Midlife Crisis Fix - 315hp Subaru WRX STI

Congrats on the new ride!!!


I used to have a Super Duty 4x4 with the V-10!! It was an awesome truck!!
 
Sweet ride, Coop!



I totally understand the "toy" complex:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466436
(be sure to see all the pics :D)





However, I must say....given my ride above....yours is one of the cars I truly despise...:p

(especially at stoplights) :D



I actually passed one the other day...the guy driving looked completely at a loss as to what he was driving...what a shame. :thumbdn:


Great lil' car you've got, Coop.

I'd definitely trim the spoiler - make it more of a sedan (but then, I am easily wooed by the sleeper idea)

:thumbup:

Dan
 
trowand said:
Who would have thought that my first post here on the BLADEforums would have been about a car?! I've been a fan of both Subaru's WRX and hotter STI for years. Congratulations on your purchase and the find! That is a nice find w/only 14K and the mods. What I want to know however is, how the hell can you justify buying a small pocket rocket car while having a 5 year old?! Is that your only child? At your age?! Because I'm 34 with 3 young kids. My daughter is 4 and my twin boys are 2 1/2. We own a Toyota Sienna (as the family mobile) a Jeep Cherokee (my daily ride) and a 95 Geo Metro 1.0L 3 cylinder manual (spare vehicle) and I'm afraid that when the '04 Sienna is paid off that I'm about to buy myself another Sienna. My dream is to own something just like what you've got but that's not going to happen for a looong time.:(
Click to expand...

hmmm i bought my vette in '95 when my son was ~ 7 yrs old and i was ~ 40, of course i also had a '93 T-bird SC for family outings.

i was never asked to justify it lol, either ya got the $$ or ya dont.

as far as the subaru nice car, i would leave the wing on it myself, imho they look "funky" with no wing, they look like any other sub which imho isnt a good thing lol.
 
Hi folks,

Thanks for all the responses.

Win Heger: [envy] 2003 Vette, huh? Ummmm, nice. [/envy]

chanwahyoah: Good tip on the swap. I am considering this.

(I agree there is a real benefit to the wing, but like was mentioned, my time at 100mph+ will be negligible.)

s201: Thanks for the clarification. I feel MUCH more mature knowing this just misses the Boy Racer mark... :)

powernoodle: You got my attention! Nice resto.

Psychopomp: We're brothers. :)

trowand: We have only one child, and only a 2000 Dodge minivan, which was paid for years ago. Plus a cache of savings I directed towards this. I wish you the same fun!

Daniel Koster: YOU are my hero. :thumbup: I had a distaste for those crusty ol' Jaguars, but once you opened that hood, I was floored. I bow to you!

I am less excited about the exhaust than most. It's always on. I can't listen to music or the radio unless it's up on volume. I am probably going to sacrifice a bit of HP and either add in a stock muffler, or reconvert.

Before the naysayers wince, I always found when I was riding motorcycles that I would actually USE the acceleration and speed more, when I wasn't announcing my presence to all. Same principle.

Yes, it would require another retune, but I am game.

I can't impress how much fun this is to drive. :D The torque at lower RPM's makes it feel like a V8 and NOT a 4-cylinder. Taking off in second is easy.

Gotta love it!

Coop
 
You'll have to do a trunk swap if you want a WRX wing, as the STi wing uses a lot more screws to keep it in place. The wing on my car is held on with four bolts.

Go here for all your parts needs. Good prices and everything you could possibly need out of the OEM catalog and some other goodies. I ordered some touch up paint and a DIN pocket for my '06 last week and it should arrive tomorrow. I also need to get one of the little silver cap things for my center AC vents... one of them fell off and went somewhere.
 
Hi Coop,

I went throught the same thing a few years ago. Almost picked your car, but felt like the AWD took too much of the challenge (fun) out of it. Talk about bang for the buck, tho! My "go fast" background was also bikes (not in the same league as yours, tho) since I could never afford a fast enough car.

I ended up with an '03 330i w/perf pkg.- I would definitely suggest something along these lines for your next car (95% of the fun, better build quality and less noise and less conspicuous). BMW's are much faster than their hp and torque numbers make you expect, you have to drive one. You see, as I just found out, even though this was supposed to be my "one time splurge", "mid-life crisis" car, once you've had fun-to-drive at this level, you can't go back! I'm selling mine because I just picked up an '06 (cuz I couldn't afford an '08). I tried real hard to like something else, something a little cheaper, but nothing was fast enough, or handled well enough unless it was even more expensive!

I'm already planning on affording a 335i in a couple more years- DO NOT test drive one of these! They are amazing and you WILL want one!
 
Would love to have an M5 - no way I could swing a new one, though...:foot:
 
Nice Ride Coop! Enjoy!

Check out NASIOC.com if you have questions or concerns. Maybe I'll see you there sometime!


081stPics004.jpg
 
Good for you Coop! I am planning my midlife crisis real soon - just as soon as I can convince my wife that a Skyline GT-R will make a fine family car (not too likely). This road rocket should be immensely fun for you. Drive safe!

Roger
 
i went to look at a nice one today, a '71 camaro which isnt really a Z/28 but is painted up like one, orange/white stripe, rally sport front end, friont/rear spoiler, someone put a Z/28 gauge cluster in it w/a 7000RPM tach, and its got the running gear (ie the engine, 6 speed tranny) outta a '96 vette, 3.90 gears, darned thing looks pretty good, somebody sunk some money into it, even got AC, but anyway i might can get a deal on it, a bud owns it and needs some $$ quick, am gonna try and do a deal over the weekend, will post a pic if i get it and can figure out how lol.
 
Besides my Mini Cooper S I have another toy in progress, a 1984 Dodge Dakota 4X4 convertible. This is a total restoration project. Paint is a pearl white, lot's of iridescence when seen in the sun. I am still deciding on some simple graphics. Interior will end up with buckets rather than the bench but will remain the deep crimson red. This one should be ready in time for this summer. Next winter It may get a motor transplant and have the factory V-6 replaced with a crate V-8.

trucvt.jpg
 
Rock On,Hi-Rev! :thumbup:
Soon as I clicked on, my eyes were drawn to the hood scoop and the Brembo's visible through the BBS wheels.I smiled.

Nice car,Coop.
Do ya' feel any younger?

Doug :D
 
Coop - just saw your reply (:foot: )

You can get cheap baffle tips for the exhaust that will help deaden the sound without too much power loss.

When I first did my 71 Nova...I had straight pipes back that dumped straight down about halfway to the back. No sense in even trying to talk inside the car at high rpm...:barf:

I put in a few bends, dumped out the back...still noisy but more tolerable.

The way the Jag is set up it goes straight out the back (previous owner had put corvette tips on it as a "wink, nod" kinda thing)...and it is actually somewhat quiet at low rpm. Only kicks in when passing at high rpm. Just a gentle low rumble otherwise.


Best of luck with your mods! I showed this one to Tom Krein...he's TOO SICK WITH JEALOUSY TO POST.

:D :eek: :p
 
Hi Coop
Congrats on your car you are going to love it!
I have a 99 Ver5 WRX with a very modified STI5 motor. I love my car and it is a real giant killer. With the DCCD that yours has it should stick to the road like glue.:) The 2.5 is also wonderful and torquey......
Find the right twisty road and only the exotics will keep up with you....:p

I would love to mail you some pics of my car is that ok?

Steven
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for all the nods. I have been cavorting around for a week now. I'm really loving that killer torque at lower R's. Taking off in 2nd is easy--and appropriate--when there isn't a rush. When there IS a rush, the first to second shift comes in REAL quick.

Every Boy Racer drives right up next to me and then gets disappointed. Who's the old guy driving this cool car? Some guy my age had to blow by me in traffic with his Beemer. He showed me.... ;)

Anyway, it's a LOT of fun. I may even consider a track run with it someday. I don't expect much better than mid-thirteens, but that's pretty damn fast for a four-door 'family car'. (I know, there is NO LIMIT to the mods you can do and the amount of faster STI rides out there. They are all over YouTube. I've got 70+ seven second time-slips from my past M/C drag career. How well I know.... ;))

Coop
 
Cool car. Now you need to do that rally school in New Hampshire! Or drive it out to Nevada and run it in the Silver State Classic (they close a highway every year and you can drive as fast as you want!)
 
Coop, great choice. Funny thing is that an STI will run low 13's in the 1/4 mile, which is impressive and will smoke most 60's muscle cars and todays mustang GT. Technology as in overhead cams, turbos and AWD is a wonderfull thing. I have several buddies with STI's and I have seen 13.2 to 13.6 times in the quarter. Of course these guys race every weekend. Get aftermarket exhaust and ECU flash and you can go into the mid/high 12's. That should spank most vettes except the ZO6. And when the weather turns wet, the vette will be in the weeds while yours is still going.:D
 
I love my subaru more in the snow than anything. Other than the tight twisties and mountain passes. I have an 06 wrx dyno'd at 363 whp and 383 wtq. Lose the wing though..I did.
 
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