legacycentral bbs

I recently visited the Washington Auto show. Upon entering, I immediately headed for the Subaru display. I got to sit in a WRX for the first time. I gotta say it was awesome. The seats were so well bolstered and it just felt very performance oriented to sit in, yet comfortable. I have always seen the Legacy SS as sorta the older sibling to the WRX. I know that they are two very different cars but I see a lot of similarities. So I as wondering if anyone on the board had both a SS and a WRX. I would like to know what it feels like to drive in both. Some similarities and differences

I've got an STi here. . . pretty much the same seats.

Laurel had stock turbo seats in her wagon, but the 2002 WRX seats we threw in there are 1000000% better-bolstered.

02 wrx seats have better bolstering than the new wrx and STi seats, and can be had for relatively little as well

WRXdan and -K- do

I drive my buddy's wrx wagon fairly often. Off boost, the legacy pulls, once on boost, the wrx walks away. Big surprise, huh? I'm of the opinion my car handles a little better (rs suspension), but it may be just me being used to it. The wrx seating position and ride is much taller. I think that half the feel that the wrx is stiffer is achieved by the stiffer dash material and the seats.

The interesting thing is how similar they are to drive. They handle much the same way, they make the same noises (mind doesnt have that damned irritating bov though), they have that same 'feel.' I can jump out of my car, into the wrx and drive the piss out of it in total confidence. When this subie gives up the ghost, I'll be looking for a wrx.

That's the thing about all Subarus I've driven - they feel the same, just performance degrees and quality change.

Steve

i agree with that, as I've driven pretty much every kind of subby made since the late 80's, with the exception of svx's

Kelley has had the SS, WRX, and STi.

WRXDan sold his WRX.

I have auto-x'd an STi at the BFGoodrich demo at SEMA last year. Felt a lot like my car, only heavier.

You live near me, come to one of our meets sometime, and I'll get you in the passenger seat of some of MD/VA/DC's fastest Subaru's. There are some IMPRESSIVE machines around these parts.

LaureltheQueen wrote:i agree with that, as I've driven pretty much every kind of subby made since the late 80's, with the exception of svx's

come on down to cali and you can drive mine as much as you'd like

I believe the reason they all feel the same is the suspension is almost the same on all of the new gen subarus. The older subarus feel very light and sportier compared to the new batch. Least I think so.

The old cars were lighter, but the balance of chassis, steering, brakes, and predictability seem to be a constant. My GLs were more tossable, much slower, cheaper, more flexible than the Legacy, but the character is similar. Every Subaru feels to me like those people you meet that you seem to have known for a while.

Steve

evolutionmovement wrote:Every Subaru feels to me like those people you meet that you seem to have known for a while.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I own a 02 WRX and a 92 Legacy SS.
The WRX is a lot tighter feeling but I call it as all old bushings and shocks on the Legacy. Replace them and it would run the corners as well as the WRX. The Legacy is a bit more balanced to me, less push even without a LSD. The family nature of both are very apparent, very similar feel exept for being up more in the WRX.
I sometimes hate my WRX for all the things it is not compared to my Legacy. The more I drove it the more I could feel the ECU pulling boost, not giving full boost. It drives me nuts. It's a car that I have to floor it to make it feel like it's a sport model, if I don't it's lazy to spool and boost limited. If I'm driving hard I love it, keep the RPM's up and it's a blast.
I know It would be a lot better with a few less cats, the up pipe cat is the worst idea I've ever heard of. But to really like it all the time I would need a new ECU. And the idea of spending that on a car that is clearly going for the sport side of things in all the adds, just to get it to run "right" is hard for me.
The reservations I have with the WRX is why I still have my Legacy, the plan was to sell the Legacy to pay for some mods on the WRX. That and I was sick of spending all my time working on the Legacy.
Now I don't know which one I'm going to sell.

I sold my '02 WRX, but it was definately a fun car. I'd like to someday put '02 WRX seats in my Legacy. My Legacy doesn't feel as balanced as my WRX did, but I really like how instant the boost is. I feel the extra .2 liters of displacement.

I drove a few WRX's when I used to work at an auto auction, definitely felt the same as a Legacy, even made the same door closing sound, and all the interior things are in the exact same place. Kinda freaky actually... WRX seats are VERY nice though, way better than Legacy seats.

I do like the WRX seats. Comfortable but hold you in place real well when you start throwing it around.

Don't get me wrong the WRX is a real fun car and most of the stuff I complain about a normal person wouldn't notice.