feelings about the aesthetic changes they made the the model lineup. I still dream of having a ver6 2.5rs coupe w/ a jap-spec sti motor.

On another note I love my cobb accessport. sweet piece of software if you ask me. im loving every bit of the stage 2 map thats loaded on my ecu right now. instant torque! :D

 

Wow. You fricken RX-8 fanbois are so predictable. If by some strange stroke of misfortune every new car doesn't draw an "another RX-8 clone" thread, then all you can do is call it ugly and then try to throw every possible ridiculous criticism up on the wall in hopes something will stick. It doesn't matter what car. It's always the same thing in here. If after reading Ike's post and seeing those dyno charts all you could do was ramble of something about the front end of the '06 WRX...again...or pontificate about how happy you are that the RX-8 aftermarket is small (still don't get what's positive about that) then please walk out to your RX-8, open up the gas cap, and then stick your little fanboi pecker in there and hammer away. You are not a driving enthusiast. In fact you just outright don't have a clue.

Ike...was it Mike from Gruppe-S that posted those comments about the '06 WRX? Was it on NASIOC? I had my car at Gruppe-S last week for an EcuTek flash and dyno tune and Mike and I talked a little about some of his recent Subaru tunes. I forgot to ask him if he'd seen his first '06 WRX or '06 STi though. I dunno if you're still looking at an STi but, after seeing those numbers, that tuner ready WRX version sounds like a real deal if you're planning to do a lot of mods. What a bang for the buck! For under $25k you get a great drivetrain and an incredible tuning platform. Putting down 184whp/205wtq on that stingy Gruppe-S Mustang dyno is very impressive. Mike was guestimating that most stock STi's and '05 Evos put down between 205-215whp. After my flash and tune I was at 232whp with a 3" cat-back exhaust and a prematurely failing cat. To think that an '06 WRX could get close to those numbers with just a simple tune is impressive to say the least.

 

[QUOTE=Steiner]Wow. You fricken RX-8 fanbois are so predictable. If by some strange stroke of misfortune every new car doesn't draw an "another RX-8 clone" thread, then all you can do is call it ugly and then try to throw every possible ridiculous criticism up on the wall in hopes something will stick. It doesn't matter what car. It's always the same thing in here. If after reading Ike's post and seeing those dyno charts all you could do was ramble of something about the front end of the '06 WRX...again...or pontificate about how happy you are that the RX-8 aftermarket is small (still don't get what's positive about that) then please walk out to your RX-8, open up the gas cap, and then stick your little fanboi pecker in there and hammer away. You are not a driving enthusiast. In fact you just outright don't have a clue.




CLASSIC.

 

[QUOTE=PetersonPeleRx8]^ Big LOL! @ Steiner. I think he forgets it's ok to speak one's opinion. Relax dude.

 

Are you telling me to relax or Steiner?

I thought he was hilarious and dead on...

 

He was talking to Steiner.

Steiner, I think you need to take a chill pill. Getting angry because you disagree with someone does nothing to help your argument. A lot of people are upset that so many equate a lot of new cars to the RX8, but at least be reasonable about it. If all you do is yell about it, nothing will change and it will just start flame fests.

The car really is an amazing performance value. One thing I really like about the WRX is that it is a viable winter car as well as summer fun car. Thumbs up to Subaru for putting together a cheap, fun car for the whole year.

 

I'm not upset about anything. It's just dissapointing that's all. People who love fast cars but don't like spending a fortune on them (like RX-8 owners for example) shouldn't feel threatened when a thread like this pops up. Hey if anything I should be the one feeling threatened as an Evo owner. The WRX crowd is always gunning for the Evo. To think that a simple tune could put the new $25k '06 WRX at roughly the same power levels as a $30k Evo is humbling to the DSM crowd, although I'm actually excited. This is exactly the type of stuff that breeds competition between car companies competing for our hard-earned dollars. Nothing negative could possibly come to anybody as a result of the new WRX. In fact it's probably one of the best things that could happen to those of us who don't think performance should have to come in a $50k M3 or Corvette. I'm very anxious to see how the rest of the market responds.

Remember that this whole factory turbo-charged, pocket tuner scene began with the WRX in 2001. That car was the standard for performance at a reasonable price. Anybody with a decent job could afford one. Since the WRX hit the USDM 5 years ago there's been a rat race from other manufacturers to compete with it...Mazdaspeed Protege, Nissan Spec V, Dodge SRT-4, Chevy Cobalt SS, etc.

And make no mistake, if WRX sales weren't what they were Mistubishi would have never brought over the Evo and Subaru would never had to answer with a USDM STi. The WRX started a lot of the tuner craze and it's only fair it's back near the top of the list.

I didn't mean to flame. My apologies to anybody who thought I was angry or anything like that. I was just trying to direct something at the fanbois in here in a somewhat funny way.