2008 Wrx
08-14-2007 | 01:51 PM
#16
Now I just sound like a cranky old man ranting about the good 'ol days (which were only five years ago!) but what sold me on my '02 WRX was the raw, gritty, seat-of-your-pants experience -- it was the first non-Euro car I drove that actually had a feel for the road and communicated driver feedback and handling limits well. My previous performance driving experience was in 911s and BMW E30 and 320i models, and the WRX still blew me away. To find that it has just become a Legacy or another numb, boring highway cruiser is vastly disappointing. I was already unhappy with the '07 WRX, which I felt benefitted almost nothing from the additional .5-liter in the motor (just heavier with more nose push in corners).
I think I'll stick to my original game plan, which was to buy a near- or stock 06 STI when my 02 WRX tranny dies and just tune that for the next five years. Or maybe go back to BMWs; I hear the new 1-series is coming to the US, and RWD to boot.
I think I'll stick to my original game plan, which was to buy a near- or stock 06 STI when my 02 WRX tranny dies and just tune that for the next five years. Or maybe go back to BMWs; I hear the new 1-series is coming to the US, and RWD to boot.
08-17-2007 | 09:44 AM
#17
VIP Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,023
From: Phoenix, AZ
Car Info: Subaru Impreza WRX 2002
If you're going to get technical about the material of the end tanks on an intercooler...don't you want it to be an insulator? I do...I mean, I don't want the cold air inside getting warm, and I don't want the heat of the engine bay getting in to it either...the actual core is still Al, of course, for heat exchange purposes.
08-17-2007 | 09:47 AM
#18
VIP Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,023
From: Phoenix, AZ
Car Info: Subaru Impreza WRX 2002
Well, this isn't a BMW forum, but the rumor is that the 1-series will have a 135i with the twin-turbo straight six from the 335i, 300hp/300tq stock (and a light amount of modding puts it to 330 for both). That's plenty of power for a light coupe, and it won't be a seven year old car like an E30 M3 would be.
08-17-2007 | 01:18 PM
#19
Registered User
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,312
From: UCIrvine
Car Info: '05 Crystal Grey Metallic WRX Sport Wagon
I want it to shed heat fast, period. It WILL eventually get hot; underhood temps can run to 150-180 degrees and 400 degrees sitting still (say, at a stoplight). When the car gets moving again, cooler air has to take that heat away as quickly as possible so that when you reach peak boost the intercooler can do its job of increasing the density of the intake charge. If the endtanks are retaining that heat, they are heating the air as it enters and exits the core.
Edit: Here's some info, from a company that produces Al intake parts:
http://www.aempower.com/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=7
Originally Posted by AEM
Whether or not an inlet system is made from aluminum, steel, or plastic, the thermal conductivity of the duct material has little effect on engine power...
At light throttle opening, air speed and airflow at the inlet system are relatively low. The high residence time of air in the inlet while at low-throttle settings will increase inlet charge temps when materials with high thermal conductivity are used. Typically, when someone is at light throttle they are not asking the engine to make power. Most likely, fuel economy is the issue.
When the throttle is fully opened however, air speed and airflow increase considerably. Typically, the inlet air speed of a 5.7L engine with a four-inch duct at full throttle is 34 feet-per-second, based on a volumetric efficiency of 70% and an engine speed of 3,000 rpm. Most inlet systems for every intake manufacturer for this engine are 30 inches or less. This means that the air in the duct of a 30-inch inlet length on this engine at the given rpm is 1/10th of a second—hardly enough time to transfer an appreciable amount of heat into the air stream on any system.
At light throttle opening, air speed and airflow at the inlet system are relatively low. The high residence time of air in the inlet while at low-throttle settings will increase inlet charge temps when materials with high thermal conductivity are used. Typically, when someone is at light throttle they are not asking the engine to make power. Most likely, fuel economy is the issue.
When the throttle is fully opened however, air speed and airflow increase considerably. Typically, the inlet air speed of a 5.7L engine with a four-inch duct at full throttle is 34 feet-per-second, based on a volumetric efficiency of 70% and an engine speed of 3,000 rpm. Most inlet systems for every intake manufacturer for this engine are 30 inches or less. This means that the air in the duct of a 30-inch inlet length on this engine at the given rpm is 1/10th of a second—hardly enough time to transfer an appreciable amount of heat into the air stream on any system.
Last edited by MVWRX; 08-17-2007 at 03:03 PM.
08-17-2007 | 02:10 PM
#20
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,900
From: Baja Oregon
Car Info: '05 Impreza Outback Sport ~ "WTF! Two-Toned?"
Did you see your qoute in Motor Trend WRX review? Your famous...
*** BTW the WRX 2008's are 50 lbs lighter sedan and 100 lbs lighter wagon! Or, is it the other way around ~ I wasn't taking notes at the launch in Portland! ***
Last edited by NW OBS; 08-17-2007 at 02:23 PM.
08-18-2007 | 12:39 PM
#22
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 49
[QUOTE=EJ20PWR;1950921]My girlfriend has been holding off on buying a car until she test drove the new wrx. This last sunday we went to Downtown Subaru in oakland. Test drove a wrx and left with a 07 legacy gt. After going and driving the 08 Wrx i have lost almost all faith in subaru. Im still holding out on the hope that the Sti is not a ford focus clone.
Although the wrx seems fast, the interior is isolated from the driving experience. For a car with such a heritage it is amiss. Cheap interior plastic is all that surrounds. Seats are comfortable but you feel as if you can slide out during heavy cornering. Handling is muted but ride quality is stiff. Many writeups ive seen have called this car more "civilized"; dulled down would be another way to describe it.
This is exactly how I felt when I drove one the other day. It's what I would want if I was looking for a Jetta or Golf, but not a WRX. +1 for an STi to make up for the 08 WRX.
Although the wrx seems fast, the interior is isolated from the driving experience. For a car with such a heritage it is amiss. Cheap interior plastic is all that surrounds. Seats are comfortable but you feel as if you can slide out during heavy cornering. Handling is muted but ride quality is stiff. Many writeups ive seen have called this car more "civilized"; dulled down would be another way to describe it.
This is exactly how I felt when I drove one the other day. It's what I would want if I was looking for a Jetta or Golf, but not a WRX. +1 for an STi to make up for the 08 WRX.
08-18-2007 | 02:09 PM
#23
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 799
From: trunk monkey
Car Info: 92 Paseo with spinaz, 2011 tooth white wrx
Well, this isn't a BMW forum, but the rumor is that the 1-series will have a 135i with the twin-turbo straight six from the 335i, 300hp/300tq stock (and a light amount of modding puts it to 330 for both). That's plenty of power for a light coupe, and it won't be a seven year old car like an E30 M3 would be.
08-18-2007 | 02:57 PM
#25
VIP Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,023
From: Phoenix, AZ
Car Info: Subaru Impreza WRX 2002
I think the performance difference between plastic and metal end tanks is negligible. Plastic can shead heat faster than aluminum, depending on the plastic. Also, the legacy GTs use the same intercooler with plastic end tanks to make more power than the WRX when it had an all metal intercooler. When I first saw the underhood pics of the new WRX, I was concerned with the plastic as well. But after thinking about the properties of good plastics, and looking around at other engines, I realized that some plastic on intake parts such as the end tanks and the manifold can be better, if not at least as good, as aluminum.
I'm not going to be putting 20 PSI of boost through a plastic manifold, nor a plastic intercooler. I'm not claiming the new intercooler setup is nonfunctional -- I've test-driven some fast modded Legacy GTs -- it is more of a design philosophy issue. If the WRX is now essentially a lighter Legacy GT, then it isn't the WRX that took the sport compact world by storm any more. It is really tough for me to accept that the car I bought just five years ago is now a "classic," and the new models have gone lux-lite, but I guess that's the case. We all knew the world was coming to an end when Hyundai announced a Lexus/BMW-beater V8 sedan...
08-18-2007 | 05:09 PM
#26
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,900
From: Baja Oregon
Car Info: '05 Impreza Outback Sport ~ "WTF! Two-Toned?"
I am just very thankful they did not attach MY name to my qoute, SOA might have been a bit upset. Thank God for 'free speech' and the law!
Last edited by NW OBS; 08-18-2007 at 05:12 PM.
08-18-2007 | 05:57 PM
#27
Registered User
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,686
From: I was up above it, now I'm down in it
Car Info: New Government Motors SUV!
Why? I wouldn't be suprized if my toothpaste tube could hold 20psi. As someone who sell industrial pneumatics for a living, I can assure you plastic holds an obsene amount of air pressure. I don't understand what your concern is.
08-18-2007 | 11:17 PM
#29
Registered User
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,686
From: I was up above it, now I'm down in it
Car Info: New Government Motors SUV!
I just don't understand the fear of plastic parts holding air pressure. 20psi is nothing and people act like it will cause anything not made of metal to assplode. A typical two-litre soda bottle can generally reach the pressure of 100 psi (689 kPa) safely.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
twinturbozs
NorCal Classifieds
3
10-22-2012 01:35 PM
ArchangelX
Hawaii
48
06-18-2008 04:42 PM