xxMax Powerxx

I spent some time drivng the WRX wagon recently as I was going to purchase it for my wife (she didn't like the sport handling/suspension and the manual with a turbo rush was too difficult for her to manage). We ended up with the RS instead.

Anyway, I can say this. That car is a blast to drive and I still wish we had bought it. However, it is only a 2 litre opposed 4 boxer. Below the turbo spool it is a dead duck. You have to rev the crap out of it to get it moving, once you get it going the turbo will spool up and launch you. Our RS is a 2.5 litre and is not nearly as strong off the line as the 8. A good 8 driver should be able to keep pace with a WRX. By the time the turbo kicks in the 8 should be up to a decent RPM.

It'd be neck and neck. I would expect the 8 to post better lap times though. The WRX had some understeer/pushing issues (AWD).

Awesome wagon. The STI is a different story though. I can't imagine the 8 being competitive in it's current non-FI state. A couple years from now when a supercharger comes factory installed the 8 and the WRX will be very closely matched.

RotorManiac

Don't be so sure about it... he was embarrassed even with my car loaded, and it was him that challenged me. I was doing nice and cool 70mph...

xxMax Powerxx
I believe the 8 and WRX are already very closely matched. I think with FI the 8 will be able to catch the STi... well not sure about the US version making 300hp but definately the 265hp europian one

xxMax Powerxx

Sorry, I ment that the 8 would be closely matched to the STI when the 8 gets FI. You (Rotormaniac) and I are on the same page here.

RotorManiac

^^Definately^^

Oh, and by all means, I like the STi. The WRX is just overshadowed, but they are both just a bit too ugly for me

xxMax Powerxx

Best Wagon for the money PERIOD though.

Wagons are never asthetically pleasing anyway.

davefzr

Even the freaking wrx wagons were fast... I was at California Speedway a few months ago and the wrx sti's would leave me in the dust and I would have a hard time even keeping up with the wagons.. They were just so quick... It was amazing... The only car that I did keep up with and battle the whole day was the G35..

Definitely a good comparison vehicle... It would bolt out of the corners with it's torque and I would catch up in the corners and under braking.... and that was even with all the understeer this car has.. With a little less it would be so much faster.. it's amazing how much understeer hampers your speed.

Mikelikes2drive

wrx and rx8 is a drivers race IMHO

(i always try to hit up wrx's revving my engine at em... highbeaming cutting them off.... but none have tried to race me yet... 4 in total :/) now STi's have hit me up and i dont even try...

Jeffjett

Alot of WRX's are modded to the hilt. They have better acceleration and straight line speed, we probably handle a little better. I would have bought a WRX, but for their looks. They are very good cars.

rx8spiritR

it really depend on the mood of my 8, i'm serious, i've own it for what, 4 months??? and i notice, there are certain time of the day that the car will go really really smooth, and there's time you can't even engage smoothly. why? sometime it shakes more, and sometimes you won't even notice it's shaking when ideling.

ivyrose

Hehe agreed. I drove one (STI) last night and while I was blown away by the sheer speed, I'm still happy with my 8. It felt like it was way too easy to kill yourself in that thing *shrugs* My husband has been bugging about getting one (it's a four door sedan he says) since we're looking into starting a family soon .... hmmm, we'll see.

Rob Tomlin

I think the Protege5 is a very asthetically pleasing vehicle!

RXE16T

From standing start : Rev to 6000rpm and dump the clutch then see what happens.
WRX is long gone unfortunately.

From rolling start : nail the throttle simultaneously with the other driver. Boost rises.
WRX is long gone unfortunately.

From cruising speed : drop down a gear and nail it to redline.
Inconclusive since it depends at what speed you're both travelling.

Around a WRC rally stage : power slide into corner, narrowly missing tree and nail it.
WRX is long gone unfortunately

Around a race track (timeattack) : heel and toe, attacking apexs, perfect racing lines.
WRX laps faster (marginally)

THE MORAL OF THE STORY BOYS AND GIRLS, IS THE WRX IS A FASTER WEAPON IF BOTH DRIVERS ARE OF EQUAL TALENT AND HAVE A TOTAL DISREGARD FOR MECHANICAL SYMPATHY.

I'm not a RX8-hater since I actually own one, I'm a realist.

RotorManiac

^^chill out bro^^

not everything you state is correct... and I can say that 'cause I've seen it with my own eyes.
have you experienced any of this?

Ike

I obviously own a WRX and stateside things are a little different than your perception IMO.

1.) Yes

2.) Probably more of an even race

3.) Agreed

4.) Well duh! :p

5.) If the WRX has a couple simple mods maybe, stock with stock tires in USDM form probably not.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

why do people keep comparing rally cars to track cars? Maybe it's just me but Mazda tried to build a sports car that you could live with, the WRX/EVO comes from a rally racing background, totally different concept, totally different purpose etc. The 8 has smoked almost if not all of its competitors in mag shootouts so that should be enough for everyone right? comparing a silverado to an f150 I can understand, comparing an evo to a wrx I get, maybe the problem is that the 8 has no direct comparison?

Ike

But there are a hell of a lot more people with WRXs that compete in track events than rally events and also a hell of a lot more WRXs that see the track than RX-8s. Even the percentage of owners of each car that take their car to the track I would bet large amounts of money that WRX owners have a much higher percentage. So I think your one is a track car one is a rally car statement is silly, also need I remind you that there is plenty of tarmac in rally races and that WRXs compete in american touring car races and do rather well as well as plenty of touring car series in asia and europe.

Yes they are different types of cars but both have sporting demeanors and that alone makes it a valid comparison if you ask me.

RXE16T

Yes I have experienced this (I have an RX8 and my uncle has a WRX and a 8)

Don't know about the specs of the WRX overseas, but here in Australia, they are a weapon both on and off the street.

Check out our specs of the WRX:

http://subaru.com.au/explore/impreza...asp?item=23444

The Rexy is a faster car, at least in Australia it is.

I know since my uncle's no Schumacher and he still manages to lap faster around Eastern Creek Raceway (Sydney) in his WRX (no mods) than when he's driving the 8.

Son Of Renesis Heart

well, the reason you see more WRXs is because they are way cheaper. my WRX was about $22k and my mom's 8 was about $28k. I have driven both cars and i must say i like my WRX more. i'm not saying the 8 is a bad car, in fact it handles alot better than my WRX, because the WRX is a pretty big car. no offense to anyone, but a stock 8 wont keep up with me in a straight line. both are fun to drive but different kinds of drivers like different kinds of cars. at the track i'm the slam on the brakes and mash the gas through the turn, taking full advantage of my AWD and super stiff suspension, type of driver while the 8 takes more skill/finesse than that. if i had to do it again, i would buy the WRX again, but the 8 is a sexy, sexy car.

-david

RotorManiac

Oh well, I rest my case. If you think you are faster by a few fractions of a second, then so be it. Too bad the Subaru's I met couldn't prove that!
You might get faster from point A to point B, but you're still gonna be ugly... 'If you had to do it again' do us all a favor, and buy it again:p I'd sell it asap (even if it was given free to me as a gift!) and keep the 8 (and the girls seriously)

p.s. nojooc WRX 0-100km/h in 5.7" is a joke. Ike is right about your statements. 2)even 3)depends on speed AND load 5)probably not, I've seen the 8 laping faster in big magazine test with professional drivers...

Son Of Renesis Heart

to quote you from earlier, RotorManiac, "chill out bro"

i'm not trying to talk ****. the RX-8 is a great car. i just figured i would make a coment in this thread since i own a WRX and there in is RX-8 parked next to it in my garage. sorry you cant take some criticism.

Ike

It's not a joke, there is absolutely no reason a WRX can't do mid 5s 0-60 in stock form, it's been done many times by many publications. Lastly, it's ufortunate you need a pretty car and a fanboi attitude to make up for misgivings you seem to have in other areas :D Some of us don't need a flashy car to strike a girl's interest

VikingDJ

I own both an STI and RX8, and they really are tough to compare. I've never driven a regular wrx, so I can't say which is faster, but I tend to agree that the WRX will pull away from an rx8. Obviously my rx8 is a joke in power in any category against the sti, and what once felt like a pretty fast car, now feels like a snail. iN handling they are too close to call. I'd imagine the WRX is a superb all around daily driver performance car, because other then the rough ride, the STI is a very capable , enjoyable daily driver. There tends to be a theme here on WRX and RX8. The only bad things you can really say are that the rx8 is just not very fast, and that the WRX just isn't very good looking. When I line up my rx8 and STI together, it's pretty obvious which car has flash, and which car looks plain. The rx8 to me is all show no go, and the sti is all go, no show. That's why I own both. They are both great cars, but but two different reasons. The WRX makes for a perfect daily driver, because it gives you a lot of car for a great price. The rx8 is same way, but you pay more to get more. If I was forced to get rid of one car, it would definitely be the STI, because the way the car looks and drives is tough to let go of, no matter how lacking it is in power. Like Renesis Heart said, they are two different cars for two different people.

RXE16T

...."different horses for different courses."

RotorManiac

Ike: how can you be so pathetic? First of all, I wasn't even talking to you. Second, you insult me for no reason.
Since I won't waste my time arguing with you, let me tell you something: I can assure you I don't need my car to strike a girl's interest (I can buy an SLK or a Boxter S in that case) other things, like my job and my looks, do that for me. It seems that you need to find yourself a gf, so much trolling in another car's forum, trying what? to convince us that your car is better... come on, grow up. I'd expect much more from a 30year-old man.
Let me also inform you that I said 0-100kmh NOT 0-60mph. There is a difference in there. I don't know, maybe your education is not enough for that, if I may assume from your occupation (no offence:D). The europian version of the STi with 265hp does mid 5s, there's no way on this planet the 225hp wrx can do that. The best I've seen is 6secs and that car made 245hp at the dyno.

peace...

p.s. Son Of Renesis Heart: 'chill out' was not for you and I didn't say you talked sh*t. I just disagreed with your statement. Didn't mean to offend you.

RussellP

Ike is 30? Thats pretty funny.